2Wheeltips

In the historically male-dominated world of motorcycling no one has more passion for motorcycles than Cris. She has enjoyed a lifetime love affair with two wheels. An eager passenger on her step-father’s motorcycle at age 9, she got her first motorcycle ( a Yamaha Twin jet 100) at 14, her first Harley at age 19 and has been riding ever since. She was a longtime member of the Women’s International Motorcycle Association and in 1984, co-founded the 2nd Chapter of Women in the Wind. In 1985 she co-founded the world’s first motorcycle magazine for women called Harley Women. For over 5 years she acted as co-publisher and editor, often riding her motorcycle across the country to find the stories. On one such ride in 1989 she met her husband-to-be, rocker and fellow motorcycle enthusiast, Doobie Brother Patrick Simmons.

For several years in the late 80’s Cris appeared in countless national newspaper articles, radio and television talk shows as a representative and advocate of the growing number of women who rode their own motorcycles. In 1988, she was awarded an Honorary Lifetime membership to Women in The Wind. Cris is a 24 year AMA member, a Lifetime HOG member as well as a Motor Maid and a member of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America. In 1990, she was honored as a pioneering woman motorcyclist in the American Motorcycle Associations’ Women In Motorcycling exhibit in the AMA’s museum in Westerville, OH.

After selling her interest in Harley Women, Cris began a 15 year stint as a freelance motorcycle journalist, writing extensively for several magazines in the U.S., including American Iron, Motorcycle Collector, Iron Works, Easyriders, V-Twin, as well as magazines in Japan, Spain and in Australia.  Cris penned her own column for over 12 years in the popular Japanese Harley magazine Hot Bike Japan.

In 1994, Cris wrote and self-published the award winning children’s motorcycle book Patrick Wants to Ride, for which she was honored with the AMA’s Brighter Image MVP Award. The book is in its 3rd printing and has sold over 12,000 copies.

In 1995, Cris was one of 4 women featured in an original documentary on women motorcyclists for Turner Broadcasting called Biker Women. This well received show set viewing records for an original documentary for that year.

In 2003, Cris was proud to be inducted into the National Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Anamosa Iowa and the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Westerville, Ohio. In 2008 she was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

Cris has co-written a comedy screenplay about women motorcyclists. She just released the popular book ‘The American Motorcycle Girls 1900-1950” which is currently the number one selling motorcycle history book on Amazon.com. 

Current projects are working on a documentary about her book, and helping to develop a women’s motorcycle exhibit for the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa.

Cris has also signed on to ride her 1915 Harley-Davidson as part of the Sept. 2010 Cannon Ball Motorcycle Run, that goes cross-country from Kitty Hawk, NC to Santa Monica, CA. She is one of two women who will be riding in a group of 50 bikes, The only woman from The United States.

She currently rides a 1988 Harley-Davidson Heritage and is restoring a 1934 Harley-Davidson VD. she resides in Maui Hawaii with her husband Pat and has three children in college, Lindsey, Josh and Patrick.

The bike has to be correctly adjusted for your body size. This. of course, is not unique to women; when I purchased my bike, the seller was 6'2" and I am 6' even, so I had to make adjustments to the handlebars, the front brake and clutch levers, mirrors, etc. The mere two inch difference