New Women's Sportbike Group - Meetup.com

If you're not familiar with meetup.com, it's a great site to find people with similar interests, whether it's crafting, motorcycling or camping.

I'm a member of several meetup groups, mostly motorcycle related. Okay ALL motorcycle related! I typically ride with one meetup group, a co-ed intermediate/advanced riding group made up of mostly sportbike/dual sport riders.

Sometimes, we wish more female riders would come with us on rides.

So my friend (the cofounder of that group) and I decided to start a new riding group for women only.  You don't have to be on a sportbike to join as long as you love riding twisties!

This meetup is San Mateo based, so we'll be riding mostly along the coast, through Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.

All experience levels are welcome so Join Us!

Myths about Women and Motorcycling

1. Women need a "woman's motorcycle."

2. All women riders are short thus need a shorter bike.

3. We all refer to ourselves as Biker Chicks. (I prefer motorcyclist)

4. We don't need to wear gear. They don't make any for us anyway.

5. It makes more sense for my significant other to teach me because he loves me!

6. We don't ride very well.

7. We're always the passenger.

8. It's just a hobby.

9. We never ride alone.

10. We never go very fast.

11. We only wear pink gear. (added 7/5/11. Thanks Bolty!)

A Gear Study.

Thank you to The George Institute for Global Health for saying what I and many other riders know to be true! Gear works, but not all of it. Just because it looks like motorcycle gear doesn't mean it IS motorcycle gear. Please download a copy of my free shopping tips (for men too!) to help you discern what is Real Gear and what is not.

Check out this interview from Liz De Rome, of the George Institute, summarizing what their year long study found.

[embed width=450]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlovDQM0TnA[/embed]

Press Release

Better Late Than Never. :) ###

GearChic (Joanne Donn) ANNOUNCES A NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION OF GEARCHIC.COM

June 11, 2011 (San Francisco, CA) . . . Joanne Donn, Founder of GearChic.com, announces the launch of a new and improved version of her website - the only informational resource about protective motorcycle gear for women. GearChic.com is not a store, dealership or retail business; instead serving as the primary gear shopping reference for women riders everywhere. The new site has an improved layout and streamlined design making it easier than ever to to find resources including Gear Reviews, a Gear Directory (manufacturers/retailers, accessories, and more), 'Gear 101' shopping tips, an online discussion forum, and more.

More often than not women are sold gear that is considered ‘female friendly’ based primarily on aesthetics, looks and style, and protective features are often neglected or ignored.  Joanne feels that women deserve and want riding gear that is equal in quality and protection to that which is widely available for men. Just as importantly they need help understanding proper fit and how to prioritize the safety aspects of their gear. Joanne created GearChic.com to provide a single, centralized resource enabling female riders to learn about these issues and locate gear that meets their needs.

As she has worked to explain these concepts over the years, Joanne has discovered that she not only receives requests from female riders but male riders needing advice as well. It turns out that men have many of the same issues that women do in terms of finding gear that works and fits – and for this reason many of the tips and resources that Joanne provides on GearChic.com apply to riders everywhere, regardless of gender.

About Joanne Donn

Joanne is from San Francisco and works as an office administrator for a design firm on weekdays while living her passion for motorcycling on weekends. In addition to founding and running GearChic.com she works part time as an MSF RiderCoach and at Scuderia West, a KTM/Aprilia/Kymco/Victory/Brammo dealer in San Francisco.

Joanne has also traveled with the International Motorcycle Shows for the last 2 seasons, working as an ambassador alongside the founders of the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation in the all new 'Women Ride' feature.  Traveling with the shows has allowed her to help women all over the country discover what kind of gear is available, where to shop for it and how to choose the best options. She also speaks at ‘The Hub’, one of the shows main seminar stages, sharing her shopping tips and gear knowledge. (More information about the International Motorcycle Shows can be found on motorcycleshows.com)

Several years ago she noted a distinct lack of online resources for female riders when it came to shopping for protective gear. There were no sites dedicated to reviewing primarily women’s gear, no comprehensive lists identifying manufacturers that make real protective gear, and no one providing specific tips on how to fit different body types and shapes.

In 2007 Joanne combined her love of shopping and motorcycles to create GearChic.com, starting the site with a list of manufacturers who provide safe and protective gear for women. In the four years since then the site has evolved to include reviews, articles, discussion forums, and more while gaining a steady following of female motorcycle enthusiasts.