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2010-02-03 15:55:10
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(Here’s a massage from our new member who attended our new year party held in Osaka. She traveled from Okayama prefecture for about 200km distance on her Ducati.)
It was my first time to meet WIMA members since I joined WIMA in September 2009.
The location of new year party was in downtown of Osaka!
“They might have no problem in riding through the busy and complicated area. That’s neat! I don’t like to ride and caught in a traffic jam especially in such complicated roads.” That’s what I thought. However, I wanted to go to see everyone and managed to get there.
Then my new friend said “You are a tough woman, you have came long way in such cold weather!”
Oh-oh, I was the only person who was on a motorcycle among 14 members. I told myself, “Good job!”
While chatting with my new friends, I found that they are “international” indeed. One of them said that she made a friend overseas to whom she met at an international rally of WIMA and started learning English, and by now she has no difficulty in communicating in English in everyday conversation. Now, I am a little over 50-year old housewife and an office worker, a person you can find all over the place, but now I am motivated to learn English. I would have never thought of it if I had not met WIMA. I am so excited to join the rally and to meet riders of the world : )
I’m looking forward to ride with you next time! =33
Kazumi
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2010-01-13 00:00:37
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Our new member, Katrin is from Germany and living and working in Japan for 6 years now. She traveled to India and Bhutan in autumn of 2009 and contributed an exciting report on her motorcycle adventure.
“The tour was really great. Very challenging roads, sometimes only construction sites of roads, the longest was 25km!!! Gravel, sand, water, wet, sand... terrible... but fun and a great experience for me because I didn't ride on bikes that much in my life, not like everybody else on the tour. Those guys all had experience of 100.000 km at least, mine was like 7000... they couldn't believe it, I did pretty well although I fell 3 times... but no pain, no big deal, you couldn't go fast anyway. It was all mountain roads, we barely made it to 3rd gear ;-))) And even guys with thousands of km experience fell... Sometimes we just rode 70km a day and I was totally exhausted when we arrived due to the road condition...”
Do you want to read more? Then go to http://www.wima.gr.jp/WIMA_Bhutan.html.
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2009-10-21 13:47:06
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[This is a special report on autumn meeting by Tracey who is from Newzealand and now living in Japan, and became member of WIMA Japan]
My WIMA Japan experience.
Hi everyone. Well, what can I tell you all. Where should I begin. I know where, it was the Saturday morning of the arranged meet. The WIMA Japan bikers had organised to meet Saturday at 12pm. That morning the weather wasn't looking good. Remember this was typhoon season in Japan. It was wet. It was rainy. But, the weather forecast promised sunshine in the afternoon. Yeah, right. I didn't believe that. Those that decided upon meeting later that Saturday, would meet at 12pm. I rang the leader if the group of bikers or of what had affectionately become known as “Team Tortoise”. Her name was Yoshiko. With nervous trepidation in my voice I told her I wasn't confident riding in the rain. That I was somewhat of a beginner. That the roads might be too slippery. And anything else I could imagine for the worse. She assured me the weather was going to be fine and she would even wait one or two HOURS longer at the meet point for the rain to subside. I could come then. I felt guilty. There was a break in the rain. I went to meet “Team Tortoise”. This incident became the running joke amoung the WIMA Japan gals. After we met, and they saw my riding, they all agreed how I had lied to them about being nervous. I smiled. I liked these gals. I felt accepted. That even though there was a language barrier, there was this one thing that need no translation. Humour. Laughter. These were my kind of gals. The kind not afraid to take the mickey out of you if you deserved it. And, yes, I deserved it.
I am a bloody vegetarian. I'm sorry but it's the truth. And my experience in Japan has meant I cook my own meals. It's hard being a veg head and eating out in Japan. This was no problem to WIMA Japan gals. After we arrived at the hotel and had a quick bathe in the onsen. It was dinner time. (Don't get me started on the onsen. Really, only if you stand around looking shy and out of place do you stand out. The secret is to pretend to be Japanese. Truly, nobody notices.) Dinner, had been wonderfully prepare especially. Steamed vegetables, miso soup, handmade konyaku (a kind of jelly-like potato derivative), an orange-baked gratin, Japanese udon noodles – food galore. For the other diners, there was brilliantly arranged sashimi on large trays and freshly caught steamed fish. PD Fly hotel was famous for it's fresh fish. But the REAL show stopper was the large baked tuna heads served on a platter. Each table received one. Enormous they were. Now, being a Kiwi gal, my grandmother used to eat fish heads all the time. She would enjoy sucking on the eyeballs. So, I was happy to learn about the similarities of our culture. I was also happy to be a vegetarian.
Dinner at PD FLys.(L) PD Fly hotel.(R)
That night, as we got to know each other, I was asked to do what I do best. Teach English. So I posed the question to each member. “If you could travel in any country by bike, where would it be?”. After the initial shock of having to relive nightmare high school English classes again, the WIMA Japan ladies opened up. We shared our experiences, we talked about wanting to travel to many places including Germany, the US, New Zealand and even to Russia. It was warm. The room was filled with laughter, with encouragement, with inspiration. I am happy to say, I became a member of WIMA Japan that night.
Morning. It was time to hit the road. We travelled around West Izu peninsular. It was amazing. The weather could not have been more perfect. We rode along the bluest coastline. Through gorgeous lush green mountainsides. There were 17 women bikers. We stopped at a cafe. The view of Mt Fuji was breathtaking. On we rode. We travelled through the west coast of Izu skyline. Some of the roads were a bit hairy. Some of them winding. All of them great fun.
Wima Japan riders!(L) Outside the cafe. Spot the gaijin.(R)
To sum up my WIMA Japan experience in two words, would be “simply inspirational”. I shall not forget it. If there is one thing I have learnt in this short time we have on earth, it is to live life to it's fullest. I would urge anyone looking for adventure, for friendships, for a great riding experience to come to Japan. You won't regret it!
By Tracey Nathan
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2009-10-06 00:10:10
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On September 20, the 13th "LOVE the EARTH, which is a campaign to protect the earth by riders in Japan, was held at Jitougata Seaside Park near Omaezaki, Shizuoka. Eight members of WIMA Japan took part in a cleanup activity of seashore and carried out a PR activity for the Rally in Japan 2010.
Because a typhoon was approaching, we worried about the weather, but clear blue sky appeared and a lot of riders came to the LOVE the EARTH!
Some riders came long way, such as from Kyushu, Tohoku, even from Muroran Hokkaido!
The slogan for the LOVE the EARTH is "Protect the Earth, Initiative by Riders" and this campaign has been continued with supports from motorbike manufactures and publishers.
Seeing many riders gathered from distance only to pick up trashes, the local people are surprised and expressed their gratitude to riders. It is wonderful to eliminate not only trashes but also negative images against motorbikes.
"I got it!"
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2009-10-05 23:46:12
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Keystone, Colorado, August 18-22
This year’s WIMA official international rally was held in conjunction with the International Women & Motorcycling Conference of the American Motorcycle Association (AMA). I couldn’t have imagined what the rally would be like, which is only natural because the conference was something that I never could have imagined in Japan. The conference wasn’t just a “meeting” but an event of great women riders from around the world.
WIMA USA welcomed us with a pizza party on the first day of the event, which made us feel at home.
On the next day, a welcoming ceremony was held and many speeches were made. Among them, the most impressive one was by Ashley Fiolek, who is deaf and became a professional motocross racer recording brilliant results in 2008 and 2009. She is a cute and pretty woman but she is a powerful woman indeed. She said ”Unfortunately, what I really feel is a challenge for me is not that I’m deaf but that I’m a woman because there are limited opportunities for a woman rider.”
We attended various useful seminars including “Solo Riding & Touring: Gaining confidence in taking to the open road”, ”Survive Institute”, ”Inspirational Seminars: Great stories to take your riding next level”, ”Secrets of Veteran Riders: Lessons from the road” and ”Preparing for the Ride: Packing/Gear/Apparel”, and tried some demo ride. It was very busy but fulfilling days. Some hints were very unique to America; how to protect yourself when you are pointed a gun; when you caught in a sudden shower, a pair of milking gloves is useful and easy to find at a small shop in rural area, however, each seminar was interesting and helpful for riders. The speaker of “Solo Riding & Touring” was member of WIMA USA and she introduced me during her lecture because I did 3-day solo ride before coming to the conference around Colorado and New Mexico. Thanks to her, many people talked to me and I could enjoy talking with them about riding in Japan and shared wonderful stories. As I mentioned earlier, the conference was something that I never could have imagined in Japan, but one woman told me that there was no such conference in the USA and they just keep advocating its need and finally it realized. That’s the power of people and that’s the power of women!
I met so many mature women, some are just started riding and others are long-experienced riders. Also, there are many people who are interested in visiting and riding in Japan. I thank WIMA USA for giving this great opportunity.
It is reported that there were 850 attendees and the ratio of woman riders was increased from 18% to 25% in 5 years in the USA. I hope to attend the conference again in future. The theme of the conference was “Riding to New Heights” and I think this is appropriate for woman riders hoping to improve their skills and mindset at this international conference held at Rocky Mountains!
