My Canada, changed forever

Yesterday my Canada changed forever, but it is far from the first time that Canada has changed due to homegrown terrorism.

During a discussion with friends over the shooting of an unarmed Canadian soldier, Cpl. Cirillo, at the tomb of the unknown soldier near Parliament Hill and the running down of a Canadian soldier in Quebec, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, we talked about the FLQ crisis and how that homegrown terrorism had changed Canada.

From 1963 to 1970, the Front de libération du Québec, the FLQ, terrorized English speaking Canadians in Quebec through a series of bombings, kidnappings and murder.

They were our first true homegrown terrorists and how the Liberal government of the day under Peirre Elliot Trudeau handled the FLQ crisis was to invoke the War Measures Act (today that act is called the Emergency Preparedness Act) at the request of then premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa and Mayor of Montreal Jean Drapeau.

From October 16th 1970 until January 5th 1971, much of the province of Quebec and the city of Ottawa were in lock down, virtually a war zone.

The removing of civil liberties that transpired during those days saw many people arrested wrongfully and police officials were heavily criticized for their abuse of authority and detaining people without cause.

The FLQ crisis is an important lesson in home grown terrorism, not just how it starts but how government deals with it.

There will always be people who want to FORCE their viewpoints, their religious or political ideals on others. There will always be people looking for the vulnerable, the angry; to convert and further their causes, to do their dirty work.

Radical Islam, while a huge problem around the world, is but an outlet that teaches us how broken our systems are world wide. The disenfranchised of our country and others, those looking for a place to belong are finding the outlet for their anger, frustration and hopelessness in radical groups like IS, the Islamic State.

It is the same scenario that plays out with street gangs and who and how they recruit.

Islam is, in my view, far more than a religion. It is a political, societal, economic, justice, crime and punishment system. In other words, a religious government.

Islam is very tribal with various sects, none of whom can agree on Islam's principles, history or ideology. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam)

Sunni - The largest denomination in Islam is Sunni Islam, which makes up 75%–90% of all Muslims.[9] Sunni Muslims also go by the name Ahl as-Sunnah which means "people of the tradition [of Muhammad]" 

Shi'ite - Shia Islam has several branches, the largest of which is the Twelvers, followed by Zaidis and Ismailis. 

Sufis - Sufism (Tasawwuf) is a mystical-ascetic approach to Islam that seeks to find divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. 

Salafi - Self-described Salafis believe they are Sunni Muslims, while traditionalist Sunni critics claim that Salafis are the same as Wahhabis 

Ahmadiyya is an Islamic reform movement (with Sunni roots) founded by Mirza Ghulam 

Ahmad[229] that began in India in 1889 and is practiced by over ten million[230] Muslims around the world. 

Non-denominational Muslims are Muslims who do not restrict their religious affiliation to any particular branch of Islam. 

The Ibadi is a sect that dates back to the early days of Islam and is a branch of kharijite. Unlike most Kharijite groups, Ibadism does not regard sinful Muslims as unbelievers. 

Mahdavia is an Islamic sect that believes in a 15th-century mahdi, Muhammad Jaunpuri 

The Quranists are Muslims who generally reject the Hadith. 

Yazdânism is seen as a blend of local Kurdish beliefs and Islamic Sufi doctrine introduced to
Kurdistan by Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir in the 12th century. 

There are also black Muslim movements such as the Nation of Islam (NOI), Five-Percent Nation and Moorish scientists.

The sad truth is that these people have been fighting and disagreeing, creating divisiveness and killing each other since the dawn of time. Peace is not something these people are familiar with, nor are they familiar with the concepts of acceptance, or tolerance.

The hatred, misunderstandings, differences in opinions and values in countries where Islam is part of the fabric are too great of a chasm to bridge. They have gone on too long and run too deep. Generation after generation of the peoples in these countries have only known hatred and fighting.

Like others who are disenfranchised, who are vulnerable to radical ideas, the two Canadians who reportedly converted to Islam and then carried out crimes against our country are no different in their weakness and illness than the young man who killed the mounties in Moncton or the young man who killed fellow students in Calgary.

They are no different than the young men who created the FLQ Crisis.

Sadly, there are people who are born in this country who feel marginalized, left out, forgotten and hopeless. Mental illness is one of the biggest challenges this country, this world faces.

We need to get far better at helping the mentally ill and the disconnected youth of this country.

These people are vulnerable to radical ideologies.

As a nation, we cannot falter in protecting our citizens and the rights and freedoms we hold dear as Canadians.

I believe it is time to get smart about terrorism, world wide and home grown.

If a Canadian goes to fight with IS or any other terror group, they should not be allowed to return to Canada to spread their hate. They should loose their Canadian Citizenship.

Our government should never allow Sharia Law in any form, no matter how watered down, to be adopted or accepted by any court in our country as it goes against everything we as a nation have evolved to. The treatment of women under Sharia Law in particular, should never be written into the fabric of our national laws or our constitution.

It is divisive and barbaric and it makes the advances of women and their rights as humans in this country null and void unless the protections for the rights of women are available to all women in this country. If one wants to follow Sharia Law, they should live in countries that accept that law.

If they want to live in Canada, they need to follow the laws that govern Canada and Canadian citizens.

My heart breaks for the families and friends of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent killed in Quebec and Cpl. Cirillo killed in Ottawa. My heart goes out to our military and their families.

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

The changes Canada will experience this time because of the acts of two Canadians will hopefully make Canada a stronger and better country, at least that is my prayer.

That's how I feel today, what say you?

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Love em or hate em, I HAVE HUGE RESPECT for some 1%ers today! Updated

In spite of being at logger heads with some of the 1% clubs over the Iron Order MC and their right to exist, and the fact that the Canadian Members conduct themselves differently - apparently, from some of their US counterparts....

Ttoday, I can unequivocally state that I am proud of and filled with respect for some 1% members today.

There are two 1% Motorcycle Clubs who have members that have joined the fight against the Islamic State; one MC as fighters and the other as humanitarians.

Members of the Median Empire MC from Cologne Germany as humanitarians have gone to Syria to provide aid and members of No Surrender MC in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Breda in Holland have gone to Turkey to take up arms against ISIS according to two different news reports linked in the respective clubs named above.
As a female, the spread of radical Islam and the invocation of Sharia Law in many places and the brutality exhibited by ISIS, is nothing short of terrifying.

When I think that my rights as a female infidel to exist, much less speak my mind would not only be gone, but that I would be annihilated; I would be dead because of who I am and the fact that I reject radical Islam (followers of Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim AKA Muhammad).

Our governments in Canada, the US and Great Britain need to stop the spread of Sharia Law in our own countries. They need to take a stand for our rights and freedoms instead of selling our identities as countries, nations down the tubes.

They need to stand up for the rights of women of ALL religions, all political backgrounds and all nationalities, but sadly, Sharia Law is gaining toe holds in the legal and political systems of these countries.

To see men who are reviled because they wear the cut of a 1% club step up and be prepared to defend the rights of infidels around the world, even mine...makes my heart swell with hope, gratitude and respect.

I do not care what truly motivated the men of these 1% motorcycle clubs to take action and join the Kurds.  It could be ego, it could be the adrenaline rush, it could be their former military service (assuming there is any), it could be heritage and familial connections - it could be simply that they also want to stop the brutality of IS.

These men are intelligent enough to know the personal risk they take and yet, they took it.

I want to thank these men for helping the Kurds, for having the stones to risk it all.

Their motivations mean nothing - their actions mean everything.

At least that's how I see it from a female's point of view.

My grandmother, Barbara Avis McColeman used to say; "There is a little bit of bad in the best of us and a little bit of good in the worst of us."  It is an understanding that I have done my best to live by.

No matter what ill or good in life they may have perpetrated as individuals or as members of an MC, their actions as men in this situation, make them heroes to me.

I pray for a day when we can all learn to share this world, our countries, cities and towns with civility and respect. When oil, politics and religion don't divide us in harsh and tyrannical ways.

Until then, I am happy to support those who lay it on the line to support and defend the rights and freedoms of those who can't support and defend themselves.

To the men of the No Surrender MC - thank you for joining the military units of the Kurds.
Thank you for laying it on the line. You deserve the same respect our troops do.

Thank you to the Median Empire MC and their humanitarian efforts in the refugee camp called Camp Arabat. The Median Empire MC has been helping Kurdish refugees in a Syrian camp with much needed food and medical supplies.  I will send $5 from every patch I sell to help buy medical supplies.

That's how I see it - what say you?

Belt Drive Betty,
Editor & Rider

Fort Saskatchewan AB Noise Lawsuit Update

I spoke with Mr. Richard Jones this morning regarding the lawsuit in Quebec that was referenced in his interview with Lindsay Morey of Sun Media last week. (http://www.fortsaskatchewanrecord.com/2014/10/09/city-sued-over-noise)

I asked him specifically about the lawsuit in Quebec he referenced in the interview above, with the quote below:

Begin Quote:
"Resident gave warning of lawsuit in February
In late February, the 99th Avenue resident stood in front of city council and said the noise situation in the Fort has become “grave” over the past 15 years.
Jones highlighted a precedent set in Quebec where the residents sued the government for $8 million over the same problem. END Quote

Since I could find no case in where a Quebec town had sued over motorcycle noise, which is what I thought Mr. Jones meant, I decided to contact him.

In fact, he was speaking of the ability of citizens to sue their city/region over noise issues when they fail to enforce the law.

The case he refers to transpired in Laurentides QC. The ruling in the lawsuit took place in 2004.

Here is a link to the decision in the lawsuit 2004 CanLII 45407 (QC/CS)   It is in French

From CBC: Ruling could hurt snowmobile tourism

Begin Quote: "In a decision that could cause ripples across Canada's winter tourism industry, a judge in Quebec has ruled that people living near a snowmobile trail in the Laurentians should be compensated because of noise levels.

Calling themselves the Coalition for the Protection of the Environment of the Petit Train du Nord Linear Park, about 600 residents took the province, Laurentians municipal government and snowmobile clubs to court when the trail was approved seven years ago.

They filed a class-action lawsuit, arguing the snowmobiles were a source of noise pollution that affected their health." End Quote

From the report by Fasken Martineau DuMoulinAttorneys:

Begin Quote: On November 30, 2004, the day before the season opened, the Superior Court of Québec ordered the Laurentides regional county municipality to bar snowmobiles from using the P’tit Train du Nord linear park between Saint-Faustin-Lac-Carré and Labelle.

This injunction is the result of a class action filed by the Coalition pour la protection de l’environnement du parc linéaire “Petit train du Nord” – the group’s representative – and two designated members, Gérard Emond and Aline Thibauld-Emond. The Coalition was also seeking damages for neighbourhood annoyances suffered by members of the group in the 1997-1998 winter season. The defendants include the Laurentides regional county municipality, the Club de motoneiges Diable et Rouge Inc., the Club de motoneige de Labelle Inc., three insurance companies and the Attorney General of Québec. End Quote

The judgement from the same report - Begin Quote: Damages

The Court awarded a $1,200 indemnity to each member living within 100 m or less of the trail between the 1997-1998 and 2003-2004 winter seasons. This first amount was to be paid by the regional county municipality. The Attorney General of Québec was then ordered to pay the same amount for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons. For their part, the snowmobile clubs were not ordered to pay any damages. End Quote
While Mr. Jones may feel the case in Quebec verifies that individuals have the right to sue government, I do believe that every case needs to move forward based on merit.

I am no lawyer, but when I look at what transpired in Quebec, and how the snowmobile trail came to be, I see no way to compare it to the case in Fort Saskatchewan, not even in regards to citizens having the right to sue a municipality. Other than noise being a bone of contention, I see no parallels here.

I am waiting for a response from the organization "One Square Inch" to see if it is true that they have offered to fund Mr. Jones lawsuit.

At the end of the day, our cities are getting noisier. The bigger our populations get, the worse it gets.

Our community, like all road user communities, has members within it's ranks that don't play well with others and those people are ruining it for everyone else. It happens within the tuner car community, the snowmobile community etc.

MOST Loud Pipes, when used respectfully, don't generally piss people off - I think we can all agree that this issue is not just about the pipes themselves but the person in charge of them and their use - the person controlling that right hand....

I truly believe that this whole issue would go away if we could just learn to share our communities better.

What say you?

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Riding Clubs & Associations - the DOWN SIDE to being identifiable

So you want to be in a riding club or motorcycle association....

Do you know the risks of being in an identifiable group like motorcycle riding club?

HOW ABOUT BEING SUED FOR BEING NOISY?

Does your riding club or association have insurance?
Can you afford a lawyer?  Will your insurance provide one?
Do you have a Defence Fund? Are you prepared for an increase in your insurance, assuming you have some.

We have well and truly become Americanized; where everyone sues everyone in order to force their point of view.

The Fort Saskatchewan Motorcycle Association has been named in a lawsuit along with the city of Fort Saskatchewan, a number of city officials, Justice Minister Jonathan Denis and the RCMP according to and article in the Fort Saskatchewan Record.

The courts will take two weeks to decide if this case will move ahead, however, whether it moves forward or not, there is a certain amount of damage already done to the FSMA over this and that is that their association's insurance premiums will most likely be increased and that will cause the group untold financial discomfort and could put their Toy Run and Cancer Run at jeopardy. In fact, this could reverberate down to every non profit and their insurance.

The dispute stems from the noise of motorcycles, and according to news articles, the man at the centre of the dispute, Richard Charles Jones who is 70 years of age, says he has been battling for 15 years over the noise generated by the FSMA's Toy Run. He's been a resident of Fort Saskatchewan Alberta for 17 years according to the referenced article. The FSMA has been around since the 1970's.

He claims: "“I’m a reasonably patient man but 15 years has just put me over the top, especially with that Toy Run parade, which is nothing but a hoax,” Jones said, adding he believes the Fort Saskatchewan Motorcycle Association misrepresents themselves and is a “clandestine” organization.

“This is a hoax for a bunch of bikers to get together and make a lot of noise. That’s all it’s ever been and it will never be anything else,” the plaintiff remarked." End Quote

I have attempted to find out which Quebec community won an 8 million dollar lawsuit that Mr. Jones references in his interview. I will be working very hard to find that come Monday as of the time of wiring I have had no success finding that information.

There is a partial solution to the motorcycle noise problem, one that would eliminate probably 70% or better of the noise issues and complaints and that is for motorcycle dealers to quit selling aftermarket pipes that are meant for off road use only and putting them on for highway use motorcycles.

If it were illegal to sell them and install them and dealers were fined - we'd resolve a lot of the issue.

Yes, there would still be the guys who would modify their exhaust on their own, but with the lack of knowledge most people have of computer controlled fuel systems etc., they would be fewer and farther between. Once their motorcycle started running like crap they'd be repairing their exhaust.

Another part of the solution, is for riders who are respectful, who don't want to be targeted or sued all the time to out those who are not considerate or respectful. That could be done a number of ways.  I'll leave it to your imagination as to how you could help keep the disrespectful in your community in line a little more.

Another thing that could be done is a signage program asking visitors and local riders to respect one's community by throttling down in residential, hospital, seniors home and school zones.  Reminders NEVER HURT.

Or we could all turn to electric motorcycles.
Then no one could bitch about us or our noise, because we wouldn't make much noise.

The bad assed image, the role playing so many who get on a motorcycle partake in; that's our problem!

The man in this lawsuit, Richard Jones, has had an offer of financial support for his court costs from the group One Square Inch of Silence, a Seattle noise-free advocate group for Washington’s Olympic National Park according to the article referenced above.  I will be making phone calls to find out if that is in fact true.

Alberta has become the centre of the fight against motorcycle noise pollution in Canada.
The eyes of noise pollution activists are going to be on this suit as it has been reported throughout the media all across North America.

This man, Richard Jones, has set a dangerous precedent and whether he is successful or not, others who follow will learn and change tactics and the try it again - have no doubt about that.

A non-profit motorcycle association, one that has been around since the 70's is facing a legal battle they cannot afford to fight and why? Because they are identifiable; visible.

The Fort Saskatchewan Motorcycle Association needs help. If for no other reason than the ensuing rise in their insurance premiums, but be aware, they won't be alone. Every riding club and  association's risk factor for being sued just went up and that will reflect in increased premiums most likely.

I want to make one thing abundantly clear to everyone who reads this - this issue of noise is NOT going to go away.

So folks, all of you who are in a social riding club, do you have insurance?
Are you prepared to fight a legal battle if need be?
Do you have a Legal Fund?

If not, you'd best get your affairs in order, because this IS going to become the norm.

I have been PREACHING for years that we needed to self police things, that we needed a riders rights organization, but as usual deaf ears heard none of those dire warnings.

Now everyone who rides with a motorcycle riding club, association etc. could find themselves being sued, even if they aren't the offenders. You are identifiable because you wear a patch, you are at risk while the person with no patch and rides in an obnoxious fashion is not so easily identified.

Well done complacent riders of motorcycles - well done. Its time to pull your heads out of the sand and quit thinking it won't affect you or that it doesn't affect you because it does.  It affects our events, our lifestyle and our freedoms.

Now we all get to pay the price for the inconsiderate few.

M.O.D.E.L. (Motorcyclists Opposed to Discriminatory Exhaust Legislation) has not gotten the support from riders it needs to get rid of the discrimination aspect of the Edmonton Motorcycle Only Noise Bylaw.

Now this situation in Fort Saskatchewan - I guess it is truly time to look at electric motorcycles and how they will allow us to stay riding and on the right side of our neighbours because yeah - we aren't smart enough collectively to do the right thing - PIPE DOWN IN URBAN AREAS and to out those who are destroying it for the rest of us.

This is going to be one expensive lawsuit to fight, and as a non profit they, the FSMA, do NOT have the funds to protect themselves not for the legal fees or the increase in insurance premiums they will undoubtably face.

Our newspaper and web site will be offering all of the support we can to them, but none of that is going to mean anything if people don't reach into their wallets.

Perhaps, just perhaps this lawsuit will be the impetus to a uniting of voices and people to form a Riders Rights Organization. One that can help defend and protect the riding community. I keep hoping, praying....

Your comments on how ridiculous or stupid this is, are not going to change the facts.
Your bitching and whining, is not going to change the facts.
Your spouting off that "Loud Pipes Save Lives" is not going to change the fact that Loud Pipes only saved lives by driving motorcycles right into the ditch: no riders, no death.

I hope that if you are riding today you will be respectful in urban areas and please ride like everyone around you is blind and cannot see you.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

My New Business Year Resolution & An Important Announcement

This past year has been one of the most difficult I have faced in my life and I am so grateful you have had the patience to stick with me through this. My business's new year started on October 1st and man I am glad to be starting with a fresh perspective on things!

After speaking with some really good business people that I know and trust, I have come to a decision regarding the lawsuit against me.

This lawsuit, which has become very personal, has hurt my business and my life in more ways than one.

My integrity as a reporter who does her job properly has been attacked.  In all the years I have been reporting I have only ever had to make three or four corrections and or apologies for getting something wrong or printing something in error.  Yes, I have made some mistakes, I am human, but I have learned so much from those mistakes.

If I've done something out of line - tough as it is to do, I have always taken it on the chin, let me know about it, let's discuss it and if I am wrong, I'll fix it. And because I hate having to apologize,
I work really, really hard at doing a good job, being as impartial and factual as I can.

My husband went through untold stress, enough that he ended up facing some challenges for a bit with his MS. THAT'S REALLY PERSONAL.

In an effort to be prepared for court there were countless of hours of putting emails and documents into spreadsheets and ensuring chronological accuracy along with cross referencing.  There are close to 1000 documents and they all had to be read, highlighted, categorized.
The hours and money spent doing that...

There was the whole being reduced to fundraising thing that humbled the crap out of me.

Then there is how this thing has affected my business, with people not paying their bills with me, some breaking contracts and some not wanting to do business with me until this turkey is off my back...there will be a few that I will never do business with again because they displayed a total lack of integrity and you know what, I am fine with firing a customer or walking away from a potential partnership.

Try to stay focused on business - that's rough when 50% of the calls and emails you take are consumed with this ridiculous lawsuit in one way or another.

The toll it has taken has been enormous.

My New Business Year Resolution? I AM NOT PLAYING THIS GAME ANYMORE!

Since the Sturgis Canada event in August, no one has been able to contact Ray or their lawyer/s.
NO ONE is responding.

I could go to the expense of forcing the case to move ahead to clear my name and get this turkey off my back, loosing my business, my sanity and everything else OR....
I can just let it be and let them make the next move, make them spend the money first.
It could end up hanging there for years, and if it does hang around, I'll deal with it when my business is better financially prepared to.

Why spend money I don't have on a lawyer, until I absolutely have to. Why sell my bike if I don't really need to just yet.

If it affects some people to the point they don't want to do business with me, then so be it.
I have a letter from my attorney that explains how there is no substance to their case and I have a ton of supporting documents to back it all up with.
I have been told I can share those documents to prospective advertisers and partners.
If after they read them they are still concerned, then there is nothing more I can do but walk away.

I am not going to worry about it any more.

Ray I am sure has bigger fish to fry than me right now.
He is facing a BC Securities Inquiry for a second time at the end of the month. There is a four day hearing scheduled.  If anything significant comes out of that I will share what I am able. His trial in Arizona moves forward in May of 2015.  Other than that, I don't want to think about this person or his event much less speak of it again.

Things are going to be tough for the next 6-8 weeks as I get ready to pay my final, for now, lawyer's bill, but there are blue skies ahead and I am heading for them, no I am AIMING for them.

I am not letting these people or that event steal one more minute of joy, happiness or gratitude out of my life.

And believe me - I am grateful for so much.

I am part of a community that has supported me, albeit I am sure you are tired of this whole ridiculous affair called a lawsuit. I know I am. I have a husband who has stood beside me, fabulous friends who let me vent and lend me strength, I AM SOOOOO Blessed.

With out your support I don't know where I would be, but I know this...
I promised to pay it forward and that is exactly what I intend to do!

We are going to get back to what we do best with a vengeance!

We are going to help promote the Canadian Riding Scene in a way that has NEVER been attempted before. Along with some fabulous sponsors and some incredible media partners we are going to be giving away over $65,000 in advertising support to 12 Canadian Communities.

The winning community will get a marketing campaign made up for them from our pool of media partners worth $35,000! They will get a sign for the entrance to their town and they will also get a trophy and the bragging rights as "Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community!"

With YOUR help, we are going to find that community and when we do, we are going to help that community promote itself to the riding community through every avenue possible.

Watch your emails, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and more because this is going to be the most interesting contest we have EVER HOSTED!

I wanted you to have as much time as we can give you to start thinking about what community you love to ride to, or about your own community and is it rider friendly?

So I thought this was a fitting time to share with you - this has been a daunting contest to put together and while not all details are finalized, the time for YOU to start planning in NOW!

What community hosts the best event? Has the best customer service, unique roads to ride...
Why do you love the community you live in?
How can you tell a story that will make others want to experience your community?

Think long and hard...

Here is an overview of the contest and how it works...

Prize Chart

1) Submit your nomination for a community; you will submit the written information on why and how the community is rider friendly. You can back up your submission with photos and video if you choose (we highly recommend you do)

2) If yours is the first nomination for your community, it will be referred to as the primary nomination.

3) If the community you are nominating has already been nominated by someone your nomination will be considered a supporting nomination and will be placed under the primary nomination.

4) The more supporting nominations a community receives the better chance the community has of moving on from the judging panel to the first Public/Social Voting Period.

5) All primary nominations and supporting nominations for each community will make up their entry and if they move on, their voting page.

The In House judging panel will choose the top 12, 6 from each bracket, east and west.

The nominations will be scored using a 100-point system.
•Originality (25%)
•Community history, events and tourism offerings (25%)
•Pride in community (spirit), the number of supporting submissions (25%)
•Number of Rider Friendly Business Association® Members that are in the community’s proximity (25%)

Once the judging period is over, the top 6 communities from each bracket, east and west will move to the public/social voting phases.

Now that's the basics and they should not change.

Start thinking of how you are going to use video, photos, historical ties to the motorcycle community, events, road side attractions, tourism offerings, great roads, and great customer service to tie it all into a fantastic nomination.

The competition is limited to communities with populations of 125,000 and SMALLER.
The competition is about how well you can sell your town as being rider friendly, about how many riders you can persuade to vote for your town if your town makes it past the judging panel!

A united approach to this contest will work the best - so get with your Chamber of Commerce, your Economic development office, your tourism department and work as a team to promote your community to the rest of Canada and the world...

Beginning Monday we will start reaching out to all of the Chambers of Commerce, Community Service Organizations, Riding Clubs, Tourism Departments, Dealers etc...

Who will be "Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community?"

Let's see some Canadian Pride, some community pride and some good old fashioned rivalries!

It all begins Canada Day July 1st when we open the web site up to receive the first nominations!

Have a fantastic day and don't forget to read the Busted Knuckle Chronicles - Canada's Rider Powered Newspaper! It's in your inbox this morning and available at www.bustedknucklenews.com

If you are blessed to be riding today, please remember to ride like everyone around you is blind and cannot see you...

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Non Profit Motorcycle Club being sued over NOISE

According to an article on the CBC web site and one in the National Post,  the City of Fort Saskatchewan, the RCMP, and the Fort Saskatchewan Motorcycle Association are being sued by an elderly gent who is tired of having his peace and quiet disrupted.

He says his complaints have fallen on deaf ears for 18 years and he's tired of it.

Noise, it has become such a bone of contention and as our cities get bigger, it will become even more contentious.

I know what the gent in these articles, Richard Jones, feels like. I truly can empathize.

When we bought our home in 2001, it was on a dead end street with a green space at the top of the T intersection that separated our community of Avondale from the bypass.  It was wonderful, two school yards in our back yard (so very quiet at night) and very little traffic in the front.

We felt like we lived in the country with all of the conveniences of being in a small city.

Then the city, in its wisdom, punched through that lovely green space and put a connector to the bypass in.

Our street became a race track.  To slow traffic down, the city the installed these hideous centre dividers with planted trees in them, and installed bike paths although the bicyclists still prefer to use the sidewalk.  They installed these ridiculous bulbous sidewalk turnouts at every intersection so that pedestrians didn't have so far to go to cross the road (Like 10' makes that much of a difference to a person on foot).

All through this process, no matter how much people didn't want this development, not the connector to the bypass or the stupid big cement planters, or the idiotic 3 blocks of bike path, no one would listen to the people who live here.

All of the planning and info meetings were nothing more than a delivery method that said this is what you are getting. There was no consideration for those who live here.

The hideous planters did little to slow people down and when you add the new fire hall into the mix, (we are now on a major route now for the fire trucks), let's just say what used to be a peaceful place to live is no longer peaceful.

Our street used to be a major school bus route and in the winter it was cleaned so fast and so well but now, because of those ridiculously hideous planters and the sidewalk turnouts at the intersections, our street is not the priority it once was and the grader operators have a hell of a time trying to clear our street now.

I understand Mr. Jones frustration with the noise.  For him the noise might be motorcycles, in our case, it's chipped up 4 x 4's and import cars with booming stereos and fire trucks. We have the odd biker that rips through our neighbourhood on the throttle, barking their pipes steady - they piss me off too, but most people who ride through our neighbourhood are polite and respectful.

I know this much:

- There are inconsiderate people in every walk of our society.
- Change is the inevitable.
- Growth has both a positive and negative side.

My husband an I still lament the changes, we still long for the "old" days when our community was a peaceful and restful place at night. (School yards during the day are noisy and we have two directly out back of our home.)

What are the answers to teaching people consideration?
What are the answers to having our elected officials actually listening to their citizens and being fair, impartial and realistic in their approaches to situations?
What are the answers to noise pollution?

I have no idea.

Richard Jones says he's in it for the long haul, that he's tired of being ignored.

Is this a frivolous lawsuit or is it meant to force the city of Fort Saskatchewan to adopt a motorcycle only noise bylaw or more?

I'd love to go set up a video camera on this man's street and record the traffic and noise he says he experiences.  I wonder if all that noise he talks about is truly motorcycles.

I still can't fathom someone suing a non profit association that does so much good in their community.

Did it really need to go this far?

I wonder if at any point it was ever suggested that all parties get together and have a chat?

While I empathize with Mr. Jones, I think his way of going about things is horribly wrong minded, that's my personal feeling.

What say you?

I'll be contacting people from the Fort Saskatchewan Motorcycle Association and seeing if there is anything we can do to assist them in their legal battle. I know all too well how time consuming, how costly and how frustrating it is to be named in a suit that is just so wrong on so many levels.

Have a great day, and if you are blessed enough to be riding today, please, ride like everyone around you is blind and cannot see you.

Belt Drive Betty,
Editor & Rider

So, what is the "Biker" way?

Throughout the years that I have been part of the motorcycle community, I have heard motorcyclists spout off about brotherhood, family, being solid, having your back.

But really, what does that mean?

I was recently criticized for fundraising for my defence fund in the Sturgis North Lawsuit.
I was compared to the Aging Rebel: "Say what you want to about Aging Rebel, but I could never see him begging money from his readers to pay for legal fees arising from his own stupidity.. But then again, We Americans are different from "We Canadians"... Call the IO, maybe they can help you out"

It's not the first criticism I have received but it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

For the last 12.75 years I have done my best to create a new life for myself as the editor of "The Busted Knuckle Chronicles", Canada's Rider Powered Newspaper.

My life has been wildly interesting and filled with big love, big loss, big betrayal, big reward and big challenges so far, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

For those of you who don't know me or my history - here's a brief overview:

• Born in Fort Churchill Manitoba to a French Canadian mother and a Scots/Polish father.
• Oldest of 4
• Lived all over Canada 
• Have travelled all of Canada
• Married an American jet car driver
• Had one child - a girl now 30
• Travelled all of the United States
• Worked 2 and 3 jobs for a lot of years
• Owned my own flower shop for 7 years
• Had a bad automobile accident - a 17" Canoe came off a vehicle travelling the opposite direction and landed in front of my car at 100KPH (60MPH)
• I struggle with PTSD and Depression
• Care gave to my father while he died of cancer. He was paralyzed from the chest down.
• He sexually abused me from the age of 12 to 18
• Cut my alcoholic mother out of my life, physically and verbally abusive are some of her more desirable traits
• Started my newspaper for riders originally as a hobby to give me something to do after the car crash.
• Lost my kid brother to cancer, he was 18 months younger than I, married with an 18 yr old young son who held him as he bled out. During a coughing fit his carotid artery  burst
• I am now a great aunty - three times over.
• My husband, a wonderful man, was diagnosed with MS about 11 years ago - it's been an interesting road for both of us
• In the last 4 months I have said goodbye to 6 friends - three of them very close
• I have been blessed to be able to raise 3/4 of the funds needed to fight this lawsuit so far.

Like every living human being - life has happened to me.

The lawsuit with Sturgis North is a thorn in my side, a drain on the joy of life.
It is time consuming, tedious and outrageously expensive and not just monetarily.

I researched the hell out of the articles I wrote on the event, the event coordinators.
The information I dug up was already in public domain, I just brought it all together in one place where people could educate themselves.  My goal always has been to provide people with the information they need to make informed choices.

There are other 6 people who were sued in this shotgun lawsuit that did nothing wrong either.

All through my life, I have done my best to be generous of my time and my money.
My home has always been open to riders in need, to friends and family in need.

You see my own family didn't know how to love or show it, but the bikers I hung with did.

I do my best everyday to be the best possible person I am capable of being.
I have sold tee shirts, auctioned off all kinds of items and done everything I know of to keep the wheels on the bus. I have employees who rely on me and customers who don't pay their bills - just like every small business owner out there.

Is this the new way in the biker community?
Is asking for help something shameful?

Every weekend this community supports thousands of causes with millions of dollars.
Helping those who can't help themselves is something this community has always done.

It is what I was taught to do...pay it forward into the community...

Since I started the newspaper, I have donated an average of $300,000 in free advertising to the riding clubs and the charities they support.  I didn't give the help and support thinking I'd get anything in return, but I didn't expect to be kicked in the teeth for asking for some help either.

Doc has just under 10,000 Miles on him

Asking for help was a very hard enough for me to do.

My lawyers bill is caught up on for the time being.

I am attempting to sell my Ultra Classic (Doc on the left) to pay the next bill I know is coming.

In the meantime, the lawyer for Sturgis North, Gerhard Pyper is being reinstated by the BC Law Society so perhaps, just perhaps the other 4 cases that were supposed to be dropped will now finally process through the courts and I can get on with defending myself, fighting for my freedom as a reporter and a citizen.

So I ask you - what is the biker way?

I put myself out there to help educate the community about an event/event coordinator with what appears to be a toxic record.

Now I am being sued.

Do I just suck it up and let the bully win because I don't have the resources to fight him?

OR do I ask for help and support?

I hope you have a good Monday and if you are blessed enough to be riding today, please ride like everyone around you is blind and cannot see you.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor  Rider