Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausNovember 30, 2014Motorcycles, women, riding, petrollette, Group ride6 Comments

PETROLETTES: Summer Sydney 2014

Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausNovember 30, 2014Motorcycles, women, riding, petrollette, Group ride6 Comments

PHOTOS | KATE DISHER-QUILL

Introducing the first five Petrolettes of IVV. Five very different women, riders, bikes and adventurists but all commonly want to see more women on the road, loving life and living in the moment. Every fortnight IVV will be taking a deeper look at the lives of each of these women further learning why they ride and what they love about the lifestyle. Hopefully you'll find someone amongst these women who will inspire you... I know collectively hanging out with these ladies and learning their amazing stories has left me feeling thrilled to be both woman and life-lover.

No one story is more important than the next, but all are worth being shared. Having a go, loving life and expanding out of comfort zones is what being a Petrolette on IVV is all about.

Before you get to meet all five, here is a brief introduction to each Petrolette.

MARIA

Maria is a confident rider and has spend most of her adult life surrounded by riders (her mother included). Not only is she now a fully fledged gasoline head, she aims to make riding and femininity as approachable as possible through the Throttle Dolls MC.

JULIA

Juls and her audacious Honda XR400 — Juls and her audacious Honda XR400

Juls spirit is infectious! This lady is both screaming banshee and peace & love. Life is for living and between her brappy Honda XR400 (pictured) and her Honda Rebel Bobber she's got all her bases covered.

VICKY

Between her Triumph speed triple affectionately called "Beastie" and her Yamaha R1 "Speedie" for Vicky riding is about finding the balance between taming the power of her motorbikes and finding opportunities to unleash their (and her own) power.

CARINA

Efficient, tidy and no bullshit... and that's just her custom Honda VTR250. Carina was amongst the first to put her hand up to be a part of IVV, keen to see more women on the road. This is one resilient lady who loves the solitude and freedom she finds when riding.

ZAYA

Stories of Bike and IVV are joining forces to bring Zaya's story to light, and there is a reason two portrait based publications are merging... hers is one EPIC story. Zaya is the first Mongolian to complete the Mongol Rally (London to Mongolia on land) on a motorbike. She had never ridden before the rally and her story of pushing through that initial threshold of fear is one I regularly draw on for inspiration. Zaya is super cheeky, has a heart of gold and for her motorcycles are simply a means to an adventurist lifestyle.

IVV petrolettes - summer 2014-2015 From left: Juls, zaya, vicky, maria & carina

Heleana Genaus

Heleana is a force of nature. The founder of In Venus Veritas and The Petrolette, and a co-founder of Rising Sun Workshop. Heleana shares her love of vintage cars, riding motorcycles, and (not-so-secretly) dreams of flying planes and piloting a riva aquariva (a la Sophia Loren) very fast through the canals of Venice. Supportive and connected, community is her lifeblood, and she is as real as they come.

Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausFebruary 04, 2015speed riders, riding, Motorcycles, women who rideComment

VICKY: The Conquest

Vicky and her machines are inseparable, they are one and the same. They are everything she is, energetic, fast, ready for anything and not to be messed with. She finds the yin in her perpetual motion yang when she can push her bikes to 120% to find that moment when time slows down and she is nowhere else.

Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausFebruary 04, 2015speed riders, riding, Motorcycles, women who rideComment

Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausMarch 23, 2015Motorcycles, BMW, travel, women who ride, adventure2 Comments

KINGA: Uninhibited

Kinga Tanajewska is the first Australian to be featured on Global Women Who Ride and upon seeing her featured I contacted her immediately and was thrilled with the woman on the other end of the phone. Kinga's pre and post communist Poland upbringing was punctuated by solo adventures out of the country, an existence that motorcycling played a large part in and reflected in her decision to travel around Australia, alone.

Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausMarch 23, 2015Motorcycles, BMW, travel, women who ride, adventure2 Comments

Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausApril 17, 2015Motorcycles, women who ride, riding, groups, moto fashion, the throttle dolls1 Comment

The Throttle Dolls

The emergence of all-women social groups (who aren't afraid of sharing their moto exploits) is not showing any signs of slowing down. Sydney locals The Throttle Dolls formalised their friendship-cum-riding posse less than eighteen months ago having been having a great time. IVV invited the Dolls to tell us, in their own words, the journey thus far and where it all started.

Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausApril 17, 2015Motorcycles, women who ride, riding, groups, moto fashion, the throttle dolls1 Comment

Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausJuly 17, 2015street style, road, gear, road style2 Comments

THE PETROLETTES: Road Style Vol. 1

Often we get asked about the specifics of the gear on women we feature on IVV. Personally, we (Erica and I) have the same questions! When picking out my gear for riding, I’d much rather ask a woman (whose style and shape matches mine) where she got her armoured jacket. Sooooo.... we've gone looking in our first of many road style features of women who ride in varying capacities on different rides for you (and us) to steal their gear secrets.

Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausJuly 17, 2015street style, road, gear, road style2 Comments

Rides, Life + Style, MotorcyclesHeleana GenausNovember 30, 2014group ride, bondi, sydney, motorcyclesComment

IVV PETROLETTES: The Ride

On a sunny November morning in Sydney, IVV coordinated the first five Petrolettes to meet and ride together through Sydney. These ladies turned some heads! Heaps of fun hanging out with total babes talking gear, bikes and riding in the confidence of fellow femme riders. This was the first IVV ride... and definitely not the last.

Rides, Life + Style, MotorcyclesHeleana GenausNovember 30, 2014group ride, bondi, sydney, motorcyclesComment