Since last month’s announcement of the first NATIONAL FEMALE RIDE DAY, women from across Canada and the United States have been contacting each other, as well as campaign organizer Vicki Gray, to make arrangements to be on their motorcycles on May 4th. NATIONAL FEMALE RIDE DAY, now slotted each year for the first Friday in May, appeals to females who ride, own or have access to a motorcycle. Friday, May 4 asks women to get on their bikes and “JUST RIDE”. No matter what style of motorcycle — sport, cruiser, scooter, dual purpose, street, off-road or dirt — NATIONAL FEMALE RIDE DAY aims to highlight the many numbers of females currently active in motorcycling and heighten awareness of female riders, inspiring those who have not yet taken it up. Not surprisingly to Vicki, NATIONAL FEMALE RIDE DAY has found support among riders, dealers and manufacturers in Canada, but she was very pleased to see so much support coming from across the border. For 2007, the event remains a national event, but as intended, 2008 will include an even broader community. “The aim of the campaign is to raise female rider awareness, promote those who already ride, while simultaneously encouraging other females to take up the activity,” says Vicki Gray, campaign organizer. “The ‘day’ places a spotlight on female riders,” she adds. Vicki Gray is a motorcycle racer, instructor, and coach, who has been riding since 1983. Originally, from Ontario, she got hooked on motorcycling when taking the rider training course in Nova Scotia, motivated by the need for an outlet away from her demanding career at Revlon International. Since then, she has taught motorcycle riding to thousands of beginners, trained police in the Caribbean (Netherlands Antilles), raced throughout Europe, co-instructed with MotoGP racer Katja Poensgen, partnered events with famed TT Circuit Assen, and co-hosted a television program for the Discovery Channel. Not long after relocating to Europe, Vicki started competing in motorcycle racing and founded RaceGirl Motorsport in 1999, a training and support community headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She also built renowned global brand RaceGirl and its popular website (www.racegirlmotorsport.com) — the first of its kind depicting female motorcycle riders in a sportive, strong and feminine role. Her courses, track days, workshops and rider training methods encourage women motorcyclists and continue to develop the female riding community. Vicki has returned to Canada taking her 24 years of first hand experience and applying it to an even broader mission with the introduction of her new brand MOTORESS, providing resource, training and support as well as sustaining a community where females can flourish in all diversities of motorcycling.