“S’no snow in Scotland”
First on the list, Scotland! The relay began at a very northern, derelict location in Scotland “John O’Groats.
Normally, the weather in February for this area would be dense snow, closed roads and ice cold winds… but not this year! The weather gods blessed us with clear roads and the occasional sunny spell! How lucky are we! Here’s a picture of some of the rock star ladies who kicked off our global event in front of the John O’Groats signpost!
Scotland was certainly no “easy ride”. The WRWR Guardians braved the sub zero temperatures, dense fog, high winds and ice… (Heated grips were a must!) But rest assured, they delivered the baton and themselves safely and full of smiles by the end of each day! We went dolphin spotting, watched some seals lounging in the sun and of course, visited the iconic Whiskey distilleries of the highlands! We even got the chance to get an obligatory kilt into a photo!)
“The Irish & N.Irish Craic”
Looking out at the increasingly choppy sea at Cairn Ryan ferry port, we knew the Irish ladies would be in for a rough ride. But if there is one thing you can count on with the Irish, its their high spirits, kick ass attitude and ability to make the dampest of days shine bright with excitement!
The girls encountered an unwelcome lady on route… storm Freya! But that didn’t deter our girls! They put their “big girl pants on” and had the “craic”!
A super special thank you to Ali Campbell and Mide Emans for their continued hard work and efforts as ambassadors!
“Wet & windy Wales”
Meeting Collette and Michelle off the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, we battled the icey rain, wind and darkness to get to the Welsh starting point. Rhosneigr, beautiful beachy village on the north coast of Wales.
We took the long way round the mountain range, not letting the weather dampen our spirits and were overwhelmed by the beautiful rivers cascades down the hillsides!
By now, you can probably guess a reoccurring theme with the UK and Irish weather at this time of year! Waterproofs zipped up. Heated gear on full whack. We cruised through to our first meeting point, the Raven cafe, where the world record was set for the most all women motorcycle meet.
We were already very wet at this point, so an impromptu dirt track road filled with deep puddles and mud felt like a sure fire way to keep a smile on the girls faces.
As I went through one particularly deep puddle, soaking above my knees, I remembered Emma one of our Guardian riders, on a low sat chopper. Looking in my mirror, I saw her howling with laughter as her and her bike went “swimming”
“Eventful England”
Many of you will have seen the activities shared across Facebook from the English events, but you may not have seen the battles that took place behind the scenes to get there!
There are so many stories I can tell from the English rides, but the one I want to share with you all the most is “the moment”.
“The moment”, is something I and many of the girls riding the relay thus far, have experienced first hand. That dawning sensation of realization on what you are doing and what it is doing for you and your fellow female riders.
I found the moment occurring on a daily basis, but the REAL moment was when I lead the 70+ riders into the Ace Cafe event. Turning the corner, we were faced with a crowd of 400+ men and women applauding, beaming, jumping and waving. Engines screaming at us in cheer, Horns tooting almost in sync with the camera flashes from every angle.
The tears of joy were already running into the cheek pads of my helmet, when I set my eyes across the crowd on the beaming Admin team,
Liza Miller, Shana Sanderson, Michelle Lamphere, Sara Osterholzer and Liv Seuring had traveled from America, Germany and the UK to be with us. Seeing their faces and knowing it was a reflection of my own was enough to send me into full blown waterworks.
“We’ve done it girls!” – We have actually bloody done it!
The Ace Cafe was alive with excited, inspired and inspiring women. Everywhere you looked, smiles of the child in a sweet shop variety!
Riding through 52mph gale force winds was surely going to be our come down the next day as we battled the elements to get to our Sittingbourne Speedway event? But oh no! We pulled together a last minute order (on a Sunday with the help of some very good friends) of a 26ft truck to deliver the bikes safely down to the Euro tunnel and over to France. Much to my admiration, 10 of the 14 girls decided to ride through the gale and I quote “don’t worry Hayley, we will look after each other”. I think the below photos just sum up our fearless, family of WRWR riders!
