In a nut shell...I am chocoholic, adrenaline junkie motorcycle enthusiast, riding dirt (Kawasaki KLX-250), road (Suzuki GSX-R600) PLUS track and race (Ducati Monster - 696 and my newest edition a KTM RC390) bikes! In 2016 my world was turned upside down however in a split second. Coming home from a fun day out paddle boarding on the Gold Coast and a lovely Sunday evening out with friends for dinner, a reckless driver with no headlights on and on/distracted by their phone, ran a red light at a major intersection. I copped the full impact on my drivers door. I won’t go into the terrible details, but I will say that it took the Fire Brigade 2.5 hours to cut me out of my car. I seriously thought I had lost my legs and/or broken my back as my whole body was in pins and needles and when they tried to lift me out, I was in immense excruciating pain. I remember being asked by the Ambo’s if I ever wanted a convertible car with a cool sunroof....as the whole roof had to be cut off my car as I was strapped and lifted out from above. My life as I knew it changed in an instant. I spent over 1 month in hospital and nearly 2 years of rehabilitation. My career that I had worked so hard to achieve took a massive hit that bought me to tears. I wasn’t able to drive and even worse....I wasn’t able to ride my bikes. My bright, bubbly, positive go-getter self was now apparently ‘medically confirmed’ suffering from this thing the doctors called ‘PTSD’. Sure, whatever. I’m just going to return to my normal life and that ‘PTSD’ thing will just disappear and it never existed. Hmmmm, so I discovered it doesn’t just ‘disappear’. I have to work really hard at this behind the scenes and I do find it frustrating. Yep, I never talked about it. Prior to reading it here, you would never hear me discuss it, mention it or admit it.....remember, it never existed in my head. I never accepted it. My body still today also has to be careful with certain movements that don’t irritate my lower back and pelvis. When I ‘tweak’ these particular body parts, it hurts like hell and it forms a constant reminder about what happened that terrible night. Grrrr. I commenced strength training early 2019 to assist with building not only my muscles and body back up, but also my confidence which took a massive dive too. Life as I knew it prior to my accident has absolutely changed. Let’s get real....a lot of it for the better too. Perhaps it was the catalyst (not a nice one though) needed to get me out of the corporate world that I had been so entrenched in for over 20 years. I was working crazy hours, putting in so much unpaid overtime daily (for what??), always putting work first, always going above and beyond, pushing myself to the limits and coming home exhausted, always helping everyone else.... but I wasn’t ever helping myself. It’s funny how things happen. Fast forward to today, I’m out of the corporate world. I’ve had a massive career change nad had so much support by my loved ones. I’m now following my heart and in an industry I am passionate about. I invested in myself and my own career and now I am the proud C.E.O of RACE and ROAD Motorcycle Gear Experts Superstore in Archerfield and MD of RICONDI. I’m not only riding ‘a’ bike again, I’m now riding 4! The first time I took my GSX-R600 out post accident rehab, I took it for a lap around the block to get a feel for it again. It seriously felt like I was starting from scratch again and I returned home less than 5 mins later in tears. (only to discover my tyre pressure was at 17 PSI and explained why I was struggling to turn the bike LOL)
In 2019 I completed my first year of national road racing on my Ducati Monster 696 and absolutely loved it. I will admit, It took me a few rounds to get used to the Monster v’s GSX-R style. I even took out 3rd place in the BEARS Racing Round with TERRA in Darwin which was so awesome. It helped get my confidence back thanks to the amazing BEARS members :) Currently I am having a bunch of fun on track with my cool little KTM and recently entered the Motorcycle Sportsmen of QLD Endurance event. My car accident reminded me that you can do everything right and be the best driver out there, however it’s everyone else around you that you can never predict. It’s the exact same on a bike on the road, dirt and track. This has made me extremely safety conscious and ensuring riders have the best protective gear available to them along with being fitted correctly. When I first started riding back in 2012, I had no gear idea and therefore needed to rely on the industry experts in store to ensure I had the gear for me. I didn’t know any better and trusted what they sold me. I thought riding with a helmet moving around on my head every where was normal. Every time I went over a bump, my helmet would lift off my head. My jacket was so long it went over my hands and had to roll it up. My gloves were probably 1 size too big. My jeans made me feel so frumpy and weren’t a good fit either. But I was fitted by a major Motorcycle Business, so it’s the way it should be right? To cut a long story short, I had to learn for myself and I did a lot of research into gear and in particular gear suitable to ladies. I am extremely passionate today about ladies gear and ensuring the correct fitment and this is what I am proud to specialise in at RACE and ROAD. I never want any ladies to go through what I experienced. Every-body is different one to the next. Just because everyone raves and recommends 1 thing, doesn’t mean it’s suitable for every body shape and size. I am in store to personally assist ladies with all of their gear fitment, no matter their location, we’ve got solutions for every-body. Proudly supporting women who ride!! Pop in and see me in store or reach out for anything I can assist you with, anytime :)
Lisa aka Gospeedy28
-raceandroad.com.au
-ricondi.com.au
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