Nyla Roberts

Posted in New Mexico, USA | 0 comments

Please introduce yourself. I am a sophomore in high school, in tenth grade. Although school keeps me busy I do martial arts and I am a volunteer assistant soccer coach. I cook as much as my schedule permits. Although it’s on hold right now, I am trying to get my pilot’s license in a tail dragger. As a 16 year old, I get asked a lot about what I want to be when I grow up. Well, it changes almost every month, but I’m thinking about becoming a biologist, either with plants or bugs. 

Describe your path into motorcycling. My first time riding on my own was on a dirt bike. My mother had gotten lessons for my brother and I. In the beginning I cried a lot and didn’t want to get on the bike. As the day went on, I finally got on. The guy who was teaching us pushed the back of my bike around until I was off on my own. I was probably going half as fast as the bike could go, but I was only seven years old.

After that first very reluctant dirt biking lesson, my mother bought me a 50 cc automatic KTM dirt bike. We went out to the boonies to ride a few times. I also rode behind my mother on her BMW sometimes. I have to admit I wasn’t the best passenger, from my helmet banging on hers when she shifted to even falling asleep (scary, I know). Eventually, I got my brother’s 85 cc Yamaha. I spent hours learning how to shift, but sadly once I had that down the bike stopped running. I was back to riding on the back pillion with my mother but that wasn’t enough. I had to get my own bike. Finally after a family friend said she was selling her bike I finally got into the motorcycling world.

What was the longest motorcycle ride you’ve done? My first bike, my first time on the road on a street bike and my first motorcycle adventure were when I picked up a bike from Illinois and rode it back home to New Mexico.

I flew up to Chicago during my spring break to meet up with a fellow motorcyclist named Sherri South, who was friends with my mother. Sherri had a Suzuki TU250X that she wanted to sell to a good home. I flew in on a Saturday. Although I had to tippy-toe it, I fell in love with the bike. My mother showed up later that day, having ridden up on her BMW 1200GS from New Mexico in just two days!

I practiced on the bike for about a day just going around the neighborhood. Then off we went, my mother and I, on Monday morning right before the sun was up. Mind you, this was spring time in Chicago and it was super cold! I was freezing, so we had to stop every 15-30 minutes to heat up. We rode about 230 miles the first day. My bike doesn’t do too well going fast so we were taking  the smaller highways.

My biggest fear was that I would drop my bike once I got on it. Thankfully, I never once dropped it on the trip!

This one time we went to a small café in Pratt, Kansas called Rick’s Restaurant. You could tell it was full of local people and they were all very nice and welcoming. When some of them found out where we were going and how old I was, the news spread throughout the café. They watched as I put on my gear and rode away waving and smiling. I thought this was just so cool. It made me feel like a famous person. 

We got home in New Mexico on Friday, after riding a total of 1360 miles. It was amazing. I can’t wait for the next adventure!

Is there any other kind of motorcycling that you’d like to try your hand at? I really want to try a sports bike, or just a motorcycle with a bigger engine. With my bike it’s hard to make it up hills or through wind. Although I think a sports bike will be fun, it might not be comfortable leaning over so much. I guess I’ll never know until I try! 

What is your favorite kind of road to ride on? My favorite roads are very curvy with tight turns. I love it when I am close enough to the asphalt that I can scrape my foot.

If you could go ride with any of your motorcycling heroes, who would they be? Well I already ride with my motorcycle hero, my mom. Without her I would never have gotten on a motorcycle.

If you could change one thing about the world of motorcycling, what would it be? I would want more girls to ride as well as more people in general. I think that if more people ride, they will understand bikes more and we will be safer on the road.  I have tried to rope some of my friends into riding.

What’s your dream bike? I have always wanted a Ninja or a racing bike. Or a Triumph Scrambler. Although if I could create a motorcycle, it would be streamlined and 1200 cc or faster, jet black with blue or purple lights under. It would be different in that it would be a racing bike that could legally be on the road.