~ It's A Great Day For A Ride ~

When I got up this morning for church, at the crack of dawn, I looked out the window and saw a spectacular sunrise. The sky was painted in pink and Pikes Peak and the surrounding mountains were gorgeous. Right away I had a feeling this would be a special day. My first thought was to quickly get dressed, grab the camera & tripod and get a few photos. Then I got ready for church.


Once ready for church, the sun was up and the sky was a beautiful blue. I love the morning sky. Ususally by afternoon there is a haze over the mountains and the sky isn't crystal clear anymore. On the way to church I had my husband stop so I could get a picture of the peak in the bright sun. This way you can see the difference of the pink mountains and clear mountains.

After we got home it was decided that the roads were clear and safe enough to get out on, Yaaah whooooooo!!! Biker Bill pulled his bike out, turned the key and ... it wouldn't start. He had to hook his battery to the charger for 45 minutes. I pulled my bike out , pulled out the choke and at first it didn't want to start. It would almost kickover. I realized I had my brights on and turned them down, turned off the bike and let it set for just a few minutes. We thought we'd have to hook mine up to the charger after his. But I tried again with the light on normal and it started up. I let it idle for just a bit. After about 5 minutes of idling I walked around my bike to make sure there were no leaks or too loose parts. All appeared fine.

Then I decided to check my tires, since my bike had been sitting in a very cold garage for over a month. I checked the front tire and the tire gage wouldn't even move. My first thought was that the gage was broken. Bill suggested checking the back tire and it worked like a champ! That's when we realized the front tire was so low it wouldn't register on the gage.

Biker Bill pulled out the air compressor and I put air in that puppy, lol. It turned out the back tire was about 5 pounds low and I took care of both. That's when I got to thinking about what I learned in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. "T-CLOCK" came to mind and I racked my brain trying to remember all we are suppose to check before going out on our bikes. I asked Biker Bill and he couldn't remember them all either. Later I looked it up and here they are:

T - Tire Pressure

C - Controls

L - Lights

O - Oil

C - Chassis

K - Kickstand

I found the following checklist for doing the T-CLOCK check on your bike. Go to here for the checklist. It's very well written.

Once all was charged up, aired up, idled up, geared up, and ready *laugh* we hit the road and then gased up, lol. We had an errand at the north end of town at the mall. We were very watchful for gravel and large potholes. For the most part, the roads we rode were in pretty good condition. We took Powers, to Woodmen, to Lexington, to Briargate and to the Chapel Hills Mall. We did come across a few potholes of concerned, but easily manuvered around them. We did expect the roads to be worse then they were. We got to the mall and took care of business. We saw about four motorcycles on the way there.

Above is a very happy Biker Bill and his new ride, a 2000 Suzuki Intruder 1500. Now it's getting onto 4pm and it's starting to get noticably chilly and time to head home. We decide to head back by Acadamy Blvd, as it should be quicker. But surprisingly, it has twice as many potholes and more gravel to contend with. Once again, we manuveur around all obstacles. We have one quick stop at the grocery store and then arrive home safe and sound. It's now pretty chilly and we're glad to be home.

So it turns out to be a very successful day for motorcycle riding and there is high hopes to get out again tomorrow, as Biker Bill has a scheduled day off. One thing I have learned is to keep a better eye on my tire pressure. It does appear that my front tire has a slow leak. It will need to be replaced this spring, as the tread is wearing a bit thin on the front, too.

Wishing you adventures in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

When I saw that this week's Saturday Photo Hunt was "silver" I immediately thought of my silver handlebar clock on my motorcycle. Read below to see why.

Theme: Silver ** Become a Photo Hunter ** View Blogroll

Now here is a gadget almost better then PB&J (that is peanut butter and jelly). My husband got this for me for my birthday in January 2006. I do errands on my motorcycle and can loose track of time. It was very awkward to try and read my watch with my stiff motorcycle jacket covering it. The cuff kept covering it and trying to uncover it going down the road was next to impossible. So the above is one of my favorite accessories for my V Star 650 Custom. Now I can keep track of the time when out having fun ... errrr.. doing errands, lol.

What is your favorite silver object?

~ We're Out of Beta ~

I signed into my Blogger Dashboard today to do a minor tweak of my template and the above message greets me. I'm thinking, "Holy cow!! I had no idea that they had only so much Beta available. I never saw it mentioned that it would be limited" I was eventually going go convert. Honest, I was. I was waiting till I had time to mess with my blog, if there was trouble with the conversion.

So now I'm depressed, tough out of luck, out in the rain without an umbrella, on my motorcycle without any gas, in a mall without my credit card, out the whole enchilada, high and dry, up a creek without a paddle ... Oh, you know what I mean, lol. I was looking forward to categorizing my posts for easier reference and now... sigh.

Oh well, there goes my day (as my eldest loves to say, lol).

Hope things go better in your part of the world,

Biker Betty

~ New Bike in the Family ~

My husband, Biker Bill, is now the new owner of a Suzuki 2000 Intruder LC. He had bought it as a birthday present for himself, lol. He had been drooling over this bike for almost two weeks. He had almost talked himself out of it, but kept going back and checking on it. It was a great deal as it has just over 35,500 miles on it. But I would call them "loving" miles, as the Intruder is in excellent condition and has some very nice and pricey extras on it.

On the day he bought it from Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza the weather was as perfect as it could be for January. We had a great experience there while buying the bike. My husband's salesman, Gregg, was very helpful. Gregg sold Biker Bill the Nighthawk. We also had Nathan (who is a new salesman there and I hope I remember his name right) help us. He is new to the Springs from California and a wealth of information. He worked for Chaparral Motorsports before moving here.

When my husband did a trial run in their parking lot, I could tell he was loving it. While he was driving around I turned to Gregg and said, "I'm pretty certain you just sold a bike." Biker Bill drove up not long after that, with a grin only the Cheshire Cat in Alice In Wonderland could really understand. Of course, we all know and understand that grin of pure joy that only driving a motorcycle can bring *smile*. He drove up and the first words out of his mouth were "You've just sold a bike."

Incidently, Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza is also one of the fine sponsors in town for the Mountain Shadow Riders. Twice a year the Mountain Shadow Riders have their open houses at Rocky Mtn Cycle Plaza. So the next time you're in the Springs and stop by there, just tell them Biker Betty sent you .... uh...on second thought, you'd better not. They don't know who in the Betty Boop I am, lol, and they're liable to consider you "a bit hmm" LOL!! Anyway, they are a great place to shop for motorcycles and motorcycle "farkle." See Rush Hour Rambling January 6th post to understand that, lol. I do love his definition.

It was a matter of squaring away the paperwork and Biker Bill was the proud owner of a 2000 Suzuki Intruder. The grin never came off his face all the rest of the day. He was able to ride it home that same day and it was a good thing, I'm not sure the two could have been parted. Hmmm... should I be jealous?!? He did have to be pretty alert on the drive home, but all the roads from Rocky Mtn to our house were mostly clear. He was lucky. Many side roads still had snow on them. The only place that had him on edge was actually turning onto our road and then again at our driveway. Both places he had to carefully pick his way thru the snow.

It snowed the next day and the roads haven't been good for motorcycling ever since. Boy, was he lucky or what? Biker Bill is one unhappy motorcyclist at the moment. He has his new toy and can't get it out of the driveway, lol.

He bought it on the 4th and the above picture was taken on the 7th. As you can see, there is snow on the ground in the above picture. The day was warm enough for him to pull it out and start it up. It was his birthday, after all, and he just had to do something with his present. He also cleaned it up and polished it. I tease him, because now he has chrome. His Nighthawk has no chrome and he always said "I don't need no stink'n chrome."

This is one pretty loud bike. Now when both our bikes are running, his drowns out mine. This bike came with a Mustang seat, Vance & Hines pipes and some very nice leather bags. His Nighthawk is much quieter and my Yamaha V-Star 650 would drown it out. He always hated that. He did buy and install Khrome Werks Baffles for the Intruder to try and quiet it down. That didn't work too well, lol.

He had both our bikes running. With all the cold weather and not being able to get out on the road, we wanted to check the batteries. Mine started right up, his didn't, lol!!! Anyway, while mine was running he shut his off. I was ghastly astounded and dismayed :( Once his was off mine sounded like a lawn mower!?!?!?!?


Well, that was on the 7th and now it's the 17th. The above shot is of our driveway and, sadly, we still are not able to get out and ride.

This shot is to the right of our driveway. Pretty dismal for motorcycling, don't you agree? It has been so cold that the snow just cannot melt. We are expected to get more snow this weekend. It doesn't sound like much is expected to fall, but it's going to be enough to keep the roads dangerous for a motorcycle.

There's always the bright side, Pikes Peak is gorgeous with all that snow on it!!! I took that picture today.

Wishing you winter adventures in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

How much do you depend on today's technology? I personally am very greatful for all the neat and handy gadgets that have been designed to help us in many different ways. Below is one that I love to use. It helps me exercise and stay in shape. I have put many miles on it, but it has been feeling neglected for a few months, lol.

When I saw that this Saturday's Photo Hunt theme was technology, I thought of this right away. Especially since I need to shed a few of the "Holiday pounds." Uggh!!! This is an article that I had written for The Motorcycle Group.com last week and thought I'd republish it here. Read on...

Theme: Technology ** Become a Photo Hunter ** View Blogroll

~ Exercise For a Safer Motorcycle Ride ~

As everyone is pondering their own New Year resolutions, so am I. Before 2007 started, I really hadn't put too much thought or energy into thinking of a list of things I want to accomplish this year. Some years I don't have a new year resolutions, then I won't feel let down or bad about myself when said plans fall apart.

This year there are actually two things I do want to make, not just a resolution, but a part of my actual "life" plan. To me a "life" plan isn't a short goal, but to make an actual routine of my life. First, as a Christian, I want to read the Bible more regularly. This is pretty straight forward and a matter of just doing it.

And Second to exercise more often. This is an area I know most of us have the hardest time with. I get to a point where I'm doing really well and then I take a "short" break and BAM!! a month or two has slipped by and I'm back to square one *sigh.* As a motorcyclist I also recognize that with a fit body I'm a safer rider. I don't get fatigued as quickly and stay sharper on my toes. I'm more mentally alert and physically ready for sudden obsticals in my path. As we all know, motorcycling can be very draining, mentally and physically. And a tired driver could spell disaster or death in this sport. When we're tired we don't watch the road as carefully for obsticals or even that sharp turn up ahead. It's seems corners are one of our biggest challenges. Sure, some people take them better then others, but when you're not paying attention - those corners will surprise even the most seasoned motorcyclist.

The above photo is my Pro*Form 700 Cardio Cross Trainer and my main plan of attack. We have owned this for quite a few years and I have already put many miles on it. I will watch TV while cycling. So, "why?" you ask, should I still choose this? Because I love to use it!! I just need to be a little more realistic when using it. I will slowly build up the resistance and time to where I'm doing really well. But then I'm not willing to lower the resistance or time when I'm not really up to it. Instead I won't use it for a time and then I realize I have work ahead of me to get back to where I was. I don't want to work harder and I let it go more and it's the proverbial "slippery slope."

I also two VHS exercise tapes that I love to use. They both provide a one hour workout and, after I have gotten over the break-in period, you get to feeling really good using them. I love to use "Gilad - New Best of Bodies in Motion," and "Step Reebok - The Video." I like exercising at home and all these things get me where I want to be.

I have recognized that I need to come up with a plan to work this into my life, like I would eatting or sleeping. Not only do I need to get in shape, I need to shed about 20 - 25 pounds to get to my ideal weight for a healthy life. I can just hear a few of my regular readers saying, "Oh yea, like you really need to lose weight." I can hide those pounds quite well under a bulky motorcycle jacket and black leather chaps, lol. But if I don't get my plan started now, I will be known as "Ugly Betty," instead of "Biker Betty," lol.

Okay, that brings up another subject near and dear to my heart. What genius decided to call a TV show "Ugly Betty"!!!! Hmfph!!! Below is my version called "Ugly Biker Betty," lol. This show should sell millions!!! LOL

Wishing you great journeys in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

There are so many memories from 2006 that it is very hard to pick just a few. To the left is a picture of Grey Rock that my husband, a close friend, and I climbed to the top of. See the people climbing to the left, toward the bottom of the rock? You may need to click on the picture. This will make it bigger and easier to see the people. The people are very tine and that gives you an idea how big it is. It's the highest rock in the Garden of the Gods and our conquest for the day. Two more pictures of us climbing are at the bottom of this post.

Theme: Memory ** Become a Photo Hunter ** View Blogroll

But to prevent boring you with allllll my photos. I did try and pick a few of my favorites. To say that motorcycling has changed my life, is putting it mildly. My life has never been the same since I took the MSF beginner course and then got my Purple Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom. Did I say my motorcycle was "purple?" lol.

I joined the Mountain Shadow Riders, a ladies motorcycle riding group, in January 2006 and met a group of wonderful people who welcomes newcomers with open arms. Here is a group of people whose enthusiasm for riding is very evident. The rides and other social activities I have done with this group has been a lot of fun.

So when I found out that this weeks "Photo Hunters" theme was "Memory," I had my work cut out for me to choose just a few photos that brought back fond memories.

This picture was take when our youngest son rode for the first time with us and on the back of his dad's Honda Nighthawk. What memories were built on this ride. Just before heading home we stopped and got ice cream. What a great way to end a ride.



Here was when our youngest rode for the second time with me to church. We had a blast.



Here's a great memory of me working for the first time on my bike. It wasn't a big job, but I loved it. I needed to change the bulb in my headlight. My husband was such a "hovering helicopter mom" during the job. I worked on airplanes in the Air Force for my first three years in the Air Force and I know how to turn a wrench. I want to learn to do the maintenance on my bike, but my husband wants to do it. He's having a hissy fit about this topic, lol.



Twice this year the Mountain Shadow Riders did highway clean up. 'As you can see by the sign, we have adopted a part of a highway. This was taken in the spring and, yes, you do see that white stuff on the ground.



Here is a fun memory of a ride my husband and I did with the Mountain Shadow Riders. We are taking a break to enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery. During this ride we had to suit up in our rain gear, because we thought we were going to hit some rain. We did get pretty cold during this ride. It was an all day ride up in the mountains.



I met Christine in the Mountain Shadow Riders. Here is a picture of Christine on a ride she and I took together. We met at 9am and got back home at 9pm. We put a lot of miles on our bikes that day. It was a great day of riding and we did get caught in one downpour, that luckily, didn't last long. We got a lot of scavanger hunt pictures that day. She stopped at a few that she already had, but I didn't. Thanks again, Christine :)



This last year many of you saw some of the many pictures I took for the Mountain Shadow Rider's Scavenger hunt. Here is one of the pictures I haven't yet shared. I needed a red phone booth. The scavenger hunt was so much fun and lasted all summer. There was over 350 items to find and I had a blast looking for them. Because I had to get my motorcycle in every picture, some were a little embarrassing. People were wondering what is that person doing. It took me out of my "comfort zone."



I did share this scavenger hunt photo in the spring time. No, I'm not really getting arrested. I needed a picture of my motorcycle with a police officer and his/her car. The police officer was a little too anxious to help, lol. Actually, he did it at my husband's suggestion. I really appreciate this police officer's help with my photo hunt. The men and women in our police dept and sheriff's dept do an awesome job.

Here is one of my really funny memories. I am not a morning person, so this was the ultimate sacrific for me, lol. My husband and I got up at the crack of dawn to that I could get my picture taken in front of a mattress store "with" my pajamas on! Yes, I'm crazy, lock me up. I find out later that not many of the ladies did this. For the record - I did have clothes on underneath the pajamas and I did wear all my protective gear to and from.


Here was my husband, a close friend, and myself's only chance to get out climbing together this last summer. I am in climbing gear and on rope. If I had slipped, I wouldn't have gone far. I did the lead climb most the way up on this climb. That is why you see so much gear on my climbing harness. This part was top roped, but the rest wasn't and yours truly was climbing and putting in caribiners as I was going along.


Here is the final memory to share. We are on top of the world, well "Gray Rock" in Garden of the Gods, to be exact. We are at the top of the mountain you saw at the top of this post. It's the tallest rock in the garden and very awe-inspiring to climb. It's really not very technical, as far as climbs goes, and just a lot of fun.

Wishing you many wonderful memories in 2007,

Biker Betty :)

~ And the "Search" is On ~

Do you like to check and see what searches bring people to your blog? I do. There is always the usual searches that I expect to see. Such as: "V-Star," "Yamaha," "motorcycle," "women bikers," etc. Today I had one that left me chuckling and I'm soooo sure they didn't find what they were looking for here, lol.

I like to think that my blog is "family" rated. I don't curse (or hardly ever, lol), but respect those of you who do on your own blogs. Occasionally my blog may go "PG," but not sure that it ever has yet. I like it that anyone, of any age, can come here and hopefully enjoy whatever I may ramble on about.

Today I got a search that left me laughing, and I've had a few searches do that. Now if that person comes back , please know that I am in no way teasing you, I am just chuckling over the fact that you probably didn't expect what "I" had posted. You see, this person was searching for "Biker Bunnies." A couple of days ago I had posted a picture of my Biker Bunny that Santa brought me for Christmas.

I can just hear all my regular readers laughing right now. I think we can all imagine what this person was really searching for, lol. I've had people do other "adult" searches that brought them to my blog. Once I was talking about having to use a "screw" driver to install the new lightbulb in my headlight on my motorcycle and, lets just say, they didn't get what they were looking for either, lol!!!

What kind of funny searches have brought people to your blogs? We'd love to hear all about them (please keep it clean).

Wishing you good laughs in your part of the world,

Biker Betty ;)

Today is an absolutely crummy day to ride a motorcycle. There's snow, ice and lots of rocks on the roads, and yes - I'm whining!! It looks like there will be a lot of these days this winter and I promise you I won't post about every one. I have another purpose for this post.

This morning I was cruising through all the blogs I like to read daily and I came across a very interesting post this morning. One I think every motorcyclist and scooter driver will find very interesting. Steve, over at Scooter In The Sticks has a very mind-blowing mini video to watch. It's called "Morning Fall." It's very well done and the ending leaves you speechless. I don't want to say anything more about the ending, as you just have to go over there and see it for yourself. Believe me, it is well worth your time to check it out. Now GO!!.... Scooter In The Sticks

PS: I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on this video.

~ Exercise For a Safer Motorcycle Ride ~

I have written this article for The Motorcycle Group.com. Just click on over there and read all about it. I haven't figured out how to insert pictures there yet, so the above picture is the cross trainer mentioned in the artcle.

As everyone is pondering their own New Year resolutions, so am I. Before 2007 started, I really hadn't put too much thought or energy into thinking of a list of things I want to accomplish this year. Some years I don't have a new year resolutions, then I won't feel let down or bad about myself when said plans fall apart..... To read the rest of this, click on the link above.

Below is my interpretation of Ugly Betty. When you read the article at The Motorcycle Group.com you will understand. Whoever thought that was a good name for a TV show has a warped sense of humor. I deeply object to desecration of my name sake!! lol. Please note that I am joking here and I enjoy watching the show.

When it first came out my family wasn't sure whether to laugh at the title or not. Whenever the commercials would come on they'd want to laugh, but give me those "not sure if I should - looks." Wondering if Mom/Wife would beat them to a pulp if they dared to laugh, lol. I have to admit, I was taken aback at first, but we all enjoy a hearty laugh over the show now. I've taken it all in the good natured spirit intended.

The show is actually pretty popular and here is an idea for a sequel show. Actually, there are a lot of possibilities with this new story line, lol. Hey, Producers!!! Over here!!! Remember, I thought of it!!!

Happy 2007 New year!!!!

As I look over this last year of 2006, I thank God for all the blessings He has granted me. This last year was a lot of fun. My family and I have been blessed in many ways. When I joined the local ladies motorcycle group, the Mountain Shadow (a chapter of Women on Wheels), that was probably one of the best things I did for 2006. This group, while mainly ladies, has some great guys that ride along. We also have some family members, too. It's a very diverse group of people whose goals are to safely motorcycle, care for others, and have fun along the way. We made many new and wonderful friends in this group and I did many really fun rides through the year with them. To the Mountain Shadow Riders - thank you to each and everyone of you for your friendship and I look forward to another year of getting to know you better, meeting new people and the adventures we have on motorcycles together. This is a very caring group, in many ways. They care for each other and the community. It's a real blessing to be able to call myself a member of the Mountain Shadow Riders.

With the Mountain Shadow Riders I have been able to strengthen my motorcycle skills in many ways. I learned how to ride in a group and the many skills and hand signals required to do this. Through the motorcycle scavenger hunt contest, I learned soooo many things. I can now ride more comfortably on gravel. The hunt took me to some really interesting places, which I shared a few in this blog, and different driving conditions. I rode in sun, rain, wind etc. I found out that I finished in about 5th place, of the 25 people who turned in their photos. I was surprised by that. It was a blast and we all enjoyed this friendly competition. Thank you Christine for putting this together. You did an awesome job and I know it was a lot of work.

I look forward to getting to know my fellow bloggers and making new friends. I have met many wonderful bloggers and look forward to the year ahead with you. I started blogging in the spring of 2006 and never dreamed where it would take me. I have enjoyed getting to know fellow motorcyclist, who share what they have learned or learning and the rides they take. I have enjoyed the Blogging Chicks group I participate in and the people I have met along the way. I have also enjoyed getting to know the bloggers in the Saturday Photo Hunt that I've been participating in. The people in this group a very imaginative in the photos they have taken and share with the theme for each week.

I got up late, due to the New Year party we hosted at my house, so I must keep this short for now.

Have fun in this new year and wishing you many wonderful/fun/friendship making adventurous in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)