Ellen Pfeiffer Award recipient in 2015
This is the nomination that was submitted by WIMA Austria:
Let me tell you a story about a woman. She does not walk on the world’s stage; she does not speak to or influence the ‘big’ people in this world. But she has made a difference. Without her actions and persistence, there would be no WIMA Austria and none of our members would have had all those great experiences that WIMA gives us.
Uli started her motorcycling as a pillion passenger in the 1980s and then moved to riding herself – and has never looked back. She was a member of a mixed traditional motorcycle club, but always interested in and looking for connections to women motorcyclists. In the early 1990s, she and others founded a women motorcyclists’ ‘Stammtisch’ – a monthly get-together.
In 1995, she went to her first WIMA in Sweden. After discovering that there had been a WIMA in Austria in the 1950s, she decided to re-establish WIMA Austria and for years she was our National President.
She organised group rides, trial riding and would speak to any woman motorcyclist she met, giving them a card with our group meeting details. For many of us, her steady leading of rides gave us the practice and confidence we needed as new motorcycle riders. It must have been very boring at times, dragging us along bendy roads that are just begging for a bit more speed.
As you know, we are a pretty consistent membership group of WIMA and since her first WIMA was 20 years ago, it is time we showed her our appreciation.
So this is our ‘Thank You’ to Uli, by proposing her for the Ellen Pfeiffer award – we know it will mean a lot to her and be cherished. Thank you for making WIMA Austria happen.
