10 Things You Learn When Your Mom Rides a Motorcycle

1) Feeling confident is not about how many people like you. It is about how you see yourself. 
For many it can take years to figure out that self-confidence is really just a big fancy hyphenated word for "I feel good about myself." For some reason we have gotten it into our heads that we can't be confident about ourselves unless other people like us. But when your mom rides a motorcycle you learn the truth at an early age. That leather jacket she wears does more than just protect her from the cold winds whipping by her as she goes 80 miles an hour down the highway. That leather jacket tells everyone that she is one tough woman and she is not to be messed with. A good jacket is as much about making you feel good as it is about keeping you warm.

2) Never judge a book by its cover.
Many bikers have tattoos and to the rest of the world this makes them look "trashy" or "scary." But to those of us that were raised by a biker mom we know that tattoos are pieces of art that you wear on your skin to show the rest of the world who you are and judging someone because they choose to express themselves in a way that is different from your own is silly.

3) A woman can do anything she wants to do. And she can do it as well as or better than a man can!
People think that only men can be bikers but that is the farthest thing from the truth. Our motorcycle mamas showed us every day that women can be anything they want to be.

4) Never let one label define every thing about who you are.
Moms who ride motorcycles are the epitome of this rule. When people see them on the street they would never guess that these women not only ride motorcycles, dress in leather, and have tattoos but they also bake cookies, tell the best stories, create arts and crafts with their children, and much more. Being a biker was never the only thing that defined your mom and it never will be.

5) Family is not always just blood.
One of the reasons our moms ride motorcycles is because of the sisterhood that comes with it. Women bikers tend to stick together and to support each other in much the same way that family would. We saw this every day growing up and it taught us that family is more than blood. It is a choice you make every day.

6) Being tough is about more than just knowing how to throw a punch.
Sure many of us had moms who taught us how to punch for when we absolutely needed to fight but for all of us fighting was always seen as a last resort. When you have a biker mom you notice that she is going to take a lot of flak from men who ride motorcycles, from other women who think they know something about her, and from many others. But our moms never let this bother them. They knew that talk was just talk and they let it roll off their shoulders because sometimes knowing when to ignore someone's ignorant comment is tougher than kicking them in the teeth.

7) Always be true to yourself.
Which brings me to the seventh thing your biker mom taught you, always be true to yourself. Even though your mom might have had to listen to a lot of people complain about her motorcycle she never let that stop her from being her, not even for one tiny little second. In the end the only way to be happy is to always be yourself.

8) You may and should wear whatever makes you happy.
Our moms wore leather jackets and blue Levi jeans most days but occasionally they broke out the leather miniskirt and the long, thigh high boots. Or maybe they puttered around out in the yard in a sun dress. Or maybe one day mom decided she was going to wear a belly shirt. Biker moms wear whatever they want, whenever they want. They don't worry about being "too girly" or about appearing to be "too boyish" or "manly." No, biker moms wear what they like. And they taught us that too.

9) All women are beautiful and should be treated as such.
Our biker mamas made sure to have lots of different women coming in and out of our homes all the time. These women came in all shapes and sizes and mom made sure to show love and respect to all of them. She never once made a mean comment about any woman for her hair, clothes, makeup, body type or appearance. In fact, she made a point to tell us what it was she loved about each of those women who she had adopted as her sisters.

10) You determine who you are, no one else.
Biker moms never try to be anything that they are not. They never try to live up to anyone else's expectations of who they should be. They just try to do their very best to teach us that we can be anything that we want to be.