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Biker And Her Pup Are Supporting Young Women By Riding Around The World

Written by: Stephanie Maguire
Stephanie Maguire is a writer for iHeartdogs.com. She loves animals so much that she started her own pet-sitting business in 2017, and goes out of her way to point-out and pet every single dog she sees.Read more
| Published on January 18, 2023

People love to travel with their pets. You can jet away on an airplane with your dog, strap them into the backseat of your car, and even pull them behind you in a trailer while you pedal your bicycle. But it’s not every day that you see a 75-pound German Shepherd sharing the seat of a motorcycle with their mom.  

Almost everyone who passes them does a double-take.

Moxie
Facebook

 Jess Stone, a content creator and businesswoman originally from Canada, is riding around the world on her motorcycle to raise $100K for the global nonprofit Girl Up. Only, she isn’t doing it alone. In fact, she’s sharing the seat with her 75-pound German Shepherd, named Moxie.

The pair left on their epic adventure last March, and have already been on the road together for 10 amazing months. Greg, Jess’s husband, follows behind on his bike, while Jess and Moxie take the lead.

“I am always in the front. I want to go through the obstacles first,” said Jess. 

It was actually after finishing an eight-month long motorcycle trip together, where they traveled from North to South America, that Moxie became an official member of their family. They had recently returned from their trip, and were living in Guatemala at the time. It was love at first sight.

Jess and Moxie
Facebook

Then, once they adopted her, they agreed that traveling without Moxie simply wasn’t an option. But, because Jess was finally feeling comfortable on her bike, they didn’t want to add a trailer or a sidecar. That would change her entire riding experience.

So they did everything they could to include Moxie in their motorcycle travel adventures. Jess booked off-road riding lessons and they even went to the lengths of designing the K9 Moto Cockpit, a motorcycle dog carrier that they manufacture in Guatemala

“Everybody always asks how long it takes to teach your dog how to ride. Honestly, it took Moxie the weekend. It took me a lot longer to feel comfortable having that much weight on the back, because I’d never rode with a passenger,” said Jess.

JessandMoxie
Facebook

They’d originally planned to travel from Guatemala up to the Arctic Ocean and then across to Canada, where they would fly to Spain and then head to Africa. But because of recent economic impact, and a significant rise in travel costs, they were forced to reimagine their route.

They ultimately chose to travel “tip to tip and top to bottom,” and will be making their way from Guatemala to Mexico, then to the United States, and Canada. From there, they’ll travel on to the Arctic Ocean. Then, they will ride to the top of North America, before turning around and heading back towards South America.

How Could That Possibly Be Safe For Moxie?

Moxie rides in RUFFLY’s K9 Moto Cockpit, a motorcycle dog carrier on the back of Jess’s BMW G650GS motorcycle. Moxie is securely harnessed into the motorcycle dog carrier at all times and she wears eye protection.

Want to follow along on their epic adventure?

You can use this route map, which shows their current location. Or, you can follow along on Facebook, and Instagram. Plus, Jess posts new episodes to her YouTube channel every Sunday. 

Featured Image: Facebook