Rednecks on two wheels. 

On Saturday, the Sisters’ ride went to the AMA vintage motorcycle day event  http://americanmotorcyclist.com/Events/AMA-Vintage-Motorcycle-Days. 

The ride there was through the beautiful, windy, quiet back roads of Ohio. Even in a group of 25 riders it was relaxed and mellow and included a requisite sighting of an Amish man on a horse and buggy. 

Then we got to our destination. A complete 180. Hard to estimate how many people were there but I would guess 20,000 or more. And it was a sea of white faces. I felt like I had landed in redneck mecca. 

Here we were, a group of 75 mostly women riders, celebrating the 100th year anniversary ride of two strong women who pushed the boundaries of their day. We may as well have stepped back into 1916 except for the ear-piercing noise of high tech motorcycles screaming around the race-track. 

This is not a criticism of the Sisters’ ride organizers in the least. All if us wore blue shirts emblazoned with the Sisters’ Ride logo and we even rode as a group around the race-track (which was pretty cool). Many folks asked us questions about the shirts and one women vendor says she wishes she had known about the ride as she would have joined. 

Again, no one was rude or disrespectful but just as we were finishing lunch, the music blasting from the massive speakers stopped and an announcer came on to ask for a moment of silence while he led us in prayer (not kidding) and to remove all headwear (exception made for helmets-which few seemed to be wearing anyway) while a couple sang “his favorite song” The Star-Spangled Banner. 

Standing there, with my hat in my hand, I felt completely helpless but to go along with the crowd. It is all too easy to see how people get caught up in the waves of anger and hate-mongering that we are seeing all over the world and how groups of people who feel, rightly or wrongly, disenfranchised get together and perpetuate a stew of anger and hate towards anyone who doesn’t look like them. 

I know how I felt standing there in that crowd but for the most part I could blend in. The African-American women riders in our group did not have that luxury. In solidarity with these incredible women I would like to introduce you to Bessie Stringfield. 

Bessie Stringfield (1911 – February 1993), nicknamed “The Motorcycle Queen of Miami”,[2] was the first African-American woman to ride across the United States solo, and during World War II she served as one of the few motorcycle despatch riders for the United States military.

Credited with breaking down barriers for both women and African-American motorcyclists,[3] Stringfield was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.[4] the award bestowed by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) for “Superior Achievement by a Female Motorcyclist” is named in her honor.