JAMMIN’ WITH JEMMA
Hello, I’m Jemma Wilson, and I am thrilled to be Dirt Action’s newest columnist. A column is essentially a written chat, right? And I absolutely love a good chat, so this gig is a perfect fit for me. I’m eagerly looking forward to having a one-sided conversation with you in each issue.
I’ve been around the block for quite some time now. I’m a 34-year-old woman who’s been tearing up the tracks since I was 12. I entered my first State Enduro Championship at 14, tackled my first Aussie Championship at 16, and took on my inaugural World Championship at 19. That adds up to 22 years fully immersed in the world of motorcycling. The first chunk was all about racing and striving for excellence and now, as a retired racer, I’m an enthusiastic supporter of all things two-wheeled and enjoyable — coaching, adventure rides, trail outings, and simply encouraging folk to hop on bikes and experience the thrill.
Oh, how the landscape has transformed over those 22 years, especially for women in motorcycling. Let’s rewind all the way back to 2004. I was zipping around on a CRF230 and eager to participate in a local enduro. As the sole girl in the junior boys’ class, I had an absolute blast. It didn’t bother me that I was one of only two females in the mix (there was a senior lady in the Clubman class), so I continued racing.
Right up until I hit senior status at 16, I remained the lone girl among the boys in my class and I had some fantastic times and great results. In retrospect, I was the same age with the same experience as the boys
I was competing against. The only difference was the expectations. People assumed that because I was a girl, I wouldn’t be as fast, confident or competitive. But … why?
Fast forward to 2006. I finally got the chance to go up against my fellow female riders in the ladies’ class at the Australian Off-Road Championship and the Australian Four-Day Enduro. I was a frizzy-haired grade 11 student with no clue whatsoever. My dad was a frizzier-haired farmer who was equally baffled by this whole Australian Championship scene, but we both embraced the adventure. Cruising up and down the East Coast with my pappy was an absolute joy. And he cherished it just as much.
During those initial senior years, there was a revolving door of fast girls with one constant: Alison Parker. She was the original forerunner of the Australian Women’s enduro scene. Then there was me, a consistent presence from 2006 to 2018, and now, Jess Gardiner.
She rolled onto the scene in 2010 and shows no signs of slowing down even 13 years later.
Of course, there have been numerous other talented girls who have busted their butts in the sport for a few years, but with minimal financial gain and no external glory beyond the small off-road realm, it takes an inner desire to race for as long as I did, and as Jess continues to do.
But from Alison’s days, when her goal was to crack the top half of the Clubman at an A4DE, to the present day where I cracked the top 10 in an A4DE test in Tassie and grabbed a couple more top 20s, where Tayla Jones took on the pro class for a year, and where Aussie girls shine at ISDEs and World Enduro GPs … well, we’re making strides.
Since my retirement in 2018, which is a story of its own, I’ve taken a step back from the racing scene. But I’ve witnessed the bar of expectations for women in motorcycling gradually rise. With junior talents like Danielle MacDonald and MX aces like Courtney Duncan and Charli Cannon, the sky’s the limit. And that’s just the racing aspect. Since stepping away, I’ve discovered a whole other realm of non-competitive bike-related activities. I’ve met countless incredible friends who adore and relish everything about bikes, yet have lives and careers beyond them. I’ve encountered them all at fun moto events. These men and women will never line up on a starting grid and they have no desire to do so. That’s where I find my jam these days.
Back in 2016, I kickstarted a series of ladies-only events and the surge of women into biking isn’t limited to racing. Gone are the days when I struggled to gather 20 girls for a coaching course. Now, I’m selling out back-to-back weekends of 30 attendees and hosting the Husqvarna Women’s Trail Ride each year, with a recordbreaking 230 participants.
In the span of eight years, women have gone from being an oddity at ride parks, trail rides, MX tracks and even on the road to simply being another rider. There’s an abundance of remarkable women out there, spanning various ages and backgrounds, all riding bikes simply because they want to.
From the moment 14-year-old Jemma took on the boys, to 16-year-old Jemma stepping into the inaugural Women’s Class at the A4DE, and 19-year-old Jemma becoming part of the first women’s team Australia sent to the ISDE, everything has shifted for women in motorcycling. We’re no longer the outliers and people now anticipate that we’ll perform as well as the effort we put in. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have been a part of this evolution and to witness its continued growth.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my first Dirt Action column. I’m eagerly looking forward to sharing more about myself, my escapades, and my insights on the industry in upcoming issues.