Rider loves her Royal Enfield Military

My posts on Tank Girl, the Royal Enfield Military motorcycle spotted in Seattle, assumed that women riders wouldn't be interested in a bike like that. Desiree Ketteringham wrote to let me know that she loves her Royal Enfield Military.

"Well, I'm not "Tank Girl" and don't live in Seattle, but I am girl (well, woman — 29) and I do have a drab (can't really call it shiny) new 2009 Military G5. I bought the bike at Ultimate Cycle and Scooters in Chattanooga, Tenn. (I live in Knoxville, Tenn.) in September. I love love love this bike and can't help but to love the attention it grabs! Being a lady rider probably pulls in a bit more attention too — heh.

"My fiance directed me to the Royal Enfield website over the summer. The second I saw the Military model, I knew that was my bike. It's perfect because it has that vintage thing going for it that I love, but it doesn't require the vintage maintenance that I don't love.

"I've only had my Enfield for a month and have already slapped on the tan leather seat and number plate. The pics I attached to this email were taken about a week after I brought her home. Unfortunately, they just came and took my bike back to the shop because of the recall on the gear shift. They are fixing it, no charge, and will hopefully bring it back home in the next few days! I want to ride her as much as I can before it gets too cold out.

"Anyway, just wanted to let you know that there is more than one woman out there riding this kickass gem of a bike! The shop was so excited about having a girl buy one (especially the Military model) that they wanted the media to come out and do a short on it. Unfortunately for them, the media passed on the story.

"Cheers!"

Desiree Ketteringham
Archaeologist II/GIS Technician
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

I asked what a "GIS Technician" is. She replied:

"GIS = Geographic Information Systems — a fancy term for digital mapping. I basically do fieldwork recording archaeological sites using GPS and land surveying equipment, then take all that into the lab and make pretty, fancy maps out of them for project reports and presentations. That and I dig in the dirt."

She rides a Royal Enfield fit for Tank Girl

Tank Girl rides a Royal Enfield Military model motorcycle in Seattle. That much we know. There is also reason to suspect that she might be the kind of girl you'd remember.

A fellow who actually saw Tank Girl (the girl, not the motorcycle) placed a personal ad on Craigslist in Seattle, trying to contact her. I mentioned the ad on this blog.

Sure enough, a sharp-eyed photographer named Ry Jones alerted me that he'd spotted the motorcycle and posted a picture on Flickr. He helpfully linked to another picture of Tank Girl's Royal Enfield by Qathi.

Qathi's comment: "I'll bet she's awesome."

No doubt she is. I'd love to hear from her myself, strictly for the sake of my readers, you understand. But the fellow who placed the personal ad had deeper yearnings. He wrote:

"Saw you at BackfireMoto in Ballard last night. I think you caught me staring a little too long, maybe you didn't notice. I happened to notice that you left on one of the bikes I liked most at the event — a Military Royal Enfield with 'Tank Girl' painted on it. Write to me, at least let me introduce myself. I was wearing a bright yellow shirt and black cargo pants."

Tank Girl rider, are you out there?