She could never have known it at the time, but it was the competitive streak within Remmi Aloni which ultimately lead to the creation of a riotous annual motorcycle rally called Sheilas Shakedown. Because without that competitiveness, the now 43-year-old would never have got her motorcycle licence, she would never have participated in an overnight campout with a handful of fellow female riders and she would never have had the opportunity to launch what has now grown into the country’s only female and gender-diverse motorcycle and vintage car rally.

“My boyfriend at the time was really keen to get his licence. And he was like, come get it with me, come get it with me. And I was just so hesitant, mostly to do with the cost involved,” Remmi recalls. “I just felt like any interest in what was to be a side hobby, just didn’t match how much I needed to spend to get into it.

“He got sick of waiting for me and he went and booked his licence test. And then my competitive streak kicked in – and I got really petty about it – I was like, no, if you’re going to get your licence, then I’m going to get mine. And I actually ended up being a much better rider than him, I got way harder into it than him. And anyway, he’s long gone now…”

What hasn’t gone and what Remmi says will never leave her, is her Kawasaki W800 and her love of motorcycling. And it was the reason why she responded to a friend’s 2016 Facebook post asking if there were any women interested in going motorcycle camping.

“I was one of the girls who turned up,” she says. “There was probably 30 of us, just a quick overnighter at this campsite with no bathroom facilities, and it was the best! We had so much fun. It was really, really, good.”

So good, in fact, that a second event was organised, and when a woman rode from interstate to join the overnight event then held on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the appetite for a female-inclusive motorcycle rally became clear.

In February 2017, the first official Sheilas Shakedown was held in the Yarra Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne. With the groundbreaking nature of such an event came what Remmi describes as “a really powerful energy”. So powerful, she remembers, that she felt she had no choice but to continue hosting the event.

“We just had to do it,” says Remmi, who used her experience working in film and television to turn it from an overnight campout into the well-organised event it is today. 

“It was amazing, it was just so fresh at the time. There were no other events of that ilk that were female-only, but with that real motorcycle rock’n’roll vibe,” she says. “All these women were turning up, they were getting a sense of feeling important, that this was for them. For some women, this was the first time they’d felt that.”

But despite the joyous revelry the event clearly brings to so many, it’s not all beer and skittles for Remmi in terms of pulling the thing together, but it’s something she feels a responsibility to uphold for the almost 1000 participants who turn up each year.  

“To be honest with you, it’s no secret that event management isn’t always a blast – I think Forbes magazine listed event management as one of the top-five most stressful jobs in the world; it’s a tough gig,” she says. “I don’t mean to sound all weirdly godly or spiritual, but it was sort of like, I’ve been given a task. This was just something that I was given because I can do it – and it needed to happen.”

Not your run-of-the-mill female and gender-diverse get-together, Sheilas Shakedown is a three-day festival of motorcycling, vintage cars, tattooing, motorcycle games, dancing, drinking, yahooing and sometimes even sleeping. But most of all, ‘Sheilas’, as it’s referred to by most, is a safe, inclusive and supportive space for women, trans and gender-diverse people to celebrate a communal love for motorcycling that’s immersive, liberating and empowering. 

It’s for those reasons that Remmi is constantly working to strike a balance between growing it into an event large enough to accommodate the participants and the female and gender-diverse small-business owners who wish to support Sheilas, and not allowing it to become so big that it turns mainstream. She wants to ensure she nurtures the subculture nature of the event. 

“I do like to keep it somewhat sacred and underground. You know, we have had media attention and that’s great, but if the morning show on Channel 7 or Nine or whatever said, ‘can we come do a piece?’ The answer would be no. 

“It’s a niche event and we just like to keep it in that special and sacred space.”

It’s a sentiment that Victorian MP and regular Sheilas attendee Rachel Payne couldn’t agree more with. In a speech to the Victorian Legislative Council on the eve of the 2024 International Women’s Day, she described Sheilas Shakedown as “an incredibly empowering and inclusive space… where difference is valued”.  

“Sheilas Shakedown has built a phenomenal community where women feel equal, free of bias and stereotypes – truly an inclusive space. But that’s about all I can tell you about that sacred space,” she smiled. “Because whatever happens at Sheilas, stays at Sheilas.”

For some, it’s difficult to process how a so-called inclusive event can effectively prohibit the attendance of 50 percent of the population, but it’s not a topic Remmi has any interest addressing.

“To be honest with you, it just hasn’t been an important enough voice to respond to,” she says. “The thing is, no one’s wrong in how they feel. If someone feels we’re discriminating, that’s fine – they’re allowed to feel like that. It’s like, if you don’t feel comfortable, just don’t come. We’re not going to change. It’s more that this is just what it is – and that’s okay. And if it’s not okay with you, that’s alright as well.”

One memorable experience Remmi is willing to talk about is the time two attendees sprung a surprise wedding during a Sheilas weekend. 

“It was this huge surprise communal event,” she recalls. “They walked the aisle – which was made when the celebrants got everyone to line up – then they walked the aisle to the Nutbush and then they got married up on the stage. And then when it was finished, they’re like, ‘okay let’s all do the Nutbush!’ It was super corny and fun. And everyone was crying and hugging. But it was just super fun – a really connecting moment that just felt so needed.” 

Which essentially sums up the entire ethos of Sheilas Shakedown, of why it was launched, why it has grown to be so successful and why it’s thriving in an era when even decades-old festivals aren’t surviving. 

“We’re essentially living in the golden years of female motorcycle culture,” says Remmi. “It’s never been this strong or prevalent before – ever.”

And while AMCN can break the news that Sheilas will take a one-year hiatus in 2025 to allow Remmi the time to deal with some personal affairs close to home, the 2026 event will mark the 10-year anniversary of Sheilas Shakedown and there’s plans afoot to ensure it’s thrown the party it deserves. 

“So the idea last year was to start doing two a year. I was going to do one in Queensland and keep the same one going in Victoria, and that’s still a possibility down the track,” she says. “But 2026 will be 10 years since the first one, so the plan is to throw a big 10-year party and that will be at a new location.”

And if you’re eligible to attend and haven’t yet experienced the colourful, raucous inclusivity that is Sheilas, keep a weekend free in February 2026. Because, according to Remmi, everyone’s first is always the most memorable.

“Even some of my closest friends who have come every year talk about their first Sheilas and it’s just like, it’s just different energy,” she says. “It’s completely different to any other space that you’ve been in – and it just blows everyone away.”