Gina that is so true. I forget how small I am too until faced with something or someone that reminds me. Some days I swear Im at least 5'6" and ready to take on the world. Then when I can't do something I feel so small, its frustrating.
I will say something for my fellow ladies, perhaps they noticed as they got started, maybe not, but OTB it might help you if you do more than one on one instruction or can be something to recommend.
When I started riding there were very few women riders, heck, there still arent very many, but out of the 4 that I knew of back in FL, only 1 was what I would consider a real rider. Meaning she rode to RIDE, she didnt ride to show off todays cute thong in her sweatsuit with SEXY on the ass. I idolized her. And was terrified of her. She took one look at me, and yes, I admit, I can look pretty girly, and pretty much sniffed, and turned her back on me. She judged me as one of the girls who just wanted to get attention for sitting on a bike at Sonic. I'll tell ya, it hurt. I wanted to learn from her, being the only real female rider around. Fortunately I didnt let it stop me, and I had friends that were in the same group she was in, and I was able to learn from all of them as a good few were CCS and WERA experienced, and eventually she realized I wanted to RIDE and we became pretty good friends and still are to this day.
I am always reminded when meeting a new rider, be it female or not that as a more experienced rider we have the ability to help these new guys along and that they all deserve a chance, regardless of what they do with it. But this holds especially true with females because motorcycling isnt "our" world, its predominantly male, and if you can take 5 minutes to offer your support, friendship and advice as a fellow female, it can go a Loooooooooong way.