Chic Riot Spotlights: Crazy Asian Lady

Say hello

We at Chic Riot love nothing more than women who kick butt and this purple belt, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu female motorcycle rider can do just that! Cancer survivor, track slayer, and owner of a cute little pooch, Stella shows that She is much more than meets the eye.

In one or two sentences tell us about yourself?

My name is Crazy Asian Lady. I'm a mechanical engineer who loves motorcycles from Duluth, GA.

Who or what got you into riding?

Well, I fell in love with motorcycles when I was about 6 years old in my parents Oldsmobile Station Wagon with the rear facing backseat. I saw someone on a sport bike fly by on the highway and I, too, wanted to travel at the speed of sound. 

[After owning my first bike a CBR250, which I purchased last year…I felt the need for speed and] I bought a 600cc which was much faster!

I ride mostly with my best friend/coworker who's very friendly and because of him I've made a lot of friends in this motorcycling world and been on some pretty epic adventures.

What do you ride? And what does your bike say about you?

I currently own two bikes, a 2007 Kawasaki Ninja ZX6R and a 2012 CBR600RR. My ZX6R I've had for about a year now and I love it. The CBR I have purchased recently and it is almost completely repaired. I've been working on it every weekend for the past 2 months to get it ready. 

The ZX6R is a fun ride and I think it says that I'm daring. The stickers on the side of the ZX6R show my sense of humor and ability to laugh at pretty much anything. I'm half white and half Japanese and my favorite sticker says WARNING Asian Driver. 

How does it feel to be a female rider in this male dominated sport/lifestyle?

I enjoy it. My career as an engineer is in a male dominated industry. I've been training jiu jitsu for 8 years in a male dominated sport. I've recently fallen in love with motorcycles and it is also a male dominated sport. Just because it is male dominated doesn't mean females can't or shouldn't enjoy being a part of it. Typically, women tend to form tight bonds in male dominated areas by sticking together and supporting each other.

I have found that particularly in motorcycling there are many groups for women and even women's track days that support and encourage women to ride. I've actually done a women's track day and it was very different from a regular track day. I highly encourage any female newbie track riders to make a women's track day their first track day. The coaches are more helpful, they start out at a slower pace, and they have fun giveaways and picture events as well.

What is the most memorable experience or most fun you've had since riding?

So this one time, about 6 months after I started riding, my buddy invited me along on a trip with his other buddies to the tail of the dragon. Of course I said yes, it sounded like fun. I woke up at 5am, drove to my buddy's house, packed up the bikes in the trailer, and we drove to the mountains. We got there around 10am and met up with the group. There was a total of 5 of us. One of the guys started the trip by saying, "I'm going to tell you how this goes. We are going to finally get on the road and then one of us is going to have bike trouble and we will all go home." Ironically enough, it was him who was riding when his coolant drain bolt worked it's way out and he was spewing coolant all down the road. We stopped off at a pullover spot and started looking at the bike. It was determined that he had lost an M6 screw. I told them I had one in my fairing that he could use. One of the other guys in our group had a set of hex keys so I just pulled off the screw and put it on his bike and then went and asked some people who stopped at the overlook for water to refill the radiator. That took about 45 minutes and then we were back on our way again. 

We rode by a field full of elk, deer, and a bear. We did a bunch of curvy mountain roads, stopped off at some overlooks to take pictures. That was my first time seeing Clingman's Dome and it was especially beautiful that evening. 

It got later in the day and the sun went down and despite being in a full leather suit it became unspeakably cold and started to rain. [Our] shortcut to the Tail of the Dragon lead us on a dirt road with potholes and almost ran out of gas. [Finally,] we were able to make it to a gas station, then it began snowing! It took about an hour and a half in the dark traveling through rain/snow to get back to where we began. Looking at the patches on the road that were icing up, I thought to myself "S*@%, this is how I'm going to die". My hands were numb from the cold and my feet were numb from being on the back of a sportbike in a leather suit [all day]. I remember trying to warm my hands up by holding them by the motor which didn't help much. I got home at 2:30am and had to wake up at 6am to go to work the next day. Fortunately, I was on an adrenaline high and it wasn't too bad. 

Bonus question: What is your most random skill or strange talent?  

I have a few random skills. I can burp my ABC’s. I found that out as a kid. I'm a good dog trainer. I've taught my dog 36 commands. Random talent spotlight: I'm a photographer and I mostly photograph portraits, families, children, and dogs. I'm also pretty strong and enjoy weight lifting. My 5 rep belt squat max is 505 lbs. My deadlift max is 275 lbs. I'm not sure that's even a skill but it's something. 

---

Thanks again to Crazy Asian lady for being a Chic Riot’s Spotlight Rider. Follow Verity on Instagram @crazy.asian.lady and be sure to check out her work @ http://yataphotography.com/

Stay up to date with the latest women’s motorcycle jackets and apparel and all things Chic Riot by signing up for our newsletter below.