Films' Unpredicted Motorcycle Scene Good for A Laugh!

Recently, I really enjoyed watching the feel good comedy “Easy Virtue” starring Jessica Biel. I suppose you could say I'm a bit behind in my film viewings--yes, I know it was released in May. In my defense it was exactly during the heightened activities of International Female Ride Day —busy times at MOTORESS!

The story was terrific –it's Stephan Elliott's screen adaptation of an early Noël Coward play he wrote in 1924. A tale of “Old World manners vs. New World freedom”. John Whitaker (Ben Barnes) has just married a feisty, brash, beautiful, widowed American (from Detroit) race car driver named Larita (Jessica Biel).
It follows the labours of Larita, whom John, met in Monaco and impulsively marries. When he returns home with Larita on his arm, his mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) is none too pleased and is given to detest her new daughter-in-law.
And from the moment Larita steps out of John's BMW roadster onto the Whittaker estate, she campaigns for Larita's destruction.
It's a "girls" movie, one for us with the added bonus of a feisty motorcycle scene that's terrifically comical--even though obviously it's not Biel on the motorbike (maybe its Justin Timberlake!) as seen in the screen shot. Great film which you'll find on your pay-per-view channel or at the rental store.

A film depicting a free spirited, independently thinking, "misbehavin" adventure seeker, living life by her own set of rules.
Rent it—you'll love it!
PS--Any idea what type/make of bike was used in the film?

Motorcycle & Scooter Show Poster Theme Not Quite Female Friendly

I couldn’t help notice this year’s image promo for England’s biggest motorcycle expo, the International Motorcycle & Scooter Show—its visual language speaks male. Raves to the designer--the graphic is clever and unique.

The entire build of the ‘man’ is composed of motorcycle components with the catchy tag line, “its part of you”. Masculine with guy appeal, yet I suppose as the guys are still the majority market segment, so its still their game.

Yet wouldn’t it be nice to see a more balanced industry gender appeal? Especially since we, women, control 80% of household spending?

Auckland’s Boobs on Bikes—Big Boo Boo for women in Motorcycling.

In Auckland New Zealand, a few weeks back, the “Boobs on Bikes” parade, led by its founder porn king Steve Crow, made its way down Main Street through a crowd of 90,000--yes, of mostly men, as you might imagine. They turned out to get an eye full of all sorts of topless women (porn stars and strippers in town for the Erotica expo)—including the woman with the world's largest breasts!

The real disappointing discovery for me, when viewing this curious fascination of women and motorcycling news, was the fact that the “boobs on bikes” gals were passengers—they weren’t the riders!

Certainly this objectifies women and to a many, is quite simply, inappropriate behaviour--but a success for Crow aiming to promote the Porno Expo in town. Many residents protested attempting to halt the parade, for numerous reasons as you might imagine. And one point in defence stated by Crow was the fact that women had every right to go topless/shirtless in public just as men do (what gal hasn’t heard that line before)!

My point is, could we at least see these women riding their own motorcycles next year!? This way we can continue to be reputed for not only having “the goods” that cause huge crowds to gather, but also the ability to ride a motorcycle most proficiently.

Actually, I would prefer reversing that order--huge crowds gathering to see women ride motorcycles (maybe at the track during a race for example)-secondarily, the goods!

PS--Did you happen to notice the male motorcycle rider has his protective gear on!

Auckland’s Boobs on Bikes—Big Boo Boo for women in Motorcycling.

MOTORESSES in Ontario You’ve Still Got time to race!

MOTORESSES in Ontario You’ve Still Got time to race!

Have you been close? Did you before? Well here’s your chance to get back on the track and race before the seasons done!

“Toronto Motorsports Park” also referred to as “Cayuga” in South Western Ontario hosts the popular race series SOAR and for their final seasons' race on 11-13 September, there's still room in the women's only class for you! There’s nothing like the exhilaration motorcycle competition provides--the fun, the kick—regardless whether you win or not it’s just simply a blast!

SOAR racing boasts that their women’s class is starter friendly (also good for those of you who haven’t raced for a few years)—allowing newcomers the chance to give road racing a shot, you know, without feeling the pressure to produce results. And let’s face it not everyone wants to be a racer superstar –many simply enjoy the thrill of the track and the chance to occasionally compete.

Road racing can be perceived as a costly endeavour--really it doesn’t take a lot to get you and your bike on the track. That’s what it’s about--not the fancy race suit or the paint job, tyre warmers or an RV—you and the bike on the track—simple. Certainly you need experience, this is not for new riders --you’ll know if you’ve got enough operational skills to participate.

You’ll have to ensure your machinery meets track/race requirements (read here) and of course the full gamut of riding gear. Don’t panic when you open the rule book doc--if you’ve been on the track this year or own a sport bike—you're already close to having most of the requirements.

Your license fee for this one time race event is CAD$50. plus the one time registration fee of CAD$100. FAST, RACE and ARC school certificates are acceptable rider schooling criteria to get you on the tarmac.

Could there be a better grand finale to your riding season?
For questions contact SOAR and have fun!

Girls know…where there’s a Bultaco there’s a man!

“Girls know…where there’s a Bultaco there’s a man!”. . . reads the title of a motorcycle advert I came across. The advert is from the ‘60’s—are you amused as well? I know I had to chuckle aloud!

These earlier era motorcycle advertisements are time markers of "then" mentalities and social values; reminders of how women have moved steadily forward in motorcycling. Manufacturers still place their majority appeal to the guys--we can’t fault them, we're still the smaller demographic. However manufacturers DO slot in a few focus campaigns directed at women—progression! “Girls may not understand Bultaco’s Campera, but they understand men. And the fact that the Campera has a very comfortable saddle!” --as stated in the advert content. Well, today we do understand the ‘machine’, thank you very much.

Have you heard of the Bultaco motorcycle? It originates from Spain and dates back to 1958. Bultaco’s founder Franciso Paco Bulto was originally the director and partner of the former Montesa motorcycle company (founded in 1944). Montesa was an avid motorcycle racing focused company --most motorcycles had their intro debut's in racing/motorsport. Paco Bultó parted ways with Montesa creating his own company and brand BULTACO from combining the first four letters of his surname “Bultó” with the last three of his nickname "Paco".

So many brands throughout the world--eternally fascinating!

Field Full of Girls on Motorcycles

Field Full of Girls on Motorcycles

It rained most of the day but did that stop the fun had by all during the SCORRA Ladies Only off road training day--absolutely not! In fact, that's one of the great things about riding off road the weather doesn't really matter.

SCORRA (Simcoe County off Road Riders Association) invited me to assist with their first ever “Women's only training day”. It was about a month ago (already!) and I was one of five female instructors bringing this new program to women of the Simcoe off road region. The other female instructors were members of SCORRA and also talented riders extraordinaire with championships to their names in hare scrambles, trials and mountain biking—yes I picked up a few “tricks of the trade” for myself.

Nearly 30 women of all ages participated in this carefully planned curriculum-- an entire day of challenging activities all intended to improve rider ability. But more importantly-- build confidence. Layouts weaving riders through pylons, rear wheel lock up braking manoeuvres to manage rear wheel slides, riding over “table tops”, hopping over logs and getting through slippery dirt corners in full stand up stance--it was a total training package, all for the fee of $40. lunch included!

You really couldn't have asked for more.

At the wrap up of the day, women concluded; they wanted more—so there's talk of a follow up in September. SCORRA is intent on affecting an increase of the number of women riders participating in off roading and making the activity more inviting [to women] by offering up skills.

Have you tried off road riding yet?
If not I've got to warn you—you will …fall in love.

Perfect Occasion to wear her International Female Ride Day T-shirt!

Perfect Occasion to wear her International Female Ride Day T-shirt!

This photo was sent in to me from Neda. Indeed a pictures’ worth a thousand words. Neda was awarded Top Rider of her group during recent FAST school--which is the plaque she's proudly holding. This is given to the most improved rider of each group. I really love the fact that she is wearing her International Female Ride Day t-shirt!

She certainly belongs on that number one podium spot!

By the way, we’re supporting Neda’s huge and exciting adventure this August to raise money for breast and ovarian cancer research. She'll be doing a 1500 mile trek mostly off road! The ride is put on by the Women’s Motorcyclist Federation out of New York. Neda will be one of the twelve women on this trek,--and the only Canadian.

Have a read here and I hope you’ll support her too!

Thanks Neda for this great pic! And congrats to you!

Women lovin’ their curves on Shannonville Race Track

Women lovin' their curves on Shannonville Race Track.

We had such a terrific day during recent F.A.S.T. school on Ontario’s Shannonville race track. This particular course date, along with another one on 11 August provides a woman’s only group. We had 9 women new to the track—by the courses’ completion you would NEVER have known it was their first track experience. Well that’s all due to Michel Mercier’s years of proven teaching methods.

We managed three groups throughout the day; one comprised of women the other two, men. Four of us instructors (3 fellows and “moi”). The conditions were perfect!—blue skies, dry, sunny, slight breeze accented by the scent of high performance sport bikes! It’s so rewarding to introduce women, true enough any riders, to the art of cornering and higher speed riding the circuit allows; viewing the amplified skills and techniques—those HUGE smiles are gratifying. Yahoo!

Great pics hey? (Excuse my hat –having helmet hair issues!) Special thanks to FLAIR photo for their terrific track side photo service and professional photographic talents!

STILETTOS ON A SCOOTER

The other day while rushing from meeting to meeting in my Jeep I noticed a stylish looking young woman on her Vespa riding amidst city traffic--her footwear, black stiletto pumps. While awaiting a traffic light to change, a man in his car sitting in the lane parallel to her called out questioning her choice of shoes. He wondered how she managed to ride the scooter in high heels. She replied that for her it was no problem. True enough, we’re very capable in heels-- there’s even a "stiletto stampede" fundraiser race in several countries where women compete in stilettos!

Much controversy exists over what appropriate riding gear is for scooters. These two wheelers are superbly, safe, light weight and fun making urban transport ideal. It's because of that they're being used more and more to go to work and enjoy our urban social lives. Part of that pleasure is the fact of not having to wear extensive heavier motorcycling gear. Look at Italy’s scooter culture for one—women commonly ride around on scooters in the same daily wear on or off bike. But then again they ride amidst a conscientious culture unlike that of ours. In many European countries the scooter (motorcycle) is a respected, welcomed part of transport life.

Hopefully soon, we'll catch up with the admirable scenarios of other lands where we'll ride amidst an environment we need worry little about.

Training Wheels on Scooter Keep you Balanced.

Not ever in my nearly three decades of riding have I seen, considered or thought of training wheels for a motorcycle. But what a great idea!

Recently, when visiting the Scooty website located in India, and having a look over their product line  I discovered a scooter featured in their line with -‘training wheels'. As you can see in the pictures below, the wheels are attached onto the centre stand- a very interesting concept! I suppose these small wheels and brackets wouldn't really be that difficult to design and it all makes perfect sense. Naturally very handy and useful for the learner who has not had any experience balancing a two wheeler, namely a bicycle.

I frequently encounter this very challenge in rider training —students with no prior bicycle riding experience. Unlike when training someone to ride who has not ever driven a standard stick shift car, training a new student to ride when they've not yet learned to be stable on two wheels is much harder. They need to not only balance on two wheels but at the same time manage/cope with the additional weight of a motorbike.

I think the big question here is however —do the training wheels work? They really don't appear that strong. Nevertheless, I'm certain this manufacturer wouldn't provide them if they didn’t do the trick. And remember, this scooter is 80cc and similar to many smaller scooters, are not that weighty.

The wheels and their small attachment can be removed once the rider is safe to ride alone. Personally, I think these training wheels a great idea! And you might already know this--I'm for anything that'll help someone learn to ride and enjoy motorcycling!

SUPPORTING COMRADES IN THE DAKAR

Have you been watching the televised reviews of DAKAR? It’s the most gruelling, challenging motorcycle competition any rider could ever dream of riding—the top test of rider skills. Most wouldn’t last the first few hours. Have you seen the footage, the terrain, and the stage route details? This year the Dakar, a destination in Africa is still used as the name of the event, regardless of the race being moved to South America, finish line Buenos Aires. It was too dangerous to run the event in Africa due to political unrest which if you remember this caused the 2008 DAKAR to be cancelled! In watching the footage, South America looks even more challenging!

I am so proud to actually know and have motorsport comrades riding in this competition. These are Netherlanders-- Mirjam Pol one of the few women (officially registered as Gesina Maria Pol) riding Honda start number #48. Then there’s Gerrard Rond a former motocross champ and no stranger to Dakar where he rode his first in 1986. Gerrard and I ran the RaceGirl Motorsport off road days together hosted at his special 40 hectare (including lake) location. He’s on a KTM, start number #156. Then there’s the famed former Dutch MotoGP racer Jurgen van der Goorbergh. Jurgen has a strong motorsport background, very accomplished, on HONDA with start number # 57.

All my comrades are still in the game and at the time of this writing riding out stage #8 of the 15 stage competition. I’m so very proud and honoured to observe their fight in the DAKAR. Indeed I am jealous, as I too would love to add this competition to my list of motorsport accomplishments—who knows!

There were 235 motorcycles entered and started, not including the 44 participants not quad and not quite motorcycle sector that were bunched into the motorcycle start category—that’s 279 total. Sadly there has been one motorcyclist death, indeed there can be others before this race ends.

At the start of stage 8 today, 137 motorcycles remain—that’s less than half. THREE CHEERS to Mirjam, Gerrard and Jurgen—still in the game!

Each year, particularly for the past 8, I’ve enjoyed cheering on comrades in the Dakar (the Dutch have a strong presence in all categories) makes the DAKAR even more exciting bringing me even closer to this amazing race!
Check out the DAKAR website—exciting info available to view!

MOTORCYCLE NEW YEAR WISHES 2009

Someone once said-- the New Year is another chance to “get right” all the stuff you didn’t last year! Lucky us!
Looking forward at this new year, the fact that we're starting off economically challenged, observing more evidence of the not-so-positive reality causes me to recall a true Dutch and practiced value-- “less is more”. I think this “less is more” philosophy just might be the ticket to getting us through the concerns that surround us; prepare us for challenging times ahead. With Ducati not participating in the Canadian Thunder race series this year and cancelling out of BSB (British Superbikes)—Kawasaki announcing its discontinuance in MotoGP (can’t believe that one!) its proving to be a crazy year ahead in motorsport.

There’s such a buzz in the motorcycling industry, among others, reflecting concerns for motorcycling—some say it’s a luxury and will suffer, where others state motorcycling excels in tough times. These questions were put to me during a recent interview for a Clutch and Chrome podcast—how I personally felt it may affect the activity.

Well, we need it. Certainly we’ll elect common sense, caution and may not opt for that 2009 model upgrade or the new Akrapovic exhaust (darn!). Perhaps try to get another year out of our riding suit, even though we’d love a gear fashion upgrade. It’s my opinion we'll continue to enjoy our riding—its really our survival outlet and there’s no better way to get away from it all than when riding, absorbed, focused by the road.

Indeed a ride costs a bit of gas expense (thank goodness for the drop in gas prices!) and even if our rides might need to be shorter, our track days fewer, knowing that motorcycling is part of our life, seeing our bike standing in the garage or the driveway is a great inspiration of escape.

I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s the simple sensation--
the “less” that gives us all that “more”.

Best wishes to you and yours for a most joyful and healthy New Year!
May you continue to ride along the road of your dreams in 2009!
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And remember you’re the one steering!

HOLLY JOLLY MOTO GREETZ

Have a holly, jolly Christmas,
(Doesn’t that sound fun?)
It's the best time of the year;
(Sipping a hot chocolate with friends and talking motorbikes!)
I don't know if there'll be snow,
(Luckily we’re ready—ice skate?)
But have a cup of cheer.
(Cosmo, martini—Cin cin!)
Have a holly, jolly Christmas;
(Laughing about your seasons fun ride moments)
And when you walk down the street;
(Looking chic in those motorcycle boots!)
Say Hello to friends you know;
(Right back at cha!)
And everyone you meet.
(Motorcyclists are so social!)
Oh, ho, the mistletoe;
(Romancing the tradition what fun!)
Hung where you can see;
(There’s nothing wrong with a surprise-hint hint!)
Somebody waits for you;
(Around the corner, or in your dreams.)
Kiss them once for me.
(Twice if you're French and three times if you're Dutch.)
Have a holly jolly Christmas,
(New Years Eve is days away!)
And in case you didn't hear,
(Trying on that new helmet are you?)
Oh by golly, have a holly,
(Does that sound better than gossip?)
Jolly Christmas this year! Best wishes for a happy holiday season!
Enjoy!








*Johnny Marks (November 10, 1909 - September 3, 1985) was a Jewish-American songwriter. He is remembered today for his Christmas songs which include "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (a hit for Gene Autry and others), "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" (first recorded by Bing Crosby), "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (a hit for Brenda Lee), and "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (recorded by the Quinto Sisters, then Burl Ives) -*thanks Wikipedia/source

KEEP THAT YOUTHFUL APPEARANCE—RIDE A MOTORCYCLE

Brad Pitt rides a lovely red vintage Indian motorcycle in his new movie. Brad is one of the world’s sexiest men and a personal fav of mine. Adding to his appeal is the fact that he is a motorcycle rider. We’ve seen him many a time featured in news clippings at various locations around the world, riding on sorted brands of motorcycles--in Europe, Asia, and more. Brad Pitt is a lover of the powered two-wheeler.Well, his skill and passion for riding has been incorporated in certain scenes within his new movie, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” scheduled for release on Christmas day.
The movie is about a man, “Benjamin” portrayed by Brad Pitt, co-starring the wonderful Kate Blanchett. Benjamin’s life seems to work backwards and most extraordinarily opposite to what we know. He is born old and reverts back to youth through the years to I presume a baby.

Personally what’s interesting, based on the trailer alone because certainly I’ve not seen the movie; as he becomes younger, to accentuate his youthfulness in this particular phase of his life, he finds a motorcycle--the bike becomes part of his lifestyle.

The motorcycle’s use in the movie represents and accentuates its usual stereotypical role of freedom, youthfulness and spontaneity.
Interesting wouldn’t you agree?

So--the secret to keeping that youthful appearance? Keep riding!

Visit the film's website and view the movie trailer!