There is a lot of female riders, and bloggers, my being here doesn't stand out anymore then some of the others. I read blog after blog of happy female riders. Their worlds seem better than mine. I rarely read of struggle when they type. Nothing more then the elements and bickering. Maybe I should attempt to seek out a similar world as my own on the Internet. Maybe I shouldn't.
I feel rather alone here, though I know I have readers. I feel alone online with my experiences. I live in a world full of old bikes, drugs, sex and women that are still treated like property. And the strange thing is, I don't want to trade it in. I live in a world that denies me services and access to what other people can take for granted. We walk into an establishment and are turned away, because of how we ride. We are stared at and whispered about. We watch sadly as mothers pull their children closer to them, or disciplined for waving at us as we ride down their street.
Our small group is lost in the multitudes of scum. We do differ in many areas. Many of us have had jail time, but we have aged nicely. At first glance you would not distinguish us from the other "dirty bikers". This is something we have grown use to, because in fact, once upon a time, we were just that.
I met my husband 12 years ago, I had just turned 18. My first son had died (no fault of my own) was homeless and was using multiple types of drugs and liquor, something I turned to, hoping it would help. My ol' man was deep into meth and cocaine, marijuana and whiskey. We were very typical of the lifestyle. It took another pregnancy for me to snap out of it, and longer for my ol' man. But we have been clean for many many years. (we still drink when the kids are gone for the weekend) But even after our clean up, we still loved the other aspects of the biker lifestyle. Although now my ol' man proclaims that he is just a daddy that happens to have a motorcycle. He can claim that all he wants, but as I look around, he doesn't fit into that mold.
Women being treated like property, or livestock, isn't an uncommon practice in our world. Women do not feel compelled to have their own rides, or know much about what they straddle. I am fortunate to be in love with a man that doesn't feel that way, and I am too stubborn to even be that type of woman. I have always been one of the guys. I cuss, make crude jokes, and fear little from the men around me. I have never witness or have heard about any of the guys we ride with hitting their wives, but laws are laid out, and many times I am the only female on a run. I ride in the rain, while other wives hop into the chase cars, I suffer just as the guys do. And I don't complain.
I am not sure that any of this sets me apart from others. I know that there are other wives that are similar to me. I have had the pleasure of meeting a few. But most of the time, the wives are either meek, or bullish.
oh hell, there are so many other things to say, but here I am rambling about what type of female I am. I live in a macabre world of sex, drugs and antique bikes. I could tell you stories. Things I have seen, things I have lived through, and all in all, I love this life.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Belts
One of the biggest issues I face, is being female and trying to deal with clients and bike shops. I know what is wrong with a bike, either because I was told so by my ol' man, and making a call on his behalf, or working on my basketcase and knowing the exact part I need. But, unfortunately I deal with a lot of men that see me as an ol' Lady, nothing more. "Sorry Sugar tits, I need to see the bike to tell you what you need." Or "I don't like tits telling me what my bike needs." Of course I have to correct them, my nickname does indeed have the word tit in it, but it isn't sugar tits (we won't go into details about what that nick is, here). That usually breaks the ice, gets them laughing and we can move on. If I deal with the same client or shop owner multiple times, they will finally get the clue that I know what I am doing.
On the search for the rear drive belt for my ol' man's shovel, I did indeed decided to try out a new shop. It was closer and never been in there before. Yes, this would be the Kevlar incident I wrote about previously. I know better then to spend that kind of money on a belt. The boy didn't seem to understand that. I did a little calling around and ran into the same problem with a few other shops I have dealt with in the past. I realize that currently work is slow for them, and one shop is pissed that we have taken some of his shovel business away from him. No reasonable dealing with that one.
I finally called a friend that works in one of the better known shops, he was able to get me a belt for more than half of what the other shops kept quoting me. Of course this would have been simpler if my ol' man had made the calls, he would have received the lower quote right off. It has happened before, but I am stubborn and it paid off.
The new belt arrived the other day.
I have counted and recounted the teeth on this belt for the sadistic pleasure of my ol' man.
It is a Carlisle RPP Panther Ultra-cord. We have ran this belt on clients bikes before. No problems, except on those rear wheels too big to actually handle well. They will go snap, not the belts fault. We are very happy with the belt and the price.
Now to get this '73 shovel off the lift.
Belt bought through Custom Chrome.
On the search for the rear drive belt for my ol' man's shovel, I did indeed decided to try out a new shop. It was closer and never been in there before. Yes, this would be the Kevlar incident I wrote about previously. I know better then to spend that kind of money on a belt. The boy didn't seem to understand that. I did a little calling around and ran into the same problem with a few other shops I have dealt with in the past. I realize that currently work is slow for them, and one shop is pissed that we have taken some of his shovel business away from him. No reasonable dealing with that one.
I finally called a friend that works in one of the better known shops, he was able to get me a belt for more than half of what the other shops kept quoting me. Of course this would have been simpler if my ol' man had made the calls, he would have received the lower quote right off. It has happened before, but I am stubborn and it paid off.
The new belt arrived the other day.
I have counted and recounted the teeth on this belt for the sadistic pleasure of my ol' man.
It is a Carlisle RPP Panther Ultra-cord. We have ran this belt on clients bikes before. No problems, except on those rear wheels too big to actually handle well. They will go snap, not the belts fault. We are very happy with the belt and the price.
Now to get this '73 shovel off the lift.
Belt bought through Custom Chrome.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Win Kenny Chesney Tickets!
I have two tickets, courtesy of Rozen Productions for the 2008 Sturgis Rock'N the Rally Show to give away.
How to win? Easy. Starting today, you can email me with your pictures taken on the back of your bike. ( put the word Tickets, in the subject line) They can be of anything, as long as you or your ol' lady were perched on your motorcycle when the camera flashed.
Examples:
On Monday, I will begin to post the photos, and allowing my friends and yours to vote. At the end of the week, the picture with the most votes will win the tickets.
Good Luck.
How to win? Easy. Starting today, you can email me with your pictures taken on the back of your bike. ( put the word Tickets, in the subject line) They can be of anything, as long as you or your ol' lady were perched on your motorcycle when the camera flashed.
Examples:
On Monday, I will begin to post the photos, and allowing my friends and yours to vote. At the end of the week, the picture with the most votes will win the tickets.
Good Luck.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sturgis or Bust
So what the hell is this about? If you really want to go to Sturgis and you can't get a place to sleep, add this widget to you site and you could win;
VIP Package for 4: Camping at Glencoe Campground, VIP Tickets to All Rock'N The Rally Shows, T-Shirts, Food & More
10 pairs of tickets to each Rock'n the Rally Shows with KISS, Kenny Chesney & More
I could use the campground pass.
Check back here in the next few days, and I will have 2 tickets to the Rock'N the Rally show to give away. Who wins? Who do you get to see? You'll find out soon.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
May Daze
This will be my first year attending May Daze in OKC. My ol' man went last year. (yes, I do let him go off by himself) We will be playing follow the leader with a couple other wrenches. It's nice showing up to certain events with known wrenches, talk about VIP treatment, ha!
First, we need to get a belt for the shovel or we aren't going anywhere. Since the ol' man was laid off, we have had several people from that shop offer up their discount cards for his use. That will help.
Anyone else planning on going to May Daze?
First, we need to get a belt for the shovel or we aren't going anywhere. Since the ol' man was laid off, we have had several people from that shop offer up their discount cards for his use. That will help.
Anyone else planning on going to May Daze?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Top 100 Bike Blogs
Looks like I am listed on Honda's Motorcycle Blogs top 100. If you haven't seen it yet, go check it out. There are some great blogs listed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
