Angie Fusco had been a passenger for 40 years when she decided
it was time to rule the road on her own. She
’d just watched a Discovery Channel program called “Motorcycle
Women” and had set herself a new goal: to ride down San Benito
Street in Hollister on her own during the July 4 weekend. The
56-year-old retired J.C. Penny employee had raised her family, had
seen the births of her grandchildren bu
t still felt that her life would be missing something if she
didn’t experience the call of the open road on her own. In 2003,
Fusco and her husband walked onto the grounds at House of Thunder
Harley-Davidson in Morgan Hill and purchased a brand new
anniversary edition Sportster.
Angie Fusco had been a passenger for 40 years when she decided it was time to rule the road on her own. She’d just watched a Discovery Channel program called “Motorcycle Women” and had set herself a new goal: to ride down San Benito Street in Hollister on her own during the July 4 weekend.
The 56-year-old retired J.C. Penny employee had raised her family, had seen the births of her grandchildren but still felt that her life would be missing something if she didn’t experience the call of the open road on her own.
In 2003, Fusco and her husband walked onto the grounds at House of Thunder Harley-Davidson in Morgan Hill and purchased a brand new anniversary edition Sportster.
Ten years ago, the story would have been something out of the ordinary, but women are a growing segment of the market share for motorcycle enthusiasts, both on the road and off.
And unlike their male counterparts, who have traditionally entered the market with small bikes and worked their way up to premium brands, women are starting out at the top of their game, entering the market with large luxury models that boast plenty of flash and creature comfort, according to Dan Stern, owner of House of Thunder.
In 1985, just two percent of Harley-Davidson’s sales were to women. In 2003, 10 percent of the company’s nation-wide business – roughly 23,000 bikes – went to women. That figure is also in step with sales from other brands, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.
The bikes aren’t cheap. A Harley can range in cost from $10,000 to $25,000, said Stern. And a customized bike like the kind Greg Williams of Strictly Wicked Cycles in Gilroy can whip up will range from $25,000 to $60,000.
At House of Thunder, Stern averages 20 percent of sales to women, he said.
“If a couple comes through the door, chances are they’re shopping for the woman,” said Stern. “And if a woman comes in on her own, we don’t assume she’s here shopping for her husband.”
The Fuscos had Stern’s shop install a custom engine and finished off the bike with a third wheel because Fusco wasn’t comfortable holding up a bike on her own at stops.
“Every weekend it was like learning to drive all over again,” said Fusco, who lives in Salinas, but rides with the Hollister-based Gypsies motorcycle group. “At first, I just went up and down a few blocks in my neighborhood. I’m sure my neighbors thought I was crazy, but then it was getting the bike out on busy streets, and then out on the highway.”
That’s not where you’d find Morgan Hill resident Susana Azevedo, though. She lost her uncle in a motorcycle crash, but cannot resist the thrill of offroading.
“It’s not about riding on the road,” said Azevedo. “It’s about the cars that are on the road. I think it’s a bit safer to be away from that. Still, out here you’re going to get hurt, one day or another.”
Azevedo began riding on a friend’s small dirt bike, when she was invited out for a weekend of motorcycling. The 26-year old veterinary technician had purchased a horse two years before, and figured that if she could stay upright in the saddle, she could ride a dirt bike.
Six months later, she bought herself a 2003 Honda XR100.
“I crashed once, and I paid for the damages on their bike, but I felt like I would be more comfortable on a bike of my own if I was going to crash it,” said Azevedo.
Though her mother doesn’t really care for her involvement in the sport, Azevedo now goes offroading on a regular basis. She rides with another female friend, but said most of what she sees off the highway is a family activity.
“It’ll be a father who rides, who brings their son or daughter,” said Azevedo. “Usually the women are either young – between the ages of 10 and 14 or 15 – or older – between 30 and 40.”
It was paternal influence just like Azevedo described that first got Brooke Hodges onto a bike. Her father loved motorcycles and decided to buy two for his daughters, said Heidi Hodges, Brooke’s mom.
“Her dad has raced since he was a teenager, and he didn’t have any sons,” said Heidi. “When she was little, he started again, and he said, ‘Let’s buy the girls bikes!’”
The Hodges’ eldest daughter had no interest in the sport, but Brooke took to the rumble of a motorcycle naturally and was unafraid to take risks. In her first race, at the tender age of five, she placed second.
“I was scared and it was raining,” said Brooke, who is now two weeks shy of her 13th birthday. “I was in first place, but I crashed right before the finish line and someone else crossed it before me.”
Undaunted, the little girl continued to race and train, starting with barn burners and working her way through motocross and flat track events.
These days, Brooke prefers to concentrate on cross-country racing, which tests endurance and skill over courses that average 10 or 11 miles per lap. Along the way, participants must weave through forested areas, decide their own paths up and over hills, and dodge large rocks in pursuit of victory.
“When you’re doing the kind of racing I’m doing, it’s normal to crash,” said Brooke. “Usually it happens at least two times in a race, so part of the challenge by the end is that your bike is so heavy to pick up.”
In her youth races, contestant fields average around 100 kids at each of the 15 races throughout the year. And to challenge herself more, Brooke also races in the adult division, where a women’s field can average 300 riders.
“It’s not unusual to have someone going to the hospital at every race,” said Heidi, “but this winter was Brooke’s first time.”
In what promised to be just another jolt to the bike, Brooke slammed into a rock and hit an embankment on Nov. 20, 2004. She snapped her humerus just below the shoulder, breaking off the ball joint that holds the arm in place.
Undeterred, Brooke was back at the racetrack in nine weeks, and despite missing two races during her convalescence, she still placed 12th in her racing division for Northern California. She was one of three girls who made the top 15, and will have the privilege of wearing her rank as her bike number for the next year.
“I hope to keep racing and to keep getting faster,” said Brooke. Her next goal is to be moved up into the adult division, a task that should not take too much longer considering the number of trophies she’s racked up.
“I rotate them,” said Brooke. “They’re in my room, all over the house and in the barn. Whenever I get a new one, I look for one I don’t really like or one that’s too small and I rotate them out to the barn.”
Sounds like the boys had better watch out.
