the dealership, there are a lot of women who ride bikes. You would
be perfect for it!” She went to the dealership and bought a motorcycle
before she took the rider course.
Unlike a lot of the women rider stories we have published, Valerie’s
family wasn’t into motorcycles. Her journey to racing starts with her
riding with a group that was in her words “out of control”. She told me
that it made her a better rider. She then started riding with another
group and they also helped her hone her riding skills. Three months
later she purchased a Fat Boy because the Sportster wasn’t big
enough to keep up with her friends that were riding in the mountains.
She got into drag racing while doing laps on that Fat Boy. She said
she “got addicted to it” thinking that maybe she could go 88 MPH or
90 MPH next time. “I am not a firm believer of starting small” Before
she started racing, she worked in the banking industry for about 13
years.
She started drag racing in 2006 with the All Harley Drag Racing
Association and the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle series. She drag
raced for about three years, but she lost her sponsor when the
economy turned south. She told us that it took her some time to
recover from that. She learned from that experience and created a
brand that would withstand a bad or good economy.
In 2011 she left drag racing and entered into the world of BMW
Land Speed Racing. There are 15 land speed events including the
famous one at Bonneville. Valerie told me that she really loves doing
the land speed racing because with drag racing “You have to worry
about so many more things.”
Before 2011 Valerie had never thrown her leg over a sports bike,
now she considers herself a sports bike girl. Make no mistake, she
still owns that Fat Boy she purchased back in 1999 and rides it to
this day, but for speed she races a sports bike. She even admits to
www.thunderroadscolorado.com
January 2016
Thunder Roads Magazine® Colorado 23