Breaking down the barriers.
Think you’re not tall enough or strong enough to ride an adventure bike? Think again, as International Female Team competitor Jocelin Snow explains how size really doesn’t matter when it comes to the GS Trophy.
Jocelin at the GS Trophy Qualifier.
Great things come in small packages.
Jocelin is going to give the finals everything she has, because she is so grateful for the opportunity.
Great things come in small packages.
She may only be five feet, one-and-a-half inches (1.55 metres) tall out of her enduro boots, but Jocelin Snow punches well above her weight — and her height, both in motorcycling and in life. The diminutive Californian has fought her way onto one of the two female teams for the 2018 Int. GS Trophy and can’t wait to make the journey from her home in Monterey County to Mongolia to take on the boys — and girls — at this year’s finals.
Jocelin Snow
Multi-tasker.
Practice makes perfect for Jocelin Snow.
Multi-tasker.
As grateful as she is, Jocelin has earned her place on the team and worked incredibly hard to get to the International GS Trophy finals. This strong work ethic translates through her day-to-day life, where she runs two businesses, holds additional roles as product reps for both the SENA and Clearwater Lights brands, and even finds time to volunteer as a guest coach at official BMW training centre RawHyde Adventures.
True potential.
Jocelin enjoying the views of the Pacific Ocean.
True potential.
But what inspires her more than anything else is helping other riders realise their true potential — which often means persuading them to try a big BMW GS motorcycle on which they thought they would be completely out of their depth. Jocelin should know of course, she’s been surprising people with her choice of bikes for years. And having competed in all kinds of motorcycle sport — from flat-track and motocross, to supermoto and road racing — she knows what she’s talking about.
Jocelin isn't intimidated by the size of her BMW R 1200 GS Adventure.
‘Can-do’ attitude.
Staring at the sea after a ride on her R 1200 GS Rallye.
‘Can-do’ attitude.
“I’ve owned 38 motorcycles so far in my lifetime and I could probably only touch the ground on a couple of them — to me it’s always been something I’ve just dealt with,” says the former race mechanic who has also owned her own riding school. “In my garage right now I’ve got a 2016 R 1200 GS Adventure and a 2017 R 1200 GS Rallye. Oh, and a G 310 GS, although I haven’t had time to ride it yet!”
To watch Jocelin ride is inspiring enough, so high are her skill levels, but watching her stop and start is even more impressive given the fact that she’s handling bikes weighing around 250kgs that she can’t actually touch the ground properly on. Her methods of dealing with this are well worth watching — especially by anyone who believes that a 1200cc BMW GS is too big for shorter people to ride off-road.
“Yep, I can’t touch the ground on the GS Rallye! If I stop I just slide off the seat enough to get one foot down, or on technical terrain i jump off completely and then stand next to the bike. Then I do the opposite when I start moving again.”
Jocelin Snow
Jocelin just slides off the seat to touch the ground on a big GS.
Sharing the GS love.
Mongolia and the 2018 Int. GS Trophy finals beckon for Jocelin.
Sharing the GS love.
From teaching off-road skills to groups of big burly guys, to answering a seemingly endless stream of questions via her social media channels, Jocelin thrives on helping women and men who think they are too short, or not strong enough, or confident enough to ride the big GS bikes, that it most definitely can be done. “I get asked daily why do I ride a 1200 GS when I’m the size I am. I tell them because it’s easier to ride off-road than a lot of smaller bikes — the motor, the balance, the torque, everything. Like anything in life, if you practice enough you can do it. There’s a myth that you have to be a big strong guy to manhandle these GS bikes off-road and I’m enjoying busting that myth. Don’t use misinformation as a limitation in your motorcycling life, get on it and ride it — if I can do it, you can do it.”
Community spirit.
Jocelin attracts big respect from the guys supporting the GS Trophy USA national qualifiers.
Community spirit.
Jocelin acknowledges that the GS community is so friendly and welcoming that she has never encountered any problems being a female instructor in a predominantly male environment. She puts this down to her passion, positive attitude and the fact that she has to demonstrate every exercise drill, so it doesn’t take long to earn her pupils’ respect.
Comfortable in her own skin — and definitely comfortable on her GS — Jocelin will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with at the Int. GS Trophy where her aim is to inspire other female riders watching from afar to follow in her footsteps and aim high in their own riding aspirations, even if height might not be their strongest point.
“I enjoy inspiring people more than anything else, and helping them live their life to the fullest potential. I love to encourage riders to not be afraid to follow their dreams, and not let anybody take those dreams away. If I can help make a difference with just one rider, then it’s ‘mission accomplished’ for me.”
