A Ton of Belt Drive Betty related news today

There is so much going on today - where do I start - how about with the bad crap so we can get it out of the way and celebrate the good stuff!

If you experience log in issues on our site - please note that we are aware of it and have been fighting with our web site host since the wee hours of this morning. Poor Ali finally fell into bed at 4:30 am - most of the issues except the log in have been resolved and when she gets up she will go to work on that.

You are actually logged in and can access everything - it just doesn't appear that you are logged in...weird stuff...but keeps us on our toes I guess! Gotta laugh or I'd cry!

Then she (Ali) will fix a couple of other little things for us and begin the daunting task of moving web hosts.
We will be moving to GoDaddy - they have stepped up their game hugely and since our current host - Host Gator has probably the worst customer service and the most archaic methods of dealing with issues I have ever experienced - well - let's just say I am hoping to see our site speed improve and banking on GoDaddy's commitment to better customer service.

If you are looking at starting a site or for a reliable web host may I NOT recommend Host Gator. They are, in my humble opinion and personal experience THE WORST at customer service.

UPS has apparently lost our calendar order  - they will hunt them down - they promise. In the mean time I have talked to my printer and he will re print them and ship via an alternate route if they don't show up here by next Friday. If it ends up costing me money to priority them out the buyers - then that's what we'll have to do - BUT YOU will have your calendars in time for the holidays...somehow.

Now on to the good stuff.
We now have our own Shop Section up and running with our CafePress Store and our affiliate shops:

In the CafePress Store:

• BDB Gear: http://www.cafepress.com/bdbgearstore/8312415
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• Canadian Riders Support Gear: http://www.cafepress.com/bdbgearstore/8312759
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• Bikers United in Remembrance Gear: http://www.cafepress.com/bdbgearstore/8312383

Our Bikers United in Remembrance Patches and the 2012 Canadian Riders Support Network Patches will be available on the site later today - They are here and they are GORGEOUS!!!!
Ali will get the Pay Pal links up for them this afternoon.
They will have their own little section in the shopping area.









In the Affiliate Category:

We also have BDB gear available through Ross Screenprint - Ross is making certain designs for us...Click on the BDB Gear @ Ross Screenprint to see the designs and colours available: http://beltdrivebetty.com/shop  We love working with other rider owned businesses for our products wherever possible! And Ross is a Rider - known as the Cabot Trail Biker!

Ken the Glassdude is offering Sand Carved Mugs - they are magnificent and he will personalize them for you too - just click the link that says Glassdude! http://beltdrivebetty.com/shop  - Yes - Ken the Glassdude is also a biker. If you want to save the shipping cost on these, Ken will ship them to the Bike Shows for me where you can pick them up and we can email you a GC to print off and put in the stocking if it is a gift for Christmas!

You can also get your road side assistance through us in the shop section of our web site by
clicking the Roadside Assistance link. This is a great serve and exceedingly affordable. I use this road side assistance and it's been great!

Our Signs & License Plate Shop links are experiencing a few hiccups courtesy the challenges we had with our host - again, Ali will resolve these after she's gotten some sleep.

You can also visit our Amazon Book Store for some great gift and stocking stuffer ideas!

And don't forget subscriptions to our weekly newspaper - and 2012 Phone Books that will be available in January!

It has been a roller coaster day already and it's not even half over!

I had best put the finishing touches on the phone book so the printer can get them done and shipped in time for the bike show!

There is  a ton of news in the feeds today including a bust on the Hells in Montreal....check out the feed at www.beltdrivebetty.com where we sift through the news so you don't have to.

I will leave you with a couple of funnies from around the net that tickled my funny bone - you gotta have a laugh and especially on a day like this one!

Have a fantastic Thanksgiving day to all of my American Friends and to everyone else - happy Thursday.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

TV versus Reality

Sons of Anarchy has become a popular show with bikers and non bikers alike.
An article in the news feeds today talks about how although the bikers are bad, the government officials in the show appear to be worse.

How do you feel about the government agents like the district attorney on SOA?
They say that film often imitates life...do you believe that the cops and other government officials can be as bad as some of them portrayed on the show?

I have my opinions but I want to hear yours...

In Australia, the Nomads have warned the Gold Coast Riding Club that they need to change their patch to one more acceptable to the outlaw mc. In the past, the Rebels MC has threatened the Ulysses Club telling them they need to get rid of their patch - it appears that anything that looks like it has a bottom and top rocker offends the MC's there.  The Gold Coast Cruisers patch looks NOTHING like the Rebels patch but are they going to argue with the MC?

The Australian Newspaper - Gold Coast posted this picture and is asking people to vote on whether or not people think the patches are at all similar:

You can vote here: http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2011/11/22/367725_gold-coast-news.html

I have heard of other cases where MC's challenge riding clubs over their patch designs, and I wonder how many riding clubs know that they should be approaching the dominant club in the region BEFORE they make their patches official and how many even care?  Here in Grande Prairie a number of years ago a riding club was pressured to change their patches because the local dominant did not appreciate it's similarities to their patch and they did not like the rockers on them that gave the illusion of territorial behaviour...

It's risky business to piss of an MC but when is enough, enough?

Again - I would love your thoughts on this topic...

There are other articles in the news feeds that might prove of interest to you, check them out at www.beltdrivebetty.com

I leave you with a few funnies from around the net that have tickled my funny bone...

Have a happy hump day...

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

We don't want you in our country - 6 motorcycle club members ejected from Norway

6 men from the US spent several days in an Oslo Norway jail - their crime?
Being members of the Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club.

The men were  held in custody without being told why. and although an attorney was provided to the men, all the attorney could tell them after talking to officials was: "Some of you have criminal records and some of you don't, but they believe there is a chance that you might do something wrong here."

They were also denied the right to see a US consulate official.

In the end the 6 were bought tickets by the Norwegian government and sent home, no charges were laid but documents were found on each man that were meant for the pilot regarding why they were deported.

Those documents are rather damning:

Begin Quote: Instructions for the airline pilot on each of the 'deported' passengers somehow ended up in the passenger's belongings.

A U.S. Customs official removed the documents from Kondash's property, noting that the two pages of instructions for the pilot stated, 'Do not give to any unauthorized personnel'.
"Well you can't have these," the official told Kondash.
As it turns out though, the six passengers were checked by different Customs agents upon returning to Seattle, and all were not as thorough as the one who checked Kondash. Three sets of those same documents were left in the possession of the Americans.
The information regarding the six Americans was essentially the same. It is a two page set of instructions, and on the second page is a series of boxes describing the reason a person is being deported. In the case of the six bikers, they each had four boxes checked.

These are the four boxes checked under the category 'Unescorted deportees (depu) svg-osl-nyc'
He was deported to Norway according to the Chicago Treaty.
He was expelled due to lack of residence permit.
Not convicted of a crime in this country.
The police consider this person to be stable, and that he poses no threat to himself or others.

Those are the descriptions of six Americans who were allowed to fly all the way to Norway in good faith, and rejected at the airport gate. End Quote

What a way to spend your 5 day holiday....What are your thoughts on this topic? I would LOVE to know.

Now on to the article I promised you yesterday - the review of Pat Savage's new Album, Wind & Fire:

Pat Savage goes back to his roots with his new CD – Wind & Fire.

I have known Pat Savage for about 10 years now. I have heard him sing rock, progressive and blues and while he is good at them all, by far, my favorite is when Pat sings the blues.

The blues conjures up images of smoke filled bars, fine old whiskey and scotch, BB King, T Bone Walker, Freddie King and other great blues legends and Pat deserves to be right there as one of the great blues guitar pickers.  

When it comes to vocals, Blues is not only his roots, but is his strongest genre where his talent shines it’s brightest.

And when Pat picks a guitar, regardless of the genre, the cords are strong and crisp, his guitar picking moves you, and your body just can’t help itself. His music moves you right along with the wind he sings of and the roads he rides.  

My favorite tracks on this album are:

Harley Man – true blues, smoky, gravelly, foot tapping – the lyrics tell you the story of a man who loves his bike too much to put it outside in 40 below weather in spite of the offerings of his ol’ lady for certain special favors – every biker, Harley Rider or not can identify with the sentiments represented in this song.

Born to Ride – Hard kicking rock with an undertone of country blues, you can feel the partnership between rider and passenger, rider and wind…it’s a great tune that makes your toes start tapping. This is another track where the guitar picking is phenomenal.

John the Revelator- is an old school blues song, it’s smoky, husky and is reminiscent of many old time southern Baptist worship songs, the visuals this song conjures up are of robes, beards and bikes, an odd juxtaposition that works incredibly well.

Bonnie Anderson who does some of the lead vocals in this song has such a powerful and dusky voice and is the perfect foil to Pat’s gravelly, raw sound.

Ridin Hard, Livin Free is a real hard rocking tune perfect for pounding down the road, the hard driving beat not unlike the beat of your machine’s heart as it spirits you down to road.

I love the guitar picking in El Diablo. Spanish flavored rock that makes you think of cowboys of old, bandits on the run and the fight between good and evil.

Pat Savage is a dyed in the wool Harley-Davidson fan, and although he references his machine of choice a lot in his music, every rider can relate to his tales of why he loves to be on the road, riding, wind in his face…

While no words/lyrics in the world can express why a rider loves to ride, the music can and in many of his tracks you can feel the expression of the wind as it takes flight and leads you down the road to the next adventure and that is what music should do, like your bike, it should move your soul.

There is something to appeal to most everyone on this album, but by far my favorites are the blues – the genre best suited to Pat’s gravelly voice and incredible talent with his guitar.

Don’t take my word for it though, check out Pat’s Album – Wind & Fire, which is available for sale at:

http://www.savageroads.com/wind-fire/

In Other News:

In London Ontario - the police claim that the Outlaws have moved into a club house 4 blocks away from the Hells Angels causing fear in the community, however - that might not be the case...

Also in Ontario, Mark Bocek  - a Lightweight UFC fighter, feels the need for speed.

Motorcycle Crash Victims to be remembered on November 27th in Port Dover by the Canadian Motorcycle Association & the Christian Motorcycle Association

In the US - S & S is grateful for the financial aide they got from the government.

There are other articles in the news feeds that may be of interest to you - read them at www.beltdrivebetty.com where we sift through the news so you don't have to.

I leave you with a couple of funnies from around the net that have tickled my funny bone...

I hope you have a fabulous Tuesday and if you are lucky enough to be riding, please ride safely.

Belt Drive Betty

Editor & Rider

An interview with Pat Savage...

I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Canadian biker and rocker Pat Savage. If you are a subscriber to our National biker's Weekly - the Busted Knuckle Chronicles, you got to read that interview in the paper on Thursday.  I thought I would share that interview with everyone else today.

Tomorrow I will share my review of his new CD - Wind & Fire.

Pat Savage Interview Q & A - Wind & Fire CD Release & Pay Per View Series

BDB - I have known you for about 10 years now, I remember you playing at the Redneck Run in Beaverlodge Alberta years back – you were still playing at 7 in the morning because there were still people up grooving to the tunes you were playing.

·      What gives you such a passion for making your fans happy?

  PS -I’m generally a happy go lucky biker bear, riding & singing my life away for over 30 years now & what makes me happy is to inspire others to embrace life & live it to the fullest. I’m also a passionate guy who knows how to write songs about our biker’s lifestyle & make a decent living from it. It enables me to then able to tour the entire world wherever there are Harley folks & share it with them. 

·    BDB - You took some time off recently, to recharge the batteries and reconnect with your music and soul, is that how John the Revelator came to be? It’s a pretty powerful song about the bible, faith and motorcycles so I am curious…what inspired that song?

·          PS - I’d been touring nonstop for over 29 years & needed a real break to make some personal changes. For example my hatred of the dentist & my ignorance about how much you’re teeth actually affect your physical wellbeing. Mine were very bad & I was overweight & somewhat lazy doing lots of time in front of the computer making music or editing film & promotional tasks. I went to Thailand & got myself new teeth, lost 20 kilos & developed a much healthier lifestyle. I got the inspiration from the last episode of the first season of Sons Of Anarchy at the funeral scene when this fine old traditional gospel song started playing giving me the willies. I grabbed my guitar & started my own bluesy version. I’m a devout Buddhist but raised Catholic so it struck many spiritual chords in me.

·     BDB - Your music reflects not only your love for the road and your motorcycle, it seems to reflect a certain loyalty to the first responders of the Fire Department, tell me about how the Wind & Fire Motorcycle club inspired this album.

  PS -  I signed with SONY Europe in 2003 & subsequently moved over to Germany to be closer to my new biker market after having toured every state & province in North America. I performed at Harley Davidson Club Kempen’s rally in Belgium & there I met Eddy Styveson & Berry DeGynst, the European president & VP of Wind & Fire MC. They asked me to be the European Representative & I agreed. After moving back to Canada I was asked to be the International Celebrity Representative, which I am currently. The title track is dedicated to them & the lyrics are about riding Harley after risking their lives everyday in their perilous jobs. 

·      BDB - You have played with some of the best of the best in the industry, which musician, which singer has inspired you the most…that’s 2 questions rolled into one.

  PS - Well this is a tough one wrapped up into two! BB King & Joe Cocker is at the top of a very long list of inspiring artists I’ve had the pleasure to warm up the stage for. Both of these guys are good examples of career longevity & are constantly upping their game rather than fading away. I have played with many great artists & am blessed.

·     BDB -   I know from our discussions about Savage Roads the Pay per View series that you have and are riding with motorcyclists around the world experiencing their little piece of heaven on earth, what drove you to doing a series like this? It has to be a massive undertaking.

 PS - The premise of my upcoming series The Savage Roads is simply this. We travel to exotic places with our cameras & get up on Harley’s and, with the local biker folks as our guide, we explore local, regional & national art, music, cuisine, history, architecture & biker friendly hangouts and & stops along the road. We are traveling to exotic places therefore we’re rollin down the road less traveled. The “Savage” roads if you will. It is a huge undertaking but we shoot simply & without all the catering & huge trucks. More commando style we just roll film & capture it all.

Pat Savage 

·       BDB - Do you think that this series will inspire future albums?  I know, silly question – you get your inspiration from the road and the people you connect with, but something tells me you have already got another album in mind…care to share a little about that?

    

        PS - Well this Wind & Fire CD took us one full year to record in Legend Studios in Phuket Thailand with South African producer Gary Crause writing & recording the tunes with me. It’s a very good CD & hope you will agree & more importantly the thousands of biker fans I’ve got all over the planet. Next up I’m recording an acoustic unplugged style CD called “Savage Steel”. I’m working with my step dad Fred Steele & two very talented biker poets Larry Scerri & Eddie Sorez to write some ballad type biker tunes. Also covering David Allen Coe’s “That Old Pan Head Of Mine” & writing tributes to my friends “Ode To Billy Lane” & “Indian Larry”. Acoustic guitar based ballads with banjos, mandolins & harmonicas playin along. This is will come out early next spring & you will be the first to get a copy!

·       BDB - What has it been like for you the last two years, working on both an album and a video series?  Have you been “enjoying the ride?’ It seems to me that even after entertaining for 30 years you are enjoying your work more now than at any point in your career, and it comes through in your album, there seems to be an honesty that shines through in this album in a way it never has before.

      PS - Well thank you for this compliment my friend. It’s very true that after 30 years of nonstop “rippin it” onstage & off all around the globe, I went through some personal changes & went deeper into my soul than ever before & taking a long overdue break from touring to shoot an episode of “The Savage Roads” in Krabi Thailand & recording “Wind & Fire”. The road is long & winding, but we always keep on finding, brand new roads to travel & some well-deserved stops along the ride.

Thank you for this opportunity to let my Canadian bikers fans know about the best Harley ridin music I’ve ever written & recorded Betty. ML&R

Pat Savage

Visit Pat's Web Site at: www.savageroads.com/wind-fire

In other news:

The Hell's Angels in London Ontario are under close scrutiny

In Surrey BC - Monte Robinson, the RCMP officer involved in a crash that killed rider Orian Hutchinson will finally appear before a judge.

 In the US - Arizona Bike Week has released their concert information

Also in the US, Prince Harry rides a Harley in Nevada

In sports - Suzuki takes a break from MotoGP

There's a ton of other news from the week end that may be of interest to you, you can check out the daily news feeds at www.beltdrivebetty.com

I leave you with a few of the funnies from around the net that have tickled my funny bone...

Happy Monday everyone,

Belt Drive Betty

Editor & Rider