Our rather aerodynamically uniformed Bolles girl is hot on the chase. She looks pretty determined despite those high heal leather boots. Could this theme be another of Enoch's firsts? As hard as I've looked I've yet to find an earlier biker girl pinup. Bolles included another first in this image. Less obvious but no less notable, the "speed lines", also known as Hites. First appearing in cartoons published in the 1880s, they were used not only to depict fast moving objects but an entire range of movements, emotions and energy (I saw an entire exhibit on them at the fabulous Billy Ireland Museum of Cartooning). This is the only example I've found by Bolles and the next time it appeared in a pinup was 35 years later!
It's an Elvgren girl suffering from the usual challenge of keeping her clothes on. Aside from the flowing hair and just a hint of a speed line coming off the mirror and back tire, there's not much to suggest she's more than puttering along (especially on a 100cc Yamaha Twin Jet). Take a look at the reference photo and you'll see that the kickstand is down. Janet Rae, the great Elvgren model is in no actualy danger (this is also a good example of how closely Elvgren worked from photo references).
The biker girl trope continues to show up now and then in pinup, but has played more prominantly in popular music. Artists such as Britney Spears and Pink have gone down the road as a biker girl (though Britney clearly could use some riding lessons) and Madonna has featured the leather biker girl look throughout her long career. They look great, but if you ask me our Bolles biker girl has left them all in the dust.
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