The Women's Guide to Motorcycling
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Recent statistics show that approximately 12 percent of motorcycle owners are women and that close to 25 percent of motorcycle riders are women. While it’s still a male-dominated field, the number of female bikers has increased by more than 25 percent in just five years, showing that women have a strong presence on two wheels. In The Women’s Guide to Motorcycling, author Lynda Lahman, herself a motorcycle owner and rider, provides a comprehensive look at motorcycling techniques, street smarts, and safety concerns while addressing female-specific challenges as well as issues that all bikers face from a female point of view. INSIDE The Women’s Guide to MotorcyclingAnecdotes from female motorcycle enthusiasts, riders, and owners, including the author’s own storyWomen as a growing presence among riders, including notable names of the past and presentMotorcycle skills from basic to advanced, appropriate for bikers of all levels of experience and expertiseThe physical and mental aspects of ridingConsiderations for choosing a bike, such as seat height and weight distribution, and female-appropriate gearA primer on proper maintenance and dealing with mechanical problemsDifferent types of riding, such as sport, racing, touring, long distance, and off roadGetting more out of the sport through involvement in clubs, forums, charity events, and mentoring new riders
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What also becomes clear is that as women gain competence through practice, they find their voices. As a result, their confidence grows exponentially, and this growth isn’t limited to the arena of motorcycling. Navigating U-turns, handling tight curves, and keeping the bike upright on uneven ground builds a sense of mastery for riding, and that sense of mastery carries over into many other areas of their lives. Whether they choose to ride solo, with partners, in groups of women, or with co-ed groups, once they experience the sense of personal empowerment that comes with safely navigating the intricacies of maneuvering a motorcycle, they describe being changed in ways they never imagined. The path of self-discovery can take many unexpected twists and turns, and often a rider’s journey winds up being quite different from what she first envisioned.
I started riding with a boyfriend as a pillion, or passenger. We broke up, and I missed riding. I decided it was easier to learn to ride and get a bike than to find another boyfriend, and I’ve been riding ever since. I’ve heard many variations of this story repeatedly; for example, being introduced to riding on the back of a friend’s bike but realizing that it’s more fun to be the one doing the driving.
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Louise Scherbyn spent her early years riding both as pillion, or passenger, and in a sidecar until 1932, when her husband encouraged her to teach herself to ride. Initially concerned with her reputation, especially the impact on her job at Kodak, she soon shed her reluctance and began traveling extensively throughout the United States and Canada. Scherbyn went on to become a full-time writer and assistant editor for Motorcycle magazine, where she used her talent to continue breaking stereotypes, promoting and encouraging the acceptance of women riders in a field dominated by men.
Becoming active in motorcycling clubs, Scherbyn corresponded with women across the globe. It was through these connections that she formed the idea of creating the Women’s International Motorcycle Association (WIMA), which was born in the early 1950s, with Theresa Wallach as its first vice president. Enlisting the support of other notable women riders, including Anke-Eve Goldman and Ellen Pfeiffer in Germany, Agnes Acker in France, Juliette Steiner in Switzerland, Lydia Abrahamova in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic), and Hazel Mayes in Australia, WIMA expanded beyond the United States to Europe and then throughout the world.
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