Joyriders

I've never been on a motorbike, I told a slightly stunned Irene Kotnik - founder of Petrolettes, Europe's first motorcycle festival for women - shortly after we met and minutes before I was to ride pillion to photograph several dozen women as they tore through Berlin's streets for International Female Ride Day, 2019. A few, short seconds of silence, then we both grinned and a helmet was rammed on my head. You're going to love it, Irene promised. the culmination of photographer Alice Connew's four year investigation of the women motorcycle riders of Petrolettes. Within what is commonly recognised as a traditionally male sport, these women have unapologetically carved out a space to call their own, defiantly declaring, "we ride too". The Petrolettes festival kick-started in 2016 with a mission to elevate, empower and unite women riders across the globe in a powerful, inspiring community. "If you're a woman on a bike, you're always the 'odd one out'. That's not always bad, even if it can ...