Rumours of my Retirement & Other REALLY Bizarre stuff...

I got a couple of emails today, one was from a friend I hadn't heard from in a while.

He told me that I sucked and that there was no way I should be retiring.  That he was invited to attend a poker run in support of me, being held as a way to discourage me from retiring.

And the other from a friend who was appalled that I hadn't shared with her that I was retiring.

Well folks I am here to tell you that I am far from retiring, I have far too much that I want to do in this community to think of retiring.

There have been times, since Ray Sasseville, Joan Hansen and Sturgis North decided to launch a shotgun lawsuit against 7 people, when I wondered if what I am working at means anything at all, if it's worth it, if it has value to anyone. But time and again the support and help that I have gotten from this community has reaffirmed that the work I have chosen to do is valuable to at least some.

I am scratching my head right now wondering who it is that is spreading the rumour that I am retiring.  We have begun editing the 2nd season of the TV show and I will be filming for it all summer, provided I have no other set backs, like the crash that has taken me off my work game for the past three weeks.

Our web sites are being overhauled, yet again and we have taken the newspaper to the digital realm entirely.  We are working harder than ever to bring the news and information that this community needs to them.

So the answer to the queries I have been getting is NO - I am not retiring.

I am taken aback by a strange turn of events in the lawsuit though. I am not sure what to make of it.

As you may remember, Sturgis North and company, had offered to drop their lawsuit against all seven of us that were named.  The other six defendants offer was straight forward, don't sue for costs, this goes away. My offer however included a $250K gag order, a removal of all reference to Sturgis North and company in my newspaper, web site and blog and that I monitor social media, my circle of friends and acquaintances to ensure no comments were made by them and allowed to stand, no letters to the editor etc....

I could not accept those terms and a counter offer has been prepared.
Since all of the other parties agreed to settle their cases, they had all signed off and sent their documents to the attorney for Sturgis North, Gerhard Pyper.

My lawyer was not going to send out my counter offer to settle until such time as all of the other suits had gone through court and were over.

We have been waiting for those orders to be signed for about 6 weeks now, a very long time for documents to take in being processed.

Well, today, I got an email from my attorney stating that the BC Law Society had contacted him to let him know that they had assigned a custodian to take over and wind down the law firm Pyper Law Group.
Gerhard Pyper is the lawyer of record for Ray Sasseville and Sturgis North.

My lawyer went on to express that the only reasons that a custodian would be assigned to a law firm was in the event of death, infirmity, suspension or disbarment. The Law Society is not allowed to tell you why a custodian is assigned.

So, I did some investigating and I found out that there were no obituary notices, and since there is was nothing in the news about this attorney anywhere, I went to the BC Law Courts web site and low and behold, Gerhard Pyper has been suspended.  (See the documents on the left)
According to the documents the lawyer was suspended pursuant to
Rule 3-7.1 of the Law Society Rules. But that didn't mean much to me and so I went and read up on that:

Rule 3-7.1 is

EXTRAORDINARY ACTION TO PROTECT PUBLIC

3-7.1 (1) An order may be made under this Rule with respect to a lawyer or articled student who is

(a) the subject of an investigation or intended investigation under Rule 3-5, and

(b) not the subject of a citation in connection with the matter under investigation or intended to be under investigation.

(2) If they are satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that extraordinary action is necessary to protect the public, 3 or more Benchers may


(a) [rescinded]

(b) impose conditions or limitations on the practice of a lawyer or on the enrolment of an articled student, or

(c) suspend a lawyer or the enrolment of an articled student.

(3) to (13) [rescinded]

(14) An order made under this Rule or varied under Rule 3-7.3 [Procedure] is effective until the first of


(a) final disposition of any citation authorized under Part 4 arising from the investigation, or

(b) rescission, variation or further variation under Rule 3-7.3.

I guess on Monday I will be chatting with my lawyer to see how much more this complicates things and how much more expense I will have to face over this suit because of this situation.

For those of you lucky enough to be riding this weekend, please stay safe, enjoy yourself, and remember, the charity you are riding for needs you - rain or shine....

I am hoping to be healed up enough by next week (June 21-22) that I can be on the be on the bike attending the GP Toys for Tots ride to Peace River.

There is also a bike blessing in town on the 21st being hosted by the Trench Wenches MC - one way or the other next weekend will be my first official ride since the crash...

If you want to find out what events are going on in your province of this magnificent land of ours, visit www.motorcycleeventscanada.com

Ride like everyone around you is blind and cannot see you and please consider dressing for the slide and not the ride...

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Draggin' Jeans, are they worth it? Do they Work?

I have been wearing Draggin' Jeans for 3 years now and I love them!
They do EXACTLY what they are supposed to and look good doing it!

I own both the Classic and the Drayko Drift styles.

The Drayko Drift is a very modern and trendy style of jean, made of hand distressed denim and while the Kevlar protection zones in them work the same as they do in their other cuts, the acid washed fabric does not stand up to the miles of riding I do.

They are a great jean, they look and fit good, and they will protect your hide, but be forewarned that these jeans are more suited to the rider who goes for short putts or Sunday afternoon rides.
They are not meant to be worn day after day on a 33,000 KM trip, that's for sure.

I call them my dress jeans!  
They still protect my hide but they are not work horse that the classic cut is!

I am wearing my K-Shirt and Drayko Twist Draggin' Jeans in this photo
I was with Jim Hapgood of 2CAV Beaumont-Hamel Unit in St. John's NL

I had gotten two new pairs of the Drayko Drift before I left on my Conga last year, one a size 14 and one a size 12 just before I left on the Conga last year.  I also bought a K - Shirt, a Kvelar riding shirt.

The jeans I wore the most were the size 14's, I torture tested those babies, I let them get wet, I rode 12 and 14 hours a day in them and I washed them in cold water frequently, using a dryer to lightly tumble dry them every chance I got.

Torn after I brutalized them

The jeans lasted better than I thought they would, the arse didn't fall out of them until I got to Cow Head Newfoundland where they split on me - inside the inner thigh, in a distress crease.

The good news is that when I contacted Draggin' Jeans about my situation, they replaced them with a pair of the Classic jeans which are not distressed and are more conducive to long distance riding.

Now the Classic jean is something I am far more familiar with as I have had a pair of them for three years and those babies are TOUGH and durable.

My first pair of classic jeans are still going strong and the new ones are the ones I was wearing when I had my upset in gravel at 30-35 KPH on May 24th, 2014.

The jeans not only did their job, but they held up better than my new leather jacket or my riding gloves did, in fact, there is ZERO evidence of the skidding in the gravel that I did. The jeans don't have a mark on them.

They dissipated the heat as promised in their literature, and I had ZERO abrasion!

When they say these jeans will give you 4.4 seconds skid time and then some they mean it and they have earned CE rating (CE stands for European Conformity’ the universally recognized symbol of product quality and durability) and they are the only Kevlar riding jean to do so from my understanding.

The reason I love Draggin Jeans is they allow me to stay cool and comfortable and yet protected.
You can also add knee armour to them if you want.

I do however have one small problem with the jeans...
I am a middle aged woman whose weight seems to go up and down like a yoyo these days, not like when I was in my 20's and 30's and could devour everything I wanted and never gain an ounce.

My first pair of Draggin' Jeans were size 12 classics and when I lost some weight I ended up having them taken in at the inseam and the waist to get a better fit and that cost me $70 because the seamstress had a hard time sewing them up.

My new classics are also size 12 and the fit me very well until I started doing Yoga again and now they are too big in the waist - I wear a belt with them!

They are an expensive investment and having them in a couple of sizes makes the investment a little bit steeper, but it's an investment I am happy to make. I can wear just the jeans and KNOW with confidence that my hide is safe and get off the bike and not have to un-leather, I can wear long johns underneath them in cold weather and still be warm or I can wear them with my chaps and know that my arse is protected.

They are stylish, comfortable but most of all they really do what they say they will.

DRAGGIN' JEANS SAVE YOUR HIDE!

The K-shirt is another investment that I made and I am glad I did. The K-shirt comes with armour for your shoulders and you can purchase additional armour for your elbows and back.
It also has double Kevlar across the shoulders, the forearms and the elbows.  While I have never had to put the shirt to the test, it is something I wear almost every day of the riding season, especially on hot days where I don't want to wear a jacket of any kind.
To be completely outfitted from shoulder to ankle in Draggin' Jean's products will cost you:
$229 - $349 depending on the style of jean you choose
$219 for a K-Shirt
$35 for K-Gloves
$35 for K-Sox
So for $550 give or take you can have some of the BEST riding gear out there and still by stylin'!

My next investment from Draggin' Jeans will be some K-Sox and some K-Gloves, I am also contemplating the ladies riding jacket - they start at $260 and go up to $329.

Their men's line runs similar pricing.

This company's products are products I believe in and wouldn't want to be without.
I LOVE my Draggin' Jeans and K-Shirt and I am sure that if you tried them, you'd enjoy them as well.

They breath well, look good and do the job they are meant for.
What else can you ask from a product?

You can order retail direct from the company web site and their customer service is AWESOME or you can purchase locally from various retailers throughout Canada by using their store locator.

I don't often give a product 5 gas tanks out of 5 but Draggin' Jeans has proven to me that they deserve the 5 tank rating and that there IS truth in advertising!

If you are blessed enough to be riding today, please ride like everyone around you is blind and cannot see you and PLEASE consider dressing for the slide, and not the ride...

Belt Drive Betty,
Editor & Rider

A tragic and joyful Saturday for motorcyclists

There are reports in the news feed of three fatalities and two injuries so far this weekend.

In Ontario, one rider is dead after a crash on the 400 and 2 are dead following a crash on the 17.

In Nova Scotia a rider is in hospital following a crash on Herring Cove Road.

The Heroes Highway Ride was a resounding success in spite of a crash that saw one rider injured.

My heart breaks every time I read of a fellow rider dying or being injured.

The weekend so far has been filled with some heartwarming stories too...

In the Philippines, riders set THREE world records!

In Estonia, the largest gathering of riders in Europe is underway.

In Kitchener Ontario, the Ride for Dad raised $130,000 and 743 motorcyclists took part!

There are so many motorcycle events taking place today and I am asking everyone who rides in a group ride to please, keep a safe distance between you and the rider ahead of you, be hyper vigilant and aware.

I leave you with a few funnies shared with me by friends on Facebook and via email:

Have a fabulous Sunday and please ride like everyone around you is blind and cannot see you and consider dressing for the slide and not the ride.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider