Effie and Avis Hotchkiss were a mother and daughter team that had no intention of setting any records or gaining any fame, they simply wanted to see America and thought a Harley-Davidson would be the best way to do just that.
According to an
article, “Effie later said they'd had no dreams of medals, riches, or fame, they merely wanted to see America and thought the Harley-Davidson for herself and the sidecar for her mother was the best way to accomplish it. Effie's motorcycle was a Harley Davidson three-speed V-twin that she bought with a small inheritance.”
Their route began in New York and as they headed to the World's Fair in San Francisco, they traveled through Reno, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Davenport, Chicago and Milwaukee.
They were the first female team to travel cross country. They began in 1915 and the trip lasted two months. They took a tent, blankets, pots and pans, and tools.
During their trip, roads were nonexistent in places and there were no hotels, restaurants or repair shops along the way. Legend has it that at one point in the trip their tires would no longer hold air and the women stuffed strips of blankets into the tires until they could get to a repair shop.
Mother and daughter set out to see America, but they also made history by doing something that had not been done before. They paved a new pathway for future women riders.
For more information visit:
| 
