cutiepie
07-29-2007, 06:14 PM
I was impressed by this story: Very cool!
Vicki Schouten:
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The numbers for female race track riders are increasing steadily. More and more women are purchasing sport-bikes yearly. We came across a fine lady Vicki Schouten. Located in Ontario, Canada, this talented chic has definitely more than your average everyday rider. She is entering her second season of road racing, which means she has only started racing in 2005! WOW! Let me tell you ladies, for only riding one season, she finished 3rd in the final round of the WCC series in 2005. It was only her third career race and finished on the podium-- What an achievement! We asked Vicki what had gotten her started in this dangerous sport and she replied happily, “I’ve always had a passion for speed! Since I was a kid I BEGGED my parents to get me a dirt bike! My dad said NO WAY and the closest I got was an ATV—a Yamaha Warrior—It was fast and I rode it EVERYWHERE! I finally got my first dirt bike back in 2002—a Yamaha WR250F. I wasn’t riding that as much as I would have liked so I traded it in for a Sportbike in 2003…a 2003 GSXR600. That’s the bike I eventually put on the racetrack.” As you can see ladies, it always gets them when they’re young! She also added, “I’ve also ridden and raced mountain bikes over the last 10 years—both XC and Downhill. I think my mountain biking experiences have really helped me become a better motorcycle rider in terms of bike handling skills and stuff.” This girl is just as active as you can get em! Now that we know what got her started in bikes, how did she get involved into racing? Quite a romantic tale actually, “My better half and I always wanted to do a race school—so we decided to take the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School at Road Atlanta….it was our “honeymoon” and we had a BLAST! Since then I was hooked!” Thank you hubby! Since her accomplishments as a professional road racer, we asked her who are her idols in the sport, and she claimed a few names like Michel Mercier, Kevin Schwantz, Jamie James, and Opie Caylor. As well as her team mate Vanessa Gareau. Now knowing that this sport is a male dominated sport, we then asked Vicki some of the trails she’s had to face, like being a female do you feel you need to try harder to prove yourself due to your gender? She replied, “Not really. I just wanna go out there and have some fun..and maybe kick some ass too!” What about when you have made boys cry when you passed them? “Nah…most of them give me the thumbs up!” Well that’s a good thing to hear! What about any obstacles you have faced in your racing career that arose from your gender? “No obstacles really. We’re lucky in Canada to have the Womens Cup Challenge—while I race against the boys too, the WCC was a great place to start, much less intimidating then jumping into your first race with a grid full of testosterone! I am also lucky in that being 5’9 I don’t face a lot of the height issues such as getting bikes or leathers to fit as some girls do.” Yeah I will say, that height factor is key! We all get nervous when it comes to more aggressive riding in sport bikes, so we asked Vicki what was her first track day like, “My first time on the track was the Kevin Schwantz School at Road Atlanta. I went out there thinking….’I can ride a bike…this will be easy”…..then I stepped onto the track and those 14 or so turns in 2.5 miles came up awfully fast and I thought “My God…what have I gotten myself into!” By the end of the weekend I was loving every minute of it!” Well at least you pulled yourself through it! Do you still get scared or nervous before a race? “Oddly…no. Maybe because I was too busy running around trying to figure stuff out—like what is “tech” and why do I have to go there! Also…since it was my first race I didn’t feel any pressure to win or do well…I was just there to go out and ride…and finish shiny side up. Now that I’ve been racing for a bit I get a little more nervous as I expect myself to do well!” Have you ever crashed? What happened? “So far I have only crashed once—knock on wood—and my crash was on the street. I basicly came to an intersection too fast in the rain…..grabbed a handful of brakes and lowsided into a big intersection with oncoming traffic. I was fine…a little tear in my jeans..but my new shiny bike was all scratched up! I know it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” I go down on the track…but I realize my racebike is not a baby..and it can be rebuilt.”
Getting a little more technical, as far as bikes go, Vicki was racing a Suzuki to begin with, but now has changed to a Honda. We asked her how she likes the Honda and she said, “it made sense as Honda is what my team mate was riding. I have to admit though, as much as I love Suzuki…I am starting to get attached to the Honda…it rides really well!” Ok so on this Honda, Did you have to have you bike modified to fit you? What modifications have you done to your bike and why? Performance modifications as well as fitting? “No mods done to make the bike fit me better….. but I had to make some technical upgrades—such as upgrading the suspension…steering damper… exhaust….so the bike runs smoother and with more Horespower! Yay for Horsepower!!” Not bad, not bad! What sort of gear do you wear and do you wear it every time? Can you recommend a good source for well-fitting women’s motorcycle armor?
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“I wear a Joe Rocket Speedmaster race suit….Alpinstar boots, gloves and back protector…and of course…a Bell helmet. Under my suit I wear Performance Under Gear (PUG) which is a technical fabric that wicks the moisture away and keeps me comfortable! Yup..I wear it everytime I’m on the track! Unfortunately I can’t recommend anywhere for Women’s Gear--- I haven’t had much luck with women specific clothing.” It is a shame I know, I think with the more population of women riders we can soon hope for better and more options in gear. (cough) Joe Rocket?? Well as you can tell Vicki is a very humble rider, which is why Chic Riders loves her! As WCC are doing great things to encourage more women to join the sport, Vicki is a mentor for some new girls already and she is more than happy to talk to anyone that thinks they might want to try their hand at the racetrack. No one knows what the future might hold, but Vicki’s early success is showing a much brighter future in the road racing world. Chic Riders will be sure to follow up on her quest to greatness. Women are here to stay, and can do it just as good if not better then the boys! As Vicki says, “Life’s too short…..live it while you can!”
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To Check out upcoming events. you can go to the artracinggirls.com.
Vicki Schouten:
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x119/cutiepie4b/roadracing3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
The numbers for female race track riders are increasing steadily. More and more women are purchasing sport-bikes yearly. We came across a fine lady Vicki Schouten. Located in Ontario, Canada, this talented chic has definitely more than your average everyday rider. She is entering her second season of road racing, which means she has only started racing in 2005! WOW! Let me tell you ladies, for only riding one season, she finished 3rd in the final round of the WCC series in 2005. It was only her third career race and finished on the podium-- What an achievement! We asked Vicki what had gotten her started in this dangerous sport and she replied happily, “I’ve always had a passion for speed! Since I was a kid I BEGGED my parents to get me a dirt bike! My dad said NO WAY and the closest I got was an ATV—a Yamaha Warrior—It was fast and I rode it EVERYWHERE! I finally got my first dirt bike back in 2002—a Yamaha WR250F. I wasn’t riding that as much as I would have liked so I traded it in for a Sportbike in 2003…a 2003 GSXR600. That’s the bike I eventually put on the racetrack.” As you can see ladies, it always gets them when they’re young! She also added, “I’ve also ridden and raced mountain bikes over the last 10 years—both XC and Downhill. I think my mountain biking experiences have really helped me become a better motorcycle rider in terms of bike handling skills and stuff.” This girl is just as active as you can get em! Now that we know what got her started in bikes, how did she get involved into racing? Quite a romantic tale actually, “My better half and I always wanted to do a race school—so we decided to take the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School at Road Atlanta….it was our “honeymoon” and we had a BLAST! Since then I was hooked!” Thank you hubby! Since her accomplishments as a professional road racer, we asked her who are her idols in the sport, and she claimed a few names like Michel Mercier, Kevin Schwantz, Jamie James, and Opie Caylor. As well as her team mate Vanessa Gareau. Now knowing that this sport is a male dominated sport, we then asked Vicki some of the trails she’s had to face, like being a female do you feel you need to try harder to prove yourself due to your gender? She replied, “Not really. I just wanna go out there and have some fun..and maybe kick some ass too!” What about when you have made boys cry when you passed them? “Nah…most of them give me the thumbs up!” Well that’s a good thing to hear! What about any obstacles you have faced in your racing career that arose from your gender? “No obstacles really. We’re lucky in Canada to have the Womens Cup Challenge—while I race against the boys too, the WCC was a great place to start, much less intimidating then jumping into your first race with a grid full of testosterone! I am also lucky in that being 5’9 I don’t face a lot of the height issues such as getting bikes or leathers to fit as some girls do.” Yeah I will say, that height factor is key! We all get nervous when it comes to more aggressive riding in sport bikes, so we asked Vicki what was her first track day like, “My first time on the track was the Kevin Schwantz School at Road Atlanta. I went out there thinking….’I can ride a bike…this will be easy”…..then I stepped onto the track and those 14 or so turns in 2.5 miles came up awfully fast and I thought “My God…what have I gotten myself into!” By the end of the weekend I was loving every minute of it!” Well at least you pulled yourself through it! Do you still get scared or nervous before a race? “Oddly…no. Maybe because I was too busy running around trying to figure stuff out—like what is “tech” and why do I have to go there! Also…since it was my first race I didn’t feel any pressure to win or do well…I was just there to go out and ride…and finish shiny side up. Now that I’ve been racing for a bit I get a little more nervous as I expect myself to do well!” Have you ever crashed? What happened? “So far I have only crashed once—knock on wood—and my crash was on the street. I basicly came to an intersection too fast in the rain…..grabbed a handful of brakes and lowsided into a big intersection with oncoming traffic. I was fine…a little tear in my jeans..but my new shiny bike was all scratched up! I know it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” I go down on the track…but I realize my racebike is not a baby..and it can be rebuilt.”
Getting a little more technical, as far as bikes go, Vicki was racing a Suzuki to begin with, but now has changed to a Honda. We asked her how she likes the Honda and she said, “it made sense as Honda is what my team mate was riding. I have to admit though, as much as I love Suzuki…I am starting to get attached to the Honda…it rides really well!” Ok so on this Honda, Did you have to have you bike modified to fit you? What modifications have you done to your bike and why? Performance modifications as well as fitting? “No mods done to make the bike fit me better….. but I had to make some technical upgrades—such as upgrading the suspension…steering damper… exhaust….so the bike runs smoother and with more Horespower! Yay for Horsepower!!” Not bad, not bad! What sort of gear do you wear and do you wear it every time? Can you recommend a good source for well-fitting women’s motorcycle armor?
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x119/cutiepie4b/roadracing1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
“I wear a Joe Rocket Speedmaster race suit….Alpinstar boots, gloves and back protector…and of course…a Bell helmet. Under my suit I wear Performance Under Gear (PUG) which is a technical fabric that wicks the moisture away and keeps me comfortable! Yup..I wear it everytime I’m on the track! Unfortunately I can’t recommend anywhere for Women’s Gear--- I haven’t had much luck with women specific clothing.” It is a shame I know, I think with the more population of women riders we can soon hope for better and more options in gear. (cough) Joe Rocket?? Well as you can tell Vicki is a very humble rider, which is why Chic Riders loves her! As WCC are doing great things to encourage more women to join the sport, Vicki is a mentor for some new girls already and she is more than happy to talk to anyone that thinks they might want to try their hand at the racetrack. No one knows what the future might hold, but Vicki’s early success is showing a much brighter future in the road racing world. Chic Riders will be sure to follow up on her quest to greatness. Women are here to stay, and can do it just as good if not better then the boys! As Vicki says, “Life’s too short…..live it while you can!”
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x119/cutiepie4b/roadracing4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
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To Check out upcoming events. you can go to the artracinggirls.com.