west coast

Women's Sportbike Rallies 2017

Left: National Director Brittany Morrow, Me, Jennifer Eskew/Volunteer 

Left: National Director Brittany Morrow, Me, Jennifer Eskew/Volunteer 

This year I was honored to be a volunteer on the staff that put together the Annual Women's Sportbike Rally. 

I went once before in 2015, but only as a sponsor / attendee. This year I joined as not only a sponsor of the workshops for both West and East rallies, but I also climbed in board to help Brittany with marketing efforts. I'm excited to continue volunteering time next year to such a unique rally experience. Both rallies served to help women who love sportbike riding, to meet other women who enjoy the same riding lifestyles and to educate and inform. 

Any profits generated from the event are fully donated to the Skin Cancer Foundation. As riders, are are constantly exposing ourselves to the outdoors and communicating this message important for the event due to the loss of Tiffany Weirbach “Sportbikegirl”.  After losing her life to Melanoma, the event has carried on her memory by sharing her story over and over again to the next generation of sportbike women riders. 

I was too busy having fun with my girls so I didn't heavily document my trip but if you followed my Instagram earlier this summer you saw some awesome riding photos. 

Here are some highlights:

I also had the opportunity to borrow a wonderful friend's Triumph for the event. Does she look familiar? :) Actually she's a much more glamorous version of Goldie with her awesome Rizoma farkles. This was bike was actually lower (but not lower-ed due to the change in seat type) and sportier than mine. More details on that in a separate post to come. 

Here are some of her highlights (look familiar? :P) 

Birgit in My Pants at the West Rally :D

Birgit in My Pants at the West Rally :D

But my favorite moment from the rally was connecting with Kiona's mom, Birgit.    

She had remarked to me how difficult it was for her to find proper riding pants. And she wished she had a pair of comfortable leathers that she could feel protected and comfortable in. 

Well lucky we're almost the same size. I gave her my two piece Rev'it outfit and told her to take them for a spin! 

Birgit was very petite and trim. Although she could have sized down to a 34, she preferred the looseness of the 36 that I have. (my hips are too big to fit a 34). 

She didn't know that pants like this existed and would fit her so well. 

And now she does! 

Here's a pic of her on Instagram: 

Kiona's mom wearing her own Rev'it Galactic Jacket and Gear 2 Leather Pants.

Kiona's mom wearing her own Rev'it Galactic Jacket and Gear 2 Leather Pants.

I couldn't be happier for her, I'm so glad she found something she loves to wear. It's these little moments with people that I enjoy the most. If I can help someone I'm thrilled to do it. 

At the East Rally I met so many cool women again and got to chat with a few gals who needed help with gear. I also did a Helmet Fit Workshop which I think got everyone rethinking their helmet size (one gal needed to go down 2 sizes!). I'm excited to teach and sponsor workshops again next year at both events because they're so important to increasing rider skills and education. 

Check out some of the highlights and visit my Instagram feed for more pics including towing our bikes with the Jeep all the way down to Deals Gap!

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And last but not least, I was able to meet with Laura Smith, coFounder of Worse for Wear riding denims for women. We sat down for an hour and I recorded a podcast for Moterrific, my side podcast gig. I hope you'll take a listen and let me know what you think! I learned so much about riding pants and how to make sure they protect every inch of you but more importantly how Laura's pants do that better than any other women's jean on the market. Take a listen now:  

http://www.moterrific.com/blog/2017/9/18/episode-98

I am looking forward to next year's rallies, although I may not be able to attend both events, I will be supporting them 100% with volunteering as much free time as I can to ensure both locations are a success. 

These events would not have taken place if not for the contributions of these specific sponsors who provided money, raffle donations and / or volunteered their own time to assist with our event. THANK YOU TO THE SPONSORS!

ROK Straps USA, LLC – RokMotoStraps.com

Hoo Rag – Hoorag.com

GearChic – GearChic.com

Women’s Motorcycle Tours – WomensMotorcycleTours.com

Worse for Wear – WorseWear.com

MotoHub USA – MotoHubUSA.com

In addition. the following businesses donated raffle items for giveaways for our attendees: 

Eagle Rider @ BMW of Murrieta

Sargent Cycle Products North America

Rock the Gear

Modern Moto Magazine

Helmet Halo

Raci-Babi

Rachael Maltbie, Independent doTERRA Consultant

ICON Motosports

Racer Gloves USA

Fable Riders

On-Track Wellness

TechNiche International

If you're interested in attending or sponsoring next year's events please visit:  womenssportbikerally.com

Next year's dates have NOT been announced as of this post. Please sign up for the newsletter and follow the rally on Facebook and Instagram to find out as soon as dates and locations are announced for 2018! 

What Motorcycle Maps Do You Use?

MadMaps_Pennsylvania.jpg

Where do you get your motorcycle maps? What do you use? On my quest to discover PA roads, I recently acquired these MadMaps with recommended routes, scenic attractions and places to eat along the way!I used to use Benchmark Maps on my iPhone until I moved and discovered that they don't offer anything for Pennsylvania :( So off I went in search of a Pennsylvania Atlas that would show me various terrain, not just a AAA map with highway routes but something that would actually help me determine whether something was paved or not. Here's a quick list of map websites, books and apps that may help you on your journey.

  • Benchmark Maps - mainly Western US, Southwest. Fantastic resource for terrain based maps that show you paved, non paved, etc. Not motorcycle specific.
  • Butler Maps - Butler Motorcycle Maps are prerouted, showing you on and offroad routes, routes are highlighted, rated and detailed providing you elevation, places to stop and eat, and everything in between. If only they had a Pennsylvania map!
  • Delorme Atlas - The Delorme is simply an atlas for you to create your own routes. I just bought one used on Amazon and will be using it to find my own ride routes!
  • Greatest Road (iPhone App) - I've used the Greatest Road app but it doesn't integrate well with Google Maps to give me turn by turn directions. I don't have a Garmin so I can't download the route into anything.
  • MadMaps - Mad Maps have motorcycle specific ride routes, including attractions / food and recreation recommendations. Each route is listed in detail and the maps fold up easy into your tankbag.

If you have a map resource you love using, please add your comment!