Atypical Biker Chicks: Acme All Stars Women’s Racing Team
You know you march to the beat of a different drummer when you take up road racing motorcycles at over 100 over miles per hour because it is safer than your present hobby. Such is the case for Caroline Minicozzi when she joined Scott Olofson’s first all- female vintage motorcycle racing team.
Scott opened his motorcycle retail and service shop, Acme Motorcycles LTD, in 2006. They are located at 1508 Charlotte Highway in Fairview across the street from the Cane Creek turnoff. They stock a full line of tires, boots, clothing, and leather apparel, among other related items. They service and repair all brands of motorcycles but are big on BMWs. They offer pick-up and rescue service. Scott has plans to rent motorcycles this spring and organize tours. He is a benefit to the community.
The Acme All Stars Women’s Racing Team is part of Olofson’s plan to promote motorcycle tourism in the area. “People come to Asheville for the riding and stay.” says Olofson. “Asheville is a place they want to experience.”
Team members are Dottie Mattern, Linda Cluxton, and Minicozzi. “I met these women and decided it would be fun for them to participate in a sport dominated by men,” says Scott. All three women had various reasons to stop by Acme Motorcycles. Scott recognized their ability and felt the chemistry. The rest is history.
The three racers earned their racing licenses in early fall, and plan to run three or four races in 2008 on their vintage Honda CB 360 bikes. The machines are geared to do 100 miles per hour plus. They chose 1972 models for their proven simplicity and reliability. After attending racing school where the instructor’s philosophy is to race with no brakes, survivors will enter their first race February 28. According to Cluxton, “It is no big deal since we ride old bikes and the brakes are bad anyway.” They will work on corner setup and corner speed before they take to the asphalt at Savannah.
It is easy to stereotype female bikers: top to bottom black leather with a touch of chrome, a waist was something that vanished long ago, a death grip on a Budweiser with one hand while clinging desperately onto their feller with the other. They can’t even spell athlete. Not so with these ladies and that is what makes them so intriguing. They are “atypical biker chicks” according to Cluxton.
Dottie Mattern is a 63-year-old grandmother of five and a cancer survivor. She and husband John split time between Key West and Fairview. She has been racing for 45 years, mostly on dirt. Olofson describes her as “fearless. She is a bad ass, she really is.” Dottie is just coming off serious surgery and, rumor has it, the first thing she asked her doctor after the anesthesia wore off was how long it would be before she could race.
Dottie earned her undergraduate degree in education from the University of Maryland at College Park. She followed with two Master’s Degrees, one in learning disabilities, and the other in emotional disturbance. She taught developmental psychology, preschool education, and trained teachers at the university level for 25 years.
Dottie got her start on two wheels when the guy she was dating in college taught her how to ride. She caught the bug, bought a Honda 90, and has never been without a bike except for a couple of years when she was overseas.
Scott invited her to ride his 1937 vintage Indian Scout with a tank shifter at the Maxton Mile just south of Fayetteville. Her first time on the bike she set a land speed record for the class at 91.74 mph. When asked what it was like to have only one hand on the handlebars and the other on the shifter as she was accelerating toward warp speed, she answered “thrilling.” Dottie is an atypical biker chick.
Linda Cluxton, 56, is Director of Communications for Christ School in Arden. Originally from Connecticut, she followed her husband south as he was Headmaster at Country Day and later Cape Fear Academy. Erich is now the Dean of Curriculum and Instruction at Christ School.
Linda earned her Bachelor of Science degree in
literature and graphic arts from Hunter
College of The City University of New York. She first got into
photography working with a commercial photographer “photographing babies and
chasing ambulances.” She started
photographing motorcycles on weekends and has been snapping pictures for 30
years. Her work has been featured in
prestigious magazines including Cycle
World. According to Olofson, “She
has been around some of the greats.”
Linda has been riding since she was 11 but not in competition. While photographing at an all-female race day in Atlanta, Linda thought, “Why am I not out there?” It was Scott who finally insisted she step from behind the camera and into the fray. He offered to trailer the bikes, turn the screws, and help her and the others become qualified. She is a natural. “I feel like it’s what I’m supposed to be doing. I had no idea how much fun it was going to be.” When asked what it is like to race against men she said she felt right at home since she was raised with four obnoxious brothers who are a lot like the guy racers. Linda and Dottie met at the shop and hit it off since both are seriously competitive tennis players. Linda is also an atypical biker chick.
Caroline Minicozzi, 34, being the baby of the bunch, has been around
vintage motorcycle racing the least.
That is not to say she has not been on a bike. She excelled in Downhill Mountain biking,
which is NOT for the faint of heart. One
year she broke both ankles in competition.
She won the Cane Creek Cup three times in Expert Women’s Biking. Getting on a 350 Honda was a totally new
experience. Scott rode behind her one
day and knew she had the ability and fearlessness to be part of his team. At the track her orders were simply to “stay
on the asphalt.” She says, “It was a heck of a lot safer than downhill and it
felt natural from the start.”
Caroline is a native of LA - lower Alabama - and made her way to the area
by way of Converse College in Spartanburg.
She traveled to our mountains every weekend to ride because “the hills
were bigger.” She finally made the move
and has been here 15 years.
Caroline first decided to put a motor under her when she was riding in a
cooped up station wagon on the Parkway.
Realizing that is not the way it is supposed to be done, she purchased a
BMW. One day she stopped by Acme for an
oil change and things were never the same.
She met Dottie and Linda and they hit it off, even though “they have
been riding as long as I have been alive.”
Caroline’s undergraduate degree is in psychology with a Masters in Communication Disorders. She is a certified behavior analyst and a speech language pathologist. She is director of Western North Carolina Behavioral Education, Services and Treatment (wncbest.org). Her batteries are charged by using her skills to facilitate positive changes in behavior for autistic kids.
Interestingly enough, Caroline met her husband Joe, a Harvard graduate, at The Town Pump in Black Mountain, a more typical biker watering hole. Regardless, Caroline is another atypical biker chick. It is easy to focus on the extraordinary ladies of the Acme All Star Women’s Racing Team, but the glue that holds it all together is Scott Olofson. He has created an atmosphere that is more like a clubhouse than a shop. “It’s the corner coffee shop for motorcycles,” Cluxton said. “It’s also incredibly female-friendly.” Since more and more women are riding motorcycles, catering to women makes smart business sense. Dottie, Linda, and Caroline speak independently of Scott’s “selflessness.” It doesn’t take long to sense that Scott’s focus is more on others than himself. In the world of Motorsports at levels from neighborhood dirt bikes, to local short tracks, to NASCAR, ego is king. Not so with Scott Olofson and Acme. It is a refreshing reprieve. Visitors are welcome at the shop and you will not be a stranger for long. Best of luck to the Acme All Stars during their 2008 season. We will be keeping up with you…in a figurative sense, of course. Ken Bagwell comments to: tribune editor@bellsouth.net
