Saddling Up

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Stuart Fierman, 62, a Briarwood, N.Y., dentist who began riding at 40, has taken part in more than 250 charity runs locally and nationally in the past decade, many of them as a member of such biker groups as the Motorcycling Doctors Association and the Chai Riders Motorcycle Club, for Jewish bikers. Among the causes he has supported are breast-cancer research, Israel and children with terminal illnesses. "When 200,000 bikers show up in Washington and ride past the White House on Memorial Day to make sure that politicians don't forget about pows, that makes a very strong statement," says Fierman, who has taken part in six such rallies.

Ginny Shear, 52, of LeRoy, N.Y., a quality-assurance technician for Eastman Kodak, devotes a lot of her spare time to serving as the executive director of the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation, a nonprofit organization that educates the public about motorcycling. In 1996 the group started the Pony Express Relay, a national run to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Three such relays have been held; the last, in 2000, drew about 700 men and women and raised $450,000. The next event, scheduled for July, will have participants joining the route at various points from Seattle to New York City, Shear says, and will cover about 10,000 miles. "The feeling of camaraderie you get from taking part in one of these rallies is pretty euphoric," says Shear, who has ridden her motorcycle to the Arctic Ocean and back.

So forget the Hell's Angels. When you see a group of leather-clad, middle-aged bikers roaring down a stretch of highway, remember: it may be a group of doctors or stockbrokers, perhaps raising money for a worthy cause. Or it could be grandparents taking a cross-country trek to enjoy the American landscape. And maybe next time it could be you.