Gloria Tramontin Struck: A Lifetime on Motorcycles

Gloria Tramontin Struck riding her Harley | Photo by Michael Lichter

Gloria Tramontin Struck– Motorcycling Matriarch, Pioneer, Trailblazer

Gloria Struck is often called the matriarch of motorcycling, and for good reason. At 99, she is still full of vim and vigor, passion for two wheels, and ideas for future road trips. Her childhood was shaped by WWII, a volatile time full of transformation, both positive and negative. Women were being called to the workforce for the first time ever. They were becoming essential cogs in the war machine, helping allied forces worldwide. Perhaps this was part of the impetus for Gloria Struck swinging a leg over a motorcycle in the first place– or at least planted the idea.

This is an excerpt from my book, “The MotoLady’s Book of Women Who Ride,” about the magical Motor Maids member Gloria Struck:

Eight decades of rumbling engines, two-wheel travel, exhaust smoke, and total badassery. Gloria Tramontin Struck has been blazing trails in the world of motorcycles since 1940 as one of the original members of the Motor Maids. Her indomitable spirit and passion for riding have taken her far– literally and figuratively. Gloria has racked up almost one million miles in her lifetime as a motorcyclist, being a bastion of bravery and inspiration along the way.

“It wasn’t really proper in 1941 for a woman to be riding a motorcycle,” she says. Having watched the landscape of the motorcycle industry evolve over the past decade, my experience pales in comparison. Struck has witnessed night-and-day-like differences from its very inception. “I have been refused gas and a room and called names. Today, guys want their wives or girlfriends to ride. There’s no stigma against women riding.” The 99-year-old moto lady and the first-ever recognized women’s riding group, MotorMaids, are still going over 80 years later.

We have incredible women like Gloria to thank for that.

: Gloria Struck (right) archival image

: Gloria Struck circa 1941

: Gloria in Austria - family archive

: Gloria riding the Alps - family archive

: Gloria in her younger days, painted by David Uhl

: Gloria in her wise years, painted by David Uhl

: Gloria at her 99th birthday with daughter Lori (left)

: Gloria Struck rocking her Motor Maids tshirt

: Gloria at Sturgis Buffalo Chip showing off her personality - by Michael Lichter

: 2019 by Michael Lichter

Gloria’s Early Life

Gloria was born in 1925 behind the Lexington Cycle Shop her family owned in Clifton, New Jersey. They opened in 1915, selling Excelsior-Henderson motorcycles and bicycles. Sadly, when Gloria was three, her father was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle, and he died from a gangrene infection. He was only 32 at the time. Her 28-year-old mother, Pierina, was left to raise two kids and run the shop on her own. Pierina managed to keep it running through the Depression, and it later became an Indian Motorcycle dealership that Gloria’s brother took over in 1947.

Her brother is the reason she started riding at 16 years old. In 1941, knowing her love of travel, Arthur pushed her to learn, even though she told him, “I don’t want to know how to ride.” She was a timid and quiet girl, but her brother didn’t care. Arthur wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she ended up riding a ’31 Indian Scout around a field. She has not stopped riding since. A little later, she got herself an Army spec olive drab Indian Motorcycle to call her own.

Back then, there was a heavy stigma on women riders. Struck was refused gas and hotel and called names more than once… simply because she was a woman riding a motorcycle. So it makes sense that she was so very keen to join the Motor Maids, an organization dedicated to expanding the ranks of lady riders around America.

Becoming A Motor Maid

At 21 y/o in 1946, Gloria joined the Motor Maids, just six years after the club was born. She had long since lost her shy, meek nature. (Motor Maids is the oldest recognized riding club for women in North America– they were also the first to be officially sanctioned by the AMA.)

This badass lady had always wanted to travel, and the motorcycle gave her that opportunity. Her first moto road trip went down just four years after she joined the group– she rode 1800 miles to meet Marion Oler, another Motor Maid member who lived in Canada. Throughout her life, she has ridden around the lower 48 multiple times and attended countless Sturgis Rallies, Daytona Bike Weeks, and Motor Maids conventions. She got married, had two kids, and worked as an Avon lady for 44 years. When Gloria was 75, she brought a lifelong dream to reality, riding the Alps with her son Glenn. She has also often been spotted riding with her daughter Lori Struck DeSilva.

The Odometer Keeps Rolling

In her 83 years of riding, she’s covered well over 700,000 miles, though she doesn’t think of it as a notable achievement. Gloria Struck was inducted into the Sturgis Hall of Fame in 2011 and the AMA Hall of Fame in 2016.

Her next goal? Riding cross-country from New Jersey to California for her 100th birthday on July 7th, 2025.