56º North May 2019 | Page 15

The number of women riding motorcycles has risen by almost a third, with Belfast claiming the crown as the female biking capital of the UK, according to new figures from leading motorcycle insurance broker, Carole Nash.

The data, obtained from one of Carole Nash’s largest insurers, shows that female bikers on their books have increased 30% between 2014–2018, with the number of female policy holders rising each year over the time period.

Biking is especially popular in the Northern Irish capital, with 16% of all Belfast’s bikers being women – over 2.5x the UK average of 6%.

The research also finds that capital cities are a hotspot for

female bikers in general, as Edinburgh and London round

off the top three with female representation at 11% and

8% of bikers respectively. Cardiff is the only UK

capital not to feature among the most popular

areas for women – its 6% rate of female

motorcyclists is in line with the national average.

The most popular cities for female bikers are:

Belfast – 16% of motorcyclists in the city are

women

Edinburgh – 11%

London – 8%

Bristol – 7%

Sunderland – 7%

For more information on the UK’s

female biking hotspots, visit

the dedicated page at

Carole Nash.