Dykes on Bikes®

Dikes on Bikes®: 30 Years at the Forefront
GLBT Historical Society Hosts Exhibit and
Event Series with Dikes on Bikes®
April 24, 2008 - July 12, 2008

Dikes on Bikes® powerfully embodies how lesbians have stood at the forefront of queer pride for 30 years. The exhibit "30 Years at the Forefront," hosted by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) Historical Society, uses a significant anniversary to look back and commemorate this anchor SF institution that has become internationally renowned. The exhibit also looks forward and celebrates the landmark legal victory Dikes on Bikes® recently won, securing full ownership over its name.

Dikes on Bikes® Photo: Bob Follett
Photo: Bob Follett

The exhibit is accompanied by a series of events, including a donor preview on April 24th, a gala opening reception on May 15th, a reception co-hosted by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) on May 31st, and a Pride week reception on June 26th, among others.

The "30 Years at the Forefront" exhibit invites the general public to revel in the mythic power of Dikes on Bikes®. Exhibit attendees can even get a feel for riding in the famed contingent by hopping on a motorcycle surrounded by the sights and sounds of past parades. Along with the fun, the exhibit also offers visitors the opportunity to learn more about the organization’s ride down a 30-year road: its history, mission, structure, annual event production, and international reach.

The exhibit also hopes to spur past and present members of Dikes on Bikes® to collectively remember and celebrate their history, and in so doing locate and archive otherwise uncollected memorabilia, documents, photographs, and artifacts of the organization’s last 30 years.

website: glbthistory.org

See Also
Women in History Photos

Woman in Motorcycling History // 1.23.07 // max

Annie Brokaw
Inducted into the The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame: 2004
It is quite likely that Annie Brokaw has participated in more forms of motorcycling than any other woman in America. Her life as an active motorcyclist started in her dad¹s motorcycle shop in Florida in 1947. East coast road tours, an enduro, a trials, and a few drag races, added sport to her daily motorcycle rides to school. Gaining a Triumph Mechanic Certificate rounded things out.

Mary Shephard Cutright
Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame and National Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame: 1993.
Motor Maids President for 12 years, Motor Maids officer since 1952. Dedicated ambassador of the sport.

Linda Dugeau
Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame: 2004 Pioneer and Co- Founder of the Motor Maids of America, the oldest motorcycling organization for women in North America. Motorcycle rider and enthusiast throughout her life.
See Also Motor Maids

Debbie Evans
Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame: 2003
First woman to compete in FIM World Championship Trials event. Top rider in Women’s World Cup Trials competition. Motorcycle stunt rider in over 200 movies and television programs.

Marge Dwyer Hummell|
Inducted into the The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame: 2006
In 1939, at age 25, Marge Dwyer was the first female long distance rider to attend the Black Hills Motor Classic. She rode her own motorcycle more than 300 miles to the Rally from a distance of more than 300 miles.

Dot Robinson
Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame: 1998
AMA Enduro Champion, Co-Founder and first President of Motor Maids of America.
See Also Motor Maids

Bessie Stringfield
Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame: 2003
In the 1940s, "The Motorcycle Queen of Miami" broke down barriers for women and African American motorcyclists at the same time, completing eight solo cross-country tours and serving as a U.S. Army motorcycle dispatch rider.

Adeline and Augusta VanBuren
Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame: 2002
These sisters' 1916 cross-country ride proved to the U.S. military that women were fit to serve as dispatch riders. The Van Burens were the first women to make the transcontinental journey on two solo motorcycles.

Theresa Wallach
Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame: 2003
Motorcycle adventurer and author who founded Easy Motorcycle Riding Schools, Inc. and published a training manual of same name. First Vice President of Women's International Motorcycle Association. In 1935, Wallach and her friend, Florence Blenkiron, or "Blenk," as Wallach called her, embarked on one of the most ambitious motorcycle journeys of the era. Riding a 600cc single-cylinder Panther complete with sidecar and trailer, the two rode from London to Cape Town, South Africa. No roads, no back up, just straight across the Sahara through equatorial Africa, and South to the Cape - in 1935, without even a compass! It was quite simply one of the most radical motorcycle journeys ever.

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Motor Maids
Inducted into the The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame: 2005
Founded in 1940, chartered by the AMA in 1941, the Motor Maids are credited with being the first women’s motorcycle organization in the United States, possibly the world. The founding premise of the Motor Maids was to unite women motorcyclist in promoting motorcycle interest, a principle they still live by today.
Ride safe. Ride Proud.

updated: 05/16/2008 3:04 PM

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