The Babes Ride Out motto is simple: “No Dudes, No ’Tudes.” There’s a good reason for that, one that has nothing to do with exclusion but everything to do with being a woman motorcyclist.
For many women, the idea of rolling solo into a large event comprised mainly of men is daunting. Even the most experienced rider can get a bruised ego dropping her bike in front of buddies, and it’s easy to feel that as a woman you must perform perfectly to avoid judgment. That’s where Babes Ride Out comes in.
Three years ago, Anya Violet and Ashmore Bodiford planned an open get-together for their lady rider friends in the Borrego Desert. The event quickly grew into a group of 70 and earned the title “Babes in Borrego.” Soon, Babes Ride Out (BRO) blew up, this year selling out all 1,200 tickets more than a week before the event. As the date neared, the Facebook event feed grew with pictures of meticulously packed camping gear loaded up onto all types of bikes. Perfect strangers synced up to become road buddies for their departures all over the country (and continent). Women trekked all the way from Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and France.
(Source: Motorcyclist)
How it all started
We wanted to meet more women who ride. At the time, each of us knew only a handful of other female riders, mostly through social media whom we’d never met. After posting a make-shift flyer on Instagram, our first event “Babes in Borrego” was born. News about the campout spread as far as New York City and to our surprise, 50 riders from all over the US and Canada showed up at the meet up spot in Temecula to ride out to our first event.
We knew we wanted to share this experience with more female motorcyclists so we made the event annual which resulted in 50 riders turning into 500 and 500 turning into 1200 riders within 2 years. What started as a no-frills campout on a dry lake bed has become a global community of like-minded women who connect through a love of riding motorcycles. Good times, good friends, two wheels – Ashmore & Anya (Via: Babes Ride Out)
Check out one of their videos:
And another one from April 2016!
Do you know about Babes Ride Out? Are you thinking about joining these gorgeous, kick-ass bikers?
