Plymouth nurse to take part in women bikers’ worldwide relay

An outpatient nurse at Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre in Plymouth is to take part in a worldwide women bikers’ relay to raise awareness of women as active participants in motorsports.

Sara Hawkins from Looe is a lifelong motor-biker, riding in her father’s sidecar when she was a child and getting her first motorbike at aged 17. She rode a lot before having children and took it up again in the Army in Cyprus. She now rides a Triumph Bonneville T120 and she often takes to the roads around Cornwall. When mornings are lighter she rides her bike to work in Plymouth.

Sara and fellow rider Lita Debbie O’Donnell (also from Cornwall) are taking part in the international Women Riders World Relay which starts in Scotland at the end of February and will take in over 80 countries across five continents, ending in the United Arab Emirates in January 2020.

On 8th March, Sara and Debbie will ride the leg from Leamington Spa to the Channel Tunnel terminal in France where they will hand over the baton to French riders. Coincidentally, 8th March is also International Women’s Day.

The Women Riders World Relay is the brainchild of Hayley Bell in the UK. She said: “I wanted to ignite a global sisterhood of inspirational women to promote courage, adventure, unity and passion for biking from all corners of the world and do something that’s never been done before to this scale. My aim is to wow the industry into realizing the global market for women in Motorsports and to inspire women worldwide. Going into motorcycle stores and seeing a lack of choice, combined with stereotypical pink and being told “there just isn’t the market for women”, highlighted to me just one small element of a much bigger picture around women in motorsports. I want to show the industry the force behind the market that is so blindly overlooked. I am doing this because women bikers can make this happen.”

Sara added: “This initiative is fantastic and Debbie and I are delighted to be playing a part in it. Riding a motorbike is a bit of an addiction – it is liberating, mood-improving and a great way to experience the health benefits of being outdoors. The number of women riding motorbikes is growing so the industry needs to take note of our needs – biking gear that fits and is safe to wear, bikes that are designed for women and other issues. We really hope that this truly global initiative will make a difference.”

More information about the Women Riders World Relay is available at https://womenridersworldrelay.com.

Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre is the first hospital of its kind to have received a rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission. It provides a range of major and minor surgery in orthopaedics, general surgery (hernia repair and gall bladder removal) cataracts and endoscopy. More information is available by visiting its website at www.peninsulatreatmentcentre.nhs.uk or calling 01752 506070.