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"Good girls gone bad."
by Barbara E. Waters
"Good girls gone bad."The type jumped out at me from the ad in the morning paper. Pictured was a bevy of scantily clad beauties draped
over a pair of motorcycles. The implication of "biker babe" screamed out at me.
Inwardly I sighed.
I have just returned from the American Motorcyclist Association sponsored "2nd Women and Motorcycling Conference" in Athens, Ohio. There I attended workshops aimed at helping women overcome barriers
- physical, mental, etc. - encountered upon entering the motorcycling life. The theme of the conference was "The Road has been Paved - Let's Ride!"
Nearly 700 like-minded women converged on the Ohio University campus. We attended workshops with such titles as "Make Your Bike Fit You", "Trauma & Accident Management", "If it's
Broke, Fix it", "Support Your Sport", and "A Woman's Place is on the Road."
We heard speakers ranging from Karen Davidson of the Harley Davidson family to Barbara Schock, Academy Award winning director, (My Mother Dreams the Satan's Disciples in New York) to Fred Rau from
"Motorcycle Consumer News" and Laura Brengleman, editor of "Motorcycle Tour & Cruiser magazine."
We saw - and took part in - demonstrations on "How to Pick Up a Downed Bike", and "Trials Riding", "Stunt Riding" and Motocross demonstrations. (Did you know that it was really a
woman who did the motorcycle stunts for Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2? Yup - Debbie Evans!)
At one point, Bob Moffitt, Vice President of motorcycle marketing and product management for Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA, encouraged us to not make a mess of motorcyclists image as "we males have done."
Not once during the four days of the conference did I see skimpy, sexy attire on the attendees . . . not even during the street dance party thrown for us by the town of Athens. There was no lifting of shirts,
nor bared breasts sometimes associated with big motorcycle rallies.
There was no "good girls gone bad" attitude among the attendees or the presenters or the vendors. Instead there was a camaraderie among like minded people, both male and female. There was a showing off of
chrome and polish. There was a desire for increased knowledge and support for the sport.
Phone numbers and addresses were shared and contacts were made. A commitment to becoming better riders and ambassadors was made.
And so, while I do not deny anyone the right to advertise in such a way . . . nor do I deny that such an ad turns the crank of many a hot-blooded man . . . I do want to share that there is another side
to the story of "biker women."
We represent, according to Scott Thornton, President and CEO of the AMA, "the brightest hope for the future of motorcycling."
There are approximately 375,000 women motorcycle owners in the United States, which is said to be a conservative estimate. Surveys and data gathered from various media indicate that it is possible that one
in every six motorcyclists in America is female. The average female motorcyclist is between the ages of 34 and 50 and her household income is over $60,000 a year, (from Meeting the United States' Female
Motorcyclist Market: a Survey of Literature Advertisements and Motorcyclists: Janet Spencer).
In Alaska alone there are about 100 women riders whom I have met, ridden with and/or correspond with regularly. And, that is just the tip of the iceberg.
The next time that you pull up next to a bike at a Stop sign or traffic light, look a bit closer. It just might be one of us.
Our goal - not to be known as a Woman Biker or a Woman Member of ______ (name your group), but to be known as a member of a growing group of people - Motorcycle Riders. Come and join us. You will be welcomed
into one of the neatest ways of life we know.
Barbara E. Waters lives in Kenai, Alaska. She has been riding motorcycles since 1994. She is a graduate of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Motorcycle Safety Course and holds a Motorcycle Endorsement. Barbara
is the Director of the Soaring Eagles chapter of Women On Wheels ® a member of the American Motorcyclist Association, the Virago Owners Club and is a wife, mother, grandmother and small business owner.
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