Check out this video I made for my class that I've been taking at a local community college. The topic of my videos are women and riding. I've interviewed several women as well as myself, but I think this is definitely my best one so far.
Finalizing Tshirts Designs and Updating
I'm tweaking some of the designs I've posted and will hopefully finalize those today or tomorrow. I'll post the final pics when I get them done.
I'm also writing up some fit guides for my Getting Started page. I recently found a link to this website that talks about women's helmets:
http://womensgear.motorhelmets.com/
Frankly, I think this is a rather dumb label. Helmets are helmets. When you shop for one, you are simply trying to find the model that fits your head the best. There are designs out there that are obviously intended for female riders, but calling them 'female helmets', in my opinion, implies that certain helmets made / manufactured specifically for women, vs. designs/graphics that are more feminine.
I'm still working on my idea for creating fit videos as well, so you know exactly what you should be looking for when you go shopping! And to tell if the gear you have now really fits you or not.
New moto shirt design and Orlando
I've gotten a few different design drafts for my shirts and I think I'll be going with something along the lines of this (it's a funny crop, but the right side will look more finished):
I'll probably remove the scarf as well. It would go on a black tee or tank top, preferably with a little stretchiness to the cotton. I just hope I can get enough people interested in buying one!
Now onto Orlando. Yep, the one in Florida (no helmet laws!) The husband was there working at a conference from 11/3 until 11/8 so I flew in that day so we could see Universal Studios, Epcot blah blah blah. Let's just say that unless you love bad coffee, bad food and boring rides, Orlando's the place for you! I'm sure that not all of 'O is a tourist trap. But unfortunately that's all we saw while we were there. And if we were fortunate enough to stay in one of the Disney resorts, which I'm sure are lavish and super fun to stay at, we probably would've had more fun. Oh well. I just hope the kids I'm going to have some day won't beg us to take them there, ever.
But somehow, I managed to actually learn something about being a better rider in all of this. (Besides the obvious 'wear your helmet, jacket, gloves, shoes and pants' chant that everyone should always obey, of course!.) As we were walking through the heavy crowds at the Magic Kingdom, I noticed that I was constantly anticipating what the mom, 2 kids and grandma were going to be doing on my right as they 'cut me off' to get over to the Mickey Mouse ice cream bar stand to my immediate left. I mean, don't you follow some sort of keep-to-the-right rule when you're walking in crowds? Is it just me? If you're with a group of people and you're in a heavy traffic area, i.e. Disneyland, the mall, etc., wouldn't you 'pull over' to the side somewhere to talk about what to eat/see/shop next? I'm also ridiculously impatient with slow people sometimes, so I'm always looking for an out in a large crowd so I don't feel claustrophobic surrounded by a bunch of people that I don't know.
As I was dodging grandma, grandpa and their 28 grandkids, I realized that my hypersensitive, hyperanxious mode was kicking in and I felt like I was on my blue demon, trying to avoid the SUV on my right and the taxi on my left. I guess I was trying to get through the crowds as quickly as I could so as to avoid any 'collisions. But it made me realize that as you are riding through the mad streets of San Francisco, the less distractions you have mentally and physically, the better. I mean, how can you anticipate the traffic coming up the next block if you're annoyed by the air sneaking up your back, or up your arms, through your chest or down your neck? If all you're thinking about is how sh*tty your gloves are, because they're too thin, or how your jacket is too big because your wearing something that's 2 sizes too large for you, how do you concentrate on Searching, Evaluating and Executing your next moves?
If you've taken an MSF class recently, you know we teach you the 3 main functions of protective motorcycle gear: Comfort, Fit, Visibility and Protection. Being seen is definitely an excellent way to avoid being missed by soccermom in her land rover. But, Comfort and Fit are so much more important, in my opinion. If you're comfortable and everything fits you perfectly, it's one less thing for you to think about, to distract you while riding. One less thing for you to be bothered by when it's 40, 70, or 90 degrees out. Then you can focus on what's important, being seen and reacting as quickly as possible to the chaos (especially if you're in a busy city like SF) going on all around you.
As a rider, you know that being a safe rider means minimizing your risk in every way possible.
Taking your protection seriously is one of those ways!
Bad Blogger, Bad and Tshirts!
It's been a slow 2 weeks. I haven't been motivated to write and wanted to make sure that I posted a little something before leaving for Orlando this weekend. (Yep, Mickey, Minnie, the whole deal).
NewEnough has Oxtar Sunray boots on sale for $129! That's a fantastic deal, as the average price in stores is about ~$160-$170. I've had a couple pairs of these boots and they're very warm, durable and super super comfortable to walk in. I easily worked 8 hours in these with no problem. They also have a Gore-Tex liner and are waterproof and will keep your feet toasty and warm. If you're looking for boots to give you an extra lift, these will help ~0.5" or so. If you need more, Daytonas are the way to go.
I'm also working on an idea to design women's moto tshirts. Not the cutesy, cheesy 'biker bitch' type of shirts with bikini clad cartoon women on the back of a motorcycle. But, something that even a woman who doesn't ride would wear. Not overtly sexual, but simple, classy and stylish. I'm working with a very talented graphic designer to come up with a couple of designs and hope to have some available by next month to purchase. My goal is to come up with a line of shirts that are going to really be representative of the sophisticated female motorcyclist. She's a modern rider, takes the sport seriously and wants to wear something that represents this kind of attitude.
But of course, is also really cute and cool to wear! I hope to post some mockups when my designer gets back to me this weekend with ideas.
