Written by Digits
Older single bikers are putting down more miles than their married counterparts, if you know what we mean.
Although the study wasn’t specifically aimed at motorcycle enthusiasts, with a large part of riding demographics firmly in the age bracket surveyed, the study can make riders look at each other in a slightly different light.
Aside from older riders having more sex than may be generally considered, the study also found that they are electing ride the intimate road without any safety gear.
Results from the an AARP sex survey, Sex, Romance, and Relationships: AARP Survey of Midlife and Older Adults, showed a low use of protection among sexually active dating singles with only one in five reporting use of condoms regularly.
While reassurances of age and experience may lead many to excuse the safer route and the study found rates of sexually transmitted diseases are not high, they are not absent either.
"Older Americans are staying sexually active, showing that you don't have to be young to have a great sex life," says AARP's Love & Relationships Ambassador, Dr. Pepper Schwartz. "What is worrisome is that aging Americans are endangering their health by not practicing safe sex so reinforcing that the use of protection is important at any age is critical."
And the married couples at motorcycle rallies around the country may be enjoying the events, but it’s the single bikers that are enjoying the sex.
In a broad sense anyway.
The study contradicted popular opinion with singles age 45+ show a higher satisfaction rate and have more sex than married couples in the same age group.
Buy some stereotypes rang true in the AARP study, such as which sex made sex a priority.
Men think about sex more than women (Men are more than five times as likely as women with 45% vs. 8% to say they think of sex once or more every day; men also rank sex higher on the list of what makes for a high quality of life.
Men have sex more often, more men than women have partners, and single men without partners are less satisfied with their sex lives than women in the same situation. (27% versus 19%).
Where did these numbers come from? On behalf of AARP, Knowledge Networks surveyed 1,670 adults ages 45 and older in August of 2009 via a telephone recruited online panel. The survey was administered in both English and Spanish, and included an over-sample of 500 Hispanics, for a total of 630 Hispanic respondents.
And while the numbers may fall to the favor of the single rider, or lone wolf, the study found it wasn’t by much especially considering the number of people surveyed. While 48% of single respondents had sex at least once a week, 36% of married couples managed to get together as well with the same regularity.
With motorcycle enthusiasts understanding many things in life are more about quality than quantity, the numbers were fairly close in this category as well. Sixty percent of those in the single world reported satisfaction with their sex lives while fifty-two percent of married couples were also happy with where they stood, or laid as the case may be.
And if any correlation needed to be drawn between the AARP study and motorcycle enthusiasts, the final conclusion seems to draw a pretty solid line. Just as with riding, the largest predictor of sexual satisfaction is the number of times, or the frequency a respondent gets in the saddle. The number of people who consider themselves satisfied rockets to 84% if they ‘ride’ more than once a week while the number falls to 59% for those who only ‘hit the road’ twice a month.
