RG+A's Blog
Born to be Wild!
A few months ago I signed up for a motorcycle class. I’ve always wanted to learn to drive a bike, and in Pennsylvania, the class is free. So, what did I have to lose? You’re thrown in a classroom for three weeknights, and then the instructors put you on a little 250cc put-put bikes over the weekend. At the end of it, you get a shiny new motorcycle license (provided you pass the written and driving exams at the end). It was a blast!
The first day of the class, we went around the room and introduced ourselves. About a third of the way through the introductions, I sat up and really started keeping track of who was with me. I noticed that I was the anomaly – a college-educated 24-year old with an office job who had never been on a motorcycle before. In a class of 30:
- Two-thirds had been on a motorcycle before and were either renewing their license or taking the class to get a break on their insurance.
- Fewer than half were over the age of 50 (and many of them admitted they were learning to ride as part of their “midlife crisis”).
- Half of the class were either current or former military.
- Every single woman in the class (I believe there were nine) was a nurse, who “knew firsthand the risks of motorcycle riding from their jobs and wanted to learn the safe way to do it.” And of those nine women, half were there with their husbands, supporting them in their midlife crisis.
