RideADV Women Only Adventure Ride

2020 Ride ADV WOAR Singleton to Tamworth run

Ride ADV are celebrating another highly successful Women’s Only Adventure Ride event, with the final 2020 WOAR adventure heading from Singleton to Tamworth, sampling some amazing scenery, great roads and offering plenty of fun along the way.

2020 Ride ADV Women’s Only Adventure Ride – Singleton to Tamworth

For 20-year-old university student Annika Mountstephens having never ridden off-road and having just secured her L-plates on a road bike, the challenge was how to get started adventure riding. Her mum Katrin van der Spiegel recommended joining Ride ADV’s Women Only Adventure Ride, but a 500km two-day ride from Singleton to Tamworth might prove daunting for a complete novice, despite being a keen mountain biker. Annika needed to know if adventure riding was for her…

Eager to tackle a few dirt kilometres, Annika borrowed an XT250 from Ride ADV head honcho Greg Yager and headed north from his Dural HQ to the Hawkesbury and along the Wheelbarrow Ridge Trail, keen for off-road experience. Despite some of the coldest and wettest October weather on record, the first outing was a success, with Annika showing confidence on her first ride in slippery conditions.

Two weeks later Annika and Kat joined 13 other women on Ride ADV’s fifth WOAR. Glorious sunshine greeted the women for a weekend festival of adventure. Starting in Singleton, the ride negotiated some treacherous moss-covered causeways before winding over Crawney Gap and into Nundle for lunch. Annika wasn’t even the youngest on the ride. That award was given to 17-year-old student Abi Chadwick. Abi’s family is heavily involved in organising the Sunny Corner Trail Bike Rally and she started riding a PW50 aged four.

From there the women – riding a mixture of bikes but mostly Yamaha’s tried and trusted WR250R – headed to Tamworth’s Golden Guitar, where participants formed a Tik Tok-friendly flash mob.

Annika Mountstephens

“It was really cruisey and super fun, I didn’t know what to expect but now I have a taste for this and maybe venturing even further off road. I got heaps of riding tips from a great bunch of people and I’ll definitely be signing up for some dirt bike training. There were so many fun people on the ride and the Ride ADV crew made me feel welcome, I highly recommend other girls joining even if, like me, you have little to no experience!”

Ride ADV plans five WOAR events for 2021, check out www.rideadv.com.au for more information on the calendar of events.

Source: MCNews.com.au

2020 RideADV Women Only Adventure Ride

25-year-old performance artist Karina White is no stranger to two wheels, having been mad for bikes for as long as she can remember, while her paramedic parents are less keen. This didn’t stop her attending track days on her YZF-R3, while riding off-road offered a whole new challenge, as Karina joined RideADV’s latest Women Only Adventure Ride (WOAR) where the newcomer was made fully welcome.

RideADV’s Women Only Adventure Ride

Yamaha legend and top off-road coach Stephen Gall was on hand to offer tips and advice on the two-day ride around the Watagans and Yengo state forests of NSW, while experienced adventure rider Amy Harburg – a veteran of APC rallies and epic trips to Mongolia and South Africa – also offered valuable coaching tips and encouragement.

RideADV’s latest Women Only Adventure Ride

With the pressure off, Karina’s skills improved rapidly and her confidence in the WR250R grew over the weekend.

Karina White

“It was such a great bunch of people and what a fantastic bike to start out on. I had a couple of days to get used to the dirt beforehand because I didn’t want to totally embarrass myself… and I could feel my speed and confidence rising as the ride progressed and listening to Stephen Gall was super valuable. I’ve still got a lot to learn but now I’m hooked and looking forward to the next adventure!”

Karina White riding the Yamaha WR250R

Meanwhile Amy Harburg piloted Yamaha’s new Tenere 700 for the first time – a demo unit that YMA offered to all attendees fitted with lowered suspension and a low seat to appeal to shorter riders. Amy shared she was super impressed with the new ADV twin and dubbed her weekend, “The best fun I’ve had on a bike for a long time.”

RideADV’s Women Only Adventure Ride

Greg Yager – RideADV Trail Boss

“The Women Only Adventure Rides are a great stress-free weekend for us at RideADV. Because unlike blokes they listen to the briefings, they don’t ride over their limits and they don’t overcook corners and spear off into the bush at regular intervals. There are no egos on show – women just get the job done with no fuss.”

Greg Yager (centre) – RideADV Trail Boss