Your Name or Nickname

Jodi Drew

@paintmewinter

Where did you grow up? Where do you reside now?

Alden, NY. Small farm town. As soon as I could, I moved to the city of Buffalo. Most days I crave the country life but being walking distance to the grocery store as opposed to a half hour, is one of the reasons I stay in civilization. I did not live on a farm but I miss the days of having land, four wheeling, bonfires, and making as much noise in your garage without neighbors calling the cops on you.

What do you ride daily? What do you have sitting around?

I have always been on a 1200 Sportster. Started on my husband Chris' first bike that got passed my way, an '09 XL 1200. We had traded that for an '88 Sportster that will be my technical first bike and not a hand me down. Chris has been rebuilding it and turning it into my dream chopper. I've loved getting my hands dirty with him on that bike. In the mean time, I've been riding his '98 Sportster Sport while he is finishing the chopper.

Were you into motorcycles at an early age? Is it in the family? Did you just happen to get caught in the cycle web? Let us know when you realized you were hooked!

Motorcycles don't run in my family but I do remember my dad having one for a hot minute that I think I road around the block on. My uncle's are only about 7-9 years older than me and I do remember ripping with them around the back yard on their dirt bikes. I did however grow up on a 4 wheeler and jet skis so power sports is something I was very familiar with. There was nothing to do in our town so my group of friends would take our 4 wheelers and make our own trails to places we probably shouldn't have been.

It wasn't until I started dating Chris 7 or so years ago that I got interested in bikes. They actually terrified me but I didn't want to look like a pussy who wasn't adventurous so I just went for it. His mom who grew up on bikes invited me to go to the motorcycle course with her and once I got my license I didn't look back.

What do you do for work?

Everything..... Being a full time entrepreneur is not for the weak. My career prior to opening Spoke & Dagger Co. was in graphic design. I really did love it but got caught up in some companies or with some bosses that sucked my soul of all passion for design.

Do you own a business?

I am the co-owner with my husband at Spoke & Dagger Co. A dream come true really. I get to ride for work and make moves with my husband?! It's pretty rad.

But when I'm not riding or have customers in the store shopping, I am sitting on my computer hustling graphic designs for my clients of my design business Anchored By Design. It has refueled my passion for graphic design and getting to be creative doing what I love to do.

Whats your work life balance between Family/Friends, Motorcycles & your job?

Whats work life balance? haha I'm still figuring that one out. It's more like work life, period. I'm a workaholic though and I'm the best kind of exhausted there is to be. When I do have a free day I literally don't know what to do with myself.

Any other hobbies besides motorcycle stuff?

I really love cooking. Getting creative in the kitchen with different ingredients is a serious stress reliever. With that I really love to host friends for dinner or different events. I also love to clean & organize (I know, I have issues). This year I'm doing a full blown veggie garden so that will be a fun hobby. I'm also obsessed with my cats (Vega & Pepperoni, we just put our Pistachio down this week so it feels really weird to not include him in that)

Photo by @themotofoto

What do you think about while riding?

I always have this weird emotional appreciation for everything I have in life and the good people a part of it. There also is a period where I am fully singing along to all my music out loud and if you buzzed into my Sena you would get a good live concert. I sometimes design my entire dream house in my head, depending on how long the ride is. Other than that though, it’s strange because while I ride, my mind is often completely clear. There is zero percent of my normal day where that happens otherwise.

Who are you inspired by? 

I'm inspired by passionate people working their butts off to make shit happen. I am drawn to the go getters. I also get very inspired by free spirited, adventurous people because that doesn't come natural for me. I'm sure everyone can be a little shitty but good hearted, positive energy vibes from friends, family or strangers keeps me going and that is pretty contagious.

Describe your favorite ride or longest ride or both!

My favorite ride is probably to The Fox Run 2016. I didn't know a single other female rider and have never camped before or done a ride without my husband. So something deep down passed the layers of being a complete baby had me reaching out to strangers from Toronto who may be passing through Buffalo on their way to the Fox Run to see if I could join them for the ride. It was a life changing experience. 8 Canadian babes and myself made our trek to PA. I camped in a tent for the first time, rode without my husband for the first time... and also got into a wreck for the first time. If it wasn't for those strangers from Toronto turned sisters that trip, I probably would have called it quits but they had my bike right side up, tool roll out, orange slices in my mouth and a bottle of water in hand before I even realized what had happened. Then we kept making our way to the Fox Run and home just fine. I got lucky. This trip changed everything for me.

Moto Goals?

I think my goals are to just keep doing the damn thing. A dream would be to ride cross country by myself but that would be pushing some serious self boundaries and a pretty soul searching event. I think it'll happen one day though.

What advice would you offer to others and to those thinking about getting a bike?

Don’t fight it. Allow yourself to see what the world is showing you, then do something about it.

If people show you who they really are, believe them.

Also, in the words of what Chris tells me all the time “Don’t let signs and rules dictate your life”.

And lastly, just fucking do it. Just get on the bike, just open a business, just breakup with that asshole, just remove the toxic relationships. Stop living in fear, take the risks, don’t fight it, and just do it.

You’ll probably find what real happiness is. But on the flip, you’ll have to learn to live with anxiety haha. I’d rather fear life I’m living after taking a risk than fear not living at all and completely settling.