An Interview with Florida Lady Rider, The Geared Raven
With International Female Rider Day being celebrated on May 1st, we wanted to interview a member of our local community on their experience as a Lady Rider. We couldn’t think of a better person to speak with than Mary Rogers (aka The Geared Raven), who was kind enough to speak with us about her experience as a Moto Vlogger, Podcast Co-Host and how she came to live the life she does.
Mary reentered the Vlogging scene during the 2020 pandemic. Spurred into recreating her life as a single lady, she has chosen to share her experiences with the community under the alias The Geared Raven. On her YouTube Channel TheGearedRaven 72, you can find her personal growth with Divorce, becoming a Landowner and setting up her new home alongside her adventures of Florida.
Since starting into the community and podcast, she’s all about helping riders connect with each other in the community and has set up multiple ways for us all to stay connected. Below, you will find the interview I had with her, and a sneak peek into her life.
Where do you and your family live?
“Trenton, all of my family lives here, well the majority lives here- I do have a niece in North Carolina. Born and raised here- I’m a Florida girl through and through.”
What are your personal passions and hobbies currently?
“Literally like exploring Florida!” Mary exclaimed. “Motorcycles, hiking, kayaking- just exploring our state parks and kayaking down our rivers.”
With her currently residing in Trenton, and she always “Takes advantage of this beautiful area.” When asked about her favorite spots for her water adventures, Mary told us her frequented spots close to her would be High Springs, Springs Capital, Ginny Springs and Troy Springs.
“Within a 30 mile radius, there are dozens! I’d have to look at a map to list them all!”
When did you fall in love with motorcycles and become involved with the Moto Community?
“How I got started in moto was my cousins had Honda mini trail bikes, [that was] probably in my preteen years and I absolutely loved them! And always had motorcycle riding in the back of my mind. I got myself into moto riding and fell in love and I just took off.
As far as the community I got into it online in the fall 2017 and it’s actually a tight knit community even though there’s hundreds of us from the United States. From there, I worked with Tom aka ‘Dirty Deez ‘ and set up a hashtag (#supportmvc - motovlogging community) to help other moto bloggers connect, and there are thousands in the community today. That community is definitely very helpful and it’s a lot of fun!”
What are some Riding must haves for you?
“ Helmet!” Exclaimed Mary, “My helmet is the most important thing to me. Other than that, I will throw a bottle of water in my saddlebag and my phone in case I break down or need directions.”
What was your first Bike?
“My first bike was a Honda Shadow, and I also had a Honda Shadow Spirit, and I’ve also had an Indian Scout.”
Mary purchased her 2015 Honda Shadow Phantom 750 from RideNow Powersports of Ocala at the end of 2016 with the help of Will Goodwin, who also sold her an Indian Scout previously. When asked about her current ride and if it is a personal favorite compared to past bikes, her response was an enthusiastic, “Absolutely, yeah! I love the smooth ride and comfort that I get from this bike. I bought it at the end of 2016, and have enjoyed every moment with it.”
When asked about a comparison of her past rides to her current Honda Shadow Phantom, Mary explained that, “It’s way more comfortable and just an overall better ride.”
How did you come across your bike and know it was the right one for you?
“I knew it was my bike from the moment I sat on it. I shopped for bikes for a loooooong time.” She explained, “I actually bought it from your Gainesville store, and my salesman was John McCarthy. And later purchased my Indian from Will in Ocala.”
With your YouTube channel, what kind of content do you create?
“[You’ll find] lot’s of stuff that says “Journey”- I got divorced last year, I put a ton of videos up about my divorce- 36 videos, and am just now starting to post more Moto Vlogs.”
Mary’s kicked off her first Moto Vlog Adventures of the year with a group ride alongside some special guests: The Blue Bik & Doyle and his wife, Beth. In this (3) part series, you can follow their adventures to Graffiti Bridge, Cedar Key and Motovlogger Bridge here.
What’s your creative process?
“As far as moto vlogging goes, I like to ride to different locations and I like to share my ride and locations with people. Before I take off on my ride, I like to talk about where I’m going, then talk about where I’m at and the current location.
There’s many many places in Florida that you can explore. People enjoy seeing different destinations that I show them, and I love how versatile Florida is with its springs, small towns and rural communities like the community I live in is a farming community.
And then you have Silver Springs and Florida state parks that are amazing and you can always go out
Cross Roads- it’s right by Lebanon station in Williston right by Scooter Have. The owner’s name is Dice, and he’s a sweetheart.”
What led you to your current podcast, Five Dirty Bikers? And what can we expect from your podcast?
“What led me to the current podcast, well through the moto community.” Mary explains. “Just connecting with people through Instagram and Youtube. Social media definitely connects us all.”
“We say that our podcast is “not your grandmother’s podcast. It’s moto related, but there is a lot of dirty to it.” Describes Mary, “But it’s very fun! Every guest that we’ve had on has said that it is their favorite one to be a part of because it’s so laid back and fun!”
With the 5 Dirty Bikers Podcast, Mary explains that it is comprised of four gentleman riders and herself, who are spread out across the United States. The other members give their voices from North Dakota, Kentucky, Kansas and Illinois once a week every week.
These individuals have been coming together for a little over a year and a half now to create this podcast, and now have their own website and discord.
“We’re all excited as well,” Says Mary, “ We’ve been sponsored by Memphis Shades, our first official sponsor, and as of today they are a part of the Chopper Town Community.”
You can see The Dirty Bikers podcast information here on Instagram.
Do you have any Heroes who you aspire to be as you grow or inspire you?
“I don’t have any celebrities that I aspire to be like, but certainly within the moto community!” Mary explains. “I have respect for some of my closest friends, and there are also many female riders within the Instagram community that do so much cool stuff, like ride on their own, explore on their own, and to me that’s such a great thing to be out there and riding their own rides and doing their own thing and encouraging other women- that’s always something I’ve inspired to be.”
Some of Mary’s friends are Two Kiwi Riders from new Zealand who are a part of a Tribal Otago.
“Two Kiwi Riders bring awareness to teen suicide in their country they do so much good and I love those two, they’re really inspiring and fun to watch, and we have been friends for years! I aspire to be like them, and they were the first to welcome me into the moto community.” Says Mary.
Other female riders that Mary follows and enjoys and follows on their moto adventures are Amanda Zito and Whit Meza.
Amanda zito can be found on Instagram under @blindthistle and YouTube under As The Magpie Flies. She is an Illustrator, motorcyclist, and organizer for Rocky Mountain Roll, a Co-Ed Motorcycle Campout Event.
Whit Meza can be found here on Instagram. Whit is a Digital creator, owner of Legacy Motorwear, moto adventurist, military wife and mom of two.
Do you have any advice for female riders and new riders?
“First thing I would suggest is to take a MSS Course.” Discloses Mary. “This will determine if moto riding is for you, but also gives you the basic skills you need to get started. If it’s something that you’re interested in, go for it!”
Mary explains that there’s an entire community that is more than ready to assist you. “Don’t be intimidated, there’s lots of resources out there to connect you to other riders, and even female riders.” Advises Mary. “There’s Instagram and you can type in that hashtag (#supportmbc) and find riders within your community.”
Another great way to get connected in your area to riders is within The Five Dirty Bikers Podcast page on Instagram.
“[We] have a free discord channel for anyone to join right on our website, and within that, we have a tab specifically for finding people in your location for you to ride with you,” Explains Mary. “It’s called the Mentorship Program, for anyone who has questions about community. For example, I’m in central Florida. So if anyone’s in this area they can contact me through discord and I’ll help them any way that I can. Say if someone wants to buy a motorcycle, but doesn’t want to go by herself, she call me and I’ll go with her or help out.
There’s another one within Instagram community called supportbikers.com, they have a map and you can see other motorcyclist around you and motorcycle businesses so you can support local businesses run by people in the Moto Community as well.”
Mary encourages riders to take advantage of these connections, and even seasoned riders. “Say you’re on vacation and not near dealership. You could pull up that map and see if there’s any other motorcycle mechanics near you. It also lists riders and businesses that are owned by motorcyclist, so you can find people to ride with or people to help you in unfamiliar areas.”
Mary is truly an inspiration and leader in our Moto Community, and I wanted to thank her for opening up with us during this interview process about her life and passions as a Lady Rider in our motorcycle community. It is truly inspiring to learn about all the avenues she and her community have created to connect riders to each other and have a support system for the Motorcycle Community. We look forward to our growing relationship with her and seeing where her adventures take her in the future!