‘Women don’t want to be on the back anymore’: Woman bikers show up to Myrtle Beach Bike Week

Michelle Jamison remembers when she decided to get her first bike. It was 12 years ago, and she was 42 years old. Now, at 54, she rides a 1,000-pound motorcycle designed with over 15,000 Swarovski crystals. She said she decided to bedazzle it to let people know it’s a woman’s bike.

“Women don’t want to be put on the back (of motorcycles) anymore,” Jamison said.

Jamison, who is from Minnesota, is one of many woman bikers attending Myrtle Beach Bike Week. She said she wanted to come to the rally to meet new people and sell her bandannas. She hopes to inspire woman to not only get their motorcycle license but also encourage them to do everything they want to accomplish.

“If they see somebody else doing it that looks like them or acts like them, they know they can do it, too,” said Jamison, who goes to motorcycle rallies all over the country.

Hundreds of bikers were out in Murrells Inlet on Friday listening to live music and shopping at vendors during the spring Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally. Beaver Bar and Suck Bang and Blow, where Jamison’s shop was set up, was surrounded by bikes with licenses plates from all across the country.

The 10-day event, which began May 7 and lasts until May 16, was postponed and diminished last year due the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the event seems to be back to pre-COVID-19 numbers.

Hannah Guerra, who was out Friday with her mother, Helen Owens, said there seems to be a lot more people this year than last year. Guerra and Owens traveled to Myrtle Beach from Rock Hill, S.C., earlier this week to attend their sixth Bike Week.

“I love the vendors,” Hannah said. “I love to walk around and look at all the stuff, and I love to people watch.”

Owens, who has been riding for about 11 years, said she enjoys coming to the spring rally to look at all the different bikes. She added that she is starting to see more women bikers in recent years than she ever has before.

“Now, it is getting to be more common,” Owens said. “There is about as many women as men.”

This story was originally published May 15, 2021 at 1:22 PM.