Unofficial Results of Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community Contest

The unofficial results in the Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community Contest are in!

It appears that in the west, Two Hills Alberta won out over Kaslo British Columbia by a small margin. The tally was 8664 to 8589.

By far this was the most aggressive of the two contests with over 30 lead changes between Two Hills and Kaslo.

In the east, Moncton New Brunswick won out over New Liskeard Ontario, 331 to 302.

If the results we have at the moment stand, then the following communities will be awarded $2,500 marketing packages:

Kaslo BC, New Denver BC, New Liskeard Ontario and Digby Nova Scotia.

Two Hills and Moncton will then go head to head in the final round of voting.

The winning community will be called Canada's MOST Rider friendly Community 2015.
They will win a $35,000 Marketing Campaign and the runner up community will win a $10,000 Marketing Campaign.

So which community is going to have a Welcome sign similar to these?

We find out on April 21st when the winners will be announced on YouTube!

To vote or follow the contest register at www.riderfriendlycontest.ca

The final round of voting begins on April 1st at 11:59 PM MST and ends
on April 18th at 11:59 PM MST.

We could not host this contest without our fabulous sponsors.

Our presenting sponsor is Community Futures of Alberta. They offer amazing support to small business in rural Alberta. Loans, business planning, mentoring and so much more!
Visit them at:

Our Media Sponsors - the people supplying either ad space, radio time, articles/features, TV etc:

Kimpex

SmartBiker Magazine

Biker Radio

Reality Radio101

The Hog Radio Show

East Coast Biker

Adelle Laudan

Northern Horizon

Belt Drive Betty Media through their properties:
Ride Like a Local in conjunction with EastLink TV, Busted Knuckle Chronicles dot com, Belt Drive Betty dot com, Canadian Motorcycle Events dot com, Rider Friendly Business Association, Belt Drive Betty's Blog and BKC News Bytes dot ca.

Special thanks to:
Suzette Boothby Bedard - Our Translator
Government of Canada, Canadian Heritage

If you are blessed to be riding today please remember to ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you!

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Things are heating up!

Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community Contest is about halfway through the second public voting phase. Over the last number of days we have seen a horse race between Kaslo BC and Two Hills Alberta erupt.

When I checked in this morning at about 8 am,  the race in the western "conference" was just as tight as it has been from the beginning.

Two Hills was in the lead with 2,689 votes and Kaslo was on their heels at 2,683 votes.

It's 9:50 am as I write this and for about the 24-5th time, the lead has changed yet again with Kaslo at 2,713 votes and Two Hills at 2,711.

Things are starting to heat up out East too.  Moncton New Brunswick is holding on to a slim lead with Digby Nova Scotia closing the gap.

One of the most rewarding things about this contest has been seeing all of the articles and hearing the various radio interviews that these communities are generating.  These little communities that don't tend to get a whole lot of notoriety are all garnering some great press.

The one thing a lot of rural communities struggle with is how to catch the attention of tourist.
They don't have big budgets and they have a shortage of man power to help them get the press and attention they need.

A contest like this truly does give them all a little shot in the arm, some notoriety, and instills a sense of community pride in the riders and other community members. The voting proves it!

These communities are vying for the title "Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community 2015"
The top prize is a $35,000 marketing package that will be put together for them by using the inventory provided by our sponsors.

TV, Radio, Print Media, Digital Media, Social Media - they get it all and all from other riders who own media outlets!

Which communities are going to slug it out for that title? Well, we'll know in about 14 days time.
Only one community from the West and one from the East will meet up in the next round...

But PLEASE remember folks, places like Kaslo BC, have their faction who really don't like the constant rumble of bikes and I just hope and pray that the selfish few don't ruin it for the rest of us.
Loud Pipes, among many other things, annoy many people in the places we want to ride most, so PLEASE ride with respect. Remember we all have to share this earth. Consideration and respect, please riding with both at the fore front of your mind.

We, all riders, have a lot to be grateful for in this country. We are blesses with so many place we can ride to that do truly want our business.  In many of these places we riders make new life long friendships...Blessed - that truly is a good word for this community of Riders here in Canada.

In other news, a couple of local businesses here in Grande Prairie have some stellar offers on the table right now...

There is a Mastermind being held in Grande Prairie on March 18th for anyone who might be interested, $49 for this three hour seminar.

One of our advertisers, Happy Trails RV is giving away $1,000.

All you have to do is like and share their post on Facebook and fill out the form:

And our Rider Friendly Business Partner, Bear Creek Funeral Home is celebrating the achievement of Eunice Friesen - and her volunteer recognition award.

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

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community Contest - Special Announcement!

Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community Contest has been a lot of fun so far.

It's been interesting to see the healthy rivalries that have shaped up and to watch the good natured kidding on Facebook.

Holly Sorgen, Executive Director of Community Futures Grande Prairie & Region made the special announcement yesterday on YouTube regarding those who are going to move on to round 2!

Here is the announcement:

The communities that did not make it through to the second round were:
West - Fruitvale BC, Nisku AB and Kamloops BC
East - Manitoulin Island ON, Port Dover ON and Summerside PEI.

Those communities all won banner ad packages from Belt Drive Betty Media worth $1,500 each and emails to the person who submitted the nomination have gone out.

The communities moving on to round two are:

WEST - Two Hills AB, New Denver BC and Kaslo, BC
EAST - New Liskeard ON, Digby NS and Moncton NB.

Only 2 communities will survive this round of voting.

The four communities that do not move on will all win media packages that include banner ads on www.beltdrivebetty.com, radio interviews on The Hog Radio Show and a small write up in SmartBiker Magazine.

Good luck to all of the communities and may the MOST Rider Friendly Communities move on to the final round....the journey to becoming Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community continues on March 5th when voting officially begins for the semi finals!!!
Have a wonderful day and if you are blessed enough to be riding, please remember to rider like everyone around you is blind and can not see you.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

DANGER, Riding Season is here and almost here...

Riding Season is ALMOST HERE in the north of Alberta, but many places are already riding again.

I can not say this ENOUGH.

You NEED to ride like EVERYONE AROUND YOU is BLIND and CAN NOT SEE YOU.

YOU WILL encounter MANY Drivers LIKE THIS....  

WILL YOU BE READY TO REACT THE RIGHT WAY?

You MIGHT encounter a driver like this....

What will you do?

There will be occasions when you come up against this....

WHAT will you do?

THERE ARE PROBABLY times you might come across this...

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Some of the things you should AVOID - NO MATTER HOW TEMPTING IT MIGHT BE....

Riding smart, staying alert, being extra careful in heavy traffic, taking a refresher safety course, these are the things that will help you survive to ride another day.

WATCH THIS VIDEO - TO ENSURE YOUR SKILLS ARE SHARPENED - PLEASE...

THANKS FOR WATCHING!

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Riders and the Controversy Over Noise

As you are all well aware, many jurisdictions across North America have an issue with motorcyclists whose bikes are excessively loud or ridden in a manner that makes them excessively loud.

The sad fact is that all of us get labelled as obnoxious, loud, rude.

Take a look at the latest thing happening in Kaslo, BC in the Kootenay's one of the most beautiful riding regions in Canada.  4,300 signatures on a petition!

"The petition asks Anton and the RCMP to crack down on excessive motorcycle noise.

Kaslo's Art Mason, one of the people behind the petition effort, said the bikers are a real problem.

"It's just one after the other, after the other, just all summer long," he said. "They may think they go by and they're the only one. They don't realize that two minutes after them, there's another group … it goes right into their houses, the noise." CBC News
The petition is asking the police to do their job, not implement new laws, but none the less, the selfish few are ruining it for the quieter, more respectful majority.

Noise is a huge issue folks and one of the only ways we as a community are ever going quit being targeted and discriminated against by law enforcement and citizens as noise offenders, is if we riders are all respectful of the fact that we SHARE this world.

Shift workers, really tired moms who have been up with sick babies, people trying to host meetings, have functions out of doors, these are just a few of the people that riding in an obnoxious manner can disturb and turn against us.

Riding with respect for all, that is the key.  

Another way to make people think about motorcyclists in a more positive light, is to educate people in a polite and informative way that #MotorcyclistsLivesMatter.

WE matter because we are moms, dads, siblings, grand kids and grand parents.

WE matter because we are Politicians, CEO's & Celebrities too.

We matter because we are taxpayers who contribute a lot.

We matter because we are charity and community minded, we matter because we spend money, we matter because we are a visible minority.

We are vulnerable on the road to all sorts of hazards (texting etc.), we are often subjected to discrimination, we are often tarred with a brush we didn't earn as a whole.

Yes our community has some in it that do bad things, rude things, selfish things and then there is the rest of us who work hard at being decent people.

#MotorcyclistLivesMatter BECAUSE WE ARE PEOPLE!

PLEASE Share the Infographic, the information on them will help educate the non rider.

Have you voted for Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community?

If not, there's still time to support a community you love to ride to or are a part of!


Well, that's all for me today folks...

If you are blessed to be riding, PLEASE remember to ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you, consider dressing for the slide, not the ride and please be respectful with your throttle hand.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

I DESPISE thieves and more....

Today this is not so much an article as it is a rant.

Yesterday I went to visit one of our new advertisers, Prospector Central here in Grande Prairie.

They have some of the coolest stuff in their shop or should I say they had.  About 30% of his stock was taken in a robbery last week.

FOR the second time since October and now, they are seriously considering closing their doors or selling.

Richard, the owner invested his life savings into starting a prospectors supply business and things were going along nicely. He had an employee and was contributing to the local economy in a number of ways, through rent, taxes and services used.

Now, come the end of March, we will potentially have one less business in town, one more employee out of work and one business owner who has lost everything.

The economy is tough, I get it, but since when is stealing from a hard working person right?

Yes he had insurance and a good portion of the theft will be covered, but not all of it.  Yes he had security cameras, but guess what, on both occasions, the cameras had technical difficulties and no video was recorded.

And now, everything he thought he knew about business and people he is questioning. I can't blame him, it's awfully demoralizing.

I really despise thieves, they destroy so much.  They destroy businesses, lives, families, confidence, faith...Richard is so discouraged and has thrown in the towel emotionally and can you blame him?

Richard needs a miracle; he needs his faith in humanity restored.

Then there are our friends at Edge Harley-Davidson in Lloydminster - here is the post from Clint and his team regarding the recent robbery at their store:

Thieves are possibly one of the most demoralizing groups of people. The feeling of being violated is huge - if you know anything, if you saw anything at these businesses - give the RCMP a call.

In other news:

The brand new BDB Community at www.beltdrivebetty.com has launched.

Our app is available in the Apple App store and the Google Play store.

It's been a long road to get here and I am pretty pleased with the app. There are features and functionality that we are hoping to have added, but that will come with time!

So if you are tried of the busy - ness of Facebook and you are a Canadian motorcyclist or someone planning to ride in Canada, come and join our community.  Register at www.beltdrivebetty.com and then download our app!

You might also like our Rider Friendly Phone Books App! It is also available in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store!


Have a great day and if you are blessed enough to live where you can ride, please remember to ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you!


Belt Drive Betty,
Editor & Rider

On the road to finding Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community!!!!

The judging portion of Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community Contest is now over and the finalists have been announced!

Holly Sorgen and the crew at Community Futures of Grande Prairie & Region did a fantastic job of weighing and evaluating the 66 nominations that were received!

The 12 communities that will move on to the first of three voting rounds are:

West

1.       Two Hills, AB

2.       Fruitvale, BC

3.       Kamloops, BC

4.       Kaslo, BC

5.       New Denver, BC

6.       Nisku, AB

Runners Up:

Estevan, SK

Flin Flon, MB

East

1.       Moncton, NB

2.       Manitoulin Island, ON

3.       Port Dover, ON

4.       Summerside, PEI

5.       Digby, NS

6.       New Liskeard, ON

Runners Up:

Carbonear, NL

Centreville, N

6 of these communities have already won a $1,500 marketing package from Belt Drive Betty Media- which 6 will be determined when the final votes are counted beginning February 26th.  All votes cast will go through a rigorous vetting before they are included in the final totals.

The 6 communities that "win" in this round move on to phase 2 of the voting on their way towards being named Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community! 4 will be guaranteed to win a $2,500 Marketing Package supplied by Belt Drive Betty Media & the sponsors of the contest! 

The final two will duke it out for the  $10,000 runner up prize and the Grand Prize $35,000 marketing campaign and the right to call themselves....Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community of 2105!

Visit www.riderfriendlycontest.ca to find out more!  

Help the community you would like to see win....Voting begins Monday February 8th, 2016 at 10 AM MST.

At this time we want to acknowledge all of our wonderful sponsors - without them we would not be able to host a contest like this!

Congratulations to the 12 communities that made it through the judging portion and a heartfelt thank you to all who took the time to nominate their community!  It's wonderful to see riders and community leaders showing so much pride in their wonderful communities!

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider