About
Hello there. For those who are curious – here’s a little about me and this website. My name is Victoria, NOT Jezebel - that’s the name of my bike, a 2008 Ninja 250 that I bought second hand after completing a motorcycle training course and receiving my learner’s motorcycle license in early May 2011. Jump to my bio
How this site got started:
Being 5’0 and 98lbs, I had a hell of a time: gear and bikes are not made for smaller people! I had to learn on a cruiser (and I was set on a sportbike) because I couldn’t touch ground on any of the stock height sport bikes. None of the gear I tried on fit me, making it unsafe to wear when riding, and I spent hours and hours researching what my options were, as a shorter rider.
Dave, who is a seasoned rider, mentioned that the amount of knowledge I had accumulated in a short period of time about biking was pretty astounding – and suggested I make a website “brain dump” as there were sure to be others in the same boat, and there wasn’t a very good (that I’ve found yet) comprehensive site for new shorter riders. He writes some of the more mechanical posts, helps teach me how to do the mechanics and mods on my bike, and helps research info for the site. Jump to his bio.
Mechanical:
I became fascinated with all things biking, especially the modifications I could make to my bike to make it easier and safer to ride, particularly for a short person. I had my heart set on doing all the mechanical work myself, so I’ve tried to include as much bike mechanics as possible, and whenever I manage, my own how-to.
There’s a long list of mods I’ve done (and have yet to do) to my bike to make her safer, and more comfortable for a petite girl to ride.
Website Goals:
I hope this website helps anyone else who’s looking for information about being a short rider, a new rider, or a female rider, or is interested in modifying their existing bike as the site caters specifically to those subjects. Please feel free to ask any questions through the comments, or email me (infoATridingjezebelDOTcom), I’ll do my best to answer them.
This site is a labour of love. There are ads on it to try and recover some of the costs that I’ve put into it (hosting and domain registration), but the rest is a whole lot of elbow grease.
About Me:
I’m an odd mix of Argentinean and Hungarian, born in Buenos Aires and immigrated to Vancouver, Canada when I was 5. I studied English Literature and Philosophy at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and hold an MA from there (along with fond memories). My work background is marketing and public relations, I help small businesses by offering a la carte marketing/pr/communications services through my communications firm, Divina Communications. I’m also a photography nut, and love snapping people, places and things, through my photography company, Divina Images. I’m an amateur metalsmith, making silver jewelry under the name Pieces of II and I like to sew and hammer leather in my spare time too, under the name Divina//Denuevo.
Hobbies wise, when I’m not doing those things, I’m: rock climbing, boxing, dancing, horseback riding, scuba diving, reading, taking pictures, building websites, sewing, painting, cooking, and probably a whole host of other things I can’t remember.
Victoria (and Jezebel)
About Dave:
I was born and raised in British Columbia, and have lived in the lower mainland since 1998. I studied Psychology and Kinesiology at SFU, but have always loved working with my hands. My highschool, in Terrace, B.C. had an auto shop, and even though I never took the class, I spent as much time as the teacher would allow me learning everything I could from him after school. We would work on dirt bikes and an old Honda Standard, fixing and rebuilding them, as well as cars. My knack for mechanics and working with my hands led me to do the work on all my own vehicles – including replacing the front suspension and cross member on my 1988 Honda CRX after an encounter with a curb in winter…
Coming from a family of riders (both mom and dad rode bikes in their haydays), my love of motorcycles started at a young age. By the time I was in highschool I was messing about on dirt bikes, and when I had the time and money, I took a motorcycle course and bought my ‘08 Vulcan 900 Custom, called Black Betty. The school where I did my riding course also offered a mechanics course, which I took soon after. I’ve been doing the maintenance on my own bike ever since, as well as helping others with the work on their bikes and cars. When Victoria bought Jezebel, she asked me to come with her as someone who knew bikes, to make sure it was a sound purchase as she wasn’t familiar enough with motorcycle mechanics to judge it herself. Since then, I’ve helped her with all the mechanical work and modifications done to Jezebel.
Other Interests
Travel is at the top of my list when I can afford to do it… other than that I am an avid shooter (not the hunting type, just the range). I like making things, photography, working on bikes and cars when I can get at them, and generally coming up with Macgyver style solutions to anything. When I can get the time I Thai Kickbox and I try to make it to the gym as frequently as my busy work schedule will allow. Aside from that, I help Victoria with Pieces of II and Divina-Denuevo making jewelry and leather goods and help with posts and research for Jezebel and the riding Jezebel website (as well as the hands-on stuff).
Dave (and Black Betty)
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