I’m a new rider. In fact, I am so new to riding that I can’t even ride... yet.
I wasn’t raised around motorbikes, I grew up in West Auckland suburbs and only learned to ride a push bike when I was 9 by pushing myself down our steep driveway. Something I remember distinctly, however, is my Dad taking me to visit a Harley Davidson store in Wellington.
Because of that memory, I have secretly always loved motorbikes. My life path just never really brought me close enough to them, until I met my husband. When we moved in together, his Sportster was part of the package. It wasn’t until he upgraded 5 years later that I started being a passenger princess, and we found R.A.C.
We officially became members in March 2023 and I’ve slowly become immersed in a culture incredibly foreign to what I am used to. There is new terminology, new etiquette, new events and new people – a new space that I have come to love.
With this though, has also come a lot of confusion. Why did that rider kick their leg out? Why is someone tapping their head? How did this person talk to that person during the ride? Being the giant nerd that I am, the other blogs in this space have certainly established opportunities to nod along in agreement during different conversations.
A question that remained though, in the lead up to one of our major events: what even is a show and shine?
A simple google search yielded a simple answer: To display a hot rod or custom car in a car show. After scolding myself for being so dim I continued reading and stumbled across a particularly eloquent perspective whereby the person believed show and shine events were for owners to park their vehicles and allow them to reflect the sunlight, and shine.
On the 4th November, 2023, my Honda Rebel will remain parked in a dark garage away from the R.A.C Show N Shine event. It is my hope however, that for 2024 I will be ready to ride her to the show, for her to shine. I believe that if this is possible, I too will be there, reflecting in the sunlight and marveling that I made it.
Brooke
(also our new Social Media Guru)
To find out more about the Show n Shine, just click here.
Love this group and the people, great posts like this reminds all of us of where we started in our own motorcycle journeys.