Hear Me Roar: Women, Motorcycles, and the Rapture of the Road

Hear Me Roar: Women, Motorcycles and the Rapture of the Road was the first book to chronicle the hidden history of American women bikers throughout the 20th century. First published in 1996 and groundbreaking in its day, this book of narrative non-fiction explores a hidden facet of women's progression and personal mobility. Journalist, author and biker Ann Ferrar covers an array of daring but unknown women who went against type in a male-dominated milieu.

 
Among the earliest hidden rule-breakers in the book is Bessie Stringfield (1911-1993), an African American motorcycling pioneer who traversed the continent on her Harley-Davidsons in the pre-Civil Rights era. Author Ann Ferrar, who knew Stringfield personally, recorded the only sound recordings of Bessie Stringfield in existence. The result was Ferrar's compelling and colorful true story "Bessie B. Stringfield: The Color Blue," featured in Chapter Two of Hear Me Roar. This authentic, primary-sourced story by Ferrar was the first to introduce the amazing but unknown Bessie Stringfield to the world. (See BessieStringfieldBook.com for more on this.)
 
Another popular true story in Hear Me Roar is that of the Van Buren sisters, who in 1916 rode across the USA on Indian Scout motorcycles to prove that women would be fit to serve as dispatch riders in World War I. Ferrar's story "Dot Robinson: A Rebel in a Pink Disguise" brings to life 1930's sidecar endurance racer Dot Robinson of the Motor Maids. Despite her gritty determination as an endurance racer through the woods of Michigan, after she retired from the sport, Dot was known for riding pink Harleys with matching pink outfits.
 
Moving on to the second half of the 20th century, Hear Me Roar looks at dozens of spirited, independent women who excelled in motorcycle sports and distinguished themselves in different biker subcultures. These women include: Becky Brown of Ohio, who in the late 1970's founded the international club Women in the Wind; and Sue Slate and Gin Shear of upstate New York, who in the 1990's began the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation and launched the Pony Express National Ride for Breast Cancer Research.

 

Approximately 100 women bikers are featured in Hear Me Roar, with chapters on female road-racers, nitro-fueled drag-racers and motocross racers. There is a chapter on veteran female adventure riders, including: Catharine Rambeau, then 61, who rode her dirt bike named "Mojo" from Florida to the southern tip of South America; and Amy Mullins, then 62, who rode her Harley from Michigan up into the Canadian Yukon on the Alcan Highway. The author even explores how American female bikers have been perceived in the movies, media and fashion. This had never been done before.

 

There are some 100 black-and-white photos in the book, ranging from original vintage photos of Bessie Stringfield and the Van Buren sisters to rare shots of celebrity bikers like K.D. Lang on her Harley in the 1990's and a young Ann-Margret on her Triumph in the 1960's.
 
This award-winning book is the original women's motorcycling "bible." Accept no imitations. The first edition of Hear Me Roar (NY: Crown Trade Paperbacks, 1996) and the later printing (NH: Whitehorse Press, 2000) are identical except for an extra preface by the author and a slightly enhanced cover title design on the later printing.

The back of the book has a chapter on rider safety techniques and an overview of major motorcycle rallies, from the Black Hills Motor Classic in Sturgis, SD to Daytona Bike Week in Florida. There is also a now-dated directory of manufacturers' bike models, women's clubs, businesses and other resources, which is interesting as a period artifact. Like the rest of this compelling book of true stories, it had never been done before.

Ann rode her own motorcycles for 18 years and was an urban biker and a long-distance rider. Ferrar, with her background in journalism and passion for women's studies, created Hear Me Roar, the first book to chronicle women's mobility and gender role-reversal on motorcycles. Ferrar interviewed scores of women bikers, rode tens of thousands of miles around America and was a participant-observer in dozens of motorcycle events.

 
Ann met Bessie Stringfield at the start of her research for Hear Me Roar and the two women became friends. In her coming book "African American Queen of the Road: The Untold Storyof Bessie Stringfield, A Memoir of Race, Resilience and the Road," the author is expanding on her story "Bessie B. Stringfield: The Color Blue." This story for Hear Me Roar introduced the late Ms. Stringfield to the world.
 
Ferrar has been consulted for her expertise on the history of women bikers for college and library talks. In 2002, the author adapted her story "Bessie B. Stringfield: The Color Blue" for the museum's website and for Bessie's induction speech at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Ferrar was interviewed for PBS and History Channel programs such as Glory Road: The Legacy of the African American Motorcyclist and American Biker. 

 
Born in South Brooklyn, the author is an alumna of Brooklyn College, City University of New York. A member of the Authors Guild, Ann lived in Manhattan for many years. She still lives in the Northeastern United States.