IPSWICH: By day, Jean Mason helps women choose the right shade of lipstick.

But when she clocks off at 5pm, she is transformed.

Despite her carefully coiffured hair and perfectly manicured fingernails, Jean is a biking enthusiast and can regularly be spotted burning some rubber on the country lanes surrounding Ipswich.

Jean, 60, of Cauldwell Hall Road, Ipswich, joined Triangle (Ipswich) Motorcycle Club five years ago and has gradually built up her confidence.

“It is the friendship and the companionship that I love, and it is great fun,” she said.

“People have this perception of what a biker should be and they are always shocked when they see me riding my bike.

“They think it is a person of a certain age and appearance, and then I get off with my hair done and my make up on.”

Jean has to fit biking in around her day job on the cosmetics counter at Boots, in Tavern Street, Ipswich, and her voluntary work at the St Elizabeth Hospice.

“I used to be a hairdresser, so I go to the hospice and help some the patients do their hair. Clearly, it is a different world.”

Jean revealed how she got hooked on biking.

“It was actually the other members of the club who encouraged me during one of their open days,” she said.

“I used to drive a sports car and I thought this would take it one step further.”

In a dramatic move, she sold the car and opted for a more sensible model – but bought a 125cc motorbike.

The group, which meets in Rushmere, took her under its wing and members took her on runs to develop her road skills.

“It helps build up your confidence,” she said. “I used to go with one of the women to visit her father in hospital in Norfolk and it got me used to longer routes.”

Once she had passed her test, Jean upgraded to a Suzuki GS 500cc machine, smaller than those ridden by the men in the club but a fair size for a particularly lady-like rider.

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