Physical brawn is not a requirement to ride a motorcycle. Local motorcycle dealers agree that the buyer profile is changing. Common in the showroom today are women in their 30s, 40s and 50s. A lot of them rode as passengers with their husbands and boyfriends, says Bill Clymer, owner of Action Cycle and Jet Ski in Marion. Now they want to experience the freedom and exhilaration the motorcycle offers.
Women ride their motorcycles for many of the same reasons men do.
Karol Dietrich of Williamsburg uses her BMW for the daily commute to her job at the University of Iowa. Weekends she reserves for longer rides. Today, in her early 50s, she keeps a photo of her motorcycle on her desk and admits that, yes, she wears a leather jacket. The stereotype of rough, tough motorcycle women has been an obstacle that has kept women from riding. It kept Rachel Johnson off a motorcycle until she met her husband, Ray.