Belt Drive Betty's Blog: 6/13/10

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Thursday, June 17, 2010

Don't shoot the messenger....I only tell you what's going on...

In the past I have had people tell me I was a fear monger because I brought to light information the I found in the news feeds over loud pipes and the trend towards motorcycle bashing in this country and the USA. I was called pig headed, rude and obnoxious - now I very well may be those things but had people been willing to listen, had they taken heed of the trend two years ago, we wouldn't be in the boat we are in.

I am no mind reader, no great visionary - but the trend has been there in the US for a while and when I pointed that out - man did I get called down - that's the US, nothing to do with Canada...yup - that's what happened. So now, this is where we are - be as pissed at me as you want but understand one thing folks - I am only the bearer of the news - not the creator. ( And I mean that in more than one way as I ride a stock machine!)

Some riders in Manitoba were fined for loud pipes - interestingly they were ticketed under the Highway Traffic Act...and the Winnipeg Police Services is already using the hand held decibel meters.

In Calgary the council is swaying things towards clarifying their noise bylaw...Ald. John Mar, who is spearheading the amendment, says the existing bylaw is vague by not putting a number to "objectionable noise."

In Ottawa - noise from motorcycles is high on the agenda again after two years.

Wetaskiwin is wading in on the issue.

Can anyone say - UNITE?

Tomorrow Ken Venus of Biker Radio Magazine is going to be weighing in on this issue...it might be worth having a listen to see what he's found out.

In other news:
Port Dover is getting Geared up for their only Friday the 13th date this year.

Ride for Dad in Whitby gets underway on Saturday.

The OPP ticketed a rider for doing 130 - he lost his motorcycle for stunting.

Another rider has lost his life in Ontario. The 18 year old driver of the other vehicle involved may be facing charges.

Our very own Amanda Lynn Mayhew the Fytness Fanatik is in the news with her ride for Progeria.

That's it for me today folks - I got riding, photography and filming to do!

Have a safe and fabulous day and PLEASE - ride proud - not loud.

Belt Drive Betty

A MAX Award winning web site!

National VP of Marketing

Foundation for Injured Riders, Rights & Education

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The news is filled with madness today!

There are some CRAZY things happening in the news today - in Germany some dude decided for reasons unknown to throw a puppy at a group of the Hells Angels in Germany - he then stole a bulldozer to flee with leaving it on the freeway causing an enormous traffic jam...weird stuff!

The madness really gets underway as Red Deer joins in to the noise bylaw fray along with a ton of cities and towns across Canada - here is a link to an informative site that will help you to fight that ticket: http://fightyourtickets.ca/noise-by-law-motorcycles-edmonton/ but please note we are working on a unified legal battle on this issue so if you do get a ticket we need to know about it so we can use it in a class action law suit - which is our goal.

Tons of people who are tired of noise are writing in - we need the silent majority to wade in here cause guess what folks - the squeaky wheel gets the grease - join us - F.I.R.R.E. - www.firre.ca as we work at forming a large NATIONAL group to work for our rights as riders, to assist our fellow riding community members in the event of an accident and to educate not only our fellow rider on safe riding and other issues but as we educate the driving masses and the main stream public as to who we really are and why they need to share the road with us.

The time is now folks - United we ride - divided we walk...

In Ontario a group of riders that want to use trails are being denied access...

We have three more riders who have passed as a result of their injuries - please see the latest news on www.beltdrivebetty.com for all of the information we have on these accidents and riders.

And don't forget - The Belt Drive Betty Blend is now available in the sampler packs of the Biker Coffee Company! MOVE OVER TIMMY"S!!!!!

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE my coffee and although I have been approached before because of my unique road handle to endorse products - this is the first one I have endorsed. I promise you folks that if you like REALLY - REALLY good coffee - the Biker Coffee Company can hook you up. Be it Disc Brake Decaf, Ignition Coil Irish Cream or Hydraulic Hazelnut they have a blend to suit your tastes! If enough people like the Belt Drive Betty Blend - Rich and a Little Sassy - they will move it to the 1 lb bags so I am told...so come on folks give all of their blends a try and make sure when you order their sampler pack to tell them you want the Belt Drive Betty Blend as part of yours!

As they say over at the Biker Coffee Company - enjoy your ride!

Be sure to tune in to Biker Radio Magazine this Friday - Ken Venus wades in on the noise bylaw in Edmonton and a whole lot more!!!

I am in Jasper filming and then off to celebrate my birthday with the men and women who have served our country at the New Norway Soldiers Ride on Saturday - be there or be square...seriously no matter which of the events you choose to support this weekend - PLEASE - ride like everyone around you is blind and CAN NOT SEE YOU --- IS OUT TO GET YOU and please, ride porud not loud - save those pipes for when they really mean something like when someone drifts in to your lane.

Belt Drive Betty

A MAX Award winning web site!

National VP of Marketing

Foundation for Injured Riders, Rights & Education

Contact Me

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

What an amazing community we are all apart of!

Between my web site and my Face Book pages I have a network of somewhere around 7,000 riders. When my web mistress told me that on top of the daily news feeds and this blog that I had to get involved on Face book I did so grudgingly, kicking and screaming really.

I takes me a full 2 hours every morning to get my news feeds updated, the writing and social networking done and yes some days I groan at the thought but then...something happens like Gator having an accident and I put it out there that we need some help and support for him and Ali and through F.I.R.R.E. and Vancouver Island AIM - voila a ton of people who seldom post or talk come out of the wood work to help out.

The Foundation for Injured Riders, Rights & Education may be pretty new but we are already making an impact. Between the corporate sponsors who have been coming on board with donations and the private individuals who have been helping out we have raised over $1500 so far to support 4 riders in our Face Book Group Auctions and that number is going to keep climbing as we have more donations coming in and a poker run and weekend party planned as fundraisers.

Cindy from the Southern AB Chapter along with her membership are hosting a Poker Run in July to support Yvonne Perry - John Coutts passenger - John sadly passed as a result o f their accident. Yvonne is a single mom of a 12 year old boy and she has CF.

Our Rider Friendly Business Association (RFBA) Rider Appreciation & F.I.R.R.E. Rider Memorial Event being held in Thorsby on August 7th & 8th is a Free event - riders only pay for their steaks and or breakfasts - rodeo games, scavenger hunt, poker run comedian and DJ round out the entertainment and along with a Farmers Market type vending experience, FREE camping and a ton of ride prizes to give away - well it should be a stellar weekend! 50/50 draws, silent auction and memberships will be the fund raising that is done and all funds will assist injured riders, riders rights and educational activities of F.I.R.R.E.
Money from the steaks will go to support the The gymnasium of the Thorsby school!

We are looking forward to that event as our fledgling group of 140 riders works at lighting a F.I.R.R.E. in the soul of every rider and grows its membership across Canada - I leave on our big promotional ride across Canada to promote the idea that riders are valuable human beings who do a variety of work, have incredible lives that deserve celebrating and that cagers need to share the road with us. I meet with the Mother Daughter Ride in Thunder Bay - the Ride for Dad in Kenora, the Bikers Church in Ottawa, The Bike Klub & Bean're in Moncton and a whole host of other incredible riders along the way as we spread the word and light the F.I.R.R.E. all the way to Charlottetown PEI in time for the Red Island Rally where I will simply be a spectator and then in to Digby NS for the Wharf Rat Rally where I will have a booth and partake in the Nova Scotia experience!

Yes - this community that I am a small part of is phenomenal, from Flo and her gang of pink clad ladies who have raised over $4,000 in their on line auctions for Breast Cancer on the Canadian side of their Conga to the MRFD and all of the fantastic good they do to the Ride for Sight and the countless other charitable causes we riders support I am so deeply and profoundly proud to be a part of this vibrant community.

I truly hope that every rider will look at the discrimination with which the city of Edmonton and the other jurisdictions are treating our community and consider signing our petitions - one for those who live in Edmonton - spearheaded by Liane Langlois of the Edmonton Motorcycle Club and the one for tourists and commuters.

Both Liane and myself have identified that there are those in our community who are thoughtless and self absorbed and deserve to be ticketed but we feel the laws that are being enacted need to reflect all offenders be they in trucks, commercial vehicles or cars...not just for motorcyclists and not with fines that are more than those for distracted drivers who can be the cause of injury and death for many riders.

As always - I welcome your comments and feed back!

In other news:

Man dies in county collision HIGWAY 62

Nanaimo man dies in motorcycle crash

Pro skateboarder Josh Evin feared dead after crash near Nelson

English rider sweeps Isle of Man trophy races

There are many other news items to read at www.beltdrivebetty.com hope to see you join us and take advantage of our membership/savings card that is good for special services and savings at over 200 locations and soon to be 250 - we are just waiting for all of the Pacrim Hospitaly locations from Coast to Coast that have signed up to be part of our Rider Friendly Business Association!

I am also deeply and profoundly grateful to announce an alliance between myself and the Biker Coffee Company in Ottawa as we announce the Belt Drive Betty Blend!
It goes on sale tomorrow on their web site and is available in their variety sampler packs.

If you have not tried their Organic Fair Trade Coffee and are still drinking Timmy's then you have NOOOO idea what you are missing. The Biker Coffee Company has developed their blends carefully and I am proud to endorse their products as Rider Friendly!!!!

For all of you who really love good coffee...the Biker Coffee Company has a blend just for you no matter your taste!

I am off to Jasper for some photography and filming for a special project with some of our RFBA partners and this weekend I will be in New Norway for the Soldiers Ride for my birthday!

Ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you - IS out to get you and please remember to ride proud - not loud, save those pipes for when a distracted driver who will only pay a $175 fine drifts in to you! The $250 fine for loud pipes in Edmonton won't hurt so bad if you aren't in the hospital as a result of the distracted driver.

Belt Drive Betty

A MAX Award winning web site!

National VP of Marketing

Foundation for Injured Riders, Rights & Education

Contact Me

Monday, June 14, 2010

Rider Down - really close to home

Well gang - I am sad to report that one of our own has gone down - although I am happy to report that he will be OK. Our web mistress Ali's hubby Gator had an accident yesterday. He will be OK although he does have to see an orthopedic surgeon to see about removing bone chips/fragments from his severely broken shoulder. His bike - toast.

Gator is retired and on a pension, paying any kind of deductible is gonna be rough of that I am sure. Since they are members of F.I.R.R.E. I will be asking our fund raising committee to see if there is anything we can do to assist them and in the mean time I ask everyone to say a few prayers...he's alright but could sure use some divine intervention!

We have some on line auctions on our Facebook Page happening to raise funds to help injured riders...it is my hope that you will consider jumping in and bidding on a few things not to mention joining F.I.R.R.E. - we need members and chapters right across Canada to ensure that we have a network willing to assist in times of need.

Since I blogged yesterday and need to finish this weeks paper before I head to Jasper tomorrow to do filming and photography for a special project - I am signing off but please people...if you are riding today, PLEASE, ride like everyone around you is blind and OUT TO GET YOU and please ride proud not loud - save those pipes for the times they are truly needed - like when someone drifts into your lane.

Belt Drive Betty

A MAX Award winning web site!

National VP of Marketing

Foundation for Injured Riders, Rights & Education

Contact Me

Sunday, June 13, 2010

And the poison spreads - Brandon, Winnipeg, Saskatoon & Calgary consider Motorcycle Noise Bylaws

I seldom blog on Sundays. It is supposed to be my "day off" - I use that term lightly because as my husband would inform you, I never take a day off - I live, eat and breath motorcycle community. I had hired a gal to build the newspaper but her life turned out to be too busy - so I am in the process of retaking control of the paper and Sunday is now composing day again. At least for a while.

Today, the news is filled with so much poison directed at our community that I feel I have to blog.

Calgary, Saskatoon, Brandon - it appears that muffling motorcycles is becoming a favorite past time for councils in various cities.

We have a petition for people from out side of the Edmonton area to sign. It expresses our concern for the bylaw and its discriminatory and selective targeting of motorcycles, this is the link to it: http://www.beltdrivebetty.com/index.php/component/content/article/287-news-canadian-national/5332-please-help-us-fight-the-discrimination-against-motorcyclists

This is the link to the petition in the news on our site for riders in Edmonton to sign:
http://www.beltdrivebetty.com/index.php/component/content/article/292-motorcycle-television/5307-petition-to-fight-the-new-edmonton-bylaw

People - please, consider joining F.I.R.R.E. - the Foundation for Injured Riders, Rights & Education - it's $20 per year per single, $30 per couple. We have a National Call center for Downed Riders and a Never Ride Alone Program. We help to support riders and their families in the advent of an accident, we assist in rights and education work that needs to be done and we host fund raisers (like our on line auctions on Face Book) to help raise money for riders and their families and legal actions like stopping the spread of these discriminatory motorcycle noise bylaws.

We do not care where in Canada you live. We want you and need you to become a part of this movement - we need to light a F.I.R.R.E. in the hearts and souls of riders across this great country - PLEASE get involved - to work at protecting our freedoms, looking after our fellow riders and their families when they need it and to educate riders and cagers along with the general public about who we riders are...let's become a family again, let's become united, let's get it together folks - united we ride and live the life we are meant to live.

In other news:

Quebec bikers might be getting a break on insurance - after multiple protests in Operation Escargot, these united riders have succeeded in getting their government to at least agree to sit down with them.

Funerals were held in St Albert for the riders who were killed last weekend when reportedly a vehicle turned in front of their motorcycle.

A rider in the Calgary area caught fire when his motorcycle exploded after a collision.

In BC a successful Ride to honor soldiers took place yesterday and the Kamloops police held a scooter training session for seniors.

An angry father sounds off about the Alberta Ride for Sight and another rider wades in on that discussion...

Here in Alberta, The Edmonton Ride for Dad, Heritage Harley's Grand Opening, the Grand Opening at Death Wobble in Leduc and the event out in Sonnybrook all took place here in yesterday and in Calgary the MRFD is getting ready to kick off today!

If you are fortunate enough to be riding today - please ride like everyone around you is blind AND IS OUT TO GET YOU - ride proud NOT loud - save those pipes for when they really mean something - like when a person who is only going to get a $175 distracted driving fine drifts in to your lane - then that $250 loud motorcycle noise ticket might not feel so bad...

Makes sense don't it - Distracted drivers paying a $175 fine and we get $250 cause pipes are loud....and to think in many cases WE elected these people who do this to us to council and legislature...

Belt Drive Betty

A MAX Award winning web site!

National VP of Marketing

Foundation for Injured Riders, Rights & Education