With a confidence born of experience, Rita Kennedy calmly jockeyed more than 700 pounds of motorcycle into a parking spot on Sturgis' Main Street.

A few blocks away and with only a few months' experience, Stacey Moll performed the same tricky maneuver without hesitation.

Women guiding their own motorcycles along streets and highways are increasingly common at the Sturgis motorcycle rally, according to Pepper Massey, interim director of the Sturgis rally.

"It's much more common now than it used to be," Massey said. "I remember when I came (to Sturgis) in '85, if you saw a woman going up and down Main Street, you'd say, 'isn't she cool.'"

Deb Steele of Rapid City was one of those early riders. Steele started riding in 1990 when women riders were still an oddity.

As the principal of the Rapid City School District's Academy system, Steele said nothing is a better "ice breaker" with her students than pulling up on her 1989 Harley-Davidson Softail on the first day of school.

Steele grew up in Ohio riding mini-bikes and dirt bikes with the boys in her neighborhood, but when the teenage boys advanced to street bikes, her father squashed any plans his daughter had to ride solo.

"It was not appropriate in the '70s for a girl to ride her own motorcycle," Steele said. "I could ride behind."

Steele's first bike was a 1974 Harley-Davidson FXE Super Glide with a Shovelhead engine.

"I knew how to wrench and fix it up," she said. "It was extremely fast, but not very comfortable to ride."

Steele rode the bike for more than 10 years, until she borrowed her husband's Softail for a "girl trip" to Wyoming. She put 1,200 miles on the motorcycle in three days and was ready to claim the bike for herself.

Steele still enjoys riding with her husband on his Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra, because it gives her a chance to relax.

"It takes a tremendous amount of concentration and diligence to ride," Steele said. Anyone who wants to ride should start by taking a motorcycle safety course, she said.

Kennedy, who is from Belleville, Mich., started riding seven years ago after she realized that all the pictures she took from the back of her husband's bike were reflections of her in his helmet.

"I needed a bike of my own and my own space," said Kennedy, who rides a 2000 Harley-Davidson Duece Softail. Kennedy enjoys the elements and being able to "go where I want to go."

Moll of Little Falls, Minn., rode motocross when she was growing up, but just earned her motorcycle license this spring.

Moll has seen Sturgis riding behind her husband on a motorcycle.

Now, she's riding her own Yamaha V Star 1100, which is a whole new experience.

"It's wonderful," Moll said after a cruise through downtown Sturgis. "It gives you a different perspective."

In 2006, 12 percent of the Harley-Davidson motorcycles sold were purchased by women up from 10 percent in 2002, according to Harley-Davidson's Web site.

WebBikeWorld reports that the number of women owning motorcycles increased 30 percent from 1990 to 2003.

Women riders also are claiming their place in the history books. Laura Ellifson of Mitchell set a new class speed at the Bonneville Salt Flats last September.

Ellifson rode a custom bagger designed by Klock Werks Kustom Cycles that won the Discovery Channel's 2006 "Biker Build-Off" series last August.

Ellifson rode to a record 142.8 miles per hour on the motorcycle and went on to push the bike up to 147.35 miles per hour.

"I'm always pushing the limits of myself and the machine," she said.

Ellifson and her fiance, Klock Werks owner Brian Klock, will return to Bonneville in September for their wedding and more drag racing.

Joining Ellifson to race on the salt for the first time will be her 16-year-old daughter, Erika. Another daughter, Karlle, 13, has to wait until she has a driver's license before she can race.

Since setting the record, Ellifson has unexpectedly become an inspiration to other women.

"I talk about rocking-chair moments when I talk with friends," Ellifson said. "I don't ever want to have a moment when I'm 60, or 70 or 80 where I'm sitting on the porch in my rocking chair wondering what if I would have tried that."

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com

Breast cancer ride one of several women's rally eventsWith an increasing number of women riding their own motorcycles to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, several events this week will focus on women.

* The Top 50 Rally Park is hosting a Breast Cancer Charity Ride on Friday, Aug. 10, lead by speed record holder Laura Ellifson. Registration begins at 10 a.m. The cost is $15, which includes a reception after a four-hour ride through the Black Hills.

Several prominent women in the motorcycle industry will speak before the ride begins. Speakers include photographer Sara Liberte, Open Road Radio host Gina Woods, Athena "Chickie" Ransome of Vagabond Chopper, Leslie Vrevish, manager of product communication for Harley-Davidson and Jody Parewitz, daughter of motorcycle builder Dave Parewitz.

* The Lead Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Ladies Show N' Shine today on Main Street. Registration begins at noon.

* Harley-Davidson's New Product Show at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center features a new women's display. Journalist Genevieve Schmitt will be at the booth from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 9.

Also Thursday, women are invited to women-only demos and coffee and snacks from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and Karen Davidson will host a preview of MotorClothes at noon.