Sometimes You’ve Got to Turn Thinking Off To Turn Motorcycle Skills On.

It is not uncommon for us to think too much, and it seems to curse many of us more often than we’d like. Our thoughts and imaginings can be our own worst enemies - even when we’re trying to learn a new motorcycle operational skill!

One of my own "over-thinking-it" experiences comes to mind during my first attempt at snow skiing. My excitement and impatience found me at the top of an advanced hill! I stood there for a very long time, starring down the hill and wondering  . . .how? How did I get way up here and how do I get down there? Finally I surrendered and pushed off! Though my form left much to be admired, I managed relatively well. It was super exhilarating inclusive the snowy cushioned fall! But I won’t forget those thoughts, the ones which kept me frozen in place - thinking about it too much!

When it comes to motorcycling, the same is true. We can prevent ourselves from moving forward by over-thinking what we’re doing. Of course, there's a difference between that and the good accumulation of thought (information) learnt/needed to create that second nature motorcycling mindset for success. With guidance and the good schooling of an officially recognized instructor, there’s little to distrust or question. And most motorcycle schools utilise methods of training evolved through the years which result in best practises. Personally, there’s nothing more thrilling for me than the success achieved in teaching someone a motorcycle operational skill which advances their riding experience!

That said, I had that very opportunity recently to assist a rider with a skill causing them challenges. It was push-steering. With further review of push-steerings' science, accompanied with a simple riding exercise; success resulted! The major factor(s) with mastering push-steering is in simplifying the mind (focus) and the exercise. It was super to receive her email filled with ecstatic enthusiasm in the joy of discovery! Being proficient in steering your motorcycle with push-steering is huge for rider confidence! (Yes, she had already graduated from a motorcycle safety course and went through the push-steering exercises but, like many, wasn’t quite grasping the technique.)

This also reminded me that we didn’t have a detailed article on MOTORESS about push-steering. That’s changed -  READ MORE! 
And here a note of appreciation for the terrific resource available to complete the MOTORESS push-steering article because all that physics can be just too much to think about!

2012 MOTORESS Rolling Ahead Continuum of Motorcycling for Women!

Very best wishes of the New Year! I hope amidst usual attentions to family and friends, you are eagerly planning your 2012 motorcycle journeys, vacations, races or motorcycle bike purchases! There is nothing better than the excitement that comes from planning a motorcycle riding adventure! And if you are like me, you’re currently in the midst of a cold weather season which makes it all the more filled with anticipation!

As a woman rider and motorcycling advocate – or better yet, complete fanatic- (everyone should be on a motorcycle!);  the year ahead appears exciting for women riders! The upcoming 6th International Female Ride Day on 4 May is not long away! A world of women riders is expected to once again take part! And later on in the year, the AMA Women and Motorcycling Conference is scheduled.

2011 gave women motorcyclists more firsts in motorsports, race wins, touring mileage achievements and certainly individually measured attainments than years before. Congrats to all (see MOTORESS sections news and MOTORessence for details!)

The industry at large will continue it's interest in the female rider demographic- the last under developed riding frontier- along with today’s youth. They’ll be creating ever more ‘buzz’ in our direction as they continue to market to women and place strong media spin toward our gender. The boomer has fizzled out – today’s woman is not seeking ‘empowerment’ but new experiences- as has been the case  for most of the past decade! Even women of the late 1800's /early 1900's were  then also thrilled to ride a "powered" bicycle. Today's women also seek adventure, mental challenge/growth, distractions and plain ole'- fun!

From there to here it's not been easy - a financial struggle through the challenges our economy has given us. MOTORESS remains “unstoppable”, fuelled by the growing demands of our readers/visitors- you! And we’ve got the industry's best partners! (Visit our partners next time you’re on the site- click their banners!) 

This year marks my 29th celebration of the year I discovered motorcycling; became a licensed motorcyclist! I personally have so many riding plans -still, including a few races this year! Would you believe I’ve never during all these years given up motorcycling or taken a pause from it including-  not owning a motorcycle outside of a few months when I relocated continents? And three decades later, I continue to work for the day when women are no longer a phenomenon in motorcycling but the norm or even the dominate gender! And I think we're getting closer! 

MOTORESS promises to continue thrilling you in 2012!

The MOTORESS New Year's resolution: to ensure MOTORESS continues providing the best product (content), support (education) and service (information) to our readers /customers while maintaining our core guidelines of "Connecting Women with Motorcycling!"

Looking forward to riding with you once again throughout 2012!

Season of New Motorcycle Riders Reaches Finale

This weekend, I’ll be instructing the basic motorcycle riding course to newcomers for the last time in 2011, but oddly, unlike seasons before, I feel unusually sentimental. My 26th season as an instructor is closing. It’s probably the combination of PMS – no not that the female thing - “parked bike syndrome”. Yes motorcycling is closing down for the season and I’m rejecting it!

Students often ask, “Doesn’t this teaching ever get tiring? - no, not for me it’s eternally rewarding. My instructional experiences have taken me to training folks in the Caribbean and throughout Europe right back to Canada where it all began. I fondly remember when I took the licensing course and learned to ride- 1983, Dartmouth Nova Scotia. (*photo below shows me on rented Kawasaki 440LTD from Mic Mac Cycle.This is the first bike I took on the real road! Notice the helmet tied on? I took a male friend of mine for a ride! He was a tall fella,  6' 2" my first passenger.) 

I doubt any rider ever forgets the time they learned to ride. I recall my instructors; not their names but their faces. They were great folks and one was a woman. To me this was normal, a woman instructor/rider. We had a blast! Instructors are urged to bring the ‘fun’ factor into training. I’m sure we’ve all said “are we having fun yet?” Humour greatly reduces stress or anxiety which some students may have. Then again, instructors are characteristically fun loving, adventurous nutty folks! And that week in Eastern Canada within the parking lot of that training course my life changed; I took to riding like a mermaid to the sea! Would you believe I was the one in the class who was consistently hollered at from across the parking lot - “Vicki! Slow down”! 

     
A good instructor continues to hone one’s own self knowledge and riding skills in order to bring the best to the student. This fits perfectly with the passion – the advancement of knowledge! I recall when I first started teaching which wasn’t that long after I became a rider- I discovered the absence of mechanical know-how. I’d never ‘wrenched’ before. Immediately I enrolled into an advanced motorcycle mechanics course. It worked! I was able to bring even more shared knowledge to my students and engage better discussions with my, mostly male, peers. Plus, I could interject if hey were talking nonsense- as often guys do! *wink*. (pictured below, though poor quality, is me riding over the 'teeter-totter" part of rider training back then!)

No matter the character, culture, age or mindset of the student, my enthusiasm for bringing a learner into the total realm of motorcycling is nonstop! And my specialized focus to women riders, as a woman who has gone through the rungs in a ‘male directed sport’- transmits a broader (no pun intended) language for proficient, confident motorcycle operation.

So... here’s to the motorcycle training course finale of 2011!  Here’s to the students, the newcomers this weekend who too, will make the very same discovery, motorcycle riding which to this day has continued to thrill me and give me “kicks” beyond …expression! Yes, thank you God for motorcycling!

Barred as Offensive Aprilia Motorcycle Advert Objectifies Women

It’s still, yes, still a man’s world and even more so, sadly, in the motorcycling sector. Though a reported 86% of household spending is decided upon by the woman of the house- this doesn’t seem to inspire motorcycle advertisers to do better. Furthermore, the fact that women riders represent over 25% of rider populations still doesn’t encourage good advertisements depicting women as riders over objectifying us.

Here is an advert placed in the Spring of this year by Italian motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia. The adverts’ life wasn’t long as it was forced deletion following complaints from the Women’s Institute of Spain, whose advertising monitoring sector considered it to be sexist. The ads' translation: “The Arrecife Range: Now several sizes smaller” literal translation “scale Reef: now several heights less”.

Arrecife literally translated as a noun meaning:

1. Causeway, a road paved with stone; mole. (m)

2. A reef, ridge of hidden rocks lying close under the surface of the water.

Masculine noun 1. reef Arrecife de coral -> coral reef.
It could further be their ploy to play us against our own gender, to create that competitive desire by seeing “us” in their adverts – the object of desire. In the aim of attracting the simple(r) minds of men but all the while playing on our female to female pecking order and hunger for rank above each other.
Nonetheless, I don’t approve and am thankful the advert was pulled- it is crude and terribly demeaning. An open mind I proudly possess yet the degradation and objectifying of women in media prevents our advances for equality and respect.
Thank you Women’s Institute Spain- you caught this one fast for us!

My Own Piece of Motorcycle History

Any chance the name Treen might be familiar to you? If not, don’t worry because when I mention the word most draw a blank. Then again maybe you ARE one of the few in North America who recognizes the name?  Well, I’ve got one and it still fits and to this day, occasionally, I wear it. It’s a cherished collectible made in Canada by former - Treen Custom Leathers made-to-measure leather motorcycle race suits.

Treen produced excellent high quality leather riding suits which were identified by their gold background embroidered label accented with a bright red maple leaf. It was a name synonymous with an exciting era in Canada’s motorsport history.

I wondered what happened to Treen so went online and found a Treen Custom Leathers in Edmonton. I telephoned the company and the employee I spoke with had no idea of the Treen history but referred me to Lawrence Busenius, pronounced like “business and genius” he told me, an employee who has worked with the company through its change of ownership for over two decades. Indeed Lawrence confirmed I had found the original Treen!

The company was started by Brian Treen’s father Gerald in 1949. During the 70’s and 80’s Brian was the driving force behind the motorsport manufacturing area. The company designed racing suits for flat track, drag and road racing disciplines – and of course for everyday riders such as me. Many a Treen was created for our Canadian (and USA) amateur and professional competitors. They designed suits right up until the mid- 90’s yet, due to the change in race suit materials and dynamics, Treen felt they couldn’t quite keep up. The company was then sold to its current owner Bob Dale Gloves, whose focus is entirely on high quality motorcycle gloves – the very item Treen started with. 

The Edmonton born brand had a few Treen agents across Canada working through motorcycle leather shops. I can’t remember the Toronto address, however I do recall the day I went into the shop to get my first made-to-fit-me motorcycle suit! The sales guy took my measurements and I recall he asked me if I needed the extra knee and elbow protection/reinforcements for racing. My response was no, as I had no plans for racing (it was inevitable I would race!) And really, that was in the 80’s - kudos to this chap for thinking I... a female, was going to need the suit for racing! Treen, of course, provided the whole service, including lettering as I naturally had to have my name added on the jacket, just... “Vicki”.

Since my return to Canada, and perhaps from sheer sentiment of years gone by, my Treen motorcycle suit has become more important to me. I’ve had nine made-to-measure race suits since then. My Treen suit however gets the eternal “first place podium”!

Passenger Safety Gadget Ignores Female Rider Friendliness

The motorcycling industry at large cannot be faulted – good intentions exist to ensure women are considered now in motorcycling, at all levels. But as women riders move forward there are still many steps taking us back.

This was apparent when I first caught sight of the new “Passenger Safety Accessory” called the “MotoGrip”. The pictures typically depict the "man" as the motorcycle rider and the woman as the passenger. But this time it was the entire design of the harness which had me twinging! The design (pictured below) if worn by a woman, lies directly across the breast area and appears incredibly unsuitable and uncomfortable for a female. (Could the straps even adjust to fit various chest sizes?)

Funnily enough, there are vast numbers of women riders who have children, teenagers and of course partners who enjoy riding on the back of their motorcycles. The MotoGrip may actually be a product for Mom’s which could provide additional "peace of mind" (MotoGrip Junior) when riding their youngsters around.  Many marketers are still not concerned with women riders. In this particular case, it would be as simple as introducing a female version of the item (which I'm fairly positive they'll implement if this manufacturer reads this blog!) Or demonstrating in their promo material how a woman could wear the item - which likely would be on the outside of a very thick jacket to avoid the anticipated discomfort!

It continues to strike me as unusual, that with women steering our  global economy's; controlling 80% of all household spending, are still often not counted.

Then again, there may be another factor at play… I know any passenger I’ve taken on my motorcycle for a ride, has never had any qualms about- holding on! *wink*

Note: for the record, I’m not convinced any form of passenger assisted grip works or does the job for the passenger.

Motorcycle Instructors Need Training Too

At the end of May Canada hosted the ERTS- European Rider Training Symposium. This was staged and implemented by the FIM recognised CMA (Canadian Motorcycle Association) and the CSC–Canada Safety Council. A few instructors were selected, myself included, to present specific modules during the event aimed at assisting the attendees. The delegates were my peers, motorcycle instructors from around the world looking forward to new training experiences and viewing the levels of instruction riders receive in Canada.

As North America is the home of the great cruiser-  Indian, and Harley-Davidson, there was indeed a cruiser module offered. Also an impressive police demo module using Harley-Davidson police motorcycles. We also presented a scooter module sponsored by KYMCO; dirt bike course (with an additional focus on training kid/ youth) and my module, advanced rider training using BMW Motorrad Canada's fleet of motorcycles.
It was a stellar event with an added bonus for me due to the attendance of the KNMV (Royal Dutch Motorcycle Association) instructors! I knew and had worked with most of them in The Netherlands.  It was very much like a reunion for me and you can imagine how I enjoyed being able to use/speak Dutch with the fellas!

My only complaint about the event, was the fact that while busy teaching the continuous rotation of groups, I had no opportunity to experience the other modules. I would have enjoyed the police bike challenge, you know, small turns on a huge wide bike! But I did manage to grab a few rounds on the race track (Toronto Motorsport Park) Friday after completion on the Can Am Spyder by BRP. And also to ride through the off road module.

Teaching your peers also required a cross over in method from training learners and intermediates to coaching those rather well trained- and motorcycle instructors at that. Personally, I’m accustomed to this while teaching on the track.

Though these folks had to finance the trip (travel from EU, Guatemala, Germany, Belgium, etc.) and symposium fees themselves, you’ll likely agree with me, it’s important if you’re serious about your motorcycle training profession. Like anything else, you’ve got to ensure your skills don't expire and are up-to-date with training methods. Furthermore as an authority, one needs to be well versed with up and coming trends in motorcycle safety and instruction. As an example/reference - ABS (Anti Lock Braking Systems) will by 2017 be mandatory on all motorcycles. ABS has existed for a number of years yet many instructors in North America have not yet tried ABS on a motorcycle. Quite the opposite when comparing to Europe where most have it on their motorcycles already!

We’ve a long way to go regarding training basics in most categories. And as my Dutch colleague Frits Lindeman, an expert in motorcycle accident causes stated- a decade ago the focus [in The Netherlands] was on skills. Now there’s a higher importance placed on risk assessment. It is recognized that most riders only ride as fast as their skill level permits. When these skills are improved upon, it was discovered that this simply created faster riders. By evaluating riding techniques an instructor is now able to coach and teach the rider how to recognize the potential dangers surrounding them.

As instructors, you can rest assured we are eternally evaluating, advancing and bringing to you better concepts, tactics and methods to ensure security while you motor along enjoying motorcycling!