Cathy Walker can probably thank her mother for starting her lifelong love for motorcycles.

The Columbus, N.C., native was just 13 years old when her mom bought her a Sears & Roebuck SHP Briggs and Stratton bike, which Walker described as “like a lawnmower motor.”

It only lasted about a year before Walker ran it into a pine tree. She’s had about 10 more bikes since that first one.

Coming out for this week’s fall bike rally in Myrtle Beach on her low rider, Walker was one of thousands of female riders who aren’t happy just riding shotgun.

Of the 189,428 licensed motorcycle drivers in South Carolina, 19,452 are women, according to state statistics cited by The (Charleston) Post and Courier. And the number of women gripping the handlebars is growing. It’s already nearly 4,000 higher than in 2007.

Sonia Croom began her love for motorcycles eight years ago.

The inspiration? Attending the Myrtle Beach bike rallies.

SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Michelin has developed a new series of tires called Wild, with three versions for varying terrains. Despite the attempt to simplify, their media kit and website do little to clarify the myriad options within the Wild series, leaving you to basically trust their auto-generated tire recommendations or find a bike shop that’s stocking the full... Three main versions are available, the Race’r (hardpack), the Grip’r (mixed terrain) and Rock’r (extreme terrain, which also has a Dig’r version for muddy downhill runs). ), Michelin is trying to reduce the clutter of choices catering to the seemingly ever expanding range of riding disciplines, instead labeling the rather simple Wild line by the type of terrain they’re designed to handle.   And, they’ve set up a new website to match your riding style with the correct tire via a simple Q&A at michelinwildbike.   There are a range of options, from tubed to tubeless, and even a 29er model, with weights ranging from 590g......

Tires -- AllCarsElectric.com Challenges Bibendum 1998: Clermont-Ferrand 2000: Clermont-Ferrand 2001: California 2002: Heidelberg - Strasbourg - Paris

Harley has kept the design of the Street Bob clean and simple with bobbed fenders showcasing the black, laced-steel spoke wheels and Michelin Scorcher tires

What Michelin will tell us is that for this category it has found a new way to make both front and rear tires require only three Aramid belt plies each

The all-important Classic is the oldest professional motorcycle competition in the land, and will feature the 4th round of the 2010 ASRA Michelin Pro Series

Walk, bike, ride. Sounds great. How about reality? On Monday, I wanted to go from work at 3rd avenue to REI to buy a Michelin City bike tire.

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