International Female Ride Day: Three Wheels, One Mission

A memorable ride usually comes down to a few key ingredients: great people, unique bikes, and roads worth riding. This year’s International Female Ride Day checked every one of those boxes. It started with a sense of anticipation, uncertainty, and a parking lot full of three-wheelers at Ponte Winery. Women from across the U.S., with different backgrounds and experience levels, spent the day getting familiar with the Can-Am Canyon, many for the first time.

At the center of it all was Vicki Gray, founder of the International Female Ride Day, who was present for the event. Vicki built IFRD around a simple message, “Just Ride,” encouraging women worldwide to get on motorcycles and be seen. Seeing her there, riding alongside the group with her genuine smile, added weight to the day. It wasn’t just another organized ride, it was a direct connection to the movement that helped create moments like this in the first place. As a reminder, International Female Ride Day is May 2 this year.

For me, that part hit a little deeper. I kept thinking back to the first time I showed up to an IFRD event a couple of years ago, when I met her for the first time. The message stuck then, and it still does now. Encouraging women to get out and ride sounds simple, but it fills a gap that used to be pretty obvious. When I first began my motorcycle obsession, there weren’t many women around, and you felt that absence. Being on this ride, surrounded by it now, made the growth hard to ignore. It’s not just more riders, it’s extra confidence, new visibility, and a shared space that didn’t always exist.

The day kicked off at Ponte Winery in Temecula California, where rows of vineyard vines framed a lineup of Can-Am three-wheeled models. Riders gathered early, checking gear, trading stories, and getting familiar with the machines before heading east toward the desert. For most of the ladies there, including me, this was their first time on a three-wheeled machine. It was a beautiful sight to see so many women being celebrated and ready to take to the roads for a fun day of riding.

From Temecula’s wine country, the group pushed toward Aguanga, flowing through open stretches and rolling terrain before pulling into Ricardo Breceda’s Art Gallery. Towering metal sculptures filled the landscape, with wildlife, prehistoric creatures, and abstract forms rising out of the desert floor, their scale and detail standing out against the open terrain and giving the entire area a raw, almost otherworldly feel. It wasn’t just a quick stop. Riders walked the grounds, took photos, and spent time off the bikes before heading back out. My favorite sculptures were the dinosaurs and dragons, exhibiting their strong stances with intricate textured skin.

Can-Am added a personal touch, gifting each rider a piece of metal artwork from the gallery. Options ranged from animals to symbolic shapes, each one was unique and memorable. I chose a butterfly, a fitting pick for a day centered around movement, independence, and growth. It now sits in my garden as a reminder of the day.

Back on the road, the route tied into the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway, where elevation changes and sweeping corners added some pace and rhythm. It’s the kind of road that normally rewards two wheels, but the three-wheeled Canyon brought a different kind of dynamic into the mix.

On the machine itself, the first impression is that the steering feels closer to a quad than a traditional motorcycle, which takes a moment to get used to. Once acclimated, in tighter turns, the Canyon’s taller stance and higher center of gravity become more noticeable, with the front end tending to push outward slightly. The width of the front wheels can also be a bit deceptive at first, especially for riders coming from two wheels, requiring a little extra awareness when navigating tighter spaces like medians or curbs.

Braking is controlled entirely through the right foot, which for me, an avid rear brake user, was easy to get used to. The pedal activates all three brakes at once, and it delivers strong, responsive stopping power. The Canyon is clutchless and automatic, though it still incorporates paddle shifters for those who prefer a more hands-on feel. If you forget to downshift the bike will do it for you. Cruise control functions smoothly when engaged, though disengaging it with the button or applying the brakes introduces a pronounced engine braking effect, even while maintaining throttle input. You can also roll the throttle forward to disengage cruise.

The Canyon's also kind of interesting from a legal standpoint. In California, anything with three wheels or fewer is technically classified as a motorcycle, but you don’t need a motorcycle endorsement to ride one. And yeah, technically you can lane split on it, but looking at how wide the front end is… I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s one of those “legal but not practical” situations.

Still, the appeal makes sense the more time you spend on it. For riders who don’t want to deal with balance or clutch control, the Canyon removes a lot of the friction that comes with getting into riding. There’s usable storage, it handles light off-road terrain better than expected, and it simplifies the experience in a way that opens the door for a wider audience. One lady I spoke with is a perfect example of that. She had never ridden before and was initially put off by the idea of managing seat height and a clutch. The Can-Am platform eliminated those concerns entirely. Now she rides regularly, teaches others through her YouTube channel, and represents the brand as an ambassador. It’s a reminder that accessibility doesn’t take anything away from the feel, it just brings more people into it.

International Female Ride Day isn’t about one type of bike or one level of experience. It’s about visibility, inclusion, and showing that the riding community continues to grow in every direction. Events like this put that on full display, different riders, various backgrounds, all moving together.

By the end of the day, I had a new appreciation for three-wheelers, but the bigger takeaway came from the people. New conversations, shared miles, and a reminder that there’s more than one way to ride, and a clear reminder that more women than ever are out there riding, and that number is only growing.