'Safe' is the New 'Sexy'

March 27, 2013

“Safe” is the New “Sexy”

My Heritage Softail; the original Bessie. 

Thanks to my friend Mike Wendt for providing the encouragement and title for my blog today!

I took my ‘new’ boots for a road test today on Bessie2; I have to admit, looks aside, they ROCK as riding boots! 

Since I started riding my own in January of ’08, I’ve shied away from legitimate riding boots because they look like Herman Munster boots....ugly. Good, safe riding boots need to have tire-like tread on rubber soles, solid constructed genuine leather, and strong ankle support. This is what a SAFE riding boot looks like, not a SEXY riding boot.

I’ve researched hundreds of websites selling ‘women’s riding boots,’ and not one of them has a SEXY and SAFE riding boot; it’s either Herman Munster ugly or Elvira kinky.

For the past four years I’ve worn my favorite pair of Dingo cowboy boots, and whatever ‘fashionably sexy’ boot I could manage......the problem with ‘fashionably sexy’ is NO ankle support, NO rubber soles (leather soles slip easily on asphalt), and NO protection. They look good though!

My new boots are the best constructed footwear I’ve ever purchased; fine grain, genuine leather, hard rubber soles with enough tread to grip an elephant, laces that enabled me to ‘custom’ fit the size to my ankles, buckles, AND zippers so that once I have them laced perfectly, I just unzip, zip and ready to roll! 

My 'new' Road 'Queen,' Bessie2

I straddled Bessie2 this morning and was able to touch my feet flat to the ground - a good thing. Then I practiced pulling forward and backing up.....I have six forward gears and NO reverse.....backing and maneuvering an 800 pound motorcycle is not an easy thing to do; good traction is imperative. My new boots gave me a solid grip enabling me to get my back AND ass into it! The bike weighs approximately 7 times what I weigh, its bigger than my Softail was, taller, and wider; strong ankle support helps me maneuver the bike with a good deal of control.

SAFE Riding Boots

The boots are nearly knee length which keeps the hot air from the motor off my legs; Bessie2  pumps out more heat than Bessie1. As a new rider, I developed a bad habit of hitting the back of the shifter with my heel, instead of lifting the front of the shifter with my toe.  The shifter on Bessie2 is higher off the floorboards, which made my ‘bad habit’ more pronounced, not to mention tiring.  Good boots with strong toe construction helps me properly shift with my toe.  

I found out the painful way that sequins are not adequate safety gear. When another biker plowed into my left side at full throttle, Bessie1 and I both went airborne and skidding along the pavement. I’m guessing that the ‘biker angels’ who gathered around me post-accident to tend to my injuries before the helicopter arrived, didn’t look at my crumpled, bloody body and exclaim, ‘oh my God, doesn’t she look hot in those high heeled boots and sequins!’  No, they were focused on one thing, getting help and saving my life, for which I will forever be grateful.  Today, I don’t leave home without my ‘new’ helmet (with the sticker that exclaims - ‘I’m not going gray, I’m going chrome’), and my ‘new’ boots......SAFE is the new SEXY.