Since starting Belt Drive Betty dot com and the Busted Knuckle Chronicles Newspaper back in 2003 - I have ensured that giving back to my community was high on my list of priorities.
My philosophy in life is to pay forward every kindness I have ever been shown.
I started the BDB Foundation - a non registered mutual benefits society - to regulate how I give back. The key stake holders in my business work me with to assess who and how we give back to.
I donate space in the newspaper and sponsor events with free publicity, Ali (Our wonderful Web Mistress) and I sponsor web sites for riding clubs and non profits.
I used to have an on line store and we'd run small sales and donate the proceeds to Breast Cancer research or the Military Families Fund...
Well - after a whole bunch of soul searching and trying to figure out how to give back without politics and personality conflicts I finally hit on the right idea.
I talked to the other key stakeholders in the CMTA - of which I am one.
(Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association)
I expressed to them the need for a riders assistance fund that could help people during the period of time between an accident and the time insurance proceeds come in. They agreed to administer a fund that would be accessed by application. This fund will assist any rider with a valid motorcycle license/learner's permit, passenger or family dependent on the individual situation.
They agreed that this was a great idea and easily done utilizing the Belt Drive Betty information, communication and networking tools to facilitate things.
A special committee of three riders was struck and they are currently working with a lawyer to construct an application to do just that - find a way to support riders.
I will be printing a profile on each of those three riders come February or March once the CMTA's Injured Rider Fund Page is built....
We are re launching the BDB Club Store....
The store will have for sale things like license plate and street and bar signs.
It will have the new BDB Club Patches, the Canadian Riders Support Network Patches
Subscriptions to the Busted Knuckle Chronicles Community Newspaper
Key Tags and other items as we can afford them...
We will - as the BDB Foundation - donate a portion of the proceeds from the sales of these items to the CMTA's Injured Rider Fund. Ali and I are sponsoring the web site, Intercon Messaging is sponsoring the 800 Number - before too much longer everything will be in place in time for the 2011 riding season!
When I get products given to me to do reviews on, depending on the item we will auction it off or donate it as a silent auction item to an injured riders fund raiser.
Helping my fellow rider has ALWAYS been important to me - and I needed to find a way that made sense to me and my business - this makes sense to me and I hope you will support what we do by purchasing your subscriptions to the community newspaper, patches, key chains etc through our store when it comes on line in Mid November....
As a business or individual you can donate directly to the CMTA - Be it with cash or goods for either auctions or to go out to individual fundraisers -
by making your cheque out to: Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association (Tagged with Injured Rider's Fund) And mail it to 10908-102 St Grande Prairie AB T8V 2X3....
Or by mailing your product donation to the same address as above.
The CMTA will be acknowledging ALL donations and how they are distributed on the CMTA's Injured Rider Fund Web Page which is being designed and will be launched sometime in February.
The BDB Club & The BDB Foundation supporting the CMTA's Injured Riders Fund!
In other news:
In ON - The MCC is looking for a new boss. Are you the right person to do the job?
And in Caledon one rider wishes the councellors who had approved the new noise bylaw would have shown up for the testing day hosted by Luc Fournier of the Motorcycle Moped Industry Council (The Motorcycle Manufacturers of Canada)
In BC - Azzkikr Customs is offering some wicked deals to members of the BDB CLub - register on line for FREE membership to take advantage of their offers!
The court case of a man who killed two well known BC riders got underway.
In Alberta - Edmonton Harley-Davidson is also offering some special deals to our members!
As is Gypsy in Stony Plain (Located in TJ & The Bear Biker Wear)
In Okotoks a rider will be going to trail after pleading not guilty to impaired in a case where he and his passenger were seriously injured.
In the mean time, have a glorious day. Remember to than God for the gifts in your life, to drink your Biker Coffee Company Coffee WITH your friends (Hoarding is an unattractive trait) and if you are riding today - PLEASE - remember what a lucky bugger you are and ride safe. Ride like EVERYONE is out to get you!
Belt Drive Betty
Rider & Editor
The Busted Knuckle Chronicles
www.bustedknucklenews.com
www.beltdrivebetty.com
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The BDB Club and the Injured Riders Fund ...Riders assiting riders!
The BDB Club is all about we riders.
The Rider Friendly Business Association now has 275 locations where your
BDB Club card means special services, discounts and or special offers!
People who belong to the Harley-Owners Group, the GWRRA - know how valuable tools like a membership card that is tied to lots of perks and benefits, a directory of businesses that are partnered up to serve you and communication tools like a newspaper/newsletter, powerful event calendars and other rider related communication tools can be.
When I started the Belt Drive Betty web site in 2004 - I had a vision, a dream of a clearinghouse - a place riders could come to find what they needed - everything from event information to help on any number of topics.
I saw a CAA style service geared towards us.
Well folks - every day I get another inch closer to seeing that dream become a reality.
Belt Drive Betty's Little Black Book - The 2011 Rider Friendly Business Association Community Directory is NATIONAL this year.
We now have business partners eager to serve YOU in every province and territory save Nunavut!
We will have our hard plastic membership cards and activation information for those cards in all of our phone books this year! There will also be a place for you to record your membership number in the printed book so that if you forget your card - no big deal!
NEW THIS YEAR - We are offering THREE incredible services for you - our members!
BDB Club Support Number 1-866-765-6718 - this is the number our members will use when accessing our support services!
Service # 1:
We have the Intercon Messaging "Never Ride Alone Program"
Are you riding in a heavily gamed region - going on a long trip alone?
Would you feel better knowing that someone is "watching" out for you?
When you call in to the BDB Club Support Number - you tell the helpful operator that you are wanting to use the Never Ride Alone Program - you tell them where you are going, which route you are taking and what time you expect to be at your destination for the day. They will ask you to check in with them periodically throughout the day to create reference points. If you do not call them at the appointed time from your final destination of the day - and they in turn can't get a hold of you at the numbers you provide for them - they will send someone looking for you from the last reference point. Then if something happens - God forbid- and you were to get hit by a deer or have an accident - the probability that help would come, that you could be OK - just went up!
THIS IS A NATIONAL SERVICE - Good for anywhere you are traveling in Canada
Intercon Messaging is a certified 911 dispatch center with messaging services and more.
Our account executive rides and is totally supportive of the riding community!
Intercon Messaging SPONSORS this PROGRAM for OUR MEMBERS FOR FREE!
(Please click on the link above to visit their site.)
Service # 2: Canadian Riders Support Network - THIS IS A NATIONAL SERVICE
Over 400 riders from coast to coast to coast have stood up to say - IF you break down, get jammed up and need a hand while on the road - I am here.
You have three ways of accessing their information.
Your PRINTED Community Directory - Belt Drive Betty's Little Black Book - for your saddle bags...the web site: www.canadianriders.ca or the BDB Club's Support Network Number 1-866-765-6718
Your phone book is printed twice a year and we do our best to keep the information accurate. The most current and up to date information will always be available through the Canadian Riders Web Site - you can access that with your web enabled cell phone or your Blackberry. And of course you can always call into the Toll Free BDB Club's Support Network Number and the staff there can see if we have any riders in the area you are in and attempt to contact them on your behalf.
(Some riders only provide emails for texting etc)
Please note:
All Canadian Rider Members will follow their gut and help you based on their availability, and how they feel when they interact with you. This is a TOTALLY Voluntary Program and Belt Drive Betty Media TM and their partners are in no way responsible for anything other that providing a venue for those who wish to help to get that message out and for those who need help a place to potentially find some.
Our Third Service:
The CMTA's Injured Rider Fund is sponsored IN PART by the BDB Foundation.
(I will explain tomorrow exactly how we sponsor the CMTA Injured Rider Fund)
The Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association is an Alberta Registered Non Profit Association with a mandate to create tourism opportunities and marketing partnerships along with promoting responsible motorcycling and supporting the riding community.
This non profit accepts corporate, small business and individual donations, is non political and non partisan.
The Injured Rider's Fund is administered by a special committee of three riders who assess the applications for assistance.
They will:
Deliver low interest loans and out right financial gifting as fund availability allows
(each application will be treated individually.)
Assist with finding the other day to day practical supports a rider and their family may need like bike storage, transportation assistance etc...
Now - the CMTA does not want to duplicate services so to that end if a rider from BC needs support, then they will be directed to AIM, if a rider from Southern AB needs help, they will be directed to the SA Chapter of FIRRE and if a rider is from Nova Scotia, they will be directed to the Bikers Down Society.
The CMTA's Injured Rider Fund is meant to help in the areas where there are no organized support systems. Watch for the on line applications and other information to become available in January/February 2011...
So what does it cost to be a member of the BDB Club
and have access to all of these services?
NOTHING! IT IS FREE.
Register on www.beltdrivebetty.com to trigger your membership number
You can print off your temporary card right on line...
Feel free to get in on the discussion over at www.beltdrivebetty.com in the forums, on my personal FB page or the Belt Drive Betty & The Busted Knuckle Fan Page or right here in this blog!
Your input and feed back IS GREATLY appreciated - I can't grow if I am not exposed to other ideas and ways of thinking!
In the mean time, have a glorious day. Remember to than God for the gifts in your life, to drink your Biker Coffee Company Coffee WITH your friends (Hoarding is an unattractive trait) and if you are riding today - PLEASE - remember what a lucky bugger you are and ride safe. Ride like EVERYONE is out to get you!
Belt Drive Betty
Rider & Editor
The Busted Knuckle Chronicles
www.bustedknucklenews.com
www.beltdrivebetty.com
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Who is taking a retailer to court? The answer just might surprise you...
We hear often about companies vigorously defending their trade marks. Harley-Davidson, in the world of motorcycles is one that is often in the news or discussed in small business circles for that very reason - defending their trade mark. but guess what - not this time.
Nope this time it is the Hell's Angels who are defending their mark.
British fashion designer Alexander McQueen Trading Ltd. and Saks Inc. are being sued - The goods in question – some labelled “Hells Angels Pashmina,” “Hells Angels Jacquard Box Dress” and “Hells Knuckle Duster” – are confusingly similar to the group’s “Death Head” marks, the lawsuit alleges.So - if you are one of the posh who can afford to shop at places like Saks...careful what you buy....
The RCMP in BC get in on the discussion about the new REALLY TOUGH speeding laws in BC.
Neil Johnston of One Wheel Drive - one of my favorite writers - gets up close and personal on this topic and some of the answers he gets may shock you or not...
He discusses everything from the demerits to insurance all the way to the impound fees, toeing fees, road side justice to the potential for prejudice from the police. He tackles all of the hard issues head on...it is a read I am sure you will find enlightening.
Roads are becoming safer for riders in the US and Britain... overall the stats bear out that even tough traffic has increased, fatalities of those on bikes is decreasing.
Hell for Leather seems to have found some more reasons to not like the Harley-Davidson motorcycle too much - they have found a rather unflattering review on the Motor Corp's bikes from the Michigan State Police... and it appears to be backed up by the LAPD
Today's gear question - goggles, glasses and visors - what do you use and for those of you who wear glasses in particular - I am getting glasses in a couple of weeks and that is going to change what I wear for eye wear - HELPPPPP - I need to figure out what I want to try out for eye wear on my bike now too!
A blogger friend - Fuzzy Galore, came across this company on the Net...http://www.donor.pk/donor/index.php - no type o there, DONOR is the name of this motorcycle apparel company from India...what are your thoughts on the name?
Like always, I welcome your feed back and input - join our discussion on the topic either here in my blog, on my Face Book pages or in the forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com
We'd love to hear your thoughts...but remember - anonymous posts will NOT be published. If you feel strongly enough about a topic to wade in, then stand up and have your voice counted.
There are still lots of other news article to read over at www.beltdrivebetty.com on the What's Hot page!
If you are among the fortunate and are riding today - PLEASE, ride like everyone is out to get you and is blind and can not see you and remember you are FORTUNATE cause here in the great white north - the white is descending in various places... I am jealous of all who are still riding!
Belt Drive Betty
Rider & Editor
The Busted Knuckle Chronicles
www.bustedknucklenews.com
www.beltdrivebetty.com
Nope this time it is the Hell's Angels who are defending their mark.
British fashion designer Alexander McQueen Trading Ltd. and Saks Inc. are being sued - The goods in question – some labelled “Hells Angels Pashmina,” “Hells Angels Jacquard Box Dress” and “Hells Knuckle Duster” – are confusingly similar to the group’s “Death Head” marks, the lawsuit alleges.So - if you are one of the posh who can afford to shop at places like Saks...careful what you buy....
The RCMP in BC get in on the discussion about the new REALLY TOUGH speeding laws in BC.
Neil Johnston of One Wheel Drive - one of my favorite writers - gets up close and personal on this topic and some of the answers he gets may shock you or not...
He discusses everything from the demerits to insurance all the way to the impound fees, toeing fees, road side justice to the potential for prejudice from the police. He tackles all of the hard issues head on...it is a read I am sure you will find enlightening.
Roads are becoming safer for riders in the US and Britain... overall the stats bear out that even tough traffic has increased, fatalities of those on bikes is decreasing.
Hell for Leather seems to have found some more reasons to not like the Harley-Davidson motorcycle too much - they have found a rather unflattering review on the Motor Corp's bikes from the Michigan State Police... and it appears to be backed up by the LAPD
Today's gear question - goggles, glasses and visors - what do you use and for those of you who wear glasses in particular - I am getting glasses in a couple of weeks and that is going to change what I wear for eye wear - HELPPPPP - I need to figure out what I want to try out for eye wear on my bike now too!
A blogger friend - Fuzzy Galore, came across this company on the Net...http://www.donor.pk/donor/index.php - no type o there, DONOR is the name of this motorcycle apparel company from India...what are your thoughts on the name?
Like always, I welcome your feed back and input - join our discussion on the topic either here in my blog, on my Face Book pages or in the forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com
We'd love to hear your thoughts...but remember - anonymous posts will NOT be published. If you feel strongly enough about a topic to wade in, then stand up and have your voice counted.
There are still lots of other news article to read over at www.beltdrivebetty.com on the What's Hot page!
If you are among the fortunate and are riding today - PLEASE, ride like everyone is out to get you and is blind and can not see you and remember you are FORTUNATE cause here in the great white north - the white is descending in various places... I am jealous of all who are still riding!
Belt Drive Betty
Rider & Editor
The Busted Knuckle Chronicles
www.bustedknucklenews.com
www.beltdrivebetty.com
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
A quiet day in the news - kind of...
Sometimes the old boy upstairs has a funny sense of humour - you ever notice that?
I have been asking you all for feedback on new gear and what happens - there is an article on Italy banning the beanie. And not just the beanie but event the DOT version of the beanie...
And the fines - even to tourists are not gonna be cheap - from 80 up to 300 Euros....
Today's question is all about gloves...I have seen the effects of wearing no gloves in the event of an accident and it is not a pretty picture.
Currently I own 2 sets of gauntlets - one light weight and the other more of a winter type and then I also have a pair of fingerless gloves that cover the entire top and palm but leave the fingers from the middle knuckle down exposed. They are my warm weather gloves...
What brand and style of glove do you wear and why?
I am very curious as gloves are not something people tend to talk a lot about.
Please consider joining in the discussion either right here in my blog, over in the forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com or on Face Book on the Belt Drive Betty & The Busted Knuckle Fan Page...
In the news today:
In the US - Harley-Davidson is honoring the vets at the museum in Milwaukee
Also in the US - Motorcycle Sales continue to decline
The RCMP say the property seizure act is a vital tool in fighting organized crime
In BC a rider was taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries after a crash
On the national scene - Terry Rae is being presented with the Bar & Hedy Hodgson Award
Dalton Timmis Insurance has announced a new program for motorcycles and other recreational vehicles.
If you are among the fortunate and are riding today - PLEASE, ride like everyone is out to get you and is blind and can not see you and remember you are FORTUNATE cause here in the great white north - the white is descending in various places... I am jealous of all who are still riding!
Belt Drive Betty
Rider & Editor
The Busted Knuckle Chronicles
www.bustedknucklenews.com
www.beltdrivebetty.com
I have been asking you all for feedback on new gear and what happens - there is an article on Italy banning the beanie. And not just the beanie but event the DOT version of the beanie...
And the fines - even to tourists are not gonna be cheap - from 80 up to 300 Euros....
Today's question is all about gloves...I have seen the effects of wearing no gloves in the event of an accident and it is not a pretty picture.
Currently I own 2 sets of gauntlets - one light weight and the other more of a winter type and then I also have a pair of fingerless gloves that cover the entire top and palm but leave the fingers from the middle knuckle down exposed. They are my warm weather gloves...
What brand and style of glove do you wear and why?
I am very curious as gloves are not something people tend to talk a lot about.
Please consider joining in the discussion either right here in my blog, over in the forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com or on Face Book on the Belt Drive Betty & The Busted Knuckle Fan Page...
In the news today:
In the US - Harley-Davidson is honoring the vets at the museum in Milwaukee
Also in the US - Motorcycle Sales continue to decline
The RCMP say the property seizure act is a vital tool in fighting organized crime
In BC a rider was taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries after a crash
On the national scene - Terry Rae is being presented with the Bar & Hedy Hodgson Award
Dalton Timmis Insurance has announced a new program for motorcycles and other recreational vehicles.
If you are among the fortunate and are riding today - PLEASE, ride like everyone is out to get you and is blind and can not see you and remember you are FORTUNATE cause here in the great white north - the white is descending in various places... I am jealous of all who are still riding!
Belt Drive Betty
Rider & Editor
The Busted Knuckle Chronicles
www.bustedknucklenews.com
www.beltdrivebetty.com
Monday, October 25, 2010
Footwear and motorcycles, to flip flop or not....
I know I was young once.
Of that I am quite sure. And I know when I was young I took chances some smarter than others but...
I have become highly critical of those who wear things like sandals and flip flops when they ride. When I pull up beside some dude who has his gal on the back of his motorcycle - and she is wearing a bikini or shorts and a halter/tank top, sandals/flip flops and a full faced helmet I want to SCREAM - I WANT TO RAGE - I want to ask him "Do you not value the life of that pretty young thing behind you?" I have been asking you for feedback on buying new gear....today I ask about foot wear...the following story has a lot to do with why I am the way I am when it comes to my feelings about good gear.
Back in the day when I was young, I was living in a little community called Mara Lake BC. My old man was a guy with the nick name of Rotten Ronnie - aptly named for the noxious gases that exploded from him after a feed of moose or deer meat...Ron is the man who taught me to ride a motorcycle.
Road rash....a story of gory and disturbing proportions that I want to share with you for it is this incident that set me on the path to being an opinionated lady on this topic in many, many ways.
One weekend, Ron and I had gone to Kelowna, we had had a great time and got up nice and early on the Sunday morning to head home, Ron had things around the yard he wanted to get done before work on Monday morning. There were lots of motorcycles out - it was a glorious day to ride.
As we passed through Vernon, traffic began to get thicker, there was construction up ahead about 10 kilometers or so. This young buck (remember I was a lofty 24 then) pulled up beside us on his Suzuki sport bike. He had this very buxom young lady riding pillion. She was wearing a full faced helmet, a bikini and sandals. He was wearing jeans, tee, boots and a full face.
I sat on my bitch pad shaking my head thinking to myself this guy really doesn't value what he has sitting behind him...
Well, we leave the set of lights, the dude on the sport bike far faster than us on the our FXRS...he's gone like a rocket....as Ron and I come around a corner - just before the construction zone that is between Vernon and Armstrong - we see the carnage....my blood runs cold and I am almost sick to my stomach.
There is buddy's sport bike, embedded in the trunk of a car...buddy is screaming, standing but wobbly, bleeding and road rashed...his once pretty little girlfriend is now dead.
Her once buxom form is nothing more than bones now as she has no chest left, just a rib cage from doing a face plant at about 100 KMPH and skidding down the shoulder of the road into the ditch. Her one foot is gone - literally worn off from the high exit rate - she had skidded down the pavement for a good 100 feet or so before tumbling into the ditch.
Rib bones and raw meat are all that were left of her. That and her un scarred, untouched face. I guess that was a consolation, at least her family could have an open casket funeral.
That crash is forever etched in my mind. The howling of the rider - that of a wolf in enormous pain...the visual of this pretty, pretty girl at the set of lights only minutes before transposed over the corpse lying in the ditch that I saw will never leave my mind's eye.
Now perhaps you understand all of the questions from last week about good gear - maybe it will explain a bit to you about why I get a tad opinionated on the subject of gear and helmets etc...so today the question is footwear - what brand, what style and why you chose the particular style you did.
Foot wear is a very important and vital part of the gear equation in my mind...Please share with me your thoughts on choosing good footwear...
In the news today:
Harley-Davidson reports it's American dealer network is shrinking
In Saskatoon SK the council has asked their lawyer to look into drafting an all encompassing vehicle noise bylaw.
In Alberta, a couple of politicians are going to start pushing for helmets on quads and snow machines to become mandatory claiming there have been too many deaths after reading a recent report from the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research.
In BC - the dude riding his bike at break neck speed through the lower mainland won't be doing anything quite that reckless again for a while.
In Quebec, Mom Boucher was stabbed in prison altercation
In Europe - Dual Sport Bikes could become legislated right our of existence because the EU will not allow an ABS OFF switch on them rendering this style of machine useless for off road purposes.
If you are among the fortunate and are riding today - PLEASE, ride like everyone is out to get you and is blind and can not see you and remember you are FORTUNATE cause here in the great white north - the white is descending... I am jealous of all who are still riding.
Belt Drive Betty
Rider & Editor
The Busted Knuckle Chronicles
www.bustedknucklenews.com
www.beltdrivebetty.com
Of that I am quite sure. And I know when I was young I took chances some smarter than others but...
I have become highly critical of those who wear things like sandals and flip flops when they ride. When I pull up beside some dude who has his gal on the back of his motorcycle - and she is wearing a bikini or shorts and a halter/tank top, sandals/flip flops and a full faced helmet I want to SCREAM - I WANT TO RAGE - I want to ask him "Do you not value the life of that pretty young thing behind you?" I have been asking you for feedback on buying new gear....today I ask about foot wear...the following story has a lot to do with why I am the way I am when it comes to my feelings about good gear.
Back in the day when I was young, I was living in a little community called Mara Lake BC. My old man was a guy with the nick name of Rotten Ronnie - aptly named for the noxious gases that exploded from him after a feed of moose or deer meat...Ron is the man who taught me to ride a motorcycle.
Road rash....a story of gory and disturbing proportions that I want to share with you for it is this incident that set me on the path to being an opinionated lady on this topic in many, many ways.
One weekend, Ron and I had gone to Kelowna, we had had a great time and got up nice and early on the Sunday morning to head home, Ron had things around the yard he wanted to get done before work on Monday morning. There were lots of motorcycles out - it was a glorious day to ride.
As we passed through Vernon, traffic began to get thicker, there was construction up ahead about 10 kilometers or so. This young buck (remember I was a lofty 24 then) pulled up beside us on his Suzuki sport bike. He had this very buxom young lady riding pillion. She was wearing a full faced helmet, a bikini and sandals. He was wearing jeans, tee, boots and a full face.
I sat on my bitch pad shaking my head thinking to myself this guy really doesn't value what he has sitting behind him...
Well, we leave the set of lights, the dude on the sport bike far faster than us on the our FXRS...he's gone like a rocket....as Ron and I come around a corner - just before the construction zone that is between Vernon and Armstrong - we see the carnage....my blood runs cold and I am almost sick to my stomach.
There is buddy's sport bike, embedded in the trunk of a car...buddy is screaming, standing but wobbly, bleeding and road rashed...his once pretty little girlfriend is now dead.
Her once buxom form is nothing more than bones now as she has no chest left, just a rib cage from doing a face plant at about 100 KMPH and skidding down the shoulder of the road into the ditch. Her one foot is gone - literally worn off from the high exit rate - she had skidded down the pavement for a good 100 feet or so before tumbling into the ditch.
Rib bones and raw meat are all that were left of her. That and her un scarred, untouched face. I guess that was a consolation, at least her family could have an open casket funeral.
That crash is forever etched in my mind. The howling of the rider - that of a wolf in enormous pain...the visual of this pretty, pretty girl at the set of lights only minutes before transposed over the corpse lying in the ditch that I saw will never leave my mind's eye.
Now perhaps you understand all of the questions from last week about good gear - maybe it will explain a bit to you about why I get a tad opinionated on the subject of gear and helmets etc...so today the question is footwear - what brand, what style and why you chose the particular style you did.
Foot wear is a very important and vital part of the gear equation in my mind...Please share with me your thoughts on choosing good footwear...
In the news today:
Harley-Davidson reports it's American dealer network is shrinking
In Saskatoon SK the council has asked their lawyer to look into drafting an all encompassing vehicle noise bylaw.
In Alberta, a couple of politicians are going to start pushing for helmets on quads and snow machines to become mandatory claiming there have been too many deaths after reading a recent report from the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research.
In BC - the dude riding his bike at break neck speed through the lower mainland won't be doing anything quite that reckless again for a while.
In Quebec, Mom Boucher was stabbed in prison altercation
In Europe - Dual Sport Bikes could become legislated right our of existence because the EU will not allow an ABS OFF switch on them rendering this style of machine useless for off road purposes.
If you are among the fortunate and are riding today - PLEASE, ride like everyone is out to get you and is blind and can not see you and remember you are FORTUNATE cause here in the great white north - the white is descending... I am jealous of all who are still riding.
Belt Drive Betty
Rider & Editor
The Busted Knuckle Chronicles
www.bustedknucklenews.com
www.beltdrivebetty.com