July is Women's Motorcycle Month

[Fizzer6R]

keep riding Ladies!

Motorcycle Hall of Fame

In July 1916 Augusta and Adeline Van Buren weren’t your average society girls. The sisters, decedents of former president Van Buren, were the first women to ride (Indian) motorcycles coast-to-coast across the U.S.

 

[buzzbomb]

keep riding Ladies!

Motorcycle Hall of Fame

In July 1916 Augusta and Adeline Van Buren weren’t your average society girls. The sisters, decedents of former president Van Buren, were the first women to ride (Indian) motorcycles coast-to-coast across the U.S.

What an odyssey that must have been! Heck, the year is now 2012, and I'm one of the few people I know who've driven clear from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific, and back, and not on a motorcycle.

That would be a tale to tell for anyone on a motorcycle, never mind a woman in 1916. Is it OK to be jealous of two women, on Indian motorcycles in 1916? I hope so.

 

[Fizzer6R]

and buzz most of the roads were dirt back then! bunch of articles on them say they broke down many times, and even got arrested because women just weren't suppose to be doing things like this back then. so very glad times have changed for the better

 

[buzzbomb]

and buzz most of the roads were dirt back then! bunch of articles on them say they broke down many times, and even got arrested because women just weren't suppose to be doing things like this back then. so very glad times have changed for the better

The dirt roads are no surprise. Nor are the breakdowns. Hence my wonder and admiration. The fact they got arrested? Didn't know that. Did they leave a journal? That could be great reading.

 

[linkgt]

:needpics:

obligatory.....

 

[Anthony]

:needpics:

 

[bleedinblue]

"Being intelligent young women, they prepared for their transcontinental journey carefully. Their intent had a dual purpose. The National Preparedness Movement was an effort to get ready for the inevitable entry of the United States into World War I. Augusta and Adeline felt that women could help in a direct manner by becoming dispatch riders, freeing up men to provide combat support. This would remove one of the primary arguments for denying women the right to vote – women were historically non-participants in war efforts. They would have to prove this point by showing, without a shadow of a doubt, that a woman could handle the difficulties of motorcycling over long distance and harsh conditions. Thus, before superhighways, and paved roads for the most part, their plan was conceived."

AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame | Adeline and Augusta VanBuren