Lori Maudlin has been a friend of mine since forever and before. A genuine biker par excellence. She used to ride an Ironhead Sporty with a front end that stretched into forever. No starter except her foot powered starter pedal.
Despite some serious health problems with both her and her Ford van she had a cheery outlook when she showed up at Willie’s Old School Show with a Springfield, Indian Dispatch Trike. Not an H-D Servi-Car, but an Indian Dispatch to compete with Harley back in the day when Harley and Indian where fierce competitors for the business.
A magnificent restoration, Lori showed the bike and won her first trophy ever, taking 1st place in her class; just way cool. Then she grabbed the microphone from Roadside Marty and in front of the huge crowd spoke about women who have ridden and a plug for future women riders everywhere, garnering the biggest cheer of any winner. Lori’s son, an Iraq veteran, was in the crowd to cheer his mom’s win.
One year Lil — that’s what we call her — was in Sturgis and parked her van in a legal parking space and went about her business. On her return the van was gone and the curb had a still wet red paint on it. She had been towed for parking in a red zone. She called me, pissed off and screaming. I put her in touch with Jim Bush, the Sturgis Chief of Police, who has known me as a photojournalist for many years. Jim investigated and determined that the Sturgis street department had painted the curb with Lil Bit’s van parked in the spot. He offered to void the ticket but Lil Bit would have to pay the towing and storage charges. Well, have you ever seen a short, pissed off Pit Bull? If you have, it don’t compare to a angry compact blond bombshell with a very, very short fuse. All charges and fees were dropped with the profuse apologies of the City of Sturgis. The moral of this story is “Don’t screw with a Lil Bit blond!”
Lil Bit now divides her time between various friends, traveling the country in her problematic van, and enjoying life. She use to live beachside in Daytona Beach near Main Street and was involved with many Bike Week activities from running contests and was a Rat’s Mate for Karl Big Daddy Rat back then. A real great lady who is loved by many.