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Chapter 1: The Rise of Women in Motorcycling

Looking at the history of motorcycles through the years, there have always been a small number of women who have defied convention, hopped on bikes, and taken to the roads or tracks. The women’s movement in the 1970s brought a few more into the fold, but female ridership remained low until the beginning of the new millennium, when it really began taking off. What is it that’s bringing women in such large numbers into the world of motorcycling? The same lures that have been drawing men in for decades: it’s fun, exciting, challenging, and a great way to see the world.

In fact, women have now become one of the fastest growing segments of the motorcycling market, with ridership increasing approximately 35 percent between 2003 and 2012. It is estimated that nearly a quarter of all riders in the United States are female, and new-rider educators are seeing up to half of their classes filled by these women. Harley-Davidson reports that half of all of their new-motorcycle sales are to females. Clearly, this is a trend that shows no signs of slowing.

Female riders report greater satisfaction in all areas of their lives, including greater self-confidence and increased feelings of sex appeal, than their nonriding peers, according to a 2013 study commissioned by Harley-Davidson. Almost 75 percent of the women interviewed believe that their lives have improved since they started riding. The female riders I meet support these findings: riding a motorcycle is empowering and social, and it fulfills a desire to challenge themselves. They feel competent, sexy, and engaged, and—to top it off—it’s just downright fun.

The motorcycle market has finally started to take notice of the growing female presence. It’s becoming easier to find a wider variety of bikes to fit smaller frames, protective gear designed to fit the female shape, and female-exclusive groups offering support and mentoring. When I first started riding, there were few options for gear, such as pants or jackets, tailored to the female figure, and not many motorcycles, other than cruiser styles or sport bikes, had a low enough seat to fit someone of a smaller stature. Manufacturers are reaching out to this new ridership, launching campaigns to draw women to their brand and hoping to establish lifetime loyalties.

Royal Enfield built its first bike in 1901. Pictured is a 1939 Royal Enfield Bullet 500cc.

Women and Motorcycling: A Brief History

There is no single moment when the motorcycle was invented; instead, its early evolution consists of various adaptations of bicycles and power until the engines outgrew the frames of the small bikes. In the early 1900s, manufacturers such as Royal Enfield, Norton, Indian, Triumph, and Harley-Davidson were producing motorcycles for the public. World War I brought an increase to the market because bikes enabled better communications to the front lines, replacing the more vulnerable and expensive-to-maintain horses.

While men have dominated the field for years, there was a brief time in the early days of the sport when women and men alike could be found riding—before it was no longer considered feminine to hop on a bike. In the early days, when motorcycles were little more than bicycles with motors attached, they were far more affordable for the average driver than cars and were initially purchased as inexpensive forms of transportation. Families purchased bikes with sidecars, and children sat alongside their parents as they rode around town. Hill racing and motorcycle polo became favorite activities. However, the price of automobiles dropped significantly, making cars—which were an even more convenient form of transportation in a wider variety of conditions—available to the average driver. Motorcycles were no longer considered proper or ladylike, and women were soon discouraged, and often banned, from riding.

Despite the changing perception that motorcycling was now a sport primarily for men, a small number of women continued to ride. Defying social norms and often their own families, these women were the early pioneers of motorcycling, breaking down barriers and setting records while pursuing their passion. There are undoubtedly many unsung heroes among their number, but a few stand out in the history of women and riding.

One of the first women on record, Clara Wagner, who rode a 4-horsepower (hp) motorcycle, competed in and won a 365-mile endurance race from Chicago to Indianapolis in 1910, only to be denied her trophy. The reason? She was ruled “an unofficial entrant” due to being female.

Della Crewe, navigating her Harley-Davidson with a sidecar nicknamed “The Gray Fellow” that carried her dog, Trouble, left Waco, Texas, in June of 1914 for a grand tour. Arriving in New York City in December 1914, reportedly wearing four coats, four pairs of stockings, and heavy sheepskin shoes, Crewe eventually covered more than 11,000 miles through North and South America before fading into obscurity.

The first women known publicly to cross the United States on a motorcycle were the mother–daughter duo of twenty-six-year-old Effie Hotchkiss and her fifty-six-year-old mother, Avis. Bored with her job, eager for a chance to see the country, and fascinated by two-wheeled motorized machines, Effie was often described as a tomboy and a speed demon. Avis’s motivation was somewhat different from her daughter’s: she went along more to keep Effie out of trouble than out of any desire to travel. Efforts to discourage their journey with tales of potential dangers along the way only further piqued Effie’s interest and determination. Riding a three-speed V-twin Harley-Davidson with a sidecar, which, in the words of Effie, was best suited “for myself, and the sidecar for my mother and the luggage,” the women left Brooklyn, New York, on May 2, 1915. Forty years before the interstate highway system was even signed into law, they faced “bad roads, heat, cold, rain, floods, and all such things with a shrug of their shoulders” as described in the September 1915 issue of Harley-Davidson Dealer magazine. Tracing a route that took them from upstate New York through Chicago, south to St. Louis, east through Kansas and Colorado, south again to Santa Fe, and then on to Arizona, they reached Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean in August. Returning home, they took a more northerly route, passing through San Francisco, Reno, Salt Lake City, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa before stopping in Milwaukee for a tour of the Harley-Davidson factory. They arrived safely back in Brooklyn in October of the same year. Effie’s motorcycling days soon came to an end when she married a widower she had met along her ride and relocated with her mother to pursue a different sort of adventure in rural Oregon.

A Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic with sidecar on display at an “oldtimers’ show” in Germany.

The following year, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren, American sisters in their twenties who had hoped to be allowed to become military dispatch riders during World War I, set off on a cross-country trek to demonstrate their skills and determination. Riding separate Indian Power Plus motorcycles and believing, as Augusta stated, “women can if they will,” they started their ride in Sheepshead Bay, New York, on July 2, 1916. Traversing the United States, they were arrested in a small town west of Chicago—not for speeding, but for wearing men’s clothes. Arguing that their leather apparel was more appropriate for motorcycling than were dresses, they were able to convince the authorities to let them proceed.

Continuing on, they became the first women to summit Pike’s Peak in Colorado, an elevation of 14,109 feet up a narrow, dangerous dirt road. Battling fatigue, heat, poor roads, and numerous falls, they arrived in Los Angeles on September 8. To ensure that they were credited for traversing the entire country, they rode to Tijuana, Mexico, before returning home. Articles written about their adventure eloquently described their motorcycles but dismissed the sisters’ efforts as merely a vacation. Despite their accomplishment of being the first women to complete a transcontinental journey, proving that they were equal to their male counterparts, their applications to become dispatch riders were rejected. However, demonstrating their pioneering spirit in the face of obstacles, Adeline went on to earn a law degree from New York University while Augusta learned to fly, becoming a pilot in the 99s, a group for women flyers founded in 1929 by Amelia Earhart.

Crystal Palace Park in London was a well known motorcycle-racing venue in pre-World War II days.

An Irish motorcyclist, Fay Taylour, bought a helmet and took up riding so that she “could mingle with the English boys at the next Crystal Palace practice session.” The Palace was one of the first dirt-track racing facilities built in England after the sport was introduced from Australia. Nicknamed “Flying Fay,” she began competing in grass-track racing and motorcycle trials as well as the World Speedway events in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Two of Taylour’s most celebrated contemporaries were Dot Dawson and Marjorie Cottle. Cottle, one of the most well-known motorcyclists of her time, is perhaps best remembered for riding around the coast of mainland Britain in 1924 as part of an advertising stunt staged by the Raleigh company to promote the suitability of riding for women. A male rider, Hugh Gibson, riding a 7-hp Raleigh with a sidecar, took off in one direction while Cottle, on a 2¾-hp Raleigh Solo, took off at the same time in the opposite direction. The company took bets as to where they’d meet, and between 60,000 and 70,000 people participated, each one hoping to win a motorcycle for guessing the correct location. Cottle was quoted as saying, “Completed 3,404 miles around the coast of Great Britain … and have shown that what man has done woman can do … I hope that I have proven, that with a Raleigh, touring a motor-cycle [sic] is a woman’s pastime, and I hope the women of Britain will follow my example,” in the Western Daily Press on June 12, 1924.

Women were banned from road racing in Britain in 1925, but that didn’t stop them from competing in races. Along with Louise Maclean and Edyth Foley, Cottle went on to compete in the International Six Days Trials, an off-road endurance event started in Britain in 1913; she finished in the Silver Vase category in 1926 and bested all others, including the men’s teams, to win the top honors in 1927.

Other than Raleigh in England, Harley-Davidson in the United States was one of the few manufacturers to encourage women to ride. Always on the lookout for new sales opportunities, dealers were reminded to look at their wives and daughters as potential customers. Vivian Bales, riding from Georgia to Milwaukee and back in 1929, a distance of 5,000 miles, began billing herself, to the delight of the company, as “The Enthusiast Girl” after photos of her appeared in the Harley-Davidson Enthusiast magazine.

A vintage Triumph Coventry motorcycle.

Theresa Wallach, born and raised near the English factories of Norton, BSA, and Triumph motorcycles, learned to ride from her many friends who worked at the plants. Refused membership in a local riding club due to her sex, she proved her racing skills by competing in, and winning, numerous events. She and another accomplished woman motorcyclist, Florence Blenkiron, set off in 1935 to ride from London to Cape Town, South Africa, on a 650cc Panther, complete with a sidecar and towing a utility trailer. No one, male or female, had attempted such a journey. Taking turns driving, often pushing or dragging the bike along on foot when it became stuck, they traveled across the Sahara Desert, following rock outcroppings and guideposts set up for caravans because building roads was impossible in the drifting sands. Fighting heat, torrential rains, mechanical breakdowns, dealings with the French Foreign Legion, and wild animals, they miraculously arrived safely after seven months of travel. Wallach chronicled their journey in the book The Rugged Road, which is still available today. While Blenkiron disappeared into oblivion following her return to England, Wallach continued to make history, becoming the first woman to win the Brooklands Gold Star in 1939 for setting a world record by topping 100 miles per hour on a borrowed single-cylinder Norton 350cc.

A vintage British Army motorcycle made by Royal Enfield.

It wasn’t until World War II that women were allowed to join the ranks of dispatch riders, and Wallach signed up, working with the British Army as both a motorcycle mechanic and dispatch rider. Always dreaming of a trip to America, following the war, she spent two and a half years traversing the country, camping and working odd jobs to fund her travels. She fell in love with the United States and emigrated, settling first in Chicago, where she opened a dealership called Imported Motorcycles, Inc., which specialized in selling and servicing British motorcycles. She noticed the inexperience of many new riders, so she began teaching them basic riding techniques. Realizing the need for better instruction, she sold her dealership and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where she launched the Easy Riding Academy. In 1970, her book, Easy Motorcycle Riding, was published.

Born to a motorcycling family in Australia in 1912, Dot Robinson’s first ride was in a sidecar, when her father drove her mother to the hospital for her delivery. Her exposure to bikes continued when the family moved to the United States when she was still a child. Growing up in her father’s motorcycle dealership, she learned to ride at a young age and was competing in endurance races during the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s despite pressure from others to stop. She won her first trophy in 1930 in the Flint 100, and she went on to enter the Jack Pine Enduro in 1934, continuing to enter this competition in subsequent years. An off-road competition, the Jack Pine sent riders through every type of terrain imaginable while requiring them to meet certain time limitations at checkpoints. It was originally a three-day 800 miler but was reduced to two days and 500 miles. In its early years, the Jack Pine Enduro was as popular as the prestigious Daytona 200 and Laconia motorcycle races. Robinson was the first woman to win this prestigious race, doing so in 1940 in the sidecar division, and she repeated her accomplishment in 1946. Often called the “First Lady of Motorcycling,” Robinson’s dedication to endurance riding opened the doors for many of the women who followed.

Following in the footsteps of female pioneers, women riders continue to do remarkable things.

Robinson, along with her friend Linda Dugeau, a touring motorcyclist who often appeared in the pages of Motorcyclist magazine, wanted to create a network of riders by forming an organization devoted exclusively to women. The two began a letter-writing campaign in 1938, reaching out to dealerships, American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) members, and fellow riders, hoping to find like-minded enthusiasts. It took three years to round up enough interest to start, and Motor Maids was chartered through the AMA in 1941. It was the first motorcycling organization for women in the United States.

Louise Scherbyn spent her early years riding both as pillion, or passenger, and in a sidecar until 1932, when her husband encouraged her to teach herself to ride. Initially concerned with her reputation, especially the impact on her job at Kodak, she soon shed her reluctance and began traveling extensively throughout the United States and Canada. Scherbyn went on to become a full-time writer and assistant editor for Motorcycle magazine, where she used her talent to continue breaking stereotypes, promoting and encouraging the acceptance of women riders in a field dominated by men.

Becoming active in motorcycling clubs, Scherbyn corresponded with women across the globe. It was through these connections that she formed the idea of creating the Women’s International Motorcycle Association (WIMA), which was born in the early 1950s, with Theresa Wallach as its first vice president. Enlisting the support of other notable women riders, including Anke-Eve Goldman and Ellen Pfeiffer in Germany, Agnes Acker in France, Juliette Steiner in Switzerland, Lydia Abrahamova in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic), and Hazel Mayes in Australia, WIMA expanded beyond the United States to Europe and then throughout the world.

Adding to the challenge of gender barriers, Bessie Stringfield faced racial barriers as well when she began riding at the age of sixteen. A petite African American woman, she pursued her passion for motorcycling; at age nineteen, she started tossing pennies on a map to determine where to head on her next trip. Encountering the rampant racism of her time, she was once run off the road by a white man in a pick-up truck but refused to be discouraged, relying on her strong faith as her companion. Working as a dispatch rider during World War II, the only woman in her unit, she carried documents between bases throughout the United States. She completed eight solo cross-country trips before settling down in Miami, Florida, in the 1950s. She became a licensed practical nurse and continued riding—competing in hill climbs, performing motorcycle stunts in carnival shows, and founding the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club. Known as the “Motorcycle Queen of Miami,” Stringfield was honored with the American Motorcycle Association’s creation of the Bessie Stringfield Award in 2000, recognizing “women who have been instrumental in showing women they can be active participants in the world of motorcycling.”

The popularity of motorcycling among women began to increase following World War II, coinciding with their changing roles at home and in the workforce. Margaret Wilson was one of the role models for these new times. She and her husband, Mike, were the owners of Wilson’s Motorcycle Sales in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it was Mike who taught her to ride in 1946. Joining Motor Maids in 1951, she put more than 550,000 miles on her bikes and performed on her club’s drill team while being among the first riders to promote the wearing of helmets and protective clothing. She was voted “America’s Most Popular” and “Typical Girl Rider” for 1958 by the AMA, and she served on the founding board of the AMA Hall of Fame Museum. She was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2011. Wilson passed away on July 23, 2014, at the age of ninety-eight, an active supporter of all riders—especially women—until her death.

Cletha Walstrom conquered the Abra Malaga mountain pass in Macchu Picchu, Peru, in 2013.

Mary McGee began road-racing motorcycles in 1960 and was the first woman licensed by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). She became the first female to compete in motocross in 1967, and she entered the inaugural Baja 500 in 1969, teamed with a male rider. Their bike failed, but she came back to finish as part of a team in 1973 and solo in 1975. In 2012, at the age of seventy-five, she was still competing in vintage-class motorcycle races.

The International Six Days Trial continued to attract an increasing number of women as it branched out from Britain and began holding competitions in other countries. Notable rider Olga Kevelos, winner of two gold medals—one in 1946 and again in 1953—was offered a sponsorship from the James Motorcycle Company, an honor almost unheard of for a woman in her day. Other manufacturers quickly added their names to her list of supporters as she went on to compete until her retirement from the sport in 1970.

Into the Twenty-First Century

Overall motorcycle ridership declined during the 1950s and ’60s before experiencing a resurgence in the 1970s, when it became part of a growing leisure-time pursuit. Improved machines, the emergence of the Japanese motorcycling industry, the rise of the sport bikes from Italy, and the reliable BMW twins from Germany all contributed to the excitement and popularity of riding. More women were entering the field of motorcycling alongside their male counterparts, although not yet in the numbers seen today.

As the ranks of motorcyclists once again began to swell, new opportunities for competition arose as well. Increasing numbers of riders were soon choosing to go out not only for pleasure trips but also to race, on or off-road, against a group or against the clock, up hills or through obstacles, or in long-distance scavenger hunts called rallies. Each new avenue provided places for women to make their impact.

Motorcycle trials, or observed trials, are nonracing events over obstacle courses. The rider is scored by how many times her feet touch the ground, testing her ability and skill in maneuvering the bike in a challenging environment. A modern pioneer in trials competition, Debbie Evans began riding at age six, growing up surrounded by motorcycles and racing. Winning a third-place trophy in her first trial at age nine, she continued to pursue her passion, earning the respect of male riders with her skills. Sponsorship from Yamaha soon followed, and Evans expanded her repertoire to include performing stunts in exhibitions and shows.

People encouraged her to compete in the Scottish Six Day Trials, despite having never competed in such an event, and she finished a respectable fourth in the 175cc division. Needing to earn a living, she turned to Hollywood and became a highly sought-after stunt rider. After retiring from racing in 1980, she was tempted back to the Women’s World Trials in 1998, at the age of forty, and finished eighth overall. She continued to compete and entered, although did not win, her first road-racing event at Daytona in 2002.

BMW bikes have long been known for reliability and performance. This vintage model is exhibited at the BMW Museum in Munich.

Women’s motocross, combining the trials style of riding over obstacles with racing against other competitors, traces its beginnings to the 1940s, but it really took off in the 1970s as racetracks and arenas were pressured to open their doors, and riders flowed in. The first Powder Puff National Championship, an all-women’s motocross competition, was held in 1974. Quickly renamed the Women’s National Championship, it was televised for the first time by ABC Sports in 1979. Sue Fish was one of the first females to compete not only in the women’s events but also in the Men’s Pro MX, and she soon was winning against her male counterparts. Fish was honored for her achievements at the Legends and Heroes Tour on February 13, 2010, and she is the only woman motocross rider to be inducted into the AMA’s Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

Ashley Fiolek earned a full factory sponsorship after becoming the first deaf Women’s Motocross (WMX) National Champion. She went on to win three more national championships before leaving the sport in 2012. Among the women who have followed in the footsteps of Evans, Fish, and Fiolek, Tarah Geiger won the silver medal at the X Games in 2010 and 2011.

Requiring lightning-fast reflexes and a sense of calmness to deal with the lack of traction and any sudden changes in conditions, Leslie Porterfield reached a top speed of 232.522 mph while setting the Guinness World Record for being the fastest woman on a motorcycle. Named the AMA’s Racing Female Rider of the Year in 2008, Porterfield accomplished her feat at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2008 on her 2002 2000cc turbo-charged Suzuki Hayabusa.

A female rider competes in a motocross event in Thailand.

Valerie Thompson is often referred to as “America’s Queen of Speed.” Soon after learning to ride, she recognized her love of going as fast as possible on a motorcycle and began drag racing on a track. Her passion for speed led her to explore her limits at places like the Bonneville Salt Flats and El Mirage, a dry lake bed, where she competes against both men and women. She currently holds seven motorcycle land-speed records with a personal best time of 217.7 mph for the 1-mile distance.

Evolving from the earlier hill-climbing events, in which riders challenged each other to reach the top of a hill, modern-day hill climbing has entrants racing up extremely steep dirt courses, trying to make it not only without falling but also in the fastest time. With races lasting no more than several seconds, riders must use quick reflexes to navigate obstacles. Cathy Templeton is one of the earliest women to break down the gender barriers in the sport of hill climbing, beating forty-five other riders to win in her class in 1995. Contemporary hill climbers include Chelsea Peterson, who won the women’s championship in 2012, and Molly Carbon, who races head-to-head against men on some of the most challenging inclines in the United States.

Traditional racing is also attracting its share of highly competitive and successful women. Elena Myers, only eighteen years old at the time, became the first female to win a professional race at the famous Daytona International Speedway in 2012. Shelina Moreda is the first woman to have raced a motorcycle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well as the only woman to race in the AMA Pro Harley class. Her all-female skills course, Girlz MotoCamps, is helping to bring more young women into racing while training them to be all-around better riders.

El Mirage in California’s Mojave Desert.

The Iron Butt Association, an organization dedicated to safe long-distance motorcycling, requires a rider to complete a minimum ride of 1,000 miles in twenty-four hours to gain entry. In addition to specific certified rides, the association, along with other groups, holds competitive rallies that are similar to scavenger hunts. Male and female riders, as well as two-up couples, go head to head against each other. Suzie Mann was the first woman to ride in the eleven-day Iron Butt Rally in 1985, finishing in fifth place, and while a woman has yet to claim first place, Fran Crane finished second in 1987. In 2013, Wendy Crockett placed third, averaging 1,363 miles per day during the rally, which was only 43 fewer daily miles than the first-place rider. Kate Johnston, in only her third year as a motorcyclist and a type 1 diabetic, recently set the woman’s world record for riding from Key West, Florida, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and back to Key West in twenty-four days.

There are women who ride around their countries, their continents, and the world solo, known only to their friends and perhaps followers of their blogs. These women quietly navigate language barriers, challenging paved and dirt roads in their efforts to see the world in a unique and up-close way. Most report feeling quite safe; in fact, they often feel more comfortable alone on their bikes than walking city streets alone. They experience most people as open and helpful to a woman alone, and they often form friendships through unexpected encounters with strangers.

Women are making their mark on traditional motorcycle racing.

Gloria Tramontin Struck, eighty-nine at the time of this writing, has been on motorcycles, always Harley-Davidsons or Indians, since she was a young girl. Putting more than 650,000 miles on her stock bikes, Struck is one of the longest riding members of Motor Maids and credits motorcycling with keeping her mind strong.

Voni Glaves and Ardys Kellerman became the first two women in the world to document 1,000,000 miles on BMW motorcycles, and they chose to celebrate their accomplishment by meeting in Ouray, Colorado, on August 30, 2011, to ride their final miles together. Glaves, who was sixty-four at the time, learned to ride on a dirt bike before receiving her first BMW as a Mother’s Day present in 1977. She finished the Iron Butt Rally in 2003. Kellerman, seventy-nine at the time, bought her first BMW in 1985. In 2006, she rode more than 80,000 miles in the six-month BMW owners’ mileage contest, and she finished that year with more than 100,000 miles. Kellerman only began riding in her fifties, but once she started, she kept going, completing the eleven-day Iron Butt Rally four times before her untimely death at age eighty-one in 2014.

The list goes on. Drag racing, freestyle, dirt track, ice racing, and sidecar and vintage motorcycle classes, as well as the world-renowned Paris–Dakar Rally and the Baja 1000, are attracting women in increasing numbers. For those interested in learning more about these contemporary trendsetting women, check out the detailed profiles in Bikerlady: Living and Riding Free, a book by Sasha Mullins (Citadel, 2003).

Although the numerous competitive events may be thrilling, the majority of women riding today are simply hopping on a bike, as either driver or pillion, and getting out on the open road. Talk to most of them, and they speak in nearly reverential terms about the experience of two wheels, of the freedom and exhilaration of being on a motorcycle, of the desire to keep going. What is it about this particular machine that captures one’s imagination and makes one yearn to take off—and is it for you?

Ardys Kellerman (left) and Voni Glaves (right), at the conclusion of their 1,000,000-mile achievement.