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.”