Biking: Diva Style!
Women have a long history of biking. However, interest, in recent years has and continues to spike as many choose the past time as a preferred sport and exercise. The issue of motorcycling as a sport is a topic in and of itself; one we’ll plan to explore at a later date. Today, we’re looking at a local lover of the bike, Claudette Hatcher.Ms. Hatcher, whose Dad use to race stock cars, loves to feel the wind in her face. In fact, she rides without a windshield. When asked to describe her favorite terrain, “I love freeway riding as well as back roads, going 80-90 mph. The images in my head include a wide open, empty, curved road with clear blue skies and mountains in the distance.”
The Diva Biker started riding in ’92, after an old high school friend took her on a ride with lots of corners. She got off the bike and was hooked. In fact, her lessons started immediately in a parking lot. Soon after, she traveled to Japan where she purchased a bike and lived for a couple of years.
Redmond’s Diva feels that biking in Japan is a lot safer than the US due to the fact that cars actually look out for bikers and that the unofficial rule is that the smaller vehicle wins. Claudette is a woman of many talents! She’s a multi-linguist, speaking 8 languages fluently, including English, French, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, German, Spanish, Russian, and Japanese.
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She’s also an independent contractor with an opera and musical theatre career. A huge adulation was her performance in the Seattle Opera’s Porgy and Bess. Lastly, although I’ve quickly learned that there truly is no lastly with the Diva Rider, she is a belly dancer! Other skills include sewing, computers, swing and ballroom dancing, stage combat, fencing, violin, flute, forklift operator and she’s good with animals. Our featured Diva is passionate about blood drives and is a huge proponent and organizer of charity events, particularly those with an emphasis on children.
Claudette, who has lost more than 100 lbs, emphasizes exercising with a purpose. She starts her day drinking 2 liters of water and recommends it, above everything else! She’s eliminated sugars and starches from her diet and says doing so has been very beneficial in ridding her allergies. As far as exercise goes, her favorites are, of course, riding, belly dancing, ball room dancing, walking, and pilates.Striking as all of this is, I found it even more striking that The Diva Biker's intellect, personality, charm, care and even love and respect for humankind stood heads and shoulders tall, even taller than her physical height which is indeed, quite tall!
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Visit the YouTube link to hear the Diva Rider in her own words.
Following that is a link, profiling her love of the theater. Begin at 00:35
