Sisters are doing it for THEMSELVES
Forget about motorcycling being a lads’ world. There are – and always have been – plenty of women riding fast and far. Here’s a look at some of the most prominent female riders past and present…
Close your eyes and picture a biker. Chances are the image is rather manly. Yet women have been riding bikes ever since there were bikes to ride, and the numbers seem to be increasing. Out of around five million full motorcycle licence-holders in England, roughly 500,000 are female. Not all of these licences are actively used to ride bikes, but the figures still point to roughly 10% being women riders.
So who were the pioneering females that got on two wheels, despite the mutterings of the guys worried about their fragile egos? And who are the big names of today? Here’s a handful that most inspired us...
To Africa, Asia and beyond
Theresa Wallach was one of the trailblazers. Born in London in 1909, Theresa went on to become a racer, motorcycle adventurer, military dispatch rider, engineer, author, motorcycle dealer, mechanic and riding school instructor.
In 1935 Theresa and her friend, Florence Blenkiron, rode from the UK down to South Africa on a 600cc single-cylinder Panther with a Watsonian sidecar and a homemade trailer. Crossing the Sahara, riding through equatorial Africa, and finally arriving in Cape Town, they managed the whole trip with no back-up – not even a compass to hand. Following the trip, Theresa wrote a book, The Rugged Road, which tells the story of their epic ride.
Heading, quite literally, in a different direction, Peggy Thomas from Surrey was an inspiration in the 1950s. She toured Scandinavia on her 125cc BSA Bantam, and then in 1950 headed over to Canada, the US and Mexico on the same bike. For her American trip, she brought with her a special pillion, Matelot, her Airedale terrier, who travelled in a box behind her. Peggy wrote a book about her travels under the dual title of A Ride in the Sun and Gasoline Gypsy.
The first woman to ride around the world solo was French journalist and writer Anne-France Dautheville, who by 1973 covered 12,500 miles over three continents, riding a 125cc Kawasaki. She continued her world travels until 1981.
Back in England, Elspeth Beard, the first English woman to ride around the world, began her journey in 1982 on a BMW R60/6. From the UK, she shipped her bike to New York City, riding on to Canada, Mexico and Los Angeles. Then it was shipped to Sydney, and Elspeth spent a good while travelling in Australia. Next she travelled to Singapore, riding back into Europe across Asia. She arrived back in the United Kingdom in 1984, having travelled 48,000 miles. She is publishing a book, Lone Rider, about her travels, due out in July 2017.
Pioneering women of America
Crossing the United States from coast to coast is still at the top of many bikers’ bucket lists, but imagine what it would have been like to make that journey more than 100 years ago. The First World War was raging in Europe – although the Americans hadn’t yet joined in – and women would still not be allowed to vote in the US until 1920.
Unfazed by the obstacles, in 1915 Effie Hotchkiss decided to ride the breadth of the US on an 11-F HarleyDavidson with a custom-made sidecar built to accommodate her mother Avis. They became the first women to ride across America after they completed their trip from Brooklyn, New York to San Francisco.
UK roads, tracks and trails
Back in the UK, Marjorie Cottle was one of Britain’s best-known motorcyclists in the 1920s, and is considered to be one of the greatest trial riders in the country – male or female. She won several medals in her career, including gold at the Scottish Six Days Trial in 1923, and the Silver Vase at the International Six Days Trial in the Lake District in 1927, as part of an all-female team along with Edyth Foley and Louie McLean.
In the process she became a walking advertisement for women in motorcycling.
She might not have been the first female racer, but Beryl Swain is certainly among the most influential; in 1962 she became the first woman to compete as a solo rider at the Isle of Man TT. She finished 22nd out of 25 finishers, with an average of 48mph on her 50cc Itom. Unfortunately, the racing world was not ready for fast women back then, and banned them from riding the TT circuit until 1978.
That didn’t stop Rose Hanks in 1968 from racing the TT as a passenger in 1968, in a sidecar outfit piloted by her brother-in-law, Norman Hanks. The pair finished in second place, making Rose the first woman to ever stand on the winners’ rostrum at the TT. When Hilary Musson entered the TT
Formula 3 in 1978, she finished 15th. Hilary’s daughter Gail carried on the family’s racing tradition, achieving – among other merits – 6th place in the 1998 Manx GP. In the Junior TT of 1997, Sandra Barnett set the fastest ever lap by a woman rider at 114.63mph, on her way to 12th place.
One of the best-known female racers of recent years is Maria Costello, who for five years held the Guinness World Record as the fastest woman at the Isle of Man TT, when she lapped the Mountain Course at an average of 114.73mph in 2004. She was also the first female solo rider ever to claim a podium spot on the island, taking third place in the Ultra Lightweight category of the 2005 Manx Grand Prix.
Away from the Tarmac, British women have also proved fast and fearless. Patsy Quick was the first British woman to compete in the Dakar rally in 2003, and the first to finish the rally in 2006.
There’s still work to be done to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance regardless of their gender, but, with so many inspirational female riders of past and present, and plenty more rising through the ranks, things are looking bright for future generations…