Why I started riding (for wizard69)

Michelle

Sponsoring Member
Oct 26, 1999
1,245
0
Wizard, how tall is your g/f? I'm 5'3" and there was no way in hell I was ever going to learn on my husband's bike or his friend's (KTM250, YZ125 - both 80's vintage, now relegated to the respective garages). Both of the guys hassled me continuously to learn, to try it out on their bike, but there was no way I would contemplate that.

I looked out for a bike for me which had to be
a) cheap
b) I'd have to be able to flat foot it
c) the guys could possibly use it if necessary

I found what I was after up the road from us, $50, 1979 DT125, totally sacked out suspension, it wasn't going but didn't need anything major to revive it. I'd ridden a bit on the road before (like 10 minutes), so had a rough idea of gears etc.

I think the main reason the guys wanted me to learn was I love being at the forest, but I'd told them that Henk (my h) wasn't allowed to play too often. I rode this bike for a few months until something happened that allowed me to buy a new(er) bike. I then started making friends and really enjoying myself. (I'd had fun, but it was pretty lonely with no other women around, and way too slow to ride with the guys). Now I've ended up not riding enough due to ending up helping organise rides, but I've had enough of that and intend to ride as often as I can again (we've still got our own events to organise, which is fine, it's just the helping with other people's I've had enough of).

The best thing you can do for your g/f is get her a bike of her own, it doesn't have to be flash (unless she's into that), just something she'll be comfortable on and won't mind dumping. I know for me if I'd started on a $5000 motorcycle, I wouldn't have carried on riding, too scared to injure "my baby". Now I don't care as I've had some hard hits and the bike is generally okay (except the bent rim).

The other thing that really helped me was finding another woman to ride with, as Birgit and I could go out and I wouldn't slow her down too much (she didn't ride enough to be really good and unfortunately has given up now) and her b/f could go riding with Henk & mates.

Sorry for the long post, but your g/f sounds like I did and I've got no regrets about what I've done.

Any other questions, fire away, I'm sure some of the others will come up with their reasons for starting too. Let us know how you/she gets on whatever is decided :)
 

wizard69

Member
May 3, 2001
251
0
thanx for the post I didn't see it until now.
I have a small problem...she broke up with me.
I think it's realy cool that you girls don't try to be all lady like and scared to ride I think all that sexist stuff is crap.girls should do what they want same as guys
 

CJ Rider

~SPONSOR~
Apr 3, 2000
699
0
Well wizard69, good luck in finding a g/f who rides. As a motorcycle mechanic was trying to explain to me once, "It's a beautiful thing." (long story)

Michelle- Our stories sound pretty similar. Don't ya wish you had started riding when you were three like ya see out there nowadays? YEESH, I can't keep up with these ten year olds flying over my head at the dang track!

Question for all- Why is my skin bright? I looked in FAQ, but I'm missing something.
 

Leapin Lisa

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Mar 30, 2001
83
0
When my husband and I got together he asked me if I'd be interested in trying dirt biking. I said yes and he bought me an XR200 to ride. We have had lots of fun and I became quite frustrated at times because I wasn't (and still cannot) keep up with the other guys who ride. I don't have any other ladies to ride with unless I make a road trip to meet Girlrider and her friends.

I have gotten to the point where I am slowly becoming more aggressive and trying to ride with more speed and conquer more difficult terrain. I have to admit that I love all the compliments that the guys give me. One guy tells me that I get faster each time I ride and I am now finally starting to believe it. Another man commented to my husband that he's surprised that she hasn't divorced you yet for taking her through all this gnarly crap. It is grueling at times, but very rewarding.

CJ: Try changing the skin-o-matic at the top of the main forum page. I have mine set for patriotic and it is a pretty blue background. I thought it was a neat feature.
 

CJ Rider

~SPONSOR~
Apr 3, 2000
699
0
Cute! I think I like the "Dirty" Skin-O-Matic! :)

Hey LeapinLisa- Ya think you and yer hub will make it out to Colorado again this summer for a dirt ride OR a street ride?
 

Leapin Lisa

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Mar 30, 2001
83
0
CJ: I definitely want to make it out to Steamboat in August. I have more vacation than my hubby does, so I'll go alone if I have to!! :p Will you be there or is that when you're off to visit Michelle?

As for the street bike, we are thinking about riding to the AMA museum in Ohio or riding to Victoria, British Columbia. Our plans are never final until the day we take off.
 

CJ Rider

~SPONSOR~
Apr 3, 2000
699
0
We're visiting Michelle in late March so we'll have plenty of stories/lies to tell by August when ya get here! ;) Heck, I've never ridden at Steamboat, just heard from you and Girlrider how much fun it is up there. Some local folks are also planning something for Taylor Park (my evil nemesis location) for some time in August too. I'm stuck with only riding on weekends, though. I'll be completely out of vacation time by then (if I still have a job with all this merger/divestigure stuff going on).

That British Columbia street trip sounds awesome. (Ohio? Even with the AMA Museum stop, I just dunno. :confused: ) Have you gone long distance on the Duc yet? The most I've done in one day is around 420 miles. I was pooped afterwards and still had two more days to go, but they were lower mileage days. My hub wants to do some longer distance iron-butt type stuff, but I dunno if I'm ready for THAT quite yet. Do you have saddlebags for your Duc for long trips? Have you thought about track racing school at all? (BTW, I'm with ya sister regarding the Bostrom boys!)
 

Leapin Lisa

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Mar 30, 2001
83
0
I think the longest day I have put ever put in on my Duc is about 500 miles. But you have to remember that I live where it is very flat and straight, so the 500 miles is what it takes to get to the mountains where the interesting riding begins. I seem to wear out the middle of my tires very fast up here :(

Two years ago we rode from Mandan, ND to Sierra Vista, Arizona in three days -- It was a killer because we decided to do the trip in July which has got to be the hottest time to be in southern Arizona. (What were we thinking?) We saw some beautiful country getting down there. From AZ we rode up to visit Fay Myers in Denver, then went to visit Letko Cycles in Kansas City and other friends in Omaha, Nebraska and finally making our way to Brainerd, MN to the superbike races. So, yeah, I have had some interesting street bike rides. I don't care to ride like crazy to get somewhere because it takes the fun out of stopping at interesting places because you don't have time. I would have liked to have spent more time in Moab, but we just gassed up our bikes and forged ahead to our destination, which was a bummer!

I do have bags that I put on my Duc and I get comments every time I put them on because hardly anyone sees a Monster with bags. (or so I heard when I was at Brainerd.) I have the RKA bags and my husband made a rack for them so they don't sag into my back tire. I keep the RKA tankbag on at all times. Dave has a 900 Supersport and it has more of a frame to hold the bags away from the tire. The rack is the most hidious thing I have ever seen, but it is very functional. I also have a tail trunk that I use on occasion just for weekend trips.
 

CJ Rider

~SPONSOR~
Apr 3, 2000
699
0
Katie- Naw. I work for IT Corporation, but I heard about HP and Merril Lynch and many others too. There's a decent group looking to buy us right now, which is better news than just dumping us. Oh well. If I do eventually get layed off, that means more riding time! You can buy gas on pizza delivery tips! :)

LeapinLisa- If you and yer hubby are up for a long street ride over Memorial Day weekend, we're planning a Colorado twisty knee-dragging mountain roads trip over that weekend with the sportbike crew. It's starting to be a tradition. (I've actually never even come close to dragging a knee, but I did scrape a peg once outside of Silverton.)
 
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