Ladies and… um…ladies, start your engines! This year, May 7 has been designated as International Female Ride Day and is our day to get out and show the world we ride. Created in 2007 by Vicki Gray, and started in Canada, the aim of International Female Ride Day is to highlight the numbers of women riding motorcycles and inspire more of us to get on a bike. It’s simply a day to celebrate the fun of riding; and all women,on any kind of motorcycle, are invited to participate.
In the first year of Female Ride Day, 2007, the organizers weren’t sure what to expect. Their goal was to have a synchronized day where women from all over the world would simply ride. But as Vicki Gray remembers, “When you introduce a unique and new concept…you really don’t know how or if it will be received. The success was overwhelming and not just within Canada! Women riders of the United States jumped at the idea and provided unexpected participation as they too rode on Female Ride Day!” The following year, women from Australia, Greece, England, the Netherlands and Russia joined the party. And each year the numbers grow. Last year about 50 Kuwaiti women rode, making Kuwait the first country in the Middle East to participate. That’s remarkable considering that Kuwait didn’t allow women to vote until 2005!
Now in its fourth year, the organizers promise to continue the tradition as an annual event. The ride is scheduled to occur every year on the first Friday of May. International Female Ride Day has been enthusiastically embraced by women riders and motorcycle manufacturers. Clubs organize events like dinners or midnight rides. Some ride to benefit a charity or local cause.
But Female Ride Day was created with three main principles and continues to hold to these guidelines: “1) freedom to participate in any manner desired, uniting women riders of all disciplines; 2) Not to be conceived as a charity or fundraiser—the message remains undiluted and is clearly in celebration of the female motorcyclist. Women may elect to involve a charity or create their own cause on Female Ride Day. This campaign will not influence that preference ensuring women have the freedom to decide; 3) the day is not to be taken over by a single motorcycle manufacturer, ensuring women of all brand choices are equal participants.”
By upholding these three tenets, International Female Ride Day stays true to the original intent of highlighting all women riders. I’ll see you out there on May 7th!
