You’re never too old to learn how to ride a motorcycle, to take a leap of faith and try something new.  

You might even end up falling in love. 

That’s what happened for 11 female KLIM employees who recently completed a two-day, all-female motorcycle riding clinic, led by two female instructors and co-sponsored by Polaris’ Women Leaders in Powersports group and KLIM to celebrate the 17th annual International Female Ride Day. 

The goal of the event, organized by KLIM’s Senior Motorcycle Designer, Kelsey Runge, a WLP Ambassador, was to get more females comfortable on a motorcycle by providing a safe and encouraging space. 

“Every single one of them improved so much, it was amazing,” Runge said. “I wasn’t expecting everyone to love it, but I think they appreciated it more than I thought they would. I think most of them did fall in love with it.”

Standing on the sidelines on the first day of training, Kelsey said she was proud of how fast they learned the basics like how to use the clutch. By the end of the second day, she said some were so comfortable they were leaning into turns and looking like they had been riding a long time.

“I gave them a little pep talk at the beginning of the second day,” she said. “I said, ‘You just need to have confidence,’ and every single one of them improved so much. It was so cool to see. I was like a proud mom out there in tears.” 

When Associate Apparel Designer Haley Bennion first heard of the class, she said she wasn't super interested because of how low her confidence of learning the clutch was.

“I have had many people try to teach me and it never clicked,” she added. “The way the STAR program is set up allows for step-by-step progression of learning good habits with reasons behind every task they had us do. Safe to say I was hooked by the end of day one and I've been dreaming of motorcycling since!”

Lifestyle Materials Specialist, Savannah Church, was apprehensive about the class at first but her goal was to figure out if she liked riding motorcycles or not. 

"We started out with the most basic beginner intro to the controls and were practicing maneuvers within the first hour,” Church said. “I went into the second day with a lot more confidence. It was fun, judgment free and all the ladies supported each other. We could stall out, laugh at ourselves, take a deep breath and refocus.”  

With two female instructors, Runge said the students instantly felt less intimidated because they could relate to a lot of female concerns like lifting a heavy bike when tipping over.

“Having female instructors was more important than I realized at first. Females just have a way of talking to other females to make them feel more comfortable,” she added. “They were hardcore by the rules, but they were also so encouraging and positive.”

For Accounts Payable Specialist, Tai Crawford, going into the first day having never been on a road bike was a little nerve racking.

“I think all of us gained more confidence because the instructors were amazing, very supportive and consistently offered advice and encouragement throughout,” Crawford said. “As we progressively got faster and worked through more difficult courses, we all gained more confidence, and most, if not all of us, plan to pursue riding.” 

One of the youngest students, Alissa Corona, who works in IT, said watching the female instructors gave her a sense of female empowerment. 

“I am super impressed with myself that I took the class and passed,” Corona added. “If it wasn't for Kelsey's amazing effort in making it happen for us, I would have never learned how to ride or even get on a bike.” 

The most rewarding part for Runge was giving coworkers an avenue to get out and try riding to see how much fun it can be. 

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“The goal wasn’t to make them fall in love with it, necessarily,” she said. “I just felt like it was my job to encourage them and make them comfortable enough to try. Now it’s up to them.” 

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KLIM remains deeply involved and engaged in the sports we serve as a core element of the gear development process. Our mission to drive premium quality, performance and innovation that enhances the riding experience uses real-world scenarios to engineer the most innovative riding equipment possible. 

(Editor’s note: Enterprise Account Manager, Skylette Hawkes, completed the two-day endorsement certification and turned around and bought her first motorcycle the very next day!)

#KLIMLife