Speaking of pain, here are the latest SVS updates:
> 1. What is your name? (Please give first name, at least) Carolyn Boyce > 2. How old are you? 23, birthdate 4/30/1977 > 3. What is your profession? Software Engineer for a small startup company in Palo Alto, CA. I write web applications and muck around with the user interface and databases. > 4. What are other hobbies or interests you have? Lots! I play the viola in a local community orchestra, I do mechanical work on my motorcycle and my friends' bikes (in addition to riding), I play computer games, I'm learning poi (http://www.juggling.co.nz), I'm learning to snowboard, I'm learning how electricity works and love playing with a little Radio Shack kit that I got for Xmas...I just love learning new things, so I always have about 20 hobbies at any time. ;) > 5. Are you married, single, divorced, widowed? Single. > 6. What is the highest educational level you've completed? I have Bachelor's Degrees in both Computer Science and French > 7. What is your basic income level (if married, combined with spouse)? [Note: sorry, i'm not posting this one on my web site. ;)] > 8. What kind of bike do you ride? I have a 1986 Honda Nighthawk 450, and I'm buying a 2001 Suzuki SV650S next week. :) > 9. Do you ride alone: frequently, occasionally, rarely? Frequently; I commute to work on my bike every day that I can. And of course it goes without saying that I take the longest route possible that I can get away with. ;) I also like to go on rides by myself when I need to think or just be alone for a while. > 10. Do you ride in groups: frequently, occasionally, rarely? Also frequently. My boyfriend and best friend both ride, so I usually go out with at least one of them at least once a week. > 11. Do you regularly ride with a specific person (boyfriend, husband, > friend, relative, etc.)? I'm lucky enough to have lots of friends who ride. :) I ride with my boyfriend a lot because, well, we both love to ride. My best (female) friend just bought her first bike as well, so we do lots of short rides together. She's getting so much better so quickly now, though, which is awesome, because that means we can start doing longer rides together now too. :) > 12. Do you attend rallies, conferences, bikes shows, etc.? If > so, which ones? I went to the CycleWorld International Motorcycle Show this past November when it was in northern California. That's the only one I've been to, but I had the best time. :) If the AMA does another Women in Motorcycles conference in Ohio, I'll probably try my hardest to ride to that. > 13. Do you belong to a group or club? I just joined Women on Wheels, and I belong to AMA. > 14. Was the charitable projects sponsored by the club an important reason > for joining? On a subconscious level, I suppose so. :) It didn't really enter into my thought process while I was deciding to join, but it was very important for me to belong to organizations which further the cause of women in motorcycling, but did so in a friendly and community-oriented way. > 15. Do you use your bike mainly for recreation or commuting (or a mix)? Both! :) I commute every day that I can (i.e. it's not raining and my bike isn't in a million pieces in the garage due to my most recent mechanics kick), and I also try to go on "fun" rides at least a couple of times a month. > 16. How many miles do you average a year? I'm not sure yet. ;) I got my bike license in October '99, but didn't really start riding on a daily basis until July '00. I've put around 3000 miles on my bike in the past 4 months, and I intend to do a lot of riding this summer. > 17. When did you start riding up front? I took the MSF course in August '00, and got my license in October '00. > 18. Why did you start riding? Ah, there's the $64,000 question! :) I've always loved motorcycles (more on that in the next question), and I've always been overly-independant, so I guess that it was only a matter of time before I learned to ride. My mom had always forbidden me to ride on the back of her cousin's bike (the only "real" motorcycle I'd ever been around), so it wasn't until I met my current boyfriend that I actually rode pillion for the first time. Poor guy; once he let me on the backseat, I never let him drive us anywhere in his car ever again. I think I had a permanent grin, and obsession for bikes, from that night forward. It was never a question after that of whether or not I'd get my own bike; it was just a question of when the MSF class would have a slot for me. :) > 19. What influenced you to ride? I grew up in Milwaukee, WI, so Harleys were definitely part of my culture. My neighbor, who was approximately 12 years older than me, graduated from college with degrees in business and German, and immediately went to work for Harley-Davidson. She spent most of my formative years being paid by Harley to tour Germany on one of their motorcycles to promote their newest lines. That, coupled with the fact that I was raised to be extremely independant and self-sufficient pretty much guaranteed that after I grew up, I'd look back to motorcycling as a representation of that freedom and independance that's been valued through my whole life. Sometimes it seems like Peter (my boyfriend) influenced me to ride, since I took the MSF class after meeting him and riding pillion with him, but I don't think that's really accurate. I think that he was able to see the spark that lit up in my eyes after I'd remembered my childhood want for a motorcycle, and he encouraged that for me. > 20. Why didn't you start riding before? It never occured to me. That seems funny, doesn't it, since motorcycles are now so engrained in my personality and philosophies as much as anything else. I guess that between my childhood memories of Harleys and my adult acquisition of my first bike came a lot of mental soul-searching and trying to figure out who I was, and what I wanted, and what I valued. Once I'd matured and realized (mostly!) who I am and what's important to me, the motorcycle just sort of naturally fell into place. It seemed incredibly obvious. > 21. Has your perceptions of women bikers changed? Why or why not? Not really, because I never really had any perceptions of women bikers. :) When I learned that my neighbor was riding for Harley, I don't remember anyone making a point that she was female, so it never occurred to me that it might be unusual. My mom was always insistant that I challenge female sterotypes, so I saw a lot of examples of women doing "non-women" things. I suppose that if anything, it makes me a little annoyed to see women riding pillion. It really pisses me off to see women all dolled-up, wearing no protective gear at all (except a helmet, since CA is a helmet state) on the back of their boyfriend's bike. It makes me angry that the man didn't insist that his girlfriend/wife wear *something* that would save her in a crash, and it makes me furious that *she* didn't insist on it. > 22. What are your perceptions about other women riders? Well, I already talked about the pillion riders -- if I see a woman in good gear on the back of a bike, I figure she enjoys it and cares enough to be protected, and that's fine with me. But in the scenario that I mentioned above, I assume that she's only on the guy's bike to make him like her or to prove something. That's probably not fair of me. My perceptions of women who ride their own bikes are that they are strong, independant, beautiful women. I want to meet them all, and shake all of their hands, and say honestly to them, "you're amazing. You're challenging society and you're winning. Keep doing what you love." I suppose it's somewhat ironic that I don't always see myself that way at all. > 23. What do you like about riding? I love being in control of the machine. I love knowing that I could look the other way or sneeze or scratch an itch, and the bike will go somewhere else (not that that's a good thing!). I love knowing that the oil and the gas and the bearings and the levers are all there in/on the bike because *I* put them there. I love doing my own maintenace and mechanics. I love having every little thing to do with this machine. It's like a pet to me. I take care of it, and it takes care of me. > 24. What do you dislike about riding? I don't like it that other drivers don't pay any attention to motorcyclists. I hate having to pay 100% attention every minute that I'm on my bike, because the first time that I don't, there'll be a car there waiting. > 25. Have you experienced women riders to be different from > women in general? I've never been very close to many women, because, well, frankly, I don't like a lot of women. Women in general to me seem to lack an element of pro-activity that I absolutely require in myself and all my friends. I hate it when women wait for someone else to do something for them. Women bikers are generally not like this. You don't get very far as a motorcyclist if you're not pro-active and can't think on the fly and can't concentrate and can't take responsibility for yourself. You have to be at least a little bit spunky to be a motorcycle rider, and doubly so for women. There has to be a little fire somewhere that says, "I want to go for this, and I'm going to master it, and it's going to become a part of me." > 26. Have you experienced prejudice or discrimination in any of >>>these areas: >>>> (a) Wanting to ride in the first place? >>>> (b) Riding? >>>> (c) Socializing at bike rallies, etc.? >>>> (d) Buying a bike? >>>> (e) Servicing a bike - is it better or worse than women and auto >>>>mechanics? I've never noticed any prejudice in any of the above. There have been many, many times when Peter and I have been out somewhere, and a stranger has noticed our helmets and asked Peter directly what sort of bike he has. Each time this happens, one of the two of us will mention that I have my own bike, and each time, the questioner (always male) will react in surprise, as in, "oh, you're on two *separate* bikes?" I don't necessarily see this as beinga n insult to me -- no one's ever insinuated that I *shouldn't* be on my own bike, but it seems very surprising nonetheless. Same thing with servicing -- I do the maintenance and repair for both of our bikes, and the salespeople at the parts stores always approach Peter first when we go in, and are surprised when he tells them that I'm the mechanic of the couple. So, bottom line: lots of surprise, but no negative reactions. Most people smile and say that they think it's great when they find out that I ride. > 27. What do you think the general society perception is of women riders? I think that when most people think of women riders, they conjure up the thought of the leather-clad biker babe on the back of her man's Harley. I don't honestly think that most of society considers the fact that a lot of women ride their own bikes (otherwise, there'd be no explanation for the repeated surprise that I mentioned in the previous question). It's hard for me to project what most people would think, since I live (and ride) in an area of the country where people are more liberal and women frequently involve themselves in male-dominated activities (computer programming springs to mind, probably because I'm a computer programmer. ;) ). If I were to ride in my hometown back in Wisconsin, I'm sure it would be a different story. > 28. Why do you think more women don't ride? Honestly, I think it's the same as the answer to the previous question -- I think that most *women* don't realize that they could ride their own bike. I think that it's very easy for women to take the role of caretaker, and their immediate reaction to motorcycling is "but someone/myself could get hurt!". There's a very engrained tendency in women to both want to shield themselves and others from risk, and to not challenge the status quo. This combination makes it difficult for women to see motorcycling as an acceptable hobby for themselves (or for their husbands/children). > 29. Has there been any more widespread effect on your life from riding up > front? Just what I've been saying throughout -- motorcycling is my physical manifestation of a deep desire to be different and independant. Since I started riding and working on my bike, I've become calmer, more tolerant, more relaxed. Before I started riding, my control-freak nature was frequently taken out on those around me -- it stressed me out to have friends be late, or to have plans change last minute, or even to have someone be better than me at something. Motorcycling has given me the chance to have a hobby that I can do alone (thus satisfying my desire for independance) or with others, and it's a hobby that allows me to have complete control over something. I determine where the bike goes, how fast it goes there, and the parts I've put in it determine how *well* it gets there. :)