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Augusta and Adeline Van Buren, sisters, were the first women to ride 5,500 miles in 60 days over hazardous roads to cross the continental United States, each by their own solo motorcycle, in 1916.〔Grace and Grit: Motorcycle Dispatches from Early 20th Century Women Adventurers. William Murphy, Arbutus Press, 2012 ISBN 1933926333,〕 They descended from Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the United States, and were "society girls".〔The Chrome Cowgirl Guide to the Motorcycle Life. Sasha Mullins. MotorBooks International, 24 Sep 2008〕 In 2002, the sisters were inducted into the AMA's Motorcycle Hall of Fame and into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame during 2003. ==The ride== In 1916, America was about to enter into World War I. At the time, both 24-year-old Augusta and 22-year-old Adeline Van Buren, or Gussie and Addie as they were known, were in their 20s, active in the national Preparedness Movement and wanted to prove that women could ride as well as men and were able to serve as military dispatch riders freeing up men for other tasks.〔The Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality, Volume 95. Ingram brothers, 1916〕 They also hoped to remove one of the primary arguments for denying women the right to vote.〔The world on wheels: an illustrated history of the bicycle and its relatives. Ruth Calif. Cornwall Books, 1983〕〔Motorcycle. Steven E. Alford, Suzanne Ferriss. Reaktion Books, 3 Jan 2008〕 For their ride, they dressed in military-style leggings and leather riding breeches,〔Harley-Davidson and Philosophy: Full-Throttle Aristotle. Bernard E. Rollin〕 a taboo at that time.〔 They set out from Sheepshead Bay racetrack in Brooklyn, New York on July 4, riding 1,000 cc Indian Power Plus motorcycles equipped with gas headlights and arrived in Los Angeles on September 8 after having to contend with poor roads,〔Sisters of the Road, American Motorcyclist Jun 1996〕 heavy rains and mud,〔Recreation, Volume 55, Issue 5. Outdoor World Publishing Company., 1916〕 natural barriers like the Rocky Mountains and social barriers such as the local police who took offence at their choice of men's clothing. They became the first women to reach the 14,109 feet summit of Pikes Peak by any motor vehicle.〔 The Indians were the top of the range motorcycle at the time, selling for $275, and ran Firestone "non-skid" tires.〔Northern automotive journal, Volumes 24-25. Mechanics' Mutual Benefit Association of North Dakota, Mechanics' Mutual Benefit Association of South Dakota, Bruce Publishing Company., 1916〕 Despite succeeding, the sister's application to the military as a dispatch rider was rejected. Reports in the leading motorcycling magazine of the day praised the bike, but not the sisters and described the journey as a "vacation".〔Motorcycle Illustrated, 27 July 1916〕 Other newspapers published degrading articles accusing the sisters of using the national preparedness issue as an excellent excuse to escape their roles as housewives and "display their feminine counters in nifty khaki and leather uniforms". During the ride, they were arrested numerous times, not for speeding but for wearing men's clothes.〔The Denver Post, 1916. Anne Ruderman and Jo Giovanni, "Adeline and Augusta Van Buren, Pioneers in Women in Motorcycling" Asphalt Angels 74, 1998, pp 11-15〕〔Harley-Davidson and Philosophy: Full-Throttle Aristotle. Bernard E. Rollin. Open Court Publishing, 9 Feb 2006〕 At one point, they became lost in the desert 100 miles west of Salt Lake City and were saved by a prospector after their water ran out.〔Ms. magazine, Volume 6, Issues 7-12. Ms. Foundation for Education and Communication, 1978〕 They completed their ride by traveling across the border to Tijuana in Mexico. Both women eventually married. Adeline continued her career as an educator, and earned her law degree from New York University. Augusta became a pilot, flying in Amelia Earhart's Ninety-Nines international women's flying organization having played significant roles in the women’s rights movement. The previous year had seen Effie Hotchkiss and her mother Avis travelling 9,000 miles on a Harley-Davidson V-twin with sidecar from New York on 3 May 1915 to San Francisco in mid-August, and back.〔Making Her Mark: Firsts and Milestones in Women's Sports. Ernestine G. Miller. McGraw-Hill Professional, 29 May 2002〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Van Buren sisters」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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