Reviews and a Riding Jean Party

It's been a busy weekend. 

First, I want to invite women riders of Philadelphia to a special pop up party that we're having:

Saturday, September 30th in Philadelphia, 7pm-9pm. 

The exact location is TBD but will be somewhere in Center City. I will do my best to find somewhere convenient to the freeways and with decent parking. 

If you've been looking for the best pair of women's riding jeans then look no further because Laura is bringing the best. She also offers fully custom - made to your measurements - jeans.

https://shop.worsewear.com/collections/all

If you've never heard of her jeans, please listen to my latest podcast interview with Laura to find out more details and information. 

This event is limited to 20 Women Riders only. Due to the intimate nature of this event, men are not invited to this party. Next time! 

Event Details and RSVP here: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/804848576349084/

Don't worry, if you don't facebook just post a comment that you plan on attending and I'll make a note. Or drop me a line at gearchic at geemaildotkom with your full name and what you ride so I can add you to my list!

Please check the Facebook Page for location updates, of course I will also post on my social feeds and update this post when the location is finalized. 

Next, I've got reviews, review and reviews ready on my website: 

• Dainese Torque D1 Boots
• Alpinestars Motegi 1 Piece Suit
• Bell Race Star Helmet

Women's Sportbike Rallies 2017

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:

Group Photo

Street School Workshop

Group Rides on Saturday

One of My Workshops

Dinner Friday Night

Dreaming About Riding

Sexy Bike Wash

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

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.

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!

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! 

Another Day with California Superbike School

In July we signed up for our first track day with California Superbike School. 

We had such a great time the first time around, we squeezed in another one before the riding season starts to freeze us out. I learned so much from them the first time, I knew going back for a second round at Level 2 would be well worth it. 

As you can see, there is no knee dragging! Ha. I'm too scared to drop my knee down at this point. But it had nothing to do with that. It all had to do with riding smoother, more consistently and with better focus. For me, it was all about figuring out how to ride more effectively so I could go exactly where I needed to without going too wide, or missing the next corner. But I think as I start to get closer to the edge of my tires that I'll need to start shifting my weight over. And I hope that with more practice next Spring I'll get there. 

When we went to our first day in July, we decided to get more track specific tires that we could still use on the street. We went with Michelin Power RS's and they performed quite well. No tire warmers necessary! But who am I kidding? I'm not going that fast and my bike isn't a track only bike. So I opted for something that could be ridden on the street too, just with a lower tread life than say the Pilot Power 3s. They were ridiculously sticky and it showed. 

One thing I was able to add for this track day was a track helmet! I borrowed the Bell Race Star, their carbon fiber track helmet (just below the Pro Star).  Well conveniently borrowed from work of course. I really enjoyed this helmet on the track. I didn't have the chance to wear it on the street but I have a feeling I would enjoy it there as well. :) Check out my review here.

But by the time my next track day rolls around (likely Spring, ~April) I'm going to have to start improving my body position where my butt is concerned. I struggled with trying to lean more while having my hands much higher than a traditional track bike like the rider behind me. But I feel like I learned so much more about how to manage all the excess real estate of the race track. The corners can be so spread out, figuring out how to focus where you need to without missing the corners can be daunting. 

I feel like they gave me the tools and techniques I would need to ride that track again more consistently and smoothly. But that translates to the street as well, since focusing on where you need to be while keeping track of everything around you is extremely to difficult to juggle especially with all the excess distractions. Riding on the track seems so much easier at this point. 

I'm excited to go to the track and practice what I've learned so far before heading back again for Levels 3 and possibly 4. (They have 4 levels of instruction).

If you've never done a track day ever, I highly recommend doing one with CSS as your first. You'll learn more than you ever knew possible and it'll be one of the best track day experiences you've ever had.  
 

Alpinestars Motegi Stella Women's Race Suit

Riding in the Alpinestars Motegi v1 Stella Suit

Motegi v2 Stella

The newest version of the popular Motegi Suit for women.

As you may remember, I recently completed another track day with California Superbike School on July 31st. My husband and I loved it so much, we decided to sign up again on August 21st. So I thought it was time to get a suit, as I know I will be doing more track days in the Spring. 

So I ordered up Alpinestars' newest women's suit, the Motegi v2. 

I ordered a size 40, which I could never fit with Alpinestars in previous years but my body has changed (although my weight hasn't) in recent months so I'm finding myself needing a 38. 

It's a fantastic suit, the problem for me and women like myself who have very little to offer in terms of curves is that it's too loose now. 

What's really difficult is that when I tried to size into a Dainese 40, I could *barely* get my hips in and then I couldn't zip it shut! My waist/belly was too much. I would have to loose 1-2 inches in my waist minimum to get that to zip and even if I did I couldn't get a back protector in there. If I sized up then I'd have it too loose everywhere else. 

I have a 35" chest and this size 40 easily fits another 2-3 inches in the chest. This 40 now fits like an old 42. if you're looking for a 1 piece with ample waist/belly/bust room, this suit is definitely for you. 

Need room in the thighs? Yep. Need room in the booty? That too. Race suits for women are few and far between. If you google, you'll basically find three companies offering suits:

• Dainese
• Alpinestars
• Spidi

Between these three brands, Alpinestars will offer you the fullest fitments. 

So I did what any woman who only had a week to figure out a suit would do, I tried the previous version, the original Motegi (v1):

Read my fit review of the Motegi v1 suit here.