Cycle Connections

Ursula Marie Wachowiak:  The old saying “You can’t keep a good woman down” had to have been written for Ursula. 2017 hadn’t started out well for her. Her lawsuit against the state of Minnesota for her accident was dismissed.  She had to get a new left leg but it’s a vast improvement over the previous one.

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) is a not-for-profit national trade association that supports motorcyclists in the US by representing “manufacturers, distributors, dealers and retailers of motorcycles, scooters, ATVs, ROVs, motorcycle/ATV/ROV parts, accessories and related goods and services, and members of allied trades such as insurance, finance and others with a commercial interest in the industry.” While its name has changed over the years with the current name in use since 1970, it has existed since 1914.

Women on Wheels® is a not for profit international organization founded in California in 1982. It serves women of all ages and riding skills. They welcome all motorcycles and scooters as well as male and child supporters. Seeking to promote a positive image of motorcycling, in 1993, they received the Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award by the American Motorcyclist Association.

The 2017 Women’s Motorcycle Summit - Rocky Mountain Edition gets underway on June 7, 2017. The five-day event, being held in Ouray, Colorado, will feature workshops, clinics, photo shoots and a moto rally covering the Million Dollar Highway and San Juan Loop. For more information and to register, visit http://www.steelhorsesisterhoodsummit.com/

This year’s International Female Ride Day (IFRD) falls on Saturday, May 6, 2017. Started 11 years ago to boost female ridership and bring attention to women who ride, IFRD has grown to include almost every country, with events planned all over the world. You can get your IFRD logo here to print and place on your bike or display it on social media. Whether you ride with a planned group event or ride solo, the purpose of the day to get you out there to “Just Ride!”

The first Revved-Up Women Texas Motorcycle Expo will take place April 28-30, 2017, at Retama Park near San Antonio, Texas. The three-day event will feature safe riding workshops, guided and self-guided rides, live music, vendors, and discussion panels.

Sitting in a New Orleans garage, untouched for decades, is a 1970s Honda. It belongs to Shanika (aka Tru) Beatty’s father. Five years before Tru was born, her father stopped riding. He had lost too many friends, and although he didn’t ride any longer, he just couldn’t part with that Honda. Every day when the family pulled the car into the garage, Tru would see that bike, and it was that parked Honda that fed her desire to ride.

2nd Annual Women’s Motorcycle Show - Los Angeles, California After the success of its inaugural show, the 2nd annual Women’s Motorcycle Show was held January 14, 2017 at Lucky Wheels Garage in Los Angeles, California. Hosted by Alicia Elfving, author of the successful Moto Lady website, the show promoted the groundbreaking and creative work by women in the motorcycle industry as well as celebrate Moto Lady’s 6th Anniversary. Custom bikes built by and for women from all over California were featured.

A new year has begun and for many of us, that means long cold nights, counting down the days until spring and winding down after a hectic holiday. To help pass those long nights and days of being stuck inside (swearing you can hear your ride quietly sobbing in the garage), here is a list of books for women riders about women riders. I highly recommend a steaming hot mug of cocoa and a fuzzy robe to go along with your winter reading.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Chanukah! Whatever you celebrate this time of year, there’s bound to be some gift giving. Here are a few things you might want to check out, give, or ask Santa for this year:

Her bike is not what one would call “subtle,” and neither is anything else about her. Amy Scaling, aka “Diva Amy,” is friends with many of my previous Inspirational Women and is the creator of “Team Diva,” designing hats, t-shirts and accessories with a rock’n’roll motorcycle vibe. “Diva Glide;” her bike, is adorned with a custom pink and orange leopard paintjob and embellished with Swarovski crystals.

I belong to a Facebook group of women riders from across the US and Canada. Recently I asked them to tell me why they ride. Below are their responses:

On July 17, 2016, the 4th Annual Canadian Women’s Ride Day was held. First initiated in 2013, it has grown tremendously since then, with women from all over Canada and the US participating. Our own Inspirational Woman, Michele Wierzgac took part. CWRD’s mandate is to bring women who share a passion for motorcycling, its community and camaraderie together, to support safe riding and to give back to women in need in their community.

In my previous stories about women’s motocross racing, one name was not mentioned, but should have been: Stefy Bau. Born in Italy just three years after the birth of women’s motocross, Stefy first became an active rider in 1983 at the ripe old age of six years old. Having ridden dirt bikes since she was four, Stefy entered her first race in 1983 as the only girl competing and came in a respectable third place.

Women Rider StatsI found some interesting statistics about women riders that I want to share. These were originally published in 2015, so we can assume the numbers have gone up slightly. 12% of motorcycle owners are women, an increase of 28% since 2010. 1 in 4 riders, including passengers, are women. In 2012, approximately 27 million people operated motorcycles and 6.7 million of them were women (25%) Some of the reasons women ride: Freedom, independence, adventure, to conquer fears, community. Some numbers reflecting the happiness of women riders include: 37% report always feeling happy compared to 16% of nonriders. 35%…

It was the winter of 2010 when Hannah Hodges’ father presented her with a dilemma. They were on their way to Bithlo, a motocross track in Orlando, Florida when Hannah was told she would have to make a decision. It seemed a recent change in class structure meant the 11-year-old Hannah was too young, by one year, to race in the newly formed 12-15 year bracket, which was changed from 11-15 years of age. She could either race with the older girls, who were faster and more experienced and rode 85cc bikes or she could ride her 65cc bike in…

In 1974, the Powder Puff National gave women their first motocross event. It attracted 300 riders and over 9,000 spectators. Nancy Payne won the first national championship. In 1975, the name was changed to Women’s National Championship and by 1979 had attracted enough attention to be covered by ABC’s Wide World of Sports.

Ursula only went ¾ of a mile on George’s bike but it was the start of a whole new journey for her. It was coming up on a year since she set out on her cross-country mission and she wasn’t about to abandon the idea quite yet.

In writing these articles about these inspirational women, one common thread links them all and that is their perseverance to overcome the enormous obstacles thrown at them. They didn’t give up or wallow in self-pity while lying in their beds. Regardless of the why and what that faced them, they plowed through, determined to arrive at a new “normal” and, without exception, continue to ride. Ursula was and is no exception.

The young man whose truck hit Ursula was named Anthony and while he didn’t resemble her son Nathan, he was about the same age and as she lay there holding Anthony’s hand, she imagined it was Nathan’s. Whether it’s true or not that your life flashes before you eyes, in Ursula’s case it was the future she thought she would miss. Time with her grandchild, events and milestones she would never get to see. In the background she could hear voices of men asking others what happened and when Anthony attempted to get up to answer, she pulled him back.…