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It is only in the recent years that the sigma attached to women being around motorcycles has lifted. I can still remember in the 70's when it was becoming more acceptable for women to be around motorcycles and this was not even riding them but being pillion. We did see a few women that broke this and started riding their own bikes. They were however few and far between.
These days it is common practice for the ladies to own and maintain their own bikes and it really is great to see.
So just think how it was back in 1915 when Effie Hotchkiss decided it was now time to do a trip across America
Effie Hotchkiss was not your average Victorian era girl—she had dreams, big dreams and though she didn’t intend it, her dreams landed her on the front page of newspapers across America and her name was etched into history books. The year was 1915 and Effie was already bored with her bank clerking job on Wall Street in New York City. She wanted to do something exciting and adventurous. She wanted to see America. And she wanted to do them both at the same time.
Motoring across the United States a century ago was no easy task, given the lack of paved roads, signage and service stations, among other hardships. For a woman to attempt such a feat without a male escort was particularly bold. In 1909, one enterprising car company tapped Alice Huyler Ramsey to become the first female to drive across the country. The point being, of course, that the Maxwell motorcar was so reliable that even a woman could drive it successfully (fortunately for all concerned, she also happened to be an excellent mechanic).
So when 26-year-old Effie Hotchkiss set off from her home in Brooklyn, New York, on May 2, 1915 for the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, straddling her 3-speed Harley-Davidson, she was bound to raise a few eyebrows—even if she hadn’t stuffed her rotund 52-year-old mother in a sidecar.
In the early part of the 20th century, much of the U.S. especially in the West, was still wild frontier, full of bandits and Indians, not to mention wildlife. In addition, what roads existed were narrow, potholed, and mostly dirt. These hazards did not deter Effie. Using a small inheritance, she purchased a V-Twin Harley-Davidson and planned out her trip. Her mother, Avis, however was not as enthused as Effie about a woman taking such a trip alone. Instead of preventing her daughter from going, Avis insisted on tagging along
A sidecar was rigged to the bike and the mother-daughter duo left Brooklyn, NY on May 2, 1915 to attend the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. They spent the next two months traveling 5,000 miles through every type of terrain and weather imaginable. At one time, the temperature ranged from freezing to over 120° in a matter of days.
Effie not only did the driving, she was the mechanic, too, since she had to repair the cycle in remote places. When the duo ran out of inner tubes for the tires, they improvised by taking a blanket, cutting it up, tightly rolling it and stuffing it into the tire. It got them to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they were able to purchase new tubes.
Whether intended or not, Effie and Avis did make the news and were celebrities by the time they returned home. They were also the first women to not only make a cross-country trip on a motorcycle, but the first to make it round trip. Effie remarked, “I just wanted to see America and considered that the three-speed Harley-Davidson for myself and sidecar for mother and luggage was the best suited for the job.”
October 11, 1915. Effie and Avis pose before the W. & V. Beecroft hardware store in Ossining, New York, just before their triumphant return to Brooklyn. Everett, the photographer, had driven out to this hamlet by the Hudson that morning to meet his kin after a five-month separation.
Thinking about it even in today's times any of us doing this same trip would need to plan our routes making sure we have all those modern day conveniences along for the ride. So I really take my hat off two these two ladies for doing what they did back then.
These days it is common practice for the ladies to own and maintain their own bikes and it really is great to see.
So just think how it was back in 1915 when Effie Hotchkiss decided it was now time to do a trip across America
Effie Hotchkiss was not your average Victorian era girl—she had dreams, big dreams and though she didn’t intend it, her dreams landed her on the front page of newspapers across America and her name was etched into history books. The year was 1915 and Effie was already bored with her bank clerking job on Wall Street in New York City. She wanted to do something exciting and adventurous. She wanted to see America. And she wanted to do them both at the same time.
Motoring across the United States a century ago was no easy task, given the lack of paved roads, signage and service stations, among other hardships. For a woman to attempt such a feat without a male escort was particularly bold. In 1909, one enterprising car company tapped Alice Huyler Ramsey to become the first female to drive across the country. The point being, of course, that the Maxwell motorcar was so reliable that even a woman could drive it successfully (fortunately for all concerned, she also happened to be an excellent mechanic).
So when 26-year-old Effie Hotchkiss set off from her home in Brooklyn, New York, on May 2, 1915 for the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, straddling her 3-speed Harley-Davidson, she was bound to raise a few eyebrows—even if she hadn’t stuffed her rotund 52-year-old mother in a sidecar.
In the early part of the 20th century, much of the U.S. especially in the West, was still wild frontier, full of bandits and Indians, not to mention wildlife. In addition, what roads existed were narrow, potholed, and mostly dirt. These hazards did not deter Effie. Using a small inheritance, she purchased a V-Twin Harley-Davidson and planned out her trip. Her mother, Avis, however was not as enthused as Effie about a woman taking such a trip alone. Instead of preventing her daughter from going, Avis insisted on tagging along
A sidecar was rigged to the bike and the mother-daughter duo left Brooklyn, NY on May 2, 1915 to attend the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. They spent the next two months traveling 5,000 miles through every type of terrain and weather imaginable. At one time, the temperature ranged from freezing to over 120° in a matter of days.
Effie not only did the driving, she was the mechanic, too, since she had to repair the cycle in remote places. When the duo ran out of inner tubes for the tires, they improvised by taking a blanket, cutting it up, tightly rolling it and stuffing it into the tire. It got them to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they were able to purchase new tubes.
Whether intended or not, Effie and Avis did make the news and were celebrities by the time they returned home. They were also the first women to not only make a cross-country trip on a motorcycle, but the first to make it round trip. Effie remarked, “I just wanted to see America and considered that the three-speed Harley-Davidson for myself and sidecar for mother and luggage was the best suited for the job.”
October 11, 1915. Effie and Avis pose before the W. & V. Beecroft hardware store in Ossining, New York, just before their triumphant return to Brooklyn. Everett, the photographer, had driven out to this hamlet by the Hudson that morning to meet his kin after a five-month separation.
Thinking about it even in today's times any of us doing this same trip would need to plan our routes making sure we have all those modern day conveniences along for the ride. So I really take my hat off two these two ladies for doing what they did back then.
