The Carmel Curves Biker Ladies Ride From New Orleans Into The New York Times
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Writer Shannon Sims drops into The New York Times, writing an in-depth look at the Caramel Curves, New Orleans’s all-female motorcycle club.
The group consists of 13 women with a decades-long love of motorcycles and a desire to bike with other women. "The ladies wear helmets ridged with fluorescent pink mohawks and matching vests bedazzled in blingy patches and sequins. Finishing the look are Barbie-pink stilettos. Their bikes are big Suzuki Hayabusas (that they call “busas”) and Gixxers, and Can-Am Spyders, airbrushed in shades of pink, with brightly colored rims to match. And when they stunt, with curving burnouts or wheelies, their tires send off plumes of magenta-hued smoke."
The bikes are the glue that holds the women together, as their day jobs differ widely. Nakosha Smith runs a nail salon; Dezel Bell, aka First Lady Foxy, works in a funeral home; Rochelle Francis -- Pretty Rocky to us -- is an armored truck driver; and Andrea Shepherd, named Hoodpriss, is a former prison nurse.
Motorcycles gangs in America are most often associated with violence and outlaw culture in the minds of everyday Americans. Women who ride with the all-male motorcycles gangs are often called 'property' and are perceived as possession of the male riders. Testosterone runs at peak performance in the hearts, minds and bodies of the group members.
