I am so pleased to be able to share another Profile of a Female Motorcyclist Meet Crystal courtesy of Twitter! My next guest nicknamed Crys, was commiserating with me about missing the International Female Ride Day last Friday because of the weather.
Crys a.k.a. @cbarnwolf (on Twitter, Instagram, and Plurk) lives in Central Wisconsin and was experiencing the same cold, ice and snow that hit here Minnesota. She is also blogs, My Crystalline Life. Crys admits she hasn’t updated it in a while, but it is on her to do list!
Profile of a Female Motorcyclist Meet Crystal
How long have you been riding a motorcycle? I’ve ridden on the back of motorcycles with my dad since I was in grade school. I thought I was the coolest kid in school when I’d get picked up on his white 1976 Harley full dresser. I started riding my own almost 17 years ago.
How did you learn to ride? I went through a rider class held at our local community college and spent a lot of time on side streets. I still feel like a beginner every spring.
What was your first motorcycle? I bought a 1983 Honda 650 Nighthawk. I had to have a friend ride it home because I didn’t have a license or the first clue how to ride it.
How many have you owned? I’ve had three motorcycles. That first Honda got sold early on due to finances and having young kids running around.
About seven or eight years ago I bought my 1986 883 Harley Sportster. Two years ago I traded my Harley in on a 2006 Honda VTX1300R. I bought the Honda so that I could start doing longer rides.
Why did you want to ride a motorcycle? I have always loved motor vehicles of all kinds especially motorcycles and classic cars.
I love the freedom I get when I’m riding. The feeling of being in control of my destiny. I decided to get my license when I got fed up with waiting around for someone else to take me for a ride.
Tell us about your riding. I do mostly commuter riding. I took a break from riding for several years when my children were younger. I am planning on doing more pleasure riding and eventually would like to take vacations on the bike.
What advice do you have for women who ride or want to ride a motorcycle? The main thing I’d like other women to know is the one thing that I wish someone would have told me when I got on that first bike. Which is “Yes, it’s scary and that is okay. But it is well worth riding through it. You can do it!”
The only advice I have is go take a class, get your license and just do it. The only regret that I have had is not riding when I could have.
What is the longest trip that you’ve taken on your cycle? The longest I’ve ridden hasn’t happened yet.
I hope to do some longer rides this summer. But up until now the longest I’ve ridden is about three hours worth of back country roads around south central Wisconsin.
Do you belong to any motorcycle groups? I don’t currently belong to any groups. I think online or IRL groups are great and I hope to be more of a participator someday.
But for now I tend to do more lurking in groups as I have time and following people on Twitter.
Do you have a favorite riding story? Fortunately since getting my license, riding has been mostly uneventful. However, my family’s favorite story about me and riding happened when I was 12 and taking a weekend trip to upper Michigan with my Dad.
We went for a three day weekend with another father/daughter. The first afternoon we hit rain. It was storming so hard that the rain was going sideways and I couldn’t see the edge of the road. We ended up pulling into a hole in the wall bar to get out of the rain.
We walked in to this place looking like drowned rats. I’m sort of surprised they served us. We had Pepsi sitting at the bar while drip drying. By the time the rain had passed we were mostly dry and got on our way. It was a trip of a lifetime for a young girl.
However, as pre-teen girls are apt to do, the other girl and I stayed up late the first two nights giggling and laughing. By the third day, I was so tired that I was falling asleep on my Dad’s bike. Luckily for my he caught me as I fell so soundly asleep that I nearly fell off the bike.
I scared myself awake and got a very stern lecture. Needless to say I was awake the entire rest of the way home. And my family still tease me about being able to fall asleep on a motorcycle.
What do you do when you’re not riding? I am currently busier than I’d like to be. I have two children, one that is grown and one that is half way there.
I enjoy knitting and textile crafts. And if that doesn’t keep me busy enough, I’m going back to school for an associates degree in accounting.
P.S. Catch us on Instagram @helmetorheels and Pinterest @helmetorheels – we are just getting started! Fill out the contact form if you’d like to share your Profile of a Female Motorcyclist!
One Response
Helllooooo Crystal and thank you for sharing your story.
It sounds like you are very busy. I am glad you took the time to say hello through Pam and still find time to ride too. Life gets in the way but our trust motorcycles are always there waiting for us when we have time.