Sunday morning I woke up at 6:30am, which is not a usual thing in my world on weekends. It was a cloudy day with cooler than normal temperatures and the weather forecast was calling for a 30% chance of rain, so in motorcycling terms that translates to what type of riding gear do I wear today? How many layers am I going to need? Should I wear mesh or full textile? After a few minutes of deciding, debating, and checking two internet weather forecasters for our region, I opted for mesh with layers and threw a waterproof rain jacket in my tank bag. Nothing was going to get in my way today, because I was hitting the road.
Motorcycle Man couldn't believe that I had actually gotten up so early and was raring to go. For those who know me well they know that until I get a cup of the demon bean under my belt, it could be hazardous to talk to me without it on board. I was meeting up with girlfriends from my riding group the Moto Mama's and we were going to ride up over the Malahat up to Cobble Hill together to start the ride. We were chatting waiting for our friends to arrive when a local Ducati group pulled up to Timmies, it seems it was a riding day for everyone! After we finished our cups of demon bean, polished off a muffin or two we started our adventure to meet up with our sisters in the wind.
It was the 2nd Annual Canadian Women's Ride Day created by two local motorcyclistas who own West Coast Roar, Greer Stewart and Joley Baker.
The ride benefits several local women's charities that give women in need a hand up and empower them to make their lives better. All of us who ride are always wanting to help others and I couldn't think of a better way than to do it than by doing something I enjoy and help at the same time by paying it forward. This seems to be a common theme amongst most motorcyclists whether is it a local toy run, charity ride, ride for a cause, or a ride for veterans. We have all been involved in an event or two to help others over the years.
The Canadian Women's Ride Day is an all female event where women on everything two wheeled from scooters, cruisers, dual sports, and trikes, come out and ride. It doesn't matter what you ride, just that you do and that you get out there and do it.
This is only a small sampling of the bikes at the beginning during registration and more were arriving. The sound that filled the air was of laughter and the angry bee sound of the engines as women were pulling in and parking their two wheeled charriots. The final estimate of riders was 92.
WOW!!! 92 women all riding their own rides and getting together to share in the spirit of the road and sistership. It was pretty amazing to say the least. We had our pre-ride briefing, road rules, and ended with a prayer of protection for all out on the road today. Then it was time to saddle up and get going. We were in Cobble Hill, BC, the route took us through the back roads of Cowichan Bay, Lake Cowichan and then finally to Duncan and back to the starting point.
Registration area.
It was pretty funny seeing the expressions on the faces of drivers when they saw this motorcycle parade of lovely women riders. Little kids waved at us, we honked our horns and waved back. Everyone was riding beautifully and adhering to road rules. We wound our way through the beautiful Cowichan Valley taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the farmland. It was beautiful!
As we arrived in Lake Cowichan and parked our bikes to go take our group picture a member of the local constabulary showed up. A group of 92 women riding through a small town is not very inconspicuous and it would raise more than a few eyebrows and a call or two with concerns from the citizenery. We assured the good constable that we were not here to cause a ruckus and would be moving on pretty quick. The constable was quite good about our kidding around with him and shared many smiles and even let us take pics - thank you constable you were a good sport!
Getting a biker hug. The rider who is hugging the constable always has a lovely little 4 legged companion who goes everywhere with her. Let me introduce you to Miss Tessie Ash! Tessie's riding ensemble consists of doggles, leather jacket and her own helmet. She is one styling dog who rides ATGATT!
Its a beautiful thing to see bikes all lined up and parked well, this was in Lake Cowichan. I am not sure what the folks at the local town market thought when this rather large group of women riders buzzed through their town. Soon it was time to depart for a short meet-up in the bustling metropolis of Duncan. We were going to regroup and all donne feather boas and ride through the town of Duncan and cause a little scandal along the way. I have to say I have never felt like such as Diva as I did at that moment.
There is a trick to wearing a feather boa when riding, because you really don't want to pull an Isadora Duncan. Isadora was an actress who was famous for wearing long freely flowing long scarves, and unfortunately her demise came doing that very thing. She was out riding in a convertible and the scarf became caught in the wheel and she was strangled and died. So to that end keeping her fate in mind, I was very mindful of making sure the boa was secure and passed the info on to a few other would-be Isadoras. It was hilarious in the parking lot as everyone was fluffing their boas, there were feathers everywhere!
We were a fine sight flying down the highway into Duncan, feather boas blowing in the wind, in a long ribbon of motorcycles being piloted by their female owners. When wearing boa while riding you have to make sure it doesn't fly up and obstruct your view and some serious loose defeathering needs to be done prior to departure or you are hit by a wall of feathers from the riders in front of you. I inhaled a feather or two inside my helmet and it was a little itchy and tickly. I think we left a trail of red, white, and pink feathers for a good 30 miles. It definitely caused a lot of gawping by people in the town of Duncan, because it's not every day you see 92 women bikers riding through a small town on the Island wearing boas. There was a lot of honking and waving going on and it was a lot of fun.
Panorama view of all the bikes in the lot.
It was an amazing day! Everyone had so much fun! Nothing says Moto Diva more than me surrounded by a circle of bikes with feather boas!
4 comments:
I'm loving that last photo of you Dar. Well done girls!
Dar, I'm smiling ear to ear and going to leave it right there. :)
It sounds like you had a wonderful day. You ladies sure do know how to attract attention, lol.
I second it, great picture of you in that last shot.
This is awesome, Dar. What a wonderful (and powerful) group ride.
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