Texting while riding

Bikers constantly complain about distracted drivers.

What about you - when you drive your vehicle?
Do you grab your phone? Do you text and drive?

And on your bike? Do you use your phone? Text?  An article out of Orlando Florida this morning has me asking this question. A rider was texting while rounding a curve and crossed the center line hitting another motorist. The rider is dead.

I would love to know what your thoughts are on this topic - we are all addicted to our technology it seems. I have been making it a habit to shut my phone off when I drive - If I forget to and the phone does ring - I find a place to pull over and just ignore the alerts for texts and emails and then I shut the damned thing off.

I am human - I have slipped when in my car and answered the phone that I had forgotten to shut off - I get so angry with myself.  How about you? Have you ever slipped?

What can we do to get the message across?
What do we humans need to do to eliminate our absolute addiction to our phones?

And what do we have to do to get riders to not text and ride?

I am saddened and scared by this story - our phones are going to be the death of us literally...

I would love your feedback on this topic...

There is a TON of news in the feeds at www.beltdrivebetty.com where our work is keeping You informed. I guess the holidays are really over because the feeds are FULL!!!

I leave you with a few funnies - after the article of the day - I need to laugh...thanks to my friends on Facebook and who send these to me by email!

Have a fantastic Wednesday...

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

A successful Calgary Motorcycle Show

Well folks - I think that I am finally recovered from the Calgary Motorcycle Show.
It was a great time with lots to see and do.

The Yamaha Kid's Riding Academy was busy teaching the littles how to ride, the Trials riders from the Second Gear Club put on some fabulous demonstrations - the Extreme show saw all kinds of stunts performed and then of course there was Clayton Bellamy who sang his heart out to an appreciative audience.

And there were motorcycles - lots of gorgeous iron to ogle.

Johnny Pag was on hand with some of their 2012 models, the 2013 will debut in Edmonton provided customs let's them through on time. Johnny Pag Jr. himself was also on hand for Saturday. What a wonderful young man he is. Did you know that their motorcycles are available in 20 countries?!!!

Shaganappi Motorsports is the new name home Calgary Harley-Davidson! 

They feature Harley-Davidson, Indian, Ducati and more!

MV Agusta, Ducati and all of the major manufacturers were on hand giving people a wide variety of choice and then there were the accessories and the riding clubs.

There were also some motorcycles to be won!

I had a blast filming interviews - R.Jeff Legrand acted as my video guy and we talked with some of the greatest people! Watch for some of that video this Thursday when our newspaper come out!

 Here I am with Ethan Barkley - the fastest man in Pro Street on the track with the CMDRA!

with Jordan Szokes - another really fast man -
the Canadian Superbike Champ!

 with Lexi Pechout of the Second Gear Club

Fine example of the entertainment in the
Evolution of Extreme!

Thanks to R Jeff Legrand, our Calgary area reporter for the fabulous photos.

I had so many great hugs too - 458 of them and when you consider how busy I was and how seldom I could be in the booth - it was utterly fabulous!  I wonder how things will go in Edmonton...

My producer, Tim, from Eastlink Cable will be with me Friday and Saturday and I will be learning the finer points of doing interviews - I am so excited to be embarking on that learning curve!

There are some interesting articles in the news feeds today.

In the US they are going to force manufacturers of electric vehicles and hybrids to create a minimum level of noise!

Also from the US, a man who attempted to bury his motorcycle in an effort to collect the insurance money was sentenced to 180+ days in jail and 3 years probation!

AND the man who plowed into a group of 12 motorcyclists in Wisconsin in May of 2012 had 4 more charges added to his already long string of charges.

The 2013 Dakar rally is underway and there are a couple of great video updates available.

There are many more new articles in the news feeds that might be of interest to you - to check them out visit www.beltdrivebetty.com where our work is keeping You informed.

I want to congratulate Lou DeVuono of Kick Stand Up on Reality Radio 101 for his MAX Award that he received at the Toronto International Super Show!  Great job Lou and Gary!!!!

Our 6th annual Beat the PMS Blues online Show 'n' Shine is getting some great entries - we accept entries until January 31st so get them in folks for your chance to win some great prizes - as always - it's free to enter!

And then there is our Name Belt Drive Betty's Beaver (mascot) contest - oh my word there are some great entries!  Get yours in soon folks as we will begin voting to determine the top 10 finalists soon!

I leave you now with a few funnies shared with me by friends on Facebook and via emails.

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Belt Drive Betty

Editor & Rider