Last month I had the chance to make some extra cash doing tech-inspection at a testing day for the AFM races at one of my local tracks. It was pretty much a no-brainer when one of our local racers mentioned that the track was looking for someone to roll out for the day and tech bikes. Before I even finished reading the announcement an eager screech erupted from my soul to the tune of Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me! I called the track under my friend's recommendation and participated in a brief interrogation during which I was told, "This won't be that complicated, most of these bikes will be set up and ready to go." I got out to the track just in time to see the sun break over the eastern mountains. We were told mostly to check for tears and damages to gear and make sure that kickstands were removed and major bolts were safety wired. I'm used to that process, having quite a few friends who race, so it was pretty straightforward for me. My partner was of the opposite experience, he knew bikes but he openly admitted to having no interest in track days and absolutely no knowledge of racing. There was a humorous irony in our partnership since I had no interest in motorcycle clubs, burnouts and wheelies. He had a tattoo of his motorcycle club name, I had a tattoo of a sprocket, chain and compass representing my free-spirited approach to riding, and my passionate commitment to living the journey of my life on two-wheels. Of course, there was also the obvious gender differences and as much as it doesn't seem necessary to point that out, there was a certain irony throughout the day that resonated from the focal point of gender roles.
I've mentioned before that the culture of motorcycling has a variety of different sub-cultures; in our cases he was more of a street/club rider and I never really got into that scene. We were our own representatives of two different subcultures and we got along well, both of us enjoying different aspects of the day but also revealing our biases on random occasions; for instance, as I overheard him ask a gal "Are you sure?" after she responded with "Expert" to the class designation that she was riding in. I looked up to see him eyeing her quizzically and she responded with, "I know, I know... it's because I'm a girl..." I looked back at my own task at hand whilst giving a chuckle and shaking my head. He was as polite as could be, but still it was a bit surprising to me that the question was asked in the first place.
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| The paddock is alive with the sound of racing |
I imagine I probably seemed a little socially inept as I had a hard time remembering faces if they weren't accompanied by bikes. I had long forgotten the "girl" incident when, at some point, a gal that had arrived late was making her way out onto the track. My cohort had taken notice of her earlier and was openly inquiring about how skilled she is on a bike. As she approached the track my cohort uttered some uncertainty, "I'm not sure how I feel about that... I mean... it's cool that women want to ride motorcycles and all, but this is an intense sport." I paused to stifle an endearing grin as I waited for him to tell me that he was kidding. He didn't. "Welcome to the new age, my friend," I responded with a shrug and a playful grin.
Perhaps it seems so normal for me because of how long I've been riding and the particular circle of friends that I keep. In my circles there are usually a few women and there are plenty of women older than I am that can ride extremely well. I have to admit that I was taken aback by his reaction to seeing women out on a race track, and for a moment we both sat in silence on opposite ends of the perplexity spectrum. It just seemed so odd to me that not only was he unaware of this culture of women in racing, but also that he apparently had mixed feelings on the subject. That actually happens?? I thought to myself.
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| She's got a bun in the oven... and it ain't a baby |
Sometimes I forget that I don't always live on the same page as the rest of the world. In a lot of ways I've gotten used to it. Before I was a motoress I was a pool shark, and before that I was a PC gamer (first person shooters, death-matching, *sigh* the good 'ol days). I've also known a lot of other women who participate in these activities as well. There has always been an element of surprise in how we are received when we demonstrate skill or even passion in any of these areas. "You're pretty good for a chick," I've heard stuff like this my entire life and while I can't say it ever really offended me, it does continue to surprise me that so many people have yet to catch on. I mean, it seems like a no-brainer to me, but I understand that not everyone is exposed to the world in the same manner that I am as a tom-boy. While I wouldn't consider myself a feminist, I do consider myself a humanist (she who promotes the exploration of meaningful life experiences and self-determined aspirations), so I suppose the idea of "gender-appropriate" behaviors isn't something I ever really bought into. But it's a lot more feasible to point that out from the perspective of a woman who has always played in a man's world than it would be to grasp it from the perspective of a man who has always lived in a man's world.
This is one thing I like about the track/racing environment; it's par for the course for ladies to be out there right alongside the guys. No one thinks much of it and it's an environment where everyone is out there riding their own pace, trying to improve their pace, and yet everyone is out there doing it with people who share the same love and passion for it. In the paddock you're among friends, on the track you're on your own but in the best possible way. I especially have respect for the folks who are out their getting their daughters into racing from a young age. It sure as hell beats entering your toddlers into beauty pageants - don't get me started on little girls in beauty pageants. I don't think it leads to nearly as rewarding of a life as the life led by a woman who was always encouraged to inquire for herself as to what makes her life meaningful (be it racing motorcycles or becoming a welder), and to decide for herself the scope of what she has to offer the world as an able-bodied self-determined woman. But I will probably delve a little deeper into this during my next couple of posts.
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