Why So Many Women Want to Ride… But Don’t

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]One of you fine viewers commented on one of my videos recently that the world needs more women riders. I have to say I couldn't agree more. So, what is it that's holding us back? I have a theory that there are several perceived barriers that hold women back from joining the two- wheeled life. And today, I want to talk about those. I'm talking about these specifically because they're barriers that I faced myself.

[00:00:20]So, I'm going to talk about that and how to overcome them. Make sure you stick around until the end where I talk about some specific mindset changes that'll help you move past these barriers. By the way, if you're new here, my name is Liz. I call myself the Vespa mom because when I hit my 40s, I decided to add some spice to my regular life by buying a Vespa. And it changed my life for the better. So now I vlog weekly about what it's like to own a Vespa in your normal life. And I share some product recommendations. I share some adventures, share some tips, all kinds of things. I really enjoy doing this. If you enjoy what you see today, please subscribe. That does a great deal to help my channel. Thanks for watching.

[00:00:58]Perceived barrier number one would be safety concerns. And this is probably the top barrier I think holding holding women back. They're just concerned about safety. I do think there is a perception that two- wheeled vehicles are just too heavy and unmanageable for women. And this of course is where a VESA shines.

[00:01:27]best of us just being lower in weight with a low center of gravity, the step through design. It really is a lot more manageable, I think, for a woman, for a smaller person.

[00:01:38]But of course, whenever you're on two wheels, you are taking a certain level of risk. And everything we do in life carries a level of risk. And we just have to decide if the risks are worth the benefits. And that's a very personal decision. I think the risks are worth the benefits. And I also think you can do a lot to mitigate risk by education like the motorcycle safety class practice and wearing appropriate gear, visibility gear like I'm doing tonight.

[00:02:13]All that goes a long way to help mitigate the risk. So safety concerns are definitely a legitimate concern. It does not have to be a barrier that holds you back from joining the two wheel life.

[00:02:36]All right, barrier number two. There's just too many hoops to jump through and too much to learn.

[00:02:43]So, while it is true that you can't just run out and buy a Vespa and just start riding it without having to do some necessary things.

[00:02:54]Many of these things are just things you have to do once and then you're done.

[00:02:59]So, I just thought in terms of, okay, once it's done, it's done. each step I took, like getting my studying for the test to get my permit, then taking a motorcycle safety class. Each of those steps I just saw as being something I needed to check off in order for me to get what I needed to get at the end. So, of course, is there stuff to learn?

[00:03:23]Absolutely. Once again, a Vespa or a scooter requires a little less of you in this department than a motorcycle would.

[00:03:32]So that definitely helps when it comes to the learning curve. Uh scooter just doesn't ask as much of you as a motorcycle does. So that that helps for sure. Generally speaking, anything worth doing requires some time and effort. So break it into steps. What is it that I need to do? Of course, where you live, it it probably varies. What is it that I need to do to to get to where I need to go? and and just do it. At any point, you could decide, okay, you know, maybe I don't want this after all. Maybe this isn't what I thought it was. But you're never going to make any progress towards what you want if you don't start. So, I don't know what the first step might be for you or the next step might be for you, but I recommend to just go for it.

[00:04:22]Just do it. Having a motorcycle endorsement on your license does not mean you have to ride a motorcycle. So, why not just go ahead and do it? You can have it, you can get it, and then if you need to, you can wait. None of these things, at least around here, are particularly expensive or even particularly difficult. So, yes, there are there are hoops to jump through. There are some um things to learn, of course, uh just like with anything else. But again, worth it. it's worth to take these steps and yeah, just think in terms of once it's done, it's done.

[00:05:07]Barrier number three, people are going to think I'm crazy.

[00:05:12]Please listen to me. It does not matter what other people think.

[00:05:19]Most people who express this kind of thing I found were people who cared about me and they were just concerned that I was doing something too risky.

[00:05:29]In my experience, I found that those who care the most about you.

[00:05:36]Also, learn to love the things you love accept you for who you are.

[00:05:43]And I just found that if I listened politely, thanked them for their input, and then went about what I was planning to do anyway, they just come to accept it. And honestly, I think they might even come to respect it. So, please do not miss out on the two- wheeled life because you're concerned about what other people think.

[00:06:08]It's you're never going to impress everybody.

[00:06:12]Some people are never gonna like it. It doesn't matter.

[00:06:17]It doesn't matter.

[00:06:23]Okay. Barrier number four. It seems selfish.

[00:06:28]This one in particular probably applies to women the most. Women are very resistant to do things simply for their own enjoyment.

[00:06:40]I think in many ways we live to give and that's a great thing.

[00:06:47]We we give of ourselves when we get married and we love and support our husbands. We give of ourselves when we have kids. And there's hardly more giving of self than than when we have kids.

[00:07:02]But the truth is, it's not it's not wrong to want to do things simply because you enjoy doing them.

[00:07:13]These kinds of things are gifts.

[00:07:15]And you don't have to necessarily share this particular interest with anyone in your life. I don't have anybody that I'm really close to who rides. It's actually given me an opportunity to meet some other people who do. So, that's pretty exciting. So, you can find you can find like-minded people for sure, but it's not selfish.

[00:07:48]If if you're neglecting responsibilities to your family or to your work or to any other area of responsibility that you have in order to ride, then you might be being selfish. But that doesn't have to do with riding particularly. If we neglect anything to do what we want to do, then we're being selfish. But adding something to your life that that gives you joy actually I think helps you to enjoy other parts of your life even more.

[00:08:25]So don't be afraid of being selfish.

[00:08:31]If it seems like a somewhat reasonable thing you could do at this time in your life and there's nothing in particular that's that's holding you back, don't don't let it be because you think you don't you shouldn't do something just because you want to, just because you you enjoy it.

[00:08:49]There are many gifts in this world that we get to enjoy.

[00:08:55]And it would be a shame to miss out on those things because we think it's wrong to enjoy them.

[00:09:10]So, I'd like to know your thoughts.

[00:09:12]Which of these barriers maybe applies most to you?

[00:09:16]If you had to overcome any of those barriers, I would love to hear how you went about doing that.

[00:09:24]Did I miss anything?

[00:09:26]Are there other barriers that are keeping you back from riding? I'm sure there are more. I honestly picked these because these were probably the ones I struggled with the most.

[00:09:45]So, how do we overcome them? I think so much of it has to do with mindset.

[00:09:52]So going back, we go through each of these barriers. Let's start with the first one. Safety concerns. Okay. It just seems too risky maybe is what you're thinking.

[00:10:03]Instead of saying it seems too risky, you can say riding indeed does carry risk, but I can do it in a way that mitigates that risk.

[00:10:17]And I also think the level of risk is worth the reward. So there's a mindset shift for that. It seems risky.

[00:10:27]For the next one, there's just too much to do, too many hoops to jump through, too much to learn. Just remember, almost everything worth doing requires some effort.

[00:10:40]So just like you've learned to do other things in your life because it was something you wanted to do, treat this the same way. So you think, "Yep, is there a lot to do?" Yes, I'm just going to do the next thing and just takeick those things off one at a time. So too many things to do, too many too much to learn. Just say, "I'm just going to do the next step."

[00:11:07]All right. Number three, people will think it's crazy.

[00:11:12]You're like, "Is it crazy?" Yeah, it might be a little crazy. It does not matter what other people think. I can enjoy things without having to worry about the opinions of others.

[00:11:26]And the last one, it seems selfish.

[00:11:28]Remind yourself it is not selfish to enjoy good things.

[00:11:38]We want people we love to enjoy good things. I believe the Lord wants us to enjoy the good things he's given us.

[00:11:46]That is not selfish. It's good.

[00:11:49]Hopefully this is helpful. I would love to see more women out on the road. It always brings me a great deal of joy to see other women riders out there. So maybe I'll see you out someday if you're not riding yet. That would be great fun.

[00:12:05]Thank you so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed. I will see you next time.