Cafe Racer’s April/May issue hits the streets next week k with a long overdue emphasis on women riders, a growing sector in all areas of motorcycling. We’ve known some powerful, dedicated female enthusiasts over the years and are fortunate enough to work with two of them. Both Kim Love, our esteemed managing editor and Christy Sparks, our digital and web design expert are motorcycle riders and having their unique input and perspectives make us a better publication. In issue #87, we profile several women on wheels, including Jessica Lucchesi of Illinois’ Neverending Cycles, top fuel drag racer and classic British bike technician Jalika Gaskin, TT racer maria Costello and the issue’s cover subject, youthful English custom builder Cheyenne Keogh. It’s amazing to see women designing and building their own show-winning, roadworthy custom cafe bikes all around the world, while some entrepreneurs have ventured into designing riding gear aimed specifically at the female audience. This is not a new development as noted by Kim Love in this issue’s “random Ramblings” column, as ladies have bene riding both in competition and on the streets since biking’s earliest days.
In fact, we compiled so many worthwhile stories from history about female riders that, given the space (and an unlimited budget) we could have made this a 10-page magazine, no problem. Who knew, for example, that two young women with no previous biking experience were among the first to cross the American map on a pair of 750cc Indian Power Plus twins in 1916, or that the US Army actually hired black female rider Bessie Stringfield as a courier during WWII?
Check out some of the amazing and inspiring stories we’ve put together and share with us your own shero rider by emailing us via rockersrule@caferacermag.com