I am impressed...

My hats off to Ali who has done a fabulous job on our friends wall, it's working fast and slick! In her nightly update she says, "I almost have it where I want it, still some other components I want to install like video sharing"...sounds like we are in for some other new stuff....

Now I can see who has come to visit, I can connect with people easier...yup, I like it, a lot!

The news has me feeling sick. What is it going to take for people to respect motorcycles, see motorcycles...the news feeds are filled with so much tragedy again today.

Cinny, our Southern AB reporter is going to the Duane Nagy fundraiser. He's a single dad who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident a bit back.

AIM-Can here in the Peace Country meets on the 16th of September and we will be discussing what we can do to support him.

Today I am working on event calendars and phone book ad sales.

The 2010 phone book is going to be a great resource for your desk or your saddlebags!

If you are riding today, please ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you

Belt Drive Betty
AIM-Can National VP

Getting Geared up for 2010...

No, I am not talking about the Olympics. I am talking about the 2010 Riding season.

The beginning of the 2010 planning season is here. Let's start really communicating our needs to each other. Let's get our events out there nice and early so that we all have great event calendars for the January Bike Shows.

Let's help the newbies find out more about our community. Lets work with great motorcyclist owned businesses. Let's just share and make our community stronger, more empowered - more community!

I need your help.

I need to know who wants to become a calendar admin to promote their riding clubs, ride nights, meetings, motorcycle events etc. We are only days away from launching our new calendar system.

If I could get emails from everyone who wants to be able to add their clubs information or their charity or community event information that would sure help. By the time Friday roles around we are hoping to have it installed. If I can ensure you are added as an admin so you don't need me to approve your events before they publish - that would really help. These are "Virgin" Calendars - no old information - NO information in them period!

We also want to include riding club contact information and some basic event information in the 2010 phone book which is going to print in 5 weeks.
Your help now will just make things go that much smoother!

We need info from EVERY PROVINCE AND TERRITORY! PLEASE!!!!

There's some restructuring going on on the web site at www.beltdrivebetty.com

Ali has hit a wall installing our friends wall - in that the wall really slowed things down on the home page, so it's been moved temporarily - while she is dealing with the developer, she's moved a few things other things around too - again this is temporary until she gets the speed issue resolved. But is very cool that shortly and I do mean shortly our site will function very much like Facebook. Although a wee bit maddening at the moment, I can see how we will be able to pull in more of the meet up group information as well as Facebook stuff.

There's just so much information out there - the problem is it is SOOO fragmented.
Come one people, help us make the best Canadian motorcycle networking community for riders. Let's pull it all together.

Let's get every riding club web site added to one central directory.
Let's make sure that newbies and olddie's alike can find what they are looking for in one central place! The tools are almost all there. Video sharing and others coming down stream as soon as we can get to them. Ali is testing everything in all the web browsers so if you have issues, please email her (ali4evr@gmail.com)
We can't fix what we don't know is broken! Talk to us!

I really need some beta testers. Log in, play around, tell Ali and I what's NOT working. Tell us what's missing. What can we do better...

If you are lucky enough to be riding today, please ensure that motorcycle is in good repair. Stay hydrated, ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and PLEASE, use respect with your throttle hand.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor - Busted Knuckle Chronicles
National VP - AIM-Can

Digby Wharf Rat Rally (2009) Does it again!

The Wharf Rat Rally in Digby NS has done it again!
Huge crowds, streets and exits jammed and the people there are happy for it.
They are loving the tourism dollars that are flowing.

Try what they are doing here in Alberta and you'll get shut down so fast it will make your head swim! I did and it got me NO WHERE and fast.

Although the organizers faced a few hiccups along the way they are successful because they have the whole town and region working with them.

This is what happen when community works together - sweet success...
Congratulations Digby! You have done it again!

If you have a moment, I'd love your feedback on some additions to our web site.
Log in at www.beltdrivebetty.com  tell me what you think...I'd love to know.

If you are riding today, please ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you, stay hydrated, ensure your motorcycle is in good repair and please use respect with that throttle hand!


Belt Drive Betty

Another tragic death, Veteran's Video's Returned and Paul Teutul waxes philisophical....

A  Alberta rider was killed when he collided with a semi at an intersection in Fort McMurray on Friday evening. He was heading south and the semi was heading east.

In Ontario a male rider suffered serious injury after a head on collision with pick up driven by a 90 year old man.

My heart goes out to the families involved. My heart always gets heavy when I hear news like this.

Randy Young from the Friends of Veterans is a relieved man! The video footage of war veteran stories that had been stolen in Regina was returned! His equipment was not returned but his videos were! So the thieves do have a conscience!
Now - Danni Stockley posted an interesting note on my Facebook page about the equipment that was stolen. How is Randy, who is doing this on a shoe string going to replace his equipment? What can we do to help?...

HawgZotic had donated a frame to our auction to support our web site and newspaper.
I need the income but Randy's need for equipment to finish what he set out to do is just as important if not more important.

I have updated the information on that auction page and we will donate 50% of whatever we can raise to Randy for new video gear.
Our veteran's stories must be preserved for future generations.


In other news Paul Teutul Sr. gets very philosophical with a Nova Scotia reporter on the feud between him and his sons Mikey and Paul JR. He was interviewed in advance of what was supposed to be an appearance at the Wharf Rat Rally, but that appearance was cancelled. No formal reason is listed anywhere as to why the OCC were pulled from the event, but from what I hear on the ground - their price tag was astronomical and 4,000 advanced tickets needed to be sold to pay the fee, if that is true, I see why it was canceled.

I want to make it clear that I like the factory production customs OCC is putting out these days. The quality is far superior to what I have witnessed in the past and the bikes get good reviews from those who have ridden them. But I am not a fan of their show or the Teutul's. Never have been. Where TV executives and producers think that the temper tantrums and dysfunctional crap the Teutul's exhibit is "good TV" I am unsure. I guess it boils down to personal taste.

I have also heard that the fees to have them appear at a show are exorbitant. Too many of these celebrities have out priced and over valued themselves. No one can truly afford their fees. And that's my humble opinion on that subject!

Well, it's time to go back to editing and laying out the upcoming edition of the Busted Knuckle. I had a few challenges last week and want to avoid a repeat.

I messed up and forgot to change the Boutique of Leathers ad and when doing the invoicing for our spnsors ads we messed up on the billing of a few. We only printed three times in August, not 4 and a few were wrongly billed. So now I also need to go through all of the invoicing and adjust the ones that are wrong! Somedays you are the windshield....

Anyway, if you are lucky enough to be riding, please stay hydrated, ensure your machine is in good repair, ride like everyone around you is blind and can't see you and PLEASE, use respect with that right hand!

Belt Drive Betty

In the news today...

Today's news feed are filled with such a variety of news and for once there appears to be no accidents or deaths to read about.

OCC founder Paul Teutul Sr. is unveiling a chopper in Toronto today...I wonder how these charity chopper billboards get financed? Do the charities actually fork out the cash or are they sponsored? Is this the best way for a charity to spend money all in the name of creating awareness? Maybe - I am after all writing about it...what are your thoughts on the subject?

The Teutul's are also in the news for the Mobil 1 Bagger giveaway in Daytona...

If you had a sport bike stolen you might be pleased to know that a Motorcycle Theft ring has been shut down in Edmonton. The dumbass that spearheaded the ring was passing stolen motorcycles of as American bikes - but in many cases forgot the bilingual factory stickers on them...

In other news, we have attracted some new business partners to the BDB Club. (Log in to access the Rider Friendly directory)

Your savings card is currently good at approximately 160 locations and growing! (Log in to download your card in the Business Section - BDB Club)
If you haven't downloaded your card and printed it off, what are you waiting for?

I hope that if you are riding today you will take a walk around that machine of yours, you'll stay hydrated, you'll ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and that you will use respect with that right hand.

Hope your day is FABULOUS!

Belt Drive Betty

Working hard....

We are in full swing with our 2010 phone book for riders.

If you own a business and you ride or are rider friendly, we'd love to have you as part of our Bikers Doing Business Association.

We are also looking for an IT person to work with us on our new GPS downloads - must be a graduate student who is unemployed or under employed. We have qualified for a grant to allow us to work with someone of top caliber!

Shares in Belt Drive Betty Media are now officially on sale!

Preferred shares are $5,000K and Voting shares are $500

We are restricted to 14 shareholders!

If you are interesting in working with Belt Drive Betty to create really good communication tools for the riding community, we'd love to hear from you.

If you are riding today, please ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you, stay hydrated, check that ride of yours out - tires, belts etc and use respect with the old right hand.

Belt Drive Betty
National VP
AIM-Can
Alliance for Injured Motorcyclists

A National treasure - LOST - this is just shocking in my humble opinion.

I have one word for the thieves who stole from Randy Young....and the Friends of Veteran's Honor Ride...SCUMBAGS

The dirtbags broke into the Friend's of Veterans van, stole his computer, camera and his briefcase in Regina on Sunday night. Over $3,000 worth of gear was stolen but what is far, far worse - interviews with 17 veterans are now gone as well.

The lack of respect is astonishing to me.
My cousin Cederic is serving his third tour in Afghanistan, my mom and dad were military - both my kid brother and I were born on bases, he in Downsview ON and I in Ft Churchill MB.

I am a supporter member of the CAV and on behalf of the veteran's whose stories were stolen, on behalf of Randy Young whose hard work in memorializing the stories of those vets has been stolen -I am saddened and disappointed - I hope the thieves gain a conscious and return the memory cards at least.

If you are riding today - PLEASE, stay safe, ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you, stay hydrated, ensure your iron steed is in good repair and PLEASE, use respect with that throttle hand.

Belt Drive Betty