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.
-
- Dee Jones aka Momma D is a momma who breaks all stereotypes. This 130lb, 6-foot-tall, post-menopausal, African-American motivator loves Country music, rides a motorcycle, and has no tattoos or piercings. She didn’t straddle her own motorcycle until she was almost 41 years old.
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
I grew up in small town Ontario so of course there were a couple of motorcycles in the drive house. The only problem was that I didn’t ride them I was only a passenger.
It wasn’t until I met me husband, Andy, that I spent any real time on a bike. We had a bike (Yamaha XJ750) before the kids arrived. However, after the kids came along we just didn’t have time to ride anymore so we sold it. There’s nothing worse than a bike sitting around and not being ridden!
Fast forward twenty years and we were once again cruising around on two wheels. Almost five years later and the only thing that’s changed is I now ride my own bike. If only I had understood how awesome it was to ride my own bike I would have done this years ago.
Cheers,
CL
Leave a Reply