Gloria Struck, who will celebrate her 94th birthday in July, is proving you’re never too old to ride.
She’s been riding motorcycles for more than 75 years and is the grand marshal at this weekend’s Riding Into History event at St. Augustine’s World Golf Village.
Struck’s love of motorcycles came from her family. Her dad started an Excelsior-Henderson dealership in 1915. After he passed away her mom took it over and became an Indian dealer.
“That’s why I owned three Indians before I started on my lovin’ Harleys,” said Struck.
Related: Listen to the full audio interview with Struck
In 1946 Struck helped form the Motor Maids motorcycle club. She’s been inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame and the Sturgis Hall of Fame.
After her mom retired from the family shop, her brother took over, she said on First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross. He's selling Harley-Davidsons to this day.
“I never realized how much life I’ve lived until I sat down to write about it,” said Struck. Her 2018 book is called Gloria - A Lifetime Motorcyclist: 75 Years on Two Wheels and Still Riding.
Struck reckons she’s ridden more than 650,000 miles on motorcycles, and she’s thrilled to be a guest of honor at this weekend’s Riding Into History.
“It will be very interesting to see all these old bikes,” she said.
Riding Into History is underway. The main event will be Saturday’s Concours d’Elegance featuring hundreds of vintage bikes, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More information is available at the Riding Into History website.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
