The Alliance for Injured Motorcyclists of Canada was founded to help fellow riders and their families in the event of a motorcycle accident.
We have been notified of a special fundraiser taking place in High River AB at the Rio Vista Golf Curse for a single Dad, 34 years old, who lost a leg and is having some cognitive challenges at the moment.
It is hoped that as swelling goes down, his memory among other things will improve.
He has a long road to recovery and the group that is assisting him can use your help.
If you can help at all, even just by passing along the poster and spreading the word...every little bit helps.
Thanks....
If you are riding today, PLEASE - ride like everyone around you is blind and can't see you.
Belt Drive Betty
National Vice President
Alliance for Injured Motorcyclists of Canada
The news feeds are filled yet again with the news of more deaths in the motorcycle community here in Canada.
I came across a Canadian Blog called Driving Education for the Masses
I hope you will take note of the statistics in the top right hand corner of their homepage - they are startling...
There have been 42 motorists killed so far this year but there have been 94 Riders killed.
People - WE need to do something about this trend.
The major factors involved in these crashes - not necessarily in order of importance:
1: Speed of rider
2: Inexperience
3: Inattention of motorist/rider
4: Road Conditions
5: Alcohol - both motorists and riders
6: Stunting/racing - both motorists and riders
7: Wildlife
I want to turn our collective focus as a community to becoming a PRO Safety Community.
I would love to see each rider and motorist become more attentive and focused, pro active!
Whether we drive our motor vehicles or are riding our motorcycles, we can all do a better job of focusing on the task at hand DRIVING/RIDING
How can WE as a community turn the tides of death and destruction?
We need to be PRO SAFETY. Remember energy flows to where attention goes.
Each and everyone of us needs to focus on conducting ourselves in a safe manner.
In my opinion we need to wear good gear, ride with awareness, ensure our motorcycles are well maintained, stay hydrated and get advanced rider training. We need to keep our collective minds on safety.
I believe that when our number is up it is up, our creator will take us when it is our time,
BUT I also believe that we bring to us challenges and problems we don't need because of our thinking.
We can become a safer community - we won't be able to get rid of all of the risks in our lives - wildlife is one risk we have little control over - but we can mitigate it - reduce the risk, by being aware: Scan - Interpret -Predict - Decide and Execute
We can't prevent the action of others but we can anticipate them - expect people to pull out in front of you and you can prepare your escape rout - you can slow down, you can slalom around them.
WE need to take the BIGGEST majority of the responsibility for our own safety. Why?
Your mother, father, brothers, sisters, friends, wives, husbands, children - they will all miss you when you are gone - they will have to adapt to the new you and your new reality if you are injured...they will have to death with the grief of loosing you.
Your actions, your decisions affect them - the people you love - the people who love you.
Yes you are entitled to your choices to wear or not wear a DOT helmet, to wear or not wear top quality gear. You are entitled to think you do not need advanced rider training or driver training...but - what about the people who love you?
If you are riding today, please, take a walk around that Iron Steed, stay hydrates, ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and use respect with that right hand.
Belt Drive Betty
There's a ton of information on our web site and I don't know how many of you go through all of the tabs but I thought today I would give you a sample of what I read and put in the news feeds every day.
In British Columbia:
The RCMP caught a lucky break in catching a motorcycle thief - A deer side lined the thief for them!!!
In Alberta:
Red Deer residents Henry Meinema and his wife Valerie were involved in an accident with their Bike & Side Car. Henry died as a result and Valerie is in Foothills hospital fighting for her life.
In Manitoba:
A man is dead after a collision between a northbound motorcycle and an eastbound pick-up truck at the intersection of Highway 205 and 216 south of Grunthal, Manitoba. (Scroll down to read the article)
In Ontario:
Two dudes who decided to flip the OPP the bird while racing their motorcycles had them seized and have been charged with dangerous driving.
There were serious motorcycle crashes in both Brampton & Waterloo
In Quebec:
A woman is in hospital with life threatening injuries after an accident in Bristol (scroll down to read the article)
In New Brunswick:
Grande Falls police are investigating the cause of a bike & side car accident that left a man in serious condition
In International Business News:
Big Dog was awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Export Achievement Certificate
We hand select the main news feed articles to ensure that we do not end up with stories from other communities like mountain bikers that really have no bearing on the motorcycle community.
But did you know, that if you are a member of Belt Drive Betty dot Com, you can also submit news to our site? You can. Pretty much every page now has a" submit your..."link. And once you have saved the article you can share it to:Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo, Google - there's quite a list of social networks available for sharing. So - you can have the benefit of typing the article once, and get the exposure to our membership and your social network/s...it's a time saver that I am sure learning to appreciate.
Don't get me wrong, the mainstream news is important, however the community driven news is more relevant and important to most of us here.
I want to know about your events and their successes and challenges regardless of the province you are from because there may be valuable lessons to be learned.
I want to know about the community volunteer or business who went above and beyond as it will inspire me and others.
I want to know about the great businesses that serve this community so that when I plan a holiday or road trip I can include them in my list of places to go and people to see.
I want to know your favorite local day ride so that when I come your way I can ride like a local.
So, if you are active with other social networks and you want to save some time and promote your group, your community, your events in a broader way, why not submit and article to Belt Drive Betty dot Com and share it - accomplish more in less time so you have more time for riding!
You will note that we are changing the way the news appears in the various categories - Although we loved the blocked look, some provinces have so much news that it was difficult to display it all and allow it to be search able the way we wanted it so we are slowly changing the display on all pages. The change means no more scrolling down to read an article! Yah!
If you are a fortunate soul who is riding today, PLEASE - take a walk around that iron steed, stay hydrated, ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and use respect with that throttle hand.
Belt Drive Betty
How many of you who read this blog know and understand what the BDB Club is?
Many think it stands for the Belt Drive Betty Club - if that's what you think, you'd be wrong.
The BDB Club (Bikers Discount Buying Club) - for riders its is a savings club - a way to discover rider friendly/rider owned businesses you might not other wise give a second thought to.
For rider owned & friendly businesses the BDB Club/Assoc (Bikers Doing Business Club/Association) is a way to market, network and promote their businesses.
When I first started the newspaper, the Busted Knuckle Chronicles, I discovered a certain lacking in the ability to market and promote businesses that are run/owned by riders - there was no forum, no way for them to reach out to us, their consumer, other than through their local newspapers and radio stations.
A rider might miss out on the opportunity to find that little out of the way bed and breakfast or great pub, campground or shop that a fellow rider owns.
On the day to day scene, we all need accountants, electronics, and other goods and services that do not involve our riding lives, but impact our daily lives.
Doing business with others of like mind generally makes for a much more pleasurable transaction. Sharing a passion takes the commercial transaction to a new level and often you discover valuable information on the local riding scene of the town you are in and often, you become friends with that business owner.
Examine your own experiences over this riding season...
Look at your day to day life...
In my riding life, I prefer to stay at a rider owned hotel/motel like the Dunvegan Inn & Suites where the staff of the Hotel truly get what being rider friendly means. The owners both ride and are very active in their local community, I however did not know that until I approached them to become involve with the BDB Club and Mighty Peace Tourism's Motorcycle Initiative.
I prefer to eat at an establishment like McCool's in Crossfield or the SirDar Grill & Pub in SirDar BC...both rider owned.
In my business life, I use a printer who rides, a web mistress who rides and an accountant who used to ride.
In my day to day life, I buy my consumer goods at businesses who are either rider owned or have employees who ride. Example: There are three post offices on my side of town here in Grande Prairie. I almost always go the one that is farthest away, up by the WalMart - why? because the one gal there rides and we always have a great "visit" while she is taking care of my shipping needs.
We are gearing up to produce the 2010 Rider Friendly phone book, for your desk or saddlebags, for your GPS Unit or your mobile phone... the 2010 Phone book is going to be available in 4 formats this year...
The BDB Club helps riders get the best bang for their buck, helps event coordinators find vendors for their events and helps businesses get the exposure to the riding community they need.
It helps the local and the tourist...
For information on joining the BDB Club for Business, drop me a line (bdbetty@gmail.com) and I can send you the information. It's affordable and effective!
To join the BDB Club for Riders, sign up for free membership on www.beltdrivebetty.com
Under the Business Link you will find the Rider Friendly Directory & Your personal download able savings card. The card is currently good at over 150 locations and growing!
I want to welcome our newest BDB Club Business partners:
The Bellvue Inn - Crowsnest Pass AB
The Dominion Hotel - Carstairs AB
Paradise RV - Grande Prairie, Red Deer & Leduc
I look forward to growing this network and having the rider community and its businesses flourish...building a strong sense of community - together!
If you are 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 right hand.
Belt Drive Betty
This weekend turned out to be everything I could have hoped for!
38 bikes with 50 riders/passengers were greeted by the Mayor, the CFO and a town counselor from the Town of Thorbsy at the Kountry Kitchen Bakery!
The town of Thorsby has declared itself, at a recent counsel meeting, as "Rider Friendly"!
Two of the 16 riders from the Insane Customs crew asked permission to do a burn out on main street and the Mayor promptly gave it!
Bruce and Betty from the Kountry Kitchen Bakery and their volunteers did a bang up job of breakfast and free coffee was supplied to all who attended.
Ron from the Alberta Indian Riders (from Calgary) played the bag pipes for our memorial service where we honored those we have lost this season, Kathleen Purser, Ray Seeley, Ronnie, Duane Lowrie and so many more. It seemed everyone was riding in memory of someone they have loved and miss in our community. We had a short procession after the memorial up and down main street and the town's counselor did the blocking for us!
Doug Singer from Grande Prairie made it out for the ride. His was one of three Indian Motorcycles that were on the ride.
The weather was amazing, the ride was soul soothing and the hospitality was fabulous.
The Town of Thorsby pulled out all of the stops and has some big plans for next year for us.
The V-Twin Family Diner Show 'n' Shine was a great time as well. Kim & Paul did an awesome job. The Show 'n' Shine was a fundraiser for Diabetes Research and although we do not know the total raised, the 50/50 draw of $168 was won by Chris, one of the riders in our group!
A couple from Leduc won the tickets to Kissmania and stayed for the concert.
I want to thank all of our sponsors...The Walking Eagle in Rocky Mountain House, Handlebar Hideout in Sylvan Lake, Rose's Front Room in Blackfalds, Time Machine in Edmonton and Insane Customs in Edmonton. The ride prizes we handed out were deeply appreciated by the riders!
The whole day was just fabulous and you will be able to read all about it in next Thursday's Busted Knuckle Chronicles. This week's paper has some very interesting articles in it.
Watch for your newsletter and the link to the newspaper in your email this coming Thursday morning.
If you do not subscribe to the Busted Knuckle Chronicles, perhaps a kind friend will pass it along to you or you could sign up for a one year subscription and become part of our information network!
In other news, Bruce Arnold, Author and Publisher, LdrLongDistanceRider.com, has written a very poignant letter to Ray LaHood for the up coming Distract Driving Summit in the US.
I feel his letter hits the mark here in Canada as well. (scroll down on the page to read the article)
In Great Britian, Hampshire Constabulary Chief Constable Alex Marshall told The Portsmouth News that “mature people riding motorcycles are having accidents and that is something we will be focusing on.” This English policeman has denounced motorcycles for killing the Baby Boom generation. David Booth, the writer of the article has some interesting thoughts on the subject!
(Again, scroll down a bit to read the article)
Since these two articles both deal with deaths on motorcycles, I thought I would ask you this question toady:
What do you feel is the largest contributing cause to motorcycle accidents here in Canada?
A: Distracted or inattentive motorists
B: Alcohol consumed by the motorcyclist
C: Lack of rider training & safety skills
D: Lack of appropriate gear
E: Poorly maintained vehicles/motorcycles
And my second question:
What do you feel about the penalties being handed out to distracted/inattentive/impaired motorists who are involved in an accident causing death of a rider here in Canada?
As always, I am interested in your view point and look forward to your feedback.
I hope that each and every one of you who is riding today will take a walk around that iron steed, stay hydrated, ride like everyone around you is blind and can't see you and that you will use respect with that throttle hand...
Belt Drive Betty
