Quueen of the Mountain
quueen of the mountain
SAMMIE DUNN IS 24, has two children and a Rickman-Metisse. And just recently, on a sunny Saddleback afternoon, she picked up a $100 prize for being the first woman to successfully climb the treacherous slopes of the Matterhorn. Unusual role for a woman? Indeed it is. Surely it is enough to make a misogynist blanch.
You see, Sam’s been riding for the past two and a half years, mostly desert and cowtrailing. And under the able tutelage of southern California TT veteran Jim Hunter, she has become more than a little adept at the sport, occasionally showing her lovely heels to her hairy-legged competitors. Simply, hard riding is her bag.
But although Sam is a relative newcomer to motorcycle competition, she is no stranger to another, more pedestrian type of racing. Sam Dunn is an accomplished athlete and former candidate for the U.S. Olympics Track team. In fact, when you add up her assets you end up with a most fetching combination of ingenue and Amazon.
But then, she’s a chick with a penchant for real challenge. Ask ace motorcycle tuner Danny Macias—he takes care of her bike. Better yet, her swing shift cohorts at Douglas Aircraft will tell you about this lovely secretary who
zoots to work and back in her own Corvette.
Sammie was initiated into bikedom with a small lightweight she acquired a couple of years ago. Soon enough though, her yearn for challenge outgrew the bike, prompting her to step up to a 500-cc Triumph. But the future held ill for this bike, however, as she later spilled while riding in Baja. The machine was a write-off. Aggressive as ever, Sammie took the plunge and bought a Triumph Metisse, her present toy.
In light of all this it is not too surprising to hear of her latest feat. Adding dash to being the first distaff rider to clear the summit is the fact that this was her first time out on the machine and the first hillclimb event she’d ever entered.
In spite of her success at this kind of competition Sam is quick to give much of the credit for her win to hillclimbing vet Jerry Dunivan, himself a Saddleback regular, and the excellence of her mount.
But we’re sure that’s only part of it. For this girl clearly has the grit and gumption of Little Orphan Annie . . . and Leapin’ Lizards! It’s enough to make a grown man cry, particularly if he hasn’t reached the top of the hill. gj]
