Sherrie Woolf

Posted in Snapshots, UK | 1 comment

 

Please introduce yourself. Hi, I’m Sherrie. I grew up in South Wales. I work in Finance and have spent time working in The Netherlands and New York. I love experiencing new things and exploring new places. I’ll try anything once!

Describe your path into motorcycling. I was relatively late to biking at the age of 29 and wish I’d taken it up when I was much younger. I decided to do my CBT after speaking to a friend who had a scooter. I loved it so much that I signed up for the five day Direct Access intensive training course, which would allow me to take a test when I finished and ride any size bike. It’s a good thing I passed because I had already bought a Yamaha Thundercat from the dealer next to the training centre where I did my test.

That evening I wobbled my way to London’s Ace Cafe for a meet hosted by LondonBikers.com and never looked back! I became hugely involved in the community at LondonBikers and joined every ride out and event. I set up a mentoring scheme which paired newer riders with more experienced riders. My mentor Adz was awesome and had me out on the track at Silverstone within six months of passing my test! I love the track. It’s the best place to really see what you and your bike are capable of.

I’m just starting to explore the world of Moto-X and off-roading and loving that too. I recently learned how to wheelie. I would like to be able to do more stunts. I think an adventure on a cruiser would be super cool too. That would show me a different aspect to biking that I haven’t experienced yet.

At my height, I’m just about tall enough to get my feet on the ground with most bikes but my biggest frustration is buying protective clothing. I often end up buying men’s gear that looks hideous and doesn’t fit well.

I’m proud to simply be a biker but my friend Nimisha Patel and I recently set two world records. We planned The Largest All Female Biker Meet and Most Women Riding a Motorcycle at Once. That was an amazing experience.

Your Agusta looks like a sweet ride. What’s it like? The Agusta Dragster RR is a real attention grabber. It draws a crowd wherever I go.  It’s not just a stunning looking bike, it’s awesome to ride and loads of fun.  It handles well and is fast enough to keep up with the litre sport bikes.  I’ve had the suspension set up by a professional so it handles beautifully on the track. I find the tires and seating position a bit limiting, but then again it’s not built for the race track.

If you could go ride with any of your motorcycling heroes – living or dead – who would they be? I was recently fortunate enough to be able to do two sessions on the Nürburgring with the official lap record holder Helmut Dahne. It was such a privilege to do that on such an amazing track. I’d love to get some sessions with Valentino Rossi and Marco Simoncelli at Laguna Seca!

What’s your dream bike? Just one? That’s impossible! I’m definitely a Yamaha R1 fan and I’m currently trying hard to get a test ride on a new one before parting with the cash, preferably the R1M. I’d also like a motocross bike but don’t know which one yet as I haven’t had much experience on them. I’d like a Ducati 1299S just to have it and a KTM Superduke 1290 for the hooligan in me. I also really like the BMW S1000RR HP4 and I need to test ride the Aprilia RSV4. :D

If you could change one thing about the world of motorcycling, what would it be? For it to be less of a boys club, to see even more women taking it up, and for gear manufacturers to cater to us.