Today we celebrate International Women’s Day 2019. This day draws attention to the continued struggle women have for being recognised as equals & gives us all an opportunity to celebrate the amazing women of the world.

Throughout this week mono motorcycles have been posting cards on our social media feeds about pioneering women in biking & motorsport. This weeks blog is a celebration of some of these women & how they have changed the face of biking & motorcycling throughout history.

From the dawn of motorsport, women have been there either as supporters of industry or innovators in their own field. One of the most famous stories of a woman’s belief in ground breaking technologies in the automotive world, was the story of Bertha Benz.

When Bertha Benz took it upon herself in 1888 to fly in the face of traditional male dominance in the automotive world & to prove her husband’s motorcar a worthy invest-able product; she thought nothing of taking the original patented Mercedes Benz Automobile on a long-distance journey from Mannheim to Pforzheim, to show the world what the automobile could do.

Bertha Benz stunned the male dominated automobile world by her actions, which put her husband Carl Benz on the automotive map & spurned investments from interested parties. She was determined to see this technical break through as a success & if it wasn’t for her belief (a woman’s belief) in the technology, the motor car may never have been developed as early as it was.

Two other trailblazers from the beginning of the last century to make a huge impact on the motorcycling world, were Marjorie Cottle & Theresa Wallach.

‘Born in 1900, Marjorie Cottle is one of Britain’s most recognised & remembered female motorcyclists. She regularly competed in races & trials during the 1920s/ 30s & was celebrated as one of the best riders in Britain at the time.’ (1)

In 1925, the Auto-Cycle Union banned females from entering any form of motorcycle road racing. Their reasoning was that they felt it was bad publicity if a woman was to be injured while riding. However, the ban did not extend to trails racing! Therefore, Cottle competed in trails alongside her fellow British racers, including Edyth Foley & Louise MacLean.

‘Cottle’s greatest success was arguably her victory in the International Six Days Trial (ISDT) of 1927. An off-road motorcycling event with 100 racers taking part, The International Six Days Trial was held traditionally in the Lake District. Despite commentators at the time predicting them no chance of success – the Ladies Team managed to secure a tremendous victory, winning the International Silver Vase.   (1)

In 1925, the Auto-Cycle Union banned females from entering any form of motorcycle road racing. Their reasoning was that they felt it was bad publicity if a woman was to be injured while riding. However, the ban did not extend to trails racing! Therefore, Cottle competed in trails alongside her fellow British racers, including Edyth Foley & Louise MacLean.

‘Cottle’s greatest success was arguably her victory in the International Six Days Trial (ISDT) of 1927. An off-road motorcycling event with 100 racers taking part, The International Six Days Trial was held traditionally in the Lake District. Despite commentators at the time predicting them no chance of success – the Ladies Team managed to secure a tremendous victory, winning the International Silver Vase. (1)

‘Theresa Wallach was a pioneering motorcyclist whose lifelong involvement in the sport included being a racer, motorcycle adventurer, military dispatch rider, engineer, author, motorcycle dealer, mechanic and riding school instructor.’ (2)

‘In 1935, Wallach and her friend, Florence Blenkiron, or “Blenk,” as Wallach called her, embarked on one of the most ambitious motorcycle journeys of the era. Riding a 600cc single-cylinder Panther complete with sidecar and trailer, the two rode from London to Cape Town, South Africa.

No roads, no back up, just straight across the Sahara through equatorial Africa, and South to the Cape – in 1935, without even a compass! It was quite simply one of the most radical motorcycle journeys ever.’ (2)

Zoe Cano is another trailblazer in the world of motorcycling & in particular her desire & passion for adventure. Zoe has always been a keen biker, but in 2012 she embarked on a groundbreaking 10,000 km solo journey across the lesser known roads North America.

In the same spirit of adventure as Theresa Wallach before her, Zoe used paper maps to guide her through her journey. Despite having access to modern GPS on her phone, Zoe only ever resorted to this in dire emergencies.

Zoe’s belief & determination drove her forward & Zoe & her ever trusty Triumph Bonneville, had an amazing adventure through traffic & torrential rain, to the vast open spaces of the American desert. Zoe’s journey was recorded in her first book ‘Bonneville Go Or Bust’

Since that time, Zoe has continued her adventures which she has written about in ‘Southern Escapades – on the roads less travelled’, ‘Chilli, Skulls & Tequila – Notes from Baja California’ & her latest adventure ‘Hellbent for Paradise’ which is released later in March 2019.

These trailblazers have taken their passions & through their determination & belief in themselves; have made their mark in a world still so heavily dominated by men. It is amazing that in 2019 with 1 in 5 bikers being women, we still face a struggle to be accepted in certain areas of motorcycling, motorsport & the automotive world.

Icons such as Maria Costello MBE & new comers such as Ana Carrasco, the first woman in the world to win an international motorsport title winning the 2018 World Supersport 300 Championship; are continuing to show that women are equally as important as their male counterparts in the biking world.

However, we still have some way to go. Women are still marginalised & with gender sterotyping still rife in the motorcycling world; women still have some work to do, to be recognised as equals & true bikers in their own rights.

Written by Katy Mason – Business Woman, Educator, Biker.

(1) https://www.carolenash.com/insidebikes/news/female-motorcycle-racers-marjorie-cottle/

(2) http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=309