Women’s Motorcycle Conference

Like everyone else around the word right now we are doing our part in staying home and flattening the Covid-19 curve. This time of year is normally full of excitement and eagerness to get out on our bikes and just go. Although those feelings are still there we are limiting our time out of the house. A couple of weeks ago while looking up new bike parts to buy working an email popped into my inbox that I didn’t think twice on hitting the link and signing up. The email was from Women’s Motorcycle Tours regarding and online conference for women by women. I’ll be honest I didn’t read a lot of the website before I signed up i just knew it was something that I needed and wanted to do and by the end of the weekend I was so happy that I did.

Women’s Motorcycle Conference Online: Reinvention was more than I hoped for. I learnt to let things go, to believe in myself, to keep trying new adventures and most importantly just be me and the pieces will fall into place. The conference was set up via Zoom so we could come and go as we pleased. We used the chat and Q&A areas to talk to each other and ask the presenter questions and then a few times over the weekend there were social gatherings that we could all see one another – it was inspiring to see so many like minded woman together.

I haven’t talked a lot about my past on our website but at one time I was very involved in social media and social media conferences. I was around when Twitter was new and we’d do Tweetups and so on and it was amazing to connect with our online friends. I’m happy to say that to this day I’m still very good friends with some of those “online” friends.

Done right the online world can be a great place to be. In fact I built a photography business through Twitter and Facebook and it saw me travel to many different countries while photographing for different magazines and online publications – it was a great time to be me lol. A few years back I stepped back because I was really lost and really didn’t know what I wanted to do. Then I found motorcycling and well if you ride you fully know what I wanted to do! I wanted to spend all my time riding!

Anyway, to get back on track. When I showed up for my first session Friday afternoon I listened to Alisa, founder of Women’s Motorcycle Tours and author of Boost Your Confidence Through Motorcycling, and Brittany, Roadrash Queen and founder of Rock The Gear,  welcome everyone and talk about what was going to happen and how it would happen and I know then that I would spend the majority of my Friday and Saturday in front of my computer soaking it all in.

My favourite sessions out of the whole weekend were;

  • Lori “Killgurl” Cannon
    • After having her mental world shattered in a head-on collision with another motorcyclist that crossed into her lane in 2008, it has taken years for Lori to regain the confidence and trust she lost that day, Lori has finally made her way back to motorcycling, something she thought she had walked away from forever.
  • Hanan Salim-Cullip – Motorcyclist, Mother, Teacher, Wife and American Citizen

    • Hanan is a woman who comes from a male-dominated culture and religion. Had she remained in that life, she would have never been able to pursue her dreams. She got away from that life, leaving behind her family to start over and reinvent herself in a new country with a different culture and language and no support. She overcame cultural and religious restrictions to become the woman she wanted to be, which included a love for motorcycling.
  • Jan Plessner, Owner, ACTION Recruiting – Owner, Action Recruiting

    • After 23 years with Kawasaki corporate and 2 years with the Motorcycle Industry Council, Jan launched a second career as a motorcycle industry recruiter. She has been recruiting for 7+ years and has owned her own firm for 4 years. Jan recruits for a variety of clients from coast to coast including metric, Euro and Harley-Davidson dealerships, as well as aftermarket companies and industry related service agencies. She also offers career coaching, career search guidance and resume advice or revisions.

I’m looking forward to receiving my recording of all the weekend sessions and taking my time going back through them all and listening all over again. As we parted ways Saturday night there was a promise of more online conferences and events which was met with many smiles and cheers. Like me there were many in attendance that had it been a physical conference Covid-19 or not would never be able to attend. Now that being said I see myself making my way to the Suffragists Centennial Motorcycle Ride and Conference maybe not in 2020 but 2021 is a definite possibility! And who know’s – maybe we can work with Alisa regarding doing our own Canadian version 🙂

Once again Alisa and Brittany – Thank you and congratulation and a job well done. I’m already looking forward to the next time we all get together.

Please stay home and stay safe!

Cheers,
cl

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

posted in: Blog Post, Women Who Ride | 0

We all know when the time has come and it’s never easy. In this case it is very much a “it’s not you it’s me” scenario.

 

I sold my Suzuki a couple years ago and had no issues waving goodbye as it was loaded on the trailer. I didn’t not like her and she didn’t do anything to cause me to sell her. I just knew it was time for me to move on and move on I did. I moved right on to my Vulcan S, which was newer, shinier and zippier. Today i said good bye to my newer, shinier and zipper bike and it really kinda sucked.

In two years I put on roughly 34,000 km but it’s not just about the places that we went it was about the memories that were created while riding her. Andy and I went on dates all over southern Ontario, I went on girls weekends, I rode with friends to beaches and lunches and just to get away for the day. That being said none of those memories gets you any additional money to deposit into your bank account!

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I know my bike was a material thing and you’re not suppose to get attached to material things blah blah blah but I did and I’m not sorry for it!

When I bought my Yamaha towards the end of last summer our full intention was to sell the Vulcan S but as the days went by we started talking about keeping her for city riding and back and forth to worth. I was very excited about this plan and then – well shit got real. At the end of October I stopped working and then with all the recent uncertainty around Covid-19 we knew we just couldn’t keep her for a run around bike and that the money could be used elsewhere. Being in denial I listed her on Kijiji last week, not Facebook because I knew she’d sell quicker there lol. Well the inquiries started to come, yes I had some stupid ones, but the majority were serious.

This morning a gentleman from Windsor showed up with a trailer and cheque so off she went to her new home. As I waved goodbye to the gentleman I wished him well and wished him many kilometres of safe riding and who knows maybe oneway our paths will cross when we’re out and about. However, what I didn’t expect was the sadness I felt and the tears that trickled down my cheeks – saying good bye is hard! I’m not sure if it’s that I’ve had to say goodbye to many things this year or it’s the emotional state of things right now but it was definitely harder than I expected, now I fully understand how our daughter felt all those years ago when she cried as we sold our trusty minivan. It wasn’t the van it was the memories and what it represented.

Thankfully I will still have all my memories of the fun times and great places that we went together…..

 

 

 

Sena 10C Pro & 10S Communicators

posted in: Blog Post, Farkle, Reviews | 0

In January we attended the Toronto Motorcycle Super Show and of course we went with a list, when you’re done laughing it’ll be easier to finish reading so please make your time! On that list we had;

  • Vstar 1300 Haynes manual
  • Yamaha hat/shirt
  • CL knife (pocket)
  • MG sign for garage
  • Yamaha sign for Garage
  • Rain pants (Andy)
As you can guess – we came home with none of that stuff!

One thing that we did however come home with was a new Communicator system. We’ve been using the Scala Q3 Multi Set system and it had been working ok for us. We bought the new ones because we wanted to add another camera to our kit. A camera that was always ready to go and that would be on Andy’s bike – although switching the GoPro around isn’t hard we just never do it. Seeing as I’d really like to do more video this year I liked that we wouldn’t have to mic up Andy’s helmet as well.

Yesterday was our first ride with the new communicators and they were really great. The sound was so so good. We’ll spend some time with the C10 Pro and get the camera dialled in but I think for what we want this is going to work great!

Andy installed them on my Schuberth C3 Pro Women’s helmet and his T-1 Full Face Torc Helmet. Installation seemed to be standard and no issues. He used the glued mounting adapter instead of the clip on both helmets and it works fine. For Andy’s communicator he has two apps to use one for the camera that lets him fine tune its settings as well as he can preview images and videos. There’s also the headset app that lets us configure our settings. The last thing that we did was pair the units and it was pretty simple too.

Our first impression is that we are very happy with these. We had read some reviews talking about once you’re at highway speeds the volume decreases but I think those are talking about the older speakers as the speakers have just got an upgrade. Seeing as it is still only February in Canada we didn’t try these out on the highway yet but once we do I’ll come back and edit this post and let you know how they are.

The video below is just a quick little clip so you can hear the clarity as well as see the camera capabilities. As an added note Andy’s won’t use his windshield for summer daytime rides but when he does use it – it will need to be cleaned and polished for every ride lol

 

Info about the 10C Pro from Sena’s website;

  • Equipped with upgraded 2k motorcycle helmet camera specifications
  • shoots in crisp QHD (1440p/30fps or 1080p 30/60fps)
  • resolution of 3.7 MP (16:9) and an increased 135 degree field of view
  • features Smart Audio Mix™
    • mixes audio from the intercom and music from your smartphone straight into your video.
    • Turn on the Speaker Sound Recording setting if you want to record music and intercom conversations on your video.
    • Turn off this setting if you want to record your voice only.

The downside of buying this new system is that I didn’t not like our other system and at the end of last season we had purchased additional headsets so we could use our communicators with all of our helmets and now I don’t think I want to use our other system. Andy also wants to use the camera as much as he can while riding – which will be amazing when we travel through Gaspesie this summer. I also don’t know if communicators are something that people buy used but I think I’m about to find out lol.

Cheers,

cl

Dreaming of Adventure

Last week I read an article about a woman out of Montreal, Wendy McGean, learning to ride in her mid forties and then in her fifties she made some pretty dramatic changes in her life and one of the results of those changes was riding across Canada to reconnect with herself. Attached to the written article is an audio file that I also listened to which was pretty informative. Well, I haven’t been able to stop thinking of the journey she went on and I completely get it and I think I understand the why!

Before you read any further please understand that I’m not interested in walking away from everything – a few things yes but definitely not everything!

I grew up in a small town and the youngest of four. My grandfather and uncle lived with us. My siblings and I were very close in age and grew up being friends. Throughout high school I would work sometimes up to four part time jobs at a time so I could save for college. I spent a lot of my childhood and young adulthood in and out of the hospital from Crohn’s, Colitis and Arthritis. The year I finished college I met Andy and we were married within 2 years. Jacob arrived almost exactly a year later and Michaela 21 months after that. Having a child diagnosed with Aspergers when our kids were young was very different as there wasn’t the support for him or us that there is now. Plus, we were trying to do our best for Michaela. You get the picture life got very busy and very complicated.

One thing that has stayed the same over the years in my love of going places. Whether it’s an afternoon drive/ride or a flight to another country it doesn’t matter where I go I just want to see new places with people that I love.

Fast forward to now where in July I turned 48 – the same age my mom was when she died suddenly. I always knew that she was young when she died but this year it really truly hit me on how much living she still had to do. My age has never bothered me, as I’ve always looked at it as just a number but this year it’s been hard and weird. It’s honestly something that is hard to explain. Plus I lost other friends this year and again it’s just added on to an already difficult year.

Taken while Riding The Highlands 2 years ago

When I learnt to ride it was like a switch got flipped. I loved the confidence that riding gave me, I had never experienced anything like that. I liked the community that I found and I really liked that it was one more thing that Andy and I could share.

Riding has provided me a freedom that I’ve never really known before. I feel like I am finally doing something just for me and it’s something that not everybody else can do – it’s mine and mine alone. It has been good not only for my physical being but more so for my mental health than anything else. Talking with friends that are around the same age and same stage in life I know that I am not alone in this thinking.

Again, don’t misunderstand me I love my family and would do anything for them but it’s really nice to find myself again.

The other side of this is – I don’t think these feelings only apply to women!

We’d love to hear how riding has helped you so please leave a comment below and let us know.

Cheers,
cl