Her Story. A series of blog posts telling the stories of 'women who ride' from all corners of the globe. We hope that by sharing these stories we can help encourage other women to build their confidence, learn from others and inspire others.
This month we have a story by Aimee from Auckland, New Zealand. Since she was young, Aimee has had an interest in motorcycles and now in her twenties, she not only rides bikes but also flies planes.
We hope you enjoy her story!
Hi, I’m Aimee!
I’m obsessed with animals and love to fly in the sky and on two wheels. I live in Auckland, New Zealand and I am 25 years old.
My papa always loved bikes and as our stay at home parent I looked up to him, he was my inspiration to start riding. When I was younger we would spend family holidays camping in different national parks. My favourite park is in the North Island of New Zealand and was managed by a park ranger who patrolled on their dirt bike, not only did I dream of becoming a ranger but I also dreamt of being able to ride bikes like them too.
Eight years ago I still hadn’t learnt to ride so when a friend of mine was offered an old two-stroke Suzuki RV90 (that wouldn’t start) by their neighbour I jumped at the chance to get involved. We spent some weekends trying to get the new toy to come alive and were finally successful. This was the first bike I confidently learnt to ride, starting out on the beach and then moving on to the quiet streets around their house.
From that day on, I knew I wanted to get myself a bike. About a year later with the help of some friends I got my hands on a Suzuki GN250 and started to work through my licences. I built up my confidence by riding around the regional park I now worked at as a ranger and finally felt confident on the roads. This is the bike I still ride today and I love how comfortable, light and forgiving it is.
Motorbikes offer me a sense of freedom and exhilaration that I haven’t found elsewhere. I love riding all sorts of bikes, or at least riding anything anyone will let me! The riding community is unique and it feels like every other rider (at least in NZ) is looking out for you.
A couple of tips for anyone starting out, don’t be afraid of the bike but respect it, make sure you feel in control at all points of your ride. Start going for rides at quiet times of the day in low traffic and good weather, take it slow and let your confidence build at your own pace, there’s no rush.
Make the most of your network, the riding community and most importantly remember to smile.
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