A busy time!

Getting the last of the paper work done before the Canadian Championship of Bike Building.

Inspite of everything, all the hiccups and challenges we are as ready as we can be. With over 70 vendors, some of Canada's most beautiful motorcycles, a burn out pit, a dyno, a rodea, a show n shine & a scavnger hunt, not to mention live music, yah it's gonna be a good time!

I'll be up to my eyeballs in paper work, but I'll try my best to keep you in the loop!
Have a great week!

Ride often & ride safe....

On the road....again

I have been on the road for the past week, I am still on the road! I love it. My husband was quite surprised when he realized I have over 5500kms on the bike already and by the time I get home I will be close to 6,500 - as I expressed to him - I have 23 years without a bike to make up for - and since I started riding my own again - well I don't want to stop - ever! The new FLHX is treating me really well, it's a beautiful machine!!!

I hope that those watching the news say a few prayers for our BC friends who are being flooded out. My bike came from Smither's H-D and I hope the gang at the shop are doing ok through all of this. My prayers go out to everyone there....Mother nature can be cruel as we all know.

The Ride to Camrose was an ok event with about 4-500 bikes turning up, but most didn't hang around too long as it was scorching hot and there were no tents for shade.

The Redwater Ride for Hunger was a resounding success with over 1,000 bikes showing up and about 500 participating in the Poker Run.

I wished that I could stick around for the Ride for Sight but I need to get home - paperwork calls!

I want to thank everyone who gave me a piece of the floor wherever I went - it's great to have so many good friends and it sure helps the budget.

For those of you who are fed up with gas prices may I make one suggestion? Get on your bike and ride more. High gas prices are just one of many reasons to get on your bike more.

Have a great weekend no matter which event you attend.

Ride hard, ride safe.


BD Betty

The Canadian Riding Beauty Contest June 30th & July 1st

We have 4 confirmed entrants in the first Canadian Riding Beauties Contest.

They are:

Jennifer Nakonechny from Regina Saskatchewan
Daphne MacDonald from Spruce Grove Alberta
April Ireland from Calgary Alberta
Lisa Henriksen from Rocky Mountain House AB

As long as entries are post marked June 2nd we will accept the entry so get them in to us.

Our Riding Queen will win:
$1,000 cash
$1,000 Leather Wardrobe from Leather & Steel
A crown, a photo shoot and (dependant on photographers scheduling) attendance in the VIP Ride and Steak BBQ on Monday July 2nd

We are going to have a lot of fun on the Canada Day Long Weekend at the Canadian Championship of Bike Building - June 30th & July 1st

- Olds Alberta - hope to see you there!

Ride lots and ride safe!

BD Betty

Event Listings

We just updated the events again - man is this riding community a busy one.

If you have an event or know of one that isn't listed - get it to us. The listing is free and over 60,000 riders will have a chance to see it that way.
Remember the paper is available in print and on line....

Hope to see a bunch of you at the Ride to Camrose on Saturday and the Ride for Hunger in Redwater on Sunday...
Ride hard - stay safe.

A new Poll

We are polling our readers to find out their thoughts on the new Victory Vision Street 

Tour models.

The poll can be found on the home page, right hand side on www.beltdrivebetty.com

We'd love to know what you think.....

The results of our first ever Rider Survey

The Results from our first ever “Busted Knuckle Chronicles” Rider Survey:

These statistics have been amassed over the last 8 months.
They are not scientific, they are however a fairly accurate reflection of our subscribers & community from Coast to Coast.

We learned alot about how to ask questions to derive more calculable answers for some questions like paint but over all we were pleased with the response and the quality of information.

Out of 720 respondents who participated in the survey we have deduced the following:

With respect to age:
1% are between 18 and 25
9.5% are between 26 and 35
26.5% are between 36 and 45
40.5% are between 46 and 55
12.5% are between 56 and 65
10% went unanswered

Education:
11% Dropped out of School
52% Completed Just High School
26% Completed College
21% Completed University
40% Completed Tech/Trade School
2% Completed some other form of education

Housing:
Rent: 26%
Own: 74%
Out of those who own their home:
Mtg. Free: 43%
Have Mtg.: 57%

Rider or Passenger:
Rider: 97.2%
Passenger: 2.8%

Ride for:
Pleasure: 97.2%
Therapy: 73.6%
Camaraderie: 66.6%

Ride with a Club:
Yes: 44.5%
No: 55.5%


Vacations:
They spend an average of 10 -14 days on motorcycle vacations and spend an average of $3170 on that Vacation.

While vacationing they will:
Camp: 66.7%
Hotel It: 40.3%
Motel It: 70.1%
Stay With Friends/Family: 51.4%
Other (B&B/Motor home Rentals): 12.5%

On average in a year they will spend:
Motorcycle Clothing:
$493/year on motorcycle clothing
98.6% buy for themselves
55.4% buy clothing as gifts

Motorcycle Safety Gear:
$250/year on safety gear
93% buy for themselves
37.5% buy safety gear as gifts

Mechanical Upgrades/Maintenance:
$1435/year on mechanical upgrades
48.6% get work done at dealerships
51.4% get work done at independent shops
76.4% do it themselves

Other Purchases:
Luggage: $200
Accessories: $650
Tattoos: $75
Insurance: $950
Charity Donations: $550
Biker Art: $200

They also own:
Dirt Bikes: 8.3%
Quads: 15.3%
Snowmobiles: 8.3%
Car: 56.9%
Truck: 76.4%
SUV: 26.4
Motor home: 6.9%
Travel Trailer: 27.8%


Their occupations include:
Accountant
Administration
Asst. Mgr
Chef
Computer Tech
Disabled
Farmer
Fire Fighter
Forestry
Forklift Operator
Funeral Director
Laborer
Landlord
Machinist
Manager
Mechanic
Media
Military
Oilfield
Parts Manager
Plumber
Public Official
Retired
Secretary
Sheriff’s Department
Small Business Owner
Teacher
Technician
Truck Driver

They also enjoy:
Soccer: 4.1%
Baseball: 1.4%
Football: 10%
Wrenching: 48.7%
Building Stuff: 38.8%
Cooking: 26.4%

The Canadian Riding Beauty Contest

The entries for the contest have begun coming in.

As I sat here this morning reading the information on these ladies it became very evident that the competition is going to be a great one.

All of the entries so far share a common love of the motorcycle and the biker community, the stories of these women are amazing and I am looking forward to crowning our very first Queen!

I look forward to June 29th when the vendors start setting up and the campground opens, riders start coming in and the celebration of all things Canadian and motorcycle begins....

I am proud to be Canadian!