Black Bikers Experience

AMA Women Motorcycling Conference,women riders – Women Riders Now – Motorcycling News & Reviews.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Watch the Entire Electric Motorcycle Grand Prix Right Here (wired.com)
• Warthog Racing Is Racing to the Races . . . Join Now and Live Your Dreams!! (motocrosspress.blogspot.com)
• Fans Will Get Up Close and Personal With the World’s Fastest Racers, Thanks to Open Pits at Hangtown (motocrosspress.blogspot.com)

Popularity: unranked [?]

Two African-American female bikers are becoming leaders in a traditionally all-male motorcycle world.
  

Marian Peterson has defied gender roles her whole life.
  

As a little girl, she had a train set that outmatched any owned by the boys she knew.
As a young woman, she was the only female to compete on her local horse racing team, the L.A. Jayhawks.
And by the time she reached her mid-20s, Peterson — more commonly known as “Miss Showtime” — was one of the few black women motorcyclists in Los Angeles.
  

Miss Showtime said “When I first started riding I was not on the bike set,” now 64. Instead, she rode motorcycles independently of a club, later becoming affiliated with male riding groups like the Chosen Few MC, who took her under their wing. “Some of the guys felt intimidated because I’m a woman, and by my skills riding.”
  

THAT’S ‘MISS’ TO YOU — Marian “Miss Showtime” Peterson has been riding motorcycles for approximately 40 years. Currently the road captain for “The Magnificent Seven,” an all-male motorcycle club, she has earned the respect of male motorcyclists “by behaving like a lady rather than mimicking the behavior of men.”
  

Mostly self-taught, Showtime is now the road captain of the all-male motorcycle club the Magnificent Seven, a feat indicative of how much respect she has in the riding world. Showtime is also one of the elite black motorcyclists featured in the California African American Museum’s exhibit Black Chrome, which showcases the contributions African Americans have made to motorcycle culture. The exhibit will run through April 12 at the museum, which is in Exposition Park, just a few miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
  

As a black woman in the motorcycle world, Showtime arguably faced twice the challenges that her male counterparts did. When Showtime won a street race against two male competitors, she had to be very humble and coy, so as not to upset them.
  

She told her competitors that she had no idea she was racing them. “I was just trying to keep up,” she recalls telling them. Showtime said that she has managed to earn the respect of male motorcyclists by behaving like a lady rather than mimicking the behavior of men.”Some women will go out and put on their gear and put on their bike, and they’re not the same lady,” Showtime said. “Guys respect ladies.”
  

Showtime also had to exercise caution when she bought a Harley-Davidson in 1999. That famed brand of motorcycle has traditionally been the most sought after by members of riding clubs. In contrast, machines made by Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki are derisively referred to as “rice burners” by bike riders. “They will not admit it, but their dream is to get a hog,” Showtime said of motorcyclists who ride machines other than Harleys. So, when she was able to buy a Harley-Davidson, or hog, some of the male riders thought, “I was stepping on their toes. I’m becoming equal to them.”
  

But times have changed, Showtime said. “Females are riding. They’re riding hogs.”
  

Annett “Brown T. Sugar,” circa 2001, on her 2000 Harley-Davidson Softail Springer.
  

Al “Sugar Bear” Meyers considers Showtime to be a “real rider.” Building bikes for more than 37 years has made Sugar Bear an icon in the motorcycle world. The industry superstar owns Sugar Bear Choppers in Gardena.
  

“She gets the same respect as any man in that organization,” Sugar Bear said of Showtime and members of the Magnificent Seven. “A lot of male clubs will not allow a woman in their club, so the fact that she is in this club and is the road captain is a stamp of respect.”
  

As road captain, Showtime directs the members of the club when they’re on the asphalt. She can set the driving speed for the riders and initiate lane changes. In addition to the Magnificent Seven Motorcycle Club, Showtime was voted into a group for older riders called 50 Plus, which is made up of riders from 30 different clubs. Traditionally, the organization is all-male.
  

Showtime believes she has been welcomed by all-male black motorcycle clubs “because of my status on the bike set,” she said, referring to the motorcycling world. “Now, I’m a living legend.”
  

Showtime follows in the footsteps of black female motorcycling pioneers such as Bessie B. Stringfield, who, starting in the 1930s, travelled by motorcycle alone through each American state (there were 48 states in The Union at the time). Back then, many black riders were introduced to motorcycle riding during their service in the armed forces.
  

Despite the long history African Americans have of riding motorcycles, the contributions blacks have made to motorcycle culture were not always acknowledged.
  

For instance, a black man named Ben Hardy & Cliff Vaughs played key roles in designing the bikes featured in the film “Easy Rider.” Sugar Bear, who has worked with Hardy, also faced blatant discrimination. Motorcycle magazines wanted to feature his bikes without including a picture of him so white readers wouldn’t be put off.
  

“White bikers and black bikers are in two separate worlds,” Showtime said. She credits the 2003 film “Biker Boyz” for exposing black motorcycle culture to the mainstream. It’s Showtime’s belief that the media doesn’t show black motorcyclists engaging in bike runs and other activities, as it does for white motorcyclists.
According to her, many of the crew members on the “Biker Boyz” set didn’t realize that black motorcyclists even existed. And black women motorcyclists have yet to garner the attention their male peers have.
  

Annette “Brown T. Sugar” Collins has helped to bring focus to black women riders. A decade ago, she established the Hawg Divas, which she and “Miss Showtime” say is the Los Angeles area’s first black female motorcycle club. The club, like Brown T. Sugar, has experienced its share of challenges. Similar to Showtime, Brown T. Sugar mostly taught herself how to ride. She was inspired to do so 20 years ago, after her then-husband rode her on the back of his motorcycle several times. When Brown T. Sugar decided to ride herself, both her husband and other family members reacted with skepticism.
  

“My dad told me I was crazy,” she remembered. Many tried to dissuade her from riding. They would say, “‘I know someone, and they got hit on a motorcycle, and they died,’ ” Brown T. Sugar said. Despite the fears of her friends and family, she excelled in riding. She even beat her husband at the time in a race to Terminal Island, which sits between Long Beach and Los Angeles harbors. “I whooped his butt … The man was so embarrassed,” she said.
  

She joined an all-male motorcycle club, the L.A. Deuces. To be accepted, Brown T. Sugar said she had to show that she was unafraid and that the men would not be able to leave her behind.
  

She ultimately started a club for women because men didn’t always appreciate the stylistic components of riding: How gloves fit, how hair is styled under a helmet, and so on, is important to women riders but not so significant to men riders, Brown T. Sugar believes. Today, a few all-female riding clubs exist in the Los Angeles area.
  

“I guess women got tired of being on the back (of motorcycles),” Brown T. Sugar said. “You’re not in control when you’re back there. That guy is in control of your life.” Those who encounter her and her club of female riders exhibit a wide range of reactions — from disgust to awe. The women riders have been referred to as “dykes on the bikes.” Other times, onlookers are delighted to see them.
  

“People are always pulling out their camcorders,” Brown T. Sugar said. “They stop and they want to take a picture.” Brown T. Sugar said that she understands why the Hawg Divas create a spectacle of sorts:
“It’s not a lot of ladies out here, especially not sisters.”
  

Article Create goes to Nadra Kareem; a writer for the L.A. Watts Times.

With some changes by Goldie Just Goldie. Reason being is that some areas didn’t include complete recognitions for other iconic black bikers and black motorcycle clubs in Los Angeles.
  

Related articles by Zemanta

• Who Is Cliff Vaughs? (goldie1779.wordpress.com)
• Look twice. Save a life. (rippin-kitten.com)
• Motorcycle Safety Foundation Cautions Car, Truck, and Bus Drivers: “Don’t Be That Guy… Drive Nice, Look Twice and See the Riders” (eon.businesswire.com)
• Never Too Old to Ride (motorcycleinsurance.org)
• reBlog from goldie1779blackbikers.com: Black Bikers Experience (goldie1779.wordpress.com)

Popularity: 39% [?]

  

I want to show my friend some love and put this site out here for all the ladies to visit if you haven’t already. This person has created a forum for us lady motorcycle riders to communicate and network about our own personal shit.

  

Lately the website has become more popular and the buzz is getting out there. They appreciate each and every one of you. They need your help to keep this going and also add some cool new features. If you find the time please give a donation to the website. Any Donations over $50 they will send you a free tank top and sticker. Click on the PINK donate button.

  

This information was pulled from ladiesletsride.com:

  

LadiesLetsRide.com is a website designed to provide Women the opportunity to have a large impact in the motorcycle world. This site is a unique space that supports social functions such as open discussions which allows all members to learn and converse amongst each other. In addition, LadiesLetsRide.com provides monthly evening events which permit Women to come out and connect with other female riders. We are not a motorcycle club, we are a family. Come join us today! Established in July 2007.

Related articles by Zemanta

• How to Get a Motorcycle Permit (motorcycleinsurance.org)
• How to Choose Clothing for Riding Your Motorcycle (motorcycleinsurance.org)
• Motorcycle Safety Trends (motorcycleinsurance.org)

Popularity: 2% [?]

  

  

LOOK TWICE, SAVE A LIFE! MOTORCYCLISTS HAVE RIGHTS TOO

  

It has taken me a moment to digest what has been happening on the road to riders who live in Georgia. With no exaggeration there has been since riding season started the middle of March seventeen bikers hurt and out of the seventeen at least 5 to 6 have died.

  

Now I thought about it and said this is not the time to blame anyone for how we’re riding reckless out here and who may have been the mentor of these aggressive riders that promote this bad and unsafe behavior. Riders help Riders stay alive. We have a responsibility to each other to do whatever we have to do to keep someone alive another day.

  

I’m sorry to say 99% has been male and all sportbikes. So what’s up? I am a victim of riding and allowing myself to let others push me beyond my limit and make a decision to get back on a bike that was unsafe and I could have died. That shit won’t happen again. We don’t want to be left behind or called soft cause we won’t do the stunts and tricks others are doing.

  

I know we tend to get this intrepid mindset once we’ve had a few drinks or what else you use that is considered a mind or mood altering substance, to blast, do donuts, wheelies, fly between vehicles on the road…you know what I’m talking about. If this is what happens to you and you don’t know your limit then damn it you don’t need to ride when you are drinking. We can’t be afraid to flatten tires, take keys, knock their ass out or whatever it takes to keep them alive another day.

  

This behavior is the most selfish thing you can do to your friends and family because you probably don’t have insurance, 401K, savings or something stashed for a rainy day. Then here we go with all these fundraisers every damn week, why because most of the times it’s for a person’s selfish behavior why money needs to be raised to help offset the funeral cost. We get these texts saying fundraiser at this clubhouse or that clubhouse and they’re challenging each other with how much a person should donate. Well I’m putting a challenge out to these clubhouses; donate all the proceeds from your bar to the fallen rider. How about that!

  

I love everybody man and it’s high time for black motorcycle clubs and black riders to become accountable for this insidious behavior; the safety of their riders on the road. I was blown away this weekend we had seven riders down and 3 deaths from the seven. This shit ain’t funny and it’s getting real old too soon.

  

This is a suggestion that I brought up to another female rider about the Georgia Motorcycle Council deciding what the consequence should be to the club and the rider for acting a damn fool on two’s. Since most of us are willing to change rather quickly when it hits us in our pockets; then fines are what I am proposing for their asses! If it appears to be consistent with a particular club, then black ball them or refuse to let them fly their colors until they have taken a motorcycle safety course and have documentation that they’ve completed it successfully. We have to stay aware of motorists that are aggressive, on cell phones, texting or not knowing how to respond to us on the road. That’s enough in itself, wouldn’t you agree.

  

You have to implement drastic measures for drastic times…it’s that time. The dialog must start with finding the solution to keep riders alive this season and the seasons too come. We forget our bikes have been up from say December to March and we need to acclimate ourselves to the level we were in the previous season. Some ride all year and they don’t get rusty but some of us do. Ride your ride and don’t give a damn about what someone may think about you not wanting to lose your life.

  

Related articles by Zemanta

• Video: Dragging a knee on a Honda… Gold Wing? (autoblog.com)
• $500 Helmet Giveaway from Riders Discount (rippin-kitten.com)
• New Motorcycle Safety Studies Released (webbikeworld.com)
• A Woman’s Perspective on Motorcycling and Engines (webbikeworld.com)

Popularity: 2% [?]