Whenever there’s a bike week somewhere in the country it seems the accident/death toll always trumps other events that are newsworthy. Daytona 2008 is no different, with the death toll reaching seven as of Friday.
So, here’s some good news for a change, regarding the first ever Harley-Davidson Woman’s Day Ride:
Some 500 women cruised into Daytona Beach, Fla., March 4, as part of the first ever Harley-Davidson Daytona Women’s Day Ride. The event garnered a whopping $60,520.50 in contributions to help send children with neuromuscular diseases to MDA summer camp, the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced today.
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company of Milwaukee organized the historic ride, the largest women’s ride in the company’s 105-year history. In addition to providing recognition to women motorcycle riders, the event will enables MDA to send more youngsters to camp, where they’ll enjoy a week of accessible activities such as swimming, horseback riding, fishing and arts and crafts.
Karen Davidson, great-granddaughter of one of Harley-Davidson’s founders, William A. Davidson, led the group, including the six winners of Harley- Davidson’s “Get Down to Daytona” contest. They left Atlanta March 1, and were joined by the rest of the riders for the last 10 miles of the approximately 500-mile trek, which ended at Ocean Center.
Three women received special recognition as the top fundraisers for the event: Joanne Mold of Forest Hill, Md., ($3,055 raised), Dee Roberts of Bernville, Pa., ($2,717) and Lynne Cone of Houston ($2,715). Each received a 105th Anniversary Harley-Davidson women’s jacket, and had lunch with Karen Davidson and the six “Get Down to Daytona” contest winners and MDA ambassadors.
Story source and full article: The Auto Channel
As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t need to be involved in women-only events to show my pride in being a female rider, but I think this would have been a cool event to be a part of and for a really great cause. And for that, kudos to all those ladies who participated!
March 11th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Hi Liz,
Sent the following to Clutch & Chrome editor the other day:
Dear Editor,
I suggest adding two more things to your article “10 Things that Deserve a Round of Applause”
1. All the money bikers raise for charitable causes. On my blog, you can read about a few runs my HOG chapter did last season here: http://harley-davidson-mystique.blogspot.com/2008/01/in-pink.html and here: http://harley-davidson-mystique.blogspot.com/2008/01/getting-soaked-for-good-cause.html
These are just two rides that I wrote about. There are many others, and there are plenty of people out there who have no idea just how many positive things we do while we have fun at the same time.
2. Recognizing, empowering, and respecting female riders. Liz over at Rippen-Kitten just put up a good post on this very topic. Read it here: http://www.rippin-kitten.com/2008/03/10/harley-davidson-womens-day-ride-raises-funds-for-mdas-summer-camp-program/
They managed to raise money for MDA to boot!
Just my most recent two-cents.
“Joker”
Thought you might like to know they updated the article and gave both our blogs a “nod.” Here’s a link if you want to check it out:
http://www.clutchandchrome.com/Articles/10%20things%20applause.htm
Scroll down the bottom to see the additions.
Joker
March 11th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Wow Joker! Thanks for doing that! That’s a pretty nice “nod” for us.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:45 am
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