Written by:
Nancy MacDonald
Editors Note: This is the second in a seven part series by the SPEED Girls as they attended the Cornerspin School for a weekend of riding instruction. Nancy is a Director of Marketing at SPEED.
Nancy’s day...
"Keep your eye on where you want to go. That's where the bike will take you! Stop looking at the blue barrel and you won't hit it!" Neale yells out at me as I come around the curve for the third time in a row trying not to hit the blue barrel in the next turn. Within seconds I start to feel the bike get squirrelly, and even though I try to steer away from it, I head straight for the barrel. I grind my teeth and brace for what is about to happen. As I hit the dirt and the bike lands on top of me, I start laughing hysterically. I wasn't going fast enough for anything to really happen.
Little did I know my mind was going to be my biggest obstacle, not the bike. (Photo: SPEED)
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Neale yells, "Get up and try again!!" He patiently tells me for the 4th time, that if I stop looking at the blue barrel he promises I’ll stop hitting it. I get up, take a deep breath, crank the bike, and go over the little bump on the dirt track and head back into the turn. I was determined not to hit that big blue thing in the middle of the turn; this time I was going to look where I wanted to go, point the bike in that direction and hold my breath. This time I make it and as a big smile comes over my face, I hear a couple of the instructors yell out in excitement. Success! And to think that just a few hours ago I had never even cranked a bike.
Ever since I started working at SPEED and attended my first motorcycle race - MotoGP at Laguna Seca, I have wanted to learn how to ride a bike. Over the last three years as I have become more involved in the motorcycle events and culture, the desire to experience riding on my own - not on the back of someone else's bike, made its way to the top of my priority list. When the opportunity arose for the women at SPEED to learn in a women's only class at Cornerspin, there was no question that I was going to participate. Besides, it is very rare, in a male dominated sport, that the women working at SPEED get the opportunity to take part in a female only motorsports experience. Learning how to ride a motorcycle in a non-threatening and comfortable environment, at my own pace and safely, free of testosterone and competition was very appealing. Ironically, all of the instructors were male - a small group of 4 to 5 guys that were used to teaching skilled riders how to take the corners and slide on a dirt track. It was rare for this group of instructors to go back to the basics and teach people how to start (and brake for that matter) the bike and how to throttle without giving yourself whiplash. Half of us had some riding experience on road bikes; others were complete motorcycle virgins, while two of the women had never driven a stick shift. Thank god that wasn't me. I was nervous enough.
