Reflections of Alaska, Reuniting At The AMA Conference

This coming Tuesday I will be jet setting off to Keystone CO to the 5Th AMA Women & Motorcycling International Conference. It holds great meaning for me on two levels: One, it will be my first experience in attending an all women's conference exclusively in motorcycling. And two, I will be reuniting with 4 of the 13 women, who shared in a life altering, more than 1200 mile Alaskan trek, solely on motorcycles.

Cathy is was born and raised in Michigan. A chaplain at a privately owned small hospital , who, in her spare time, rides with an all women's motorcycle group called the Free Spirit Chapter out of Southeast Michigan, on her Honda Nighthawk 750.
She and I were friendly on our Alaskan pilgrimage up in the Great White North, but became close friends after my former husband had been hospitalized. I came to understand the importance of Cathy's work, when the my local chaplain had been so comforting to me in my time of need. I expressed my feelings of compassion for her work and told her how much I appreciated what she did. We communicated via email for over a year and a half and bonded our friendship even further when she came out for a week long stay with me in CA. We had a blast together!

Jane is from Connecticut and will be flying out with me to Colorado. She will be visiting here in California prior to the conference, so our reunion will be at the Oakland airport at 5:30 AM! That should inspire us to wake up!
Ellen and Laura are both from Texas. They will be riding up along with Ellen's husband, John, his friend, Jon and their neighbor, Ted. Ellen stated in an email, "We will have 3 Harley's and 2 Honda's, we need at least 2 dependable bikes on the trip!"

The Texas clan will be departing on Saturday August 15Th and staying in Amarillo, Texas as the first over nighter. Sunday, they will be taking an over night break in Walsenburg Colorado. And on Monday, staying in Gunnison Colorado and then on to Keystone.


After our rendezvous at the Denver airport, Jane will pick up her Harley Davidson Heritage Softtail at Eagleriders on one side of Denver. While Cathy and I go to the other side of town, where I will mount up on a Honda Interceptor and Cathy on a BMW F800GS, from Tour Riders.
The three of us will once again reunite on HWY 70 near Golden, CO and continue on our 1 1/2 hour journey up HWY 70 into the Rockies, where we should simultaneously meet the Texas 5 at a 5 Bdrm, 5 Ba house that Ellen found on the internet.

On August 17, Tuesday at approximately 2:00PM central time, in a large brown house entangled amongst the Aspens of Keystone Colorado, is where the 5 unsuspecting girls from the summer of '07, inquisitively deciding to embark on a historian, 1st all women's , 7 day, 1200 mile journey, will continue to build on friendships that will last a life time.

Side Note:
The Alaska ride was also instrumental in the development of the Style Saver Scarves. This was the forum I chose to test my newly invented prototype.
I fervidly had sewn 23 polyester satin scarves in preparation for a great opportunity to test out my concept of creating a bandanna styled "silky" scarf, in an effort to combat "helmet hair."
Something I struggled with as hair stylist, riding a motorcycle!

The girls were great about trying out the new "doo" saving scarves and as a result, I discovered the necessary changes that needed to be made in order to successfully introduce them into the market.

Reflecting back today, if it wasn't for the willingness of the women, on the Alaska Riders Tour, Style Saver Scarves might still be in it's infancy!




Thank you girls, for all your support!

Cindi

Update on The AMA International Women & Motorcycling Conference

Well just when I thought the line-up for the Women's AMA Conference in Keystone CO was all firmed up I have now been receiving Tweets from Genevieve Schmitt @WRN on the added keynote speakers that have been recently added, along with Ducati announcing their attendance.

Deborah Grey- A seasoned Canadian motorcyclist, who just happens to be a member of the Canadian Parliament. She is a titillating speaker, who is listed in Canada's National Speakers Bureau. She will be speaking at the Street Party portion of the conference.

Ashley Fiolek- A motocross racer who will be speaking at the open ceremony portion of the conference with the aid of her mom, since Ashley is deaf. She has been racing since she was 7 and is the first women to be on a top factory level team with predominantly male riders.

Lois Pryce- is a humorous motorcycling world traveler, who wrote 2 books, "Lois On The Loose" from Alaska to Argentina and "Red Tape & White Knuckles" chronicles of her ride through Africa.

Ducati is also joining the line up of demo rides with the Monster 696 being one of the bikes on display.

On a personal note: I received an email from one of the girls, Ellen, whom I met while on my Alaskan ride I took two years ago. Thirteen women along with myself took the first all women's tour being hosted by Alaskan Rider Tours in Anchorage Alaska. A seven day loop that covered over 1200 miles of the most beautiful scenic visions I have ever witnessed in my life.

It was a special trip in so many ways, but the most endearing part is that several of us have kept in contact over these past 2 years even though we are all spread out all over the country. I am thrilled to say that 5 of us, at this point, will be reuniting at the AMA International Women's Motorcycling Conference in Keystone CO.

Ellen and Laura will be riding up from Texas together. I will be jumping on a flight out of Oakland, Jane from Connecticut will be joining me to rendevous with Cathy from Michigan at the Denver airport, then making our way to the conference.

Now, not only do I have the conference and all it offers to look forward to, I also have my sisterhood of Alaskan riders who rode with me, sharing a life altering, history making experience.

See you there, girls!
Cindi

Pretty in Pink

Women in motorcycling is a fast growing phenomenon, we are making leaps and bounds in regards to being responsible for 12% of the riding population, and rapidly narrowing that gap between male and female in the motorcycle industry.
So, why is it that when a female rider goes shopping for the proper motorcycle gear, she has little to no choice and the choices she does have are predominantly pink?!
I am all girl, and admit to owning a few pink frocks in my closet, and even enjoy wearing the color. But, while on the motorcycle, I just can’t bring myself to purchase anything pink when I am trying to be taken seriously in 12% of a man’s world, when riding my bike.
I have had this discussion with a few of my fellow women rider friends on what their view is on this “pink” invasion in women’s motorcycle apparel and what the color pink signifies to them in the riding community.
My friend Margaret said, “ It sends a message to other riders or car drivers that you are female. It is often hard to decipher if a rider is male or female and this is an avenue for women to say hey, I'm a chick on bike!”
Here’s what another girl, Stephanie, new into riding had to say; “ There’s not really enough choice out there for women’s gear. I usually look in the smaller men’s selections, but that means jackets are usually too roomy in the shoulders.
As far as pink, well, some women can pull off pink and make it look cool. It seems to me a lot of gear ‘for women is built for the Betty, not for the rider. I don’t mind the idea of looking ‘cute’ when you ride, but isn't that already a given? Since women look great riding bikes, they don’t need pink to make that more of a fact. Well-made, tough, protective gear cut for a female form is more important. I prefer the color choices in men’s gear.”

Robin, who recently rode by herself on a 20, 226 mile journey across country, had a very strong opinion about women riding, the color pink and what it means to her.
"I will speak to the question of "pink" in the women's sector of the motorcycle industry as a bit of a rebel, meaning politically incorrect. If you look good in "pink", then by all means wear it, but if you don't, then wearing it just because you are a girl seems a little silly. Be aware though, that marketing is very good at convincing us that we need "pink" if we are women. This "link-to-pink" is not a surprise, it's inevitable. From the time we are born we are psychologically taught that girls wear pink, boys wear blue.
I myself wear lots of men's motorcycle gear because it fits better, which is another problem in itself, and because it's not "pink". Do I need "pink" to maintain my identity as a woman on a motorcycle? Is that even important? No, the ride is what counts. No matter what color we wear, I like the fact that those odds are changing!”


But, let’s look at it from another perspective, the psychology of color is one of subconscious power. Pink is a symbol for women just like the flag is a symbol for the American way. Look at the symbol for women and breast cancer..."pink". This synonymous link with women is an integral part of marketing, and marketing is a very, very strong tool. To ignore this from a business perspective is risky, to ignore this as a woman, is our prerogative. So it's no surprise that the women's sector in the motorcycle industry is going to be inundated with "pink".

One history making woman who made sure that pink was synonymous with women and motorcycling was Dot Robinson. Co-founder of Motor Maids Inc. in 1941, the organization was instrumental in convincing women to try motorcycling for themselves. Dot set a standard for women motorcyclists, she proved that you can be a lady and still ride motorcycles by riding a pink Harley Davidson with a lipstick case built right into the handle bars!
Back in her day, in the 1930’s and 40s’, she did not care for the traditional black leather outfits after the movies of the day, that she felt portrayed motorcyclists as out laws or hoodlums, which inspired her to wear her signature pink riding outfits.
Here is a classic reminder that from as long as 60 to 70 years ago, we are still stuck predominately with a narrow selection of colors and styles.

So, I think whatever color you wear should be as individual as the make and model of the bike you prefer to ride. I would just like to see wider selection of colors to choose from, for us girls, to show more of our individuality, as women, as well as being a serious rider.

I have gathered some links of Web sites that I like to visit regularly.

http://www.bikebandit.com/product/9505
http://www.compacc.com/p.cfm/c/1002002/p/20418
http://www.newenough.com/
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/2/50/1009/CITEM/Alpinestars-Womens-Stella-Cat-Leather-Pants-Closeouts.aspx

Cindi