About Us
Ruth Fox - Notes from a small pillion
Bikers… they come in all shapes & sizes… small, tall, fat, hairey, bald, thin, male, female & kid size… what do they all like… speeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!
But here we are gonna talk about girl bikers!
Looking out the car window (I know, I know) and watching this biker go past I wasn't sure whether it was a guy or a gal, the comment that came back from my passenger was 'it's probably a girl coz they ride more smoothly – blokes tend to drive a bit more recklessly and show off' of course I thought that a little condescending as he was a bloke, but thinking about it… maybe not.
Girls haven't been on bikes in their zillions in the past coz men have always had 'something to say' about this particular subject. Bit like 'women should be in the kitchen where they belong' so they have had an uphill struggle, no change there!!
There have been women on bikes for years, though not as many as there are now. It's great coz now they're earning a bit more money - they're not so pressured to have kids and if they do have kids - they either have a man who will share the bringing up and they don't feel tied to the kitchen sink like they used to – or they just say 'on yer bike mate I'm off'. They don't feel as if they are being watched by the whole street and talked about behind their backs – well not as much anyway.
I was always brought up around bikes… my cousin had some really great British bikes up in Yorkshire and when he was testing them he used to stick me on the back and off we'd go… from the tender age of 4 much to my mothers distress! My uncle had a bike and sidecar… which was brilliant as my mum & dad didn't have a car and me and my mum would be in the sidecar and my aunty & uncle on the bike… it was the most exciting time I used to have… !! Though I must confess I have never ridden a bike, well not properly apart from a couple of times in a field… once when my mate Rob Andrews sat on the bike and then jumped off when we got going… he had to run fast coz it was a heavy bike and they had to run to catch me when I stopped :o) the other time was at the Ogri last year when I actually rode the bike down the field. I reckon if I had had a bike I would be dead now coz I love speed so much… I do ride pillion well though… I suppose I'm a plastic biker really!
Anyway, whilst we have been getting this website up and running I have met some really cool girls… some have gotten into racing, others have run the gauntlet and been riding for years… a lot have children and some have had to wait for them to be grown up enough for them to get on a bike… to know that if they have any problems the kids are old enough… they also have stress from the kids saying 'you're not riding that', but true to form they can tell them where to go… they're old enough to do what they want :o) Some mothers are even encouraging their kids into riding bikes… for fun and even racing.
Most bikes are bought after you've sat on them, it is not the colour!! You might have an idea on what make you want – Suzuki, Yamaha, Harley, Triumph… what feels best when you ride the beast and a beast is what it is… because it's so powerful!! Get on that bike and you are free to go most places… easier to park, providing all bike parks are not turned into paying places, as some councils are trying to do, but that's for another page!!
Some bikes are bought just because you want one of those – there's no rhyme or reason except that! There are the weekenders who bring theirs out only then… the dry runners who don't like the rain… and the hardened bikers who don't care what day it is or what the weathers like, they get out there. Of course some people have to because their job calls for it! And all this comes to women's minds – you gotta feel that this is your bike… a lot have been pillion and felt that they wanted to be in control of their own destiny… bought a bike and never looked back and felt that it was more fun riding alongside.
It's very social having a bike – you can pull in on the motorway services and pull up alongside another biker and have some kind of conversation… pull into café car parks, especially where you know other bikers visit, and you can glean information about your bike, talk about current affairs, or the weather. You can even have a little race along the roads with other bikers… Course guys always think that because you are a woman they will win hands down, but our girls don't let that worry them, they will give as good as they get - if they want to!! My man couldn't catch up with some girl on a bike and he says 'she must have been a professional' they are funny aren't they?
Love Roof! XXX
Girls haven't been on bikes in their zillions in the past coz men have always had 'something to say' about this particular subject. Bit like 'women should be in the kitchen where they belong' so they have had an uphill struggle, no change there!!
I was always brought up around bikes… my cousin had some really great British bikes up in Yorkshire and when he was testing them he used to stick me on the back and off we'd go… from the tender age of 4 much to my mothers distress! My uncle had a bike and sidecar… which was brilliant as my mum & dad didn't have a car and me and my mum would be in the sidecar and my aunty & uncle on the bike… it was the most exciting time I used to have… !! Though I must confess I have never ridden a bike, well not properly apart from a couple of times in a field… once when my mate Rob Andrews sat on the bike and then jumped off when we got going… he had to run fast coz it was a heavy bike and they had to run to catch me when I stopped :o) the other time was at the Ogri last year when I actually rode the bike down the field. I reckon if I had had a bike I would be dead now coz I love speed so much… I do ride pillion well though… I suppose I'm a plastic biker really!
Most bikes are bought after you've sat on them, it is not the colour!! You might have an idea on what make you want – Suzuki, Yamaha, Harley, Triumph… what feels best when you ride the beast and a beast is what it is… because it's so powerful!! Get on that bike and you are free to go most places… easier to park, providing all bike parks are not turned into paying places, as some councils are trying to do, but that's for another page!!
It's very social having a bike – you can pull in on the motorway services and pull up alongside another biker and have some kind of conversation… pull into café car parks, especially where you know other bikers visit, and you can glean information about your bike, talk about current affairs, or the weather. You can even have a little race along the roads with other bikers… Course guys always think that because you are a woman they will win hands down, but our girls don't let that worry them, they will give as good as they get - if they want to!! My man couldn't catch up with some girl on a bike and he says 'she must have been a professional' they are funny aren't they?
Love Roof! XXX
