Welcome ersigh!

[LILJAX]

Welcome ersigh!

Thank you for registering! If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to ask us or let us know!

How about you tell us a little bit about yourself?

[ersigh]

Hi Jax, thanks for the invite.

I'm not very good at "little bits" (i suffer from a condition i like to call "too many words" ;) ) so lemme see what I can do with this.

I ride an 02 r1. I've had it for 2 years now. It's my 3rd bike. When I was still cranking on my first bike (an 02 sv650s) I already knew that the r1 was THE bike for me (well ok, there's like a list of bikes i want but the r1 is my focus). I haven't been riding that much this past year due to a nasty case of tendonitis caused by long hours in a non-ergo environment. I should be starting physical therapy soon which means I can go back to 300 mile days. Whee!

I got my svs on sept. 28, 2001. A year later my svs had 30k miles. The first day I got my SV, I rode it from my place in Escondido to Huntington Beach (about 80 miles). 55mph felt insanely fast, I actually had to stop and take a break at a rest stop to relax because I was so nervous.

I thought for sure when I got my bike at 25, I was too old to start. :lol I grew up around motorcycles, my mom started riding when I was 5, prior to that I rode around with family members. My mom says motorcycling is in our blood since most of my family on her side does it (my son, who is 8, wants to learn, which drives his father nuts). I wanted to start riding when I was a teenager but I didn't have the support since I moved out early so I put the want aside.

When I got my bike I realized that the gap I had been trying to fill all these years, with relationships, other hobbies, etc ... was simply the need to ride. It may be that this need wasn't the riding so much as the confidence, freedom and power that comes with being a rider. Perhaps it was joining the vast community of bikerhood. All I know is getting a bike and riding it changed my life, no matter what's going on, I am simply a happier person because of this one momenteous decision.

I started doing trackdays not so long ago. This has also changed my approach to riding. Suddenly I want a sport touring bike, a dirt bike, etc. I no longer feel like racing on the twisties like I did when I lived in Southern California. I moved back to Northern California a few years ago and have yet to find a riding group like I had down there which probably has not helped my feelings about riding in the twisties.

I think because my mother rides I was very lucky to be less aware of the "girls aren't supposed to do that" idea. I have experienced some mistreatment since I am a female but generally it's short lived since I'm knowledgeable, confident and vulgar when necessary. I have no qualms with getting in a persons face when they aren't riding well and are creating an unsafe environment for themselves and other riders. I am more than happy to teach others how to work on their own bikes or just do the work for them. Knowledge is power and I think that I have seen proof of this time and time again as I've watched other girls get coddled and patronized by male riders while I am treated as an equal.

I have a domain (twowheels.org) which is currently lacking a website but has a gallery and maintain a blog (twowheels.livejournal.com) as well. It's been my hope that eventually I'll be able to piece everything together so that I can help other riders learn, so that I can help motivate and support fellow women learning to ride and be independant as riders. There is absolutely no reason why there can't be a woman rider out there beating all of Rossi's records.

We live in a challenging time. The feminist movement which started several decades ago is painfully confusing. Women suffer for being independant and educated by having a hard time finding partners. Women have more responsibility as all the responsibilities prior to the feminist movements are still on women's shoulders (generally, there are exceptions) while we are now expected to work and do everything else. Yet, with this added responsibility, there is still minimal support for women to make their lives more fulfilling, either with education unrelated to work but for their ownselves, or with hobbies, such as riding. We need outlets just as much as men do. The idea that only men like to play, only men need toys, is completely false and is insulting to those of us who know better.

Anyway, I want to thank those who set up this forum. I hope that the users will shape it into something worthwhile, helpful and inspiring.