Women's Freedom Ride Makes A Record Attempt

In Topeka, Kansas, women on motorcycles gathered for the seventh annual Women’s Freedom Ride, in an attempt to set a record for the most women riding (motorcycles) in one event.

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They didn’t succeed in breaking that record. The current record for the most women riding motorcycles at once, is 1,002, and that record was set in 2016 in New South Wales, Australia.

The Women’s Freedom Ride in Topeka did succeed in setting a record for the largest all-female motorcycle ride in the United States, when 750 women did a parade lap on their motorcycles along the Heartland Motorsports track.

These women have been gathering in Topeka since 2013, and that inaugural gathering had just 13 attendees. The current attendance at 750 is quite the growth. The women in attendance say the event helps them to feel empowered, which is pretty important in this day and age, especially while participating in a sport that is traditionally, and remains, male-dominated. The Women's Freedom Ride was founded "to promote, encourage, and show support for all women riders."

The members of this group use their events as a fundraiser for veterans; each year they select a veterans charity and donate all the proceeds their event generates to that charity. These events also serve to bring awareness to the impact women motorcyclists have within the motorcycle community.

The 2019 event was not just a gathering in Topeka, but a ride from different parts of the United States. Each corner (Florida, Arizona, Utah, Pennsylvania) hosted an organized ride with a ride leader (“Road Captain”), with meet points along the way, ending in Topeka, to converge on that city for the rally. This entire ride is all women, and no men were allowed to participate. 

Better luck next year with the record setting, ladies! If attendance numbers keep growing you'll be a shoe-in.

Source: Channel 13 WIBW, Womens Freedom Ride, RecordSetter