Friday, June 17, 2011

Why do you ride?

I read with much interest this morning, about a man named Doug Janzen from Chilliwack who is riding solo to Inuvik - he wants to create awareness for depression.

I applaud and admire the man's undertaking. Having suffered from depression after my daughter was born and being born on Father's Day this particular article really tugged at my heart strings. I have emailed him to offer support and media coverage and hope he will take me up on the offer. I would be honored to support what he is doing.

While I am thinking of birthdays - Make sure you email Glenn Roberts from Motorcycle Mojo a Happy Birthday and Father's Day on Sunday  (glenn@motorcyclemojo.com) - he and I share a birthday and were both born in the same year - both started our publications due to physical injury - and both love to ride! We are true Gemini's Glenn and I - so join me in wishing him a Happy 51st Birthday!

Now - on to my topic for today - our 2011 Motorcycle Awareness Conga

I - like many riders, am touched by many causes - many reasons to ride outside of the main one. 
As most of you know, I have loved to ride since the first time I got on the back of a bike. Like the rest of you who are born with that bike hole in your heart - I will ride as often and as far as I can - just to be riding. I also enjoy riding for a cause, to create awareness and to foster a sense of community.

This summer I am riding across Canada again - this time Solo, except for those who join me for an hour, or a day, or coffee - and while I will be riding alone a lot I am being supported by so many wonderful people, businesses and regions!

I will have the Never Ride Alone Program following my progress across the country - so while I will be riding alone most of the time, some one will have a pretty good idea where I am at all times!  I also am supported by Best Roadside Service - all of the same services and providers that the big boys have - fuel, towing, lockout - 6 calls - up to 120 KM per tow - and those calls are shareable between spouses, transferable from motorcycle to car, to pick up - good in Canada and the USA - comes with tons of travel perks...

I will also be supported by the Canadian Rider's Support Network. If I break down or need a hand - there are people from across the country willing to help in their regions.

So while riding across Canada by myself is going to be challenging - truly, with all of the tools and resources at my disposal, I am going to be able to relax and enjoy the ride as much as possible - I am as protected out there as I can be. These kinds of support tools are available to you if you are a registered member of www.beltdrivebetty.com - Come Check them out!

I will also have the protection of the DORAN 360 M Tire Pressure Monitoring System. 
I can check my tire pressures at the push of a button and know that the monitor is accurate to 1/4 pound of pressure!
Once you have the protection tools in place, the rest is up to you - to be sharp, watching and ready for whatever the road puts in your path. 

I am riding to film local "Share the Road, Share the Ride" Motorcycle Awareness Commercials - PSA's that we hope to spread everywhere - TV, WEB, Print, Radio - everywhere - the concept of the commercials is to show the non rider - the human, the family and community side of the rider behind the machine. Just like the construction worker PSA's do - we want to remind the non rider that behind the handle bars is a person who is loved, valuable, wanted and needed - and that we deserve to go home to those who love us, same as they, the non rider do.

As I said earlier, I am being supported by so many wonderful riding clubs (Yukon Gold Wing Road Riders, CAV in SK, Ride for Dad Winnipeg, The Retreads in Ontario, HOG in NB) and by so many wonderful businesses - Eyecandy Customs in Smithers has sponsored and oil change and service, The Capri Inn in Smithers, the 5 Calgary Inn in Calgry - Joe Schmucks in Sicamous - Sturgis North, The Great Canadian Bike Rally, Best Western Prince George, The Cape Breton Bike Fest, Atlanticade in New Brunswick - Cabot Trail Motorcycle Retreat, Highcountry Inn, Cabot Trail Biker -  Travel Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick are all supporting the trip and there are many tourism regions, businesses and people that I still have to talk to! My word the list goes on and on and I am so humbled and so grateful, it's a lot of work to organize a trip like this but I think these Motorcycle Awareness Videos are going to be wonderful - and vitally important from the education aspect and so if we get anywhere from 1 other 8 or 9 I'd like to create great regional commercials shot, the effort will have been soooo very worth it.  Help me make this ride a success - come meet me somewhere along the road - even if it's just for a coffee.

Please visit the Conga Page and check out our sponsors - without them - NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING that we do would be possible - so please - thank them for supporting this community.

There is much in the news today but due to early morning phone conversations, I am short on time - so I invite you to explore the days news over at www.beltdrivebetty.com  

Have a happy Friday - as my friend Silver Fox says - Butt Shakin' Day!
Please - if you are riding today - this weekend, PLEASE ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you - please use respect with that right hand - after all we don't want to wake Grandma up in the Old Folks Home do we? 


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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Imagine...

Imagine you are the Royal Canadian Legion - comprised of veterans and supporters.
Imagine you are holding a motorcycle show 'n' shine - your 9th in fact and imagine the Liquor and gaming commission telling you NO PATCHES....

Evey time I think that I don't need to wave the red flag of discrimination/profiling in your faces another example of the profiling of our community comes to light.

The situation in Orangeville is NOT unique. You see the police services "recommend" to the liquor and gaming commission the terms and conditions of a liquor license for any event - oh they will deny it, they will claim they have no power to persuade - but that is exactly what happens. The RCMP/OPP - whom ever run your jurisdiction - they have the clout to persuade the liquor commission into whatever terms they deem acceptable. They did it to me over my bike show - and I know first hand of many other events that have experienced the EXACT same strong arm tactics.

So if you think for 2 seconds that profiling does not affect you - think again.  
They are doing it to VETS, they are doing it to female riding clubs, manufacturers riding clubs, they are saying YOU CAN NOT wear your patches to attend an event. 
DO YOU FINALLY GET what I am saying folks?

It is not the event coordinator that puts out these discriminatory laws - it is the LIQUOR & GAMING Commission and the POLICE SERVICES. 
Every time we turn around these people are eroding our freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and our right to fair treatment under the law and provided for under the charter.

According to the article, this is what was in the liquor license- Begin Quote:
“For greater certainty, identifiable markings or items including but not restricted to colors, patches, rockers, insignias, visible tattoos, jewellery or any other support apparel.”

It did include identifiable support of “gangs” but did not clarify what was meant by “gang.”

Concerted efforts by the writer and by the office of MPP Sylvia Jones to determine whether the prohibition is a policy of AGCO or an innovation by the local inspector came to dead ends.


Orangeville Police Services was not involved although Chief Joe Tomei said he wouldn’t encourage service to full colours. “It’s a concern to the public if rival gangs show up.”

In a telephone interview, the chief said such a prohibition would be meant to exclude gangs that have been classified as criminal organizations, such as Hell’s Angels. End QUOTE

Do you see what I mean people?  The cops won't tell you what patches are allowed and what are not - neither will the liquor and gaming commission because it is illegal for them to do so.  The only people who deem the HA to be a criminal organization are the police and because THEY might show up at an event YOU will be asked to take YOUR PATCHES off...

I am sick to death of good events, great causes and really good people being hindered and hampered from doing good work, supporting their communities and causes and having an enjoyable time shut down all in the name of discrimination and profiling.  
IT IS DISGUSTING.  

Is anyone listening? Or am I the only one seeing this crap for what it is?

I would LOVE your feedback and more importantly someone to step up to help me act - we need a charter challenge folks - seriously.

In other news: 
Liz Metcalfe is the lady rider who was killed in the crash on Hwy 9 in Ontario - her funeral is today:
Thursday, June 16 · 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel
2401 Steeles Ave. West Toronto, ON
Liz was known both on and off the track - a widely respected rider and writer. She is now an angel watching over this community.
In Calgary - not only is the Ride for Dad this weekend, but the Motorcycle Accessory Center is celebrating 25 years in business!
 
There are many other articles worth reading in the news today - keep yourself informed because an informed community is a strong community.
If you are riding today - PLEASE - ride like everyone around you is BLIND and can not see you and please use respect with that right hand.


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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Here we go again...

Today we have another example of profiling - a tattoo shop in Ontario is owned by a guy who is a member of the Outlaws MC, the police are now working at labeling it a club house by reporting on TV that the Outlaws are back in town and watching his place of business and yet according to the reporter he says if it is a club house they must only like meeting 2 people at a time.

The biker says that the cops have falsely reported his business as a clubhouse and now prospective clients won't come check him out because they are scared and his wife is concerned that rival clubs will also think his place of business is a club house. According to the police statement in the article - outlaw bikers should expect to be monitored.

Now folks - there are for sure criminals in the biker culture -  but as I have pointed out many times - there are criminals in EVERY walk of life.

This is profiling at it's finest/worst.
I have said it before and I will say it again, it is not the clothes you wear, the machine you ride or drive or the people you know or work with that make you a criminal - it is your actions as an individual.

This man - by all accounts - according to the reporter, is running a legit tattoo shop, clean, clinical and with dentist chairs for patrons to sit on while getting their artwork done.
Just because he rides with an outlaw MC, does that mean he is automatically a criminal? The police would like you to believe that...BUT wait....

If we started labeling every cop as a drunk because of the actions of men like Monty Robinson or the many other officers who have been charged with impaired - would that be an accurate assessment of the police services as a whole?  Or what if we labeled them all as wife beaters or masturbaters because of the actions of some? How about the label of thief? There are after all officers who have stolen money and drugs from evidence rooms...

Yah - I thought not - that kind of blatant, sweeping tarring would not go over too well at all because it is clearly  untrue - not all officers conduct themselves that way and we know it and exhibit more intelligence than that.

We, the riders who are not a part of the one per centers world are constantly targeted as potential bad asses and why? Because the police services want to improve their budgets and their careers. There are not enough "bad" guys riding motorcycles for the police to throw enough fear out there so they like make Joe Q Public think we are all bad apples.

While we can't say that all cops are drunks or thieves we can say that there is a pervasive mentality exhibited by MOST police officers - one of fear mongering and suspicion that serves NO ONE. The police services will, as a majority, flip the switch on the truth and 
mis-state the truth when it serves their purpose. And again, that purpose is more about budgets and careers than it is to Serve and Protect.

Our police have become far too powerful for their own good or for the good of any citizen.  I am positive that if we started to exercise our rights under the charter we could prevent the police from hassling and labeling us but it will take a concerted and joint effort on the part of many riders. I can't do it alone - you can't - we need to work together to reclaim our lives and liberty.

The Black, Indian, Italian and Asian communities have been united enough to prevent profiling of their citizens - are we ever going to become that united?

I guess only time will tell. What say you? I'd LOVE to know your thoughts.

There is a whack of news in the feeds over on www.beltdrivebetty.com
Check the articles out, inform yourself...

Have a great HUMP day everyone and remember - if you are riding today to ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and to use respect with that right hand - you never know what mother with a new baby you might be upsetting or which night shift worker you might piss off if you don't.


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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

This coming weekend is busy no matter where you live!

Man oh man -  there are no shortage of events and charities looking for support this coming weekend and for the rest of the riding season. Our events calendars are full of all kinds of rides and events and so are the newsfeeds!

Did you know that we have a free downloadable Canadian motorcycle events app for your cell phone?  MCTravel is the app name - it's new and still has a few hiccups like the intro screen being too big on IPhone but our developer is working on it.  The app works well on Ipad, Android and so far on Blackberry - if you experience any hiccups with it please let us know so we can address the issue - send screen shots if you can so our developer knows what to work on! Make sure to tell us your phone's brand and operating system!
bdbetty @ gmail.com (remove the spaces.)

Once we get the kinks worked out on this app we intend - over the next year to release all kinds of apps for your phone...the Rider Friendly Business® Apps for every province...the Great Canadian Day Rides Tourism APP and a Busted Knuckle Chronicles News App!

We are working at making our community information more accessible than ever so that EVERY RIDING CLUB, EVERY EVENT, EVERY CHARITY and EVERY Business we work with gets maximum exposure and you the rider, maximum benefit of fast and informative news and articles and savings.

The more we share, the better off we all are!

I have also joined forces with KARMA Inc out of the US.  We have our first Tee Shirt being launched called Betty with Flags.  The artwork features the Belt Drive Betty® Pin Up Chick in 1940/50's riding gear on a Street Glide (my personal bike) with the Canadian and American Flags behind her. Old meets New - North meets South. Over time we will be introducing many new designs that will feature the Belt Drive Betty® Pin Up Girl in a variety of poses with different bikes etc.

The idea of hooking up with Karma Inc, is like the one of having my own Cafe Press Store... I do not have to stock anything, you get a great product, and, in the case of working with Karma Inc the charities that I support get a small cut of all shirts sold.

The same with working with the Glassdude for my coffee mugs (see bottom of page) or the Biker Coffee Company in Ottawa - by working with other riders we show our support of the people who ride that are in business - when ever possible I work with Canadian owned companies - every now and then though, a brother or sister from the US wants to partner up.

Visit our sign & plate shop - all North American made products - again, drop shipped to you so that I do not have to hold any stock or get stuff packaged and shipped out!  When you support us, it allows us to support all of the riding clubs and charities for free - this is how we fund the free space we donate to them in our weekly newspaper and on our site. 

So, I am asking you all to consider shopping with us and supporting those who work with us. If we didn't have over 300 businesses working with us we could not provide all of the free services and support tools we do.

The Charities we are serving are: The CMTA's Injured Rider's Fund and the Patriot Guards Help on the Home Front...buy a shirt and show your support of the causes!

Our Calendars are going to be supporting 6 charities - It is my hope to see lots pre ordered so that we can make an impact for every charity we serve!

At Belt Drive Betty Media®, our goal is to pay it forward everyday - help us help you, our community and our businesses, when you subscribe to our paper, when you share your information, when you support the businesses who support us, when you purchase our gear - we all win.

I welcome your feedback - just like every day!

In other news:

In the US today - a motorcycle death prompts a new kind of awareness campaign



In International news - a rider who is visiting all places called Manchester is winding down his trip

Also in international news a biker is being called a hero after a dramatic rescue of a van and it's occupants that were stalled on train tracks.

In ON Canada, our own Amanda-Lynn Mayhew Hare talks about Progeria and the upcoming rally/ride on Daytime Talk

Also in Ontario - the HA's new Club House in Hamilton is undergoing scrutiny from Bylaw
And the CAV are hosting a show n shine!



There's a TON more news in our feeds on www.beltdrivebetty.com

Have a fantastic Tuesday everyone, chat at you tomorrow and PLEASE - ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and use respect with that right hand...

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Monday, June 13, 2011

Are we in North America becoming a police state? It's looking that way.

Remember last week when I quoted Yves Lavigne as saying the cops want to MANAGE the "Biker Problem"?  Well here is an article that truly seems to back up that statement made by him...

And I quote: The rebirth of the Outlaws motorcycle gang in London is raising the spectre of clashes with their traditional rivals, the Hells Angels.

But the head of the province’s biker unit says there seems to be enough crime in Southwestern Ontario to go around.

“There appears to be enough business to allow them to co-exist,” said Det.-Sgt. Len Isnor of the Ontario Biker Enforcement Unit.

“Having said that, if the market gets to a saturation point, that could lead to problems.” End Quote

The drug trade only appears to be a concern when it means photo ops I guess - and Mr. Lavigne appears to be right in his assessment of the "sand box" pissing match between supposed bad guys that ride motorcycles and the police services - the police want to manage the 1% clubs because it's all about budgets and careers...

In the US, the Indiana Supreme Court has wiped out the 4th amendment making it null and void - a police officer can not be refused entry to your home - if you visit the thread called Tyranny under the quotes of the day - I have articles posted for you to check out - it is tragic folks and SCARY!. (http://www.beltdrivebetty.com/index.php/whats-hot/forum/73-the-coffee-shop/5993-favorite-quotes-and-sayings)

For those who are not members of our site but want to educate themselves: 
They just recently made it so a police officer can enter your home 24/7 with NO CAUSE or WARRANT - all in the name of Terrorism...
Article 1 from Uncoonfirmed SourcesUncoonfirmed Sources

Article number 2 - from The Heart of the MatterThe Heart of the Matter

Article number 3 - from United LibertyUnited Liberty

It is tragic - and here in our own country we are moving more and more in the direction of the Tyranny the US is now living under...think I am wrong? Look at the sweeping powers the police have in this country - they dictate to the cities what they are going to do with regards to enforcement - not the other way around - they charge an arm and a leg for enhanced policing for events - it's NOT about safety or security - it's all about budgets and careers. You see - when they charge for enhanced policing, they can then go to their city/municipality and say - we did this many hours of over time - we need a bigger budget.  When a 1% club starts up in a town - oh...we need more manpower....do they ever crack down on drugs and violence? For the cameras they do, but really? Do they?

Again I refer back to CSIS and their own stats...http://www.csis.gc.ca/pblctns/prspctvs/200007-eng.asp

Read paragraphs 18-20:

North America (La Cosa Nostra and outlaw motorcycle gangs)

18. North America either acts as a base of operations or a sphere of activity for all of the transnational criminal organizations mentioned above. In addition to these groups, there are two other types of criminal organizations worthy of mention: La Cosa Nostra and outlaw motorcycle gangs.(14)
19. Generally speaking, La Cosa Nostra is the American offshoot of Italian-based organized crime. This group of Italian Mafia families has its beginnings in the United States' Prohibition era when liquor trafficking made fortunes for those willing to break the law. There are 25 La Cosa Nostra families, with five of the most influential headquartering their operations in New York City. La Cosa Nostra organizations are involved in criminal activity in most major cities in the United States. Their activities include drug trafficking, illegal gambling, arms trafficking, prostitution, extortion, skimming public and private works contracts, usury and infiltration of legitimate business activities (such as construction, food retailing and influencing unions). La Cosa Nostra groups often work with their Italian-based brethren who conduct operations in the United States, although they occasionally compete with them as well.(15)
20. The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, with its headquarters in Oakland, California, is the world's largest outlaw motorcycle gang. It has 180 chapters located around the world, including the United States, Canada, Great Britain, numerous European countries, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Brazil. According to the RCMP, the Angels are involved in a variety of criminal enterprises, including drug trafficking, prostitution and money laundering. With 18 Canadian chapters and some 200 members across Canada, they exercise enormous criminal clout.

According to Wikipedia:
An April 2009 CBC News article stated that the Hells Angels have 34 chapters operating in Canada with 460 full-fledged (patched) members.[48] The Hells Angels have 15 chapters in Ontario, 8 in British Columbia, 5 in Quebec, 3 in Alberta, 2 in Saskatchewan and 1 in Manitoba.[48]
The Vancouver Sun newspaper reports that Canada has more Hells Angels members per capita than any other country, including the U.S., where there are chapters in about 20 states.[49] Mr. Réal Ménard (Montréal, PQ) testified in Parliament that the Hells Angels had 38 chapters in Canada in 1995–1997.[50]
The Hells Angels established their first Canadian chapters in the province of Quebec during the seventies. The Outlaws and several affiliated independent clubs were able to keep the Angels from assuming a dominant position in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, until the nineties, while the Grim Reapers of Alberta, Los Bravos in Manitoba, and several other independent clubs across the prairies formed a loose alliance that kept the Hells Angels from assuming dominance in the prairie provinces until the late nineties. By 1997, under the leadership of Walter "Nurget" Stadnick, the Hells Angels had become the dominant club not just in BC and Quebec, but all across Canada, with chapters in at least seven of ten provinces and two of the three territories.[51]

So - from what I can gather through all of my research is this:
There are 19,414 RCMP officers in Canada according to Wikipedia and according to Stats Canada 69,299 Police Officers - or just shy of 89K cops...

According to the stats - if you take Wikipedia's word on it (because CSIS has not updated their stats in a long time) - there are 460 full fledged supposed bad guys who ride motorcycles....so let's say those stats are way off - let's say that number is 10 fold - and there are 4,600 supposed bad guys who ride motorcycles - in 2009 according to stats Canada - there were 594,866 registered for highway use motorcycles - even if 1% were truly bad guys there should be 5,949 of them.  Now compare that to peace officers/police and you will see that with 287 RCMP officers having been charged with serious offenses in 2010 fiscal year that equates to more than 1% of ALL police officers and we haven't even looked at the numbers for the other 69,000. ( 287 x 99% = 81,545) so what does that tell you?

Read the Non Conformer's Canadian Web Blog - it has some interesting stats and details in it: http://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/

Yes - the more I learn - the angrier I get and the more of a civil liberties fighter I become - I am fed up with the gross mis spending, the unfair and in many cases illegal tactics being used and how our community is always getting tarred with a brush that is soooo unfair - folks - are we ever going to get angry enough to do something? Are we? If so - when?

We pay enough taxes - our rights are being violated all in the name of terrorism - the quote that sparked this topic on Friday was:  “If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy” James Madison

Me thinks the man was right...
I would LOVE your feedback on this topic!
In other news:



Also in Ontario:



In PEI a rider is dead after he lost control

In happier news - the Ride for Dad has reached  the 1 million dollar mark in Edmonton!

Well - that's it for me on this fine Monday morning - I have a billion things to do to get ready for my Conga - I need to finish getting sponsors so I can afford this mission, I need to get my books caught up and invoicing done and I have a ton of reporters and their event passes etc to get organized - you have a fantastic day - tty tomorrow


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