Meet The Badass Bikers of “Black Girls Ride”

Who says women of color can’t be a part of the motorsports culture?

Photography: Jonita Davis

Porsche Taylor’s scarf fits under her helmet and hides her natural hair, dyed pink for the ride. Black shades adorn her face and a Black Girls Ride T-shirt peeks out from under her leather jacket. She removes gloves from her hands to take a sip of water before updating the masses. After an intro, she tells the audience that she is in Arizona where “it’s hot… it’s disrespectful, disrespectful.” Taylor would later tell me that the temperature was 108 degrees during that ride.

The founder and editor in chief of Black Girls Ride, the first and only magazine run by Black women motorcyclists, then describes the brutal heat. The exhausted but smiling commentary is peppered with reminders to pack sunscreen for the long rides under a scorching sun. Hydrate, she tells the audience while sipping from a bottle of water. Then, she’s telling everyone to also cover their skin as much as possible. Yes, full gear in the heat. “Dress for the ride and the slide,” Taylor would later tell me. This day, she explains the switch from the more stylish gloves that exposed her fingers to full gloves. The reason? The sun was literally roasting her fingers as they rode through the Arizona desert.

The point of these tips and updates on the weather is to help over 225 riders stay safe and healthy as they cross the country to convene at the place that was the setting for the movie Girls Trip in 2017: New Orleans. They are joined along the way by Black women from all over the world. Some of them have been on this journey before and others are on their first long-distance ride. The ride becomes a party soon, and the spirit of sisterhood is hard to miss, even in the videos. They roll into New Orleans under escort from the New Orleans police, to cheering fans along the sidewalks, as if celebrities rolled through.

The helmets come off to reveal women of all ages, all shades, and all sizes. Some are ultra femme on pink and black bikes and wearing outfits to match their beloved and tricked out bikes. There are heavy biker boots and more stylish ones with heels. All fashions, body types, personalities, and sexualities are invited. Black Girls Ride bikers are an inclusive group. Taylor says, “Black…