《冒险护照》：贝西·斯特林菲尔德
Passport to Adventure: Bessie Stringfield
2022年10月14日
10.14.2022
《冒险护照》——本系列聚焦历史上突破世俗偏见、勇敢无畏的女性——再度回归！本月主角是"迈阿密摩托车女王"贝西·斯特林菲尔德！值此全国摩托车骑行日，让我们一同了解她的传奇！
Passport to Adventure – our series highlighting bold women who defied expectations throughout history – is back! This month we’re highlighting Bessie Stringfield, the “Motorcycle Queen of Miami” on National Motorcycle Ride Day!
贝西·斯特林菲尔德（生于1911年）是美国传奇摩托车手，她是首位独自骑摩托车穿越美国的非裔美国女性，也是二战期间为数不多担任美军民用摩托车信使的人员。斯特林菲尔德为女性与非裔摩托车手突破了重重壁垒，最终入选摩托车名人堂。美国摩托车手协会（AMA）为表彰"杰出女性摩托车手"特别设立了以她名字命名的奖项。
Bessie Stringfield (born 1911) was an American motorcyclist who was the first African-American woman to ride across the United States solo, and was one of the few civilian motorcycle dispatch riders for the US Army during World War II. Credited with breaking down barriers for both women and African-American motorcyclists, Stringfield was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. The award bestowed by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) for "Superior Achievement by a Female Motorcyclist" is named in her honor.
古墓丽影冒险护照系列配图：贝西·斯特林菲尔德完整版插画，插画作者：阿什利·海
Full illustration of Bessie Stringfield by Ashley Hay for Tomb Raider's Passport to Adventure series
16岁时，斯特林菲尔德自学驾驶人生第一辆摩托车——1928年款印第安侦察兵。至1930年19岁，她已开启穿越全美的旅程，七次完成长途骑行，足迹遍及美国本土48州，并延伸至欧洲、巴西与海地。
At the age of 16 Stringfield taught herself to ride her first motorcycle, a 1928 Indian Scout. By 1930, at the age of 19, she was travelled across the United States and made seven long-distance trips in the US, and eventually rode through the 48 lower states, Europe, Brazil and Haiti.
考虑到斯特林菲尔德所处的时代背景，这一成就尤为瞩目——当时独立骑行全国对她而言几乎是不可能的任务。民权运动尚未开启，她全程饱受歧视。正如费拉尔在斯特林菲尔德传记中所述，吉姆·克劳法与种族偏见使她无法入住大多数汽车旅馆。
This accomplishment is especially remarkable considering that the odds of Stringfield participating in any activity as liberating as independently traveling the country were absolutely against her. The civil rights movement would not begin until Stringfield was already well into her travels, and she faced immense amounts of discrimination along her journey. As told through Ferrar in Stringfield’s biography, Jim Crow laws and racial prejudice prevented her from being able to stay at most motels.
为维持生计，斯特林菲尔德在巡回嘉年华表演特技，包括"死亡之墙"（摩托车手沿木质碗状竞技场侧壁疾驰，并在球形笼中近乎或完全倒立滑行）。她参与泥地赛道竞速争夺奖金，常需女扮男装参赛，但每当身份揭晓后，胜利果实便会被主办方剥夺。
To earn a living as she traveled, Stringfield entertained at carnival sideshows with stunt acts including the Wall of Death, in which motorcyclists zoom sideways along the walls of a wooden bowl-shaped arena and glide nearly (or actually) upside-down in spherical cages. She competed for monetary prizes in flat-track races, where motorcyclists race over dirt oval tracks. She would often times enter races and events while disguising herself as a man, but the moment it was revealed that a woman had beat all of the men competitors, she was denied her fair prizes and compensation.
二战期间，斯特林菲尔德选择担任民用信使，驾驶自己的蓝色61立方英寸哈雷戴维森摩托车。她在主要由非裔男性组成的团队中训练，同时自创简易装备保障骑行，例如用树枝和绳索自制桥梁穿越浅水区。
During World War II, Stringfield opted to serve as a civilian courier and rode her own blue 61 cubic inch Harley-Davidson. At this time, she trained amongst predominantly Black men, while still teaching and training herself to devise makeshift ways that would allow her to travel on her motorcycle, such as DIY bridges with tree limbs and rope to navigate shallow bridges over shallow waters.
五十年代定居后，她以护士身份延续着与摩托车的情缘。但作为与非裔女性与警方合作，她遭遇了轻视与阻力。在多次申请执照被拒后，她要求面见同为摩托车爱好者的迈阿密警察局长。局长带她到公园，要求她展示一系列高难度特技，而她完美完成所有动作，最终无可争议地获得了这份工作。这段挑战与胜利为她赢得了"迈阿密摩托车女王"的称号。
After settling down in the 1950s, she continued her two-wheeled legacy as a nurse. However, she was met with disdain and pushback as a Black femme working with what was then aligned with the police. After multiple denials of a license, she demanded a meeting with the police chief in Miami, who was also a motorcycle enthusiast. After taking her to a park, asking her to perform an array of challenging tricks, and seeing her land them all flawlessly, there was no question as to if she was cut out for the job. This challenge and triumph is what landed her the name “The Motorcycle Queen of Miami”.
1990年，美国摩托车手协会在首届"哈雷戴维森英雄"展览中向贝西致敬，展出了她的藏品。在六十余年的骑行生涯中，斯特林菲尔德拥有过27辆哈雷戴维森摩托车。
In 1990 the American Motorcycle Association paid tribute to Bessie in their inaugural "Heroes of Harley-Davidson" exhibition thanks to her collection. During her six decades of riding, Stringfield owned 27 Harley Davidson motorcycles.
晚年，随着她的故事广为流传，越来越多女性摩托车手对她产生兴趣，她欣然接受采访分享人生经历。1993年，她因心脏肥大引发的并发症逝世，享年82岁——直至生命最后一刻，她仍骑着摩托车拥抱生活。
Before her passing she cheerfully did interviews about her life once it became more widespread and women cyclists gained more interest in her story. She sadly passed in 1993 at age 82 due to an ‘enlarged heart’ and thus heart complications-but she was seen riding on her motorcycle and embracing life up until her last breaths.
欲了解贝西·斯特林菲尔德的传奇历程，可阅读娜塔莉·扎雷利的《贝西·斯特林菲尔德：1930年代彪悍的非裔摩托车女王》与布莱恩·伍德的《贝西·斯特林菲尔德——骑士必知人物》。
For more info about Bessie Stringfield’s journeys and efforts, you can read “Bessie Stringfield, the Bad-Ass Black Motorcycle Queen of the 1930s” by Natalie Zarrelli along with “Bessie Stringfield – Bikers You Should Know” by Bryan Wood.
亦可观看安·费拉尔制作的视频，了解贝西·斯特林菲尔德其人及其精神遗产：https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2144644758892310
Check out this video as well, with a summary of who Bessie Stringfield is and her legacy by Ann Ferrar: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2144644758892310
——原文网址：https://tombraiderblog.square-enix-games.com/en-us/motp/blog/pta-bessie-stringfield/
