MEET MEMBERS OF THE ALL-FEMALE LOS ANGELES MOTORCYCLE GROUP, THE LITAS, AT THE TOP OF ELYSIAN PARK. THE GROUP’S UNASSUMING SPOKESWOMAN, JEN REGAN, CHOSE THE SPOT, WHICH IS USUALLY INHABITED BY JOGGERS OR TEENAGERS WHO WANT TO SUCK FACE TO THE DOWNTOWN SKYLINE. BUT IT’S EARLY ON A FRIDAY MORNING, SO IT’S JUST THE LITAS AND THEIR BIKES. THE WOMEN ARE ANXIOUS TO SHOOT THESE PHOTOS AND GET ON WITH IT. THEY ARE GOING CAMPING AND DIRT BIKING THIS WEEKEND OUTSIDE THE CITY, IN GORMAN. THE LITAS CLUSTER TOGETHER, TALKING CASUALLY ABOUT EVERYTHING. THEY TALK ABOUT EX-BOYFRIENDS, THE ONES WHO FOUGHT NAZI SKINHEADS, THE ONES WHO GOT THEM INTO BIKES, THE ONES WHO PISSED THEM OFF ENOUGH THEY HAD TO LEAVE AND START ALL OVER. THEY TALK ABOUT THEIR GIRLS AND THE MAINTENANCE THEY JUST DID TO THEIR BIKES. THEY TALK SHOP WITH EASE AND ARE CONSTANTLY LAUGHING WITH ONE ANOTHER. THEY WEAVE IN AND OUT OF STORIES UNTIL LANDING ON LOS ANGELES TRAFFIC, THE JOY OF LANE SPLITTING AND PUNCHING CARS THAT TRY TO PUSH THEM OFF THE ROAD. JASMINE ROSE, DANIELLE ROTELLA, TIGER RUIZ, HALEY POLLOCK AND REGAN TALK LIKE PEOPLE WHO HAVE KNOWN ONE ANOTHER FOR YEARS. THE LITAS IS WHAT BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.
THE LITAS
“I only joined The Litas in September,” says Rose, a makeup artist who also works for Harley-Davidson convincing riders to buy fullface helmets. She’s tall and slender, soft like the curls in her hair.
“Yeah, we picked her up at a gas station about a block from my house,” Regan laughs.
“Jasmine had never been riding on the freeway before, so we just said, ‘Let’s do this’ and took her along,” Rotella continues.