Let’s go, girls: Biker Belles celebrate Women’s Day in Sturgis
STURGIS – In the 1998 Walt Disney film “Mulan,” the main character Fa disguises herself as a male so her chances are better to fight in the fictional Imperial Army and to prevent ruthless bad guy Shan Yu from invading China.
Alas, it was the reveal of her true female self that helped Mulan save her country. Lesson learned.
But the Biker Belles would never waste their time hiding at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally like that.
Their braids hang long behind their helmets, their pink bikes sparkle and they themselves roar in unison.
“Sturgis is such a misogynistic place,” says 26-year-old Hannah Stout-Ortega, who just received her motorcycle license. “And this is our response to that. There is so much more to women than being objects to look at.”
The Biker Belles is an informal group of women who connect every year at the rally like a family would for Thanksgiving. And the 85th anniversary of the rally marks their 17th year taking up space on SD Highway 14A.
Fellow bikers might have gotten a whiff of their perfume as they zoomed by, but that’s the point of a strong women’s ridership, says Biker Belles founder Toni Woodruff.
“We wanted a place where women could feel safe and connected,” she says. Woodruff is the daughter of Buffalo Chip owner Rod Woodruff. She uses her family space as a “home” for women.
Women’s Day at the Rally was Aug. 5 at the Chip.
“This is not just about riding,” Toni says. “A motorcycle is often a vehicle of change in women’s lives and its own little magic.”
Charity ride preserves history of female riders
Leave it to women to disturb a stereotype and use their empowerment for good.
Toni hosts an annual women’s charity ride at the rally, supporting the “the preservation of this history and to raise awareness of the women’s role in motorcycling.”
Their ride supports three South Dakota-based charities: The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, Helping with Horsepower and the internationally known Jessi Combs Foundation.
They have thus far raised a quarter million dollars to give more than 50 scholarships for female college students and young riders.
With Biker Belles, the Sturgis Museum continues to expand female exhibits. Helping with Horsepower was founded by modern-day adventurer Laura Klock and assists female veterans through equine therapy, and the Jessi Combs Foundation honors the late professional female rider.
In 2019, Combs died at age 39 while attempting to set the record as the fastest woman on earth, reaching 522 mph riding her 56-foot-long jet-powered North American Eagle at the Alvord Desert in Oregon.
“She was my best friend,” says foundation executive director Dana Wilke. “Jessi was the sweetest bad*** who was always smiling and always positive.”
In 2017, Combs became the first female Grand Marshal at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and in 2015 co-founded the Real Deal Revolution, a nonprofit that “furthers women’s roles in skilled trades” like welding, leather stamping and pinstriping.
“We’re revealing to this world what we’re capable of,” says foundation ambassador Stout-Ortega. “We’re showing off confidence and abilities that we already possess.”
‘L8RBOIZ’: These professional riders smack stereotype in the face
Nearly 200 women showed up for the morning charity ride Aug. 5, including this year’s 100-year-old Grand Marshal Gloria Struck, female business owner of TEAM DIVA Amy Skaling and Accident Scene Management founder Vicki “Spitfire” Sanfelipo.
She’s best known in the female biking world for her advocacy in reducing injuries and fatalities to motorcyclists.
But there were newcomers, too, like stunt rider and YouTube bike show creator Cody Renee Cameron, who displayed her leopard print 2006 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 at the Chip and has more than half a million followers on social media.
A few months ago, Cameron was the only woman to complete seven days of off-roading with 25 other guys during the annual Scram Africa ride in Morocco.
She rode 1,500 miles to the rally with seven other women.
“These women can freaking ride,” Cameron said. “They moved through the canyons like they were one giant serpent!”
The bike display Cameron was part of was founded by 34-year-old Becky “Axel” Goebel, the first woman to be invited into the Born Free Motorcycle Show in 2022. She built a 1948 Panhead Chopper with a 1947 Harley-Davidson transmission and a 1954 frame, all on her own.
Her license plate says “L8RBOIZ.”
“Sturgis is a weird place when you’re a girl,” says Goebel, who also owns 12 motorcycles and the clothing brand Axel and Co.
“It feels like you went back in time here with a lot of men,” she says. “It’s not that fun, but that’s why it’s important to have women here to say, ‘We are here, and we need to be respected.’ ”
