Off The Beaten Path: Women Riders World Relay

The ranks of female riders are steadily growing, and it’s high time that this demographic is recognized by the increasingly profit-challenged motorcycle industry. Later this year, ladies will come out in force for the Women Riders World Relay (WRWR). What better way to unite women on two wheels and gain the attention of the motorcycle industry than organizing a global riding event – created by women and for women. 

WRWR will be the world’s largest motorcycle relay with female riders, who will escort a baton through over 80 countries in one calendar year. Riders in the U.S. are encouraged to join in. The relay’s mission is to unite and bond fellow female motorcyclists through this effort. 

“I wanted to ignite a global sisterhood of inspirational women to promote courage, adventure, unity and passion for biking from all corners of the world and do something that’s never been done before to this scale,” said WRWR founder Hayley Bell. “My aim is to WOW the industry into realizing the global market for women in motorsports and to inspire women world-wide.”

Women from around the globe are rallying around this effort. More than 10,000 riders are committed. The relay will be being documented via the WRWR website as well as a Facebook page. It will be exciting to follow the baton in its travels and see pictures of women from all walks of life and riding styles participate. 

The baton is expected to be travel across the US in late September and early October and take 18 days.

While the WRWR will run at a brisk pace due to the immense amount of terrain which needs to be covered, the organizers also wanted to enable more women to get involved in each country. Consequently, a less formal and more leisurely event named the WRWR Ripple Relay has been created.  

Moderating the U.S. portion of the Ripple Relay and coordinating the massive effort of staging the route is Sarah Worthylake. She is enlisting several other individual area coordinators to organize each segment of the route. A chain of riders will pass our country’s flag and a baton through each state, connecting with their fellow riders and visiting interesting sites along their respective journeys. 

The country has been divvied up into segments. The respective coordinators are organizing the riders who pass the baton forward to the next hand-off point. The event has already started out from Key West, FL and is currently making its way along a circuitous route across the Southwest.

The Ripple Relay is scheduled to come to the Northeast in July/August. If you are a female rider who may be interested in participating, click on the Ripple Relay link above and reach out to Northeast regional coordinator Angel Rose for more details.

Even if you are unable to participate, please join the event’s Facebook page to follow along and cheer on the riders as they make their way across the country.