I’m so excited to announce the project that I’ve been working on for two years… a book all about badass motorcycling women! In the MotoLady’s Book of Women Who Ride you’ll meet 74 of the most influencial motorcyclists of the last century. Motorcycle heroes, trailblazers, and record-breakers like Jessi Combs, Shayna Texter, Laia Sanz, Gloria Tramontin-Struck, the Van Buren sisters, and more can be found inside the 184 pages of this hard cover book celebrating motorcycling women!
Motorcycle Pioneer Mary McGee 1967
Mary McGee in 1967 or early 1968 jumping her CZ 250 dirtbike at the Carlsbad MX track.
Mary says, “Yes, leg burned through boots and leathers” but that clearly didn’t take her out of the zone. “Carlsbad was a great MX track. I am quite proud to say I was at the first race there.” McGee is known as a pioneer in the world of early motorcycle racing, especially for women. She began roadracing in the US in 1960 on a Honda CB92, and in 1975, rode her Husqvarna 250 in the Baja 500. She competed in the race by herself, no partner, and passed by 17 two-man teams.
Česká zbrojovka (aka CZ) is a Czech firearms manufacturer known also for manufacturing motorcycles in the 1950s and 60s- in fact during this time they were the second largest motorbike manufacturer in Europe. Powerful two-stroke off road motorcycles brought them many racing victories. As Japanese companies began offering inexpensive motorcycles with high performance, CZ lost more and more of it’s market share. Cagiva bought up the brand in 1993 in attempt to revive the business, but went out of production in 1997 due to financial troubles.
source: Mary McGee facebook | AMA | related: Motorcycling Women of the 70s | more history
Posted on February 18, 2015 in History, MotoLadies by Alicia Mariah Elfving