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Before Louise Scherbyn founded the Women's International Motorcycle Association, she was simply a working girl who loved motorcycling--at a time when women weren't allowed to wear pants, roads weren't hard-topped, and handlebars could come apart while riding. The hardest part? Auxiliaries she looked to for support each proved to be the wrong fit--some uncomfortably, disastrously so. All Louise wanted was for women riders to have a proper space of their own. For that she would ultimately have to forge a new path.
This book tells the fascinating story of Scherbyn's journey in forming the first stand-alone women-only motorcycle association. Chapters cover 225,000 miles and two decades' worth of community-building, hostilities, physical and professional attacks, recovery, sisterhood and more. Scherbyn paved the way for women motorcyclists across the world while facing a storm of threats and uncertainties, driving ahead with newfound friends and her singular, unifying vision for women who ride.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAuthor's Note: Riding (and Writing) Through Fear-Linda Back McKay
Preface and Acknowledgments-Kate St. Vincent Vogl
Part I: Zero to Sixty
¿1.¿The Call to Ride
¿2.¿Driving Through Applesauce: 1932
¿3.¿Caution Flags: 1933-1934
¿4.¿First Runs, First Tour, First Problems, Fast Girls: 1935
¿5.¿Building Community: 1936
¿6.¿Four Points: 1937
Part II: Crossing the Wide Waters
¿7.¿Changing Gears: 1938
¿8.¿Pals Forever: 1939
¿9.¿Who Wins, Who Plays the Game: 1940
10.¿Hostilities: 1941
11.¿Standing Ready: 1942-1943
12.¿Fighting Chance: 1944-1945
13.¿Recovery: 1946-1948
14.¿A Sisterhood Found: 1949 to WIMA
Epilogue: The End of the Road Marks a Beginning
Bibliography
Index
About the author
The late Linda Back McKay was a poet, writer, coach, and teaching artist. Her work appeared in literary publications such as Great River Review, Water~Stone Review, and White Pelican Review. She taught at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.
