Prime conditions greeted the attendees at Heffernan’s Buckenbowra facility west of Bateman’s Bay, NSW.
There were a wide range of models on display with the most popular being Yamaha’s XT250 trail bike and the girls camped out on the property which now features a toilet block, hot showers and a dining area. “It’s more glamping than camping really,” explains Heffernan. “The ladies really enjoyed the experience and have asked to come again, next time we will incorporate a trail ride into the weekend to offer something a bit different,” continues the former national motocross champion.
The Academy of Off-Road Riding event joins other Yamaha supported female-only events on the calendar including Jess Gardiner’s Coach and Camp; Ride ADV’s Women Only Adventure Ride and Riders Academy’s Women Only Track Experience at Sydney Motorsport Park.
“YMA is expanding opportunities for female motorcyclists by supporting events that offer a fun and safe environment to build skills,” comments YMA’s Business Development Manager Nick Marshall. “Riding a Yamaha is an experience that ideally includes all family members from young to old and both male and female,” he continues.
“It was a perfect weekend from start to finish - the weather was in our favour; the camping was fun and social with everyone around the fire both nights. There was no roughing it with hot showers and flushing toilets; Heffo even put on a delicious spread for dinner on Saturday night,” says coach Kellie Meehan.
“The property has flat ground for body position, braking, clutch and throttle skills, plus a variety of log sizes to progress on and hill gradients to practice. We then took to the trails to test the new skills,” she continues.
“It was awesome to see a great bunch of women on a wide range of bikes, from XT250s through to a big adventure bike progress their riding and increase their confidence. The froth factor was high the whole weekend with all the girls encouraging each other - doing things they didn’t think they would be able to do - going up & down steep hills, getting over logs, tricky river crossings to name a few. Friendships have been made with plans to meet up on trails in the future,” ends Snowy Mountains based Kellie, who pleased to get some kms on her new 2022 TeamMoto WR250F after a long winter.
Check the Academy of Off-Road Riding website to find out about upcoming women of-road events https://www.academyofoffroadriding.com.au/
Also check out these upcoming women only ride events:
12 to 13 Nov: https://jessgardiner.com.au/events/ladies-blu-cru-trail-ride-in-the-victorian-high-country/
29 to 30 Oct: https://www.rideadv.com.au/event/rideadv-yamaha-proudly-present-the-2nd-nsw-womens-adventure-training-ride-weekend-harington-july-9th-10th-july-2022/