Nina Siermann, biker girl from Germany shares her motorcycling story with team TnW. She now rides a Honda CBR600RR. Nina says , “There is nothing better after a bad day than coming home, knowing your motorcycle is there in the garage waiting for you to go for a ride. It makes you forget everything.“
Q) Introduce yourself?
A) My name is Nina and I am 23 years old. I am a master student and I study Geosciences & Environment in Germany.
Q) How long have you been riding motorcycle?
I’ve been riding since September 2014.
Q) Any specific reason you ride for?
A) I don’t ride my bike for commuting or practical reasons, I really do it as a passion. There is nothing better after a bad day than coming home, knowing your motorcycle is there in the garage waiting for you to go for a ride. It makes you forget everything. When I’m on my bike, I forget all the things around me, there’s just the bike and me, I focus on the street and the corners, feel the wind and live for that very moment.
I tried a lot of things, different sports, music and stuff and some of them, like karate were quite fun, but still not the right for me. I’ve always struggled with myself, but now it makes me feel strong and confident to know, that I can ride and handle this motorcycle.
And, for sure, it always makes me grin, when I am somewhere with my bike, and I come back finding her surrounded by guys looking at her, wondering, who the rider might be. Their facial expression, when I finally turn up to my bike is simply priceless.
Q) Describe on how you got to where you are with motorcycling today.
A) In 2013 I met that guy, who picked me up with his Honda VFR800 on our very first date, and that was really love at first sight in more ways than one. I hadn’t had anything to do with bikes before and I was kinda scared on my first backpack ride. But looking back on it, this experience was the one that ignited the passion within me.
After being his backpack on the VFR for one Season, I started working on my license in spring 2014 and finished it in fall 2014. When I started riding myself, he traded his VFR for a Fireblade, because there was no longer a need for him to ride a bike suitable for two.
Most of the time we ride together and I feel very lucky to have a mentor like him. Usually he rides in the front, so I can copy his line in curves, which is really helpful for me to improve myself. It is just amazing, when you share such a passion in a relationship it really binds you together. We had so many adventures and beautiful trips that I suggest that this is even better than riding alone.
Q) The first motorcycle you started riding/ learnt riding?
A) I learnt on a Yamaha XJ6. When I got my license, my first own bike was a Yamaha FZS600 Fazer. But I also had some private practice lessons on my boyfriend’s VFR before I started doing my own license.
Q) Your ride (motorcycle) now.
A) I’ve always loved supersports bikes, but I wanted to start riding and learn the basics on something less radical, so I went for the Fazer first.
After one great season with the Fazer I felt like I was ready for the next step, so I decided to look out for a small supersports bike. And so I got my beloved Honda CBR600RR.
Q) Tell us about your motorcycle.
A) My CBR is from 2007 and I bought her quite the way she is today. I just did some tiny little bits and pieces to her like the Marc Marquez number above the right headlight and the reflective rim tape on the front and rear wheel. But a lot of things were already done when I got her such as the Leo Vince exhaust or the black windshield.
Since I haven’t ridden for a very long time and not so many bikes I cannot compare her so well to other bikes. But when I compare her to the Fazer, which I had first, the CBR is definitely way more fun. She is lighter, which is important for a short & slim girl like me and therefore has a better handling. I love how smooth she goes around corners and the feeling that comes along while riding her. Even though I’ve ridden the CBR for a short time until now, however I would say that she’s perfect for me, because of the feeling I have riding her.
Q) Joined any riding clubs/ motorcycle clubs?
A) Probably not a real club, but the Honda dealer in our city has a customer base that is sticking together quite close. So there are often tours, where we ride together. Of course the others are all guys. There are between two and three female backpacks, but I am the only girl, who rides herself and therefore I am always the one the guys want to ride next to…It’s a very familiar atmosphere.
Q) Is there a local motorcycling event that you try and attend regularly?
A) This year was the first time I attended the motorcycle worship, which takes place annually in many different cities here in Germany. It’s a huge meeting of many different bikers and therefore there are always many interesting people to meet. That event mainly consists of two parts; the first one is a sermon, which focuses on the spirit of riding and the meaning it has for the riders, and it also contains prayers for a safe season for all of us. The second part is always a huge parade of all the participating bikers through and around the city. Riding in this parade was really an overwhelming feeling of unity of the bike family. It made me understand that it’s not important, what bike you are riding, but the fact that you ride.
Q) How far have you ridden your motorcycle?
A) I rode about 10.000 km on the Fazer, and about 2.500 km with the CBR. But there are many more to come and I am looking forward to every single one.
Q) Do you have any motorcycling heroes?
A) Basically there are three, who I would like to mention.
First is obviously my boyfriend, because he was the one who introduced me to the world of motorcycles and caused that I fell in love with it. Also in my opinion he is a very good rider, even though he would never admit it himself, but I’ve never seen him struggle on his bike. Furthermore, he has such a large knowledge about bikes that I could listen to him for ages.
Looking at my bike, you’ll see that I’m a fan of Marc Marquez. He was in his rookie season in MotoGP, when I watched my first ever MotoGP race in 2013. He fascinated me from the very first moment, how he rode that beast of a machine, being one year younger than me and was just so fearless while doing this. I saw him live at the GermanGP in 2015, winning that race, and it just blew me away.
Another one who has a huge impact on me recently is Anna Rigby from Redspade Racing. She also rides a CBR600RR and is just so talented handling it. It is so inspiring to me to see her photos and videos, how she slays it on track as a female, which is really something special for me. She really is a heroine for all those female riders out there, showing that you always can improve. You probably won’t become a MotoGP rider, but you can always try to be your personal best.
Q) How are women motorcycle riders treated by most people and by male motorcyclists?
To me this is always quite funny. I experienced that non-riding men often have their problems with women who ride. I don’t know if they feel less of a man when they talk to a riding girl, but I recognized, when I tell them that I ride, they seem scared at first and then try to tell me that this is not very lady like. Sure the fact, that I ride a supersports bike makes it even worse…
Other male motorcyclists are always very impressed and interested, they want to know everything about my bike and my riding history. But they always take you serious, it never happened to me, that another biker made fun of me. There’s always respect on the street.
Q) Parents/ Friends- How do they feel of you riding a motorcycle. Any special comments?
Oh yes, sure my family was not so excited, when I told them, that I got my license and my own bike. But the first time I visited them with my motorcycle and they were able to see how much this means to me, they were happy for me, too. They know, how important riding is for me and they accept that this is now a part of me. Sure they always tell me to be careful and to ride safe, but they would never tell me to stop doing it.
Q) Message to other female riders?
I would like to tell all of the female riders around the world to never give up, even if it’s sometimes hard. We need to chase our dreams, and we are way faster, when we do it on two wheels. And when times are getting tough, always remember how much better everything looks from the inside of a helmet.
(Unedited and as told to team TNW)
Posted by: Megha Madhavan