At first appearances, Joann Atherton and Greg Yager seem an unlikely couple. Yager, the 53-year-old larger-than-life owner of adventure motorcycle riding company, RideADV, has a booming voice with a boisterous personality to match. Joann (47), a slight and quietly spoken lass with a warm smile and infectious personality, works as a finance professional. The two are not romantically linked, this is a partnership on a much deeper level. Greg is the adventure bike riding master, and Joann is his student.
A chance meeting when Joann was taking her early steps into the world of adventure motorcycle riding, set her on a pathway that is now satisfying her life-long desire for adventure. For Yager, it has reignited the passion that drives his dedication to bring new blood to the sport. Despite being trapped in an office midweek, Joann is an outdoor person at heart. BMX bikes when she was young, and then onto mountain bikes, provided an opportunity to explore tracks less travelled. But it’s only recently that motorbikes appeared on her radar.
“I’d never really had an interest in riding a motorcycle on the road,” Joanne explains. “When I was introduced to adventure bike riding I thought, yeah, this is something I want to do. Not so much for the thrill of riding the motorcycle, but more for the adventures a motorcycle can take me on. So, I went and got my licence, bought a motorcycle, and got out there.”
Unfortunately, Joann’s introduction to off-road riding did not go quite to plan.
“Just two months after getting my first motorbike I crashed, snapping my collar bone. While the accident dented my pride and put me out of action, there was never a doubt I would return to riding. From the first time I rode a motorcycle off-road I knew it was for me. The issue was I just didn’t have the skill set required to do it properly. I needed help if I wanted to do it safely and maximise my enjoyment.”
While recuperating, Joann started mapping out her plan to return to two wheels. Meanwhile, in the small New South Wales township of Ourimbah, nestled slightly inland from the Central Coast, Greg Yager and his RideADV team were fielding an increasing number of enquiries from female riders attracted to the formerly male-dominated pastime of adventure riding.
“The issue we had was that women were attending our regular rides and finding them a very testosterone-charged atmosphere,” Yager recalls. “We decided to take the plunge and organised RideADV’s first Women’s Adventure Ride.”
The event held in late 2018 was a revelation for Yager and the RideADV team. “I could not believe the enthusiasm and camaraderie the girls had, it reminded me of all the reasons I love motorbike riding.”
One of the fresh faces in the group of 16 ladies who fronted for the inaugural two-day RideADV Women’s Adventure Ride was Joann, freshly recovered from her earlier accident. The route was a Ride ADV special, taking in some of the country’s best off-road riding landscape around the NSW Mid North Coast town of Wauchope.
“Greg was exactly what I’d been looking for in a mentor,” she says. “I quickly discovered that the advice he provides is not simply designed to get people through the ride, but to maximise riding enjoyment, safety and to keep people wanting more as their confidence and experience grows.”
That first ride provided two major turning points in Joann’s adventure riding journey. A new bike and meeting an Aussie motorcycle riding legend.
“Greg recommended a Yamaha WR250R to replace the bike I’d crashed. Not only because it was lighter and nimbler, but it would be better suited to my taller stature and improve my riding position. I also met motocross legend Stephen Gall who attended the ride as a special guest and conducted forest skills training with the girls. I learned so much from him. It completely changed my riding experience.”
Since that first meeting, Joann and Greg have formed a firm friendship resulting in Joann returning for regular Ride ADV events. She now not only supports the next wave of female riders discovering the freedom of offroad riding, but to also mixes it up with the boys on some of Greg’s more demanding events. Joann’s ever-growing to-do list now includes the Simpson Desert, Flinders Ranges and Cape York. All rides Greg is keen to encourage Joann to undertake.
“Jo’s journey is something I’m proud to be part of,” Greg reveals. “Once we got her onto the right bike and provided guidance, training, and encouragement, she has improved beyond what even she probably thought possible. It has been great to be a part of that process.”
For Joann, the opportunities for new adventures are now limitless. “Adventure riding has opened a whole new world of active and outdoor opportunities for me. Now I go hiking and I’m thinking about riding the bike. My perception of the world has changed. It’s the excitement of adventure riding that now drives me to get out there.”
