Friday, May 18, 2012

Wind in my hair, I feel part of everywhere.



Ah, Eddie Vedder.  He really knows how to poetically explain just about everything.   Bullying?  Check. Greed?  Check.  Feeling the wind in your hair while you ride a motorcycle?  Check.

Anyone who has ever been on a boat knows this feeling very well.   You really do feel part of everywhere, that is, until the hair gets in your face and you can't see.  Then everything goes black and you feel part of nothing.  And then you hit a tree and become a part of everything.  Literally.


This is what riding with the wind in your
hair would look like.


So, how do bikers avoid this?  It's simple.  They put their hair back.   Whether it's in a ponytail, pigtails, a braid, or a biker's braid - all that matters is that it's pulled back in some fashion.  Otherwise it will get in your face, distract you, and well, we all know what happens next.

My boyfriend taught me this lesson the first time I rode his fender.  He has very long hair, but he doesn't have wispies or baby hair or any other rogue pieces of hair that can get in his face even when his hair is secured.  I, on the other hand, had little bald spots on the side of my head until I was 14, when by the sheer grace of God some baby hairs finally decided to sprout.  I waited patiently for them to mature.  It's been 16 years. I'm still waiting.

Now, before you state the obvious, I have a child-sized head, which means wearing a du-rag (or bandana, for those of you not raised in the inner city) is out of the question.   Cue my friend Jess, who is a biker, has a small head like me AND has those cute but highly annoying hair wispies.


This is Jess.  Biker babe and domestic goddess.


Now, Jess isn't just a biker. Oh no.  She's also a computer whiz, techie and all around domestic goddess.    Basically she's all sorts of awesome. When I mentioned how frustrated I was with my little wispies - which can be tolerable as a passenger, but not as as an actual rider - she suggested I get a headband.  And then she offered to make me one out of some scrap pieces of fabrics she had lying around the house.  Told you she was awesome.

Within a week of our conversation, I received her gift: a lovely headband with a black and white flower print on one side and a multicolored striped pattern on the other side.  A dream come true for a girl who doesn't really have a favorite color.


The kickass headband Jess made me.



Because I've never actually used this type of headband before, I was a little confused.  Does it wrap around my head? Is it supposed to hang low?  Can I tie it in a knot?  Can I tie it in a bow?

After talking to Jess, I found out the obvious answer.  Apparently you tie it around your head and then tie the ends around your ponytail to make sure it stays in place.   Sounds simple enough.  And when you take your helmet off, you won't look like you just got electrocuted.  Not like I would know what that is like....

So, thank you Jess, for making me this beautiful headband, shipping it to me across the country, and explaining to me how to use it.  I will wear it with pride, assuming of course I can actually follow your instructions.


Friday, May 4, 2012

The Force Is Strong With This One


Lady riders- guess what?!  Today is our day!  Ok, it's not really my day just yet because I'm still learning to ride, but it IS a day celebrating women riders.  So to all my lovely biker-chic friends, Happy International Female Ride Day! (not to be confused with international ride female day, which is a whole other "holiday" entirely.)


I don't ride with lipstick on, btw


And if that wasn't enough excitement for you, today is also Star Wars Day!  Now, if only my Princess Leia outfit was made of riding grade fabrics...



Get it?


Speaking of female riders, I recently met an awesome woman named Ann who is about 70 years old and rides just about every day.  And not just to the grocery store.  This gal rides from her home in the Bronx to Niagara Falls and back.  She calls that Sunday. I call that awe-inspiring.


Ann in all her glory. Told you she was awesome.

When I told Ann that I recently got my motorcycle permit and was  learning to ride, her entire face lit up. She proceeded to tell me that when she was younger "only bad girls rode motorcycles."  Because of that stigma, Ann didn't learn to ride until she was 50.  It's hard to believe a woman who literally lives to ride spent the vast majority of her life not riding.  She even offered to ride with me once I get my license.  All because I'm a fellow lady rider.  Well, not quite yet, but I will be...soon.  And it was that concept - the mere idea that I'm even attempting to join her club - that made her smile. You would have thought I just gave her a present.

Come to think of it, perhaps I did.