We had typed “Front Royal, VA” into Google Maps and set out from Gettysburg, PA on an overcast morning. All the rain gear was out and at the ready, however the sun slowly burned off the haze. Before too long, it turned into a beautiful sunny afternoon.
The bikes on the battlefield in Gettysburg, PA.
We were making good time and we were getting close to Front Royal by early afternoon.
If you’re not familiar, Front Royal is a nice little town in northern Virginia. It is close to the Shenandoah River, where there are popular canoe, kayak, and tubing trips by a few guide services.
We were headed to Front Royal for a entirely different reason though.
Front Royal happens to be where the famous Skyline Drive begins, at the northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park.
Well known by motorcyclists all over the world, Skyline Drive is one of the nicest rides in all of North America. The route is 105 miles long and goes the entire length of the 197,438 acre National Park. Built in 1939, the road is still known as one of the most beautiful rides to take in the country.
Its no surprise that one might see quite a few motorcycles around a town like Front Royal on a beautiful June weekend… but we saw quite a few more than we had expected to!
Just as we came into town, right along the main road, there was a hotel on the side of the road with a parking lot that was jam packed full of motorcycles.
I’m talking at least a hundred bikes, easy.
We quickly slowed down to make the turn in to the lot and see what was going on.
After parking the bikes we took a walk around to check out all bikes. It didn’t take more than a couple minutes before we were getting the scoop from some very friendly ladies outside.
As it turned out, we had stumbled upon the Mid Atlantic Women’s Motorcycle Rally, or MAWMR.
This was the 25th anniversary of the first rally and they have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for women with cancer along the way. The MAWMR donated to H.O.P.E. and Pink Out this year.
Daryl and I were very impressed with what we saw of the event. We were able to have a few words with some of the head organizers of the three day rally and learn a little more. Over the course of the weekend they offer group rides in the area, nightly parties, workshops, guest speakers, auctions, and even a parade through the center of Front Royal led by the Mayor.
Their attendance numbers were the most impressive detail to me. There were over 225 women riders at the rally and more were signing up that same day. They had 116 riders that were attending for the first time when we spoke. Certainly gaining momentum. The women of MAWMR must be very proud. 
Head over to our Facebook page out and check out a video of the “parade of chrome,” as it was called, through the center of Front Royal.
We were also able to meet and quickly speak with Ursula Wachowiak, who was speaking at the MAWMR. Ursula has a motorcycle blog too! You can check out her website at www.hdbroad.com. Great meeting you Ursula!
Congrats to all the ladies involved with the MAWMR on a great turn out! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us.
Find out more about the rally at MAWMR.org.
-LMYR
