Government Spies on Bikers In Quebec

In the Globe and Mail today there is an article about the Quebec Government's Insurance Board (SAAQ) hiring a firm to spy on the group Front Commun Motocycliste at motorcycle shows so that they could find out how well organized and measure the temperature of the riders so to speak.

You see in Quebec - the average motorcyclist has seen their insurance rates double and if you own a sport bike - quadruple. You may remember Project  Escargot - the rolling, plodding protests...here is a link to an article in May to refresh your memory as to what this "battle" is all about. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/05/24/mtl-operation-escargot-motorbikes-protest.html

Now folks - I am not surprised by the government actually spying on people are you?

Look around us - cameras everywhere, police with absolute authority, road side "justice", rights and freedoms, well they appear to be something from the past.

Nothing in this country is ever going to change for the better until we, the people who pay the government start DEMANDING AND INSISTING that common sense be used. The power plays, the corruption and greed - they are prevalent everywhere you look.

For the riders in Quebec of ALL places in Canada to be horrified or appalled at their government and its flagrant disregard for them is what is horrifying in this story. Did you really - honestly ever think that the government in your province was going to treat you any differently now than they did when they raised your insurance rates? Really? You gave in far too early in the game - again that is just my humble opinion....

I get so fed up with people who whine, complain and snivel but never get off their asses to affect change - in order for anything to change there must be an effort put in somewhere by someone and the more the better. 

I was so impressed with the Quebec riding community as they had done what no one else in Canada has ever done (at least not in my recollection) They had unified the riding community over a common issue/enemy and they were winning. It was the first time a successful organized protest has been done in Canada (IMHO) and that was - Operation Escargot - which I don't feel should have been stopped just because the government agreed to talks.  The taxpayer needs to keep the pressure on the government to do what is right - sadly it seems that crooks and politicians are the only breed of people who can manage any kind of sustained anger or unified movement/front...if we ordinary citizens ever decided to truly hold our governments here and around the world accountable...

I know -it's a nice pipe dream.

In other news today there is the most amazing and inspirational story.

Marc Ristori was the Swiss Open Champion when he crashed during a supercross race, paralyzing his legs. Watch the video of his first ride since the accident...he may be in a wheel chair and he may have not been on a bike in almost three years but by 2 minutes in you can see glimmers of the racer and the competitor he was...I came across this tiny write up and the stunning YouTube video on the Hell for Leather site.

Again - being that time of year, the news feeds are reasonably quiet...

Since no one answered yesterday's trivia question right yet - we are going to continue to collect answers: send in answer for yesterday's question and here is the link to today's trivia question  - In what year did Suzuki introduce its first motorcycles with a four-stroke engine - the GS400 and GS750... up for grabs are two tickets to the Toronto International Super Show!

You can also just get 5 friends to sign up on Belt Drive Betty and in the how did you hear about us box have them put your name...the first one to do that  - will win two tickets too!

Please fill out our content survey and help us make sure your views and needs are represented in the Community Newspaper, the Busted Knuckle Chronicles...one person will win wither a BDB Club Patch OR a subscription to the paper.

I have a lot to do before I leave for the Bike Shows in January - speaking of which - I am putting out the appeal right now for volunteers for both Calgary & Edmonton Shows - I have all the help I need in Vancouver thanks to the Vancouver Baggers & Hawgs Den and my good friends Kat and Sandy. I still need 4 sets of hands for Edmonton and 4 Sets for Calgary.

If you can help out please contact me at bdbetty @ gmail.com (fix the spaces before trying to send an email) 

As always - join in on the conversation about today's topics in our forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com - on my personal Face Book Page, Belt Drive Betty - on our Face Book Fan Page: Belt Drive Betty & The Busted Knuckle, on Twitter - bdbetty or right here in my blog...I do love hearing your thoughts.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com

Answer two questions right and win tickets!

Today we begin a mini contest - the prize - two tickets to the Toronto International Super Show January 7-8-9...

The rules are simple: 
We will be asking a question each day for today - tomorrow and Saturday.
Each day our winner goes in to the semi finals...

On Sunday I will email three questions to those three daily winners - the first person to email me back the most correct answers wins Two Tickets to the Toronto International Super Show.

Be the first person to answer today's questions right to advance to the next round:

Prior to Harley-Davidson, who made motorcycles for Evel Kneivel?

Click on the link above (the question) Fill out your answer with your name and email...
I will announce round one's winner tomorrow when we will have the round two question.

Our Content Survey:
For everyone else who wants to win something but is not planning on attending the Toronto International Super Show I have some burning questions that ONLY YOU can answer regarding the content in our newspaper....We are only running this short survey for ten days so PLEASE, get your answers in ASAP - HAVE YOUR SAY!!!! (Click on the words HAVE YOUR SAY)
Speak now or forever hold your tongue...well at least until the next survey!
In a random draw one person who fills out the survey will get one of our new BDB Club Patches or a subscription to the paper....

Now on to the news of the day. The AMA in the US Annouced the Governator as their man of the year for motorcycling. At first I thought it was a cruel and sick joke considering various the black eyes delivered to the riding community by Arnold in his capacity as Governor of California - however - it was no joke. I have never really followed the AMA Awards but this year it caught my eye....


Awarded annually, the AMA Motorcyclist of the Year designation recognizes the person(s) who has had the most profound impact on the world of motorcycling, for better or worse, in the previous 12 months.

Yes - I agree with the AMA that the Governator has probably done the MOST damage to the riding community of anyone. I wonder if his unlicensed crash and subsequent embarrassment had anything to do with some of his choices and decisions. I wonder if the irony of his actions compared to what the Movie going American thought he would be is lost on the Governator or if he sees what a walking contradiction he is viewed as...Freedom Fighter - fictional movie role - Oppressor in his real role as Governor...

He truly does deserve the AMA Motorcyclist of the year for most negatively impacting the community and industry. I will never spend one penny to watch another of his movies - I know it is a drop in the bucket of the man's riches but it is the small and morally right decision in my heart that allows me to feel like I have done something!
How about you? What are your thoughts on the GOVERNATOR?

Join me in the forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com, on my personal Face Book Page - Belt Drive Betty, on my Fan Page - Belt Drive Betty & The Busted Knuckle or right here in my blog - I WOULD LOVE to hear your thoughts on this topic!

In the news today:
If you have $330 USD to spend on a toy for your toddler how about a Ducati?
Bikes in the Fast Lane shares info on a motorcycle helmet company with different skins you can put on your helmet...

In Fort Lauderdale Florida, what is believed to be the largest Toy Run held in the US saw 30,000 riders participate, sadly 4 went to hospital when on bike collided with the rear end of another.
For Book Reviews, New Motorcycle Model Reviews and Sports Updates - like the new AMA Schedule for Pro Road Racing, and the new WSBK European Junior Cup announcement visit www.beltdrivebetty.com

Have a FABULOUS day - I know mine will be...
Please if you are attending Christmas Parties, plan your way home in advance!

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com

Faith, Religion and Motorcycles....

We have for the last few weeks been running some columns from Pastor Rob Dale of the Bikers Church in Ottawa in The Busted Knuckle Chronicles, Canada's  Weekly Rider Community Newspaper.

Now, I myself am what I call a person of faith. I believe in love, I believe in a higher power than myself, I believe in the law of attraction the way I believe in the law of gravity - I just refuse to be labeled over my personal choices for faith.

It was recently drawn to my attention that the Pastor's column might put those who are non christian on the fight or have people quit reading the paper because they don't feel comfortable.

So I thought on it long and hard - how do I personally feel and if I was a first time reader how would that column make me feel...and as an Editor, what would I do about comments or concerns from those who read OUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER?

Well - let me give you my PERSONAL stance first...

This is a community newspaper and while I, Renee "Belt Drive Betty" Charbonneau may own the newspaper, make NO MISTAKE - this is OUR PAPER - YOUR PAPER - the Community's paper.

If you send me in something that is not racist, not hate filled or geared to hurt some one intentionally...you are a rider of a motorcycle...why should it not be printed? If it can potentially have value to someone in this community - why would I not print it?
If I write something - the seminars I have taken like one's from Brian Tracy tell me - those articles will be of interest and hold appeal for 25% of the readership. 

We do it with jokes and personal columns all the time. I don't always agree with -bad Uncle Monkey, but he makes me think and sometimes laugh and guess what, I as a rider have the same ability to submit something to the paper to express my point of view...the whole idea behind a COMMUNITY news paper is to share the community, to laugh, cry, create dialogue, instill empathy, compassion, call to action....if we don't share how will we ever become more tolerant, patient or fair minded? How will we ever know when we need to stand up and protect or reach out to help?

Maybe I am a weirdo... but I figure that if you don't like something - you have a few choices. You can decide that the messenger - in this case, the Busted Knuckle Chronicles should be shot and unsubscribe from it even though 50% of it has interest to you...
You can skip the page or just skim it. You could write in and react to it and ask questions and take this as an opportunity to expand your mind or to sway the mind of someone else.

Politics and religion are two topics that shouldn't be discussed if you want to keep friends and the peace...that is what someone said to me and while on a personal level I agree - for a COMMUNITY PAPER, I don't feel that holds true.  I think that we all have the right to be heard unless what we are spewing is absolute hatred - I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THIS PAPER become some POLITICALLY CORRECT watered down thing that does not represent what the community is facing, needing or doing...DIVERSITY AND ACCEPTANCE is what a COMMUNITY newspaper is all about, I think.

If you are a sport bike rider and want to share with us...if you are a drag racer, if you are a female rider, a gay or lesbian rider, a trail or trials rider, if you are a rally coordinator, a business person who rides - if you are an independent rider or the member of a riding club - why would we stop you from sharing your story? The commonality here is RIDER....and the Busted Knuckle Chronicles is a newspaper about the Rider Community.

If a Sikh, a Jew, and Hindu, a Korean, a Tibetan a Wicken, an Atheist, a  Southern Baptist, a Rastafarian follower wanted to share their religion with us and they rode a bike - why wouldn't we offer their ideas up?

If a Motocross Rider wrote in about his sport no one would take offense or would they?
Like I said -  maybe I am a weirdo.


Politics is something that is a part of every riders life - off and on their machine.

A newspaper is about education, sharing and should result in the strengthening of a community through information and consequently empowerment. Divergent and different ideas are in the Sun, the Journal the Globe and Mail and every other community newspaper be the community local and 200 strong or national and 33-4 million strong.

If the choices and options for knowledge aren't offered then how do we grow? 

Now for my Editor's Stance: It is your newspaper - I am only the keeper. If I don't ask you what you want - then I am not serving you and representing ALL OF YOU - which is my intent.

Do you have any issue with groups like the CMA, Biker's Church or  any other Rider related "religious" organization sharing their ideas, opinions and beliefs?   Yes or NO

Do you have any issues with us carrying articles on ice racing, drag racing, trials riding, motocross or any other sport/discipline?   Yes or NO

Do you have any issues with us carrying information on Riding Clubs, Motorcycle Clubs, One Per Center Clubs or Outlaw Clubs?  Yes or NO

Do you have any issue with us carrying financial services, legal or real estate services news delivered by riders?  Yes or NO

Do you have any issue with us printing the political issues that affect our community - the motorcycle riding community - like loud pipes and motorcycle ONLY noise bylaws, guilty by association laws, perception issues or anything that can affect riders as it pertains to the law?  Yes or NO

Do you think a community news paper should accept submissions from with in the riding community as long as the topic is not meant to specifically hurt or target anyone but meant generally to serve as information/educational or to create dialogue?  Yes or NO

Based on the answers to these questions which we are going to post in an actual survey we will let you know our decision on the various topics up for discussion here.


CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE BUSTED KNUCKLE SURVEY

All entires will go into a random drawing for one of the following prizes:

Your choice of either a BDB Club patch or subscription to the newspaper.
Survey ends 11:59 pm MST December 19th, 2010 
One entry per person

As always - I welcome your input and feedback on this and every topic we discuss...
Join the discussion in our forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com, on Face Book on my personal Page - Belt Drive Betty on our fan page - Belt Drive Betty & The Busted Knuckle Chronicles or right here in my  blog!

Not a ton in the headlines today so I am going to get on with month end books and invoicing as well as rolling year end! I am only 8 days behind in invoicing and making year end calls to all of my customers - the decks have been cleared however and I finally have three days to get that job done!

Have a FABULOUS day - I know mine will be...
Please if you are attending Christmas Parties, plan your way home in advance!

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com

Such exciting things happening in Motorcycling

In Nova Scotia - RFBA Members Harold & Wendy Nesbitt of Tour Guide Nova Scotia have announced their new App for IPhone.

You can download it for $4.99 in the Apple store. I have the press  release in the Busted Knuckle for your reading enjoyment on Thursday morning so be sure to watch your in box.

In fact this coming paper is to me, a thing of beauty...I hope you enjoy it thoroughly....
If you haven't already done so, please white list my email addresses: bdbetty@gmail.com and bdbetty@beltdrivebetty.com - you white list someone by putting them in your contacts list or email phone book, this way you will never miss your news letter or the Busted Knuckle Chronicles newspaper if you subscribe.

Also in the "I got a gadget for you section"...Ulitmate Motorcycling has come out with an app for that... their magazine is available for down load for around $10 for the year.

Belt Drive Betty .com works well on Blackberry and Android and our new site, set to launch early January will be Ipad ready as well.

While I have qualified for grants to help me hire a web tech for the specific purpose of taking the paper to the next level, I have not found anyone yet who is interested and more importantly has the skills - YET. We'll get there. It would be faster and easier if I had a partner or win the lottery.  Soon, one day really soon.

We have two ways for you to win tickets for two to the Toronto International Super Show January 7-8-9 2011...

The first way you can win tickets is by helping spread the word about Belt Drive Betty & The Busted Knuckle Chronicles weekly newspaper.

The first person to have 5 friends register our web site (get them to put in the "How did you hear about us box" - Your Name)

Then for those who do not feel comfortable asking their friends to register on our site we are going to host a little trivia contest...so get ready!

The first person, every day for 3 a day period (beginning on Thursday) who can correctly answer the daily question will move to the final level of competition...
I will post the question right here in my blog...

On the final day, we will ask three questions and the that answers the most questions correctly will win the tickets. If there is a tie - we do have tie breaker questions at the ready!
Remember we will begin the Trivia Contest on Thursday morning....


There is not a whole ton in the news feeds today....

Bikes in the Fast Lane has a great article on choosing a bike to fit you.

Hot Bikes Baggers mag has the 2011 Victory Touring Lineup featured

In Ontario a member of the North Wall Riders Association popped the question at the airport after his tour in Afghanistan


I hope you have a spectacular day and remember....

Drive Safely...and if you are attending Christmas parties - PLEASE - PLAN your ride ahead of time.


Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com

Counting the blessings....

I am one busy woman - working on average 16 hours a day - and I know I am not alone in putting in those kinds of hours - most small business people do.

The pay sucks but the fringe benefits - wow are they ever fantastic!
You see I have always been the kind of person who believes in the term "Short Term Pain for Long Term Gain"  The thing hubby and I disagree on is how long is short term...

Short term to any small business person means - or to me anyway - a 5-10 year plan.

Being a rider in Northern Alberta we also define short term pain as WINTER or as I call it PMS - Parked Motorcycle Syndrome.

When I asked two weeks ago if anything I do meant anything to anyone that reads this blog or uses our newspaper - it was to try and explain to my husband that - YES - Belt Drive Betty & The Busted Knuckle Chronicles is becoming important to the riding community.

My husband who is a technophobe doesn't understand why I put in the hours I do or where I find my rewards - after yesterday I think that might have changed just a little.

There are two main ratings that a web site can garner that advertisers view as valuable outside of your traffic stats from your web server (we have 38,000 visitors using our site regularly now and 81% of you are Canadian.)

Google Rank, which is about HOW much traffic goes to your site and Alexa which is all about how people who have the Alexa tool bar interact with your site. Our Google Rank is a three - not great - about middle of the road - I need to work on back links to bring that ranking up - but I am more interested in how people use the site.... and that's where Alexa ranking comes in to play. Alexa ranks over 1 Million web sites daily.

Once a day I check how our web site and newspaper is received by you the riders.
I compare www.beltdrivebetty.com to 50 of the best web sites in the world that pertain to motorcycles (I do this while working the news feeds) and where  do we fit in to the mix and I thought we were doing OK.

And now that I know about Alexa and how important their information is to advertisers - once a month I compare us to all of the rest of the motorcycle sites in the world.
(As I am making our 2011 Media Kits right now this is super valuable information to know and share.)

In the Motorcycle category on Alexa there are 2,198 web sites that are ranked.

Our humble little site is run by Alig8r Web Design, Sally - our calendar girl and Gator our Data entry assistant and of course myself - None of us, except Suzie are experts, we have no deep corporate pockets ....and yet...

Well - here is how we stack up:
Out of 2198 Motorcycle Related web sites that Alexa Ranks in the world our site is number 45! Our World wide ranking is 239, 295 best web site in the world which puts us close to being in the top 25% of ALL web sites in the ranking matrix.

Out of 73 Motorcycle Publication Web Sites that are rated by Alexa we are ranked 16th in the world

And in Canada we are ranked as the NUMBER ONE Motorcycle Publication Web Site and the 4,905 best web site in Canada!

That top ranking of our publication's web site are amongst the many blessings and rewards for the job we do!

From the Alexa Site:
Beltdrivebetty.com is ranked #239,295 in the world according to the three-month Alexa traffic rankings, and it has been online since 2004. We estimate that 81% of this site's visitors are in Canada, where it has attained a traffic rank of 4,970. Beltdrivebetty.com's visitors view 28.0 unique pages each day on average. The site has a bounce rate of roughly 18% (i.e., 18% of visits consist of only one pageview).

Some of the other rewards are the people I interact with, helping others find the help or assistance they need, helping riding clubs to promote themselves, the friendships and business relationships that have come about and the purging of those that I thought had integrity and passion and did not!

And lastly - for me - the learning...man I have learned so much and continue to do so every day!

As I work at finding balance in my life, I give thanks for those who have believed in this venture - this community and preserving and celebrating our way of life.

You humble me...I feel so honored to have this "New" career - this new lease on life...
Over coming a handicap, finding a place to fit in, a job that fulfills me...
It's not always easy but it is always satisfying and rewarding.

So thank you  to all of you who read our humble little publication, who interact and share with us, who share their stories and their communities with us...we are growing a national and international community - one rider, one business one event at a time!
I hope you will stick with us and see where this ride takes us!

I am giving away two tickets to the Toronto International Super Show in January to the first person who gets 5 of their friends to register on www.beltdrivebetty.com

Our Photo Contest Winner - Timothy Gordon from Ontario should have his Christmas cash soon for his winning photo which graces the home page of www.beltdrivebetty.com


Our 2011 version of the Beat the PMS Blues on line Show 'n' Shine is coming soon so dig out your pictures and get ready! Our Presenting Sponsor is Doran 360 Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems - Read all about them here: http://www.beltdrivebetty.com/index.php/latest-health-and-tech/336-contacts/7927-doran-360-tire-pressure-monitoring-systems

We also have event tickets, hotel stays and gift certificates from across the nation as prizes too!

I am stoked and excited cause there is NOTHING better in the winter when you can't ride than oogling and ogling other people's rides and planning future tweaks to your own!

As always I welcome your feed back and input - please join our discussion here in this blog, or on my personal Face Book page (Belt Drive Betty) or our Fan Page (Belt Drive Betty & The Busted Knuckle Chronicles) or in the Forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com - you need to register to post....

In the news over the weekend and into this morning:

In the UK they have discovered that when it comes to reselling motorcycles people are rolling the odometers back...and that there is some fraud happening..


Also in the UK a Harley shop is closing it's doors...

In Canada - Deeley Harley-Davidson has announced lower prices on their 2011 models

In Kamloops BC the Motorcycle Ride for Dad and Deeley Harley-Davidson gave away a motorcycle on the weekend

In the USA they discovered an unsettling thing about identity thieves that every consumer needs to know

And of course there are tons of new motorcycle reviews, Christmas ideas and product reviews including luggage and helmets and there are some great DVD and Book reviews.

I hope you have a FABULOUS day, a STELLAR week and remember
Drive Safely...and if you are attending Christmas parties - PLEASE - PLAN your ride ahead of time.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com