Star Wars Day wasn’t the only significant event on May 4th, 2019. International Female Ride Day shared the same holiday. A day dedicated to ladies getting on two wheels and hanging with the community of other like-minded babes. This year, Jodi Drew, co-owner of Spoke & Dagger Co. set out to make the day a little more special for the moto-ladies of Buffalo. With an influx of new women riders, Jodi wanted to host an event to teach motorcycle maintenance tips, talk through any nerves or questions anyone new had, but most importantly, connect with other women and start building up a true Buffalo community. All experience levels were welcome. Seeing women with the motorcycle itch, mingling and being inspired by seasoned women riders, is a part of the non-intimidating, all inclusive atmosphere that is so important to Chris and Jodi Drew of Spoke & Dagger Co.

This year, Jodi’s mission was to collaborate with as many local female owned businesses as possible. She had an awesome lineup that joined forces for IFRD 2019. The first portion of the event started with a motorcycle tech crash-course taught by Andrea Lothrop, co-owner of Moto Revere, a community motorcycle shop in Toronto. She had a Sportster up on the lift and walked ladies through the ins and outs in maintaining their bikes.

Jodi then took the reins and ran through best practices when planning a weekend camping trip on your bike, complete with a checklist of what to pack and tips on keeping it to a minimum. She then ran through safety tips for riding in a group, upcoming women’s events, route planning, and gearing up.

If all the information in this workshop wasn’t enough to create a memorable day, a local salon, Crown Buffalo showed up and had some fun giving tips for helmet hairstyles. Kay of I Am Magick shared her positive energy while doing tarot readings. Unrooted was live hand chain stitching the ladies jackets and hats. Lastly Virago Buffalo stopped by to share information about the movement of women’s events they host throughout Buffalo.

An amazing portion of the night was dedicated to the collab with Haven House. Spoke & Dagger Co. partnered with the local shelter that serves victims of domestic violence and their children. Jodi had an amazing lineup of raffles including tickets to The Fox Run, Babes Ride N Rage, Over & Out, Babes Ride Out (all women’s motorcycle campouts through the east coast) and plenty of swag. The more product donation the attendees brought for Haven House, the more raffle tickets and chances they had to win.

The core focus surrounding this event was to concentrate on females supporting other females and building an inspiring community of badass babes with a like-minded vision and passion for motorcycles, road trips, safety, and collaboration. International Female Ride Day is the first Saturday in May. If you missed this years event at Spoke & Dagger Co. be sure to catch their 4^th annual party next year.