Grandma is Still Riding Her Harley-Davidson at 89!
One might expect that, at the age of 89, Gloria Tramontin Struck might have hung up her riding gear and bought a nice little car in place of her Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Nonetheless, this grandmother of two and great-grandmother of three is still riding strong, and she doesn’t plan to quit any time soon.
She has spent her whole life on two wheels, starting from the age of ten when her brother, Bub, took her on a ride around the block and told her that she too would ride the two-wheeled monsters one day.
Her family owned a motorcycle shop, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this very year. Her father ran the business until he was killed in an accident while riding, and then her mother took over through the ’30s and ’40s.
Her brother took the reigns after that, and Gloria claims that the shop has employed every family member at one time or another.
Struck has been riding since she was just sixteen years old, and she has never turned back. In total she has owned fourteen rides — usually at least two at a given time.
Over time she has had three Indians and eleven Harleys, her first being an Indian Scout Pony and her primary current ride being a teal Heritage Softail Classic.
She prefers bikes built for long distance trips, and considering that she has done both a cross country road trip and ride through Europe this should come as no surprise.
She claims that even her late husband, Len, couldn’t keep up with her dedication to riding. She only got him to take a motorcycle twice, and both times he would have rather taken the van. Both of her children, Lori and Glenn, also ride.
Of course, her love of riding on two wheels has not always been an easy thing. She was turned away from motels and gas stations many times, though she never gave up. In 1946 she joined the Motor Maids and found camaraderie with the other women riders of the world.
Gloria attributes her long life to her riding, though it didn’t come without some close calls. Still, the so-called “matriarch of women riders” got right back up on her ride and kept on going.
She plans to spend her 90th birthday at a motorcycle convention in Canada surrounded by both friends and fans. She is often told to “keep on going,” and that’s exactly what she intends to do — even until she hits 100!