What started out as a Facebook group by Hayley Bell that I joined at the start grew fast with nearly 16000 members! I loved the idea of an estafette like baton traveling the globe from country to country escorted by biker women to tell the world how much fun motorcycling is. And that women love motorcycling but that it’s time to adjust more to women in motorcycle industry. And no guys pink and flowers are not the adjustments we are looking for.

Via the WRWR Facebook group I became Bell sisters with Kerry from the UK. We swapped bells and gifts from our region by package mail around Xmas and are still chatting via Messenger. Decided to meet up in 2020 to ride together. The Guardian bell is believed to protect you against the bad road spirits and I take it with me during every ride.

I decided to ride the 2nd leg on the 1st of May with a friend and colleague Marjolijn organized by the Dutch ambassador and crew from my hometown Amersfoort to Bourtange. It was so cool following the baton through Europe getting closer to the Netherlands everyday.

In the morning of Wednesday May 1st we rode to the Harley Davidson store in Amersfoort to gather up with the rest of the women. We arrived and were astonished by the amount of bikes and women already waiting outside the store. Over 100! We had to park around the corner to have a spot for our bikes. We walked up to a woman named Bertha who happened to be our road captain (team blue).

It was so cool to see the diversity of all motorbikes and women. Different sizes and shapes formed a colorful mixture. It was exciting to start the ride with women you don’t know but discovered at the end of the day that they were all so kind and all have one thing in common; the love and passion for motorcycling. Everybody drove safely and the atmosphere was relaxed.

After stumbling upon a road accident causing a traffic jam our group left the highway and had a lovely ride ending up at de Zaanse schans for a photo moment before the first break.

Photo by Carlos Sikking

Before crossing the Afsluitdijk we had a lovely lunch and were able to sign the WRWR baton. It was nice to have a short chat with Colette Tindall a lady who rode every leg through several countries since the start of the WRWR. She told me she gets so much energy from riding everyday fueled by the positive vibes from all the women riders and being surprised everyday with new sceneries and discovering new countries. Not having any expectations was the best way to travel for her.

We crossed the Afsluitdijk to end up at the TT Assen circuit were the MotoGP and Superbike are ridden after a stop with hot tea and cake in Heerenveen.

At every stop lots of pictures and footage were made by local press and the riders themselves. The by far most photographed person was not a person but Jimmy the dog. A lovely American shepherd buckled up in a sidecar.

Photo by Carlos Sikking

Photo by husband of Klaske GoedhartThe last stretch winded through the province Drenthe to de Motorschuur where we had a lovely BBQ before heading to my parents near Groningen where we warmed up at the fireplace with a red wine and were spoiled before heading home the next day after a deep sleep. The Dutch organization was great and I am following the baton through Europe on Facebook again. Hope these events will return yearly because it was great fun!