Road Warriors

Dust, dirt and diversion: the emerging motorcyclist

 

The edited version of this story first appeared in Herizons Magazine

Summer 2008

Volume 22 No. 1

There was no point in trying to salvage my waxing pot – I pulled out the garbage bag that contained my wax pot - honey wax for the purpose of hair removal. No woman should be without her waxing kit while journeying to the Yukon Territory – on her motorcycle.

I hadn’t considered the intense heat and its effects upon wax when I packed the pot and its contents into the right saddlebag of my Harley. The heat from my mufflers, paired with the kilometres since leaving Northern Ontario had created one sticky mess, luckily confined to the double-bag I had used to pack the darn thing away.

The black flies were atrocious. As I threw the pot and its melted-all-over contents into the campground garbage, I reasoned away the $200+ loss with the fact that the hair on my legs would at least be a minor barrier to the insects that were trying to have lunch: me. I thanked God for the three cans of Deep Woods Off I had also packed alongside my melted “taffy-pull”.

Thankfully the days were getting longer the further North I went, making it easier to see past the dust that collected regularly on my sunglasses. Once past Dawson Creek, British Columbia, I began to notice changes – at first, during campfire respites, just a few extra stars. Eventually the heavens at night treated me to a wondrous shimmering dance, between lengthening intervals of Midnight Sun. The air I breathed seemed cleaner. The landscape had gradually turned wilder - punctuated by increasing sightings of bear…

My relationship with The Motorcycle has criss-crossed the North American map many times. I've had the great fortune of meeting and riding with other females sharing the same passion for our iron-horse partners. When I first began riding, during the early '80s, the sight of a female motorcyclist was a rare one. Over the course of 26 years I've gone from lone female rider to joined female rider. Increasingly, women are choosing to vacation by motorcycle, in many instances with like-minded chromosome XX.

In an effort to fuel the female motorcycle market, in 2006 Harley Davidson launched its “Garage Party” concept – a women-only themed open house, geared towards women's riding interests. In a non-intimidating environment women were demonstrated motorcycle controls basics, shown how to choose proper riding gear and given the opportunity to connect with other women that were already living the motorcycle lifestyle. Chics N' Chaps, Chrome Divas and Cycle Sisters are just a few of the abundant female motorcycle clubs that have surfaced on the Net. Female riders are now able to connect with other women through motorcycle groups dedicated to exclusive female membership.

With national sales of motorcycles to women sitting at close to 30 per cent and growing, it's apparent women are not shying away from the male dominated sport. Rising enrollment numbers in Canada's National Motorcycle Training Program Gearing Up also directly reflect their increased interest in the sport of motorcycling.

“Right now the number of females enrolled in our safety program is roughly 40 per cent,” explains Greg Dueck, Director of Operations, Safety Services Manitoba. “It has increased steadily over the past two to three years - about five per cent per year.”

Understanding and grasping the concept of gear-changing and clutching does not appear to be difficult for the women involved.

“Females are excellent students, and catch on to the [mechanical operation of] motorcycles very quickly. Unlike their male counterparts, they are not concerned how others are doing in the class, but concentrate on improving their [own]skill level. Most [of the women enrolled] are just looking for a commute-to-work bike, or short cruises,” says Dueck.

According to Dueck, approximately 70 per cent of females enrolling in Manitoba's Gearing Up program do so primarily to enter the sport, compared to 30 per cent that enroll because they are tired of being passengers.

It's rarely a state of forever wedded bliss however, the union of Motorcycle and Woman. As with all great relationships, especially long-term ones, there are there are highs and lows. There are moments a kick start is needed - a good fight to re-ignite the love affair with our iron horse partner; a diversion from life's many other trials.

One big Bang! and my bike won't start. Having CAA is handy, but hanging around Bike Night at Tim Horton's is more interesting. Before my lips can utter the words Harley-Davidson, the tools and grease are flying around, and parts are being removed without my having to canvas for the only tool absent from my tool kit.

While the boys' troubleshooting takes place, I do what bikers do best - talk touring - and talk bikes. Instantly my petite form is being surveyed as the boys glance between me and prying a rubber seal, listening intently to my story of the ride I took to Alaska, a few years back. I'm a “bro” too now. A testament to the endurance abilities of chromosome XX. Having slept in a leaking tent and having peed beside an idling bike in Grizzly infested territory are bonus qualifications.

Problem found, problem solved. Like spittin' bullets on a hot tin roof, one big flame-out-the-tailpipe later my iron horse starts, and I fall in love all over again. The Iron Horse, The Bro, and The Sister. Sans wax kit, this cycle sister is born again.

Tammy Overman, 48, from New Mexico, rides her 2006 Wild West Dragoon to charitable poker runs and attends events held by the local sundance Ironriders Motorcycle Club. (Photo: Sandra McKinney)

 

Madeleine Caovette, 54, pictured on her 1985 Suzuki Intruder, has been riding 10 years. A nurse's aide, she rides to work and participates in charitable bike runs. Photo: Elizabeth Bokfi

 

Elizabeth Bokfi, pictured beside her 1997 Harley Davidson Dyna Superglide at the border between Saskatchewan, no longer carries bikini wax on her bike tours.

Sources: Motorcycle & Moped Industry Council of Canada, Gearing Up – Canada's National Motorcycle Training Program, Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada: interview Total Motorcycle and Ric Marrero, 2005.