Belt Drive Betty's Blog

Taking a few days off

I have made an executive decision to take the next three days of with my husband. 
 
No updates, no work, just me and him. 
 
He says he feels well enough today to go for a short scoot - says he wants to try so I am all over that! 
 
My heart, my soul needs time on my bike and time with him. I am grateful to be getting time with both! 
 
I want to pass on my condolences to the family and friends of <a href="http://gator797.hostgator.com/%7Ebdbetty1/index.php/news--events/ab/1740-rider-down">Ray Seely</a>, a local Grande Prairie Rider who was killed yesterday near Lake Louise. 
 
In other news, <a href="http://gator797.hostgator.com/%7Ebdbetty1/index.php/news--events/1748-fourteen-motorcycle-gang-leaders-and-members-plead-guilty-in-detroit-to-violent-crime-drug-and-firearms-charges">American Authorities have been successful in obtaining guilty please from 14 members of the Outlaws MC</a> 
 
I hope you are enjoying the new web site - we still have a few kinks to work out, but it is coming together beautifully. 
 
If you are fortunate enough to be riding today, take a walk around that iron steed before you get on it, ride like everyone around you is blind and can't see you, stay hydrated and PLEASE, use respect with that right hand. 
 
Belt Drive Betty

Taking a few days off

I have made an executive decision to take the next three days of with my husband. No updates, no work, just me and him. He says he feels...

Learning to find inner peace...

Belt Drive 0 Community, Rider Training 6:44 AM

It has been a challenging and interesting time for me. 
 
Learning that there is a way to find peace inside when all around you is in turmoil and chaos has been a life saver - literally. 
 
This book I am reading, A New Earth, has given me a way to find that small oasis of truth, peace and sanity in a world gone mad. 
 
I know many, many people who have had similar challenges to mine and I have seen them be consumed by the pettiness and cruelty of others - I have seen them be decimated by other people. 
 
Other people and their hidden agendas and cruelty can only affect you if you allow it. 
If you give them the power and let them rent space in your head - they win. 
 
It will take me time to master the concepts that are laid out in "The New Earth" but I am grateful to have some tools at my disposal that will allow further personal growth. 
 
I know that many people who read this blog have been on a similar journey - one of growth and change....I would be so interested in finding out what tools, books, web sites have helped you grow and come to a place of understanding and peace. 
 
If you are fortunate enough to be riding today, please,take a walk around that iron steed, ride like everyone around you is blind and can't see you, stay hydrated and PLEASE, use respect with that throttle hand. 
 
Belt Drive Betty

Learning to find inner peace...

It has been a challenging and interesting time for me. Learning that there is a way to find peace inside when all around you is in turmoil...

A time of change...

Belt Drive 1 Community, Motorcycle Community 4:57 AM

The past is gone, the future, never here and the present is a friend - it is always here. 
 
I feel like I live in a place of insanity right now. 
I see people do and say the most vicious of things to each other and I just shake my head. 
 
I am reading a book by Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth. It was on Oprah Book of the Month and she had a world wide webinar that I tried to attend but the Internet was so jammed up I never did. Well, I finally bought the book and have just started to re-read it. I want to absorb as much of the man's message as I can, because it feels right to me. 
 
I work every day to be the best possible person I am capable of being. 
Some days I succeed, others I don't. 
 
From every experience that on the surface appears to be rotten, I try to find the lesson and to grow from it. The events of this past weekend, well, let's just say it was not how I would have chosen to spend my one true weekend off. They did however help me reaffirm and realign my way of thinking. I learned a lot, about perceptions if nothing else. 
 
I see it too often, we forget why we joined the club or group - we forget the charity we chose to work for - we forget our families and friends and there comes a point where we are so self involved that we can no longer see the big picture. 
 
We are all guilty of it at some point and time in our life - it is simply the human condition. 
Our lives are busy, we feel stress, we feel anxiety and pressure and the next thing you know the cause that was so close to your heart becomes the victim of that stress. 
You burn out, you loose yourself, you snap, you quit.... 
 
The problem is many faceted - the desire to do something good within your community can be thwarted when governments and their paperwork and the law and its requirements make the fun seem like a job. Charities have images and reputations to uphold. Before you know it, things become complicated. 
 
We join groups to ride and relax and for many of us to give something back, but what we get is very little riding, more paperwork than work gives us and people who want to struggle for "power". 
 
There is a whole realm of discussion to be had here, I know it. 
 
Riding clubs can be phenomenal to be a part of. The group dynamics can be just cooking - everyone takes a small job on and shares the work load of the common cause. Everyone feels valued, they have friendships and camaraderie that is incredible. And then it happens, that one person joins and because of their way of doing things they upset the whole apple cart. Their intentions are great, they are not malicious as a general rule, it appears it's just the way they do things - they don't function well with in a team. 
 
I remember reading an article a long time ago, where in the writer compared the rider/biker culture to the native Indian/First Nations cultures and their diminishment. I wished that I could think of his name right now - I have actually quoted him before (James something)....he explains from his point of view how we, like the Indian/First Nations people will become overwhelmed because of our inability to work together...as the old saying goes, "Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians"... 
 
Anyway - my question to you all is this... 
How do you keep your riding club or group strong and united? 
 
If you are fortunate enough to be riding today please take a walk around that iron steed of yours, stay hydrated, ride like everyone around you is blind and can't see you and use respect with that throttle hand. 
 
Oh and have a fabulous day. 
Belt Drive Betty

A time of change...

The past is gone, the future, never here and the present is a friend - it is always here. I feel like I live in a place of insanity right ...

Important Life Lessons

Belt Drive 0 Community 4:49 AM

This past weekend I learned/relearned some important life lessons. 
 
Because of the situation at home with hubby, I ended up flying out to TO. 
Air miles are a great thing.... 
 
Anyway - I was lent a bike to go on the ladies ride. I picked it up and rode it to where I was staying...there was a weird whining noise coming from the front end that bothered me.... 
When I got to the house I was staying at I decided to do a full walk around and check the oil etc. 
 
I was a wee concerned about the shape of the tires and the fact that there was no oil on the dipstick. So, I added some oil, fueled the bike up and parked it for the night. We ladies were meeting at Heavy Duty Cycle which is under new ownership so I decided I would see if I could get the tires checked and the oil changed and have the primary and tranny fluids checked. (Originally I thought I'd do the oil change as a thank you to the gal who lent me the bike.) 
 
Upon inspecting the tire, it was determined that the bike could not leave the shop without a new front tire as the sidewall was coming out of it. While taking off the front tire, the wheel bearings were inspected and there was NO grease left on them, they were rusted and had flat spots - in other words, they were hooped and ready to seize which would effectively put the rider over the handle bars, hence the whine from the front end. There were many other things that need to be addressed, like the back rotor, the gauges, broken mirrors.... 
 
The oil change was done, the oil was sludge - black as tar and almost as thick. The primary oil was pretty dirty as was the tranny oil, but the levels were OK. 
 
The back tire had almost no tread left but as long as I didn't hit rain I'd be fine to ride. And if I did hit rain I was counseled to sit on the side of the road and wait it out - do not ride this bike in the rain was what the mechanic told me (I already knew that is what I should do but it was nice to hear the mechanic cared about that). 
 
So, I spent the $400 to repair the bike - it was either that or not go on the ride with the Divas. 
I did not have my cell phone or the bike's owners number with me, and I was raised with a father who taught us - you borrow something - return it in as good or better shape than when you got it. If it breaks while you are using it - fix it. 
 
So, I spent $400 to fix this machine only to have my arse chewed on royally in front of about 10 ladies at one of our meet up stops. I was told that "I didn't have the right to "#uck" with someone's bike, did I even know what kind of oil to use?" That was not a reaction I expected. You'd have sworn that I had asked this person to pay the bill...which I had not. 
 
Anyway, after a bit, this person apologizes to me and we all continue to ride to our next meet up point. She never did say thank you for looking after her bike however. 
 
When we got to Wasaga Beach, this person goes to the president of the Divas and proceeds, again in front of a whole group of people, to chew her a new ass over the bike repair issue. You see she took exception to the fact that she was not called and felt that if I couldn't call her the president should have. 
 
When it began to rain, I took her back her key and said, I don't feel safe to ride your machine in the rain(it was pouring hard) with the back tire that is on it. She asked me if I was returning the key because of what she had said and I told her no, I don't want to wreck your bike or myself and cause further anguish or drama for anyone. I hugged her, kissed her on the cheek and thanked her again for her kindness. 
 
Afterwards, when speaking to one of the ladies about the drama everyone had witnessed earlier, I said: I am not mad at this gal, she lent me the bike with good intention - and probably doesn't know much about mechanical - she obviously just rides it. I am however angry at her husband. How could he let his wife ride a bike that is truly a mechanical death trap...he deserves a size 8 in the crotch. 
 
The next thing you know, people who work with me are getting emails that defame me, telling them they should be ashamed to be associated with me. I am being further slammed for leaving the bike in Wasaga. (The owner of the bike lives 20 minutes away from the beach and had assured me she could get it home OK. Today however, that's not the story being told. No, now we left her bike stranded and I am being labelled as a trouble making, backstabbing #$%^&.) 
 
The feeling of the gal who lent me the bike and the gal I had talked to afterward was that I had no right to "%uck" with someone else's bike and I am wrong in their opinion for having taken care of the problems and that I should never have made the comment about the husband being wrong for letting his wife ride an unsafe bike. 
 
Some people it seems just don't get it. The bike was unsafe - period - end of story, but to the way of thinking of these gals - I am the bad girl... 
 
So here are the life lessons I learned or relearned: 
 
NEVER borrow a bike unless you have seen it and know it's in good repair. 
 
Had I just rented a bike I could have had it for 5 days and it would have only cost me $525 plus tax. This machine cost me $400 and I rode it for 4 hours, sometimes free can cost you way more than you anticipated....in this case - "Free" cost me money, prevented me from getting to ride around the region as much as I would have liked to and it caused a whole ton of hard feelings that would never have been there had I just rented a bike. 
 
So there you have it...Important Life Lessons learned/relearned.... 
 
If you are fortunate enough to be riding today, PLEASE, ride like everyone around you is blind, stay hydrated - oh and before you get on that iron steed, give it a walk around...use respect with your throttle hand and have a wonderful day. 
 
Belt Drive Betty

Important Life Lessons

This past weekend I learned/relearned some important life lessons. Because of the situation at home with hubby, I ended up flying out to T...

If you got one of the many deflamatory emails that were sent out...

Belt Drive 1 Community 10:31 AM

There have been many people receiving emails from a person who says that I am a backstabber and some other wonderful things. 
 
Someone is emailing people who are associated with my web site saying some pretty nasty things about me. 
 
The situation is a PERSONAL one. The gal in question is angry and I believe she is angry at herself and does not know how to deal with her own stuff. 
 
I hope that after 6 years of working in the rider community that you know who I am. I hope you won't give any energy to this person's e-mail. 
 
Please just just forward it to me so that the RCMP and my lawyer can deal with it, ignore it and move on. 
 
I know the source and I know the reason and I choose to let the RCMP and my lawyer handle it. 
 
BDB

If you got one of the many deflamatory emails that were sent out...

There have been many people receiving emails from a person who says that I am a backstabber and some other wonderful things. Someone is em...