Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s
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.

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Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s
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.

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Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s

Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s

Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s
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Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s

Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781476669465
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date: 09/28/2023
Pages: 322
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.65(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

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. Kate St. Vincent Vogl’s essays appear in best-selling anthologies such as Why We Ride and Listen to Your Mother, and her fiction has received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board and from the Anderson Center. She teaches at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Author’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
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Related Subjects

Social Sciences
Women's Studies
Women's Studies - General & Miscellaneous
Social Sciences
Women's Studies
Women's Studies - General & Miscellaneous

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