My name is Emma Poole; I live in Wolverhampton and I currently work for a roofing and scaffolding company.

My Harley-Davidson journey began at a very early age and I’ve been riding motorcycles for the past 11 years, starting on a Honda 50cc. My dad got me into motorcycles, as he always had Harleys and Buells when I was growing up, and I’ve been hooked on the brand ever since. When I turned 19 I took my full bike licence and bought my first Harley^®, a Sportster^® Iron, which I still own today. Now I’ve got a little collection going – I own five Harleys, including my original 2014 Sportster Iron, a 1980 Ironhead Chopper, a 2021 Sportster^® S, a 2020 Low Rider^® S and a 2020 Street Glide^® CVO.

None of my bikes are stock, each has its own customisation. One of the challenges as a female rider is that there are some models that I’m unable to ride without changing things up. Usually that means changing the suspension so I can put both feet on the ground, or extending the kickstand so I can reach it more easily. That has never stopped me, though – I’ll always be able to find a workaround so I can continue riding these amazing bikes! My latest modification is to my Street Glide, which now has the uprated rear Öhlins suspension and I hope to add the uprated front suspension too, in the New Year.

I first joined H.O.G., and the Wolverhampton Chapter, back in 2014. I didn’t know much about H.O.G. back then – the only reason I joined was because I got the first year free with my bike! The more I did with my chapter and the people I met along the way, the more I started to get involved. I love H.O.G. and I’ll always be grateful for it. Joining the chapter has honestly been the best thing. I wouldn’t have been able to do half the things I have without it or met any of the people who are now my closest friends.

One example is when I got a call from Vicki Green at RBP, the Harley-Davidson UK PR agency, asking if I’d like to ride a Street Glide ST for a Harley UK promotional video. I said yes, 100 per cent, straight away, without even knowing what that entailed. The day of filming was brilliant, it just felt like I was riding my own bike in the countryside all day!

Now, going forward, I would love to do more riding for Harley-Davidson, even if it is just being road crew on a day or a weekend for events. My ultimate dream ride would be to ride in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, and then over to Vancouver Island, so hopefully one day I’ll bring that to reality, too.

What I really love about biking, and Harley-Davidson in particular, is that once I’m on my bike nothing else matters, apart from being present in the moment and enjoying the ride. I would ride every day if I could, I find that it is my happy place. Riding has absolutely helped me to become the person I am today. I never felt that I’d really been good at anything before but riding a motorcycle just came so naturally to me and I just absolutely love it. Before I started riding, I was really shy, I wouldn’t speak to anyone and had little confidence. Being around people that loved the things I do slowly broke me out of all that.

One of my most cherished riding memories was back in 2016 when I went to Big Island, Hawaii, and I decided to hire a Sportster 48 for a couple of days. The friends I was with don’t ride, so I was on my own. Once I’d checked in and got the bike, a family from New York asked where I was going. To be honest I didn’t know, as I didn’t even have a sat nav! They asked me if I wanted to tag on to their ride. I’m so glad that I did as I had a brilliant day. We had a full day of riding and I saw places I never would have seen without them – they even brought me lunch in the middle of nowhere. I have a photo of us all together and it's a great memory to look back on.

It just shows the Harley-Davidson brand encompasses a brilliant family of bikers – it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, if you come across another Harley biker or chapter, you’ll always feel welcome.