Founder Jessie Ennis is pictured among other women motorcyclists in this beautiful photograph of the London Ladies Motorcycle Club from Getty Images. Posing to capture a historical moment (circa 1925)- at Brooklands Weybridge in Surrey, England, where they were competing in the first motorcycle race for women in Britain.
There aren’t a ton of photos of the London Ladies Motorcycle Club, and the other ones I could find are locked up by Getty- but you can view those here. They’re shown hosting races through Surrey and Kent in Britain, planning long rides of their own, plus participating in some of the very first women’s races. In the early 20th century, women competing in races was rather unheard of, and often not allowed.
Mary McGee is a pioneer in American motorcycle racing, thanks to her untamable determination and a spirit as warm as her smile. Her excitement for motorcycling, especially racing, is contagious even in her eighties. She was the first woman to receive an FIM racing license in the United States, first woman to complete the Baja 1000, and the first woman to race the Baja 500 solo. These aren’t her only firsts, either. She was also the first woman in motocross and road racing in the States. McGee was rightly inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 2018.
Tags: 1920s, antique, britain, british, classic, first, getty, getty images, history, london ladies motorcycle club, motoladies, motolady, motorcycles, real, retro
Posted on December 4, 2014 in History, MotoLadies by Alicia Mariah Elfving