A conference for female motorcyclists will be held in Canada next summer, sponsored by the Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada and its Women Riders Council.
The conference follows a 2009 International Women in Motorcycling Conference in Colorado that was a collaborative affair between the two Canadian organizations and the American Motorcyclist Association. Many Canadians attended that event.
Honda Canada is a major sponsor of the event.
Women Riders Council chair Myra Abstreiter says the theme of next year’s conference is "One World, One Ride." The 2010 International Women Riders Congress and Festival will "focus on common ground, creating synergy and reinforcing women riders as leaders and role models," she said in a press release.
The conference will be "both educational and festive," Abstreiter said. "The WRC’s mandate is to provide resources and to promote and celebrate women riders. Now, we will do that on a larger scale. There will be networking opportunities, organized tours, a charity trail ride, skills challenges, demo rides and vendors – something for both novice and experienced riders from all disciplines of riding."
The conference will be held Aug. 11–15 at the Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario.
The event has been given a thumbs-up from the Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations (FEMA) and the Motorcycle Riders Foundation. Industry support also comes from BMW Motorrad, BRP, Harley-Davidson, Motorcycle Mojo, and Inside Motorcycles.
I see a lot of ads with men posing beside bikes and I have to say that as a gay man, I’m tired of this exploitation. See Moto Guzzi ads … barefoot? … how offensive. I feel we need more naked women to offset this injustice.
Het TD you’re right I think I will turn homosexual. Anyway I like to have something between my legs.
Not a bad idea getting a little focus on women riders… lots of them do have valid concerns with the market in Canada… oh like bike height for instance (as my wife needs 1/2 inch soles just to tiptoe on her CBR125!)
Of course if you don’t like it, you don’t have to attend or support it, or whine about it. I’m tired of special interest groups like charities using motorcycling for fundraising (how about we leave the bikes at home and just send the money, including the saved gas money?). But so what? I don’t go, I support philanthropic initiatives the way I want to. People can support women in riding the way they want to.
As for the photo, the woman is clearly portrayed as an adornment, not a rider. It is a product of its era; of course modern ads still do it.
i like the bike and women, but not in that order
I can not remember if it was Norton or Ducati of that advertising vintage but one or the other had one of the first pictures of Cheryl Tiegs (sp) as a model Later to become a Charlies Angel as I recall
As for Laura lighten up and get over yourself How long have you been around CMG anyway? anyone who knows this sight would know that most if not all of the members here have nothing but respect for women riders
Cathy and BB to name but two. They have earned that respect by not worrying about their sex but simply by riding well They ask for help when they need it and carry on the rest of the time
For anyone that might care, that photo is circa 1971.
One should hope that attitudes have changed a bit over the last 38 years, towards women, people of colour and other visible minorities.
Those of you who object to the photo seem to be making the assumption that she is not the owner / rider of the bike. How very sexist of you.
I agree, what a sexist picture. Totally against what this event is all about. 🙁
Nice picture. Not
I guess the stereotype of the babe on the back still holds.
:roll
I’m sympathetic to your comments, but women as a group have been largely excluded from owning and operating motorcycles for decades — whether by their own actions or some others’, it doesn’t matter — so in my view it makes sense to specifically aim motorcycle information (or propoganda, if you like) at that group. We may all be “just riders,” but throw a stone at any large gathering of motorcyclists and you’ll almost certainly hit a male. I’m in favour, personally, of specifically encouraging women to ride. I think they will do the sport and the industry a lot of good.
No offence intended but I am tired of special interest groups drawing attention to themselves. It seems to me, if equality is what we seek, why draw attention to specific genders, races, whatever,etc. Why not just be a rider period, rather than a “woman rider”. Of course, sponsors (Honda in this case) jump right on board for marketing rea$on$. Ive also noticed that this coming weekend’s bike show has a special women’s promotion for Friday night. I’m sure this is once again driven by the marketing types. This kind of thing annoys me.