East Side Moto Babes
The East Side Moto Babes, an all-female motorcycle club, are not trailblazers. "Women have always ridden motorcycles, it's nothing new", says Stacie B. London, the club’s founder. The former exhibition designer for MOCA didn’t grow up wrenching bikes but, "It was always something I wanted to do, always been a part of my imagination".
On this day, the Moto Babes ride from Glendale to MOCA, where riders trade stories, talk shop, and talk life. "There's a certain intimacy, camaraderie among riders. I wanted that", says London. She founded the club a year after she bought her first bike, a 1969 BMW R60US, no less. "It's constantly evolving. We're always planning, trying to bring people together".
(Photo by Scott Pommier for The Selvedge Yard)
(Photo by Scott Pommier for The Selvedge Yard)
The ESMB are always mixing it up, seeking out new locations for rides, though LA's streets and maintaining a vintage bike are certainly challenges. "It's intimidating," says London, "but it's become the building block to tackle other challenges in my life. These are skills you use in other parts of your life: balancing relationships, challenging situations. It's invaluable, all the things I've learned from this club."
“Riding downtown at night is fun to see the architecture in a different way, the buildings lit up at night. The 2nd street tunnel is a favorite, also the loop of The Music Center, Disney Concert Hall and how 4th street is lit up, pretty magical. Approaching downtown from the North, seeing the skyline from the bridges, entering China Town is so dramatic and awe inspiring.” While the ranks of the East Side Moto Babes continue to swell, the club welcomes more women to join. "I feel like I'm just getting started", says London. For many DTLA women, the East Side Moto Babes might just be the start of a life once only left to the imagination.
Written by:
Scott Meisse
Photographed by:
Kort Havens & Logan Havens