Local Woman Sets Motorcycle Speed Record On Bonneville Salt Flats
BRIDGEWATER (CBS) - Running the office at her Dad's Bridgewater motorcycle shop barely stirs her three dogs sleeping on a nearby couch.
But the record that Jody Perewitz just set on Utah's famed Bonneville Salt Flats has grabbed everyone's attention.
"It's where you go fast," says the 28-year-old.
And Jody went fast.
Very fast.
WBZ-TV's Ken MacLeod reports
In fact, she became the first woman to break 200 miles per hour on an American-made motorcycle.
"What we did is relatively impossible," says her Dad.
And Dave Perewitz should know.
He began tinkering with bikes in his father's lawnmower shed as a kid, and opened his first motorcycle shop more than 40 years ago.
His passion for motorcycles eventually grew into Perewitz Cycle Fabrication on Route 104 in Bridgewater, one of the most widely respected custom-bike makers in the country.
So it shouldn't be any surprise that his daughter's record-setting bike was made right here.
Dave and his team have built custom motorcycles for famous athletes and rock stars.
But this project was different -- more than 200 horsepower at a cost of $100,000 -- although there was never any doubt who would race it.
"I'll get on anything with two wheels and ride it," says daughter Jody, who's been riding motorcycles since age five and fascinated by them ever since she can remember.
"Whatever men can do, she's got to do it," says her Dad. "A lot of fathers would dream of being able to do this kind of stuff with their son -- never mind their daughter."
So earlier this month, father, daughter and crew went west as rookies at the annual version of "Speed Week" -- and won.
The effort may find its way into the Guinness Book of World Records and become a Discovery Channel documentary.
What makes Jody's accomplishment even more remarkable, though, is that she was diagnosed several years ago with multiple sclerosis.
Obviously, she hasn't let it slow her down.
"She just did an awesome job," says Dad.
Now, there will likely be more magazine covers and sponsorships for dad and daughter.
But Jody says she's not done at 203 miles per hour.
"No, absolutely not!" she crows with a big smile. "We'll go faster."
