Babes Ride Out

It’s a sisterhood, if you're down for the ride.

By Jamie Charles

Photo by Jenny Smith

My coworkers thought I was crazy when I disclosed my weekend plans: take a motorcycle camping with 500 other women for this year’s Babes Ride Out in Joshua Tree. A friend and I decided to take our chances on a standby flight from Portland to Palm Springs. When we landed, we’d rent some bikes and make the hour trek out to a secret desert location. Once we got to the airport, any strangers toting helmets became fast friends, as it was obvious we were all headed to the same place.

The first hiccup in our trip occurred when the rental company sold out of the bikes we had reserved. Our only options were a couple of Harley Fat Boys: 300-pounds heavier and 1000-cubic centimeters more powerful than the bikes in our preconceived comfort zones. It only took one lap around the parking lot with our hearts set on cruising the desert on two wheels before we decided to go for it and sign our lives away.

Photo by Jenny Smith

Along the freeway, our caravan began to grow as we merged lanes with a bevy of bikes as beautiful as their riders. We made a pit stop for gas and water before making the final push to camp. One left turn off the highway, a couple miles down a sleepy desert road, and we had reached the location that had been emailed to us the night before. When the pavement turned to dirt, the energy of the campground turned undeniably electric. Photographers capturing our entrance and groups of fellow lady riders cheering us on brought out a perma-grin that remained in place for the next 48 hours.

Although the vast majority of the women attending this year’s event were strangers to me, I felt completely at home. Maybe it’s because of the 500 souls meeting up with the shared common passion for adventures and motorcycles; a group of girls that isn’t phased by oil-stained fingernails or gasoline-scented perfume; ramblers who confidently crossed state lines with only a backpack and a sleeping bag strapped to their hardtails; mavericks who rocked sparkle panties with their riding chaps or stunted bikes in leather and lace; gypsies who comfortably slept under nothing but a blanket tied to their vintage Hondas.

The weekend was designated to meet new best friends from all walks of life and riding experiences. If you got stuck in the camp sand, needed help unloading a trailer or just a pep talk before merging onto your first highway, someone was instantly there for you. If your bike broke down or started getting finicky in the heat, you doubled up. No matter what obstacle crossed your path, someone had your back.

Photo by Michelle Clabby

Women from all across North America,  rode, flew and drove in to spend a weekend with other badass and inspirational women. A safe place was created to confidently be yourself. The only rules were no boys allowed and respect your fellow rider. Whether you’d been on a bike since birth or had been meaning to get your motorcycle license for a while now, you were welcome there.

The annual event was originally dreamt up through a string of text messages between Anya Violet and Ashmore Bodiford a little over two years ago. The pair of friends from LA were planning a camping trip when they noted the growing number of female riders on Instagram and how they wished they could meet them all. In the spirit of “the more the merrier,” they extended an open invitation and Babes Ride Out was born. About 75 ladies gathered for the first official meet up in Anza-Borrego in 2013. It wasn’t long before the awe-inspiring photos of #babesinborrega began to go viral. Smoking shots of lady riders nonchalantly throwing up a middle finger to stereotypes and social norms while cruising dried-up lake beds spread like wildfire. Their free-spirited independence was infectious. With the help of social media, this year’s event grew to over 500 participants, all sharing Anya and Ashmore’s original goal: meet more women who love to ride.

Photo by Michelle Clabby

When I bought my ticket to Babes in Joshua Tree, I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I was in for one hell of a ride. So I left my comfort zone, weaved through six lanes of California traffic and rode a couple hundred miles a day in 110 degrees. I spent hours in heat so thick it was hard to swallow, where the only tolerable way to be outside was with the wind on your face at 50 mph. I drank moonshine out of a mason jar, danced to all-girl rock bands and took a Harley up to 100 mph on a barren desert road (sorry, Mom). I learned that riding a mechanical bull after breakfast is a surprisingly effective hangover remedy, and that riding a motorcycle on a windy freeway in a tank top and no bra is a painfully terrible idea (seriously don’t try it, your nipples will hate you). Most importantly, I learned that Babes Ride Out is more than an annual camp trip. It’s a sisterhood, and if you’re down for the ride, we can’t wait for you to join the club.

Photo by Michelle Clabby

Learn more and sign up for a ride today over at Babes Ride Out!!!

Inflatable Tent Camping in England!

I grew up in Scotland where you are officially free to roam. There is an abundance of adventure on your doorstep, and nature invites you to play each day. But yes, it rains—not all the time—but a lot. I like the rain; it keeps things fresh, the plants healthy and, best of all, it keeps the people away. Scotland offers stunning seclusion like no other, thanks to the rain.

But unfortunately right now, I don’t live where nature is at my doorstep. I have to fight to find it and sneak around at night for moments of seclusion. London is my base for work and life (and daily urban adventures), but you’ve got to head out of the smog to remember what real nature is again. Sometimes weeks go by and it suddenly dawns on me that I just need to get out of the city and find somewhere hidden away in the trees. I crave freedom on a fortnightly basis. I don’t want anyone to know where I am. I don’t even want to know. But England isn’t as free to roam as Scotland; you’re not allowed to pitch a tent anywhere you fancy. You have to put in a bit of effort to find secluded spots where you can camp without the fear of being moved. But maybe that’s what makes it so rewarding: only real adventurers will scale the fences, sneak through the trees and find the perfect pitch in England.

And so that weekend all I wanted to do was hideaway in the trees somewhere near a lake, and that’s what I did. With fellow adventurer Liz Seabrook and a Heimplanet tent we had been sent to test out, we hitched a bus, jumped on a train and hiked out of civilization. Eight hours later we dipped our toes in the freezing water of Lake Windermere, paddling our canoe to the other side to pitch our inflatable home on the pebbles—our form of cold stone therapy. It maybe wasn’t the comfiest of spots, but to wake up to the water tickling your feet was worth it. There wasn’t anyone else around because of the effort entailed to get there and the unknown outcome that put off an average adventurer. But we were equipped with an inflatable dome tent, referred to as “The Cave,” that could be set up and packed down in no time for a speedy getaway, leaving no trace behind. Despite not being the subtlest, we felt happily hidden among a million shades of green. No one knew where we were, not even our map. Somewhere in England, right by the lake, surrounded by trees, roaming. That was our location.

Hannah Bailey
neonstash.com
Instagram @neonstash

Traveling Signwriter

Bohie Palecek makes traditional handcrafted signs, murals, graphic design projects, and all-around inspiring art.

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Where is home?
Wherever I hang my dream catcher, which is currently Adelaide, Australia, in a shared house with chickens out back and an art studio out front.

How did you get into sign painting?
My mum was a sign painter, so I grew up with it. She had a sign painting shed out back and worked from home. I studied printmaking at art school and then graphic design, always hand drawing as many design elements as I could within a project. I worked in a design office in Canberra, Australia, straight out of school but found out pretty quickly that commercial graphic design wasn’t for me, sitting on a computer all day and laying out websites and annual reports… I quit and spent 7 months traveling around America and Canada hanging out in screen-printing studios and assisting illustrators on mural jobs and stuff, just picking their brains and getting my eyes opened to an amazing collection of people who had made their careers out of their passions and skills.
I approached a sign painter (Joe Swec) in Austin, Texas, who took me under his wing and let me shadow him on his jobs and literally just hang around like a bad smell for a few months, ha! He opened my eyes to the future of sign painting and showed me how much it had changed since my mum’s generation—who were “tradesmen” as apposed to “artists.” Life changed.

What are some of your favorite letters?
I’m not biased, man. All letters are beautiful.

What are some good words to live by?
Get knowledge. Get skills. Get gnarly.
…then we’ll meet around the campfire and share stories.
What would be your dream adventure?
Adventure is a big word. It could describe a long solo trek across the Yukon, or a road trip down to the south beach of Adelaide with a car full of mates. It could be an inward adventure looking deep within the confines of your soul, or an outward one exploring the colors of a leaf you found while walking through the park. It could be on any number of engines or it could be pedal powered or on skateboards or surf or snow or a rocket ship or on the back of an eagle! It could even be used to describe conceptualizing an art series or exploring a new medium, like music.
So I reckon my dream adventure would be to find an “adventure,” whether solo or shared, every day for the rest of my life. 

newfrontiersignwriting.com

Win this awesome rucksack

Jbird Collective makes backpacks for people who are always ready for adventure, even if it's just the adventure of riding your bike to your office job. Hence the name of this "PDX Commuter Rucksack".

We don't normally geek out on gear here at Stay Wild, but this rucksack is worth making a list of reasons it's cooler than your typical backpack:

• Waxed Canvas that is somehow not oily.
• A secret padded laptop sleeve that's not inside the main pocket.
• Leather (Sorry vegans, but it's a renewable resource. Discus amongst your selves...)
• Tough ass war-grade snaps and buttons.
• MADE IN THE USA-USA-USA!!!

Oh, and one more cool thing about this rucksack:

YOU CAN GIFT IT TO YOUR ADVENTURE BUDDY FOR FREEEEEEEEE!!!

Just go to our instagram and tag an adventure buddy you want to gift it to and follow Jbird Collective then you'll be entered to win. Yup, it's that easy.