Part 2: Impressions from the 2009 AMA Women's Conference

I attended these seminars at the AMA Women’s Conference:

Solo Riding and Touring

Survive Institute

Dual Sport and Adventure Riding

Accident Scene Management, Part 1

Pick up your own bike

I didn’t do any demo rides. Honestly, I was generally dingy from the altitude and, I was riding with a sprained right ankle. I figured I was tempting fate enough already, I didn’t want to push my luck on a bike I didn’t already own.

I recommend the Survive Institute to everyone. This presentation is a “bring the house down” experience that leaves you educated, empowered and grinning from ear-to-ear. The content is not politically correct, not what law enforcement tells you, not what martial arts instruction tells you, not what your parents and teachers tell you, and even so the message resonates down in the belly as truth you won’t hear from anyone else.

The Accident Scene Management seminar was one segment from a full course for motorcyclists for how to manage the scene of a motorcycle crash in particular, but any accident scene in general. The content of the segment I attended was outstanding. I hope to find a local class so that I can get the rest of the course material.

There were two places where women could learn to pick up their own bike, in the “marketplace” (where the vendor booths were located) and the parking lot where the demo rides were staging. In the marketplace there was a lot of whooping, cheering and clapping going on as one woman after another succeeded in raising a lying-down Harley to a standing position. At the Progressive Insurance booth in the parking lot I met Sue Slate, the National Programs Chair of the Women’s Motorcyclist Foundation. I asked if they might use my bike for the “pick up your own” demonstration in the afternoon. She asked what I was riding and broke into a grin when I told her – she’s not much bigger than me and rides a bike taller than mine. Reading my mind she asked if I needed to wait until the afternoon. “Umm, no, sooner is good.”

With my bike lying on its side on a sleeping bag, on a down-hill slant, I was shown this method, then it was my turn to try. There was one spotter at either end of my bike giving me directions and encouragement. I could smell how nervous I was. It took a few tries to find the right leverage point, I started too low on both tries. Once my butt was in the right place it took some leg muscle and mental focus but the bike came up. Finding the kickstand with your heel when facing away from the bike was nerve wracking – my foot knows where to go but from this orientation my foot had no clue where that kickstand was and, being nervous, I was sure that looking down ensured that the bike will go down. Eventually I found the kickstand with some verbal coaching from the spotters. I was also shown how to turn around while holding up the bike so that my shoulders would be facing the handle bars which would give my foot a more familiar angle. Again the trick was to lean into the bike with your hip.

I succeeded in raising the bike twice. I didn’t try a third time because the effort to press the bike up moved the cuboid and navicular bones in the foot attached to the sprained ankle in a way that aggravated the sprain. Sue was non-plussed when I told her why I didn't want to try a third time. "Well, a sprained ankle isn’t a far-fetched scenario for a motorcycle rider, you gotta learn how handle to these things." Nor had she blinked when someone pointed out that the bike was lying down on a downhill slant. "She might as well experience that now." I love it, a practical, plain-spoken woman - I found her magnetic and magnanimous.

I had to stand still for a few moments and let the experience sink in. I rode away from parking lot both dazed and dingy - heavens above, I did it, I picked up my own GS! Once my ankle heals I think this is something worth practicing a few times in my own garage.

Solo Riding and Touring

Once people get past the idea that I like riding by myself, then come the rest of the questions:

“What will do you do if you get into mechanical trouble?”

“What if the bike falls down, can you get the bike up by yourself?”

“What if the bike falls down and you’re stuck under it?”

“What if you get lost?”

“Aren’t you worried about creepy men figuring out that you are riding alone?”

“Won’t you get lonely?”

“How will I know you’re okay?”

“What if you are injured badly enough to need emergency care? How will you (and the bike) get home?”

“What if you die?”

Let’s take these one at a time. My comments include what I’ve been doing out of paranoia and what I learned from the panel of Carla King, moto-blogging pioneer and world traveler, Sarah Shilke, street rider turned amateur off-road racer , and Alice Sexton, world traveler, vintage road racer and president of the Women’s International Motorcycle Association.

“What will do you do if you get into mechanical trouble?”

If you’re Carla King, you know how to fix just about anything.

In my case, I get my bike serviced a month before I take a trip – I tell the mechanic that I’m preparing for a long ride. Don't have the service done just before you leave, there won’t be time to discover (and fix) something like a poorly seated crush ring, or something else that might not have been put back together quite right.

I also practice plugging a tire – it never fails to amaze me how much strength it takes to ream out the opening for the plug – and, the insertion device is not intuitive – if I don’t practice using it I just know I’ll be cursing at myself on the side of the road as it is getting dark and the mosquitoes descend.

Know how to do a TCLOCK check and do it.

Subscribe to a road service. I have BMW’s road service.

Join a group that has a network through the area you'll be traveling. I’m a member of BMW Owners of America which provides me with a network of people who will help even a lone wolf rider in trouble.

The best tip was to carry the bike’s service manual on the bike so that if the best you do is get the bike to a shade tree mechanic, that person might be able to figure out what to do from the manual.

If all else fails, get help to load the bike in to a UHaul and drive yourself home on four wheels.

“What if the bike falls down, can you get the bike up by yourself?”

See “Pick Up Your Own” above. [Grin] And I pray that I don’t lay it down on loose gravel (deprives you of good footing) when I’m riding solo.

“What if the bike falls down and you’re stuck under it?”
This would be a problem; it has happened to me. I was stuck in a parking lot sitting on my butt with my foot pinned by the bike until someone came along lifted the bike up one inch so I could slide my foot out. Allan Karl, (WorldRider), says that based on his personal experience, a solo rider never really rides alone, there are always people who will appear if you need help.

“What if you get lost?”
I can get lost in my own back yard. I can’t find my way out of a paper bag in my own back yard. I uploaded the wrong route into my own GPS. When I get flustered, I can’t read a map. If I calm down I will figure out how to read the map. If I keep using the GPS I’ll learn how to use it properly. I have the BMW Owners book of kind people and a cell phone. I’m female, my pride doesn’t suffer when I have to ask for directions.

“Aren’t you worried about creepy men figuring out that you are riding alone?”

Here’s where attending the Survive Institute seminar was justification for the entire conference fee. One of the main points was that we teach our kids not to talk to strangers. Here at this conference, what are 1,000 conference attendees doing? Talking to strangers, only as adults we call it “networking”. And when I have to ask for directions, aren’t I talking to a stranger? Survive Institute recommends reframing the caution to, “Don’t talk to creeps”. Now that makes more sense; we all know that gut level feeling we get when somebody is creepy.

From my own experience I know that I’m less than attractive after a few hundred miles – helmet hair for sure, sometimes blood shot eyes, too.

The affirmation from the seminar was, most guys take one look at a solo female rider and think, “Jeez, I’m not messing with her.”

From my martial arts training experience I know that you can learn to turn on the “Don’t even think about talking to me” vibe.


“Won’t you get lonely?”
No. Do you know the book, “Leave Me Alone I’m Reading”? I should get a t-shirt printed, “Leave Me Alone I’m Riding”. Time alone with oneself and nature is precious.

“How will I know you’re okay?”

I sent text messages to my sister, one friend and to Peter at the end of each riding day, The format of the message was simple, “Safe at (name of town)”.

From the seminar I learned about the Spot personal locator, - this very cool device enables you to designate people that you want to be able to track your progress. It allows you to send three types of messages, "I’m safe" (e.g., at the end of the day), "I need assistance" (non-emergency), and "I need emergency help".

Carla King uses Twitter to keep her large fan-base apprised of her adventures.

“What if you are injured badly enough to need emergency care? How will you (and the bike) get home?”
I have a policy with MASA , a medical airlift service, because they will take care of me and my bike. For this trip to Colorado I took out a short term policy with MASA – it was cheaper than the full year subscription that I have had in the past.

Another emergency airlift service provider that I’ve seen mentioned in the motorcycle community is MedJet.

I learned from the Accident Scene Management seminar that my carefully composed summary of everything a medical person might need to know about me is useless unless the document is on my person. If the document is in your tank bag, it is useless because the tank bag doesn’t go with you to the hospital. What goes with you are the clothes you are wearing when they put you on the gurney. So, my DNR and the medical summary (name, age, blood type, allergies, name of doctor, names of emergency contacts, medications I need to take, medical insurance policy number, MASA account number and phone number) now live in ziplock bag (double bagged) in the inside pocket of my riding jacket.

There's also RoadID, a small dog tag that you can wear around your neck, wrist or ankle. RoadID engraves your critical-to-know information on the tag.

“What if you die?”
Dying is something that is eventually going to happen to all of us. I’d rather die doing something I love to do than go to my grave wishing. My family has copies of my Living Trust – and my bike is paid off.

On the lighter side, here are some other tips that the panel came up with:

If you decide to bring your bike into your motel room with you, don’t block the door with the bike – in case of a fire you don’t want to lose precious time moving the bike.

Join riding clubs – use the club networks as a way to have a place to stay, a way to have people know when you’ll be in their town, find people who know the local roads.

Wear all the gear all the time (ATGATT)

If you are just starting out riding solo, consider taking roads that are well-traveled. This doesn’t mean you have to take the main highways, there are plenty of well-traveled two-lane roads.

Keep water, electrolyte replacement or EmergenC and snacks in your tank bag – its easy to avoid fatigue from dehydration or lack of sustenance.

Keep cash on you – credit and debit card readers sometimes can’t read your card, or, your bank may put a hold on your card thinking its been stolen (this has happened to me – it is hard to get mad at the bank for doing this, I’d rather have to call them than run the risk of identity theft).

If you need to leave your bike, leave it in a visible well-populated place like right in front of a fruit stand – buy some fruit and ask the shop keeper if he/she would keep an eye on your bike. They will also be aware of you.

If you are camping at a campground, tell the camp office that you are traveling alone. They will put you in a safe location.

Here is the Iron Butt Association's list of best practices for distance riders. Most Iron Butt riders ride solo because no one in their right mind will ride with someone who is in the throes of this kind of obsession.

Trust your gut – if you have to make a choice trust your inner voice of reason.

The Solo Riding seminar was given several times over the course of the conference. Based on the screaming laughter audible through the conference center walls, each presentation was better than the previous one. I’m hoping that Carla, Sarah, and Alice will compile a list of their ideas and the contributions from the different audiences and post it on their web sites.

* * *

The AMA says there were 800 pre-registered attendees and around 200 walk-ins.

As I was getting ready to leave the conference the husband of the rider of the big Yamaha cruiser parked next to me asked if he could ask about my bike while I was packing up. I don’t know how many of the attendees were husbands/boyfriends/family members but I was surprised to see quite a few men. The Yamaha husband and I talked for nearly half an hour. He said there was more helpful information at this women’s conference than any of the “regular” AMA conferences he had attended. He was impressed with how the women generously shared all their knowledge and experience. In particular he had attended the seminar on “Making Your Bike Fit You” where he heard questions that he asserted men would never ask for fear of appearing inadequate. He implied that had a woman asked the question, the answer coming back from most men would have had an underlying patronizing tone. No, really? His questions had to do with how a 5’3” 120 pound female with a 29” inseam was riding a 1200 GS. He was in love with German engineering but not particularly tall - he had simply assumed that riding a GS was a far-fetched dream. I told him everything I could think of that was relevant and encouraged him to go test ride the three models (650-twin, 800, 1200) of GS bikes BMW had available for demo rides. Once the fear of receiving a condescending response was lifted, this guy released a flood of inquiries that revealed glimpses into long repressed dreams.

After he left I recalled that one of the spotters who helped me learn to pick up my GS was a guy, Pete from Marin, a kind, tall, lanky fellow riding a BMW K model. It didn’t occur to me at the time to tell him that I appreciated the way he spoke to me – not a trace of patronization – just encouragement and complete belief that I was going to get that GS off the ground, solo.