Hall of Fame Impact

Their stories are those of individualism, ingenuity, influence and perseverance, and they were starting to be written well over a century ago.Born in 1889, Effie Hotchkiss began riding at age 16. When her father died, she used her inheritance to buy a 1915 Harley-Davidson 3-speed twin and a Rogers sidecar. On May 2, 1915, Hotchkiss, with her mother Avis in the sidecar, rode from Brooklyn, N.Y., to San Francisco and back again, covering 9,000 miles over five months.

In 1916, the Van Buren sisters embarked on their own coast-to-coast ride, traveling aboard an Indian Power Plus in 1916. Augusta and Adeline Van Buren were the first women to ride motorized vehicles to the summit of Pikes Peak, accomplishing that feat in the same year.In the 1930s and 1940s, Theresa Wallach of England became well known for racing and long-distance riding, besides serving as a dispatch rider for the British Army during World War II. Her impact became known around the world.African-American Bessie Stringfield made eight solo cross-country trips during the 1930s and 1940s and rode her motorcycle in America’s Deep South at a time when it wasn't safe to do so. During World War II, she became a civilian motorcycle dispatch rider for the U.S. Army.

Dot Robinson rode and raced in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In many ways, she opened the door for women in organized motorcycling competition. She competed primarily in off-road, including operating sidecar-fitted motorcycles, which was popular in competition at the time. She won an AMA national in the sidecar class at the 1940 Jack Pine enduro, becoming the first woman to win an AMA national. Robinson co-founded the women’s motorcycling organization Motor Maids in 1940.Following World War II, increasingly more women got involved in motorcycling. Margaret Wilson was one of them. She logged more than 550,000 miles on motorcycles, showing that women could be just as passionate about the sport as men. Wilson, along with her husband and business partner Mike Wilson, ran a successful Harley-Davidson dealerships. Together, they were among the most prolific financial supporters of a number of motorcycling advocacy and promotional campaigns in the second half of the 20th Century.Mary McGee broke down more barriers to women in competition, following closely on the heels of Dot Robinson. She began motorcycle road racing in the late 1950s, switching to dirt in 1963. In 1975, McGee rode the Baja 500 solo, finishing ahead of several two-man teams.

As motorcycle racing became more popular, race coverage became more important, and no publication has covered more motorcycle races than “Cycle News,” launched by Sharon Clayton and her husband Chuck Clayton in 1965. “Cycle News” grew exponentially and became the definitive source for racing results for generations of racers and fans, not to mention the launchpad for many prominent journalists who continue to cover the sport.One of the companies to emerge from the explosion of motorcycle racing in the 1970s was JT Racing, started by Rita Gregory and her husband John Gregory. The couple built JT Racing into a dominant force in the sport, sponsoring such riders as Hall of Famers Roger DeCoster, Ricky Johnson, Bob Hannah, Broc Glover and Jeff Ward.Movie stuntwoman Debbie Evans was considered a pioneer in observed trials competition, a sport that calls for expertise on a narrow, marked, twisty maze of a course. She successfully competed in U.S. trials in the late 1970s, but became better known for her stunt riding and choreographing work for movies including Matrix Reloaded, Charlie’s Angels II and the Fast and the Furious franchise.

In the late 1970s, Hazel Kolb, known as the “Motorcyclin’ Grandma,” became famous for her perimeter ride around the United States—a 15,000-mile journey over 80 days on a 1978 Harley-Davidson FLH. Kolb caught the attention of mainstream print and broadcast media, and her notoriety helped counter society’s stereotypical image of motorcyclists, playing a part in motorcycling becoming fashionable among aging Baby Boomers throughout the 1980s.A major mainstream personality inducted into the Hall of Fame was country music icon and superstar Loretta Lynn. In 1982, she first hosted the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., known as Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. “Loretta’s” became the place where the AMA’s youngest and brightest amateur motocross athletes battled for coveted AMA National No. 1 plates and a shot at professional stardom.Two Hall of Famers whose impact intersected were Becky Brown and Christin Sommer-Simmons. Becky Brown started the women motorcycling organization Women in the Wind in Toledo, Ohio, in 1979. Sommer-Simmons got to know Brown and organized a chapter a few years later that she supported with a newsletter. That newsletter became “Harley Women” magazine and launched Sommer-Simmons career as a prominent journalist and author. Meanwhile, WITW kept growing to more than 70 chapters with members around the world.

Women motorcyclists also have had a major impact on motorcyclists' rights, both on-highway and off. One of the leading advocates for off-highway access has been Mona Ehnes. Enhes began riding a Honda 50 in the early 1960s and helped her husband, Vic, run a motorcycle shop that sold Hodakas. She entered the fight for motorcyclists' rights in 1967, when controversial legislation was introduced that would have restricted riding opportunities in her home state of Montana. In 1984, she was one of the founding members of the Great Falls Trail Bike Riders Association, the largest and most active OHV club in Montana with over 600 members.Dianne Traynor is known for her work, alongside her husband Mike, organizing fund-raising rides that would become the Ride for Kids motorcycle charity program and later the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. They began the Ride for Kids in Atlanta in 1984 to raise funds for childhood brain tumor research and have since raised tens of millions of dollars to become the world's largest non-governmental source of funding for childhood brain tumor research.Many women have impacted motorcycling across decades. A member of the women's motorcycling organization, the Motor Maids, since 1948, Gloria Tramontin Struck has ridden in all 48 continental United States several times over. She has continued to speak to and inspire motorcyclists from all backgrounds into the 21st Century.Other women inducted into the Hall of Fame include Sue Fish, who at age 19 advanced to the AMA national motocross circuit. Nicknamed “The Flying Fish,” she won the 1976 and 1977 Women’s National Motocross Championships. Mary Shephard Cutright was a road rider who joined the Motor Maids in 1949 and was a longtime president, serving 12 years in that role. Nancy Davidson, wife of AMA Hall of Fame Legend Bill “Willie G.” Davidson, was a lifelong advocate for the AMA, she espoused the freedom and adventure of the motorcycle lifestyle, influencing ridership across the globe. Phyllis McClure, wife of drag racer Jim McClure, was a pillar of the drag-racing community. Linda Dugeau founded the Motor Maids and, much like her friend Dot Robinson, made an impact as one of the best female off-road racers in the 1950s. Linda “Jo” Giovannoni was active in both journalism and rights, founding Harley Women magazine and becoming active in the rights organization ABATE.The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame inducts a new class every year and, as they have in the past, women continue to draw the attention of voters who recognize the impact they have had on motorcycling.