Women’s International Motorcycle Association (WIMA)
The Women’s International Motorcycle Association (WIMA) is the world’s oldest international organization of women motorcyclists, with this year marking 75 years! With more than 6000 members globally, celebrations will be held in dozens of countries, culminating at the International Rally in Maine, September 8–13.
Let’s Get Excited!
A smile spreads across my face as I finish reserving my flights, bike rental, and overnight stays in Boston, Massachusetts. I feel a flutter in my stomach. An uneasy flier, having spent most of my life near home, I take a sip of tea and laugh. I’ll be fine.
I’ll be more than fine, in fact. I just booked myself a grand adventure that will include seeing good friends, the opportunity to meet and make new ones, enjoy good food and staying at a summer camp on a lake in Maine. Not to mention having the chance to ride with other women on beautiful routes planned by the Women’s International Motorcycle Association (WIMA) USA rally organizers.
WIMA USA National Rally
This will be the third WIMA USA National Rally I’ll be attending. In 2022 I made my way to Custer, South Dakota. The following year I rode to the rally headquarters in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Although I missed the 2024 Portland, Oregon WIMA-USA rally, I will not miss this year’s event.
I remember the first WIMA rally I attended and my feelings of trepidation. I’m an introvert, though I try to push through my comfort zone, and it’s hard to find a better way of doing that than showing up to a rally alone, only knowing a handful of people. I quickly found I had nothing to worry about—everyone was incredibly welcoming, and we all had one important thing in common, motorcycles.
Why Join WIMA?
When I started riding in Montana in 2020, I knew few other motorcyclists, female or male. I joined a local women’s riding club and took part in day rides. An avid reader, I quickly found several books written by intrepid woman motorcyclists traveling all over the world and wondered how I could make the jump from local rides to global travel. These women all seemed more experienced and braver than myself. In 2021 I joined WIMA and started meeting even more adventurous women riders.
At the 2022 WIMA rally I met women who had gone on international adventures and saw that they were, in fact, normal people with normal fears and no special powers. That made me realize deep down that this is something I can do too. The women of WIMA are amazing resources for information about tour companies, how and what to pack, and what to see and do in different countries.
We are friends and instigators of each other’s adventures. As members of WIMA, we are also the continuation of an organization that was founded by a woman from a vastly different time and world.
WIMA History
American Louise Scherbyn, founder of WIMA, was first introduced to motorcycles in the early 1920s when she sat on a 1921 Indian motorcycle. Years later, her husband bought an Indian
Chief and took Louise riding in the sidecar. By 1932 she loved riding in the sidecar so much that her husband decided she should learn to ride.
In the 1940s, motorcycling became more common for women. Louise traveled to compete at AMA events and encouraged other women to ride. She met and befriended many women as she traveled and created her own informal network across the country. Eventually, she came to believe there should be a worldwide organization for women motorcyclists so that women could share ideas and opinions, and have a place to go for advice and problem solving.
She founded WIMA in 1950 with the help of a few friends. WIMA soon spread to Europe and new divisions sprang up in Germany and the UK, and other countries followed swiftly. By 1952, WIMA had grown to be the largest women’s motorcycle organization in the world. The first international rally was in the Netherlands in 1958. Since that time, WIMA has expanded to 40 countries.
WIMA Info
For more information about membership and this year’s WIMA International Rally in Maine, go to WIMA-USA.com. WomenRidersNow.com and I hope to see you there!