‘Babes Ride Out’: A weekend of motorcycles, sisterhood and independence

As the sun rose over the stark desert landscape dotted with tents and motorcycles, a bleary-eyed woman with toothbrush in hand stumbled along a sandy pathway at Joshua Tree Lake campground in search of a hot shower and called out, “Can you tell me what day it is?”

Beginning four years ago, female bikers from across the country have gathered once a year to ride, bond and camp under the stars at the campground. Babes Ride Out, which started with 50 women, has grown to over 1,600 and is a strong network of female riders. Women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds come together: young millennials pierced and tattooed, Gen-X free-spirited professionals and baby boomers with years of riding under their belts.

Women who once might have found biker culture through men are now discovering it with other women.

Gevin Fax from Conejo Valley is an avid biker who said she has been riding for 50 years, getting her first bike at the age of 10. Riding on her “female iron stallion Harley-Davidson,” she cruises the open road at Joshua Tree National Park.

All the riders had one thing in common: a love of the open road under the power of their two-wheel machines. For some, it was a Harley-Davidson, for others a Ducati, Triumph, Yamaha, Kawasaki or Honda. Sportsters, cruisers, classics and touring bikes shared the road.

Gevin Fax, Tracey Joyce, Laura Babb, from the greater Los Angeles area, along with Stacey Zinovoy, from Washington, hang out in Joshua Tree with their biker friends.

Gevin Fax is a physical education teacher in Santa Monica, and through the years has immersed herself in biker culture, from charity rides to outlaw subculture.

Cynthia Gillet, a French performer, musician and actor living in Los Angeles said, “I was born to be wild, it’s a lifestyle, finding that space of freedom, you’re a free spirit. Riding it the best way to reflect, let it go, feel the beauty.”

Cynthia Gillet, a French performer and musician living in L.A., enjoys the evening, sampling some complimentary drinks.

The weekend included music from bands in the evenings, with the women celebrating and bonding.

In the early morning after a late night of hanging with her friends, Laura Babb, right, and Christine Sullivan, left, wake up to catch the sun rising over Joshua Tree Lake Campground.