Morgan and Barbara had met through a British motorcycle club back in 2013. In the summer of 2014 they were both contacted by Alicia Elfving, aka MotoLady, and she introduced them to Ericka. Soon after, the three of them went on an overnight trip to Vancouver to support Lana MacNaughton’s show, the Women’s Moto Exhibit. The experience got them thinking, and they realized there was major void for a strong scene of local motobabes, and they decided to fill it themselves. They scoped around for groups doing what they wanted to do. They looked at the Venice Vixens and East Side Moto Babes in LA, and the newly-formed Scarlet Headers out of Denver. They contacted a friend who owns a little place called The Fuse Box Moto Tavern in Seattle and asked how he’d feel about a ladies night at his joint once a month. A quick yes from him and we had ourselves a launch plan.

 

About the same time, MotoLady also connected us with her pal Karissa, who had been also been looking to get more involved in and promote the women’s riding scene in Seattle. We met up and drafted up what we wanted our club to be, came up with a mission, and set a launch date... in the worst month of the year in the northwest – November! We expected maybe a dozen ladies to show up.

 

MotoLady caught wind of what we were doing and she featured the up-and-coming Rainier Ravens on her blog. Word spread quickly and when we launched on Nov 2nd the turnout was incredible. The tiny 12x12-ft tavern was busting at the seams – 65+ people had braved the cold and the rain to come out and see what the new scene was all about. Every person – woman, man, new rider, experienced rider, sportbike rider, cruiser, Vespa rider, even those yet without a bike – was welcomed with the same enthusiasm. They all wanted what we wanted, and now they were all united. The Ravens were live! And I think the bar actually ran out of beer!

 

We filled the cold months getting to know each other through movie outings, indoor flattrack races, brunches, happy hours, etc. We corralled some of the ladies and rode out to a few moto shows – the International Moto Show and The One Show in Portland. We managed to keep the momentum despite the nasty cold weather, and found ourselves with a sizable following both at events and on social media.

 

In under a year we’ve already exceeded what we set out to accomplish, which was to unite female moto enthusiasts and establish a prominent female presence in the Seattle motorcycle scene.  Now we’ve become a resource for these women. We get messages almost daily from women who feel inspired to ride, who want someone to ride with, who seek recommendations for bikes, classes, mods, routes, etc. We’re partnering with sponsors, leading big adventurous rides, hosting events, and always trying to come up with new ways to grow what we’ve built.