Valerie
Thompson
This month’s Ladies Up front features a story about a
remarkable woman, Valerie Thompson. What? You say you
haven’t ever heard of Valerie Thompson? Let me enlighten
you, Valerie currently holds seven land speed records with
her top speed at 217.7 miles per hour.
Amazing isn’t it 217.7 miles per hour from a standing stop.
She has also achieved a record of ¼ mile in 7.05 seconds.
That breaks down to 187.42 miles per hour or, my favorite
186.968 feet per second. That means she covered almost
two football fields in one second. Along with her land speed
records she has appeared in both a GoDaddy Super Bowl
commercial and in the documentary “Why We Ride”.
Valerie bought her very first motorcycle in 1999, a Harley
Davidson Sportster. When she purchased the motorcycle
22 Thunder Roads Magazine® Colorado
she had never ridden on a motorcycle in her life. Not on the
front and not on the back.
She purchased the motorcycle first at the urging of a friend
after she received an invitation to go for a ride. She tells me
that she had no idea what to expect and was “really nervous”.
She had to scrounge something together to wear knowing
that her friend had a helmet she could borrow. When it came
down to time to ride she said “He was so worried about
his bike and the bling on the back of my jeans scratching
the fender, we took the car instead to enjoy the rest of the
afternoon.” Her friend told her at one point; “I can take you to
January 2016
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