A Couple Of Firsts with Karen Ramsay

This entry is part 18 of 19 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #33

Karen Ramsay enjoys the benefits of an open mind.

It’s not too often I get told my bum isn’t sticking out enough, but that’s exactly what happened in one of my recent ‘firsts’.

For ages now I’ve been talking about wanting to do some adventure-riding training and it finally happened: a one-day course with MadAdv.

I’d spoken to some experienced riders who’d done the course and all had got something out of it, so that sounded positive. Plus, it wasn’t expensive, so it sounded like a win-win situation.

Learner

Over the day I went from pottering around on the Terra to actually riding it with some sort of pace, accuracy and confidence. Who knew that actually using the power of the bike could make some riding easier? Magoo – the instructor – spent a lot time reminding me to get into a better riding position, which included sticking my bum out.

There was also lots on braking and having your body weight in the correct position. It wasn’t that long ago that someone finally told me you’re supposed to weight the outside ‘peg not the inside.

It probably doesn’t make much difference at the pace I go around bends, but I can see now how it improves cornering at speed.

At the end of the day, I felt I knew my bike’s capabilities a lot better and myself a lot better as a rider.

Road trip

And now to set the cat among the pigeons with my other first: a women-only adventure ride.

I can hear the cries now. I’m not going to defend it, but perhaps give a little perspective to help explain why I think a women-only ride isn’t the sexist, exclusive, divisive event some may believe it is.

When a couple of friends were gently pressuring me (read ‘constantly badgering’) to go along on the women’s ride put on by RideADV, I was excited about the thought of an 11-hour road trip with a couple of girlfriends for a weekend away and meeting a mob of passionate women riders. On the other hand I was a bit resentful of the fact I’d have to pay money for something I could do for free with husband Dave.

Joann T making sand fails look stylish.

Peer pressure won in the end.

The road trip was terrific. Andrea supplied the vehicle and trailer, Joellen supplied the trailer-reversing skills and I provided a bed at either end of the trip. We sang, waved at riders and joked about how many people would think we were carting our partners’ bikes.

KAREN RAMSAY

No excuses

It was always going to be intriguing to see how men would run a women’s ride.

Initially they were trying a bit too hard to be politically correct. They very carefully brought up the subject of ‘comfort stops’ at the briefing. After a moment of silence, we all roared with laughter and said we were quite comfortable to go behind a tree when needed, and you could see them all visibly relax.

None of us were there with husbands or boyfriends, and that changed the dynamics too. We each had the expectation that we’d have to step up.

I’m particularly guilty of letting Dave do things for me where the bike’s concerned.

Anything I do for myself is usually well supervised (and probably with good reason). The old, “I’m too busy with work,” or, “You’ll do it quicker,” don’t, and shouldn’t, cut it.

If someone came off, everyone stopped to help (or at least take photos).

The difference

So why a women-only ride?

Anecdotally, women have less confidence in their ability than men.

Use your favourite search engine to look at ‘the confidence gap’ if you want more information on this. The gist is women underestimate their ability while men are more likely to overstate theirs. While two riders may have equal skills, the male is more likely to take a risk. A lot of women, especially those new to riding, opt to not go on general rides because they think they won’t be as capable as the others or they’ll slow other riders down.

I’m not implying women riders are inferior to men. It’s just often men and women have a different mindset that manifests itself in the way they ride. It’s not hard to think of women who hold their own in any riding arena. Laia Sanz is in the exclusive club of riders who’ve completed every Dakar they’ve entered. Sarah Taylor has done a double crossing of the Simpson Desert solo and unassisted. That’s not to mention the stack of women traversing the country and the world by motorbike or competing in various events every week. But even these remarkable riders are acutely aware of minimising risk.

Another reason for a women’s ride is that some women can feel isolated or intimidated participating in an activity that appears to be so heavily dominated by men. This possibly explains why many women who don’t have partners opt to ride on their own. Creating opportunities to make connections with other women increases their confidence to get out there. Some non-riding partners can be a bit judgemental of a single woman riding with groups of men, putting women off riding in that situation.

This could be one of the reasons there’s always a few women on rides Dave leads, because they know there’ll be at least one other female there.

These are just some of the complexities that come up for women riders. Hopefully it gives some insight into the idea behind holding a women’s only ride.

A happy crew: Ali, Joellen Amy, Laura and Katrina.

All for one

The Ride ADV women’s ride was a really supportive and enjoyable environment. Greg Yager commented on how easy the ride was to run – everyone was organised, ready on time, and they all listened. If someone came off, everyone behind them stopped to help (or at least take photos). We brought a bit of pizzazz to adventure riding, too. As the weekend went on and people became more familiar with each other, the cornerman system developed into a corner-dancer system, with lots of moves from the Rocky Horror Show, Saturday Night Fever and moves that wouldn’t be out of place at your friendly nightclub or doof party.

My verdict on the ride was really positive.

Regardless of who a ride is aimed at, we should all be looking at having fun and supporting each other.

What I’ve learned

• I should be supervised when working on my bike
• Weight on the outside ‘peg
• Riding like a girl is a good thing
• Corner-dancing is the new cornerman system
• My bum obviously doesn’t stick out as much as I thought

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