The nation’s oldest motorcycle club for women is holding its annual conference in Spokane this week. The Motor Maids were founded in 1940 to celebrate and promote motorcycle travel by women.
“They wanted to form a group of women who could ride a motorcycle and still be ladylike," said Sue Mikicic, the club's historian.
Mikicic is the keeper of a folding display with a handful of black and white photos.
"These are our original 51 members, our charter members. Most of the women who joined in the beginning were wives of dealers, motorcycle dealers," she said.
They wanted to meet and share stories with other women who rode motorcycles. So they contacted local groups and invited some of the members to join the Motor Maids. Like all clubs, the Maids developed a set of rules, including how to travel to and from the annual conference.
“You ride your motorcycle, and if you don't ride, then you're a guest. You are not here as a member," she said.
The Motor Maids now number nearly 1,200 in the U.S. and Canada, about a quarter of whom are in Spokane this week. They include Jeanne Deak from North Carolina. She is one of the longest tenured members, 60 years. The group's oldest member is 100 years old.
“The ladies that you meet are exceptional ladies. They're all independent. They come from all walks of life. They're all ladies. You will not see the girls here in abbreviated costumes riding down the road. And if they did do that, they would no longer be a member. We would ask them to resign," she said.
Deak says she treasures the friendships she has made with women who have that same passion for getting out on the road.
Deak isn't the only long-time member in Spokane this week. Margaret Menges has been a Motor Maid for 55 years.
"I'm from a small town in Indiana called Corona. My husband and I were farmers when we got married, and he said, I want to get a motorcycle. But that meant I was staying home doing chores. I said, I'm not going to do this. So he said, okay, you have to ride your own motorcycle. And it just skyrocketed from there," she said.
Both Menges and Deak are considered Golden Life members, which means they’ve earned the right to travel to the conference by means other than motorcycle.
Many Motor Maids have ridden motorcycles for years, but only recently discovered the club. They include Donna Mae Sather Mulcahy from Nampa, Idaho, who says she loves the club’s history.
“They were pioneers of women riding, and that's pretty spectacular to be able to meet these women and hear their stories of just certain things that happened to you on the road, moments of whatever that is, a flat tire, and before cell phones, think about it, before GPS, you managed. And it's really empowering to ride that way," she said.
Sather Mulcahy is a first time conference attendee. Motor Maids dubs them “red ribbon” members. Whenever one walks into a room, they receive a whoop and round of applause from the women they join.
On Wednesday, the 300-strong Motor Maid contingent took a six-mile mystery ride around Spokane, following directions handed out as they climbed aboard their motorcycles. On Thursday morning, they rode again, parading through the streets of downtown Spokane. Sue Mikicic says there are rules about participating in the parade.
"You cannot be a part of the parade unless you're a Golden Life member, and they can then get in a sidecar or on the back of a trike. You cannot ride with a member on two wheels. So the Golden Life would never be able to get on the back of a two-wheel bike. It has to be in a sidecar or on a trike," she said.
The Motor Maids’ 85th annual convention wraps up Thursday evening at Spokane’s Centennial Hotel.
