Women Riders

By Betsi Greene, Past Director, Seacoast H.O.G. Chapter

 

 

Sometimes a wish is a small insignificant thing and sometimes it’s huge in our life. One person’s small wish could easily be another person’s heart’s desire!

 

If your wish is to ride a motorcycle with your hands on the bars it might seem trivial or, worse yet, ridiculous to the folks around you. They might tell you that you are too short or too weak or too old (boy have I heard that one) or just too “something” to even consider riding on your own.

 

Sometimes it can be difficult to stand up and cling to your dream when everyone around you is telling you to take up jogging or basket weaving or something more suited to a person such as yourself! But if you really want to ride your own motorcycle it’s more than possible to make it happen – it’s almost easy!

 

One of the best things to do is find a mentor. Surely you know a woman who rides – there are a lot of us out there now. Search out someone who will understand your passion and let her help inspire you!

 

The next thing to do is find a riding class – it’s all very well to “do it yourself” but, as a beginner, you don’t even know what you don’t know, if you know what I mean! This isn’t exactly like replacing a sink faucet. Starting out your riding career by learning things the correct way gives you a huge advantage. You won’t be teaching yourself (or having someone else teach you) bad habits that you will need to break. You won’t get discouraged because it seems such a big task because there will be the support and encouragement of a qualified instructor to get you on the right track from the start. Not to mention that in a class it’s a level playing field – all beginners starting off in the same boat (or on the same bike)!  Once you master the basics do take the time to practice, practice, and practice so the “right” ways will become second nature. Remember that safety should be your primary concern and with a riding course you are off to the best start possible!

 

Harley-Davidson offers Rider’s Edge beginner classes at a lot of dealerships and locations – fortunately for the seacoast area of New Hampshire Seacoast Harley-Davidson is one of those dealers. Classes are run during the week and on weekends with enough choices to fit almost anyone’s schedule.

 

So if you really want to ride there’s no good reason not to make a stab at it. Going about things the right way will make a huge difference in your success rate and you cannot imagine how wonderful it feels to have those bars in your hands and that incredible grin plastered all over your face!

 

 

P.S. One of the best places to find that mentor might be a Ladies Only Garage Party. These are held regularly at both Seacoast Harley-Davidson and the Harley-Davidson Shop of Rochester. Check out the schedules on their websites and sign yourself up. Lots of the modules are taught by women riders and they are all taught by motorcycle enthusiasts!