San Francisco Welcomes Global Women's Motorcycle Relay

After traveling more than 31,000 miles through more than 50 countries in every type of weather imaginable, a global relay of female motorcyclists is finally rolling through California. Over 40 women on bikes got a warm welcome from San Francisco's local women's riding group, Dames Don't Care Motorcycle Collective, and from the San Francisco Motorcycle Club on Treasure Island on Friday.

The Women Riders World Relay is the brainchild of British motorcyclist Hayley Bell, who said she came up with the idea when she just wanted to be able to go on more rides with women.

"What we want to do, rather than focus on the negatives [of riding as a woman], we want to focus on the positives," said Bell. "So we want to see new riders; we want to see women getting better at riding; we want to encourage the sense of community that comes with cycling and support that. We really take pride in shining a light on the positive."

On a lark last year, Bell said she put out a social media call on Facebook to see if any female bikers would be interested in an around-the-world ride. When over 14,000 women from 90 countries responded, she knew she was on to something. Now the mission of the ride is to unite women and show the motorcycle industry that women bikers are a force to be reckoned with.

The relay officially began in John-O-Groats, Scotland in February with Bell and a handful of other riders. From there, Bell passed on a GPS baton that all riders who participate in at least one leg of the world relay can sign. The instrument has touched the hands of thousands of other women motorcyclists and crossed borders and oceans.

The group rolled into the United States in late September. Women motorcyclists rode in from Canada and handed off the baton in Calais, Maine. Bell flew out from the U.K. to join the cross-country U.S. ride.

Monica Blalock of Bremerton, Washington, who signed the relay baton, said she rode down and met the riders in Reno but will not continue on the trip due to bike issues. She's been riding for four years and said that most of the time "there's no one I can ride with except a couple of guys so it was great to ride with a bunch of women for the first time."

Members of the San Francisco Motorcycle Club, second oldest in the world, escorted the relay from the Golden Gate Bridge to Treasure Island to help block traffic.

Colleen Duncan from Folsom, California, Jillean Frakes from Arizona and Deb Davis from Ketchikan, Alaska rode together through San Francisco during the event.

Duncan, who is a new rider, trailered her bike up to Reno to begin the relay and will ride down to Los Angeles — which will be only her third ride ever. She said "today was my first time riding in the dark, but I felt safe with the escorts."

Davis, who rode from her home in Alaska, will continue her journey down to Mexico. She said she will leave her motorcycle with a friend in Texas and fly back to Alaska. "I'll come back and ride it home when it's not winter," she said.

Tamar V. Jeffery, from Detroit, Michigan joined the group in Columbus, Ohio and rode with them until they hit Laredo, Texas. She's been riding for four years and currently owns a 2019 Harley-Davidson Sport Glide. “I’m 'Detroit strong.' That’s why I gotta do the route all the way to Texas,” she said about her motivation to do the relay.

Dogs went along for the ride too. Heather Haggard, a veteran from Post Falls, Idaho, is riding to the Mexico border with her two dogs, Kuzwekan Chloe  and Justin Case, in a carrier on her bike. Chloe has cruised over 40,000 miles with Heather but this is Justin Case’s first ride. "The women on this trip have been wonderful. They help with the dogs, taking them to the bathroom," she said. 

Haggard said the cross-country trip is a big deal for her as she usually spends most of her time alone. "You have all your different personalities and all your different stuff, but in general we're here to ride and we're here for a purpose and we're doing it," she said about relay.

The women have already clocked more than 2,000 miles across North America and there's still more to go. After riding down California's scenic Highway 1 to Los Angeles, they'll circle back east towards Nevada, head up to Colorado and finish the U.S. legs in Texas. Then it's on to Central America.