It Was Never About the Pants

I’m Kay Andrea, occasional cross-country motorcyclist, and historian-in-the-making in the PhD program at the University of South Carolina. Welcome to “It Was Never About the Pants.” In 1916, sisters Augusta and Adeline Van Buren made history as the first women to travel across the county by motorcycle. Although their accomplishment went into the record books, their true story has been obscured by time and reduced to a myth about being arrested for wearing pants. Join me as I reimagine their experience, dispatch with the myth and restore the Van Burens’ position within early motorcycle culture and history.

It Was Never About the Pants:

How the Van Buren Sisters Rode into the Motorcycle Record Books in 1916

As their machines exploded to life, coughing fuel, oil and exhaust fumes into the air, the riders felt the metal sculptures warming beneath them as the idles smoothed to a familiar rhythm. The sisters, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren, squinted against the sun.

It  was July 24, 1916. Omaha, Nebraska. Augusta and Adeline Van Buren – distant descendants of Martin Van Buren – 8th president of the United States – kicked their 1916 Indian Power Plus motorcycles to life. They were leaving the Omaha Bicycle Company – which also served as the local Indian Motorcycle dealer – where they had their motorcycles lowered so they could touch the ground when stopped.[1] Adeline, the smaller of the two sisters at 5’2,” probably felt an immediate difference, particularly on the brutally rutted trails that passed for roads.[2]  They easily rolled off the rear stands that supported the bikes when parked.[3] Perhaps they exchanged relieved smiles as they accelerated away from the shop each using the toe of a boot to hook their rear stands and shove them into the catches on the rear fenders.

Clad in heavy tan leather from head to toe, day after day, regardless of temperature or precipitation, the sisters’ gear was typical of what women motorcyclists wore in 1916 – inspired by both equestrian and aviator fashion. Jodhpur breeches – loose through the hips and upper thighs – tapered to a snug fit at the knee, disappearing into their tall, laced boots. A simple work shirt under a knee-length coat, collared and loose through the shoulders, tapered at the waist, then flared to the hem. Their head gear resembled aviator flight caps and they wore goggles. The final touch – a pair of thick gauntlet gloves.[4]

In the decades after their journey, the sisters’ equestrian-style jodhpurs have become the focal point of the Van Burens’ story. Let’s call it a red herring. But it was never about the pants.

So why did these women – Augusta, age 32 and Adeline, age 26 – embark on what became a grueling, 60-day motorcycle trek across the United States?

​

Part 1: The Why

Much of the appeal was their deep passion for motorcycling and their desire for travel, but as the Press of Atlantic City says, “This ride grew out of their strong interest in preparedness and National efficiency and is undertaken to show that the gentler sex may be called upon to perform many duties ordinarily expected from sterner hands. They have in mind such a nerve-trying task as desptach carrying in time of war.”[5] Dispatch riders – before more advanced communications were developed – delivered orders and messages between headquarters and military units.[6]

While the United States was already embroiled in the Mexican Border War, America was on the cusp of joining the global conflict which we now know as World War I. To this end, “preparedness” for this battle had become a large social movement in which women participated to demonstrate their strength and patriotism.[7] The sisters were indeed active in the “Preparedness Movement,” joining the Special Relief Society and the National Security League – organizations which promoted civilian and military readiness.[8] They also knew that women motorcyclists were already riding dispatch for the British Army. The sisters believed that American women motorcyclists were fully qualified to perform these same duties for their own country.

This goal bestowed their transcontinental motorcycle journey with a larger purpose. The Van Buren sisters’ lives demonstrated that they felt a deep need to live a life of purpose. Both women were college-educated – Adeline, the younger sister, was a schoolteacher.[9] Newspapers and census data provide varying descriptions of Augusta’s occupation, but most of them revolve around a leadership role of stenographers in a professional firm.[10] In the years following this ride, Adeline returned to school and became an attorney, while Augusta learned to fly and joined Amelia Earhart’s Ninety-Nines – a group of more than 100 women pilots, formed in 1929.[11] But in 1916, the Van Burens had embraced motorcycling enthusiastically. In two years, they became skilled riders and mechanics, logging over 9,000 miles just riding in New York and New England.[12] By 1916, they were fully prepared to launch this cross-country motorcycle campaign.

​

Part 2: The Plan

The sisters planned to embark on July 4th from their hometown of New York City. Following the Lincoln Highway, they would arrive in San Francisco, CA on August 9th – 3,800 miles, 35 days. This translates to just over one hundred miles a day. The Lincoln Highway – the first transcontinental route in the United States – had been dedicated in 1913, but in 1916 was still little more than existing roads cobbled together.[13] Given that most of that route was unpaved – dusty and hard-rutted when dry, muddy and slick when soaked with rain – a hundred miles often took most of a day’s light to complete.

The summer of 1916 brought extreme weather conditions to the Midwest and western United States – heatwaves paired with massive stormfronts covered the Midwest.  The desert regions posted punishingly high temperatures. The road showed no sympathy for these riders.[14]

The Van Burens struggled against relentless rain through much of the Midwest. Local roads and bridges washed out easily since they were not built for durability. They lost over a week’s travel time just waiting out the worst storms.[15] More often, rather than taking refuge, they simply kept moving forward on treacherous roads, mile by wretched mile. Driving rain pelted their faces – smaller drops felt like little needles, large ones more like small stones.

Once their leathers were soaked with rain, the garments chilled the women through. It takes days for leather to dry completely, so they faced dressing in heavy, ice-cold, clammy leathers and boots each morning. The sheer weight of their drenched leathers combined with the physical struggle of keeping their motorcycles moving through the deep mud, caused overwhelming exhaustion – at times one or the other of the sisters would fall asleep while riding and wreck her motorcycle, dumping it unglamorously in deep, sticky mud.[16]

Undeterred by the weather, or their own exhaustion, the sisters pushed through mud and mountains to Denver, Colorado where they paused for a few days of relaxation. Instead of continuing in a westerly direction, the Van Burens headed south to Colorado Springs and the newly opened Pikes Peak highway. On August 5, the Van Buren sisters became the first women motorcyclists to ride to the 14,000-plus-foot summit of Pike’s Peak.[17] In the Colorado Springs newspaper, Adeline Van Buren comments on the significance of their transcontinental journey and their Pike’s Peak climb: ”We didn’t really feel like we had achieved anything wonderful until yesterday. …we did not really become elated until we mounted Pike’s Peak.”[18]

From Pike’s Peak, the sisters turned westward again, resuming their quest for the Pacific coast. From Salt Lake City to Reno, the sisters rode out of the massive stormfronts that had dogged them for what seemed like an eternity, and they rolled into the Great American Desert west of Salt Lake. Temperatures soared above 100 degrees. Astride the steel and aluminum of their motors, in full leather gear, the intense heat and dehydration would have created concurrent sensory deprivation and overload which must have heightened their emotions and their need to push on. Fuel and water were scarce, and when they got lost, they came perilously close to running out of both. Just as they feared dying in Skull Valley, a prospector came upon them, giving them water, directions – and salvation.[19]

Finally, the Van Burens escaped the Nevada desert and crossed into California, at last smelling the humid salt air as they neared the ocean. After stopping in San Francisco – the western terminus of the Lincoln Highway – they rode south to Los Angeles. After some sight-seeing and relaxation, the sisters embarked on one final adventure – Mexico. Because of the conflict at the border, they knew that crossing into Tijuana could be risky, but their invincible spirits, bolstered by their experiences on the road erased whatever trepidation they might have felt. After a brief visit, the sisters returned to Los Angeles where they caught a Southern Pacific train which transported their road-weary bodies and motorcycles back to New York.[20]

​

Part 3: The Myth

When the Van Burens arrived in San Francisco on September 2, 1916, they became the first women to cross the United States on solo motorcycles, adding to their feat of being the first women to scale Pike’s Peak on motorcycles. Sadly, what is remembered about their journey is the wholly unsubstantiated notion from a 1978 article in Ms. Magazine which states that the sisters “were arrested a half-dozen times… in small towns between Chicago and the Rockies – for wearing men’s clothes – but each time they were released with only a reprimand, provided they got out of town fast.”[21] Although the article is attributed to Adeline Van Buren’s daughter, Anne Tully Ruderman, historian William M. Murphy, author of Grace and Grit, states that nothing in his extensive research “indicates that they had been placed under arrest.”[22] Although the family claims it is fact, the evidence in all available primary sources indicates that it might be the case of not letting the truth get in the way of a good story.

Instead of granting these women the gravitas they deserve, their legacy continues to be reduced to a dubious tale of being arrested for wearing men’s clothing. So let’s begin again. Let’s move away from this reductive frame that this pants myth has placed around the Van Burens and look at the full historic context. Because it was never about the pants.

​

Part 4: The History Behind the Myth

There are four reasons this “pants myth” is accepted as fact. First, the Van Buren family believes it as part of the sisters’ lore, although the claim has never been verified. Second, there is a popular understanding that women’s lives were tightly governed by social norms that included how they dressed, where they went and what they did. The literature of the time – Edith Wharton’s novels about the Gilded Age, for example – portrayed a New York society that was harsh and unforgiving toward those who ‘broke the rules.’ Third, motorcycle history is largely anecdotal – the culture tells its own history. It contains specious assumptions that archival documents often prove to be false. And fourth, there is sparse academic treatment of this era of motorcycling. Aside from William Murphy’s book Grace and Grit, there is little credible research available to disprove these myths. This podcast is the first scholarly treatment of the Van Buren sisters’ place in motorcycle history and culture.

The social role of women was rapidly changing in the nineteen-teens – rules, norms and expectations were evolving, and women benefitted from a certain flexibility that these changes made possible. While women’s roles were still restricted, both socially and politically, by 1916 women held powerful positions in organizations dedicated to causes such as temperance, sexual purity, women’s suffrage, and military preparedness. These causes provided another sphere where middle- and upper-class women could work against proscribed gender roles. Women were finding ways to speak publicly, to lead organizations, and to assert their political agency.

Upper-middle-class women like the Van Burens enjoyed this valuable flexibility. For example, women had begun participating in many sports, including the growing sport of motorcycling. Manufacturers of male sportswear quickly adapted their designs for the female frame. Thus, women motorcyclists were wearing pants just like the female equestrians and bicyclists were.

If we look at the way newspaper journalists described the Van Burens’ clothing, we can see that their leathers were accepted as motorcycle gear.

Springfield Daily Republican: “Their costumes are light, tan-colored leather riding habits, with regulation motorcycle caps of the same material to match..”[23]

The Buffalo News: “For the road they had adopted a riding dress, consisting of leather coats, riding breeches and leather leggings.”[24]

And Motorcycle Illustrated printed one of Adeline Van Buren’s dispatches home. She says: “Our leather costumes are accepted naturally and instantaneously by everyone, causing real commendation, even from old ladies.”[25]

Clearly, their leathers were not the issue later claimed; however, many articles revealed the underlying anxiety around women wearing pants – homosexuality. It was acceptable for sporting women to wear pants. It was not acceptable for pants to be part of a woman’s daily wardrobe.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “Both are refined in appearance, and they expect to show the brothers and fathers of other girls that ladies can ride and still not lose their most valuable asset, their femininity.”[26]

The Cedar Rapids Gazette: “The feminine duo… are not brawny specimens of a certain type of athletic woman but are mere slips of girls.”[27]

Tacoma Daily Ledger: This is a quote from Augusta Van Buren who was known for her pithy responses. She said, “There is nothing phenomenal or unfeminine in girls being motorcyclists. Why should there be?”[28]

We can see that in most of the articles that describe the sisters’ clothing, journalists are quick to add that the sisters are petite and feminine – the implication being that these women are simply wearing motorcycle gear and should not be construed as lesbians. Thus, the discussion around their clothing simultaneously acknowledges their dress and gives them a pass for it, with the understanding that their clothing fell into the category of sportswear. This points to the flexibility that women had in certain situations. Pants paranoia was not part of motorcycle culture, and as Adeline Van Buren indicated in her Motorcycle Illustrated article, even regular citizens outside the world of motorcycling accepted the sisters’ gear as fashionable sportswear. Even the old ladies.

So, if the Van Burens’ story isn’t about the pants, what is it about?

​

Part 5: Early Motorcycle Culture

If you asked Adeline Van Buren, she would say, “While motorcycling is our chief sport, preparedness claims much of our attention. We hope to prove by our transcontinental trip that women can help the men and even take their places in time of war.”[29] But from a modern perspective, I believe that the sisters’ story must be fully integrated into the motorcycle culture of the time to understand the significance of their accomplishments.

Regarding women’s motorcycling history, the culture generally tells it as such: women were not included in, or invited into, motorcycle culture in the early days. Women riders were the rare exception. This modern retelling of the early history is filtered through, and informed by, a backward look from the vantage point of a motorcycle culture which has been dominated by images, styles and interpreted social codes of the outlaw or one-percent clubs, such as the Hells Angels, for several generations now.[30] This misinterpretation is pervasive with both women and men reinforcing this false narrative:

Author Susie Hollern writes: “Women were not encouraged to ride motorcycles in the early 1900s.”[31] “Riding a motorcycle was ‘unacceptable behavior’ for a woman.”[32]

“Kiwi” Mike Tomas – motorcycle industry manufacturer –  has been quoted as saying: “Women motorcycle riders were extremely uncommon in the early days, sometimes frowned upon, and [riding was] also difficult due to the mechanical reliability and handling of these machines.”[33]

And finally, Buzz Kanter – long-time motorcycle industry journalist said: “Over the years people have become more welcoming of women on motorcycles, but… it has not always been that way.”[34]

Through this perspective, the Van Burens were a rare exception. According to the industry’s own history, the sisters could not be part of the motorcycle culture; therefore, their cross-country journey was an isolated incident.

Let’s rewind a bit to look at how the motorcycle industry and culture evolved.

​

Part 6: The Federation of American Motorcyclists

The first motorcycle prototypes were built, with varying degrees of success, in the 1880s and 1890s as motorized bicycles. Around 1900, the first motorcycle builders emerged: Hendee, which built Indian Motorcycles, Wagner, Harley-Davidson, Pierce, and many others. I use the term builder because these companies weren’t yet in the business of manufacturing on a large scale; rather, they built limited quantities mostly sold for recreational use.

From these earliest days, motorcycling was inextricably linked to racing – initially, bicycle racing. As the motorcycle evolved, it was used as a pace vehicle. The motorcycle would lead the field of bicycle entries – the fastest bicyclists drafted by taking advantage of the reduced wind resistance directly behind the motorcycle.

Realizing the unique opportunity they had by putting their machines on racetracks in front of massive crowds, motorcycle builders used the racing environment for research and development, public relations and sales. Many builders had ‘factory teams’ – racers who may have been employed or sponsored by the factory and given a machine to race. The racers, in turn, were expected to perform well on the track, since a victory on the track translated directly to sales for that builder.

The early motorcycle industry was fast-paced and chaotic. After 1900, it was composed of builders and their affiliated racers, dealers and distributors, racetracks, independent racers, recreational riders and their social clubs. All of these factions within the industry needed organization, mediation, communication and regulation. In 1903, the Federation of American Motorcyclists stepped into this void. Founded in Brooklyn, NY at the King’s County Wheelmen’s clubhouse, the Federation’s purpose was to:

• Encourage the use of motorcycles

• Promote general interests of motorcycling

• Ascertain, defend and protect the rights of motorcyclists

• Facilitate touring

• Assist in the good roads movement

• Advise and assist in regulation of motorcycle racing and other competitions

The Federation published a weekly magazine called Motorcycle Illustrated, which became an influential organizing force in this early motorcycle culture. The magazine covered all aspects of the evolving industry, based on the Federation’s defined purpose. It is rare that an industry magazine speaks to and represents all facets of that industry through a single publication, but Motorcycle Illustrated did. The diverse content makes Motorcycle Illustrated an invaluable resource for understanding this early motorcycle industry and culture.

The Federation’s mission of facilitating touring was carried out in the pages of its magazine through lengthy articles with grainy but seductive photographs of the exotic Western United States. Based on the choices the Van Burens’ made in their travels, they were clearly inspired by these articles. As I pored over these vintage magazines myself, I found traces of their journey in the same articles they likely had read. I could imagine them excitedly reading passages out loud to each other and promising that they would see all those places together.

Editors titled articles to entice the imagination, and the descriptive language in the texts seduced the reader with the exoticism of the West:

“Hunting a Meteor” New Mexico – this description is prose poetry. “Puncturing the heart of Blood of Christ range is the winding highway that follows a royally rugged gorge, wild and weird enough to satisfy the most fastidious moving picture photographer. In places where shelf-like road has been blasted out of solid rock, the trail executes little pirouettes in its hazardous dance along the ledge of the precipitous slope.” [35]

“On Fine California Roads”  While the text of this article focuses on describing the fine new California roads, the accompanying photos illustrate the state’s exotic landscape. The writer says, “The scenic variety seems without end, while the main touring routes are uniformly well surfaced. …The roadbed…is as smooth as a billiard table, although it lacks the resiliency which is welcome in well-packed soil roads by the seasoned motorcyclist.”[36]

Not all the articles carried the romance of the road though. Some served as warnings or object lessons for the wise.

“Motorcyclists Near Death in the Desert” California. This article comes alive with drama: “The shifting sand-hills all look alike, and the desert wind, playing tag in this devil’s playground, soon left Franzen in serious doubt as to the right direction in which to proceed. There was no trail. …Finally, he dropped over the edge of a particularly high sand-hill, and when he landed at the bottom, his machine went half out of sight in the sand. …at 8 o’clock Sunday evening Franzen dropped down to die.” [37]

Thankfully, Franzen did not die. But it made a great article.

“Eighty Miles of Continual Mud-Plugging” This article describes the wholly unpleasant experience of traversing a muddy road on two wheels. “We kept plugging in low gear as long as the wheel could get traction, but when mud wedged itself under the engine base so as to lift the rear wheel off the ground, we had to lift it on to the solid road once more.”[38]

“Two Nervy Motorcyclists in Gun-Ruled Mexico” “They advise fellow motorcyclists to stay out of Mexico. …This is where one finds the real wild west… Wild-eyed Indians and young Mexicans turned the main street into a race course and practiced roping each other’s horses in the village square, but in the midst of their free-for-all fights and lawless acts, anyone is perfectly safe as long as he remains neutral.”[39] Less than a year later, the sisters ignored the warning to avoid Mexico and had their own exotic adventure into Tijuana.

​

Part 7: Roads and Travel on the Lincoln Highway in 1916

As motorcycle travelers pushed their machines across the plains, mountains and deserts – through wild country to the lush California landscapes – they often followed the Lincoln Highway. The nascent interstate route was little more than a path in the nineteen-teens, yet it figured prominently in the travelogues published in Motorcycle Illustrated. Like so many other travelers, the Van Burens followed long segments of the newly opened Lincoln Highway themselves. At this time, the most comfortable mode of interstate travel was by rail. The United States and private industry had invested heavily in the railway system which linked east to west and north to south. Raw materials, finished goods, produce, livestock, and of course people, hurtled across the continent at lightning speed. Freight trains – 25 mph. Passenger trains – 45 mph.

Before the development of  motorcycles and automobiles, roads were often crude, unpaved paths. As private, motorized vehicles became more popular, drivers demanded paved roads and an interconnected system of routes that would allow the individual to experience transcontinental travel. The Lincoln Highway became the first transcontinental route in the United States. Carl G. Fisher, a bicycle enthusiast and successful entrepreneur, proposed the idea of a coast-to-coast rock highway, as he called it, to a group of automobile barons. Fisher, who owned Prest-O-Lite, had built the acetylene headlight manufacturing company into a lucrative business. His headlights were standard equipment on most automobiles and many motorcycles, including the Van Burens’1916 Indian Powerpluses.[40]

Clearly Fisher realized that his success, and the success of the automotive industry, pivoted on sales. However, the deplorable road conditions across the country were a significant obstacle for the exponentially growing transportation industry. He, along with Henry Bourne Joy, president of Packard, and Frank Sieberling, president of the Seiberling Tire Company, invested in the project. [41]  They formed the Lincoln Highway Association in 1913 through which they raised funds and negotiated with state highway departments to build the proposed road.[42]

The eastern terminus of the highway was Times Square in New York City. The western terminus was Lincoln Park in San Francisco, California. The initial route end-to-end was 3,389 miles, and Fisher intended that the road be completed in time for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition in San Francisco.[43] Unfortunately in 1916, the Lincoln Highway was still only a loosely connected set of routes. The roads were still being marked with Lincoln Highway signage, which in many places translated to stripes painted on posts.

The travelogues published in Motorcycle Illustrated frequently refer to the Lincoln Highway, and there are several smaller items that announce the marking of specific segments of the road. Motorcyclists described their experiences navigating the unpaved route. “Much of Nebraska had been described as being in better shape and less of a challenge than in other states. It was flat and relatively smooth (except, of course, following a rain) and easy to follow.”[44] When the weather was dry, the road was perpetually dusty, but once it rained, roads quickly morphed into sticky, slippery quagmires of mud, sometimes a foot or more deep. Riders had a name for slogging through these horrible conditions – they called it “mud-plugging.”

The Van Burens were already familiar with mud-plugging since they had ridden thousands of regional miles in the previous three years on roads in similar condition. The segment of the Lincoln Highway west of Dixon, Illinois fit this bill: “notorious for being in bad condition.”[45] Adeline Van Buren reports on their own experiences outside of Dixon: “We were forced to indulge in some real endurance work. For 40 miles we skidded and slipped through deep sand. It was almost our Waterloo. Tourists all claim that it contains the worst ten-mile stretch of the Lincoln Highway from coast to coast.”[46]

The weather conditions that the sisters had never experienced – and were perhaps least prepared for – were the desert conditions. The Lincoln Highway crossed what at the time was referred to as the Great American Desert, an area that contains the Great Basin, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts in Utah, Nevada and California. It was here that the Van Burens nearly ran out of fuel and water but for the prospector who happened by with water and directions to a fuel source.

Along with articles that told tales of new routes, travel, adventure and struggle, the sisters read about the exploits of the most well-known motorcyclist of the era, Erwin George “Cannonball” Baker, titled “With Baker in the Land of the Padres.”[47]

​

Part 8: The Indian Powerplus

“Cannonball” Baker was motorcycling’s larger-than-life ambassador who raced motorcycles and automobiles, setting many endurance and distance records. In 1914 he rode his Indian from San Diego to New York City – it took him 11 days, 12 hours and 10 minutes.[48] Baker had a close working relationship with Hendee Manufacturing – the company that produced Indian motorcycles.

The Van Burens’ machine choice was most assuredly influenced by “Cannonball” Baker’s endurance runs on his Indian, documented in the pages of Motorcycle Illustrated. It is unknown what machines the sisters had been riding before the summer of 1916, but they purchased their Powerpluses specifically for this transcontinental run. Although 1916 was the first year for this model, Indian Motorcycles had the reputation as durable machines that would remain dependable under the roughest conditions. The parent company, Hendee, gave “Cannonball” Baker a prototype machine in 1915 to ride from Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico, which he did in 3 days, 9 hours and 15 minutes.[49]

To get a better understanding of the machine and to fully appreciate the difficulty of riding the Indian Powerplus, I spoke with Ryan Allen – a vintage motorcycle expert who has ridden his 1916 Powerplus cross country.

Ryan Allen: “It cemented Indian’s right in terms of the frontier, and conquering it with a machine that was sold to the public. The Powerplus was a machine that would lay waste to most any other machine that was out there.”[50]

Although the Indian was a durable machine, it was a challenge to ride even though it was designed to have redundant brake and clutch controls to give the rider multiple options for stopping and shifting. Ryan Allen: “It was also the last model to have a hand clutch – on the right side – throttle on the Indian is on the left. The reason I’m assuming they had a feather clutch on the tank was because roads were really bad and you may need both feet to keep yourself upright.

“Going through the rain on the Powerplus, it really came back to the roads and the sand – again that’s where the hand clutch would come in handy if they were really dealing with a lot of rain. It wouldn’t have been a good set up. They really would have had to fight it, and that was their biggest challenge. Not so much the machine but actually the roads they chose, and the weather they endured.” [51]

“Because the Powerplus is actually quite a tall motorcycle. It wasn’t until 1920 and the introduction of the Scout – the cheap line – that brought that ride saddle height down. So the Powerplus was a machine that was a handful.”[52]  “Cannonball” Baker was well over six feet tall, so the bike would have fit him easily, but the Van Buren sisters were much smaller. “They probably had the bikes lowered in Omaha again. You have to be long in the leg to ride a Powerplus. I touch the ground, and I’m 6’2” – Cannonball Baker was 6’7”.” [53]

The standard seat height from the factory was probably 32 inches, which means a rider, as Ryan Allen says, would need long legs to reach the ground with flat feet while seated in the saddle. If the rider couldn’t touch the ground while seated, every time she stopped, she would have to lean the bike to one side just to get one foot on the ground, or slide forward off the seat and straddle the gas tank which was slightly lower. Either way, this would have left her in a precarious position once she started going again. She also wouldn’t have been able to back the bike up, since this required being able to apply pressure on the ground through the ball and then the heel of the foot to roll the machine backward. There would have been so many unanticipated times when this seemingly small issue can create a dangerous and unstable situations for the rider. It is no surprise that the sisters finally decided to have their machines lowered in Omaha.

As with any machine, in 1916 or today, the rider develops an understanding of its needs as she rides it. This takes hundreds of miles and keen knowledge of the motorcycle. Machines of this vintage required that the rider have a particular understanding of the motor’s oiling needs. These vintage motors did not have recirculating oil systems like the modern machines; instead, they had what is typically called a total loss system, unless you are Ryan Allen. “We don’t like to call it total loss, we like to call it constant fresh.” There is a sight glass that the rider used to visually monitor the oil level. “You kept it right at the halfway point every time you stop the motor you look down on the little sight glass, made sure it was halfway. So there was a huge relationship that you had to build with riding one of those types of bikes. You would dial that oil pump back and forth knowing how they rode it, where they rode it, the speed at which they rode it and knowing that they would have to adjust it to keep that oil right there at that halfway point on the glass.”[54]

In interviews during and after their journey, the Van Burens talk about the reliability of their machines, but they also speak repeatedly throughout the trip about the performance of their Firestone non-skid tires they were running. Now the modern rider might question this repetition, but in context, the sisters’ endorsement of their Firestones was a strong statement about the product. This was an era when tires failed often. Sharp stones, boulders, roots in unpaved roads could quickly dispatch a tire, and rubber quality was not always good or consistent, so blowouts on vehicles were very common.

Furthermore, the motorcycles of the day ran what is referred to as a clincher tire. It mounted more like a bicycle tire than the later motorcycle and automobile tires, and clinchers required correct air pressure in the tube to prevent the tire from rolling off the rim. Ryan Allen: “Clinchers were tires that relied on air pressure to keep the tire on the rim. All the way up until 1928. So, if you were to lose tire pressure, you would lose the tire. Extremely sketchy. People would say if it dropped below 50-55 psi you were dancing on a rubber band.” [55] Given these potential dangers, the fact that the Van Burens’ tires survived the entire trip with only one puncture which they repaired, was a ringing endorsement of the quality of Firestones.

While most American motorcycles, like the Indian Powerplus, were designed and built by men, for men, a few manufacturers, like Wagner and Champion, built smaller, lightweight models for women.

​

Part 9: Women in Motorcycle Culture

Women riders and passengers are well-represented in the pages of Motorcycle Illustrated. In particular, the 1914 issues contained many articles, items and advertising directed at the woman motorcyclist. British rider Nora Hough wrote several columns under the title of “The Lady Motorcyclist,” and she provided her story for another frequent column called “How I Became a Motorcyclist.”[56] Women from all over the country sent photos of themselves with their machines to the magazine, which would publish the photos with captions.[57] Women populated Motorcycle Illustrated as serious riders, and the manufacturers considered them a valuable market segment, targeting women in advertising and designing products specifically for women.[58]

Effie Hotchkiss, a member of the Federation of American Motorcyclists, wrote an article for Motorcycle Illustrated in 1914 confirming that motorcycling was also a women’s sport. She writes: “I am not by any means the only lady… rider in Brooklyn, my home city. There are some well-known girl riders in Greater New York, and I am told on very good authority that throughout the western states a great many girls own and drive their own machines.” She continues, “never have I had any trouble in handling a twin machine without assistance.”[59] Indeed, the following year she piloted her Harley-Davidson from New York City to San Francisco with her mother Avis Hotchkiss in the sidecar, becoming the first woman to cross the United States on a motorcycle. When the Van Burens crossed in 1916, they claimed the designation of the first women to cross on solo motorcycles – in other words, no sidecar.

In the cultural memory of motorcycling, the role of women in it has largely been forgotten or rewritten based on the kinds of assumptions I have already discussed. However, from the earliest days, women were actively involved in riding, and in certain forms of racing. They were not outsiders angling for acceptance. Despite the language of the day describing women as ‘girls’ or ‘the fairer sex,’ women themselves were not presented in the magazine as subordinate to men. They were insiders. An integral part of early motorcycle culture with their own voice.

Although the Van Burens certainly showed tenacity, poise and strength during their well-publicized journey, the sisters’ Army applications were never accepted. The U.S. military was not prepared to put women into the combat situations that dispatch riders certainly experienced. The only jobs for enlisted women in WWI were clerical positions. The Van Buren sisters did, however, pave the way for an African American rider named Bessie Stringfield to serve as a stateside dispatch rider during WWII.

The mere nature of motorcycle travel, in 1916 or in the present day, is that the road pushes back on those who travel it. The road, weather, and machine all conspire to test wisdom, endurance, and desire. It is at this intersection that the rider learns who she is in this crucible. For Augusta and Adeline Van Buren, the road from New York to San Francisco certainly pushed them relentlessly.

Neither road, nor machine reacted differently because they were women. For over 5,000 miles, the sisters met the power of those forces with their own strength and wisdom, and they followed their purpose. Augusta Van Buren was frequently quoted saying, “Woman can, if she will.”[60]  Indeed, it was never about the pants.

​

END NOTES

​

[1] William M. Murphy, Grace and Grit: Motorcycle Dispatches of Early 20th Century Women (Arbutus Press, 2012), 167.

[2] Ibid, 167.

[3] Ryan Allen, Interview by Kay Andrea, telephone unrecorded, October 6, 2025.

[4] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 161.

[5] “To Show Women’s Worth Will Ride Motorcycles to the Coast,” Press of Atlantic City (Atlantic City, New Jersey), July 25, 1916. 2.

[6]“Despatch Rider,” Wikipedia Foundation, last modified June 19, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Despatch_rider&oldid=1296291562.

[7] Erika A. Kuhlman, Petticoats and White Feathers : Gender Conformity, Race, the Progressive Peace Movement, and the Debate over War, 1895-1919 (Greenwood Press, 1997), 95.

[8] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 144.

[9] “To Cycle Continent.,” Brooklyn Daily Times, July 3, 1916, 2.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ninety-Nines, “Ninety-Nines – Our History,” www.ninety-nines.org/our-history.htm, Morning News, Wilmington, DE, October 2, 1959, 39. Augusta Roberts’ obituary. Cristine Somer Simmons. The American Motorcycle Girls. (Stillwater, MN: Parker House Press, 2010), 86.

[12] "How Van Buren Girls Started for Coast," Motorcycle Illustrated, July 20, 1916, 16.

[13] Scott Allsop, “31st October 1913: The Lincoln Highway,” YouTube, October 30, 2023, video, 2:35, https://youtu.be/hhShMrvf1l0?si=33pRj_FwcPoS0MFb.

[14] Murphy. Grace and Grit, 176. "Cloudburst Washes Out 4 Bridges," Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, CO, August 5, 1916.

[15] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 168.

[16] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 164.

[17] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 168-170. "Cross U.S. on Motorcycles," Buffalo News, September 2, 1916, 7. "Van Buren Girls Climb Pike's Peak," Motorcycle Illustrated, August 17, 1916, 16.

[18] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 170.

[19] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 179.

[20] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 184-185.

[21] Anne Tully Ruderman, “The Daring Escapade of 1916.” Ms. Magazine, February, 1978, 55.

[22] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 186.

[23] "On Way to Pacific," Springfield Daily Republican, July 6, 1916, 11.

[24] "Two Girls Start on Ride Across United States," Buffalo News, July 8, 1916, 16.

[25] Adeline Van Buren. "Mud Plugging and Splashing to Omaha," Motorcycle Illustrated, August 10, 1916, 12.

[26] "To Show Woman's Worth Will Ride Motorcycles to the Coast," Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, July 16, 1916, 39.

[27] "They Are Traveling Across Continent on Motorcycles," The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, IA, July 21, 1916, 2.

[28] "380 Miles Overland with the Motorcycling Van Burens," Tacoma Daily Ledger, August 27, 1916, 37.

[29] "How Van Buren Girls Started for Coast," Motorcycle Illustrated, July 20, 1916, 16.

[30] Outlaw or one-percent motorcycle culture evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and is typified by members wearing common insignia called “colors” and requires often abusive member initiation, extreme codification of behavior, misogyny, and displays of loyalty not unlike Mafia culture.

[31] Susie Hollern. Women and Motorcycling: The Early Years (Cortland, NY: Cortland Press, 1999), 13.

[32] Ibid, 2. Hollern’s claims are problematic in that instead of proving that women were excluded from the sport and the lifestyle, she provides compelling evidence that runs counter to her opening statements.

[33] Gloria Struck. Gloria: A Lifetime Motorcyclist. (Stillwater, MN: Wolfgang Publications, 2018), 12. Quote attributed to “Kiwi” Mike Tomas who is the owner of Kiwi Indian Motorcycles, a manufacturing company that supplies highly accurate reproduction parts for vintage Indian motorcycles.

[34] Struck. Gloria: A Lifetime Motorcyclist, 13. Quote attributed to Buzz Kanter, long-time motorcycle industry journalist, editor-in-chief and publisher of several major industry magazines.

[35] Anna Wilds Strumquist. "Hunting a Meteor," Motorcycle Illustrated, April 2, 1914, 22.

[36] "On Fine California Roads," Motorcycle Illustrated, December 3, 1914, 15.

[37] Charles Fuller Gates. "Motorcyclists Near Death in Desert," Motorcycle Illustrated, November 5, 1914, 18-19.

[38] V. Charles Vogel, "Eighty Miles of Continual Mud-Plugging," Motorcycle Illustrated, February 10, 1916, 29.

[39] "Two Nervy Motorcyclists in Gun-Ruled Mexico," Motorcycle Illustrated, February 25, 1915, 26-28.

[40] Tom Lewis. Divided Highways: Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life, Cornell University Press, 2013, 50.

[41]Ibid, 51.

[42] “Lincoln Highway Plan Taking Form,” New York Herald. July 27, 1913, 17. “Lincoln Highway Route Announced,” New York Times. September 14, 1913, 22. “Asking Motorists to Aid Lincoln Highway,” New York Herald. September 11, 1913, 11.

[43] Lewis, Divided Highways, 50.

[44]Murphy, Grace and Grit, 125.

[45] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 165.

[46] "Mud Plugging and Splashing to Omaha," Motorcycle Illustrated, August 10, 1916, 12.

[47] John E. Hogg, "With Baker in the Land of the Padres," Motorcycle Illustrated, May 20, 1915, 28-30.

[48] Cannonball Baker. "Baker's Own Story," Motorcycle Illustrated, May 28, 1914, 35-46.

[49] “Indian Powerplus,” Wikipedia Foundation, last modified September 29, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Powerplus

[50] Ryan Allen, Interview by Kay Andrea, Zoom Recorded “Ryan Allen Int #2,” November 3, 2025.

[51] Ibid.

[52] Ibid.

[53] Ryan Allen, Interview, November 3, 2025.

[54]  Ryan Allen, Interview, November 3, 2025.

[55]  Ryan Allen, Interview, November 3, 2025.

[56] Nora Hough. "The Lady Motorcyclist,"  Motorcycle Illustrated, September 17, 1914, 48. Nora Hough. "How I Became a Motorcyclist," Motorcycle Illustrated, December 24, 1914, 21.

[57] Small item with photo Motorcycle Illustrated, November 5, 1914, 12. “Cyclist in Southern Ohio,” Motorcycle Illustrated, August 20, 1914, 45. Photo w/Caption: Motorcycle Illustrated, November 5, 1914, 40.

[58] COVER AD 1915 Indian Motorcycle Illustrated, November 12, 1914. AD: Miller Triplex Side Seat," Motorcycle Illustrated, July 23, 1914, 6. AD: The Cleveland Motorcycle for Men and Women, Motorcycle Illustrated, September 21, 1916, 2-3.

[59] Effie Hotchkiss, "Girl Rider Speaks up for American Machines," Motorcycle Illustrated, November 26, 1914, 22-23.

[60] Murphy, Grace and Grit, 182.