[Belt Buckle] The First Women to Summit Pikes Peak and Traverse the US by Motorcycle
This 1 lb. belt buckle commemorates the first two women to ride solo across the country by motorcycle—who were also the first women to summit Pikes Peak using any motorized vehicle at all.
This giant belt buckle has now been cataloged into the Coloradotopia Archives Collection. It celebrates the 80th anniversary of Adeline and Augusta Van Buren’s cross-country motorcycle trip in 1916, which included a ride up Pikes Peak. This also celebrates the 80th anniversary of the first Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
The Van Buren sisters rode from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1916, leaving on July 4th and arriving on September 8th. They were the first women to make the ride solo. Effie Hotchkiss made the ride as a sidecar passenger in 1915.
Their purpose? To prove that women could complete the ride and provide a mail carrier service if needed in times of war.
The sisters were descendants of America’s 8th President, Martin Van Buren.
The images below have been colorized for this newsletter.
Here are a few additional facts about their trip:
They were arrested for wearing men's clothes multiple times near Chicago (ref).
They rode Indian Power Plus motorcycles that cost $275.
They came into the Denver area through Fort Morgan on July 28th, but they didn't arrive in Glenwood Springs until Aug 10th.
Their route likely would have taken them to the south of Loveland Pass, instead using Hoosier Pass or Tennessee Pass to get over the Continental Divide. Loveland Pass’s boosters had lost out on a major round of funding from the state in 1913, and as a result, Hoosier Pass was the overwhelmingly dominant route into Breckenridge and the Blue River Basin at the time.
See more photos and info about this item on its permanent page within the archives here.
You can read more about their trip at Vanburensisters.com.
DIA Mountain Shuttles - $75 off Denver airport shuttles w/ code “coloradotopia75” at Ridethepowder.com.