Her Story. A series of blog posts telling the stories of 'women who ride' from all corners of the globe. We hope that by sharing these stories we can help encourage other women to build their confidence, learn from others and inspire others.
Our first blog is on the beautiful and sweet Karly Kothmann who is very excited to be sharing her story. Karly emailed us saying "I'd love to share my riding story with y'all! I'm a mom of two kiddos that learned to ride last year and now own two vintage bikes. One of which my husband and I hand built."
I couldn't wait to hear her story and I am sure you will enjoy this fun read too.
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KARLY KOTHMANN
"My name is Karly and I live in New Braunfels, Texas and am a 32 year old mama. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have 2 kiddos, Bella-6 and Asher-3.
I am what you would call a major chicken when it comes to any kind of risky activities. I had never ridden a bike and had no interest. My husband grew up riding dirt bikes and had owned a few sports bikes in his 20's. About a year ago while eating dinner with one of our best friends, my husband Tanner and the BFF Tyson, had this bright idea that I should learn how to ride Tyson's scooter. That way, when the guys went riding, I could go. This idea soon grew into scooter lessons from the BFF in the parking lot at none other than The Scooter store head quarters here in NB.
It took me a while to get comfortable, as this was WAY out of my comfort zone. I then was woken up at midnight on my birthday to the surprise of the hubby giving me a Ruckus scooter! I was pumped! I had a blast scootin' around town and thought I was hot stuff. Turns out to be legal, I needed a motorcycle license for the scooter.
So for Christmas, the hubby got me motorcycle lessons at the local Harley shop. I was terrified!!!! But I ended up passing and loving a motorcycle a hundred times more than a scooter. Two short months later, I got my first bike, a Honda '73 CL350, as a Valentines Day present from the hubby. Good man. I named my red bike Bridgett and she and I became fast friends.
I spent most of my riding time cruising around the hill country with the husband and BFF and an extra friend here and there. We had our own little bike gang! I decided to take another step out of my comfort zone and signed up to ride in the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in Austin, TX. I'm the kinda girl that if there is a costume involved, I'm there! Unfortunately, Bridgett was having issues so I ended up riding the hubby's CT90 named Rihanna. I was so proud of riding with this group in the big city. What a rush.
My sweet husband then took on the project of hand building me a custom CB550. He did everything from fiber glassing the seat, to welding the frame, to adding one of my Dad's belts to the seat in his honor. The bike has turned out beautiful, and I've said over and over it just feels perfect! It's a champagne/butter color and is named Paula, like Paula Deen.
I've had a blast finding this new confidence in stepping outside of the box. I've loved the people I have met in this community. And if you are considering learning but just aren't sure...GO FOR IT GIRL! It will be an incredible adventure and a killer story to share."
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Thank you to Karly for sharing her story and if you would like to share your story with us simply go to the Contact page of the website and fill in the form and we will gladly be in touch.
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