Once upon a time, motorcycling was an activity associated, almost exclusively, with macho, bearded white men sporting ducktail hairstyles and clad in black leather jackets. The only black people riding motorbikes were company messengers.
But things have changed. Today, Soweto has its own club. Called Eagles Bikers, the club boasts 23 members, four of whom are women and one who is, unexpectedly, white.
Members come from all parts of the country, including Pretoria, Rustenburg, Witbank, Giyani and Venda, but they use Soweto as a base. Some members used to belong to the then Ekurhuleni-based outfit called Easy Riders.
Alfred Matamela, the clubs event organiser, says the outfit was formed in 1986. He, together with other motorbiking fanatics, wanted to challenge the notion that motorbiking is a white thing by importing it into black communities.
When they formed the club, he and the original members wanted to give it a strong social content. We did not want to use this as a loony and elitist club, but something that would have deeper social meaning and relevance to the community. We wanted to use it to foster friendship and brotherhood, says Matamela.
The spirit of caring and togetherness that prevails among the club members is so solid he considers them to be his second family.
Today the community outreach programme, although not yet fully developed, forms an important feature of the club. This not only helps us to make a meaningful contribution to the community, it also popularises and demystifies motorbiking, says Matamela.
The community has embraced them; they get endless invitations to social events such as weddings and graduation parties. People always look for unique ways in which to make their events memorable, and they find motorbiking to be one such way of adding colour, he says.
It is this social aspect of motorbiking that does it for Blanche Mgqweto, one of the four women members. For me, motorbiking is not just about fun, its also a vital tool to address important social issues. Almost every weekend we organise fund-raising events and donate the proceeds to charity, and I find this fulfilling, said Mgqweto.
She adds: Just the knowledge that what I do can touch another persons life in a positive way makes me feel whole. I wouldnt mind dropping everything for these kinds of activities.
So far they have raised funds for a local orphanage. Our aim is to secure sponsorship so that we can promote this sport in a big way. If we can get funding, we would like to strengthen our outreach programme so that other deserving organisations can benefit, says Matamela.
He says his love for motorbikes began when he was a company messenger in 1985. He then bought his own Honda CD 200 and has not looked back. He was inspired by a Swiss man who was already into motor racing.
For Mgqweto, it all started when she was about 14 years old and her brother-in-law used to visit her older sister on his bike. I would always ask to ride with him wherever he went. I got to know about the Easy Riders club through him and I made sure I attended their sessions, sometimes piggy-backing on a lone rider, she says.
At first her mother was scared and sceptical, but she later got used to it and now she is one of my loyal supporters. Mgqweto has just bought herself a Honda CBR 600. She is so passionate about it that, were it not for the dress code at work, I would ride it every day to work. It is a lovely sport. Like any other, all one needs is commitment and passion for it, she says.