Romance On the Road

By Francine Russo

After surviving 25 years of marriage and bringing up two kids, Lynn Johnson, 55, and her husband Gary, 56, of Oakdale, on New York's Long Island, wondered what they still had in common. She had a corporate career in banking; he owned a roofing business. "We were going in different directions," she says. Then, five years ago, Lynn encouraged her husband to plunk down $18,000 on a Harley-Davidson Road King Classic. Without hesitation, Lynn jumped on the back. After a while, she opted for her own machine.

Now they journey up to 1,500 miles a year by bike, and their social life revolves around the local HOG (Harley Owners' Group) club. "It's renewed our romance," Gary says.

Remember the midlife-crisis motorcycle: a graying guy brags that he traded in his wife for a Harley-Davidson? That's a bit overblown--or, at least, an exception to the rule. According to a new survey by the Motorcycle Industry Council, 74% of riders older than 50 are married. And the percentage of riders over 50 has risen to 25%, a trend that's likely to continue as boomers age. "Before the boomers," says Tom Watson, marketing director at Harley-Davidson, "older people stopped riding, but boomers have redefined it."

As in so many other areas, boomers' affluence and good health have enabled them to indulge their tastes for activities once seen as the turf of the young. Overwhelmingly, men still buy the motorcycles, but increasingly, boomer wives are hopping on the back or buying their own. And they're having a say in the purchase.

For all the carefree abandon of these older riders, they tend to forsake the noise and vibration of sports bikes. Data from JD Powers show that the median age for sports-bike owners is 30, but for cruisers and touring bikes, which offer more comfort and luxury, it is 45 and 50, respectively. Older riders opt for add-ons besides a comfy seat and a windshield, like a CD player with wraparound stereo and an intercom to keep the couple connected on the bike.

These accessories matter more on long-distance trips, which older riders, with lots of leisure time, take more than younger ones. Watson reports that Harley owners between 45 and 54 average 6,290 road miles a year and those 55 to 64 rack up 6,240, while the 35-to-44 group logs 5,380 and 25-to-34-year-olds average 4,840.

Although it's true that more wives have been coaxed--or have leaped--onto the back, getting "the" bike remains mostly a male dream, one that's typically realized after the last kid's college tuition bill. "My dream all my life was to own a Harley-Davidson," says Mike Becar, 57, who directs a police-training organization in Meridian, Idaho. When his five kids were grown, he bought one. His wife of 30 years, Rene, 59, found it scary at first, but now she's his partner in speed and power. "When he named his bike 'Sylvia,'" she says, laughing, "I felt I'd better go with him."

A BMW was the dream of Don Walters, 50. The retired power-plant operator in Rowlesburg, W.Va., "moped at a picture of it on his screensaver," says his wife Sandy, also 50, a speech therapist. Don spends three days a week caring for Sandy's mom, who has Alzheimer's. As a thank-you, Sandy took out a loan to buy his dream ride. "I just hold on tight," she says, "and hug his waist and feel the wind."

The speed, the thrill and the sense of danger rekindle a love life that often takes a backseat to kids and career. Research shows that "increased heart rate and an adrenaline surge are associated with feelings of love," notes Michael Cunningham, a psychologist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Roaring down the road on a sleek new bike as the engine growls with each gear shift gives some couples another shot at being teenagers in love. They're rebels with 401(k) plans. Most women still ride on the back--"two-up" in motorcycle parlance--which provides the maximum physical closeness and a unique sense of partnership. This is "being one--together," according to Bill Davis, 53, a sales rep in Carlsbad, Calif. "If I am leaning left to turn left and my partner turns right, it can be perilous," he says. "It's like leading when you dance--a wonderful dance."

His wife Christine, 38, a telecommunications operations manager, says riding together is beyond sexy. "With no safety net of metal," she says, "you can only hang on to the person in front of you and put 110% of your trust in him for your life." For Cathy Long, 47, CFO of Spirit Finance Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz., part of the thrill is "being the chick on the back of the bike." Moreover, she says, because the motorcycle is a "guy thing," she relinquishes her usual "control freak" style and lets her husband George, 51, who works in real estate leasing, do all the prep work for road trips.

Others want more control. Increasingly, women who start as passengers are buying their own bikes, with female ownership up 1.4% since 1998, to 9.6%, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.

Lou Raders, 38, an attorney in Denver, for example, found herself nodding off behind her attorney husband Phil Johnson, 46. "His Harley had a backrest!" she complains. "It was like a chair!" She bought herself a Harley Sportster 1200 and took the required course to get a motorcycle license. "It's still romantic," Johnson says, comforting himself. "I always ride behind her to watch and make sure she's O.K."

Gary Johnson has also missed the snuggling since Lynn got her own, but seeing his wife ride the Harley is sexy for him too, she insists. It's appealing to a man to have a woman ride a 680-lb. bike "like she knows what she's doing," she says.

Ever since she was 40, May Glostock, 72, of St. Louis, Mo., has been hitting the road, riding her own BMW with her husband George, 73, a letter carrier. They racked up thousands of miles, including an expedition to Alaska. But when George retired recently, they downsized to one bike, a BMW with a sidecar, which they take turns driving. Both dismiss the notion that you can be too old to ride. "If you have enough adventure in your soul," George asserts, "do it. If you doubt it, you have to live it."

Those who do live it describe the experience in poetic and romantic terms reminiscent of Robert Pirsig's philosophical, Beat-biker book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. "You experience everything," says Mike Becar, "mist from a new rain, a meadow of flowers."

For Phil Johnson, part of the romance attaches to his Harley itself, with its gleaming chrome and iconic status. Johnson sees the bike as a symbol of freedom and "American technology frozen in time."

Cathy and George Long, however, believe brand doesn't matter. They rent Hondas, BMWs, whatever their mood dictates. For them, riding offers a chance to shed their conservative identities on the back roads of Arizona, stopping at taverns with pickup trucks parked outside and country music blaring from the jukebox.

Whatever the thrill, whatever the machine, industry surveys agree, older riders uniformly plan to stay on the road as long as they can.

"The day I retire," Lynn Johnson vows, "we're taking off across the country. We pray we can ride to age 75, and we hope we don't need a sidecar. But if that's what it takes, we'll do it."