Photo by Jeanne Ciasullo

Magnify

Eight months ago, 23 year-old Katy hopped on the back of her husband’s bike for fun. It didn’t take her long to decide that she would rather drive; she bought her own sport bike the next day. Wanting to get in touch with other women with a passion for riding, she started Chicks with Sport Bikes, a group of 13 women from ages 18 to 50 who take on the road together. “It’s like a girls’ day out,” she says. Katy owns Pure Women’s Fitness, but doesn’t promote the fact that she rides, since riding can be viewed as unfeminine. She realizes that many women are intimidated to ride sport bikes because they’re considered dangerous. Although this new mom does like to rev it up and go pretty fast, she emphasizes that her group rides safely. “We can’t live in fear of what people think about women doing what is considered a male sport,” she says.