thing with mountain-biking or other outdoor
activities. I want to see women out there having
an adventure in a safe way and not letting fear
stop them from living new experiences.”
Mainland sees herself as someone who other
women could bounce their ideas off, to help them
stretch and grow, develop and gain confidence.
She has been riding a Yamaha YZ250X and
recently changed over to a Yamaha YZ125X
because “I thought that would be a nice ladies’
bike”.
She said “it’s an absolute dream to ride” and this
bike has really helped Mainland to ride a bike,
rather than the bike taking charge.
“I have been riding bikes for a long time now,
starting out as the girl who likes to sit on the bike
because ‘it feels safe’, back then I was being told
by the boys to ‘stand up because apparently that
is safer…’ how is that so?
“I’m that much further away from the ground, so
when I fall it’ll be that much further to fall! Right?
haha. It’ll cause more injury and hurt more… no
way!
“As I became fitter and wanted to attack a bit
more difficult terrain I learnt that by standing
on your pegs, a rider gets far better control and
stability on the bike. I still sit on the bike seat far
too much, especially as my fitness fluctuates, but
at least I’m now riding more than just the flat
paddocks at home. It’s this type of thing that I
want to pass onto other ladies so they can feel
safe in trying new experiences.
“I recently took my new 2020-model YZ125X
out to the Borlase Trail ride at Tapawera, near
Nelson. What an epic ride and that bike was an
absolute machine. I put a smaller sprocket on
the front of the bike to help me to get through
the slower single track without it losing revs.
“I’ve only once before ridden a 125, so I am still
learning how to ‘keep it pinned’ without being
scared of the power.
“The first lap I was a little nervy, getting the
feel of the bike as it was the first ride with the
sprocket and the suspension/clickers set up
and the sag set for me rather than riding a bike
just out of the box. But, after that, I was away.
“I was learning so much about this bike – She
loves to sing! And a wee 125 ripping through
the mature forest fire breaks is a bit of music
to any enthusiast’s ears isn’t it? The sprocket
change was ideal as I was able to hit all the AA
trails and didn’t stall the engine while riding at a
low speed to clear the obstacles.
“This ride was great, I felt that I was riding the
bike, rather than being taken for a ride by the
bike. I felt like I was dominating the bike – a
great feeling. I felt the suspension working
around the corners, I was able to use the clutch
easy enough to keep up the throttle and clutch
control for the corners.
“I am very excited about this bike – looking
forward to having a few ladies come out to
some ‘ladies days in the dirt’ in the coming
months.
“I’ve always felt that I was missing out having
not learning to ride a two-stroke bike when
learning – I didn’t get to learn a lot of the clutch
and throttle control to the front wheel up, to
climb or to ride a bike out of a corner. I found
with my placid riding style and a four-stroke
bike I just rode it like a tractor everywhere. I’m
looking forward to hopefully increasing my
skills with my Yamaha YZ125X, a wee beauty.”
So, armed with her 125 and a can-do attitude,
April Mainland is ready to inspire, to share her
experiences and hopefully make it easier for
women of all abilities to accept the challenges
of dirt biking, a challenge that she herself has
embraced and is now getting so much joy and
excitement from riding bikes off-road.
KIWI RIDER 101