Liz Lewis Florida Ride Or Die Magazine Rider Feature
Born To Ride Women’s World has always been dedicated to women that have a unique and wonderful story to tell in regards to their life on two (or three) wheels! The month of May has always been “set aside” in the motorcycling world to promote women riders. To me, every day is about women riders! This year, I celebrate 40 years in the wind. I started when it wasn’t cool let alone “normal.” But I persevered and accomplished many good things in promoting women in the exciting world of motorcycling.
Born To Ride is dedicating this column to three women riders. Each has a one-of-a-kind story to tell in relation to her life in the wind. I’m thrilled to have been able to speak with these women and listen to their stories. Now, you can too! Sit back, and enjoy three stories starting off with Liz Lewis!
Liz Lewis
Liz recently moved to Florida from Las Vegas. Her “day job” was an EMT. But what you may not know is that Liz was a fighter with the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts).
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling & ground fighting, made up from various combat sports and martial arts from around the world. How did Liz get involved in the MMA? “When I was 15, I started training for the MMA. My step-dad left my mom and us kids for another family. I was a very angry teenager because of that. I had a friend that reached out to me and offered his gym to work out and release some of the anger I had. So, for nine years, I’ve been training, working out, and fighting in the MMA.”
Liz ‘Lights Out’ Lewis was her name throughout her career. Her hope is to find a gym in the Bay Area to start working out again. “I really want to find a good gym to work out here in Florida and to get back into MMA. I also am looking into going back to college and taking courses in either biology, CSI, or more interestingly, Marine Biology to study sharks. Tampa has a shark lab, so I would love to study and work with sharks here.”
Liz is a relatively new rider in the motorcycling world. “I‘ve wanted to own a bike since I was a teenager. I ride a CBR600RR sportbike.” Why does she like riding so much? Laughing, she explained, “It’s just very fun to ride. I love the speed and the adrenaline rush when riding. I especially love riding at night!”
Liz made the decision to move to Florida because she was tired of the cold weather and snow. She wanted to spend time on the beach. “Being in the ocean watching the sunset brings me peace, happiness, and joy. The ocean and beach are something that I’m drawn to. Have you ever seen the Disney movie called, Moana? She’s a character that I love because she loves the sea. When I hear any of the songs from that movie, I think about the ocean and how much I love it. It always makes me smile.”
One of Liz’s close friends she met when she moved to Florida is Antonio Hernandez of Florida Ride or Die. “Antonio became one of my friends through the Clutch Queens on Facebook. He started following me and we became friends. When I was having bad days, Antonio would reach out to me and pull me back from the ledge. We would get together at bike nights and more importantly, we love doing good things for children in need. Antonio, otherwise known as Spiderman, has always loved superheroes. He dresses up as Spiderman when visiting children in the hospital. He is an amazing person who I really appreciate.”
Anything special you’d like to share with people reading your story? “My life has been a lot of trials and tribulations. When I was in the MMA, I was a single mom, homeless, living in a homeless shelter with my young daughter. I was fighting in the MMA for money trying to stay alive. What I learned from those humbling experiences is that you need to love your family. Love and appreciate them. I spend a lot of time thinking about time that I wasted just trying to have a future and I missed a lot with them. I’ve learned to trust where life takes you. It’s definitely a wild ride; two years in a homeless shelter. I’ve seen so much but have learned from it all.”
Thank you, Liz, for sharing your amazing story with readers of Born To Ride Magazine!
Susan Hurst
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