Motorcycle Mamas: Increasing number of female riders heading out to the highway

Sisters Gina Tyler, left, and Kristie Haun are general managers of Ed's Cycles in Cleveland. Tyler started riding on a motorcycle similar to this 1974 Yamaha when she was four-years-old. Haun began riding later in life.
Sisters Gina Tyler, left, and Kristie Haun are general managers of Ed's Cycles in Cleveland. Tyler started riding on a motorcycle similar to this 1974 Yamaha when she was four-years-old. Haun began riding later in life.
photo Sisters Gina Tyler, left, and Kristie Haun are general managers of Ed's Cycles in Cleveland. Tyler started riding on a motorcycle similar to this 1974 Yamaha when she was four-years-old. Haun began riding later in life.

If You Go

What: Ride Her Way Women's Garage Party. When: 2-6 p.m. Saturday, May 9. Where: Thunder Creek Harley-Davidson, 7720 Lee Highway. Admission: $10. Reservations: RSVP at 423-892-4888 or thundercreekharley.com; space is limited. Women on bikes According to 2012 stats from the Motorcycle Industry Council, the industry trade group that tracks the number of women in motorcycling: * Nearly 25 percent of all motorcyclists are female. * About 6.7 million women are motorcycle operators, which means they can ride one regardless of whether they own one. * The estimated number of female motorcycle operators increased 35 percent from 2003 to 2012. * The estimated number of motorcycles owned by females increased 20 percent from 2009 to 2012.

JoAnn Early's jet black motorcycle helmet is bedazzled with crystals that sparkle like the Milky Way in the night sky, a perfect accessory for a woman who logs in considerable night riding on her Harley-Davidson Road Glide.

The Rome, Ga., resident visited Chattanooga's Thunder Creek Harley-Davidson dealership Sunday as she planned her next vacation: a 2,808-mile ride up the East Coast, crossing from Maine into Canada's New Brunswick then Nova Scotia.

She clips her long red hair into a black-leather ponytail holder and her vest is adorned with a 100,000-mile patch although she's logged more than that. Another patch shaped like a USA map on the back of her vest has green-colored states to indicate where she's been.

"There's no comparison for what you can see and experience compared to being enclosed inside a car," she says. "I rode from Georgia to Oregon, Washington, then to the Canadian Yukons by myself."

Early's biker-chick panache could be an advertisement for International Female Ride Day on Saturday. And she maintains that, on cross-country trips, backroads are safer for female motorcyclists than interstates are for female car drivers. Not necessarily from the standpoint of being hit by another vehicle, but from the standpoint of being hit on by local scuzzballs. In all her trips, the only time she recalls feeling scared was in Louisiana when a vehicle pulled up next to her at a deserted red light; the guys inside and their remarks radiated a creepy "The Hills Have Eyes" vibe, but she shook it off.

Riders like Early help drive a new post-recession trend that prompted Harley-Davidson to make a startling announcement this spring. Its "outreach customers" -- meaning those who aren't yet motorcycle lovers, a category that includes women of all ages, millennials, blacks and Hispanics -- were buying motorcycles at a faster rate than core customers -- white men over age 35, Harley said.

Thunder Creek General Manager Keith Holden estimates that one-third of his customers for lighter-weight bikes are female, and women comprise about 20 percent of his customers for all bikes of all sizes. And younger women, including his daughters, ages 14 and 21, are considering motorcycle purchases.

photo One of the most popular motorcycle tours Michelle Evans conducts for Copperhead Lodge guests encircles three gorgeous waterfalls including this one, Whitewater Falls near Highlands, N. C.

On May 9, his dealership will host its annual Women's Garage Party where women can learn about the different types of Harleys and try the Jump Start motorcycle simulator to get comfortable with riding -- at least in the virtual world. For veteran women riders, there will be workshops on how to pack tightly for long trips and what gear is best for which weather.

In Blairsville, Ga., Copperhead Lodge co-owners Michelle Evans and her husband, Anthony Cassulo, welcome women's biker clubs and solo travelers who choose motorcycles over cars. Their resort is a motorcycle magnet nestled in the mountains near the Ocoee River, about 16 miles from Blue Ridge, Ga. Evans acts as a guide for motorcycle tours that she has mapped out along backroads.

In honor of International Female Ride Day, Evans will guide a motorcycle tour she calls The Gauntlet, a 133-mile loop to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia. Evans has ridden street bikes since 1999 and dirt bikes since she was a kid. On just about any weekend, she is guiding lodge guests on motorcycle tours, including one called The Dragon, a tangle of twists along Highway 129 that includes 318 curves within 11 miles.

"It takes a lot of concentration," Evans says, laughing.

Weekend tours are so popular at the lodge, flower and jewelry vendors rent spaces on the property to sell their wares to the ladies. On a recent Friday, Sharon Penne was working in the Origami Owl tent, arranging the trays and shelves of glittering customizable jewelry chains, beads and pendants as they returned from the day's ride to three waterfalls.

"I've owned 14 motorcycles in the past 20 years and right now I'm riding a 1989 Honda Hawk GT," Penne says. "I've been a member of Women on Wheels and gone on their road trips forever.

photo Copperhead Lodge near Blue Ridge, Ga., was built as a motorcycle riders' paradise with covered parking for the bikes and a swimming pool and outdoor fire pit for riders. Michelle Evans and her husband bought the lodge in 2009 and host several women's biker clubs. The 12,500 square-foot lodge has posh guest suites, and there are log cabin rentals with individual garages a short walk away.

"I bought my first motorcycle when I decided I didn't want to always be sitting behind my ex-husband in the bitch seat. Yes, sadly, it's still called that. But since those days I have convinced one boyfriend to sit behind me in that seat and not many women can brag that they've done that."

Like Evans, Gina Tyler is a long-time rider who runs a motorcycle-centric business. She and her sister, Kristie Haun, own Ed's Cycles, the Yamaha dealership in Cleveland, Tenn. Their great-grandfather founded the motorcycle store in 1927, then handed it down to his son.

"But when my Papaw retired, none of the sons wanted to take it over, so my Mama said she would," Tyler explains. "When she retired, my sister and I took over. We have a lot of female customers, including an 80-year old woman who looks great in her black leather jacket.

"You do have to concentrate more and look out for other people when you're on a motorcycle, I guess, but really people should be doing that driving a car," she says.

"On a motorcycle, you don't just notice the sunsets, you feel them sweeping over you across the sky. You feel the moisture from a lake or river or creek before you even see it. You smell the honeysuckle and flowers. You do not get anything close to all that in a car."

She recommends that women who have never ridden nor owned a motorcycle take the safety course taught at Chattanooga State Community College to see whether they feel comfortable riding a bike on the highway. Motorcycles are supplied to class attendees so "women can get a feel of how the wind will be when they ride, learn to balance and figure out how to operate a ride that isn't fully automatic," Tyler says.

Tyler grew up riding. Her grandfather took a small, lightweight motorcycle and altered the throttle so his 4-year-old granddaughter couldn't go fast. Then he plopped Tyler on the seat and let her ride in circles in his enormous back yard.

"He attached a little bell that I rang when I wanted him to come lift me off the bike," Tyler says, smiling.

She married a motorcyclist husband, and they know from first-hand experience that motorcycle road trips can be romantic. One of her favorite treks began as a simple weekend ride that was supposed to last an hour or so. But they had so much fun they kept riding all the way to Gatlinburg. Her husband suggested they spend the night there at a hotel.

"I was a little shocked and said, "Honey, we didn't bring any clothes, so what will they think when we check in?" she remembers. "My husband said, 'They'll think we're having fun.'"

Contact Lynda Edwards at ledwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6391.

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