Ladies-only dirt bike weekend proves a hit in Tasmania

When a group of Tassie women formed the Tassie Dirt Bike Chicks group about a year ago, and started riding off road together, it was just for fun. Then Emma Miller, the group’s organiser, went for a women's dirt bike weekend in Victoria to see what mainland women did off-road.

"It was great," says Miller. "I had a brilliant time, and it was so good to ride with a bunch of other women."

But the trip across Bass Strait on the ferry was expensive, and transporting the bike and everything was a bit of a hassle, she explains. Miller, who comes from a background of event management, wasn't put off though. 

Instead of just going back to Tassie and resigning herself to future travel hassles, she and her pal Kat Kingsley decided to organise their own event: The Tasmanian Ladies Dirt Bike Weekend was born. It was, to say the least, a brilliant success. 

Thirty-five women from across the state gathered in what was potentially the biggest coaching event for women dirt bike riders anywhere in Australia, featuring the expertise of the Elsewhere on Wheels crew, and boasting four top coaches including multiple national and international enduro champion and motorsport hall of fame inductee Jemma Wilson, Naomi Findlay, Kate Raymond and Kat Kingsley. 

"It turned into a totally gang-busters weekend," grins Miller. 

"We expected about 10 people to begin with, but the uptake was amazing," explains Kingsley. 

Held just outside Launceston over the first weekend in November, the event was sold out in five days. 

It turned out to be the perfect opportunity for building skills, with women riders from 19 to near-on 70 all learning foundational stuff like body positioning, braking, gears, handling logs and hills, and even wheelies, all boosting their courage and confidence. 

“It was like a switch had flipped,” she grins. “The women all built massively in their (riding) courage and confidence." 

The weekend – which was all inclusive of food, instruction and camping facilities – was designed to accommodate all kinds of riders. There was no minimum ability level, no maximum age limit, and no bike restrictions, and local outfit Ready 2 Ride Tasmania had rental bikes on offer as well if needed. 

The results were, as Kingsley puts it, a whole bunch of the biggest smiles ever. "One of the women said she came because she had been going to dirtbike events with her partner and sons, but never really joined in. After the weekend she told us she was totally hooked, adding that dirt biking was her thing now, her very own thing and not just theirs!"  

"Riding with men is good but it's different to riding with other women," points out Miller. "Our weekend was all about being supportive of each other. Giving it a crack was the important thing, and building confidence even for the riders that hadn't ridden much or didn't know anybody else there."

"What we gave them was space to develop," she emphasises.