Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausComment

STREET: Ange & Glenda

Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausComment
STREET: Ange & Glenda

PHOTOS | HELEANA GENAUS

Spending a two week hiatus in the beautiful Southern Tablelands of NSW, I was fortunate enough to strike up a conversation with these two gorgeous women while people watching at a cafe in Goulburn.

Adrian and I watched Ange and Glenda ride into town while we were drinking coffee and scheming for the year ahead, and I remember thinking "now there's a couple of Petrolettes I gotta meet". It was a sunny Friday, perfect for riding, and everyone was out. I had my eyes peeled for the lady folk, these two were unmistakeable. Glenda in her pink gear and purple Yamaha V-Star 650 and custom airbrushing and Ange's beautiful long hair flicking behind her as she cruised in on her Triumph speedmaster. Just as we were leaving they walked right up and sat on the table in front of us.

Ange and Glenda are based in Queanbeyan and have been riding for over 8 years. They have their own social riding club which they say [cheekily] partners can come along... but really it's for the ladies. Glenda had established a formal riding club a few years ago but has since found more success in organising rides in the more relaxed, informal setting they now have.

Ange and Glenda are both budding artists, and Glenda has taken her joy of painted to air brushing art and unique paint jobs on her friends and partners bikes... she has plans to change the artwork on her bike although looking at her v-star, the tassels, the wolf and eagle on her tank... she and her machine are a glorious unadulterated expression of girl power, which I hope stays with its next paint job.

These two, and their riding friends, have covered some ground since they started riding, including taking the long to the Great Ocean Road, and another trip to Gippsland planned. They were a total breath of fresh air for me. I have not yet met women with the experience they have, they don't need social media to communicate or coordinate, which in this day and age is pretty remarkable. Ange and Glenda are the real deal, women who ride because they love it.

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 GenausMotorcycles, throttle dolls, comaraderie, cafe racer, YamahaComment

MARIA: The Doll

From the new-babe-on-the-block to the driving force behind The Throttle Dolls in what she hopes will help inspire other women to ride and live their lives to the fullest, we learn about Maria's love for riding as heavily influenced growing up surrounded by people who rode motorcycles, her mum included.

Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausMotorcycles, throttle dolls, comaraderie, cafe racer, YamahaComment
MARIA: The Doll
Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausMotorcycles, women, riding, petrollette, Group ride6 Comments

PETROLETTES: Summer Sydney 2014

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 it. 

Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana GenausMotorcycles, women, riding, petrollette, Group ride6 Comments
PETROLETTES: Summer Sydney 2014
Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana Genausdykes on bikes, riders, Group ride, mardi gras, women who ride3 Comments

DYKES ON BIKES: Rehashed

Anyone who has lived in a city that celebrates Mardi Gras would know the Dykes on Bikes as the bare chested, bondage wearing, Harley Davidson riding lesbians who head the parade with pride. What few realise, (including myself) is that they are the longest running all-female motorcycle club known to the Western world...

Groups, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana Genausdykes on bikes, riders, Group ride, mardi gras, women who ride3 Comments
DYKES ON BIKES: Rehashed
Entrepreneur, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana Genausthe scarlet headers, riders, dirtbike, dirt, road, rides, Motorcycles, women who ride, women who wrench1 Comment

SHELBY: Congruity

Shelby saw that there was a need in her home town of Denver Colorado to create a safe and fun environment for other women to experience riding. There were no feminist reasons for it, just the simple acknowledgment that women are more comfortable sharing the experience with other women… and so was born The Scarlet Headers; an all female social riding group in Denver.

Entrepreneur, Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana Genausthe scarlet headers, riders, dirtbike, dirt, road, rides, Motorcycles, women who ride, women who wrench1 Comment
SHELBY: Congruity
Motorcyclists, The PetrolettesHeleana Genausstreet 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 Genausstreet style, road, gear, road style2 Comments
THE PETROLETTES: Road Style Vol. 1