Donni Reddington

“I started riding as soon as my legs were long enough to touch the ground. My grandpa had twenty acres with a track on it. My sisters and I would ride for hours when we would visit. Then, as soon as I was tall enough, my grandpa bought me my first powered bike, a moped. After a few more growth spurts, I was able to ride my uncle’s 1976 Kawasaki 250. My passion started young, and that excitement of twisting the throttle, feeling the power of the engine and the wind in my face has not changed since I was a little girl.” – Donni Reddington

Donni Reddington was born and raised in Washington State, USA and currently resides in Mazama where the population is around the three hundred mark. She’s explored parts of Canada and Mexico but still loves riding and traversing closer to home. “One trip that stands out was riding the White Rim in Moab last summer with a great group of friends. I ride with a SENA Bluetooth, so I usually have my music playing. We were all cruising at a good clip, and this one particular song came on; “Meet Me in the Woods” by Lord Huron. All of a sudden I felt like I was riding in a music video. I was completely in my element. The sun was setting, and all the towers around lit up. It was just such a moment of total freedom and happiness that I won’t forget. Just being in the moment. Not thinking about anything else but the speed of my moto and the beauty and friendships that I was surrounded by. It’s times like these that make up life’s experiences. And every time I hear that song now, it takes me back.”

Donni’s passion for life is not only limited to riding motorcycles, she also fosters an intense love affair with photography. “I took a class in high school and instantly fell in love. This was way before the digital era. I learned how to process and develop film and eventually built my own darkroom during college. I am a self-taught photographer with many years experience freelancing. When digital was introduced, I refused to switch for a couple of years. But then I discovered the video and editing options that came along with the advancement of the industry. I realized I could create videos with still photos or moving images and share them with my family. It was a way to create a social night and show off my work to a trapped audience. And to this day, I still enjoy doing it. I think my friends also enjoy going on trips with me because they know they’ll always have a memory to enjoy and reflect on.”

“In my twenties and thirties, I owned a few sports bikes and some dual sports bikes. Back then I did a lot of solo riding because my ex-husband was never into motorbikes. However, my current partner showed an interest in dirt bikes years ago. So after teaching him to ride on a KLX250, we ended up purchasing two 2016 Husky 501’s.” And she hasn’t looked back since. “It’s kind of a love thing with Husqvarna’s. Maybe because I lived in Sweden, maybe because it’s blue, and I don’t like the color orange, they’re just great, solid bikes. I went with the 501 because we wanted to be able to do a little bit of everything with our bikes. From long extended adventure rides to more technical single track. It’s kind of the one quiver bike that you can do it all with.”

Donni runs Fasst Company’s Flexx handlebars and footpegs on her ride. “I’ve had bilateral carpal tunnel surgery, and I also have some ulnar nerve issues. These bars help significantly reduce wrist and elbow pain along with forearm pump. I would never own a bike without them ever again. For the clutch and rear brake control, she’s fitted a Clake 2 set-up. “I eliminated the rear foot brake, so the control for the rear brake is now at my left hand. I grew up mountain biking, and for single track dirt bike riding, this has been a game changer. There’s a lot of times you might need to put your right foot down but having all the controls at my hands makes riding so much smoother. The bonus also being; it’s easier to learn wheelies with.”

Also fitted to her ride are a Scott’s damper, an FMF 4.1 Titanium slip-on exhaust, and a Megabomb header along with a Vortex ECU. “I don’t like to spend a lot of time messing around tinkering with my bike, I’d rather be out riding, and it has taken a while to get the bike dialed in to run properly. I think the stock exhaust was just fine. Maybe I should just have added the vortex computer and left it at that.” As far as tires go Donni has gotten stuck on Goldentyre’s GT 333 for the rear and the Fatty for up front. “For the riding that I do, which is a little bit of everything, they are the bomb. I just started using Nitromousse bibs right before the Baja Rally. I was a bit anti-bibs, but now I see the point of why people use them. They are not as lively as TUbliss or traditional tubes, but doing a lot of solo rides, I feel a lot more confident having them in my tires. Other than that I do my own oil and air filter changes along with general maintenance.”

Possible future upgrades that Donni is considering might include a new seat. “Seat Concepts seem to be a good choice, and a lot of people are happy with them. That will probably be my next purchase.” For navigation, she prefers the Motion X GPS app. “I’ve used the app on my phone for the last couple of years, and it’s worked out very well for me. In fact, the first time I did the Colorado BDR, everybody told me I had to have a GPS. However, I was able to use that app with no problems. Right before this last trip to Mexico though, I bought the Montana 680T and uploaded the E 32 map of Mexico. It is a must to have if you ride down there. It’s pretty slick set up and not a huge learning curve to use. The only negative thing I would say is that sometimes when you’re trying to move the screen around with your fingers it’ll just keep dropping pins everywhere, and that can be rather annoying.”

“I’ve used Giant Loop luggage for the last few years, and the owner Harold has been a great support for my photography business. The Fandango tank bag works well for my DSLR camera. It’ll just hold my camera with my 70-200mm lens. For overnighters and extended adventure rides, the Coyote Saddlebags are awesome. There’s a lot of room, and they fit very snug to the bike.” However, when it comes to personal riding gear, she hasn’t been so lucky. “I haven’t found one brand yet that’s not all black or all pink, that’s not shit, and that doesn’t look like all the other women riders options out there. So I have a mixed bag of brands for my clothing. For armor, I love the Atlas chest protector which I ride with constantly. I’ve thought about designing my own clothing line for women, but I still have to look for a backer.”

“It’s essential for me to be self-sufficient when traveling since I ride solo quite often. I’ve had a lot of experience in the mountains growing up, and I think all those long, strenuous alpine days taught me how to be a stronger person and take care of my own shit. When it comes down to it, I have to be responsible for myself because if I’m not prepared, then I could put others in a bad situation. To avoid that takes planning and a fair bit of confidence. I tend to be like Shackleton when choosing partners to ride with. The same principle I apply when choosing ski and climbing partners. I want to make sure we can all cover each other’s asses when we are out there. For example, my weakness would be changing a flat. I don’t like to be dependent on other people, but there is a time and place when I do have to rely on a certain amount of support depending on what kind of trip I am planning. That’s why choosing wisely who you ride with is important. I believe in knowledge, confidence and trustworthy riding partners that respect each other. You’re going to be making a lot of decisions together, so you got to choose partners wisely.”

When covering events like off-road races Donni not only faces photographic challenges but covering the terrain itself can be a significant hurdle. “You have to be a good rider and fast one. You also have to have a good sense of direction which is my strength. I can’t seem to remember the name of a street or city, but I could go back to that same location and find my way even if it’s been twenty years. To get the shot, I have to be well organized on my motorcycle. There’s a lot more happening on my moto vs. in a vehicle. When I get to a shooting location, I have to be able to take off a certain amount of gear quickly, grab my camera, shoot & then pack up and jam to the next location. I think I’ve come up with a pretty good system over the last year. I put my camera in my tank bag which is easy to access. And it’s more protected if I go down. Good riding skills, moving fast, a sense of direction and safety are fundamental when shooting races. I love the pressure and the adrenaline I experience during these events. I seem to work best when things are a little more chaotic.”

“When I talked Scotty, the director of the Baja Rally, into letting me shoot from my moto this year, he informed me I had to come down for the pre-ride in August. I borrowed a friends bike and made it happen. The very first morning we headed out at 5:30 to ride the first stage. My friend, I won’t mention his name, took a wrong turn. We ended up off course bushwhacking, but I didn’t know that at the time. As I was over-gripping my bars and trying to keep the bike upright, I thought what the hell did I sign myself up for. It was dark. We were not on a trail, and there were tall grass and thick sagebrush with deep sand and dust obstructing the headlights. I dropped the bike within the first 30 minutes. It was pure craziness initially. But, after we finally got on course, things changed. Luckily for the better, and I realized this was probably one of the best things I’d signed myself up for. It turned out to be incredible. We spent 14 hours on our bikes that day, and I loved every minute of it.

To find out more about Donni view her portfolio here or follow her on Instagram.

Donni’s immediate plans are to relax and edit her work after covering the recent Baja Rally in Mexico. However, she’s also working on organizing a handful of women’s rider clinics for next summer. They’ll include one day of skills with the second day covering touring, good food, hospitality and an evening of joint mobility and yoga practice. Info to come.

Special thank you goes to Mike Haberoth for putting Donni on our radar.