International Female Ride Day 2008

Women riders are finally being recognized as a significant part of the motorcycling world. Female riders have become the fastest growing market in the motorcycling industry. In 2007, organized by Motoress in Canada, a National Female Ride Day was born. When word went out that the event was going to happen, women across Canada and the US started contacting each other to arrange to ride together on May 4, 2007. They made history. Slated for the first Friday in May each year, plans are to continue and grow the event.

The organizer of the campaign, Vicki Gray is a former European female motorcycle racer, instructor and coach whose been riding since 1983.

The aim of the campaign is to raise female rider awareness, promote those who already ride, while simultaneously encouraging other females to take up the activity," says Vicki Gray, campaign organizer. "The 'day' places a spotlight on female riders," she adds.

She asks women to get on their bikes and "JUST RIDE". No matter what style of motorcycle – sport, cruiser, scooter, dual purpose, street, off-road or dirt – National Female Ride Day aims to highlight the many numbers of females currently active in motorcycling and heighten awareness of female riders, inspiring those who have not yet taken it up.

Next year it will officially become an International Event which will take place on Friday, May 2, 2008. We women who ride should make sure that on that day, no matter what the weather, we should band together and be out on the roads. That is the only way younger women and others who have never considered riding will see how fun and appealing it is, and they may discover they have a passion for riding too. I was inspired by following a female on a motorcycle one day coming home from work. She handled the bike so smoothly up our curvy roads and I was pretty impressed. A couple of months later I signed up for the MSF beginners’ course.

The event will become larger each year, and is supported by nearly all of the major motorcycle manufacturers. Local small groups may organize, as they did in 2007, as well as more established women’s riding clubs. I wonder if there will be motorcycle parades anywhere that day………

Here is a nice YouTube video showing some of the ladies who rode in the First National Female Ride Day 2007.