Suvi Tahvonen

WIMA International Vice-President

Here is something about myself. I am Suvi Tahvonen, 30 years old, a marketing manager from Finland and I live in the beautiful capital city of Helsinki. I have no kids, even though there are two “babies” in our family – Honda VTR1000F and Suzuki SV650S.

This past summer WIMA International President Rita Koopmanschap asked me if I would be interested in stepping up for International Vice President. She told me that Antje Lange, who was VP at the time, had to step down because of her business. I was really honoured to be asked for the job, and as usual for me I couldn’t say no!

You could say that I am quite a new face in WIMA. The first time I heard about WIMA was in summer 2000 when the WIMA Arctic International Rally was hosted by WIMA Finland in Iisalmi. It was also the same summer that I bought my first sport bike and I was really enjoying spending all my free time on the road. I heard about this group of women driving together and having connections to women drivers around the world. I wanted to join this organisation and meet hundreds of my soul mates - so I did!

Riding a motorbike had been my dream since I was a little girl. I always looked up to my neighbour who had a deep red Honda CBR1000. It was the most beautiful bike I had ever seen. I made a promise to myself, that one day I would have a bike like that. After many years I finally had enough money to buy a bike of my own, and finally I kept the promise. Since then I have been a very fanatic motorcyclist. Soon I found myself being a very active member of WIMA Finland organizing happenings and being a part of the board of WIMA Finland. I really enjoy my time with other members, having a good time, driving around Finland and Europe, having the opportunity to meet so many new people and making wonderful friendships around the world.

I have the honour to be the Vice President of WIMA International, and at the moment I am also the National President of WIMA Finland. In addition to that, I am a driving trainer and I write a column for the Finnish motorcycle magazine, MP-Maailma (MC-World in English). As you can see motorcycles are a very big part of my life. I can’t even imagine my life without my bike. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to make motorbikes my occupation. That’s why I work as a marketing manager in a small import company that has nothing to do with motorbikes… Don’t get the wrong impression – I do love my work! I really enjoy being a part of WIMA. It’s an organisation that has brought women all over the world together in the last fifty years. For me, it’s obvious that WIMA is needed, but sometimes

I am asked, “ Why do women need a motorcycle organisation of their own?” Answering that question isn’t easy because we all have our own personal answers to that question. And that’s exactly why we have a network connecting over 2500 women around the world. Drive safe, sisters! . — Suvi Tahvonen