Be inspired, be curious, be moto friends! Welcome to our exciting roster of guest speakers.
When Wendy Crockett first started riding at the age of 18, she had no inkling of where her powersports passions would take her. She quickly realized that her riding buddies didn’t enjoy big mile days nearly as much as she did; as her confidence as a motorcyclist grew, she realized she could hit the road solo and ride to her heart’s content. She became a multiple factory certified powersports technician in 2001 and worked at dealerships until she opened her own shop, The CycleSmiths, in 2004. In 2003 Wendy discovered the Iron Butt Association and, elated to find other people who enjoyed saddle time as much as she did, immediately began completing certified long distance rides. In 2009 she competed in her first 11-day, 11,000-mile Iron Butt Rally.In 2019 Donna Wiegle was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer. In the midst of her cancer journey, she decided to add another journey, one that included a motorcycle. She published her book, Finding Courage: Navigating Cancer on my Harley, in 2021, and shares her inspiring attitude and determination.Sue Bossley is a passionate traveler, rider, and active community advocate. She is the National President of WIMA Canada. With just over a decade of riding experience, she has presented at various events, including Horizon’s Unlimited’ s CanWest. Her adventures span over 30 countries and five continents, many explored on two wheels. Beyond her personal travels, Sue is also the founder of Throttle West International Moto Festival and Adventure Pacific Motorcycle Tours, where she has presented motorcycle rallies and curated and led motorcycle tours in Mexico and Western Canada.Liza Miller is a very Big Dill. Just ask her to show you her pickle socks sometime to prove it. She is the creator of Re-Cycle Garage, a free-to-all co-op garage space, where she and her friends help people fix their bikes, source free donated gear, and learn everything they need to know to be better riders. It’s also become a social gathering place where they sit around and share stories. It’s from there that the podcast, Motorcycles and Misfits, was born.Michelle Lamphere was born in Sturgis, South Dakota, home of the world famous motorcycle rally. So It’s hard to imagine that her first experience of horsepower was growing up with horses and rodeo. She’s a world traveler, author, speaker and panel member on Adventure Rider Radio. She is the National President of WIMA USA.
Linda Bootherstone Bick joined WIMA in England in the 1960s. She met Louise Scherbyn in 1983 in New York while she was traveling the world. Linda then moved to Australia and formed the WIMA Australia division in 1984.Zee Traveler – Bunk-a-Biker community builder and leader, author, speaker, and world traveler. If you’ve spent any time on motorcycle vagabond or long distance travel social media pages, you will have heard her name. Zee Traveler has ridden 29 countries, and spent the last 8 years living on the road. She is a self proclaimed “motorcycle vagabond”, founder of Minimalist Motorcycle Vagabond and the MMV rally and podcast, author of Motorcycle Vagabond Epiphanies, and CEO of Bunk-a-Biker, the biker community that helps fellow travelers find places to rest along their journey.Dr. Wendy Pojmann, Ph.D., is an authority in the field of motorcycle history and culture. She is Professor of History at Siena University in Albany, New York. Her articles have appeared in The Vintagent and the International Journal of Motorcycle Studies. Her current book project is Connected by the Street: The Myths and Realities of Motorcyclists in the US and Italy. In 2021, Dr. Pojmann competed in the Motogiro d’Italia. She splits her time between Rome, Italy, and upstate New York.Kate St. Vincent Vogl co-wrote Iron Horse Cowgirls as well as Lady Ref, about the NFL’s first female official, which USA Today called “a remarkable book.” In addition, Vogl is the author of Lost & Found: A Memoir of Mothers, where she shares what happened when her birthmother found her through her adoptive mom’s obituary. Her work appears in best-selling anthologies and has received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Vogl currently teaches fiction and memoir writing at The Loft Literary Center.Ruth Belcher is a world traveler and passionate support of the women’s motorcycle community. Founder of Flock to the Rock and Global Moto ADV, Ruth is also the creator of this year’s Ride 4 Mary, a memorial ride established to celebrate the life of motorcycling legend and Ruth’s dear friend, Mary McGee.
Please welcome Louisa Swaden — a rider many of you will know from the Women Riders World Relay, where she served as the Italian Ambassador back in 2019. Since then, she’s gone from Pendine Sands in Wales to the salt flats of Bonneville, chasing land-speed records and discovering that motorcycles are the perfect classroom for philosophy. She’s the author of The Stoic Rider: Philosophy in Motion and today she’ll be sharing what the road has taught her about courage, connection, and why — as we all know — no one rides alone.Hayley Bell, Founder of Women Riders World Relay and 2019 AMA Motorcyclist of the Year, is about as passionate about building and supporting the women’s motorcycling community as you will find. And just wait until you hear what she’s up to now!Sarah Schilke is an avid street and off-road rider who has more than two decades in the motorcycle industry under her kidney belt. She originally got into the motorcycle field as a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) RiderCoach and continued her career in motorcycling from there, working with several aftermarket companies, including Hein Gericke and Schuberth, as well as the American Motorcyclist Association and the International Motorcycle Shows. Most recently she led BMW Motorrad’s marketing team and later transitioned to an Aftersales Area Manager with BMW Motorrad before heading the SW-Motech USA team during it’s start up phase. Sarah was the first woman to be elected to the Board of Directors of the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) and was an original member of the International Motorcycling Federation’s (FIM) Commission on Women in Motorcycling. She is a lifetime member of the AMA and has received numerous leadership awards in motorcycling including “Powersports Industry Leader” by Powersports Business and was named one of the “50 Makers of Motorcycling” by Bonnier Motorcycle Group. In 2019 she was named one of the “Top 100 Leaders in Powersports” by Dealernews, a leading powersports industry trade magazine. And in 2022, Sarah was named one of the “Top 100 Women in Powersports” by the same publication. Finding inspiration in the excitement of people entering the sport, Sarah continues to mentor novice riders, especially women riders, and enjoys meeting new friends through the bonds of the international motorcycling community. When she isn’t on two wheels, Sarah enjoys family time, cultural arts, a Rotary service club, a local MINI Motorist’s group, and a German language group.
