The love of motorcycles is very much the heart of the ABR Festival, and our main goal is to ensure every ticket holder has the best weekend of their lives.
One of the ways we try to achieve this is by inspiring bikers to get the most out of our shared passion for everything two wheels.
This can sometimes have life-changing results, like those festival goers who undertake epic adventures across multiple continents following a talk they attended. There are also stories of people who take the plunge and learn to ride having taken advice at ABR on how they can get started.
That’s what happened when Sarah Roseweir took in her first ABR Festival last year. She arrived as a pillion with her husband John and left on a mission to ride her own bike through the ABR Festival 2025 gates.
Intrigued to know more, we caught up with her to ask a few questions and find out how she’s getting on…
Was last year the first time you’d attended the ABR Festival?
Yes, last year was our first experience of the ABR Festival. My Husband has always had a bike while we have been together and, although he is a huge Honda fan, he was considering changing from his much beloved VFR for a more adventure-style bike. We had thought there wouldn’t be a better opportunity than that at the ABR Festival to see all the manufacturers to help him narrow down his search.
Had you considered learning to ride at all before attending the festival?
Yes, my father had sports bikes when I was a teenager, and I loved being out with him. Riding pillion with my husband too meant I wasn’t a stranger to the adrenaline of being out on the bikes but after sitting my CBT 3 years ago I bottled out of going any further.
Was there a particular event or moment at the festival that really helped persuade you to try to learn again?
From the moment we arrived there was a huge presence of female riders and pillions. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. We looked a little out of place having ridden down from Scotland in our leathers, with bright white VFR panniers and all.
As we were stretching off and trying to get the blood flowing after 9 long hours on the road, our tent neighbours arrived. A lovely couple who had travelled over from Ireland, each on their own bikes. The lady on her BMW GS 1250, fully loaded with panniers and top box.
She manoeuvred this huge bike with effortless poise, popped it on its side stand and jumped off, shaking out her hair from her helmet. Right then I had a major girl crush. I admitted my crush and admiration for my new biking idol to my husband before nipping in search of the facilities. When I returned, the lovely lady and her partner had come over to chat with my husband. He had told her of my admiration, and we had a great chat about her trip over from Ireland and her experiences on her bike. She filled me with such confidence that this little pipedream of mine could be achieved.
All weekend we saw women heading out on the trails, coming back covered in mud with huge grins on their faces. There were several talks with women headlining, discussing their adventure over deserts and mountain ridges. I was in awe. I kept saying to my husband: “if they can do it, I can do it too!!”. John was really supportive, and I left the festival feeling a newly energised desire to ride my own. It was time to put my money where my mouth was and to turn my dream into a reality.
Sarah’s journey began with a little research and a chat with her local training school. Her CBT was booked, and after a day’s tuition was complete, and her pass certificate was in hand, she was hooked again.
Extra lessons to help navigate her way through MOD 1&2 were swiftly arranged. Three attempts to pass MOD1 saw Sarah wrestle with temperatures as low as -7, as well as a few pesky cones that refused to stay upright. Her fourth time was the charm – a pass with no minors.
A mightily relieved Sarah then dealt with MOD2 at the first attempt. Cue an outpouring of joy from everyone at her training school, the test centre, and from her very proud husband John. She had shown great determination in challenging conditions, and will ride her own Suzuki V-Strom through the gates of Ragley Hall in June.
Now there’s a freshly minted license nestling in her hand, we asked Sarah what she has planned next…
Get the miles in! We are so fortunate to live in Perthshire, Scotland, as we have some of the most beautiful scenery in the country on our doorstep. Our trip down to the ABR Festival this year will most likely be the longest trip I’ll do this year. We plan not to do it in a single day, as we did last year, but to take a few days traveling down the east coast.
We’ll stop off about halfway in the York area on Wednesday evening, before joining the M1 and working our way down towards Ragley Hall. We intend to do the same heading home, taking a few days heading up the west coast touring about.
John and I have also been looking at some biking holidays in Europe. In particular, a trip to the Canary Islands is top of the wish list!
What was your favourite moment of last year’s festival?
It would be hard to pick one. Friday night sitting with people we had only just met feeling like we had known them for years listening to live music.
The food options were amazing, the best I have ever seen at a festival. Both my husband and I are gluten free and it’s usually such a stress, making sure we carry food with us. We had no shortage of choices and could eat something different every day.
What did you like most about the ABR Festival?
I loved the inclusiveness of it. As total adventure biking newbies, we didn’t have a clue what we really wanted or needed to start our adventure, but you really had thought of everything.
Amazing music, amazing food, amazing atmosphere and every manufacturer and trader you could possibly want. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience to be found in the talks and demonstrations provided throughout the weekend.
It really doesn’t matter if you ride a Honda VFR, a Harley Davidson, a BMW GS or are a pillion rider, everyone seems to have instilled an unspoken bond over a love of bikes and all they have to offer.
What are you most looking forward to doing or seeing at this year’s festival?
I’m looking forward to catching up with friends we made last year and seeing Noraly Schoemaker aka Itchy Boots.
Feeling inspired yourself? Come and join Sarah at ABR Festival 2025 and see where your biking journey takes you next. Get tickets here
