Andria Yu: Two Wheels. One Full Life

Andria Yu is a multi-hyphenate in the motorsports world. Before that, she was part of a completely different industry and discovering her love of motorbikes along the way. Join Shelly Henriquez-Neill as she sits with Andria to discuss her shift, (no pun intended, but totally welcome) from what she thought was her calling to what has become her passion.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Welcome to Uncommon Minds, where we sit down with truly amazing innovators and unique practitioners across common fields who think outside the box and carve their own paths to success. I'm your host, Shelly Henriquez Neal. Let's lean into another great episode right now. Hi everybody, welcome back to our newest episode of Uncommon Minds. Today we are so, so excited. We're always excited for every guest we have because the brilliance of what makes them uncommon gets us all stoked about what it is we're gonna talk about, but also what it is you're gonna learn that we know it's something that you've either rarely heard of or haven't ever heard of. So, Uncommon Minds, as you know, is a show about people who live at the intersection of unexpected worlds. Worlds are colliding for them that you probably wouldn't put together, and this guest is no different. She teaches motorcycle safety. She is a writ coach, she serves as the vice president of communications for four organizations: the Motorcycle Industry Council, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, and the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association. And she rides. She seriously rides. Andrea Yu, welcome to the show. It is so great to have you in Uncommon Minds. Thank you so much for having me, Shelly. So the combination of roles, right, is genuinely rare. We could talk about this all day. And I know for you it's something that comes up very often in your career and your walks of life. But before we break it down, I want to start at the very beginning. When did you first get on a motorcycle and what happened? When did you first get because when people have all of these things that are connected to their name, you're like, okay, but how did they start? So tell us that story if you would. Take a walk down memory lane.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

I just as a kid, I loved being on wheels. I want, I remember for Christmas, I wanted a skateboard. I didn't know how to skateboard, but you know, I was like, oh, that looks like fun. And then I wanted roller skates. And then I wanted rollerblades when those were a thing. I wanted a bicycle. So I always wanted to be on wheels. I guess I just love the movement and the way that just kind of makes me feel kind of free. And it just, and this goes to motorcycles too, but it opens up a world of possibility. It's you're moving, you're outside, you're getting places. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

And you're gliding.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

So very cool, it's a gliding thing, right? Right. And then fast forward, I went to college in New York City. And to get around, I had a rollerblade, and I bought a $50 old, old Peugeot bicycle from the flea market. And this was in the 90s when bike messengers were a big thing. And so just to amuse myself, I would say, like, okay, can I keep up with them? And so I get around a lot in traffic on a bicycle or on rollerblades. So when I then got my first real job as a journalist, so I studied journalism and I worked at Newsday and then the Baltimore Sun in Maryland. So that's what made me move to Maryland. After about half a year, I was like, and I had a 20-mile commute. I was like, you know what? There's got to be a more fun way to get to work. Because I used to bicycle. I'd love to bicycle, but you can't take a bicycle on the highway. So I was like, wait a second, motorcycles. That seems like the logical transition. So I didn't know anybody who rides motorcycles. No one in my family rides. I have no friends that ride a motorcycle. But it was just like, this just seems like fun. So I remember what did I do? I'm like, okay, let me let me look this up. Oh, the Maryland Vehicle Administration says you should take these classes. All right, sign me up. Signed up, paid for it. I was probably one of the only people there. I had a big, big grin the entire time. I was just thinking, this is so cool. This is so fun. I did see one guy fall over. Like it wasn't a big dramatic thing, but he just kind of fell over or toppled over. And then he seemed like really frustrated. And then he just walked out. But the whole time I'm like, this is just the best. And I'm I'm just having a grand old time the whole time. A bunch of us did pass. And so I went and bought the motorcycle that I learned on because I'm like, well, I know I can ride this one. So I looked for 1986 Honda Rebel 250, bought it up in Delaware. I had a friend bring it down for me because I wasn't ready to ride across the bridge and everything. And then just like a couple days later, hopped on and rode to work, and that started everything.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Oh my gosh, what a cool story. It it was born from necessity, though, which is very interesting. Right. There was sort of like that natural interest. But that conversion was like, you know, I need to, so let me take what I need and make it blend with what I love. Love, right. Or what I find intriguing. And therein lies this just amazing experience. I love that. Very important question for you. Do you still have that bike?

SPEAKER_02 5:34

I wish I did. But when I was starting out, and I wasn't super, I was like, I was 23. I couldn't afford a whole lot of things. So when I needed a different bike, I had to sell that bike so I can put that money toward my other bikes. Part of me, well, large part of me wishes I kept that because it would be so amazing.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

How did you then take that and turn it into a career, right? This is not just a weekend thing. It's not just a hobby that you have that also gets you from point A to point B when you have to get to school or get to your early jobs. How did you then take that and turn it into a career? Because you talked about journalism study. Talk about that a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

I was a journalist for 18 years. And in journalism, when people asked me, too, like, what is your goal? Five years, 10 years, what do you want to be in journalism? And I knew roles keep changing. And that's probably one of it is having that sort of a growth mindset and the idea that things can change and that you can shape whatever it is you want to do. It's not always laid out. So some people may say, like, I started as a copy editor, like, oh, I want to be the editor of the paper one day. But maybe that's not what I want to do. Maybe there's something else. So all I would say all the time was like, well, I just want to have a leadership position at the newspaper. I want to have more responsibilities and just kind of shape the way the paper runs. And to me, I felt like that gave me more options. I wasn't kind of trying to pigeon my whole self somewhere. So I went from Baltimore Sun to USA Today, where I did eventually become the front page editor for the last, oh gosh, maybe six or so years I was there. So I got in as a night editor. And that's the other thing. I just I would want all of your audience members to know, even if the job description will say XYZ and want these requirements, I didn't meet the requirements fully. I didn't have enough years of experience, but I knew I could do it. So it's this belief in yourself. I was very transparent. I said, I don't meet the experience years that you require. However, I'm a quick learner and I got this essentially. The other thing is I showed up for my interview on a motorcycle, which is very unexpected. In fact, I think that's what made them remember me because they said we've never had someone walk in with their helmet and their boots. And they're like, but I also had like a dress on. And they're like, how did you do so that made them remember it? But you do have to work hard. So I studied up on what I need to know and got the job while I was there at the newspaper. I mean, I just, as you know, I loved motorcycling. And so I had these opportunities come up where a friend of mine at the paper introduced me to someone in the motorcycle industry. They knew I liked to ride. So I spent a full day with them. I took a day off. I spent a full day with them at we used to have these motorcycle shows. I let them talk and talk to me about things. This person, just so you know, a little bit, ended up hiring me years later. But we talked. He said, Hey, would you like to do a review of one of the newer motorcycles that came out? And I was just like, sure. Now, do I know? Did I get permission from the paper? No. Right. Do I know what I'm doing? No. But it's always that yes, right? Like, yes. Let's try it out. Let's see. I'll figure it out. So I had a place to where I could publish these stories. And I also knew enough about the paper that knowing that on the weekends, when things are quiet, we don't have a big staff, they're always looking for original content. So I have to know my audience. So I can't get too technical. So I did, I would get these motorcycles to use at no cost. They're press loaners, which is great. However, I still had my full-time job. So I wrote the stories on my days off. When I did, they had me come out to a couple, they call them press intros, where they have you go out and see the bikes and talk with all the executives. And I was like, oh, this is a great opportunity. I would do that. But I did this all on my time off. We also did some fun rides, right? And I would include my partner. So it was like a mini vacation because I would take time off from work.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

But I still had to write about it. So there's always work. And I did this for at least three years. But it got to a point too where I was just thinking, oh my gosh, this is so much work. And I just want to have a vacation where I just enjoy and I don't have to think about doing something more on my weekends. But in the back of my head, too, I always thought about wouldn't it be cool if this thing I love, which is motorcycles, which I actually don't have a background in, right? Most people who end up working in the industry started at dealerships. And I wasn't going to go back and go become a salesperson. But I just said, wouldn't it be cool if somehow I got to combine the two? So the person that I spent all day with actually said to me one day, well, he called me up from out of the blue. And this some type of divine intervention, or as my one friend will say, if you want something, put it out into the universe. I was working in the paper. This was 20 end of 2015, start of 2016, when we had it was Trump versus Hillary, and politics were just like so heated up. Things were getting really just oh my gosh, so much work. We had a bunch of cuts at the newspaper, and I was really feeling burned out at that point. I mean, I still love journalism, I love what it's all about. But I was getting burned out and I really wanted to do something new, and so I just kind of put that thought out into the universe. I'm like, you know, it's time. And I said, I'm gonna make a promise to myself that before the national conventions, which are usually in August, that I will have found a new job and I'm gonna leave journalism because I just I'm so tired. In April, the guy I spent that day with, he called me and he said, Hey, we have an opening at the Motorcycle Industry Council. Would you like to join us? So that was the other thing, too, that I would thought about because throughout my career in journalism to get a job, I had to actively look, keep my resume updated, take all these tests, because we do writing tests and editing tests. And I'm like, gosh, I hope my work is enough that people see my worth and ask me to join them instead of testing into it. And here it is, this guy who calls me and said, We have an opening, would you like to join us? Because he had seen everything that I did already, and he knew I could do it. He knew I loved motorcycles, like it was my personal passion. And so he's like, We've been actually watching you for a while, and so we'd love for you to come on board. I didn't come on board as VP, he was the VP. I did also have to take a slight pay cut, but again, where does my dream arrow point to? Right. And so I'm like, no, let's do this. At the same time, I got another offer from a friend to who's starting a new, it's called like the drive. It was owned by Time magazine. It was online, it was covering cars and automotive, and you get to go on these like trips and review cars. And the guy who hired me knew about this too. And he said, That sounds like a dream job. Are you sure you don't want to do that? And I said, Yes, I'm tired of chasing clicks. This I want to do a new thing. And so everything I've worked up to. So that's why I always say, when people say, How did you get your job? I'm always like, it's 50% hard work, 50% luck. But that luck is really these opportunities that come when you make them. Like you have to always prep yourself so that you're ready for the big opportunity that comes your way. And you jump in. That's what I try to do. So again, I was offered the job. I didn't have to look for it. Yes. I was like, oh, they didn't make me take a test. This is great. So like checking off all these things at once.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

So that is fantastic, Andrea. Oh my goodness. What a great story. Echoing all the things you said about putting the work in, believing that what is for you will come to you. It's a true passion that you had. It wasn't just something you dipped in and out of. You met the right people, but you put yourself in a position to meet the right people. You know, I think when you're talking about the fact that you used your PTO and went to these, and I'm thinking, oh my gosh, you won't talk about dedication. You made it work so that you weren't putting in jeopardy where you were. Right. You were using the opportunities when you could, but you made the most of those opportunities. And I just, I absolutely love that story. I want to stay personal a little for a little bit longer and ask you what is it that writing gives you that nothing else in your life does? Riding, not writing, right? Yeah, yeah. Exactly. Good, good catch. Riding, you know, a motorcycle or an off-road vehicle give you that nothing else in your life does.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

It's what people talk about now being in the moment, being present, being focused. And for me, it's a possibility. You have to be present and in the moment and aware. And just let it be, let it flow. And when you're on a motorcycle, you have to be present because you can't be distracted. Everything you're doing, all of my senses from sight to hearing, I'm listening for trafficker and I think feel, I can feel the different temperatures change. I'm riding through dips and valleys, I'll smell freshly mown grass, I'll smell like cow manure, I'll smell flowers, I'll smell, smell if when you're in California, like the eucalyptus trees, all of that. And then feeling the temperatures change, just from like, you know, dips and rises and altitude changes, hearing different things from traffic noise to just kind of like you always hear the road, you know, and you have, but you can hear traffic, you can hear sometimes like animals. Being ready for the unexpected, I was doing a cross-country trip and we're riding on a 60 mile per hour cycle lane, and all of a sudden I go around this bend and there's a cow in the road. And so you have to like kind of react. But just like when you practice martial arts or meditation, you react without panic. And so, because you're so focused on doing one thing, which is riding a motorcycle, that's why a lot of people that you do talk to about riding motorcycles, they'll they'll say it feels very zen. It's like moving meditation, it calms me down. It like refreshes my mind because all you have to think about at that moment is just riding a motorcycle. But you're not turned off, your senses aren't turned off. They're all on, hyper-aware because anything can happen, can kind of disrupt you. It's also like, well, I need to stay alive. So yeah. And it sounds strange because you're like, oh, wait, stay alive. It sounds like survival, but it's so super calming and relaxed. The other thing I love about it too, which has been hard for me to reach in a like seated or standing meditation, is to not let other thoughts creep in and bother you.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Yeah, yeah. Or knowing what to do with them when they do, right? So, like it's like when you when you said you turned the corner and you saw that cow. Right. You cannot avoid that, right? That's a big thought. Right. It's a big image. You know, it's a living being. So it's no, I'm not going to let it freak me out and tense up to the degree that I might fall or I might hurt the animal. I see it. Let me respect it, let me see where it is, see where I am, and make the necessary adjustment.

SPEAKER_02 17:37

Right. So also, like I things, people, when they talk to me, I said, when I'm on a motorcycle, all of a sudden nothing bothers me. And I know you do a lot of meditation, Shelly. And so you get to that state where work problems, life problems suddenly don't matter. It's not that they don't matter ever, but at that moment, they can't bother you, they can't penetrate your mind and like get you feeling anxiety. So that's what motorcycles helps me do because I'm so focused on the ride and just enjoying it. I mean, it's it so fulfills all of my sensory aspects. And then for me, I started. So we started by commuting, and then we started, my partner and I, we started traveling together. And that opened up a whole other world of possibilities. Like, oh, I don't have to sit in a car, I don't have to be in an airplane. It will take me longer, but I get to feel the entire journey. When I did a cross country ride, interestingly enough, this was actually during kind of it was in 2021. So COVID was going on. But it's something you can do that I'm definitely away from people and I'm in my own home.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

Yeah. I was gonna say that too. I would imagine that there was this huge uptick in people getting motorcycles or getting certified to go because that's it was a perfect thing to do when the pandemic was happening. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

So I rode across the country, and it was also when a lot of Asian hate was going on because people were blaming COVID for, you know, like the China virus or whatever. And so I was telling my friends, like, I'm gonna ride across the country and I'm gonna go through like where'd we go? Arizona, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, all southern states because it was in March. So it was kind of chilly.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

Right.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

And so people were like, Aren't you worried? And I said, No, we'll see, you know. But what I found is that people have more in common than they have uncommon. And I told everyone, I said, not once did I get anyone critical of me or disparaging. It really helped me believe in humanity again because you meet the people who come out and talk to you and warn me about the feral pigs in Texas that are really strong and they can flip a car over. So be careful. People telling me where you should go eat. It's like again, it just so motorcycles in many ways brought humanity back to me, even though it seems isolating. But it's an icebreaker. You start talking to people, they start feeling inspired. Well, she did it. I can do it. This is something I want to try. They tell you about their community, and it's just a great way to meet people too.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

So I love that. What a beautiful experience that you've had. And it's such a warm and wonderful adventure, right? To take a ride across country, obviously staying safe and all of the things. But I loved what you said about the fact that you have so much more in common with people than you realize. You can connect with them and people ask you questions, and they and you're also probably, without even realizing it, inspiring people. I hope so. To do what you've done. Yeah, to absolutely do what you've done. So, what bike are you riding right now and why? I have several.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

Do you have a favorite? I don't. It's like asking who your favorite child is or which was your favorite pet. They're all different and they're all special for their own reasons. Depends on what type of riding I'm doing. I have a BMW R1200 RS. That's really it's a sport tour, great for like long distance travel. Of course, I did my cross-country trip on a KTM 390 ADV. It's an adventure bike, but it's a smaller 390 cubic centimeters displacement versus like a 1200cc cubic displacement. So a lot of people are like, oh, a 390. Well, that's not, I mean, it's not super fast. I could do 80 miles per hour if I need, but it's really happiest at about 70. And we were just enjoying, we were seeing the country. We were, I always say riding across the country is the closest I'll ever get to like walking across the country because I'm riding, and sometimes I just kind of look down and I dangle my foot down and I just skim the surface of the road. And I'm like, it's right there. The earth is right there beneath my feet. I'm traveling faster than I could ever walk, but yeah, I smell, and that's why again I say I smell everything. I open up my visor and my face. Is right there in the air. I see everything. And you stop and you talk to people. And when you get off the motorcycle, I'm right here. I'm not in a car. I'm not enclosed. I'm right here. And so that's why it's just been great. So for some of the long distance travel, the sport tour is actually great. I took something different because we thought we might get some off so the adventure bike can go on and off-road. And we thought we might hit some dirt roads and we did, and it did perfectly fine. I have some more dirt-specific bikes like dual sports that are made more for off-road. I have an enduro motorcycle for like really more tricky off-road terrain. So I'm learning that. I like that because you can take risks, but you meant so with all of motorcycle riding, people are like, Aren't you scared? I said, No. I never feel more in control than when I'm on a motorcycle. Wow. Because there are certainly risks. You know what those risks are. The other thing about motorcycling is you have to be very self-aware. Know what you are like as a driver. Know if you're a big risk taker. Know your reaction time. Knowing this, now how do you put that forward? So these are all things I always say there's so many parallels with motorcycling as with life.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

I want to shift to the industry piece and the industry voice a little bit because there's a natural transition there and connection. You have a lot of motorcyclists now who see it very differently than the fundamental or foundational way of seeing it. They get the license, but they only want the license because they want to show out and they want to do whatever it is they want to do on the roads, be it safe or not. I want to talk a little bit about who the new motorcyclist is today. Is the face of whose writing actually changing? Are you finding that it's more shifting towards people who are younger or people who are, you know, really want to do the thrill seeking, or is it still the same as it always was? Well, that's a tough one.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

I probably don't have the answer to this. There are many answers, I think, with this. In my classes, I do see younger people doing this. But what's been interesting is maybe they're drawn to the way the bikes look or how cool it seems. But they have fewer skills in like they don't ride a bicycle as often. They don't know how to use a manual transmission. They don't even know what it is. But they just don't necessarily have that concept because they don't have to work on a lot of things at home or, you know, anymore. Also, a lot of people don't even want to drive a car. I just did a satellite media tour. So I was on what was it, 17 TV channels and eight radio or something, just talking about it. But part of it too is like fuel prices are up, right? So there are people looking to ride a motorcycle because they're more economical in fuel. But also with fuel prices up, there is a sort of shift to people looking at electric vehicles. The thing we're seeing a lot of people go into now is electric bicycles.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

I've seen a lot of those, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

Yep. And a lot of kids are on electric bicycles because they do solve two things. First of all, parents like, well, it gets the kid outside. Secondly, because it's electric, they can get farther. So a lot of parents are looking at this as another way for their kids to get to their after school programs, their soccer practice, football practice, whatever it is. Get to their friend's house as long as they do it safely. And speaking of that, actually, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation did come up with we worked with people for bikes, a bicycling advocacy group for an online e-bike e-course. It's at ebike ecourse.com. Because what we realized too is you have teenagers who do not have a driver's license, but now you're throwing them into the traffic mix. So, how do they know the rules of the road? A lot of them, if you ask a 14-year-old, okay, do you know what the yield sign means? What do you do when you get to a yield sign? The stop sign, are you supposed to stop? Where can you ride? What are you supposed to do if you need to make a right turn? What hand signal do you have? They don't know these things. They also don't know that all of the road signs and traffic lights apply to them too. They are not pedestrians, they're not crossing wherever they can. They need to understand. So that's what we created. It takes just under two hours to do. We're hoping it can help them learn a lot more of these. And we also put in some skill building practice exercises they could do in a parking lot with their parents. Because also with motorcycles and anything you do with your life, you have to know how a thing works. With your e-bike, with your motorcycle, you have to know your vehicle. How quickly can it stop? How do I swerve? And so the only way to do that is practice and in a safe space. So those are things we encourage people to do.

SPEAKER_00 27:02

That is so fascinating. It's interesting when you put it like that. It's a simple deduction. Of course, I'm on the road. I have to, but that connection between a teenager who is not yet of legal age to drive a car, but can still drive another vehicle has to also know the same rules and signs and things like that. It's fascinating. It's fascinating when people don't really think about until something happens, right? Right. I want to name attention directly, right? As the vice president of communications for an industry group, you know, and you're also a safety instructor. Does the industry ever want you to say something that you can't as a safety professional, like stand behind? Do you ever have like something that would I can't tell people they can take this on the road and it can go up to a hundred and this? And you go go ahead, test it out, try it. And as a safety professional, you're like, well, really, there are other things that you need to keep in mind if you choose to do that. Has that ever happened? Or is it rare that would ever happen or it doesn't happen at all?

SPEAKER_02 28:12

I love this question because before I accepted the job, I actually said, I asked, I said, what is it you want me to sell? And they said that motorcycling is a lot of fun or can be a lot of fun. But if you want to learn, you have to do it the right way. Proper training and proper gear, wear all the gear all the time. Go to a formal class, wear all your gear, and that's it. And I said, you know what? Great. Because I'm not selling anything. That's what I personally believe. You know, I've told you, I'm like, motorcycling is so much fun. You should try it out. But if you want to try it out, do it the right way. Don't just go borrow a friend's bike. And obviously, you borrowed mine, but I am like, I was just gonna say, wait a second. I was at your house. We were like, hanging out, you didn't tell me that. No. No, I had you in a helmet. I had with you and Gloria in a helmet. I gave you guys gloves and we did it on our my lawn on a dirt bike. So it was controlled. And I am a dirt bike school coach as well. So I'm a rider coach. That's a street class, the dirt bike school coach. You mentioned the other two associations. One is ATVs. So I'm an ATV instructor and a an ROV driver coach.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

This is one of the really amazing things about you. I have experienced it. I've experienced you as an instructor, as a safety professional, as a believer in how these two things complement each other. You know, you're not just this wild and crazy adventure enthusiast who wants to get out there and do all the crazy, you know, it was a very it was a stepwise process that you I remember when we first got to you, you had my wife and I pick the helmets that we liked, but then you were like, now let's see if it fits. Because it's one thing to have like the aesthetic in mind, and we're like, oh, I want the one with the mohawk. Yeah, okay, but if it doesn't fit you well, it doesn't matter what it looks like. And I absolutely loved that attention to the safety first, which I'm assuming that, you know, people would say, well, of course, it's what she does. But listen, there are people who I'm sure in within the industry too, that might forego some of the things, not all of the things, or they might give people options and say, Well, you don't have to, but you really ought to. With you, you're like, no, we're not getting on, even though we're in a closed space and closed space, we're not getting out there unless you have this down. So, you know, that's something that we really appreciated. Question for you, because we're talking about us as women. Obviously, when we came to you, there was that piece. Is motorcycle culture welcoming, right? When we talk about now the culture of motorcycling, I feel like I can answer this question and say, yeah, because you see all of these women rider clubs all over the place and it just looks so fun. But when you talk about the culture itself, do you think it's welcoming enough to women, to newer riders, to people who don't fit the traditional mold, right? If there is such a thing.

SPEAKER_02 31:15

Could I actually go back to your industry question on the industry? You know, how you mentioned like people going fast and what they can do with the bikes. The question I had for them when I said, What is it you want me to sell? was mostly because I also didn't want to work for and I didn't feel like I would be able to authentically represent something I didn't believe in. The industry is actually very much about safety as well. Because, you know, if you're not safe, you're not gonna have customers. So while a lot of their products can reach, you know, really high speeds, even in the industry, we always talk about there's a time and place. If you want to push your speeds and push your skills, you do that at a track. And at a track, there are coaches there to help you learn that too. So there's a lot of coaching involved, and again, that goes back to self-awareness, knowing what you can and can't do with your skill level, but also making the right choices. It's the then we talk about the executive functions, making the right decisions. The other thing that we always talk about when you let's say you do want to be a racer, slow down and look at your technique. Smooth is fast, and fast is smooth. Um, and the smoother you are at something by slowing down and really looking at your techniques, the faster you'll become. And then people who are really fast will start feeling like they're going really slow. And then the best way to do it, I just taught a friend of mine is use a timer, use the stopwatch. Always measure because once you smooth out all of your movements, you'll feel like you're going slower, but you're actually going because you're also more relaxed. And then we also talk about always having to practice the basics, even if you're a top racer, we say that too. Even the top racers, top athletes, they have coaches, they need coaching, but they always practice the basics. So the industry 100% behind all the safety aspects of it.

SPEAKER_00 33:17

What would actually make the roads meaningfully safer in 10 years? What would you fix first if you had all the resources you could and all the political influence and backing that you could? What would you fix first in order to make the roads meaningfully safer in 10 years?

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Well, if I had all the resources and in anything I could wish for, it would be so fantastic to have dedicated motorcycle lanes. Now, this sounds far-fetched. However, if you go to Taiwan, they actually have those. The biggest difference I see with the US versus Asia or Europe is that in America, we view motorcycling as a recreation. For them, it's a needed mode of transportation because the roads are smaller, they just have more people. So in Taiwan, they have dedicated lanes, even in the parking garages for two wheels, like motorcycles and scooters. They have dedicated lanes and dedicated uh places to stop for two wheels at intersections. So they have thought it through thoroughly because the other thing about riding a motorcycle or scooter in Asia Europe is that everyone does it. Grandmas ride their motorcycles because they have to get around. Your grandmother, your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister, everybody rides motorcycles. I will say that's the one thing I've been trying to work at in my position, is to normalize motorcycling in the US. It's not like this niche thing that, as you even mentioned, you have people who don't ride haven't in their minds what they think a motorcycle person is. And I'm trying to tell people no, it's not a specific type of person, it's everybody. When you and I first met, would you have imagined I was so into motorcycles?

SPEAKER_00 35:12

I mean, the hobby part, yeah, you know, you can kind of because anybody can sort of say, oh, you know, it's something I like to do, but the enthusiasm that you have and the knowledge that you have, I never would have imagined that. And I think all of those things, whether it be inclusion in the culture or more inclusion in the culture, because I think it, you know, quite frankly, I think motorcycling has a very inclusive culture because you see motorcyclists of all shapes and colors and sizes and all of that, enthusiasts. But the normalization of it within our infrastructure is so important from a safety standpoint, from an acceptance that it is a vehicle that is not purely recreational. I mean, there are just so many things, but I think that's really key. And it made me realize, huh, it's one thing to see a bicycle lane in a residential area in the suburbs or wherever in cities? It's another thing to see a bicycle lane on a highway. And we're sharing this space. We've come to the end of the episode, and with every guest, we always like to ask a signature question that ties in uncommon minds to the work that you do and the way you live your life. And my question for you is what is an uncommon belief that you have about motorcycling that you have and that you hold that some riders or industry folks might see differently or not the same way?

SPEAKER_02 36:41

So because I came from it differently than a lot of people in the industry, I hear often when people talk about getting more people into riding, they say, Oh, we want to introduce them into our lifestyle, bring them into our community. I always say, No, that's not how it works. We need to show people how motorcycles fit into their own lifestyle, how it fits into their community, because that's how it worked for me. I didn't decide I want to join a biker group, or you know, like, hey, I want to change my lifestyle. No, I always talk about motorcycling as how can it augment you so it can help you become the best that you are. I am a person who I love travel, I love exploring, I love the outdoors, I love challenges, and motorcycles brings all of that together for me because I can use it travel, I can use it for adventures, I explore different places. I like the challenges of doing some things off-road. Can you get over the slug? Do I have the skill? Can I dial everything in so I can do these things perfectly? And it also is a great way of self-expression. You know, every motorcycle can say something about that person's personality or what they want to do because they are built. People say, Why do you have three motorcycles? Or actually, I have we have like 12. But I would say, like, well, if you have a toolbox, do you use a hammer for everything? No, sometimes you need a wrench, sometimes you need a screwdriver. Same thing, they're kind of tools that I use for whatever it is I want to do. So, but that's the biggest thing. Not force it onto someone else's life, but how does it work in their life?

SPEAKER_00 38:33

I love that. Oh my gosh, that was brilliant. That was brilliant. Thank you so much, Andrea, for joining us. Thank you so much for sharing so much about your life. It's interestingly enough, it is a way of life for you. That is why it's so easy for you to create the parallels to the other things that you do and practice. And I love that you've made it so attainable and accessible and tangible for people who are who've never done it before to get into it, for people who are, you know, seasoned in motorcycle riding to learn something new. And I am just so thankful for all of your wisdom and of course your time. Before we close out, I want to make sure that people can get a good resource for people to go to if they want to learn more about courses, where to find courses, and just how to sort of get into motorcycling if they're if they have any resources that you can share.

SPEAKER_02 39:28

I would say go to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation website, and that's MSF hyphen USA.org. So msf.org. There's a zip code finder that you can use to find a school or class near you.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

Thanks for joining us for another amazing episode of Uncommon Minds. If you like what you've heard, please like, share, and subscribe on any of the major podcast platforms. And if you are on Instagram, please follow us at Uncommon Minds Pod. We'd love to hear from you. Share your thoughts. Also, like and share the information that you see there because it's always fun and it's always uncommon. See you soon. This podcast was edited by Resonate Recordings.