Patty Dimitriou & the Thunderbird Throttle
Patty Dimitriou is a member of the Navajo Nation tribe, a small business owner, and an Indian Motorcycle rider. She is a driving force in the Southwest’s Native American circles, showing her passion for community and culture time and again. We’re proud to have Patty riding with us. Here, she honors the Indigenous tradition of storytelling, sharing her journey in her own words.
Being a Navajo woman, there’s not a breath you take without experiencing how we’re all connected. Being Native American, it’s in my DNA to be a contribution, to remember my relatives and my roots.
As a rider, I am so proud to ride a bike that has an identity that is representative of my heritage.
For generations, our heritage, our culture, and our teachings are passed down through an oral tradition, storytelling. In my family, most of that is through the women and that’s how I learned a lot of what it means to be Navajo, what it means to be Native American, through the stories that my grandmothers shared.
And honestly, it wasn’t until I became a mother that I understood the true importance of our traditions. For example, we don’t cut our children’s hair because it represents their connection to learning, developing strength, and their intuitive connection to nature. So when I hold my son, when I see his hair blowing in the wind, my heart is full.
There are certain aspects of childhood that give all of us a sense of freedom, adventure, play, and for me, that was riding horses, feeling the wind on my face, feeling that thunder underneath me. So when I grew up and moved away, I found another way to experience that through motorcycle riding and what we call our “iron horses.” I saw modern day warriors travel the land, chasing spirits, and spreading incredible stories.
I thought, “Yeah, I think I want to do that.” I finally came across an Indian Scout and my god, she was beautiful. The chrome, the pinstriping ... I named her Sage. Sage taught me a lot about myself and really helped me grow as a rider. With experience, I realized that a bigger motorcycle with more capacity for longer rides was something I really wanted to experience.
And that’s where the Chieftain Dark Horse showed up in my life. It’s next-level. It’s truly being connected to incredible power.
She’s an extension of who I am as a Native Woman and what I want to experience on my journey.
I left the reservation at a young age and moved to the big city to go to school. I noticed there were not a lot of people out in the world that looked like me, nor came from my background and essentially realized that my capacity for storytelling was incredibly important in order for Native peoples to have a voice in the world.
So I started riding, I started telling stories from the Native perspective, and it opened up my eyes and my heart to a really significant issue in our community; this issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP), a movement that advocates for the end of violence against Native women. It also seeks to draw attention to the shockingly high rates of disappearances and murders of Native people, particularly women and girls.
There was little being done around this issue and I decided we needed to make some noise about that. That’s where the Thunderbird Throttle benefit ride came from.
What started out as an idea amongst a small group of Native riders in my inner circle has now brought together hundreds of riders, and with Indian Motorcycle’s support has raised tens of thousands of dollars to build awareness on what is happening to our Native women, children and families. Through our storytelling we’ve reached hundreds of thousands of people not only in Arizona, not only in America, but across the world. We’ve had people reach out to us and say, “I had no idea. What can I do to help?”
I started out wanting to make a difference. But what was really important to me is that I also show everyone the beauty and strength of our culture, that we really use this event to celebrate the resilience and uniqueness of the Native American people.
We share our songs, our dances, our traditions and our warrior mentality. Because I’m clear that not only will we survive the MMIP epidemic, we will succeed in diminishing the missing and murdered rates in our communities.
To be Native American, to create an event celebrating my heritage while raising resources for such an important issue, and then have Indian Motorcycle contribute to that effort is pretty extraordinary. The fact that Indian Motorcycle has made a real commitment to the Native American experience, that they embrace and protect the important aspects of our history and our modern role in society, that’s something I’m truly grateful for.
Let’s ride !
A conversation with Patty Dimitriou:
IMRJ: Of all motorcycle manufacturers, why did you choose to ride an Indian Motorcycle?
PD: I actually tried out a couple of different manufacturers, makes, and models before deciding on an Indian Motorcycle. I did a ton of research, especially from the perspective of women riders, and I found Indian Motorcycle to be the best fit for me. Lightest in its class, lower seat which worked out better for my height, great dependability in maintenance concerns, and still had plenty of power and performance. My Chieftain truly outperformed in every single category, there was no question. I also am really happy to be able to spend money on an American company with such an incredible legacy.
IMRJ: Do you prefer to ride solo, with a friend/partner or with a larger group, why?
PD: Any real rider will tell you there are benefits to all riding experiences, whether it’s solo, with a partner, or in a group. I don’t ride alone very often and so much of my riding is a social experience, so the small group dynamic probably suits me best. I ride a lot with a group of women, most of them are really seasoned riders who are completely comfortable with long, cross-country rides in any and all kinds of weather. This is great for me, because it helps build my confidence as a rider knowing I’m with a group of experienced women who can handle whatever the road throws at us and will always be both prepared and responsible.
IMRJ: You’ve obviously gone deep into customizing your bike, what was your experience customizing and building your bike the way you wanted it? Where did you find your inspiration?
PD: I’ve always preferred unique bikes and rides that stand out in a crowd, and there was no difference when it came to my Chieftain Dark Horse. I really loved the look of some of the custom baggers I saw in Southern California, and when it was time for a bigger bike for longer rides, I hoped I could find a touring bike with that stretched-out, road-eating look … and boy, did I find it! My bike is actually a custom Dirty Birds Concepts build with a ton of high-performance aftermarket enhancements and one-of-a-kind paint by Joe Blunt Designs, who’s known for his incredible custom paint, flake, airbrushing, pinstriping, leafing, and bodywork in Phoenix, Arizona. I bought the bike from a small dealer in Pennsylvania called Warhorse Indian Motorcycle and had the bike shipped out here to Arizona for a custom paint job. The rest is history!
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