Women riders are on the rise - and its great!

If you spend any time at bike meets, track days, or just out on the roads lately, you’ll have noticed a massive change.

The old stereotype of biking being an exclusive boys' club is dead. There are now over half a million women with full motorcycle licences in the UK alone. Honestly, it’s one of the best things to happen to the bike scene in decades.

For years, the industry treated women like an afterthought: either stuck on the back as a passenger or left to sort through poorly fitted "pink" gear. Ladies keep telling me it's still not good enough, but it's getting better.

Women are getting their own keys faster than ever, especially in the 50-and-over age group, where female test passes have been growing at double the rate of men. Whether they're filtering through daily city traffic or heading off on massive solo tours, they’re buying the bikes and helping shape the culture.

Women who ride reported way lower stress levels and much higher confidence, with the overwhelming majority saying their lives actively improved the moment they got a bike.

It makes perfect sense. The focus and the freedom of a proper road trip aren't gatekept by gender. When the helmet goes on, the background noise of life disappears for everyone.

The community side of it is great to see too. Dedicated groups, female-led meets, and things like the Women Riders World Relay have brought a brilliant new energy to the whole scene.

Spending time on weekend shoots, some of the absolute best road presence and smoothest riding I see come from the ladies.

The passion for the machine and the road is exactly the same.

So to all the women out there getting stuck in: keep doing exactly what you're doing. The road is a much better place for it.