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Share Your Story
Could your story inspire others to ride? Discover www.h-d.com/womenriders. It’s the place to share your own H-D experience and fire the passion within others to grab the handlebars. Maybe it’s how you got started, why you ride, or your advice for those who want to learn. Read stories from other women riders. Plus, it’s filled with the latest information on events, bikes and gear. Make this the best riding season ever!
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Find LOH on Facebook Connect Online!Women and H-D share a strong presence on Facebook. Not only can you get the latest info about H-D happenings, you can connect with those who share your passion to ride. Even upload your photos and videos, and spread the word to friends. |
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| Summer Collection
So a girls gotta look good on her Harley, right?
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Milan LOH calendar
Advertising Agency: Grey, Milan, Italy This calendar tells twelve true stories about Harleys and their special owners. Headline and copy text (translation): |
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LOH News
Dublin invasion : Newsflash – from our Dublin correspondent
Following the invasion of Dublin by thousands of tourists and stag parties in recent years, the fair city faced a new threat on Saturday 19 April when it was invaded by a previously unknown horde of revellers.
The group were described by anxious onlookers as a party of rufty-tufty Harley owners. They seemed determined to visit as many hostelries as possible within a limited time period or, in the case of their female companions, the Grafton Street shops.
The leader was identified as a woman called Tracey or, as some people referred to her, trolley dolly.
The good-time group travelled to Dublin by coach, with pick-ups in Antrim, Belfast and Lisburn, and arrived in the Irish capital around 11.30am. The journey was without incident apart from one traveller having a mini nervous breakdown when her bank card was swallowed by a cash machine at Central Station.
On arrival, the group split up into smaller factions, with some (the female contingent) opting to beat their credit cards into submission and others, led by hollow legs Sam Semple, aiming to drink Dublin dry.
Fortunately, no-one missed the coach for the return journey which featured such delights as Tracey’s travelling tombola, singalongaJean and JP modelling his latest purchase.
It was a tired but happy crowd who arrived back in Northern Ireland that night.
Seriously folks, more than 30 Provincewide members and friends enjoyed the trip and raised £112 for charity.
Thanks to all who supported the Ladies of Harley bus trip. It couldn’t have happened without you. I’m still getting my voice back (although some – like Sam Semple – would say that’s not a bad thing!)
Tracey
Mamma Mia, 15 March 2008
For the Ladies of Harley, fun is really ‘the name of the game’
Saturday 15 March saw the magnificent seven Ladies of Harley arrive at the Odyssey for the feel-good musical, ‘Mamma Mia’. Reports are that they tripped the light fantastic so well that they should now be known as the dancing queens!
Here’s to the disco divas:
Helen
Hilda
Carol Anne
Alexis
Doreen
Liz
Sue
They super-troupered around the Odyssey in some style. They ‘took a chance on me’ going to see this musical and had the time of their lives.
Europa get-together
Our get-together in the Europa on Sunday was a great success. Thanks to all of you who turned up. In total we had 10 members. We had a very productive meeting – the craic was great, we got to know lots more about each other and came up with lots of great ideas for the coming year. A variety of events offering something for everyone (drink, men, music, food – and just for Sue, posing pouches!) – is on the agenda.
The First LOH Night Out
The first (and hopefully not last!) Ladies of Harley night out – CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS
Ladies of Harley History
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| Written on the back of the original photo–”This was taken at the Laconia Gypsy Tour in June 1940. Dot Smith, San Francisco, Harley 61 / Linda Degeau, Providence, Harley 45 / Dot Robinson, Saginaw, Harley 74.” | |
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| 1947 photo of Dot Robinson and an unidentified rider on their motorcycles, wearing their Motor Maids club uniforms. Black and white photo with uniforms colorized. | |
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| Dot Robinson in Daytona, 1984. | |
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| Bessie Stringfield, who started riding when she was 16, was the first African-American woman to travel cross-country solo. | |
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| 1930s | |
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| Daytona 1989. Image used in the 1990 flyer “A Woman’s Guide to Harley-Davidson”–information on H.O.G. and Ladies of Harley. | |
| FROM THE ARCHIVES The Enthusiast Girl The “Enthusiast Girl” was a young, female rider who appeared on the cover of Enthusiast magazine in 1929 and toured the country on her Harley-Davidson motorcycle following her cover shot First featured in the November and December 1929 issues of Enthusiast, Arthur Davidson called her “The Georgia Peach”, and newspapers across the country hailed the “Enthusiast Girl.” Yet today, few people know who Vivian Bales was. Harley-Davidson, however, will always be grateful to her for the goodwill she spread on her cross-country motorcycle trip – a trip that would make her one of the first great women riders. Vivian Bales was born in January 1909. Shortly after, the family moved from Florida to Albany, Georgia. Soon after her high school graduation in 1926, she began teaching dance, which gave her more pocket money than she had ever had. This extra money lit a spark in her – why continue to travel on her horse when she could cover more territory on a now-affordable motorcycle? For her the answer was obvious, and in 1926 she purchased a Model B single, her first Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Bales quickly taught herself to ride, in spite of the fact that she was only 5’2″ and 95 pounds, and unable to kick-start the bike on her own. Still, she soon made her first “big trip” with her best friend Josephine Johnson to St. Petersburg, Florida, a distance of more than 300 miles. The local Harley-Davidson dealer was fascinated by Bales’ story and arranged for it to be featured in the St. Petersburg newspaper and eventually the Atlanta Journal. |
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| Inspired by her successful trip and eager for more adventure, Bales decided to trade in her Single for a 1929 45 Twin D model, which she described as a “real honey.” Empowered by her new motorcycle, she wrote to Hap Jameson editor of Enthusiast, telling him that she’d like to make a solo trip north on her bike. Although Harley-Davidson wouldn’t officially sponsor the ride, they decided to call her “The Enthusiast Girl,” and provided her with two sweaters that proclaimed this title.
Bales’ famous ride took place in the summer of 1929 and was featured in many national publications, as well as Enthusiast. In each of the towns she passed through, Bales would meet local dignitaries and Harley-Davidson dealers, most would volunteer to support her on her ride. She even met President Hoover! In all, she travelled for 78 days and covered nearly 5,000 miles. Following her famous ride, Bales continued motorcycling, performing stunt riding at motorcycle races in Tallahassee, Florida. Although she never purchased another motorcycle, Bales stated that her Harley-Davidson experience has remained one of the most significant of her life. It was so significant that before she passed away on December 23, 2001, three weeks shy of her ninety-third birthday, she requested a motorcycle procession at her funeral. Her request was carried out, and organized through Flint River Harley-Davidson of Albany. For the Georgia Peach, this was a fitting final expression of the free spirit of all Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders. |
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