By Hazellyne Tariang
In the 21st century, gender roles are fading and might soon be outdated. No longer a necessity for learning a skill or hobby is gender or sexuality. This is a reality, as gender disparity is being challenged in almost all wakes of life.
This also applies to the culture of biking across the globe. Both men and women can ride bikes, though, on a larger scale, there is still more left to be achieved. But the shift has already started. Many times, women have motivated other women to travel, making it commendable when these women accomplish tasks that often come under the purview of men.
Nearly 20 per cent of motorcycle riders are women, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), and this percentage has skyrocketed over the past decade. Cycle Trader (CT), the top motorcycle marketplace, surveyed 1,746 women customers to learn more about how women motorcyclists see the industry. The findings point towards issues that are specific to women who ride, along with chances to keep making the motorcycle community more diverse.
According to the survey, women motorcyclists are still passionate about motorcycles and the freedom that comes with riding. 39.1 per cent of women bikers said they ride because they enjoy being out on the open road. Other motivating forces included spending quality time with a significant other, feeling empowered, and developing friendships or ties within the community. Naturally, many women bike for each of those reasons.
Women are riding their bikes in a variety of ways. The majority of them (66.8 per cent) use their bikes mostly for leisure activities, with daily (26.6 per cent), weekly (17.6 per cent), and irregular (22.6 per cent) rides being the most popular.
The majority of daily commuting was cited by 15 per cent of women motorcycle riders, and long excursions were cited by 18.2 per cent of them.
The main insight of the survey is how women motorcyclists are defying stereotypes and overcoming barriers in the sector that are based on false assumptions. Even today, it’s common to believe that women bikers are merely men’s sidekicks or passengers. In fact, 75 per cent of women riders indicated that they were the motorcycle’s operator in their response.
One rider commented, “I’m a woman going into a man’s environment,” in a different round of in-depth interviews with women riders. Later on, they clarified that on the road, women ought to be treated equally.
Meet Ibahunlang Abigail Lyngdoh, who started riding at 17. Amazed upon seeing a woman out on the streets riding a bike, she asked herself a question, “If she can do it, why can’t I?”
She asked a few of her peers and eventually tried it out herself. On her riding experiences, Lyngdoh said, “I have not really travelled outside Meghalaya, but I have gone on various trips well within the state.”
The most memorable ride for her was during the recently concluded North East Olympic Games – a group of bikers named ‘Cafe Racers of Shillong’ kicked off the games with a bike ride and Lyngdoh, through her contacts, could join them and it was there that she met other women riders.
She added, “Being a woman biker definitely makes me feel empowered. I love the sense of freedom and the adventure I feel when I ride.”
Adding that more women should gather all their courage and ride, she reached out to other women with a message, “Enjoy the thrill because it gives you a sense of empowerment being a woman and we get a chance to outshine the men. If boys can do it, so can we. But most importantly, enjoy the ride and ensure there is no speeding.”
Naphisha A.V Kharkongor, a 24-year-old businesswoman, felt dissatisfied sitting behind a man and decided to grab the reins herself by learning how to ride and never having to depend on the opposite sex.
She started riding at 16, by watching tutorials on YouTube. She was an introvert her whole life, but getting on her bike gave her the confidence she never thought she needed, thinking to herself that everything was possible to be achieved.
Among the women motorcyclists, everyone hates chaapri riders – the term refers to reckless good-for-nothing riders who just zoom on the streets and honk their way through. Lyngdoh expresses fear when talking about such riders as they pose a threat to the citizens.
Relaying a message to everyone out there, Lyngdoh said, “You can call yourself a rider only when you follow the rules and regulations of the road and ride safely,” further adding, “It doesn’t matter what other people think… if it makes you happy and makes sense to you it doesn’t have to make sense to others.”
Nova Lama, an entrepreneur-cum-makeup artist, who runs her very own studio and salon, was never afraid of trying out something new and exciting. The desire to explore life was the main reason she learned how to bike.
Not everyone is daddy’s little princess, some are their father’s own reflection, Lama said she picked up the love of biking from her father.
Travelling through the less travelled road gives you a thorough understanding that the route to one’s destination is never easy, but the journey matters and where the fun and excitement lie. Much is learnt on the road.
Shillong with its picturesque landscape has a lot to offer. Travelling through those roads is breathtaking, she added.
Lama sends a message to all her fellow women riders where she tells them not to hesitate while riding a bike; one may fall, but that’s the only way one will learn. “Don’t stop yourself if you have a love for riding. Get up and explore. You will never know or experience until you try.”
Conversing about height, Lama says being short will never be a disadvantage when it comes to riding a bike. One must just learn the art and technique and must have (or build) willpower… with both in mind, a person can conquer the world.
Women are a rapidly growing segment of the biking community who share a love for the freedom of the open road. Women bikers are breaking down stereotypes and providing a nuanced view of women motorcyclists as active drivers who don’t need or want everything to be pink.
Speaking to the women riders, the resolve of American motorcyclists, Adeline and Augusta Van Buren is remembered. As World War I raged on in 1916, the two sisters responded to then President, Theodore Roosevelt’s “Preparedness Movement” to aid the US military. The two women embarked on an epic journey to become dispatch riders and covered 5,500 miles over 60 days, facing bad roads and weather along the way. Unfortunately, when they applied to become motorcycle dispatch riders, it was rejected.
Since then, we have come a long way. That too, in bikes!