The 2022 edition of the Mazatlan Motorcycle Week brings together over 300 female motorcyclists from different parts of the Republic and the US.
Mazatlan, Sinaloa. – Women motorcyclists put an end to social stereotypes that have existed for many years regarding the activities they can or cannot do, just because of a gender issue.
Hilda Rodríguez, Julie Morgan, Jicelle Roacho, Lupita Rivera, and Mairza Muñoz are five bikers who belong to the “Ellas” collective, founded in May 2017; most started out as co-drivers, until they dared to cross the line and move from the back seat to the front seat. They all share a passion for two-wheelers.
“Although it looks easy it is not, being a co-pilot is not anything, you have to maintain the balance of the pilot, because any carelessness you notice and it is an accident. When you go as a co-pilot you enjoy the landscape, you go as a pretty girl, recording, waving and as a pilot is all 100% adrenaline in your body and it is happiness, anxiety and desperation… but as a whole it is a disaster”, Mairza commented.
For them, riding and driving a motorcycle means freedom, power and adrenaline, but it is also control, responsibility, and respect for life.
It’s also therapeutic because on the bike you can’t bring your problems, if you’re distracted that little distraction means you don’t see a pothole or a stone, you don’t take a curve well and that can be very expensive. On the bike you can’t bring your problems or worries; when you are on the bike there is nothing but the road, your machine, and you”, revealed Lupita.
AGAINST STEREOTYPES
Despite the fact that it has not been easy to break the barrier of gender stereotypes and obtain the recognition they deserve, currently, they consider, there is more openness for female pilots and that line that divides men and women is becoming thinner, because today their colleagues motivate them, support them and back them up. Most of the time they notice that the prejudices come more from the society that is outside motorcycling.
“They think that you’re crazy, that you’re just partying, that you’re just drinking, that you’re on the street and no, really, we have our jobs, some of us have children, we all have other things to do and when we’re on the bike we We enjoy ourselves, that’s why we go out, but we all have a lot of responsibilities,” said Lupita.
In the biker world, they point out, no matter where you live, how much money you have, how you dress, what kind of music you listen to or your physical appearance, on the contrary, an atmosphere of brotherhood is created and there is no room for prejudice and social stereotypes.
If there is something common between them, and that characterizes them, in addition to the love and passion for motorcycles, it is rebellion, nonconformity with the standards that society wants to impose on them for the simple fact of being women.
“Perhaps it is rebellion, because when they see a woman on a motorcycle, especially when you are married and have children, they tell you: ‘you have to be at home making food, taking care of your husband’… I think that socially it would be as rebellion,” confessed Jacell.
They say that women are the “weaker sex”, but for Julie, an American-born biker and a kickass at heart, with more than 26 years of experience, women are better riders than men; perhaps they do not have the same resistance or the same strength, but they are more cautious.
For her, riding a motorcycle is like a metaphor for life: you fall but you have to get up.
“You are always going to fall, they have all had falls, for me, it means that you have to get up and in life, it is the same, if you fall, you have to get up, on the motorcycle you teach yourself that if you fall you don’t you give up, you get up and start again and that for me is significant,” he said.
To all the girls who want to get into motorcycling, but who are undecided or afraid of what they will say, they invite you to cheer up and come closer when you see a female motorcyclist. They will be able to clear doubts and guide them.
The different motorcycle clubs to which they belong not only make rides but also carry out altruistic work in homes for the elderly or children’s shelters, depending on the dates or special occasions throughout the year.
THE PINK WAVE
In a historic event, not only for the International Motorcycle Week in Mazatlan that takes place in Mazatlan and ends on April 24, but also at the national level, and even at the Latin American level, the so-called “Pink Wave” will bring together more than 300 women from different parts of the Republic and the United States in the port this weekend.
“It emerged as a plan for four girls, then there were six, then there were 10, then there were 15, right now there are more than 300 women who are registered, plus those who come who are not registered, we are going to have a couple of activities with them within this event”, said Hilda, who has more than 10 years of experience as a biker.
They will also participate in the ride/parade throughout the Malecón, which is one of the emblematic activities of this international event that celebrates 26 years of being held in Mazatlán.
“Although it is not believed, because we drive engines, machines that do not send themselves, they dominate, respect for life grows, you teach yourself to value things more, what you have, what you are and try to improve more”.
They assure that once they get on a motorcycle, they always want to know more, travel paths, live new adventures and experiences. Being a woman does not stop them, on the contrary, they put aside gender issues and seek to be better people every day.
DATA
300 women participate in the Pink Wave of Motorcycle Week.
Riders
Hilda Rodríguez, Julie Morgan, Jicelle Roacho, Lupita Rivera and Mairza Muñoz are five bikers who belong to the “Ellas” collective, founded in May 2017.
