Some of Alley Miller’s best moments in life have been behind bars. Today she is behind the bars of a seriously high-performance machine and sometimes in the company of hundreds of other women riders.

Words Kate Coughlan  

Motorbikes have always interested Alley Miller. She was curious about them even as a little girl. She’d cross the road to look at one, pause on the footpath if she heard one coming, and wait to watch it pass by. ‘I don’t know why,’ she says. ‘It’s not like I had a family that was into bikes, no uncle tinkering away in the garage on his bike.
I was just interested.’

Alley’s childhood curiosity has sparked a lifelong passion, which has led to her founding the Auckland Litas, a women’s motorcycle group. ‘I’ve always loved motion, that sense of going somewhere. As a child I loved car rides, loved train journeys, loved being on a boat and watching the world go by.’

In her thirties, Alley trained for a corporate boxing match and, in addition to defeating her opponent, defeated a bunch of personal fears and began wondering about motorbikes. ‘My boxing trainer rode a motorbike and as I waited in the carpark for him to arrive, I wondered why motorcycles attracted me. “There’s something about bikes that you are drawn to, Alley,” I’d say to myself. After the fight I felt pretty unstoppable and thought, what’s next? My trainer suggested I get a bike.’

Alley researched the right bike for a beginner, then set about finding a Suzuki GN250 for sale. ‘I took the intellectual approach, not the fall-in-love-with-a-bike thing, though I really had no idea of what I was doing. Except I knew I wanted to be cool.’

Soon she had a second-hand Trade Me-sourced Suzuki GN strapped onto a trailer in Pirongia, ready to head home to Auckland. She couldn’t stop looking at the bike. ‘I was madly in love with it, and madly in love with myself as well. Then I realised it had big old indicators like a real learner bike. I decided I needed to change all that and make it even cooler.’ 

‘Riding comes with a quietness that some people call yoga. You can’t ride without 100 per cent brain function – you must be present.’ 

Alley’s motorbike décor preference is known as ‘café racer’; a stripped-down, customised retro-classic look emphasising the bike’s speed and performance. ‘Suddenly, my focus moved from inside my home, watching cooking and home décor shows, to YouTube videos of motorbikes overnight.’ And the transformation of her bike sees its handlebars moved down low, the addition of little LED lights and a racing stripe on the tank.

That was 10 years ago, and only recently has Alley returned to watching cooking shows on TV.

‘Got to get home to the family – that’s my riding style. It took a while to feel that way. At first, it was all the rebel, the wind in my hair and being cool. I’d say that phase lasted six years. In the last four years I have settled into my riding.’

Riding motorbikes aligns with Alley’s passionate belief in women doing what they want, having a voice, enjoying themselves as they wish, no stereotyping. She saw the benefit of women having a space to ride with other women, to learn and to share experiences, so in her early riding days she set up an Auckland branch of an international movement called The Litas. ‘We ride together, have fun, network, and it amplifies our voice as female motorbike riders, a minority. Like trying to get retailers on board to import riding gear that properly fits women, including armour, and more knowledge about bikes that can be user-friendly for women.’

The Litas originated in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Alley has followed the concept with great success. The Auckland Litas group (one of only two in New Zealand) has 300 members – quite an acknowledgement of her skill and energy. ‘The ice is broken between women who don’t know each other as they have riding in common. There’s a camaraderie unique to women riders, like “Where did you get those pants?” or “I really like what you’ve done with your hair under your helmet.” We are a resilient group of women, from different walks of life – an Anglican priest, a lawyer, a childcare worker, a peacekeeper, artists, businesswomen and every kind of occupation in our group.’ 

Alley loves the empowerment of women riding successfully. Some of her best moments have been behind the bars. It is rather like meditation. ‘It is a sensory overload. You are in it, feeling it, smelling it, hearing it.  And, with the decisions you make every second, your mind is cleared of other clutter. Riding comes with a quietness that some people call yoga. You can’t ride without 100 per cent brain function – you must be present. It is primal, it’s your survival. 

‘I body scan when I ride, breathe deeply, relax into my bike, watch the corners, look for the glide and the cut-through. You are moving through life, not seeing it go past. Riding has made the rest of life sometimes seem a bit pedestrian.’

In recent times, Alley has moved on from her second bike, a much-loved Moto Guzzi V7 Café Racer that followed the Suzuki GN, to an anything-but-pedestrian Harley-Davidson. ‘Buying a Harley needed to be part of my riding journey. To sit back, open up, to go cruising. It is a beautiful experience to ride a Harley and it would’ve been tragic if I didn’t have it.’

She’s learning the new language of the Harley rider and the ‘décor’ stages of customising a Harley. ‘A Harley is an armchair ride and provokes a different camaraderie on the road. On the Moto Guzzi I’d get old timers talking about the style of the bike. With the Harley though, there’s a bit more “bad ass” to the language. It is more of a nod when you pull into a petrol station, no words but a knowing exchange. If you do talk, it tends to be about specs and the stages you’ve worked on it. A Harley has five stages: Stage one is a simple power boost, Stage two is enhanced performance with a camshaft upgrade, Stage three is big bore gains … it is all very technical and I don’t know all of it. The story with a Harley is that you buy a bike and make it your own. You get asked: “What have you done to it?” When I was first asked that I said, “Well, I gave it a good polish and tightened the wing mirrors this morning.”’

Alley’s work life to date, as the manager for all requirements of touring musicians from dressing-room fitout to sourcing specific drinks and food, means very long hours under significant pressure. To defrag from all that, riding has been a saviour. ‘This bit right here,’ she says, tapping her head, ‘needs to be right before I get on my bike. I don’t get on a bike if I am fatigued. I don’t get on a bike if I am hungover. I don’t get on a bike if I am stressing – even though it does de-stress me to ride. I don’t get on a bike to show off – not any more.’

When she revs her engine (and, her Litas buddies are keen to point out, no woman ever revs her bike engine three times in ascending roars – only blokes do that), it’s more than just the start of a ride. It is the sound of a movement in motion, the sound of which Alley is all the better for – whether she’s alone or with the Litas.

Alley Miller’s tips for Living life

Alley’s bikes are ‘shes’. ‘Should I be on point and my bikes be non-binary, “them-they” bikes? Nah, my bikes are not woke.’

Moto Guzzi V7 750cc is a modern classic café racer with distinctive looks, comfortable riding and, said one reviewer, ‘bucket loads of charm’. Alley’s is a family heirloom with a personalised number plate ‘PINUP’ in honour of her late dressmaker mother. In her mother’s final days, she told Alley: ‘Go live your life, I love everything you do.’ Alley says, ‘I’ve had the best adventures of my life on it and Mum is always with me.’

Harley-Davidson Street Bob 114 Softail 1800cc

Alley’s latest bike is modern and big. ‘The key feature of Softail is the rear suspension, which is concealed within the frame. The “Bob” or “Bobber” bit is the design approach, sort of a minimalist cruiser.’

Quick Fire 

Favourite ride? Coromandel Loop. I’m a bit of a princess so I do it over two days. After work on a Friday, a sunset ride to Whitianga or Whangamatā, a beachside apartment, a visit to The Lost Spring, a meal, and a good rest. Then ride home the next day. 

Dream bike if money were no object? Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST custom-painted in my favourite colours of dark navy and gold, with all the gizmos. Probably won’t happen with the $47,000 price tag. 

I also love the old Husqvarna motorcycle Paul Newman rode in On Any Sunday. A bike that can go on the beach, on the road, not big, not impressive, but agile and fun.

The song always on your ride playlist? Led Zeppelin is always on my playlist but I listen to everything when riding, from soul powerhouse singers like Randy Crawford, NZ reggae, yacht rock, heavy metal and dance music.