Women riders on a special mission

Victoria Musyoki, Rhoda Omenya, Ciku Mbithi, Njeri Mwangi, Shiku Njenga and Aisha Mohamed might be dissimilar in many ways but are similar in one way — they are motorcyclists who came together through their passion for riding and formed Throttle Queens, a bikers’ club for women in 2017.

The club based in Nairobi consists of women from diverse careers, relationship status, tribe and religion.

It is not their diversity that makes them extraordinary, but their love for motorcycles. “Biking is one thing that keeps friends together and is sure to keep the bond strong for a very long time. Seeing people make time for rides with friends is rare and something that you are only likely to see in the motorcycling community,” explains Victoria.

The bond of friendship grows deeper when it is associated to a motorbike. "Be it a breakfast ride, a night ride or a long road trip, we are always up for it. Our love for motorbikes is what brought us together as a club and it continues to build strong friendships between us,” she adds.

Although united by their thrill of riding motorcycles, it is the same adventurous spirit that has brought them heartaches.

They have lost fellow thrill-seekers to road crashes many a times, leading them to take a step back and look at what was wrong with the picture.

Due to the pain of their loss, the all-girl group decided to begin an ambitious campaign to stop road carnage.

Fuelled with the thrill for adventure and an optimism to save mankind, the six took to the road on their motorcycles, keen to follow their plan to ride across Kenya, Uganda to Rwanda; spreading the news on road safety.

“In 2016, we lost a biker friend and have since lost many others to road accidents. We sought to do something, and this birthed the idea to start the campaign. Road safety is important to us because in Kenya we have roads that are not well-planned for all road users.

"We all have to use the same road and no one has more right than the other. So, we are telling all road users to share the road; every life counts,” says Victoria.

Their determination was tested right before departure: as how to pack their personal necessities and the tools for maintenance of the bikes for the long journey became a challenge in itself.

As if true to the definition of life and the saying that challenges make us stronger, their bikes had breakdowns during the trip.

But in those moments of dire need, they met people along the way who helped them. “We had occasional bikes breakdown on our trip. However, we were extremely lucky as the Ugandan bikers came out in a big way. One of their mechanics, Marvin, worked on fixing one our bikes for six hours straight! We were really touched by the dedication,” narrates Njeri.

“Manoeuvring around Kampala was a nightmare! Queen Angie, the only active female biker in Uganda, came out to help us through the chaotic traffic until we were out of town,” adds Aisha.

“And in Rwanda, we had trouble driving on the right side of the road in Kigali. It felt like we were driving on the “wrong side”. Luckily we had the Kigali Free Bikers who were guiding us having picked us up from the border,” explains Rhoda.

“It was riding in the heavy rains that took the experience to another level for me,” says Njeri, with the others nodding in agreement.

“The experience of riding for hundreds of kilometres in heavy rain sharpened our riding skills. We had the proper rain gear which helped us keep warm, she notes.”

After the ride through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, covering over 2,601kms, the ladies managed to stick to their plan despite unforeseen delays and mishaps.

“We had a lot of delays, but we stuck to our schedule. Sometimes we’d arrive late but on the planned date. The only change we made was spending the night in Kampala instead of Mbarara because the Ugandan riders had organised a massage for us and we could not say no to that! It was amazing,” Victoria says excitedly.

Topping the icing on the cake, the bikers extended their trip to Burundi border where they enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

“We rode around in a diamond shaped banner written, ‘Share the road, every life counts’; we believe everyone who saw the banner reflected on their road use,” says Victoria, adding: “This was such an achievement for us!

"A lot of people saw us ride and it influenced them positively. We had women and men too come up to us and say how inspired they were after seeing us. There are many others who decided to start riding after seeing us. We inspired many people to reach forth and strive to achieve their dreams!”

The bikers attracted both local and international media attention as they cruised through East Africa spreading their message of road safety.

“We also took the opportunity to talk to biking communities along our way in Uganda and Rwanda to sensitise them on road safety. Since as bikers we need to be mindful of other road users and not just expecting others to be mindful of us,” they say.

Even as they acknowledge their achievement, they are quick to note their struggles. Talking about their excessive fatigue from the long rides and sore limbs.

“The roads aren’t exactly safe for motorbikes, considering the sheer amount of distracted and reckless drivers both on two and four wheels,” they say.

There are a lot of atrocious truck drivers that are waiting to break the traffic rules at every chance they get.

Stopping every so often to fuel and the congested traffic stemming from narrow roads were some of the issues they highlighted.

Apart from raising awareness on road safety, it was paramount for the female riders to encourage women to be independent and empowered to ride their own bikes.

“Most women believe that motorcycles should be left for men as they fear falling. The most common question women ask is whether we are not afraid of falling off the bike.

"In Uganda, we only met one active female rider while we did not meet any female rider in Kigali,” the ladies note.

“But we represent women bikers and we’d like to see more women on the road and break the stereotypes that women can’t and shouldn’t ride.”

The ladies are more excited looking into the future now. “We are determined to achieve our current main goal, which is to ride to South Africa and back. Some of our bikes are small and it was a struggle going for such a long trip. We hope to upgrade and get the proper bikes for a long trip,” says Victoria.

In the next two years, Throttle Queens hope to again pack their bags; put on their helmets and reflector jackets and hit the road to South Africa to raise awareness on road safety and feed their love for adventure.

“Anything that gets your blood racing is probably worth doing. For the Throttle Queens, riding a motorbike is not just a hobby or need, it’s a passion. All we want in life is to travel to every corner of the world on our motorbikes.

"There is a deep fire in our bellies for riding, which will make us achieve impossible miles and conquer paths and terrains.”