From near death to embracing the Biker Life

It is early November when I meet Ann Linmyr on a motorcycle trip to Portugal. In front of me sits a woman brimming with energy, radiating warmth. Perhaps it is because just a few years ago, she was on life support, with doctors unsure whether she would survive, that she now seizes life with such passion.

Ann’s journey with motorcycles began years ago. For many years, she enjoyed riding pillion on her husband’s bike. But in 2019, her life took a drastic turn when she contracted pneumonia and developed sepsis, which spread throughout her body. She was placed in an induced coma, hovering between life and death for five days. Ann pulled through, but when the doctors finally woke her, she was no longer the same person.

“When they woke me up and I tried to sit up, I had no strength left. I couldn’t even lift myself up,” Ann recalls. “I needed support to walk and had to wear a belt just to get around.”

We are sitting on a rooftop terrace, the sun has just set, and the warm evening air is filled with the hum of conversation from other travellers. Ann smiles often as she speaks, despite recounting the traumatic experiences of that nightmare year. We are in southern Portugal and have been out riding motorcycles all day. Ann shares how she was on long-term sick leave and had home care assistance when she finally returned home from the hospital. It was as if she had to start over completely. Initially, she couldn’t walk on her own and needed a walker. She also lost her voice because her vocal cords had been damaged. But then began the long road to recovery.

“That entire year, I chased experiences,” Ann says with a serious tone. “I was on sick leave for a full year and wanted to be active all the time. I travelled to Prague and went to Rhodes with my daughter.”

Ann and her husband Magnus went on a motorcycle holiday with friends. She had always loved sitting on the back of the bike, but then Magnus made a surprising suggestion: she should apply for Svedea’s scholarship to get her motorcycle licence.

“At first, I thought, ‘Oh my God, you must be crazy! There’s no way I could do that—I haven’t even ridden a moped,’” she says, laughing. But the idea had been planted. Without telling her husband, she sent in an application. Though she didn’t receive the scholarship, the thought of getting her own motorcycle licence had taken hold.

In December that year, she bought her first motorcycle—a 125cc—to start small. She rode it through the winter, and when spring arrived, she enrolled in a riding school, where she trained on a BMW F 700 GS. Initially, she was doubtful about riding such a large bike.

“There I was, in the cold and rain of early spring, riding a big bike—and I did it,” Ann says.

In 2020, Magnus lost his job, meaning they suddenly had all the time in the world to practise together. The small bike was soon replaced by her very own 700 GS. “The feeling of riding on my own is magical,” Ann says. “The freedom, the control—it’s an extension of my retirement. I retired in 2020, and just being able to ride whenever I want is absolutely amazing.”

She faced tough months of training, struggling with multiple failed driving tests. It took her eight attempts before she finally earned her motorcycle licence.

“It was because I was so incredibly nervous,” she explains, revealing how deep-seated doubts from childhood resurfaced. “People used to tell me I wasn’t good enough when I was younger, and that stayed with me. It made me feel less capable than I actually was.”

Now, two years later, she still vividly remembers the moment she returned to the Swedish Transport Agency after her successful test and removed her learner vest.

“I looked at my husband, and we both burst into tears.”

She has no regrets about waiting until later in life to get her licence, but she also feels there is so much more she wants to experience. Since earning her licence, she hasn’t just completed several advanced riding courses; she has also ridden on full-sized racetracks with the Swedish Motorcyclists’ Association (SMC).

“My first track day in 2023 was incredible,” Ann says. “This year, I’ve ridden two days at Gelleråsen, one day at Knutstorp, and another at Rudskogen in Norway.”

In other words, she is keeping busy. This trip to Portugal is her 70th birthday present to herself. As if the challenge of riding abroad wasn’t enough, she has also upgraded to a bigger bike for this adventure, tackling the roads on a BMW R 1300 GS.

“I never thought I could do this,” she admits. “But you grow as a person. I turn 70 at the end of November, and this was my gift to myself. I compare myself to others, and I don’t feel 70. I wish more older people would take on challenges that make them feel younger.”

Despite coming so close to death, she wouldn’t change what happened. It was, in a way, a wake-up call. “It’s an euphoric feeling to have made it through. And to anyone wondering if it’s possible to get a motorcycle licence later in life, I say: Take the chance! It’s never too late.”