Sunday! So we know that many of you are out on your Harleys, soaking up the scenery and roads in our beautiful Mid-North Coast countryside. But when you have a little time to read today, our Sunday Run brings you a legendary rider from the past, who rode for pleasure, adventure, and excitement… just as you do.
Today we visit with Miss Della Crewe. One hundred and twelve years ago Miss Crewe began her epic 26,397km motorcycle travels over much of the USA, Central and South America, and the Caribbean on a 1914 Harley-Davidson V-Twin 2-speed with a sidecar.
Her Boston Bull Terrier named Trouble was in the sidecar all the way, totalling 16,378 miles (26,397km), and Della is quoted as saying:
It’s important to remember that these rides - which we’ll detail a little below - are from a time and social era in which women “didn’t ride”. Miss Crewe’s motorcycling achievements in essence are ground breaking against the attitudes of those days.
And even though women weren’t high on the sales-charts, we’d like to point out that Harley-Davidson Motor Company gave support, sponsorship, and assistance to all three of these ground-breaking women… in fact today with this post there’s a photo of Miss Della with William A Davidson, one of the four founders of H-DMC.
Born in Racine, Wisconsin in 1884, one year before the first-ever motorcycle was invented (the 1885 Daimler Reitwagen made by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Germany was the first internal combustion, petroleum-fueled motorcycle), by 1910 she had moved to Waco Texas, but while visiting her family back home in Wisconsin in 1913, it is said that Della was inspired to try her hand at motorcycling by a younger cousin.
Miss Della had, apparently, a strong spirit of adventure, so it’s not a surprise that an infatuation with the total freedom of motorcycling led the 29-year-old to aspire to undertake a striking adventure. In 1914, no woman had previously ridden a long-distance, endurance cross-country trip from Waco, Texas to New York City, and Della didn’t want to take the shortest route, this was an exploration! Probably no man had ever done it either.
She traded in her first motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson single that she'd purchased in Waco, and picked up a 1914 two-speed Harley-Davidson twin with a sidecar - the cutting-edge machine offered by H-DMC at that time.
Friends and neighbours presented her with that unique traveling companion Trouble the terrier. On 24 June 1914, Della and Trouble, with a sidecar full of supplies, set off for New York City and whatever they could find along the way.
The weather was awful, but she pressed on despite dreadful roads and the adverse weather conditions, often having to use snow chains to get through thick mud. It’s 1914, remember? Paved roads were a rarity, but Della Crewe had determination, knowledge, skills, and guts.
By the 4th of July Della and Trouble had made it to Dodge City, Kansas for the second annual FAM motorcycle road race. The event garnered tremendous press coverage for young Della, quickly establishing her as the darling of both the local and national journalists who were eager to keep track of this pioneer female rider.
From Kansas she continued on to St Louis, Missouri to attend the annual convention of the FAM, Federation of American Motorcyclists, the predecessor of the American Motorcycle Association
From Kansas, she meandered through Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin; the conditions steadily improving, until eventually she reached the newly completed Harley-Davidson HQ, and was greeted with a warm reception, even as we said from William Davidson himself.
After she left Milwaukee she headed into Indiana, where authorities stopped her twice because of her dog. There was a quarantine in Indiana because of foot and mouth disease and Della had to promise that her dog wouldn't leave the sidecar before they were allowed to continue the ride.
Miss Della then spent several difficult months (yes, months) riding through the sub-zero, icy and snowy Midwest states. She said later that it sometimes took hours to travel just a mile or two, and often she had to delay her journey for days until conditions improved.
Eventually, she made it across Ohio, up through Pennsylvania, and into New York City, reaching her destination in New York City on 12 December 1914.
Della, Trouble, and her trusty Harley-Davidson had covered 5,378 miles across 10 states in 6 months, and as she stated afterwards, “I had a glorious trip. I am in perfect health and my desire is stronger than ever to keep going.” Trouble, we imagine, said “woof”.
And keep going she did. A long way!
She headed south on a boat bound for Jacksonville, Florida, with Trouble and the Harley on board too. From Jacksonville Della rode further south, battling shin deep sand for hundreds of exhausting miles until she ultimately had to board a train to Key West.
But – of course - her journey didn't end there. From Key West she headed to the Caribbean and throughout the summer of 1915 Della and Trouble and the 1914 V-Twin continued their journey through the green tropical forests, blue-ocean and white sands of the islands.
Then back to Florida. And again – as we’re learning to expect from Miss Della – no standing still! She booked passage to Havana, Cuba where she toured the island, still on her 1914 Harley-Davidson.
(As an aside… how tough and un-stoppable were these old Harley F-Head V-Twins! No dealers to service the bike, poor and inconsistent fuel and oil quality, but they just kept going!)
And, still seeking every adventure, Della sailed further south over the Caribbean Sea to Panama where she visited the newly open Panama Canal and rode all over the place.
Then she visited Jamaica, still part of the British Empire at that time, and rode to the top of the highest peak. Della rode the Harley to the summit of Jamaica's highest mountain road, a 2,600m climb!
Surely that’s all – it’s exhausting just reading this, thinking about a 1914 bike with just about no suspension! But no! From Jamaica Miss Della sailed to the island of Puerto Rico, rode all over it, then shipped back home to Florida.
And still didn’t stop. She then rode to Tampa FL, then onto Atlanta Georgia, The Carolinas, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, and eventually arrived in New York City for the second time.
After all those years of riding, Della was regular news even in the major US newspapers. Not surprising, given all those riding achievements!
It was often reported that she loved wandering freely wherever she wished, stopping along the way to meet new people, share stories with the locals, and even join in small town parades when the occasions presented themselves.
But (again!) she didn’t stop for too long. Next after New York City was a motoring trip across the entire continent from New York to Los Angeles where, finally, she settled for a while in 1916 working as a manicurist and shop clerk. Eventually she opened her own beauty parlor in Lynwood, California and was working there until her sadly early passing at 42 years old in 1926.
Respect, from us to you, Miss Della. Huge respect.
Della Crewe was an outstanding ambassador for two-wheeled freedom, and is the cynosure for all women riders… not because of any ambition to be a celebrity, but because of her overriding passion for freedom and her undeniable spirit of adventure. And surely Trouble the terrier was the perfect traveling companion.
Keep your own spirit of adventure fresh and alive, folks. Thanks for joining us for our V-Twins Sunday Run!
Some information from https://archivemoto.com/ https://www.rideapart.com/