Adventure. Independence. Camaraderie. Marriage proposals.

The reasons to ride are many for the growing number of female bikers in Maine.

“Every trip is the best just because I’m rolling through life on two wheels taking in the awesome sights and smells,” says Lewiston resident Rebecca Westleigh, 36, who has had her motorcycle license for more than 10 years.

“I really love taking off and riding to camp by myself. Something about it makes me feel strong and independent,” she adds. “I do like to ride with other people, but I also have no problem throwing my headphones in my helmet and putting on a few hundred solo miles.”

Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicle statistics at maine.gov show that nearly 7,500 more Maine women hold motorcycle endorsements than in 2000. (The number of licensed men has dropped by just about 8,000 in the same 10 years.) For the 18,476 Maine women now holding motorcycle licenses — and this doesn’t count the many of both genders who choose to ride indefinitely with permits — what draws them to two wheels and the open road?

What’s the allure?

For some, it started when they were young.

Tanya Oliver, 43, of Topsham, said it was always a dream of hers to one day get her license and a bike. “I’ve always been a biker chick,” she said. “I believe it started when my older cousin gave me a ride on his Honda when I was 7 years old. I always thought Neil Young’s ‘Unknown Legend’ would be a nice way to live life. Besides, watching a woman on her own motorcycle is a beautiful thing. I only wish I could have done it a lot sooner.”

Westleigh said riding has always been in her family; her mother, father and brother all have their licenses. “I remember riding with my dad as a kid and enjoying it,” she said. “My motivation was my brother,” she continued. “In my early 20s he hooked me up with a ’87 Honda Hurricane 600, in pieces. We got it together and going and I learned how to ride on it. It was a great first bike. I didn’t feel bad the few times I dropped it.”

For others, their husbands played important roles in getting their own bikes, but not necessarily as you’d expect.

Lewiston great-great-grandmother Pauline Parshall, 73, got her 450 Suzuki when she was in her early 50s. She rode it until she broke her ankle — not motorcycling — and had to stop. Her reason for getting her own bike? “I don’t like to ride double. Even on our snowmobiles. He (her husband, Jack) is kinda crazy,” she said. “I prefer my own speed.”

Melanie Jandreau, 57, of Lewiston, has been riding almost 20 years and currently operates a Harley 2004 Heritage Softail Classic with a faring addition. She started on the back of her husband Donald’s bike, but “when he decided to go without me one day,” she said, “I went to the dealership and bought my first bike. I asked him later to go pick it up for me and teach me to ride.” She got the basics from him and then took the United Bikers of Maine rider safety course.

Most women bikers love the independence and open-air freedom that having their own bikes offers.

It’s about “being on the open road, wind in the hair, not really caring where you end up, and the people you meet along the way,” said Jandreau.

“It’s the sound of the bike and the wind in your hair,” said Audrey Coffin, 42, of Rumford, who said she has always loved motorcycles. She was finally able to get her own, a pink Harley 883 Sportster. “I can’t imagine not having one. Love it!” she said. And an added perk to a pink bike, says Coffin, who has two grown sons: “The pink bike is great . . . they never want to ride it!”

Like Coffin, the love that Dixfield’s Shelley Bronish, 45, has for solo biking is in part due to her bike itself. She had lots of girlfriends who rode, but she was always on the back of her husband Ed’s bike — until her husband found the “sweetest, breast-cancer-awareness pink” Yamaha V-Star 650. Things took off for her after that.

The challenges

The inherent risks of motorcycle riding are well known: the vulnerability of an open vehicle, having to support and balance the weight of your own machine, the dangers presented by road hazards and other motorists, to name a few.

Oliver, who got her license at the REGROUP Basic Rider Course in Topsham last July, said that the particular challenge she feels female riders face is “being sure you ride a motorcycle that you can handle safely and responsibly.”

For Bronish, the challenge to going solo was mental. She was nervous about getting on a bike. Her husband convinced her to try, but when she got to the bottom of the hill they live on, “I cried,” she said. Determined not to be conquered, she took the hands-on course and got her permit. “It’s all about self-confidence,” she said. “I didn’t have it when I started. I’m just proud of myself!”

Confidence building also has been an issue for Parshall. Her husband wanted to ride to the top of Mt. Washington. “I said I’d wait at the bottom,” she said. Her concern was that she wouldn’t be able to reach the ground if she had to stop, because it was so steep. She was also worried about the sand and rocks. Jack convinced her to try. At the top, they caught the attention of a large group of Canadian tourists riding double. The women on the back of their husbands’ bikes “were all surprised that a woman did it,” she said.

Westleigh’s comments about the challenges women operators face are perhaps a bit more unique to her gender. “I really thought about this and, honestly, the only thing I can come up with is the fact that no matter what I do, my hair will always look bad when I take my helmet off,” she said. “Also, being a single mom and finding the time to ride can be a little difficult when your son won’t get on the back.”

The adventures

For Parshall, many of the challenges she faced went hand in hand with her best adventures. “It was fun, but there were dangerous times and close calls,” she said. “I was very careful, quick on the reflexes.”

She and her husband rode to Pennsylvania four or five times. “I loved it,” she said. “I was pretty game.” Jack used to tow a trailer to carry their clothes and food. Their lunches would be picnics eaten in cemeteries, drinking water from the spouts there. One time the couple rode the 725-mile trip in one day. “He couldn’t believe I did it!”she said.

They rode from about 4 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. with a few breaks. “I really, really liked it, it was fun!” Her only complaint about the marathon trip was that it bothered her arm muscles from shifting and holding the handlebars, as, Parshall said, “I wasn’t 20 years old anymore!” 

Bronish, the newest rider in this story, also has a taste for adventure. She has been riding for two months and was going for her license this past week — but not telling anybody which day. Despite her relative inexperience, Bronish rode to Laconia for Bike Week earlier this month. “I held my own,” she said proudly. She feels that she gets more attention as a woman rider, especially with a pink bike. In Laconia, an officer stopped traffic “just so I could get through on my pink bike,” she laughed.

Jandreau has ridden many miles over the years — “I have had fairly close encounters with deer, skunk, ground hogs, bear, buffalo, crows and still love it!” — but she said she took her best trip last summer. She and a friend from New Brunswick, Canada, rode to Cody, Wyo., for a convention. “It was a 6,500-mile trip that took us through some of the prettiest, winding mountains and plains that this country and Canada have to offer,” she said. “It was fantastic!”

In 2003, Jandreau joined the Motor Maids, the oldest women’s riding club in the United States and Canada. “I found it to be so different from other riding clubs,” she said. “The rules are simple. You have to own and ride your own bike, go to three conventions in 10 years, and have fun. I have met and ridden with some of the most amazing women. Some ladies will celebrate riding for 65 years at this next convention.”

Biking together

Riding with a group and socializing with like-minded bikers is part of the fun for many women.

Bronish and Coffin both ride with a group of about 15 members, nearly all female, who have been together about three years. The group makes the trek to Roy’s All-Steak Hamburger near Lake Auburn on Route 4 in Auburn for Thursday night bike nights. “I love riding with the group and all alone,” Bronish said.

Coffin said for her next adventure she is looking forward to going to the United Bikers of Maine statewide party at the fairgrounds in North New Portland Aug. 19-21. 

Later this year, Jandreau will be riding with some of the Motor Maids for an International Association of Fire Fighters tribute ride to Ground Zero on Sept. 11. “I am so honored to be able to do this,” she said.

Speaking of feeling honored, as for that marriage proposal . . . that funny experience belongs to Westleigh. “I was at the gas station filling up my 2006 Suzuki Hayabusa GSXR1300 last summer and this guy comes out,” she said. “He says ‘Is that your bike?’ and I answer ‘Yes.’ And then, just as if it would be any common response a person might give, he looks at me and says ‘Marry me.’ I couldn’t help but laugh and get on my bike and ride away.”

Westleigh added, “I think women riders are pretty well accepted. No one has ever given me trouble because I am a woman. As far as it being a man/woman thing, I feel like most guys respect me because I ride. I respect all riders, no matter who you are or what you ride.”

— Writer Corey LaFlamme has been riding her Yamaha TW200 on the road and into the woods for a year and earned her license in October.

Collidin’ with the very

Air she breathes

— Neil Young, “Unknown Legend”

______

“I always thought Neil Young’s ‘ Unknown Legend’ would be a nice way to live life. Besides watching a woman on her own motorcycle is a beautiful thing.” — Tanya Oliver, 43, of Topsham

Thinking of riding?

Women riders share their observations and wisdom.

Melanie Jandreau, Lewiston, has 20 years of experience.

The advice I would give women that are just starting out is talk to other women. Dealers are leaning more to women than when I started and that is great. PLEASE take the rider safety course. I see women that learn to ride with their husbands, boyfriends, etc., and are learning old bad habits, like riding side by side. I also recommend taking the experienced rider course every five years or so to refresh yourself. It’s amazing how many bad habits you can pick up along the way and not even know it. ENJOY the road.

Molly McGill, 29, of Lisbon, has had her license for three years but “grew up on the back of her father’s bike.”

There are so many women riders out there nowadays. There’s nothing taboo or scandalous about it like when motorcycling first became popular in the 1900s.

Maybe even more importantly, it isn’t anything a woman can’t do. You start with a small bike (she rides a 1992 Honda CB250L) and like any other motorcyclist — male or female — you trade, swap and move up in size. You find the bike that’s comfortable for you and when you’re looking for more power, a bigger bike, something nicer, you assess your options and go for it. If you start with a motorcycle that is too large for you or too powerful, it can be very dangerous.

If you are hesitant, take the full weekend safety course. They cover everything including putting you on small bikes and having you drive obstacles (over boards of wood, in figure eights, sharp corners, emergency stopping, etc.) so that by the end of the course, you are very comfortable.

And I always, always, always wear the proper gear. Although I know I’m not the “cool chick” with hair waving in the wind and a tank top on, it gives me a sense of security. And, heck, what guy doesn’t dig a girl taking off a helmet and waving her locks around?

Diane Clairmont, 53, of Turner, grew up riding mini bikes (she still has the first bike she bought: an off/on road 1972 Benelli 65cc) and got her license in 1992. She now rides a 2007 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Patriot Edition and a 2010 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited and, along with her husband, John, is licensed to teach the Motorcycle Safety Foundation certified rider course.

Back when I started it was an oddity to see a woman riding her own bike, never mind a Harley, and we worked really hard to develop respect from the guys. I remember one particular HOG (Harley Owners Group) ride we went on and along the way we were joined by a friend of a friend, someone I didn’t know. I took some major crap from him and listened to “women only belong on the back of a bike” one too many times. By the end of that ride he had a new-found respect for women riders and we joke about it to this day. During that ride we encountered moose, a muddy road, torrential rain and I was sick as could be with an allergic reaction to something I had eaten. Nothing stopped me, I was responsible for me, I plugged on, controlled the bike, had a great time and earned his respect.

Join a group of people who like to ride, that way you’ll always have someone to ride with. There are many different groups to choose from. We are blessed in Maine to have the United Bikers of Maine; if you have a Harley you can join the Harley Owners Group and also be a member of Ladies of Harley; or if you want to join an all-women’s group, the Motor Maids have been around for 71 years. We ride all makes and models of bikes.

Always continue to practice, practice, practice, and take motorcycle refresher courses. The more you know the better it gets!

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