Tenacious Dames share sisterhood on the open road
With black leather jackets and colorful personalities they take to the open road in Northwest Montana and beyond.
They are a growing voice in the motorcycle community, with more than 150 members in 10 chapters throughout the state. The women of the Tenacious Dames Motorcycle Riding Club are right at home on the blacktop, enjoying a unique bond of sisterhood and friendship they say cannot be found anywhere else.
It all began in Billings in the spring of 2013. Having a hard time keeping up her husband and his fellow male riders, former Harley Davidson employee Julie Fink was struggling to find fellow female riders to join her on her rides. Finding no strong all-female riding groups in Montana, Fink and former coworker and friend Colette Haun put together the first meeting of their new group. On a cold April evening with just five people in attendance, the Tenacious Dames group was born.
“As a new rider trying to ride with experienced male riders, I was either put into situations that I was not comfortable with, ready for, or just scared the crap out of me. After a while, I figured I was not the only female rider out there having those kinds of issues and I quickly found out how true that was,” Fink said. “Women ride motorcycles differently than men do. To ride and manage a motorcycle for us is dramatically different from both a mental and physical standpoint. Men get on their bike and they go ride. We get on our bikes and we think about what we left undone, what happens if we don’t come home or what happens if we wreck. It really is a head game for us and it can keep us off our motorcycles.”
What started with a handful of riders in the spring of 2013 grew to a dozen by the fall. When Fink moved to Great Falls and opened a chapter there in 2014, the membership doubled. It doubled again in 2015 with the addition of chapters in Bozeman and Miles City.
Today, the group chapters in Billings, Bozeman, Havre, Missoula, Great Falls, Helena, Miles City, Hamilton and Kalispell.
What began as a way to bring female motorcycle riders together quickly turned into so much more, providing a much deeper connection that many of the group’s members were searching for.
“We are all like-minded and we feel the same things. When we meet, we can all relate with what each other is dealing with. Having people who are facing the same struggles provides a strong support group and it really helps. You start learning from the confidence of others and understand that you are not the only person who has to deal with these issues,” Fink said. “A lot of females who ride motorcycles and join our club tend to have rough backgrounds. Not all of us, but many of us come from a background where there was some kind of abuse in our lives. Ours is a group that helps give women empowerment and control of their lives. We help women gain confidence in their riding and with that comes confidence in themselves and their relationships.”
Seated around the table laughing and telling jokes, the intense camaraderie of the Kalispell chapter of the Tenacious Dames was on full display during their most recent monthly meeting at Scotty’s Bar on the south side of town.
An interesting mix of riders with diverse backgrounds, the Kalispell group consists of 13 (soon to be 14) members from all walks of life. There’s the 911 dispatcher, the subcontractor, the orthopedic technician and more. Their lives may be wildly different, but one thing rings true for them all — the uncontrollable love of two spinning wheels, the wind in their hair and the endless road beneath their tires.
Each member earns their own “road name” chosen by their fellow members (McCoy, Thelma, Flash, Bartender, Hizzo, Superfly and Voodoo, just to name a few) — generally stemming from a particular incident, that one little faux pas, habit or quirk that their sisters will never let them forget.
Riding experience varies from relative newcomers to those who have been on one motorcycle or another for more than 50 years.
For chapter vice president Melissa Decker, who goes by the road name McCoy after the character from the 1984 film Streets of Fire, the Tenacious Dames is not only a way to find confidence in herself, it is also a way to share that confidence with her fellow riders.
“Our motto is women empowering women through the power of riding, and believe me we empower each other. Nobody goes through the tough stuff in life alone, unless they choose to. We are always here for each other. It’s a sisterhood,” she said. “It is an honor to wear this group’s patch on my jacket. It really means a lot to me that I have these sisters. They give me acceptance, unconditional love and support and they will jump my case when I am not doing right. I need that sometimes, but they do it in a way that is loving.”
For Tracy Finn, “Thelma” to fellow member Luwanna Jensen’s “Louise,” the love of riding motorcycles came at an early age. The daughter of an Illinois flat track racer, she was riding her first motorcycle at age 6. To this day, riding remains her only hobby.
“With my dad doing what he did, I grew up with anything that had a motor. I was either riding them or driving them,” she said. “I had a friend who once tried to teach me how to crochet, but I strangely never seemed to get around to it,” she added with a chuckle.
Finn said many important moments in her life happened while riding her motorcycle, such as meeting her husband of 28 years. While the pair have spent countless hours and miles riding together, Finn said nothing compares to the feeling she gets while riding with the Dames.
“This group has been my delight. It is a lot of fun and a breath of fresh air. I love all of these gals and they are my sisters,” she said.
While all the members of the group said they each take something special from their rides, the group is also about giving back. Each season, the Tenacious Dames organize and participate in a number of fundraisers and rides for charities.
Last year, the group worked with Peggy’s House (a branch of the Ray of Hope shelter) to adopt a local family for Christmas and also put together a fundraiser to provide extensive dental work for a rider in the Missoula chapter of the Dames who was in need.
“I was always taught that no matter how little you have, you always have enough to pay it forward, so that’s what we did,” Finn said. “It’s not about the big things, it’s the little things in life that make a difference. If you can bring someone joy, it is always worth the effort. We saw a need and knew we could help, so we did. That’s what it’s all about.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic cut into the group’s riding time this season, the group is happy to be back on the road in the Kalispell area and beyond.
For more information about the Tenacious Dames Motorcycle Riding Club, visit their website at www.tenaciousdames.com or find the Kalispell group on Facebook.
Reporter Jeremy Weber may be reached at 758-4446 or jweber@dailyinterlake.com.
