Deep knee bend and hat’s off to lady badass, 22 year old Alice Ramsey who in 1909 was the first woman driver in an all female pit crew to set off across the United States on a 3800 mile driving excursion from New York to California. Alice was the sort of woman that did not let “no” stop her…She had lady balls from the git go even when her husband bought her a car so she could “get out of the house”….she took to driving that car on every dirt road in New Jersey logging a lofty 6000 miles. A local car dealer representative noted her ballsy nature and challenged Alice to an all expense paid excursion if she would drive one of the dealership vehicles, a 4 cylinder, 30-hp Maxwell DA. And drive she did, 3800 miles in 59 days….each day was not without its adventures from fording rivers, flat tires, to mechanical issues but that didn’t stop Alice and her troopers. They reached their final destination in San Francisco, CA on day 59 to be proclaimed by the car company as “the car for a lady to drive”. Here’s to all those lady drivers who just need to get behind the wheel to take it for a spin….spin on baby, making so many memories out of each adventure…your time is now!
If you’d like to learn more about this amazing woman, check out “Alice Ramsey’s Historic Cross Country Drive” by Marina Koestler Ruben, which you can read at https://bit.ly/3xvLaGf. I found it a fascinating read! Photos: courtesy of Library of Congress
NOTE: I’m doing this series of Badass Women of Automotive History because I love to learn and share about these amazing women who came before us and inspire badassery in Bronco Babes and women everywhere. Keep a look out for another Badass Woman of Automotive History next week!
