“One year on, and that Woman is still riding her bike”

It has been a year since I wrote the previous write up about “Anne’s Quest to ride”. What started out as pushing each other has now ended in riding her own 1200. This was Anne’s goal all along; I was always asked if there was not a 1200 she could ride. We tried all sorts and at last we found the perfect ride for her.

From being pushed around.

To riding her own bike around

From the previous write up I did, this once very nervous woman stepped up and surprised many a person. As you may know, if you have met Anne, she was not the tallest girl in her class in school, nor has she grown much either since then. The years did not put any extra height into that frame of hers. What did help was building up the boots. I still however think Anne is the shortest lady rider and especially now on a 1200. Since original write-up to now we have seen over 22 000km being recorded on the trip meter of her GS650, now for most men out there that is quite an achievement, most bikers don’t even clock up kilometres like that in 5 years let alone 1 year. But I suppose that was because Anne loved her riding and it was “ride with the others or be left behind”. One thing I can say is that Anne was never “left behind” in fact many a time it was us that “got left behind”. She would often take the lead and open that little 650 of hers, we never had to wait for her.

If you go into the Club web and read the ride reports I did, you must remember Anne was doing the rides on her own bike, Mohale, Katse, BMW Fest in Oudtshoorn and Swaziland to name but a few.  The BMW Fest was an 11 day bike ride. This was done without a moan or a groan, in some of the worst weather you could imagine – wind that almost blew you off the bike and rain that hit you at right angles. There is no stopping when something like this happens, you suit up accordingly and ride!!!

On the road back from BMW Fest near Grahamstown 

Swaziland was a 12 day ride (4 days then 8 days); in some of the hottest temps we have had in a long time, again no holding her back. Some of you out there reading this may say “so what’s the big deal”? If you have only been riding for just over a year and only started at the age of 50, then it is a “big deal”. There are lady riders out there that start riding but after a few months the rides become shorter the headaches become more frequent and the battery runs flat and then not long after that you see the advert “for sale – only one lady rider”. This I find so sad. Many times it is the husband/boyfriend/partners fault. We need to encourage the lady riders don’t just assume that when a woman starts riding that is it “another biker”. What feels totally normal to guys – bike riding, is not totally normal to a lady rider. They tend to start a lot later in life, lot of times, after the kids are all grown-up. A few are lucky enough to start in their teens, but majority not.

In the year past, I never stopped “training” Anne, maybe “training” is not the right word, I never stopped “advising” her, may be the better word to use. Her GPS was always on her bike the Bluetooth always on in her helmet and with these two devices and my talking she has improved her riding skills to migrate from 650 to 1200 in just one year. The biggest thing is however “saddle time” you cannot get enough of that. You need to be riding fit also; the only way you get riding fit is by riding those many 1 000’s of kilometres.

There is a small bunch of us that get together most weekends and do some riding. To reduce the leave taken, we have started riding Saturdays and Sundays now. We arrange a ride, book the hotel, meet early the Saturday morning, head on out for  around 500 or 600kms, get to the destination, spend a great evening together and then Sunday turn the GPS upside down and head home. That is the saddle time I talk about. This is what Anne did, never once did she pillion with me. I can honestly say, what was once the best pillion has now become the worst pillion – Anne. That is the price you have to pay when you let your pillion become a rider, let me tell you it is all worth it. To see that “once a pillion” riding her own bike should make any partner proud.

Mohale Dam – fully loaded 

It was not long before a request was made for “her own” panniers, something I never thought I would hear. I can tell you it lightened the load on my bike considerable. Anne even had a tank bag fitted to her bike. So, from then on she shared the load with me. Made for easier riding and also gave her a sense of “I am also doing something”. I think this also adds to a lady rider’s confidence when they can also pack their own bikes and look the part and not just being someone tagging along. What I still notice is that a lady rider is still “not the norm” when it comes to the non biking public but is totally acceptable within the biking community. There is never a shortage of helping hands to help move a lady rider’s bike for her. Keep it up chaps, the more we help the more ladies will start riding.

Kaapsche Hoop 

I have, over the past year, made it my mission to try and encourage as many lady riders as possible to start riding. On the club rides I try and get the lady riders together and get the group photos. We have had quite an increase over the past year. Where we once only had 2 or 3 we now see 6 or 7 lady riders. We still need to see more ladies out there. I think is a small way, so far, Anne has helped increase the numbers of lady riders as I know she tries encouraging them whenever she has the chance, it was two lady riders that got her riding, thanks to Pat and Therina, Anne now rides her own bike.

The urge for Anne to ride a 1200 started a couple of months ago; she tried getting on any 1200 that she could find. Up to now most if not all had been “too tall”, “too heavy” or the wrong make of bike. The rule still stood – “it must be a BMW and you must be able to lift the bike off the side stand.” With me changing jobs and the new office being centre Johannesburg my thoughts turned to alternate transport for myself. My plan was to get myself a second hand GS650 (like Anne’s) to go to work and back. I had to slow down with the GSA as the kms were not showing signs of slowing down, 46 000 kms in less than two years. I wanted something lighter and nippier than the GSA. GSA’s are champion of the open roads but tricky in traffic.

It was at John’s house the day when he mentioned that Anne should look at the new R1200R, it was a 1200, it was low, it had ESA, it have everything the GS’s and GSA’s had, well that was it!!! From that minute on Anne never rested, we had to go look at the R. I had never given the R a second thought. Working at the time only 300m from Lyndhurst, I popped into them and asked to test the R. This I can tell all you “shorter” people out there, is a well hidden secret. This bike is a magic bike to ride, handles well, turns well and let me tell you something else; it will whip any GS or GSA’s arse!!! I was amazed by this bike, when I handed back the keys, I think my smile gave it away; I bought the bike there and then. If Anne was too short for this bike, I would at least have a second bike for myself in the garage. It was only a few days later that I thought I had better see if Anne actually fits and I took it home for her the night. Then it was still the factory colour, black with a thick white stripe.

Original colour                                                        New colour 

It did not take Anne long to get on the bike, lift it off the side stand and smile from ear to ear. There goes “my” second bike and here is Anne’s new bike. Of course immediately she wanted it to match her helmet – Burnt Orange or Lava. I knew this was coming so I had already arranged to have the bike re-sprayed, it was cheaper to re-spray the bike than buy a new helmet and have that re-sprayed the bikes colour – method in my madness!! But this I never told Anne, just told her you can’t re-spray a classic bike. So we settled on a Burnt Orange pin stripe. Next day it was back with Lyndhurst to get the “pin stripe”. Two weeks later it was ready for collection. Saturday arrived with the speed of a Harley – slowly. It was planned for a 09h00 breakfasts, then the collection, but that turned to a 07h30 breakfast. Someone could not wait. We were joined by John & Jenny and then Tony & Carol.

Well the bike was unveiled and I don’t think I have seen a happier face in all my life. It was smiles all round and for once, speechless.

New colour

So ladies you see, no matter how short you are, if you have the courage to ride and the will to succeed you will be able to ride the bike of your choice. Now a new chapter in my life begins, trying to keep up with Anne and her new bike. All this in just over 12 months, from pillion to biker, 650 to 1200.

   Written by a proud husband - Wymoth