Episode 104: Gussie & Addie - 1916 Fearless Biker Babes Making History

Profiles In Positivity!

This Week: Augusta and Adeline Van Buren

In 1916, when a woman's place was at home, sisters Gussie and Addie showed the world true "girl power", when they rode their 1000 cc Indian Power Plus motorcycles (read that again!)  5,500 miles from Brooklyn, New York to Tijuana, Mexico.

Their brave and impressive feat was severely discounted in the media but the Van Buren ladies never let them deter them in all their endeavors! 

#WomenEmpowerment, #WomenInLeadership,#FemaleFounders,#WomenSupportWomen, #PersonalGrowth

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Welcome to the podcast. It's always wonderful to spend time with you. And today I have a special treat. We're going to talk about two sisters that I had never heard of, and maybe you haven't either. It's Addy and Gussie Van Buren. Augusta and Adeline Van Buren. And what they did shook up the world, but then it disappeared. And that's why, one of the reasons why it is so important that you and I celebrate and talk about these two amazing women. So what did they do? Well, as it turns out, I am again using Wikipedia information. And for those of you who are watching the video, here is a picture of Gussie. And I will show you a picture of Addy. There's Addy. And what they did was absolutely amazing. They traveled on their own motorcycles. They had Indian brand motorcycles. They traveled 5,500 miles in two months, 60 days. Now that by itself is impressive. But what's even more impressive is when they did it. The year was 1916. 1916. And if you think that's unusual, you're right. It was unusual that anybody was riding any real distance then. But for two women, that was, well, it actually was an outrage, which makes this story all the more fun and spectacular. So this was uh a time uh before women were allowed to vote and they were being marginalized as always, and they wanted to show that women weren't fragile, uh, not that we don't deserve to be treated in a fragile way, but not to underestimate the power of women, in this case, a very physical way. So these two ladies, they left. They were actually uh second and the third women to set records across the United States. There was one lady who uh went before them, Effie Hotchkiss. Uh, she went from Brooklyn to San Francisco with her mom, Avis, in a sidecar. Yay! I want to find out more about her. So, these two ladies, they wanted to show, uh, since it was during the war that was 1916, so World War I was going on, and they wanted to show that they could participate in the actual war effort. I got way more pages than I thought. Um, they wanted to show that they could ride as part of the national preparedness movement in 1916. 32-year-old uh Gussa Gusta and 27-year-old Adeline. So these were mature grown women, young, and they wanted to prove that they could ride as well as men. Motorcycles were very popular then and worked um as military dispatch riders, but women were not allowed to do that. So they wanted to show uh one that they were quite capable, and also they wanted to help put in their bid to get the right to vote, which came four years later. Well, the one of the things about this was that that you had to wear pants, as you might guess, uh, which was shocking. Uh they were called military-style leggings and leather riding breeches, which was shocking and very wrong if you were a lady. But they weren't about to let that stop them. They left Sheep's Head Bay Racetrack in Brooklyn on July 4th, riding their 1000cc Indian Power Plus motorcycles, equipped with headlights, which apparently was a thing. And uh they had Firestone Nodskid tires. But we need to remember that in 1916 they didn't have freeways, they didn't have paved roads, most of the roads were dirt, maps were very unreliable, gas stations, they didn't have gas stations like we have now. This was really, really early. So they endured uh poor roads, heavy rains and mud. Uh, they went through the Rocky Mountains, and um there were many who took great offense at seeing these ladies in men's, they considered, clothing. Uh during the ride, they were arrested several times. Why? Not because of their bikes, but because they were wearing men's clothes. Now in Colorado, they were the first women to reach the over 14,000-foot summit of Pike's Peak, and uh they ended up getting lost a hundred miles west of Salt Lake City. Fortunately, um, they were saved by a prospector who gave them water, and they, of course, were appreciative, they got out of there safely, and they ended up going ahead and crossing the Tijuana border just because they could. So, unfortunately, um instead of being praised for this amazing uh testimony, this adventure and being brave and uh donning um their manly clothes and getting out there and doing it. The magazines of the time described them as uh going on vacation, if you can imagine that. And also uh one national preparedness issue uh had a very degrading article uh implying that they were trying to get out of housework. So um the good news is they did gain national attention and it did help the women's suffrage movement, and as I mentioned, women were granted the right to vote with the 19th Amendment four years later. So uh throughout the years, though, unfortunately, after they had already passed, there were several institutions that awarded them uh acknowledgments, celebrated their accomplishments, and they ended up in 2002 being inducted into the AMA Motorcycles Hall of Fame and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame in 2003. Then in 2006, Bob Van Buren, uh the great nephew of these sisters, he and his wife Rhonda retraced the route on their Harley Davidson Lowrider from New York City to San Francisco. And it was a part of a fundraiser to uh help fallen heroes in Manhattan and the airspace museum. This goes on and on and on. Sadly, the ladies did never did get the accolades that they certainly deserved, but uh true to their spirit and courageousness, after they did that, amongst other things, um Augusta or Gussie became an uh wait, wait, wait, wait, an attorney, and her sister became a lawyer. So one of the ladies, I may mix them up. No, Augusta was a pilot, and the other one was an attorney. Okay. So these were brave, bold ladies. They were feminine, but they weren't afraid to don men's clothing. And how fortunate you and I are that we have the freedoms to get out and do what we want to do, much more than what those women had at the time in 1916. That is the Van Buren sisters, Augusta and Adeline. It might be worth mentioning is that these ladies were born into privilege. So they instead of sitting back and taking it easy, not that you can't do that, but they they realized they were in a situation where they can really make a difference. So they did. Good example. So from our Hey That's Funny file, comedic legend Rodney Dagerfield says, you know, in school they asked me to prove the law of gravity, then they threw me out the window. Anyway, it's good to be with you, and I will look forward to seeing you soon. Have a great week, and remember to keep creating a life that you love because you deserve it. Take care.