I have been riding motorcycles since I was 12. My father taught me clutching principles, and off I went! I became a long-distance touring rider and fell in love with the camaraderie shared between motorcyclists on the road. In 2005, after a 20-year IT career, I combined my passion with my profession and got a job with motorcycles. San Jose BMW (San Jose, CA) hired me as their parts and service director, and I quickly succeeded to general manager. Since then, I have worked for two other motorcycle dealers and several accessories companies, including Schuberth North America/Held USA. In 2010 I moved to Phoenix, where I changed careers again to become a Respiratory Therapist. I spent considerable time exploring the back roads of Arizona and discovering the things other travelers had not yet found. I also worked as a Finance Manager at RideNow while doing my Respiratory training.
In 2017 I moved to North Carolina, where I learned to ride in hot, humid climates after a couple of joint replacements due to arthritis.I am a long-standing member of the AMA, the BMW RA, Women on Wheels, and an Iron Butt rider. I’ve trained with Jimmy Lewis, the BMW Performance Center, and Jo Rust of South Africa. I have published articles for the BMW MOA magazine (Owners’ News), the BMW RA magazine (On The Level), and the AMA Motorcyclist Magazine. I have also been published on the WomenRidersNow website. I have attended numerous events focused on women in motorcycling. I became a Total Control Motorcycle Safety Instructor in California in 2021 and hope to become trained in Motorcycle Accident Scene Management in late 2022.And if that isn’t enough, I worked on the Sisters’ Centennial Motorcycle Ride to take 100+ women across the US in the summer of 2016 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first female riders (the VanBuren sisters) to cross the continent on motorcycles. Then in 2017, I took a fantastic tour in South Africa with Jo Rust and a group of women over 14 days. I’ve also done motorcycle touring in Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Slovenia, hoping to do even more riding in the less-touristy parts of Europe in the future.I consider myself a women’s motorcycling ambassador. I served for two years as the Industry Liaison for the Women’s Coalition of Motorcyclists until being elected Chair in 2020. This organization created a joint project with the Women’s Motorcyclist Foundation called DIRTY for GOOD, where we provided dual sport motorcycle training to women while supporting charitable goals of giving back to homeless female veterans and creating more opportunities for women to become motorcycle training coaches.
In 2021, I started my own business called Dive N Ride Adventures LLC (www.divenrideadventures.com), and I’m hoping to create a travel program for motorcyclists and scuba divers to dive or ride all around the world. |
