HER STORY | Liz Cooper

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 from Liz Cooper of Horsham, Victoria. Liz is a great example of how motorcycle riding can inspire you to get out and see this beautiful country.

We hope you enjoy her story.

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LIZ COOPER

"Hi, my name is Liz Cooper, I’m 49 years old and live in Horsham – country Victoria.

I have been riding for just over 2 ½ years now. I hadn’t really thought about getting my motorbike licence, EVER! My husband, Andrew, has been riding on and off for most of his life and I was quite happy just sitting on the back listening to music and enjoying the scenery while he did all the riding. A few months after he got back into riding and bought his first Harley I started thinking that maybe one day I might like to get my licence after all but I was SO NERVOUS and didn’t really think I could do it! It wasn’t until October 2013 when the local Harley dealer had an open day and I tried out their jumpstart motorcycle experience that I started to believe that I may be able to do this after all. About 6 weeks later one of our mates called and said his wife was going to get her licence that weekend and would like a girlfriend to do it with her – would I be interested? Initially I said no as I had a lot of things on but when I was still awake thinking about it at midnight I knew I had to do it.

I nervously went for my bike L's and passed. I then hopped on the back of hubby Andrew's Harley and we headed to Natimuk to pick up my first bike, a Yamaha XVS650 Classic, and he made me ride it home. It was a slow ride (lucky if we made it to 70 on the highway). In that first year I clocked up just over 7000km and couldn't believe how much I had grown to love riding this bike.

Together we have seen so much of our local area travelling to many towns both near and far. One of my greatest achievements was riding over the top of the Grampians in that first year and learning that I can lean my bike to the point of scraping the foot boards when I really need to.

Now 2 ½ years and 41000km down the track we have been to Tasmania twice and even rode to Brisbane and back last Christmas. I loved doing that trip – just the 2 of us on our bikes for a fortnight. We had no firm plans just knew we needed to be in Brisbane for Christmas with family so we didn’t book our accommodation in advance just went wherever the roads took us. We zig-zagged across the country chasing many of the famed motorcycle roads we had heard so much about. I would do that trip again in a heartbeat! Most weekends now involve quality time spent with hubby on the bikes discovering new pubs/coffee shops and making new friends along the way.

Earlier this year on our way back from Tassie along the Great Ocean Road my husband came to grief on a corner and had a head-on with a Mercedes. Thankfully he is ok. He came away with a few broken bones and 3 months later is back on a new bike. We can’t let this put us off as riding has become such a big part of our everyday lives.

We have more plans – BIG ones. The next big Aussie trip for us will probably be across the Nullarbor to Perth. We are yet to ride the Great Alpine Road and another trip to Tassie is definitely on the agenda. But the biggest dream of all is to ride Route 66 in the US. We were planning on doing this for my 50^th birthday next year but after hubby’s accident we may need to leave it an extra year – but we WILL get there.

My advice for any women thinking about getting their license is JUST DO IT – have a go. I have not for one second looked back. I love riding it’s in my soul and I can’t imagine NOT doing it anymore. I love to travel with my hubby on the bikes, anywhere, anytime. We have seen so many places but there are still many more to see. I love taking photos to record our travels and seem to have earnt myself the title of “Selfie Queen” along the way. It all comes down to the fact that there is nowhere else in the world that I feel more comfortable than when I am on my bike and I love sharing that with anyone who is interested." 

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Thank you to Liz for sharing her story and if you would like to share your story with us simply go to the Contact Page of the website and fill in the form and we will gladly be in touch.