Shawnda Williams: TEAM Arizona Rider of the Month July 2015!
Last Updated: December 1st, 2020
The fire to ride. It burns within all of us who choose motorcycling (or does it choose us?!). For some of us it burns longer without the necessary oxygen to make it grow. In Shawnda’s case, she waited decades before she took the first step towards riding. Once she took the handlebars she started clickin’ through the gears and hasn’t looked back. Shawnda is on a mission to bring more female riders into the mix. For her willingness to share, her unbridled fire, and pure enjoyment of life, how could we resist making her our Rider of the Month for July 2015?
Here is her story, in her own words:
I have always had a fondness toward motorcycles. The bug bit me early in life and I can actually recall the precise moment in time when it struck. It was my fourth Christmas and my parents purchased me a power wheels style motorized bright yellow chopper with lots of chrome and flame emblems. You could not have convinced my four-year-old self that it was not real. I tried to ride it everywhere, and from that point on, I have always wanted a motorcycle. The biggest obstacle that inevitably stopped me from riding sooner was not realizing there were places available to teach you how to ride. Throughout the years, I have had many friends offer to teach me, but I was always terrified about the prospect of accidentally damaging their bike or worst myself. Motorcycles were seemingly an unrequited dream in the corner of my mind until I happened to randomly notice the TEAM Arizona training location in Gilbert. It is in a fairly obscure location but fortunately my sister was working at the Dillard’s office down the road. So in one of my many trips to lunch with her I finally noticed the sign and subsequently realized what it was. I pretty quickly enrolled in an intro class and the rest is history from there.
It’s hard for me to not be excited about riding a motorcycle, because I spent so much time on the outside looking in. I didn’t know of many female riders and spent a very long time being intimidated by the motorcycle scene. However, that air of intimidation quickly dissipated the second I enrolled in my first class, I soon realized I wasn’t alone in feeling this way. The first class truly ignited a fire that can’t be contained in regards to motorcycles. I love learning and sharing my experiences with others and now that I am a more experienced rider, I try to encourage anyone male or female who has an interest to take the class.
I consider myself truly fortunate that as I was taking those fledgling steps toward learning to ride so many people were willing to assist and impart knowledge to me. I feel obligated to do the same, as my education hasn’t ended and continues to grow with each experience and new rider I assist.
Even though Shawnda is eager to bring new riders into the mix, she is quite level-headed about the process and has some great advice for riders entering the sport of motorcycling:
When asked about one of her favorite things about motorcycling, she quickly responded:
“The wave”…to me it symbolizes a mixture of camaraderie and personal achievement. This simple gesture embodies an overwhelming sense of belonging, and also signified my ascension as a rider. I progressed from being scared to remove my hand from the bars to having a sense of control over the bike to be in a position to wave comfortably when the opportunity arises.
This is us giving you “the wave” Shawnda. We love your desire to “pay it forward” and to be part of the fastest growing segment in motorcycle: female riders. Have fun…ride safe!
Riders, we want to honor YOU! Do you know someone who should be TEAM Arizona’s Rider of the Month? Entering their name is SIMPLE.
- Email Bill (bill@motorcycletraining.com )
- In the subject line, type “Rider of the Month”
- In one paragraph, tell us why this rider deserves the title TEAM Arizona Rider of the Month!
Let’s have some serious FUN with this gang! There are some great stories out there and we don’t want to miss them, so tell us about yourselves!
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