Biker Girls are Increasingly Taking to the Open Roads
When Rose Hyer was diagnosed with breast cancer so advanced that doctors gave her only a month to live, the single mom decided to finally start living. The spunky hairdresser, then 39, was tired of "being a passenger" in life. She moved to Florida, took up body building and bought her own motorcycle - a metallic blue Suzuki Intruder 800.
Hyer is one of thousands of women across the country finding camaraderie in women's motorcycle clubs. From the Chrome Divas in Columbia, S.C., and the Women on Wheels in Lincoln, Neb., to the Throttle Queens in Landover, Md., and the Motor Maids in Erie, Mich., women are increasingly taking to the open roads.
"I didn't have control of the cancer, there's nothing you can do, so riding is something you have control of, " said Hyer, now 54.
Women bikers aren't your stereotypical bar-brawling, tattooed, leather jacket biker chicks. The new wave of female riders are soccer moms, even grandmas, corporate attorneys and nurses with an average income of $55, 850, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.
The number of women who own their own bikes is on the rise - jumping 36% to 635, 000 between 1998 to 2003, according to the most recent numbers from the Motorcycle Industry Council, a trade group based in Irvine, Calif. At the famous online website Biker Girls On Wheels , it has more than 320, 000 female riders. Sixty percent of the members are women riders.
Manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson and Ultra Motorcycles are capitalizing on the trend, designing bikes with lighter frames, custom fit gears and lower seats.
"It's pretty much been a men's market, but a lot of ladies really like riding motorcycles and I think they feel left out so that's why we created something just for women, " Ultra Motorcycles sales director Dan Houston said of his company's Groundpounder and California Kid models.
At Harley-Davidson, motorcycles sales to women are at an all-time high, jumping from 600 in 1980 to 30, 000 in 2005. Women make up about half of new-rider classes on the test track at Harley-Davidson Orlando, said Tony Cianciotto, marketing manager at Harley Orlando.
"I think for so long women have ridden on the back, but nowadays women are very independent, " Cianciotto said.
The winding roads offer women an escape from crying babies, stressful jobs and high-maintenance relationships. Many female riders plan this week to roll up to Daytona Beach's annual Bike Week, to gab with the thousands of fellow bikers from around the country who gather to scope out the merchandise and ride the test tracks.
"We're definitely seeing a trend in more female riders" showing up at Bike Week, said Kevin Kilian, official for Daytona's chamber of commerce.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com
