This article first appeared in The Times on Wednesday 3 May 2017
Claudia Liebenberg by Lindy Truter
“Riding a bike is like an art- something you do because you feel something inside” – Valentino Rossi.
Exhilaration!
Anyone who has ever swung a leg over a saddle, turned the throttle and pulled off into the headwind will testify to the euphoria that comes with riding a motorcycle. The cool factor, fuel efficiency, practicality and lower carbon footprint are clear incentives for the two wheeler tribe, but the dominant emotion at play for a rider is pure exhilaration and a sense of unbridled freedom, and women want it.
Photo by Devin Paisley
Swiping the plastic
Girl bikers are on the rise. They’ve long shown their competitive mettle at gigs like Dakar and MotoGP, but increasingly the fairer sex wants a proper multi functional bike with which to commute, socialise and explore, and they are swiping the plastic for serious machines at equally serious prices. Café racers, roadsters, classics, scramblers and cruisers are eyed with intent over scooters and mopeds, a move that has not gone unnoticed by the big brands that are now catering more often to smaller riders, and tailoring their ad campaigns to entice.
Breaking stereotypes
Traditionally a male dominated scene, motorcycle clubs and organisations are embracing this new breed of bikers rolling in with a fresh feminine style that differs from the denim-clad pillion riders and Hell’s Angels groupies many people associate with women on motorbikes. Designers, account managers, ballerinas and chefs are zipping up chic leather jackets, flipping down their visors and accelerating through urban congestion and onto the wide open road, showcasing a classier look and shattering the misconceptions caused by the over-sexualised biker chick imagery that has prevailed in cheap magazines and tacky calendars for decades.
Sanela Bozic
The riders…
Claudia Liebenberg, 29, a full time illustrator based in Stellenbosch who will be exhibiting her art in Belarus later this month, has been around motorbikes since she was little, first riding with her father and then on scramblers in high school. At age 14 she rode solo for the first time – fast-forward twenty five years and she finds herself the owner of a classic black 1976 BMW R75/6, a make and model she has coveted for the longest time, lured by its timeless look, war history, horizontally opposed engine design and the ‘beautiful rough sound it makes’, clearly music to any petrol head’s ears. Anushia Moodliar, 53, rides socially with friends on her Harley Heritage Softail and has been biking seriously since 2009, relishing the peace that prevails on the move – “it’s my chance for introspection, reflection and prayer”. Rookie Emma Jude Jackson, 32, a social media strategist, recalls the overwhelming thrill she felt as a child at Hartbeespoort Dam in Joburg as fifty Harley Davidson’s would rumble past, leaving the air vibrating in their wake and her heart beating a little faster. Riding just once in 2016 as Jason the Baker’s passenger had her setting new goals, and six months and several lessons later she was climbing onto her own Suzuki RV125 VanVan, the perfect entry-level bike that the team at Los Muertos in Loop Street helped her source. Riding alone is her vibe – “it’s become a form of therapy and escapism for me, where I can be completely in the moment.” She reckons online platforms like Instagram have significantly upped the accessibility and glam aspect to women across the board. Sanela Bozic, 34, a luxury property specialist, started out on a scooter in Miami in 2008 and two years ago learnt to ride geared motorbikes. Influenced by her fiancé Devin Paisley of Woodstock Moto Co, a DIY workshop and coffee hangout in Barron Street, Bozic says that riding in the city makes her ‘feel like a ninja’, as if she’s in a video game. She’s on her Honda XR250 Tornado Scrambler at every opportunity, a no brainer in the perpetual CBD gridlock. Sanela, who likes to push the speedometer needle, is extremely safety conscious and stresses that the right apparel is crucial as riders are so vulnerable and always at risk. “Seeing people riding without the right gear gives me the shivers – one should spend 10% of the value of your bike on a helmet – protect your melon!”
Without exception, every girl biker interviewed reiterated that the destination pales in comparison to the journey – senses are heightened as an acute awareness of the surroundings kicks in and unites the soul with the elements. These women are fierce and brave, asphalt surfers who make other girls wish they could ride too.
International Female Ride Day, 6 May!
This Saturday 6 May, hundreds of female riders in SA will ride in solidarity with those in 20 other countries for International Female Ride Day, the world’s only globally synchronized women’s motorcycle event, celebrating women empowerment and the joy of the ride. For more details, visit www.ladybikerssa.co.za.
Sanela Bozic, taken by Devin Paisley
Emma Jude Jackson, by Allison Foat