It's who you ride with

There’s a lot of things that I really like about riding motorcycles but very recently I’ve really been loving riding motorcycles. And I have very quickly realised why- because I’ve had the pleasure of riding with some incredible people and those individuals have been the difference. It may all sound stupid and cliché but it’s true- surrounding yourself with great people really can make great things happen and it even helps you to become a better rider.

 We’ve been riding a lot of Flat Track recently, yes it may be the early winter months, but George has got Greenfield so dialled that he can make awesome things happen on that track. I’m lucky that I have such easy access to Greenfield and I don’t take it for granted. Greenfield George and I actually met when racing, he changed my life and is proving to be the biggest supporter of my endeavours- although he’d probably not admit to all the great things he does for me, he’s always got my back. Anyway I digress from my original point but I’m also really lucky that whenever I ride the track there is usually always somebody who is a better rider than me, has more skill and importantly is someone that I can learn from. The usual suspects are George, Toby and Ollie- and riding with them gives me so much more confidence, they drag me along as I try my absolute hardest to keep up with them and follow their lines. Whenever I do this I really do better myself as a rider, it is so beneficial to ride with those who are better than you, after all nobody likes a sandbag. Then after we’ve spinned some laps we usually pull in and just chat. Chat about the track, what we think, how we feel out on track, our bikes then I’ll probably get the piss taken out of me for one thing or another- then hit the track and do more laps. As well as learning a lot from sessions like this, it also makes riding a lot more fun. Although riding motorcycles is a one-person thing when you’re practicing with mates it’s hard to not have fun and very recently I’ve had more fun than ever when riding and for me that is so critical, as it’s my hobby. When your hobby is no longer fun then that’s when you should throw in the towel. I’ve found myself laughing and smiling uncontrollably behind my helmet on countless occasions, that’s how I know I’m having a good time. And if all of this is going to make me faster, then it’s a win-win situation.

 When I FINALLY got my road bike licence the other week the first thing I did was go out trail riding with my friends from Oxford, Anthony and Scott. Anthony has long been telling me that trail riding is something that’s been missing from my life, while in part I did probably think I’d really enjoy it, part of me also thought he was just after new recruits to drag down trails in Wales… I passed my test on the Thursday and Anthony had a route planned for the Saturday and I was able to source a bike for the upcoming adventure and went at it with an open mind. And well Anthony was right… Trail riding really had been missing from my life! I’d never really done anything like it, I’ve ridden a fair bit of motocross which is fun, but the beauty of trail riding is that it can be as tough or as easy as you want it to be. It can be fast paced or steady. There really is nothing else like it and it’s so sociable- and as many people know I love to talk, to just about anybody that will listen- so trails really fits the bill for me. Again, I was very lucky to go with Anthony and Scott because they are far more talented than I at trail riding. What was awesome about going with them was at every step of the way, if I was too nervous to try something or scared of ballsing it up- they were there with encouragement and gently coaxing me to get me through it. And I did things I never knew I was even capable of and I know for a fact that if it wasn’t for Anthony and Scott then I wouldn’t have attempted even half the things I did that day. Now I eagerly await my next trails club role call, because I am hooked.

 On the subject of meeting incredible people through motorcycles, I can honestly say riding motorcycles has introduced me to some ultra-inspiring people, whom have greatly influenced the past couple of years of my life and made it all that bit better. Obviously, the girls over at VC London have been a huge part of this. When I think back to the day I met them I think I must have been sixteen years young, it was the DTRA’s first ever women only event, then coined as ‘Ladies Day’ at Rye House Speedway track- just outside of London. The girls had seen about it on Instagram, booked their place and turned up. The growth of VC was happening at around a similar time to me taking my racing more seriously and like them I also wanted to have a positive impact on women in the motorcycling industry. So really it was a match made in heaven, fast forward to now and I’ve lost count of the events, projects and coverage I’ve been involved with alongside the VC gals. I’m also so honoured to be associated with them and all the hugely successful events that they organise, these girls are so genuine and do what they do for all of the right reasons and really don’t give a toss about self-promoting bullshit, they’re the real deal. The events like Camp, Team Talks and Girls Nights are all a real credit to this and the fact that they share their platform with so many other inspiring game-changers like Becky Evans, Sally McGee and so many more just shows the organic selfless growth of VC. And I feel privileged to say that the girls at VC are amongst my closest friends and we were brought together by a shared passion, motorcycles- how cool is that? In particular Gemma from VC is one of my closets confidents and in recent months has massively helped me to keep on keeping on and for all she does I will forever regard her so highly. And for 2019, Gemma, Mai and I will be taking things stateside to ‘Babes in the Dirt’, for desert trails, hanging out and meeting more awe-inspiring gals. I cannot wait.

 I’m also so fortunate that running ‘Days on the Dirt’ has introduced me to so many more like-minded women, a lot of whom I keep in touch with on a regular basis. I also met my moot-bestie Lucia at a Greenfield Dirtcamp a couple of years ago, Lucia now races, and we go riding together. I don’t mind hanging out with the lads at all, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but it is always nice doing stuff with Lucia, as we put our own spin on it all. We’re actually also going on the Sideburn women only trip to Morocco together at the end of March, which again I’m stoked for. Bring on more trail riding, haha. Told you that I was hooked.

And I feel so much privilege to be just a very small part of a much wider moto community.

 So yeah, I suppose you could say motorcycles changed my life. But I think that the people who ride motorcycles changed it, for the better.