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Road Travel<br />
Women and their iron horses<br />
Many people view motorcycles and bikers as belonging to a macho, all-male<br />
domain. If you think that is the case, you are very wrong: think again. With<br />
Women’s Day and National Women’s Month coming up in August and International<br />
Female Ride Day just having taken place in May, it’s as good a time as any to take<br />
note of just how big female motorcycling has taken off in South Africa and around<br />
the world.<br />
motorcycle rentals, extended tours, easy bookings, a back-up vehicle that travels<br />
with the touring party and accommodation in 3-4 star establishments along the<br />
way.<br />
Their motorcycle trips give tour members ample opportunity to view South African<br />
wildlife and cultural experiences and will take them along beautiful coastal roads<br />
that hug the Indian and Atlantic Ocean, and winding mountain passes with<br />
amazing views and scenic roads that stretch endlessly. Destinations include Cape<br />
Town, the Garden Route, KwaZulu-Natal, Namaqualand, Kruger National Park,<br />
the Drakensberg, the Cradle of Human Kind and Soweto, among others. They also<br />
arrange tours further afield to, for instance Victoria Falls, Botswana, Tanzania and<br />
other African destinations.<br />
Specific bikes & classics<br />
These are just a few of the many motorcycle rental and tour companies operating<br />
in South Africa. Apart from the Harley Davidson rental/tour companies, there are<br />
other that use specific motorcycles, like Yamaha Adventure, Honda Pan European<br />
Motorcycle Tours, Cape Bike Travel who supply Harleys and BMW bikes, Triumph<br />
Tiger Motorcycle Rental in Cape Town, and more.<br />
For lovers of things nostalgic or classic, there is Cape Sidecar Adventures who<br />
offer self-drive or chauffeured trips ranging from 2 hours to multiple days. All<br />
their bikes and sidecars are decommissioned military bikes originally used by<br />
the People’s Liberation Army of China between the early 1950’s and mid-1970s.<br />
They are known as cj750’s and are based on the old German BMW R71 used<br />
extensively since World War II. Their fleet has been fully refurbished and modified<br />
to suit South African road and traffic requirements.<br />
Gary Martin 83 / iStock<br />
Also, if you are a woman visiting South Africa on holiday, or a local woman<br />
wishing to do some scenic travelling, and you are taken in by the idea of seeing<br />
this beautiful country sitting astride a powerful two-wheeled machine on an open<br />
road, go for it! Local bike rental and tour companies stress that they have many<br />
women also renting motorcycles and joining their tour groups.<br />
And if you are a woman but don’t have a bike driving licence and still wish to<br />
experience the thrill of riding a motorcycle, you can always opt for a chauffeurdriven<br />
rental or tour – meaning the company will supply a driver and you can ride<br />
pillion or sit in a sidecar.<br />
The number of women in South Africa who take part in motorcycling and related<br />
events, has grown rapidly, promoted by lady biker organisations such as Durbanbased<br />
Shredbettys, Cape Town-based Lady Bikers SA, and the Harley Owners<br />
Group community in South Africa. Harley Davidson says 20% of this group is<br />
now made up of women. And the number of women getting out there on their<br />
motorcycles is growing at a very rapid pace around the world.<br />
Sue Nagel, consumer experience manager at Harley-Davidson Africa, in 2015<br />
organised the first Ladies of Harley rally. The Harley-Davidson brand also<br />
supports and sponsors several other female motorcycle events and activities such<br />
as the annual Lady Biker SA Rally in the Western Cape and the local leg of the<br />
International Female Ride Day. In KwaZulu-Natal Shredbettys have been active<br />
in organising and participating in the South Coast Bike Fest among other things.<br />
International Female Ride Day is an event celebrated on the first Saturday in May<br />
each year by women riders in more than 70 locations in some 30 countries around<br />
the world. Nine of these take place in South Africa, hosted by the HOG chapters of<br />
Harley-Davidson dealership network across the country.<br />
Debunking the myth of male domination in motorcycling, is the fact that on<br />
International Female Ride Day the only thing in common with their male<br />
counterparts, are the types and variety of motorcycles to be seen. But sitting<br />
astride them as the riders of these machines, you will see a sea of pink – all ladies.<br />
So there you go…for an adventure of a lifetime, don your leathers, helmet and<br />
gloves, saddle your iron horse and kick that machine in action, and then head out<br />
into the sun-drenched African landscape.<br />
The bikes are by far not only Harleys. Women turn up at these events on anything<br />
from superbikes, adventure bikes, tourers, big cruisers, scooters and every other<br />
form of two-wheeled motorised transport. The makes cover the full range from<br />
Harley Davidson to BMW, Ducati, the Japanese bikes, Triumph, Enfield, Victory,<br />
some Indian bikes, and everything else.<br />
If you look around you these days, whether in Sandton, Polokwane, Camps Bay, the<br />
Winelands, on the Port Elizabeth beachfront, along Route 62, on the beachfront in<br />
Durban, or wherever, you are bound to see a slender figure in leathers and boots,<br />
hair whipping in the wind, breezing past you on a massive 1200cc machine. That’s<br />
real woman power!<br />
Meanwhile, happy Woman’s Month to all those ladies and their magnificent<br />
machines.
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