New, Part 11 in My Experiences With the Women’s Freedom Ride. See the Freedom Ride tab, lower right on this page.
One of the most difficult aspects of being a woman who wants to ride a motorcycle is all the doubt placed in your head by others. We expect this from men, but women can play this, as well. If everyone you meet all day says, “Gee, you look tired”, pretty soon you’re going to feel tired. This is simple auto suggestion.
When people suggest that you can’t learn to ride a motorcycle, it sinks deep into your subconscious and eventually, you may come to believe that you can’t. I’ve met too many women who commented on thinking they couldn’t because (pick one), too old, too heavy, too light, too short, I’m over 35, 40, 50, 60, 70. 70? Yes, women can still learn to ride a big bike at 70. We had a woman on the Women’s Freedom Ride at age 76 and another at 70.
Here’s my point. If you want to do something, you must first believe that you can do it. If you want to learn to ride a motorcycle, create a paper ride permit for yourself. Carry a copy with you and look at it often. Put another copy on the bathroom mirror. Look at it every day. Tell yourself that you WILL have a real one, with your name on it.
If you want to own a motorcycle, or a certain one, do the same thing. Take a picture of it and carry it with you. See yourself, through your own eyes, riding that bike. Close your eyes every night feeling the wind in your hair and enjoy the smells of the country, believing you’ll soon be riding that bike.
Next, take action. Resolve to save up the money to do it. Begin to make a meal planning list for all the meals you’ll serve in the next week. Then go through the kitchen and make a list of the ingredients you’ll need to cook those meals. Write the meals out on the fridge and cross them off as you cook them. This will save you so much money on groceries, you won’t believe it. Take the extra money and stash it. You’ll not only accumulate the down payment, you’ll soon be able to make the payments.
Fix coffee at home, give up that $5 latte every day. Same with lunches. Believe, understand and make it happen. I’ve seen far too many people tell me they have no money, while holding a large Starbucks cup and wearing all designer label clothes with a Coach purse. Truth is, they let money control them.
Finally, when some guy puts you down because you’re riding a “small bike”, ask what he rides. Most of the time these losers only have a Schwinn.
I hope this messages helps some of you achieve a dream, whether it’s being able to ride, buy a bike or go on a long biker trip. If you can believe it, you can really do it. One year ago today, I didn’t own a bike. Let that sink in for a minute.
Now, get out and ride.