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.
This month we have a story by Crystal, 33, from California. She is currently on a solo moto tour around Europe with plans to continue the journey.
We hope you enjoy her story!
My name is Crystal. I'm 33 years old and I'm proudly from the Bay Area in California. I have been riding for eleven years. I started riding as pillion on the back of my friend's R1. We would do wheelies and endos. It was fun, but I decided I needed some control. So I got my M1 and I haven't stopped ever since.
I started on a 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250, totalled it over a minor highside after eight years, and then bought a 2015 Ninja 300.
I like to keep my bikes mechanically stock, but love aesthetic upgrades. On both bikes, I painstakingly rattled canned them white, but in the slow quality type of way. Letting them fully cure and wet sanding in between each layer over the course of several weeks.
On my Ninja 300, I installed a Two Brothers Racing Carbon Fiber Exhaust, Shogun Frame Sliders, a smoked out windscreen and have a customized license plate frame. My Hello Kitty figurine on my rear fender also warns drivers to keep their distance.
During covid, I started mototouring and this began another chapter of my riding journey. That evolved into an idea to mototour the world. I currently ride a dualsport: a 1996 Honda Dominator NX 250 and am currently solo touring Europe. After I'm done touring all the countries in Europe, I will head to the Middle East.
Riding saved me. It is my therapy, my solace and my decompression. Other than skydiving, riding is the only other time in life I truly feel free. I've met some of my best friends through riding and learned some of life's biggest lessons. One of which is to push yourself, but know your limits. This goes into so much: being the highest version of yourself, but staying humble in the process. Riding has also kept me out of a lot of trouble. Do you know how hard it is to wake up for an early morning group ride when you're out all night partying? Those two things just don't combine well.
Riding has allowed me to achieve this crazy dream of riding the world. Who would have thought normal ol' me would be doing this one day? Certainly not the previous versions of myself.
My advice for anyone interested in riding is to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course in your area and buy a low CC bike to learn your basics and to make mistakes on. No matter what anyone says, the reality is that you will drop your bike, pop the clutch, stall, make mistakes as a beginner and it's better to do these things on a bike that can't go 160mph. You can always upgrade after.
Thank you to Crystal for sharing her story.
Follow Crystal's journey here:
Instagram: @chasing.crystal
Facebook: /chasing.crystal
Blog: www.chasingcrystal.com
I really enjoy her story and follow her on Instagram. I had ridden for years both dirt racing and road riding and stop once my kids were born. She has inspired me. I have purchase a new motorcycle and just waiting for it to be delivered. Keep your adventures going!!
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