The Women of VFRWorld - Please Check in

Okay, here you go:
http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/46971-Chasing-Corvettes-Tail-of-the-Dragon-October-9-2014

 

Dani, what is a Toady?
John

 

a person who behaves obsequiously to someone important.

synonyms: sycophant, brown-noser, lickspittle, flatterer, flunky, lackey, trained seal, doormat, stooge, cringer; More

Toady for me is that I am an operations manager. Whatever people need, I am the person they go to. It really feels like I am just a lackey or a minion. Yeah, minion. I like that.

 

Hello from Europe
How is everybody doing?

I had never posted until I received the message from Mr Stuka, so after going through the obviously mandatory pic posting :smug: : here I am!

 

I'd like to see the world through your eyes and hear your experiences. I'm not much of a video guy, I figure once I've seen a few videos of the same place I've seen them all.
I like photos and narratives, the pictures are better that way.

 

Also checking in late I'm Misti. I'm a former AMA Supersport racer, current coach with the California Superbike School and with Honda Jr. Red Riders, and columnist for Motorcycle Mojo Magazine. I guest write for a few other magazines including Roadracing World and I run my own riding blog www.motomom.ca I currently have a Yamaha YZF250 for motocross riding with the family on weekends and I guest race a Kayo Mini GP bike occasionally here in Vancouver, Canada. I LOVE my job as a riding coach and enjoy chatting about riding tips and techniques. Looking forward to reading more in this thread soon.

Cheers

 

Ahhhhh thanks Well, if you have any questions about any riding skills or techniques then please just ask away and I'll do my best to answer!

 

Wow Misti, very cool accomplishments! Do you teach at the school when they go to LVMS? I do cornerworking there sometimes... Maybe weve seen each other!! I do remember seeing one female coach a couple years back. Didnt cornerwork last year, but was just out there this past weekend.

 

Hi, Thanks I've been teaching with the school for over TEN years now!!! Holy crap I've been to Vegas tons so maybe we have seen each other! I was supposed to be there this past weekend, ahhhhhhhhh!!! I was so looking forward to it but there were some last min schedule changes and I couldn't go I was looking forward to a little vacay away from my kids and some riding and coaching. I LOVE my job and miss it very much! I used to coach full time with the school going to ALL the dates, I did that for almost 5 years. I haven't been able to do many dates in the last 5 years though since having my kids. It's too hard to get away...I was at the Ridge this year for four days and will hopeful make a few school dates again next year.

How was it over the weekend?

 

I know how life can get in the way of fun. Do you have long darker hair with some grey in it? I went a bunch of times a couple years ago and I swear I remeber a lady coach with long dark hair in a pony tail with some grey streaks.... I really admire you coaches out there! I see you... Leaned over in the turns, turning your body back to look at,the students and give them instructions! Im focused on keeping good lines and looking forward, and your lines are way better than mine, going faster and looking backwards!!! Wow!!

The weekend was good. Unfortunately, i had to call in one crash. First one Ive seen at the CA Superbike School. A cluster of bikes came into the first turn going clockwise. One guy on the inside missed the turn and I dont understand what happened. That IS a place where they place cones for the turn, so he COULD go straight. I just dont understand why he did. The guy next to him on the outside leaned in to turn and slammed right into him. Those two went down and I dont know how they didnt take other riders with them... But thankfull the other riders in the cluster were either on the inside, making the turn, or on the outside, saw what was happening, and stayed going straight, then stopped. Both riders walked away... im pretty sure they were unhurt. We got red flags out fast enough so no one else got caught up in it.... I really hope I never have to make the call "riders down" again. :-(

 

Aw you know I am amazingly tolerant of everyone... And even get in on the laughs!! There are only two on this site that I have ever thought were dickies. You know one already since I mentioned him already. The other was a dicky fairly soon after I arrived on the forum, but we made up. LOL! That one who really wanted a full on sportbike, so spent millions of $$$ on mods.... :doh:

 

Never fun to call in a rider down I have blond hair, no grey (yet So you may be thinking of someone else, Laura maybe? There aren't very many of us female coaches. Maybe I'll see you there next time!

Cheers,
Misti

 

Misti, just curious and no disrespect intended, but do most male riders taking these classes show you less respect or consideration because you're a female? At least at first or without seeing you ride or know your background? I ask because I was talking with a female friend the other day who said that she used to give advice/tips on riding on another forum and a lot of riders would come to her (online) and ask for her opinion, but then when one member found out that she was a female and revealed that to the forum, the seeking of advice/opinion stopped. It doesn't matter to me where the info comes from, if the person giving it is a more experienced/better rider, I'm all ears.

Cheers

 

Good question and no disrespect taken. When I'm coaching at the school I'd have to say that 90% of the riders that are assigned to me as their coach show me the same amount of respect as if they were given a male coach- they seem equally excited to be on the track and ready to learn regardless of the gender of their riding coach. There are about 5% that of male students that maybe give me the eyebrow or look a little concerned or put off (at first) that they landed the "girl" instructor but that quickly fades. And then there are probably another 5% of students that are more direct in letting me know that they aren't pleased with the coach/student pairing and have shown me a great lack of respect UNTIL they have seen me ride. Attitude goes away pretty quickly when your coach (whether male or female) goes flying past you effortlessly (or at least making it look like it is effortless), giving hand signals while flicking the bike into the corner

I've had very few problems with this as a coach at the school.

I'd say that more of the disrespect comes when people see me show up at the race track or for a ride on the street. There is more scepticism then and until people actually see me ride I think they make assumptions based on the fact that I'm female.

It doesn't bother me though, I'm used to it Don't judge a book by it's cover, right? We can all be surprised.

 

I had a male instructor. He was an awesome (to me) rider but a lousy teacher. He would nonchalantly blow by me in corners and either point where he wanted me to turn in or try to get me to give it more throttle. I guess he did the same to his other students. I don't really know because I didn't see him much.

As long as someone is qualified and knows how to teach, sex doesn't matter.

 

Sexism in motorcycling still surprises me. The best rider I know (hands down) is an MSF instructor in GA and just happens to be a woman. She has been feature so many times by Killboy that it just isn't funny. She's not that big of a woman, but she throws her old Connie around like it is a 600 sport bike. Cruiser, crotchrocket, UJM, or dirt... that woman knows her stuff.

And to top it off, she has the most relaxed teaching style. My first trip down to the Deals Gap area for a rally she helped me immensely! Of course, when I first started going to motorcycle forums, EVERYONE knew more than I did and they were of course better riders than I. So it was natural for me to accept she knew what she was talking about.