Ania is the first
person who’s contacted me and requested to have me post something for
them.
Let’s all give her a nice warm
welcome!
“How I got started
and my biking experiences”
by Ania Todua
Twitter
= https://twitter.com/ania_todua
Tumbler
= http://motorcycleme.tumblr.com/
Google+ = https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AniaTodua
I have been asked this many times and I
always have an answer ready. Mainly,
because I know a majority of these people are quite clueless about motorcycle
riding, especially about female bikers. At the most, some of them have heard of
the biker chicks and that is often a vague concept of girls in skimpy outfits
hanging around bikers and biker gangs for the purpose of looking good. As for
me, nothing can really be farther from the truth. But I’m not here to set the record straight
on this topical issue.
The story is about me and how I became a
biker. My name is Ania and I have been into biking ever since I can remember.
As a child, I mastered the art of riding my bicycle without the training wheels
at three, making me quite an expert on balance and riding skills by the time I
was five. This was perhaps the first indication of how good a rider I would be
later in life. It was in my pre-teens that I
began to dream of my own motorcycle, my first real ride. My parents were very
encouraging and they only suggested that I wear protective gear like jackets helmets etc. while riding and
never hit the speed beyond my control.
My childhood was filled with adventurous
picnics and camping trips, giving me a healthy love for the outdoors. By the
time I was 16 I knew I would never be happy sitting at a desk and within the
four walls of an office space. I was not even excited about my first car, the
way my friends were. I owned a moped then and was chafing at the heels
to own my first real bike. I worked, scrimped and saved, and got it right after
I turned 18. It was an old Ninja 250 and I loved it! I always felt encouraged
by my parents. The only thing they advised me about was to wear proper riding gear.
I think I spent more time on that bike
(and all subsequent ones) than I did anywhere else during that time! I love
everything thing about riding a bike, the pace, the power, and the speed. It makes me feel free and invincible
at the same time. But biking is not just about having fun; you have responsibilities. It is about wearing the
right protective gear and making sure you are a safe rider.
But all this was before I realized what
it meant to be a real biker. For years, I rode everywhere – to work, to visit
my folks, to get my groceries, hang out with
friends, and even to my dates. Needless, to say I wasn’t everyone’s idea of a dream girl, but I have had of my share of fun too! It was about
the time I was 24 that I started taking my bike out for longer weekend trips.
Sometimes, with a friend but mostly alone and having the time of my life.
I got so hooked that I started planning
route maps for the next time I could get away as soon as I was back. It was as
if something out there was calling out to my soul to get out and be a part of
it. Regular life no longer held the same attraction for me and the days became
more mundane than ever, ‘til the next time I was on the road. As fate would have
it, it was on one of these weekend trips that I realized where my real love
lay.
A lazy weekend ride to a nearby State
Park Lake around this time paved the way for a whole new world. I stopped at
the lakeside café and there I came across a
mixed group of bikers, younger than the majority that I have encountered
before. When I say mixed, I mean male and female bikers instead of the usual
posse of male bikers with their old ladies and biker chicks. I guess that’s what
immediately attracted my attention. When they smiled and waved, I did too, and took up their invitation to join them
at their table.
Looking back, that was probably one of
the biggest turning points in my life. I met and actually fell in love with a fellow
group of bikers who loved riding and the great outdoors as much as I did. The only difference was that they were
doing it far more professionally than I was. What had started as a fantasy was
now becoming a reality. We chatted for hours and never once did they belittle
my cute little hobby, as many of my other friends back home did.
And just like that I was no longer alone
and part of a group that understood me and my dreams perfectly. I was welcomed
as a part of the family and shown the many ways I could explore the world with
them. It has been seven years since I met them
and I have not had that dreaded feeling of ennui haunt me ever since then.
Instead, my days are rich and full of plans to ride out for the next big
adventure with my friends. We have had our ups and downs but honestly, life has
never been better.
Yes, I have graduated from my Ninja 250
(which I still have propped up against my garage wall!) to a Yamaha R1 and then
onto my brand new 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 model which is truly a superbike. I love
the power of the bike beneath me as I ride through the alternating smooth and
rocky roads during our many adventures. It is no longer the tame weekend
excursions for me but a repertoire of cross-country road trips that have been
fabulous to say the least.
Has my
experienced thus far slaked the thirst in me? No way. In fact, my wanderlust is
raring to go and explore newer horizons every day. If you were expecting me to
be a femme fatale or my story to be an out of the bounds thrilling one, then I
am sorry to have disappointed you. I am just an ordinary girl who has had the
amazing luck of enjoying some extraordinary adventures with her bike.
But meeting my friends and getting to
know likeminded people like them has been an
added bonus. Especially my girlfriends, though we are really a mixed group. I
know that sounds like a cliché but we are more misunderstood than the regular motorcycle
clubs, so that sort of binds us together even stronger.
MC members are outlaws and their women called
‘old ladies’ or ‘property’ which does not incite much respect from the
non-bikers. They visualize anarchy and immorality even, the latter being so
much a part of the picture we represent as well. Unless, one lives this life we lead, it will be
difficult to truly know who we are. But I am no longer concerned with what the
world thinks when I have many adventures before me and great friends to share
them with. We may not be the ‘one percenters’ but we are special and I am glad I met them.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
And we are all very glad to meet you!
Thank you so much for your story. I hope you continue writing about yourself,
and about your adventures.
