discovery
Longdistancestyle Arriving the worse for wear
By Deb Gasque #182082 IT
FINALLY HAP-
pened, and boy, was it a doozy. Last September as I was riding out of Rich- mond, Virginia, I was caught in a del- uge of rain…for
hours. I had been warned before by other seasoned motorcyclists—“Just wait until the day you have to ride in some REAL rain…” I scoffed at the thought. I had ridden in rain before. In fact, I once rode through a huge thunderstorm coming out of Jackson- ville, Florida, complete with lightning bolts hit- ting so close that the hair on my arms stood up. I had ridden in drizzles at night, on the interstate, on country roads, and even on the Million Dol- lar Highway in Colo- rado. So what? Big deal. Well,
that September
day, I was completely humbled. When I pulled into the hotel
for the
night after hours of rid- ing in heavy rain, I called “uncle.” It was miserable. All of my waterproof and water-resis- tant gear had been breached. I was officially a drowned rat and feeling the worse for wear. For that fleeting moment, it truly made me question the reason I had detoured to Rich- mond to begin with. But isn’t it true that oftentimes in life,
the detours
bring us to new discoveries? Back in July while at the MOA
International Rally, I met a super nice guy and fellow BMW ON contributor, Damun Gracenin, who put me in
58 BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2016 The home of Worse for Wear Motorcycle Apparel for Women in Richmond, Virginia.
Saunders, and what they were up to. After a couple of chats via email and phone, I decided I needed to plan a visit to Richmond. So that September after departing the BMW Finger Lakes Rally in Watkins Glen, N.Y., I figured why not drop down to Rich- mond and visit Laura and Scott at their newly-purchased building where their company, Worse for Wear, was beginning to take shape? I wanted to see for myself what they were planning and how they were going to move forward. As I rolled
touch with his friend, Laura Smith (MOA #190823). Laura had begun the process of starting a women’s riding apparel company, which of course immediately got my atten- tion. It’s no secret that we lady motorcy- clists suffer greatly from the limited selection and sizes of women’s riding gear, and with my passion for fashion, I’m con- stantly on the prowl for something safe AND swanky. I was immediately curious and needed to know more about Laura Smith and her partner/husband,
Scott
through an industrial area in Richmond, I spotted their bright yellow, three-story building from blocks away. Laura met me in the parking lot with a huge smile, and I immediately felt a sense of kindred sister- hood. It doesn’t hurt that we ride the same ’94 R 1100 RS, hers red, mine pearl white. Laura has been riding since 1997, and like me, prefers vintage motorcycles that are full of character. After I shed my gear, threw my hair up into a pony tail, and grabbed my iPhone off of the bike, we entered into their factory which was definitely in its embryonic stage. It was apparent after just a
few minutes that Laura and Scott had not only done extensive research and were highly educated on all aspects of garment manufacturing, but they also had enormous passion for the task they were getting ready to undertake. When I asked Laura why they decided to design and manu- facture women’s motorcycle apparel, she answered, “It’s a chronic frustration among many women who ride. Where are our options for fit, function, and fashion? In 2013, Scott and I decided to investigate the possibility of
solving that problem by starting our own line of apparel. “Worse for Wear” would certainly not be the first company to make motorcycle apparel for women, but having more options means more women can find gear to fit their bodies and lifestyles. We knew we wanted to manufacture in the U.S., and we knew we would be digging into an industry with a steep learning curve. I’d been sewing since I was 13, and Scott was no stranger to it either, but build- ing a U.S. based apparel manufacturing facility from scratch was a bit intimidating,
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