Effie and Avis Hotchkiss: The Mother and Daughter Who Rode Across America in 1915
- Daniel Holland
- 19 minutes ago
- 6 min read
There is something immediately captivating about the sight of a motorcycle and sidecar carving its way across wide American landscapes. Yet in 1915, when most roads were little more than rough wagon tracks and the idea of women travelling independently was still fuelled by suspicion, the image becomes even more striking. Picture it. A 26 year old Wall Street secretary hunched over the handlebars of a brand new Harley Davidson. Her 56 year old mother tucked into the sidecar with luggage, snacks, sharp opinions, and, occasionally, a gun. Together they set off from Brooklyn on 1915 to cross the United States at a time when even the men attempting such trips were spoken of in near mythical tones.
Their names were Effie and Avis Hotchkiss and they went on to become the first women to ride a motorcycle with sidecar across the country and back again. Their 9,000 mile journey took place in the middle of the women’s suffrage movement, five years before the 19th Amendment. It was part adventure, part family bonding exercise, part quiet rebellion. As Effie later put it, “We merely wanted to see America and considered that the three speed Harley Davidson for myself, and sidecar for mother and the luggage were best suited for the job.”
It was a deceptively simple reason for such an ambitious feat, but the Hotchkiss ride became one of the great stories of early American motorcycling.
A Brooklyn Beginning
Effie Hotchkiss was born in 1889 and raised in Brooklyn. Practical, mechanically minded, and fond of independence, she learned to ride a motorcycle at 16 after lessons from her brother. Her first machine was a Marsh and Metz, a make that required a fair amount of courage and mechanical sympathy from any beginner.
By 18 she was already working on Wall Street. Contemporary accounts often stressed this detail, as if navigating the financial district and mastering a motorcycle were equally unusual achievements for a young woman. When her father died, she inherited a modest sum and instead of doing something traditionally sensible with it, she bought a Harley Davidson Model 11 F. It was the company’s first machine with a three speed gearbox, a serious touring bike, and it cost her $275 dollars.
Effie wanted to see the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. More than that, she wanted to become the first woman to cross the country on a motorcycle. Her mother Avis wanted to come along. Avis reportedly said, “I do not fear breakdowns for Effie, being a most careful driver, is a good mechanic and does her own repairing with her own tools.” It was a vote of maternal confidence, but also a sign that both women knew they were heading into rough conditions.
Setting Out Into an Unpaved America
The United States in 1915 had few paved roads once you escaped the major cities. Federal funding for highways would not begin until 1916. Travelling by motorcycle meant mud, sand, ruts, punctures, exhaustion, and the constant need to repair your own machine.
The Hotchkiss women travelled light. Their luggage included clothing, tools, spare inner tubes, a blanket, and a gun. The firearm would prove unexpectedly useful when, much later in the journey, Effie encountered a rattlesnake and a coyote.
From Brooklyn they rode north through the Hudson Valley to Albany, then west toward Buffalo. Curious crowds gathered wherever they stopped. Newspapers called them “the two lady riders” and people asked endless questions about why they were not travelling by train like sensible women. Effie and Avis reportedly answered with a mixture of politeness and quiet amusement.
They continued through Cleveland and into Chicago. By this stage they were averaging 150 miles per day. Even for modern riders, that is a respectable distance. For 1915, on a rigid framed machine with minimal suspension and dreadful roads, it was impressive.
Roadside Repairs and Unexpected Improvisation
Anyone crossing the country at that time expected punctures. Inner tubes were fragile and roads were brutal. Effie had prepared by bringing several spares and tools. She was skilled enough to repair the Harley herself and did so repeatedly. At one point, however, the spares ran out.
The fix she and Avis came up with has become one of the most charming details of the entire journey. They cut a blanket into strips, rolled the fabric tightly and stuffed it into the empty tyre casing. The makeshift tyre was crude but functional. It got them to the next town. Their willingness to improvise under pressure is one of the qualities that makes their story so enduring.
Alongside mechanical problems, they faced extreme weather. Rain turned primitive roads into mud tracks. Later, as they approached the deserts and valleys of the West, temperatures reached more than 120 degrees. There were long stretches with few towns, few water sources, and very little margin for error. Yet they kept moving.
Wild Encounters
Harley Davidson later reported that Effie used her firearm at least twice on the ride. Once when a rattlesnake slithered across their path and once when a coyote became a little too interested in their camp. These moments are often retold with a sort of frontier romance, but in truth they show just how isolated early motorcyclists could be. There was no roadside assistance. No mobile phone. No helpful petrol station clerk. If something required handling, you handled it yourself.
Reaching the Pacific
In August 1915, three months after leaving Brooklyn, Effie and Avis rode their Harley Davidson down to Ocean Beach in San Francisco. They had carried a small bottle of Atlantic seawater all the way from New York. Now, standing at the edge of the Pacific, Effie opened the bottle and poured its contents into the western ocean.
Harley Davidson’s Enthusiast magazine captured the moment in a photograph that later became iconic. Two women, leather clad, determined, smiling, completing a symbolic act that connected both coasts.
After enjoying the Panama Pacific International Exposition, they did something that surprises many modern readers. They turned around and rode all the way back.
The Return to Brooklyn
By October 1915 the Hotchkiss women returned to Brooklyn having covered approximately 9,000 miles in total. Their achievement was widely reported. Newspapers praised their courage. Motorcycle publications highlighted Effie’s technical skills and calm under pressure. Admirers marvelled that a mother and daughter had undertaken such a journey together.
Effie and Avis did not consider themselves revolutionaries. They simply wanted to see America. Yet the context of their ride matters. Women were still fighting for the vote. Public expectations about femininity were narrow. The idea of women travelling alone was contentious. Riding a motorcycle across the country was seen as nearly unthinkable.
Their success made a quiet but meaningful contribution to the visibility of women on the road and in public life.
The Women Who Rode Before and After
Effie and Avis were part of a small but growing community of female motorcyclists in the early 20th century.
• In 1914 Della Crewe rode from Waco to New York City with her dog Trouble riding in the sidecar.
• In 1916 the Van Buren sisters rode across the country on separate motorcycles to prove women could serve as military dispatch riders.
• In 1930 Bessie Stringfield became the first African American woman to ride solo across the United States.
• In 1935 Mrs Rural Murray completed a 10,000 mile journey on an Indian Scout and noted, “Women and girls lived sufficiently restricted lives in those days that my motorcycle riding brought forth much comment.”
Legacy
The Hotchkiss journey has become part of Harley Davidson history, early American motoring history, and women’s history. Their courage was practical rather than theatrical. Their story feels even more compelling because it is not sensational. It is simply two determined women travelling because they wanted to. They faced mud, heat, mechanical failures, wild animals, and long stretches of loneliness, and yet their tone in interviews remained cheerful and matter of fact.
A century later, riders still talk about them. Effie once said she wanted to see America. She did. In doing so, she helped show that the country belonged to women travellers too.
