Bellatrix Melody

i kinda assumed he just had an annoying voice or smth

but like??? he's fine??????

he's cute and polite and helpful??

i mean seriously just look at him

Mutually Beneficial 💜💚

Lil bonus below :3

first meeting pt 2

(he/him for the mouse)

(she/her for the cat)

Good question! It’s a bit tricky cause I don’t really hang around the motorcycle communities in my area. Not out of safety concerns (for the most part, there are sure to be some out there that aren’t great) but more because I’m in grad school and my free time is very limited.

But if I had to give an honest answer on finding a community for you? Look to the lesbians. See if there’s a local Dykes on Bikes chapter, and they would probably be happy to help out and connect you with folks.

As for how I got into riding motorcycles it’s a bit of a story. Basically it was out of desperation that finally got me to buy a bike. My previous work transportation went kaput so I got a bike cause it was much much cheaper than a car. I taught myself to ride in the parking lot of the dealership (don’t do this don’t do this, please take an MSF course, I had previous experience that let me get away with this) and rode on a permit for a few months before getting my class m endorsement.

I did meet up with folks on a few occasions that I connected with via Reddit to give me pointers and things before I took my class M test. Mostly just wanted a sanity check to see if there was anything not obvious to me that I was doing that could get me killed. They were nice and welcoming but I also live in Chicago so your mileage may vary.

TLDR for what I would recommend for you personally and any other queer folks looking to get into motorcycle riding

1. Most states offer a class to get your motorcycle license, this teaches you to ride and a lot of basic safety stuff, state sponsored MSF (motorcycle safety foundation) courses tend to be cheap to free. This should be your first step.

2. When pricing out a bike, I would recommend buying used, you are likely to be rough on your first bike as you are learning and it feels better when it’s not new. Also include the price of gear which is: pants, boots, gloves, jacket, helmet. Gear is not cheap, but it’s worth every penny and tends to be well made so will last a long long time. It is also non optional imo.

3. If you wanna find people to talk to about bike stuff in your area, search up Dikes on Bikes cause they’re the largest, but also, weirdly, check Facebook groups. There are a lot of older queers organizing on there.

Is there anywhere you like to buy gear? I See some people online reccomend brick and morter stores but are there any online retailers you especially trust or any physical retail chains you'd go out of your way to avoid?

The biggest thing when gear shopping is fit. If you can go in somewhere and ask if you can be sized for a helmet. The better the size the better the protection. If they won’t fit you by actually measuring your head then just leave and find somewhere that does. If not a friend can help you at home, but better to do it all in one place.

If you want some good gear reviews to get an idea of what to look for here is a YouTube channel I like:

Fortnine: good no nonsense reviews, does a lot of testing from gear to chain cleaners. A great resource.

As for what would make me dip from a group. It’s gonna be very vibes based. Know that a lot of the classic “biker gangs” in the US have a history of white supremacy. So if I see a bunch of white dudes in their 40’s with American flags stuck on the back of their bike, I’m outta there. But also, I’m a trans woman, I tend to be overly cautious, they could be cool folks for all I know and not wrapped up in anything bad.

Otherwise, I just keep an ear out for language, how it’s used and in reference to what. Slurs, obviously a no go, weird sex jokes that are demeaning to women. In general if it’s just all (seemingly straight) dudes, that’s a red flag for me personally. If you’re riding that they’re pushing you outside of your comfort and skill level, that’s a big red flag.

Your mileage will vary on what is or isn’t comfortable for you. Just use your best judgement and remember, you’re on a bike, you can just ride away.

Edit:

So, I ride a motorcycle and I know at least the theory of doing a power slide (still cool but you don’t slide nearly so much and you need a pretty light bike to do it most of the time). You have to lock the back wheel until your back wheel looses grip on the road and then turn sharply to the left. Rear wheel slides and the front wheel turns.

But how do you lock the back wheel you might ask? Well with your rear break of course.

WHICH IS UNIVERSALLY UNDER YOUR RIGHT FOOT! How the FUCK is he locking the back wheel, with his shifter on his left foot??? Not possible. The creators of Akira knew it, and so did everyone that homaged it. The post above gets it right even if she’s likely on a slider and being pulled back.