Women’s Motorcycle Month

We have a month for everything, and this month is Women’s Motorcycle Month. To celebrate that, the AMA Museum has put up a display with several women featured. Some of these women are amazing because of the distance traveled. But I’m amazed by the era they did it in. Bikes were not too reliable back then and women were supposed to be at home taking care of the kids. So helmets off to all the women who do amazing stuff like this.

According to the Motorcycle Industry Council’s most recent research, the number of women motorcycle riders increased 34 percent between 1998 and 2003.  Today, major manufacturers report annual increases in sales to women and actively court female riders.  The Motorcycle Safety Foundation says women make up nearly 30% of students in its learn-to-ride Basic RiderCoursesSM across the United States.

Many remarkable women have blazed a path on two wheels. Here, Nationwide salutes four who have been named to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

*    Adeline and Augusta Van Buren: In 1916, Adeline and Augusta rode
to coast to coast on Indian motorcycles – the first women to make the transcontinental journey solo on two motorcycles. The sisters rode to convince the military that women were capable of serving as dispatch riders. Although they were unsuccessful in that mission, they were able shatter many of the early twentieth century’s stereotypes about women.

*    Bessie Stringfield: In the 1930s and 1940s, Bessie – a female,
African-American motorcyclist – broke down barriers by completing eight solo cross-country tours and serving as a U.S. Army motorcycle dispatch rider. During these tours, she rode fearlessly through the deep South when racial prejudice was a tangible threat. Bessie rode her first motorcycle, an Indian, at the age of 16 and went on to own 27 Harley-Davidsons.

*    Dot Robinson: In the mid-twentieth century, Dot paved the way
for women motorcyclists. In 1939, she and fellow motorcyclist, Linda Dugeau, began Motor Maids of America. Today, Motor Maids is thriving and is the oldest motorcycling organization for women in North America. Dot also opened doors for women in motorcycle competition. An enduro racer, in 1940, Dot became the first woman to win in AMA national competition.

“These women are inspiring to all riders,” said Mark Mederski, executive director of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. “And, the Hall of Fame encourages motorcyclists to nominate more remarkable women for inclusion.”