Question to Fellow Bloggers who use "Blogger"

To my horror I just discovered that two of my posts have been taken off my blog. They have been reverted back to "drafts." The one I noticed first was posted not long ago when I won the iPod from the local BMW dealership. Many of you will remember this one, because I got lots of comments. In it I had a link to the dealership. Do you think Adsense is playing Big Brother and messing with my posts?

When I went to "Blogger" to find an email address to see what's going on I couldn't find any. The other post missing is also suspiciously about BMW’s. It’s in reference to the Motofemina project and I mentioned about the F650GS motorcycles. It also had a mini video that was working fine. No links there, though.

I have looked at removing the ads, especially if they are going to be picky about what I talk about, if that’s even the problem. But if I now remove the ads, I read that they will delete my entire blog I have worked so hard on. YIKES!!!

Please share your experiences and quick before this post disappears too, lol.

Hot off the press!!! Head on over to The Motorcycle Group . I've written and published my first article for them called "So You Want To Ride A Motorcycle - But Not Sure Where To Start?" Check it out and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

The Wonderful "Find" in Victor

In my previous post I mentioned that in Victor I found a bunch of great scavenger hunt finds. Here is the one that I am willing to share. I'm not far into Victor when my eyes sparkle with glee! I have found a scavenger hunt find that I thought I would never get - a Limo!! Yahooo!!! I turn around and park my purple beauty next to it to get a photo. I'm so excited. Yes, my life must be pretty mundane, lol.

As I'm crossing the road to get my photo a gentleman comes around the corner of the house and asks if he could help me with anything. So I say "If you're the driver of this limo, then yes." He says he is and I ask if I could get his picture with the limo (extra points in the scavenger hunt for a driver). As you can see by the picture above, he was happy to help.

Then he insists on getting my photo with the limo. Afterwards we get to chatting. His name is Tony and he and his wife are owners of the limo, a store, a bed & breakfast and some other things. His store was closed, but I got to see the inside while he was hunting for flyers and their business card. I've got some to hand out to people. They have a little shop with an eclectic array of items. If I remember right, there was even some Harley Davidson Beer Cans. It was fun looking around at all there was. Many things they sell are made locally. I spied some tie-dye shirts hanging on the wall, with a color - bet you can't guess ;) - I liked. Well, they didn't have my size, but I've put one on order. If you guessed "purple," then you win . . . a Biker Betty high five, lol. These shirts are made locally.

How about that neat old motorcycle above? I forgot what model Tony said it is.

So, if you ever make it to Victor, Colorado and need a place to stay, you might want to look into this. Above is the info. Tony was more then happy to have me post all this info for you. You can click on the picture to read it better. At this time, they accommodate 2-4 people in the bed & breakfast. It's a cute little house that is attached to their store.

Just outside of Victor are old abandoned mining buildings. Above is one of them. This is an area rich in history. It was a fun day to be out riding and I met some really nice people.

So, fellow MSR'rs, if you still need a limo for the scavenger hunt you can look up Tony. He'd be happy to help you.

Wishing You Adventurous Journeys,

Betty :)

All By Myself

Sunday I realized that time is starting to run out for getting all the things on the scavenger hunt list for the MSR contest. As I have mentioned before, there are just over 350 items to find. Many all over the state of Colorado. October 31st is the last day of the contest and it's coming fast. So on Monday morning I decide I need to go up to Cripple Creek and Victor and find a few things that I know are there.

This is the first time I have left town without someone to ride with. By the end of the day I was on such a "high." I always have enjoyed the company of others, but after today I have decided it is really nice to occasionally go out on one's own. I could go wherever I wanted and stop whenever I wanted. I have discovered a new and fun level of motorcycling, Yahoo!!!!

I took my new iPod Mini all loaded with the songs I wanted and battery charged. Thank you again BMW-Ducati of Southern Colorado . In the previous post I talk about winning the iPod there. I strapped it to my right sleeve between my wrist and elbow, where I can see it. It is soooo much nicer then my MP3 with it's toggle switch. It kept doing all kinds of weird things with the mp3 because it doesn't work well with gloves. The iPod, with its dial, works wonderful with gloves on.

So I head out of town and up into the mountains. The sun is out and it's a gorgeous day. On the way up I stop at one place for scavenger hunt (of which I'm not sharing, lol). The ride up to Cripple Creek goes without a hitch. Just before Cripple Creek I stop at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine and snap a shot for the hunt (pic above). I'm careful on the gravel and experience no problems. Due to recent rains, I accidentally dig my front tire in a little and had to gun it to get out. So I did so and got back onto the road and into town.



While in town I stop at a few places for the hunt. I notice that their fire dept doors are open and stop to get a pic of the fire station. Fire station is on "the list." People get you extra points. I find no one around and was really hoping for a shot with firemen. So I find what I think is the front door and go in. I was right. I come to a very nice receptionist and ask if there are any firemen around and explain why. So she gets on the intercom and says, "Any available firemen please come up front." Now I'm thinking "Oh man, that doesn't sound good" and I'm slightly embarrassed. I hear a bunch of footsteps coming down a stairway and the first fireman is putting a stethoscope around his neck. So awkwardly at first I explain about needing a photo and they were very happy to help me out. They were all so very nice and we had a nice chat. (photo above).

After that I get back on my bike and head to Victor. I found a treasure of photo opportunities that I'm not sharing, lol. Fellow MSR members will be reading this and they will just have to come out and find it out for themselves. I will be sharing one wonderful "find" in a few days. I met a wonderful person, who has a really neat business. But that's for another day.

I leave Victor and go back thru Cripple Creek. As I come to the other end I find one of the fire trucks out on the road. I wave to them and they happily wave back.


Just outside Cripple Creek I come to a hailstorm. Before I left town I thought I might be hitting some rain, so I stopped and put my iPod into my pocket to keep it safe. I don't think it's waterproof. When I hit the first part of the hailstorm, I stop and put on my rain jacket. It's not too bad at this time. If you click on the picture, you can see the chunks all over on the ground. Then the lightening starts. I quickly get back on my bike and head out, in hopes this doesn't go on for too long.

After about three miles, the hail increases and it REALLY hurts!! I round one corner and I spy the motorcyclist that was in front of me just climbing into someone’s car, lol. Not long after that the road gets real white. I'm beginning to wonder if I should turn around or what. I can't stop. There's no place to get out of this. It's not safe to even hide in the tree with lightening in the area. So, I decide to slow way down and take it easy. Luckily, I drive out of it in a couple of more miles. As I'm coming down the hill, on Hwy 67, I pass motorcyclists coming up. I wanted so bad to tell them what was coming, but had no way to.


Then I come into Divide and get back onto Hwy 24 heading east and back down the mountain. Not far out of Divide I stop for another scavenger hunt photo (below - Vet office) and take this time to get my rain jacket off. I'm out of the storm and it's getting hot. It's always cooler up in the mountains and you can feel the heat increase as you come down the mountain pass. The above photo is a shot of the storm I had just left.



After I get the rain jacket off and stowed away and get my iPod back out, I get back on the road. Miles down the Hwy I come across another scavenger hunt find (below). I needed a massage parlor (for the scavanger hunt!). There is no one parked at this place, but it's open. You should have seen the looks I got from passerbies. I quickly get that pic and get back on the road.



I get into town and get a few more scavenger hunt photos. I planned out my route before leaving this morning; so as to get as many things as I could as quickly as I could. I had kids coming home from school. I did have a backup plan and I did have to use it. My eldest was home and I had him get his brother and friend from school. After being assured my son was happy and willing to do this I make one last stop. I'm starving and I make a stop at my favorite fast food place - Taco Johns (Yeeaaaahh!!).

This is the perfect ending to a perfect day. So what if I hit a storm, I overcame and conquered it (*thumbs up*). I pull into Taco Johns and get the usual. I do decide to go smaller, so I ordered the Potato Ole Bravo (Oh man, yummmmy!!). I get home and all's well.

When it was all said and done, I had accumulated 120 points toward the scavenger hunt. Yea!! Which ment 12 items out of the list of 350, sigh. Of course, I have managed to get many more items, but from what I hear I'm not close to the top points. But this is just too much fun and I plan to give it all I've got!! If anything, I have seen so many neat things in this state that I never knew was there. Just through my research, I have learned lots. I will still be working on this right up to the finish date!

Wishing You Wonderful Journeys,

Betty :)

I Won!!!

I just can't believe I won!!! My older son took the message and when he showed it to me, you'd thought I had won the one million dollar lottery (Yahooooo!!). I entered a drawing at BMW-Ducati of Southern Colorado in Colorado Springs for a chance to win a free IPOD. I wanted to go there anyway, because of the outstanding ladies of MotoFemina Cast. I wanted to see the F650GS that they were in competition for. As it turned out, the dealership didn't have that motorcycle at that time. It's sooo popular, they can't keep it in stock. Above is JoAnne awarding me the IPOD. I didn't get all the names of the people working there today, but thank you to everyone there and to BMW-Ducati of Southern Colorado

Here is all the cool stuff that came in the box. I can't wait to start downloading all the songs I want to hear while driving my Yamaha V-Star 650 motorcycle *smile* down the road. Is this motorcycle too cool or what? Above is the BMW F650GS. This time they had one, but it's awaiting its new owner (sob). Eric was kind enough to let me hop on and see how it fits. It was lowered at the factory for the new owner (which isn't me *sob, sniff*). I do really like this motorcycle, but even lowered it's still about 2" too high. I guess, too, when I do get the next bike I also want more cc's then 650. I have seen a lot of people on tippy toes this summer, so I can't believe there isn't a market out there for shorter bikes. I just can't see how slimming two inches within the frame can be that hard. With all the brilliant designs these engineers do, come on!!

This motorcycle is neat, because it's dual road/dirt and the sport bikes are a little lighter in weight. I do love the sporty look. This motorcycle is even more awesome in person. The photo doesn't do it just. You'll have to go into your local dealership and see these for yourself. When I put my feet up on the pegs it fits perfect and is very comfortable. There are also some other pretty awesome motorcycles there, too. Just way too tall for me *pout!*.

So listen up BMW Motorcycles Corporation!!! You need to design a motorcycle just like the F650GS, but for shorter people like me (5'1-1/2" high) and with more cc's. So here's the challenge and if you need a model and tester, I'd be happy to help you out (especially for testing) *wink, wink*. Oh, a model in purple would be nice.

Part 3 - Ride with Christine