Adeline and Augusta VanBuren

By 1916, America was on the verge of being pulled into World War I, and a pair of New York socialites Augusta and Adeline Van Burenset out to prove a point: that women were fit to serve as military dispatch riders. Riding a pair of Indian Power Pluses, traveled from New York to San Francisco over the course of two months. They overcame natural barriers, like the Rocky Mountains, and social barriers, like the local police who apparently had a hard time accepting their choice of men’s clothing. Along the way, the sisters became the first women to reach the summit of Pikes Peak by motor vehicle.
After this series of accomplishments, and after proving their competence, Adeline’s application to the military as a dispatch rider was rejected. The coverage in the media of the day, although adequate in many respects, lacked the recognition that they had earned and so rightfully deserved. Articles in the premier motorcycling magazine of the day praised the bike, but not the sisters. Their historical achievement was described as a vacation, rather than the pilgrimage that it was.
Both Augusta and Adeline eventually married and pursued their lives. There is little evidence about whether they continued riding, but they did continue to be pioneers. Adeline, initially an English teacher, eventually earned her law degree from NYU. Augusta became a pilot, flying with the women’s flying group founded by Amelia Earhart, called the 99s.

Augusta and Adeline Van Buren broke the stereotypes of their time proving that woman could do anything a man could do. In the words of Augusta, “Woman can if she will.”

They were inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2002.

Via AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame