Show Girl

SHOW GIRL

This British Beauty Is An Enthusiastic Desert Rider

AL GUZMAN

WHAT DOES a beautiful Las Vegas showgirl do during her off hours? Loraine Ibbetson, 5 ft., 8 in. of Lido showgirl at the Stardust Hotel, spends all the time she can on her new Honda 90, racing over the desert trails in the Las Vegas area. Miss Ibbetson, who has been a motorcycle enthusiast all her life, thinks this is the "groovey" (her favorite expression) way to spend her free time.

She first became interested in motorcycles when her older brother bought one back in Sheffield, England, where the comely beauty was born and lived till she was 19. She had just turned 14 years of age when she started “tinkering” with her brother’s bike. In a short time she became addicted to two-wheeled machinery. “I built my own motorbike two months later,” she said“It was a combination of a BSA and Greeves,” she laughed. “My father grounded me because I wasn’t riding it with enough responsibility. But I soon learned that safety was most important and started to act accordingly,” she added.

The 21-year-old Britisher has been in the United States for two years and for all that time has been a showgirl. Soon after her arrival, she borrowed a friend’s motorcycle to take short rides across the nearby desert. “I really enjoyed riding in the desert,” she said. “I knew it wouldn’t be long before I bought a machine of my own.” And she was right. Last November she paid a visit to Scooterville, the Las Vegas Honda dealer. After looking at all the models, she settled on a Honda 90 Scrambler. “I really fell in love with it,” she sighed. “It does everything right for me,” she added.

Every morning at dawn she can be found zipping over the desert trails surrounding the gambling capital. When her last show is over, about 3:30 a.m. she heads for the Stardust Coffee Shop for a breakfast of two eggs, bacon, toast and tea, to “tide me over,” she said. Then, after a quick change into her bike clothes, it’s off for the wide open spaces to greet the new d ay. “The greatest feeling in the world for me is the open road, a good bike under me and the wind in my face.”

Spills are not new to her. “I’ve had a few,” she said. “See this,” she said as she pointed to her chin. “I picked that up about a year ago. It happened at Spanish Wash, about seven miles from here. I was following the wash when I hit a large rock and flew over the handlebars and landed on my head against the edge of the river bed. It took six stitches, but as you can see it left only a slight scar.”

The lovely Loraine hopes to enter the Stardust 711 Mile Desert Race this June, if she can get time off. The big race is sanctioned by the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA). Many of the top motorcycle riders in the country will compete with desert buggies and factory car teams. It will extend across three states, Nevada, California and Utah. The race will start in Las Vegas and terminate there. “I think it will be groovey to try my luck in such a long race.

The most I’ve ever gone is 200 miles, at one time. I don’t expect to win, but I really hope one of the cycle riders comes in first. It will be great for all cycle lovers.”

As far as her plans for the future, the tall, statuesque (39-24-37), dark-haired English lass plans to stay in Las Vegas. “I love it here,” she said as she smoothed out her mini-skirt. “Perhaps someday I’ll get married if I can find the right man. There are some requirements he must meet. I don’t care if he’s handsome, but he must be considerate and have a sense of humor. Of course he must also be a motorcycle enthusiast,” she concluded.

Any takers?