Int'l Female Ride Day - Who Wants to Ride with Me?

This year, the Motoress International Female Ride Day falls on May 7th (it's always a Friday).

On the one hand, I love how loosely it's organized -- all you have to do is get out and ride. You can ride whatever you want (Scooteristas count!), and go wherever you want (your work commute counts too). No registration is required.

On the other hand, I'd like to find new women to ride with. It would be awesome if there were organized events that we could locate on the Motoress site. Here in the US, maybe they could partner with Starbucks (since it seems there's a Starbucks on every corner in this great caffeinated country of ours). Any woman who wanted to participate could be in the parking lot at a designated time, and share International Female Ride Day with another local female rider. Starbucks could print a supportive message on their thermal cup sleeves, and offer free coffee to participants. Am I'm getting carried away with the Starbucks thing? Sorry, that's the marketer in me... The point is, I'd like to find local women to ride with on International Female Ride Day, and I'm having difficulty.

Here's some basic information on the event:

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. Hopefully, I won't be alone!