Feeling the winter time blues...

The first attempt at winter this year has hit Grande Prairie AB - that dreaded white crap - snow hit mid day yesterday - not much, but enough to remind me that my life line to sanity is about to be cut off for a few months.

I have struggled every year for the past 35+ years to find a way to deal with Parked Motorcycle Syndrome. The very thought of not having my ride at my disposal when my soul needs some clearing, when I need to find my joy and bliss - well - it hurts. It's a physical, mental and soul wrenching hurt.

What do you do to overcome that empty feeling?

I would love some suggestions - I get PMS so bad that I will sit on my war pony - shades on, feet on the highway pegs, leaning back - reliving the season, it helps, but it just misses the mark in making me feel that rapturous pleasure that riding brings.

How do you cope with winter and the separation from your ride that it brings ?

For those of you who are members of our web site, www.beltdrivebetty.com today is newspaper day.

I hope you enjoy the stories from the riding community on Remembrance Day and I hope you will join the rest of the world as we pause tomorrow to give thanks and Remembrance to those who have paid for our freedoms. 11-11-11 - no matter where you are, what you are doing - please, stop for 1 minute and REMEMBER.

Until Monday
Please - stay safe out there and Remember to Remember

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Motorcycle Training & Mentoring Program saves lives

Randolph Air Force Base in Texas has reached a mile stone of safety when it comes to their troops who ride.

The base has gone 769 days with out a motorcycle fatality.

Begin Quote: "Teamwork made this happen," said Colonel Creig Rice, AETC Safety director, "Commanders set the tone, our safety offices provided training and education, our motorcycle mentorship clubs aided our inexperienced riders, and our motorcyclists exercised sound risk management. As long as leaders stay involved and individuals continue to use sound risk management, we can continue this positive trend." End Quote

In the past, the Air Force has sadly had a lot of crashes where their riders/service members have died and a push was made to increase the training and it has paid off. According to the Colonel, mentoring is a big part of the safety training.

Begin Quote: "Mentorship is a great way to ensure this streak continues," Bailey said. "Riders should talk to other riders about the importance of making good decisions and the consequences of using bad judgment. We have a great wealth of experience out there; we need to take advantage of it."End Quote

I am not sure about the rest of you, but this is something I have spoken of in the past, there are some people who are open to learning and others who are not and in the civilian world - we have a lot of riders who take unnecessary risks. We can choose to be proactive and talk to our fellow riders, talk to them about the risks they take and how it affects the others around them. And for those who are not open to hearing those suggestions we can walk away asking them to never ride with us again or shunning them in some other way - not giving them the attention they seek.

Look at what took place in Wichita Kansas on the weekend where there were several crashes at their toy run - some caused by alcohol and a lot caused by inexperience. Some 3,000 riders participated in the Toy Run and police are calling for changes after everything that took place.

Begin Quote:
The event attracts a large number of inexperienced riders, Schroeder said, who have not learned the safe way to ride in a procession. The result is gaps opening up, which leads to the “accordion effect” which sets the stage for accidents.

“Riders participating in any kind of group run need to be trained in how to keep proper spacing,” Schroeder said. “Inexperience leads to a lot of accidents.”

Alcohol consumption prior to the ride is also a major concern, he said, so measures to report and withdraw violators should be created or strengthened.

“Consumption of alcohol has no place in that event,” Schroeder said. “They put themselves in danger, and put people around them in danger.” End Quote

I personally feel that motorcycle training should be mandatory, not so much to protect the rider from himself but to protect other riders. I am not generally an advocate for the government sticking their noses in our lives but at the end of the day, I feel that if riders were trained properly from the beginning, there would be far less crashes and far fewer innocent people would be affected.

There are enough other challenges that face the rider when it comes to safety - every rider knows that however, the crashes that are caused by we riders either through inexperience, unwise choices and or a show off mentality could be greatly reduced by proper training.

There will always be selfish people, people who think they have the right to do wheelies going down the street or highway and making other unsafe and unwise manoeuvres, but if we increased the number of people who were adequately trained, we could see a big reduction in crashes.

I also feel that driver education should be mandatory. People in cages need to be trained to watch for bicycles and motorcycles, to stay off their phones and leave other distractions out of the equation.

One thing I think needs to happen when it comes to driver training...every driver should be taken out in a big chunk of asphalt with obstacles, given a phone and told to text through the obstacle course - maybe if they saw how bad their driving became - how many people and other obstacles they killed/hit etc - they would learn to put the damned things away...

What say you?

There is a TON of news in the feeds today over at www.beltdrivebetty.com where we sift through the news so you don't have to, hope you'll take a moment or two to check it out and see what might affect you in your world.

Here are a couple of funnies from around the net that I would like to share with you - cause we all need a giggle to start the day with:

Have a safe and happy HUMP day.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Harley-Davidson wants you to tell them how to advertise

Harley has decided to enlist the help of it's fans to grow it's business. They call it crowd sourcing -

Begin Quote: Fan Machine allows Harley-Davidson's Facebook community to review an advertising brief, submit ideas and vote on ideas from other community members. After selecting and rewarding the winners, Harley-Davidson will work with existing marketing partners to bring the best creative ideas to life. Harley-Davidson has crowdsourced ideas like this for a year, but not with the massive scale of Facebook. End Quote

How do you feel about that folks? Having a major company use you to direct their advertising and make millions doing it?

Do you feel used? Do you feel empowered - how does H-D using you for their marketing ideas make you feel? Is it a good thing? A Bad thing...I'd love to know.

Thought I would share a few of my favourite funny's from the Internet with you today - everyone needs a good giggle to get the day going!

Check out all of the day's news at www.beltdrivebetty.com where we sift through the news so you don't have to.

Have a FANTASTIC Tuesday everyone

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Supporting Our Troops Means Supporting our Veterans

There is a tragic article in the news feeds this morning regarding the plight of many of our modern era veterans. Homelessness, usually brought about by alcohol and drug addiction has attacked many veterans.

There has been a ground swell of veterans supporting veterans like the Veterans Emergency Transition Services Network in Halifax

York University's Stephen Gaetz, director of the Canadian Homelessness Research Network says that "It's absolutely wonderful that the vets are looking after their own. But at the end of the day, we need a different way of dealing with homelessness that would ensure that the second you touch the sector, all of a sudden you're plugged in to the services and supports you need in a seamless way,"

Michael Blais of the Canadian Veterans Advocacy speaks out on the cuts to Veterans Affairs Canada's budget:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/canews-22424922/veterans-protest-cutbacks-27170646.html

He explains the cuts to veterans pensions and what the fall out is and will be.

In a Montreal Gazette article on this topic, the Legion has decided to take on a more forceful role as a veteran's advocacy group.

The article explains that the Legion had decided to support the New Veteran's Charter which has had the effect of modern veterans looking at the Legion as an ally of the government instead of being and advocate for their issues.

Being Quote:
In theory, at least, the Legion — Canada’s largest veterans’ organization — has the muscle to have an impact. With more than 340,000 members, “you have a bit of a voice,” White acknowledges. “And we want to use that voice to better the veterans.”

The problem is many modern veterans don’t consider the Legion an effective advocate, says Mike Blais, founder and president of Canadian Veterans Advocacy, which organized Saturday’s protests by veterans on Parliament Hill and across the country. The goal of the year-old group is to improve the quality of life of Canadian veterans.

“There’s a perception out there that the Legion’s not for the modern veteran, that it traditionally focused on World War Two and Korea,” says Blais.

Much of the disillusionment stems from Legion’s qualified support for the New Veterans Charter, implemented in 2006 by Paul Martin’s Liberals.

The charter is deeply unpopular with many modern veterans, who rail against its shift to lump-sum payments for injuries instead of the tax-free disability pensions older veterans receive.

“There’s no debate on whether the New Veterans Charter is better than the Pension Act, because it’s not,” Blais says firmly.

The Legion was one of a number of stakeholders that advised the government before the New Veterans Charter was adopted. And since then, it has served on an advisory group. For some, that makes it an ally of government, not an advocate.

White says the Legion knew the charter was imperfect, but gave it qualified approval because the government promised it would be a “living charter,” with ongoing updates. Instead, there were no changes until this past spring, when Parliament finally made a few improvements. “It was like it was cast in concrete,” White complains.
End Quote

As the debates back and forth continue, our modern veterans are returning home, many will be reduced to a lump sum payment for their injuries instead of a pension that will assist them as they advance in years.

This Remembrance Day we need to remember that ALL veterans deserve our support, our thanks and our HELP. Not just lip service - we need to make their plight a NATIONAL issue and we the Canadian Taxpayers need to get behind our troops who will be the next vets affected by this New Veterans Charter.

These people left their homes, their families and put their lives on hold for this country with many of them putting their lives on the line. As Canadian citizens who enjoy a relative freedom and peace it behooves us to get behind our troops and our veterans now - otherwise, when the next conflict arises we may not have very many men and women signing up for the role of protector. Our country and it's freedoms could be put at risk. If we are willing to ask them to fight for us in conflicts around the world, then shouldn't we be fighting to protect our freedoms and rights here? Should we not be advocating for our veterans to receive a decent pension?

In an era where the Harper government wants to get tough on crime by building new prisons etc, should we not be demanding that before we build more prisons - we need to be building safety nets for our vets, not reducing the Veteran's Affair Budget?

Perhaps our politicians should be asked to give up their life long pensions - no ask isn't the right word - we the Canadian Tax Payer should be demanding that the monies needed to secure a future for our veterans come out of the pockets of the politicians. While many a politician sees what they do as being of service to our country, I feel that what they are doing in many cases is lining their own pockets, their own futures on the back of every Canadian and more importantly on the back of every veteran. Why do I say that? Well - according to Discovery Finance from May 7, 2011- we taxpayers are on the hook for 4.9 million dollars in pension payments and 4.3 million dollars in severance for the 113 MP's who were defeated or didn't run in the last election. And yet the VAC budget is being cut by $226 million dollars.

Where does any of this make sense?

According to an article in the Star dated May 4, 2011, Begin Quote: MPs qualify for a pension if they keep their seat for six years. They are also entitled to a lump-sum severance payment equivalent to 50 per cent of annual salary if they leave office before hitting age 55. Even those who don’t last six years in office are still eligible for the severance payment.

Forty-three Bloc MPs were shown the door Monday by Quebec voters, but they will get a good chunk of change to blunt the blow to their political egos. For those who have not been around for six years and do not qualify for a pension, they will get $78,866 just for showing up.

In the end, Bloc MPs who qualified for lifetime pensions will cost Canadian taxpayers roughly $38 million. End Quote

You serve six years in parliament, eat well, are treated well and you get a life time pension - you serve in Afghanistan, put your ass on the line every day, are injured and disabled and you get a lump sum pay out that will average $140K?

In my humble opinion, while it is wonderful to see many Canadians get out and support the repatriation services to say thanks, to support causes like Red Friday and others of a similar vein- we need to protect these people's pensions. If they are physically injured, if they come home with PTSD, they deserve to be looked after. Period - end of story...

This Remembrance day I want you to look around the cenotaph, I want you to see the men and women of this, the modern era, who have served this country in a different light - imagine Canada without them - what kind of country, what kind of world would we have if it weren't for them? Look at them and ask yourself - are they not worthy of being taken care of? After all, they took care of us.

I welcome your comments and opinions on this topic - talk to me - on Facebook, Twitter, here in this blog or in our forums - let's have some honest dialogue about our veterans and what their service to this country means.

There are many other stories in the news feeds today that may be of interest to you as a rider, take a few minutes to visit www.beltdrivebetty.com where we sift through the news so you don't have to.

Have a fantastic Monday,

Belt Drive Betty,
Editor & Rider

The Dangers of Races like the Hoka Hey

In the news today is an article about a woman from Seattle that participated in the 2010 Hoka Hey Challenge.

She was on the last leg of the Hoka Hey - riding in Alaska, when she fell asleep and crashed into 2 bicyclists. The bicyclists were triathletes who were training and their bicycles were worth about $4,500 each.

Vik Livingston, 54, will spend 16 months in jail for 2 misdemeanour counts of assault and was ordered to pay restitution of $9,000 for the bicycles.

During that same race another motorcyclist, Charles C. Lynn, 44, of Florida, died in Wyoming when he apparently fell asleep and crashed.

Racing for $500,000 in cash cost two bikers their lives. Kenneth J. Greene, 63, of Ocala, Fla., was killed at 107 Mile of the Glenn Highway between Palmer and Glennallen when he drove onto the shoulder, lost control and crashed. (It is believed he was taking a short cut to reach Homer Alaska as where he crashed was not part of the official race route)

800 people started out on the 2010 race with somewhere around 200 riders finishing it.

The term Hoka Hey means "It's a good day to die" - it was the battle call of Sioux warrior - Crazy Horse and was the theme of the 2010 race.

On their web site for 2011, however, the claim now is "It's a good day to Ride".

Participants of the race must sleep outside, no hotels or motels or any inside accommodations, they must follow the route, are limited to a 6.2 gallon fuel tank, the bike has to be a Harley, (Can be a custom but certain restrictions apply), the bike must have a working odometer...the restrictions are many.

On top of the $1,000 entry fee every rider pays their own expenses: fuel and meals.

For riders who are not accustomed to long distance riding, this can be a deadly race. Between dehydration, fatigue and the inherent dangers of competition, I wonder, is $500,000 really worth the risk. Many say yes.

Harley-Davidson sponsored the 2011 race which had riders traverse 14,000 miles at much personal expense. The cost out of pocket  to participate was somewhere around $5,000 - $10,000 depending on the individual rider's situation - not including the fee and riders did crash and were injured.

Bill Alviles from Las Vegas tells his story of participating in the 2011 challenge on the Las Vegas H-D blog (http://lasvegasharley.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/hoka-hey-challenge-rider-bill-aviles-in-his-own-words/)

This year the winner did not get the full $500K but shared it with the top 11 contenders - No where on their blog or web site could I find the prize pay outs. (The rules stated the prize would be split between the top 25, but only 11 crossed the finish line in the prescribed time)

Next year's Hoka Hey is reportedly going to be only 7,000 miles - the reasoning behind that is to attract more participants and will take about 12 days as opposed to the 40+ this years race took to accomplish.

Do you have what it takes? Is long distance riding your thing? I for one would not participate in a race like this, I like long distance riding but seriously feel that this type of race is too dangerous - but that is one woman's opinion.

In other news:
Some bikers in Los Angeles get involved with the Wednesday's Child Project

A motorcycle auction in Los Angeles is attracting bikes from some big names including: Elvis, Madonna,  The Fonz, k.d Lang, God Smack & Guns & Roses

A company in Australia is making motorcycles that run on compressed air

There is a ton of news in the feeds today over at www.beltdrivebetty.com where we sift through the news so you don't have to.

Until Monday, have a safe and wonderful weekend...

Belt Drive betty
Editor & Rider

The Boob Tour and other interesting ways bikers support various causes

Biker Comedian James Uloth is coming to Grande Prairie and I can't wait to go the the Stonebridge Hotel to finally meet the man. The Boob Tour is stand up comedy at it's best featuring some talented comedians and they have been affected by Breast Cancer in one way or another. James, at 16, watched his best friends mom die of breast cancer and has wanted to do something positive to impact the disease ever since.

The Boob Tour is the result of that effort.
Begin Quote: To date, the tour has raised close to $150,000 and now that they're entering their second year, Uloth says that word is spreading. Their recent return to Edson and Hinton saw a huge jump in audience attendance.

"People really catch onto the idea and when they see the quality of what we're doing, people really get behind it," he says.

At this weekend's event, the audience can expect the night to be like any other evening of comedy.

"That's one of the most common questions we get. It's pretty much a regular act, we all touch on cancer a little bit. It's not 90 minutes of boob jokes like some people are afraid of. It's meant to be a laughing affair that's uplifting." End Quote

Besides James,  Lars Callieou, Alysia Wood and Allison Lane, who is a breast cancer survivor will be on stage to fight Breast Cancer with humour...The Boob Tour plays at the Stonebridge Hotel here in Grande Prairie AB on Saturday. Tickets are $30 and can purchased through the Canadian Cancer Society by calling 780-538-8205.

In Smithers BC, the HOG Chapter is holding a bowling night right after their meeting to discuss the MDA Dance in March. For those of you interested only one member on your team needs to be a HOG member and the HOG Chapter is picking up the tab...

In Ontario, there is a new CAV Unit called Sicily, and is named for the 1943 Battle of Sicily when the Allies launched one of the largest combined operations of WWII for control of Sicily.
Begin Quote: There are three regions: 1st CAV which covers central Canada (Manitoba to Quebec), 2nd CAV in Eastern Canada and 3rd Cav in Western and Northern Canada. Members gather in units named in tribute of Canadian Battle Honours.

The local unit is in 1st CAV and is named for the 1943 Battle of Sicily when the Allies launched one of the largest combined operations of WWII for control of Sicily.

“Our mission statement is to ‘ride and have fun, while helping others’,” said Betts whose nickname is Lurch and who was an Administrative Clerk in the military for 14 years.

CAV does have several charities of choice, such as “Ride for Dad”, an annual ride for prostrate cancer and ICROSS, International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering of the world’s poor. It also supports a number of military organizations including Soldier On and the MFRC (Military Family Resource Centre). End Quote

In Airdrie AB, the Kosovo Unit of CAV honoured area soldiers who gave up their lives for this country in a moving ceremony and ride.  Begin Quote: The Remembrance Day ride and march began at the Legion and eventually wound its way up Veterans Boulevard where Legion members erected white crosses along the road in memory of the fallen soldiers.

Each cross was starkly marked with the soldier's name, age, rank and date of death ­— a symbol of quiet heroism that was not lost on anyone attending the event.

"I saw one cross that truly moved me," noted Kosovo Unit Secretary/Treasurer Norman Macrae. "It was a boy from the Royal Canadian Navy who was killed in 1916 at the age of 14.

"These crosses represent real people with real names and real families. End Quote

Information on The CAV can be found at www.thecav.ca

There is a ton of interesting news in the feeds today and I hope you will check it out at www.beltdrivebetty.com where we sift through the news so you don't have to.

I hope that those of you who subscribe to our National Newspaper - The Busted Knuckle Chronicles, are enjoying the paper, it has some wonderful stories in it!

If you are fortunate enough to be riding today, Please - ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and if your baby is put away for the winter, hope you have changed the oils...you gotta protect her yah know!

Have a fabulous Thursday,
Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Canadian Motorcycle Events in 2012

Well folks, looks like the 2012 riding season is going to offer we riders here in Canada and those visiting Canada some wonderful opportunities!

The Great Canadian Bike Rally is all set to take place July 12-15, 2012 and they already have some great Canadian talent lined up to entertain you! Joani Bye and the Homewreckers, Steve Kozak and the West Coast Allstars, the ultimate party band: Brickhouse as well as March Hare & Shotgun Messengers.

Mike Fairchild says the street mall in Merritt BC is already booking vendors with many of last years vendors returning and new ones coming on board! I am looking forward to attending this event and being a sponsor again this year!

The organizers of Ride to Live in Vancouver and Vancouver Island are getting all geared up for their 2012 ride.  Peter Groenland and his wife Colleen are on a mission to ensure men get their prostrate checked! You can visit them in their booth at the Vancouver Motorcycle Show January 19- 22, 2012

It's going to be a wonderful season - I can just tell, as many motorcycle events are starting to come in all ready.

You can download our FREE Motorcycle Events app for your smart phone be it an IPhone, an Android or any one of 2,000 phones! Here is the address to download the free app: http://m.magmito.com/105563/mctravel

And here is the QR Code for those who just want to scan it and download: 

And for you event coordinators - when you enter your event into our calendars - once it is approved and goes live, it will automatically be available on the App - not only that but your event will also be shareable to 86 social networks including Facebook & Twitter plus by email!  This is the most effective way to get your event information out there and BEST OF ALL - IT's FREE to all of the riding clubs and charities and our Rider Friendly Business Partners!  

Last year we had almost 1,300 Canadian Motorcycle events in the calendars! They are searchable by province and type of event and will help you plan your 2012 riding season!

Also - back by popular demand this year will be our printed motorcycle calendars in the Busted Knuckle Chronicles. With the help of our layout artist Darryl, we will be once again producing monthly event listings in the paper!

I am busy getting the 2012 Rider Friendly Phone Book ready for it's first printing - we will be distributing the books at the Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver Motorcycle Shows in January, Moncton in February and Toronto in March!  The books are free and subscriptions to the Busted Knuckle will be on sale for $15 for 48 issues or FREE when you join the Canadian Riders Support Network!

Cookie, our calendar gal will be approving events and emailing all of you riding clubs to ensure your 2012 information is accurate...so watch for those emails coming over the next few weeks!

Coffee Nights, Ride Nights, Group and club meetings, Swap Meets, Rallies, Poker Runs and more are all featured in our calendars and the APP! So what are you waiting for - get your 2012 events added!  

We are also updating all of the Canadian Riders Information and the Riding Club Web Sites - if your club or group is not represented - send us the information - we can not promote what we don't have! We are overhauling the appearance and delivery of the Riding Club Web Site Links - so watch for those changes to start coming soon - in fact the whole web site is being overhauled and you are going to see some fabulous changes!

Ali and I look forward to your feedback on the changes you'd like to see on the site and the changes we implement - we have been listening and are looking forward to taming the dragon this web site has become! With over 200K pages of information, jokes etc we need to streamline it and that's the mission over the next few months!

We have one other exciting tid-bit for you!  Our 2012 Beat the PMS Blues On Line Show n Shine has already got a fabulous line up of prizes including a campout for 12 in Haida Gawii, a Drift Camera, detailing of your bike, appraisals and soooo much more so start sifting through your photos of that special a baby of yours - we start accepting photos for the competition on January 1, 2012!!!! Voting will begin on Feb 1 ending March 15th with the winners being announced shortly after the 15th of March!

Last year we had over 160 bikes entered - can you help us reach our target of 200 bikes?  I hope so!

The Beat the PMS Blues is a FREE EVENT for members of www.beltdrivebetty.com and remember, membership on our web site is FREE!

In Other News:

How would you like to own the first Polaris produced Indian?

Bob Marley's boys went on a motorcycle expedition to Africa and you can catch it on TV.

New Hampshire is not forgetting motorcycle noise even if our bikes are slowly being put to bed.

East Coast Biker Magazine On Line is available for your reading pleasure

In Michigan, the Helmet Law repeal is one step closer to reality

In New Zealand, the Hells Angels are in the news for - of all things, poaching

There is a TON of news in the feeds today over on www.beltdrivebetty.com where we sift through the news so you don't have to!

That's it for me today - have a fabulous Hump Day and if you are lucky enough to still be riding, please remember to ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you!

Belt Drive Betty

Editor & Rider