Thunder Roads Magazine of Oklahoma/Arkansas August TRMOK _FINAL | Page 14

FEATURES ANNOUNCING JESSI COMBS AS THE GRAND MARSHAL PRESS RELEASE BY: STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY 14 Thunder Roads Magazine of OK/AR Editor Note: It’s with great pride that I get to publish this article from Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. This year, Sturgis Rally has made what some may consider a bold move. They’ve announced the first female Grand Marshal to be none other than one of the coolest chicks in motorcycling, Jessi Combs. A native to the Black Hills area, a rider, the world’s fastest woman on four wheels, a fabricator and more, she is a perfect choice! I met Jessi several years ago while riding a women’s ride in the Black Hills. We hit it off quickly as she is a little fireball who loves what she does! Hearing she’d been awarded this honor, I contacted her with congratulations and a few questions. The first thing I asked was why she thought Sturgis is just now awarding this to a woman. She said, “Motorcycling, especially those people of the Sturgis genre, has typically been a man thing. Babes were on