Biker Betty

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-25T09:25:00.009-06:00

Thank You to the Men and Women
who are serving,
who have served,
our United States Armed Forces.

We are in debt to you.

Many Have Served for Us,

Many Have Died for Us,

So that We "All" May Remain Free...
Remember Them All.

Thank You

Note: All photos have been taken by me, Biker Betty. Please don't copy without my permission. Thanks :)

Spring Riding Season Starts

2009-05-23T17:24:00.010-06:00

Whew, I've passed my two college courses this last semester with "A's" and I'm already enrolled for the fall with two more computer classes that I can't wait to start. Four classes down (all A's so far) and a cazillion to go, lol. In the fall I will be taking "Complete Web Authoring: HTML" on campus. I'm hoping to learn new tricks to use with this web page. I will also be taking "Intro to Operating Systems" as an on-line class. Both classes should be very interesting.

The Mountain Shadow Riders is starting to gear up for the riding season. We had an open house at Apex Sports a couple of weekends ago and boy was that fun. I worked all day and time flew by. It was a lot of laughs and fun.

Last Sunday my husband and I participated in the Colorado Springs Sport Touring Club poker run that raised money for Colorado Springs Search and Rescue. We have done this run for three years now and it's always fun. Every year we have managed to win a door prize. This year I won a T-Shirt from Tiger Law (a very cool looking T-Shirt that was way too big for me, but not my husband) and a gift certificate for pizza, yummy :)

My husband surprised me with looking into buying me a Yamaha 2009 V-Star 950 Tourer that is a new model this year. That is a gorgeous bike. Ever since I read the write up in Rider magazine, I have been dreaming about this bike. My husband was sick and tired of me drooling over it, instead of drooling over him, lol. We went to Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza and I went for a test ride on one the color Raven. I will be taking a few long trips this summer and we were looking for an upgrade from my V-Star 650.

The 950 rode like a dream and it was the perfect height. I loved it!!! but it turned out to be too heavy. I was soooooo disappointed and bummed beyond belief. With the slightest incline, my 5ft 1-1/2" height could barely move it. After many attempts I can eventually move it, but this was a slight incline. What would I do with more? I have no problem getting my 650 moved in this same situation. Sadly, I had to turn away from that gorgeous bike. I was in 7th heaven riding down the road on the test ride. For those of you who can move this motorcycle(which is just about everyone in the world), I highly recommend it. It has a LOT of very cool features.

I also looked at the Boulevard C50T, but it was a bit too heavy for me, too and a bit higher then I was comfortable with. I have seen a few people buy motorcycles that didn't fit them well and they eventually quit riding and there was no way I wanted to get in that situation. These motorcycles are a big investment and before I plunked any money down, I want to be sure it is the right model fdr me. If I have any doubts, I won't get it.

Luckily, my 2002 V-Star 650 Custom is going strong and very dependable. I haven't had a lick of trouble with it. So now the plan is to upgrade what I have. The plan is to deck it out almost like a V-Star Silverado. Today we ordered floorboards to replace the pegs and a heel - toe shifter. I also have some new saddle bags on order. Also looking into a 2" riser to pull back the handlebars. On long trips I'm finding I am leaning forward on the handlebars a bit too far and it numbs my palms a bit. I need the handlebars to come towards me just a little. I will be putting the most miles on my bike this summer and I can finally gear up and get it customized the way I need it.

First step is in one and a half weeks when I take it in for it's yearly tune-up. I've got the appointment set. This summer is already heating up...even though we are having rain at the moment, lol. I only have one more week of work at the school and then we have our summer break. I'm looking forward to this as much (if not more, lol) then the kids.

Wishing you a Wonderful Summer in Your part of the World,

Biker Betty :)

All Work and No Play...

2009-02-24T21:45:00.003-07:00

glitter-graphics.com

Leads to a neglected blog

glitter-graphics.com

I have been suddenly busy with more homework than usual, which leads to neglected things to do around the house. Any spare time I get, I rest!! This last week I had a big project for my Interpersonal Relations college class. I'm enjoying college, but then I think how long it's going to take me just to get the associates I want and wonder "What am I doing?"

With my full-time job I can only take about two classes a semester. I can't knock my job, as it is defraying some of the cost of college. Plus, I'm just glad to have a job I like and have. The school district is losing lots of money soon since the bond they wanted got voted down and the current one runs out at the end of this school year. So myself and others are holding our breaths and hoping to have a job in the fall.

Some friends have asked why I'm not taking one of the colleges that gives courses online and at a faster rate. I find out how much these colleges charge and that's why. I'm going to the local community college.

I'm determined to do this. So, if I'm absent for a week or two it's because I got snowed under with school work and life (housework, family, job, ... etc.) and not the fluffy, cold white stuff we seem to be missing at the moment this winter, lol.

Wishing You a Great Day in Your Part of the World,

Biker Betty :)

Photo Hunt - Bridge(s)

2009-02-07T13:42:00.003-07:00

Theme: Bridge(s) ** Become a Photo Hunter

This is the highest bridge on the Colorado State Highway System. It crosses Areque Gulch. It is just outside Victor, Colorado on Highway 67 and was built in 2000-2001. It is 250 Feet tall at its highest point.

You are not allowed to park on the bridge. Only on either end and walk out to take your photos of the view. Here we are parked at one end to get our photos.

Here is a view from the middle of the bridge of the Sangre De Cristo Mountain Range. It is a lot of fun riding the motorcycles up here. It's a day trip up and back. Even in the summer, it can be chilly up in these mountains and we must bring our winter gear with us. Sometimes we don't need the winter gear and sometimes we do. All year long we must be prepared for cold and hot weather.

Wishing you fun travels in your part of the world,
Biker Betty :)

PS: I have a special spot on my sidebar for Saturday Photo Hunt links. Let me know if you want to link to me and I link to you. Please only request if you are willing to link too. Thank you :)

Congratulations Pittsburgh Steelers!!!

2009-02-01T20:34:00.003-07:00

Super Bowl XLIII

Final Score

Pittsburgh Steelers 27

Arizona Cardinals 23

glitter-graphics.com

This was an awesome Super Bowl to watch and congratulations to the Steelers for a hard fought game. It was very close to the end. It looked like the Cardinals were going to win in the fourth quarter. The Steelers Santonio Holmes pulled off an incredible touch down at the very end to win the game. He did an excellent job at the edge of the touchdown zone and held it.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the first franchise to win 6 Super Bowls!!!

Photo Hunt - Furry

2009-01-31T19:28:00.005-07:00

Theme: Furry ** Become a Photo Hunter

I'm a little late posting for this Saturday's photo hunt. Too many things came up earlier today. When I saw that today's theme is "Furry" I knew exactly what I would choose. It's not an original idea using a dog, but Herbie himself is anything but original, lol.

Herbie gets second looks when people see him and usually a few laughs. He's so cute and we love him. He's a cross between a gold lab and a basset hound. He's got the lab body and the basset legs. He's a true pound puppy, as that's where we found and adopted him.

We call him "Herbie the Love Dog," after the movie "Herbie the Love Bug." We also refer to him as our "Low Rider" dog.

I have started a Saturday Photo Hunt link list on my side bar. If you would like to exchange links, please let me know.

Wishing you a great weekend in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

Photo Hunt - Chipped

2009-01-23T21:36:00.006-07:00

Theme: Chipped ** Become a Photo Hunter

It's another Saturday's Photo Hunt and the theme is "chipped." I love taking photos and this is just a lot of fun. The only requirement is that you use only the photos you take. No copying others or using photos from some webite. Besides, using your own is more challenging. Sometimes I go out looking for something new to use and sometimes I use past photos, like this time. That is okay. So go on over to tnchick and join the fun.

It doesn't technically start till sometime Saturday morning, but I'm working very early tomorrow morning to help pay for my college books. So Photo Hunter visitors, I will be by later in the afternoon to check out your cool photos.

These photos came to mind from a trip to Beaver Creek, Colorado in September 2007. My husband and I went away for the weekend on an all expense paid business retreat. We were the only ones to show up at the five-star hotel on motorcycles. It was a retreat just riding up and back. The parking attendants made us park our own bikes - no tip there, lol.

Well, on the way back home I kind of chipped my helmet (see photo above). The duct tape fix is kind of hiding it. The whole incident broke my heart.

You see, we were on our way back home and I was on a motorcycle scavenger hunt that summer in a contest with the Mountain Shadow Riders (a chapter of Women on Wheels (R) . I got a lot of elevation signs on this trip and actually one first place!!! The above photo is one of my elevation signs. I stopped to get a scenic photo (see below) and my bike was leaning a bit more than usual parked in the dirt. I left the engine running, to get that quick photo, and left my helmet on the seat. It vibrated right off the bike and onto the ground - ugh.

I just wanted to cry. I was stomp'n mad at myself (literally). That helmet was only a few months old and it was chipped and the visor snapped at the right hinge. We weren't sure if it was going to be fixable or not. Luckily, I was able to order all new parts and I still wear it today. Yes, I know once it's dropped you are suppose to replace it, but that was one expensive helmet and I couldn't afford to do that.

I tried riding without the visor, but it had snowed the night before and it was darn cold. My eyes were tearing up bad from the cold wind, even with sunglasses on. So after a few stops of trying a few things, my husband (Sir Duct Tape) reaches into his saddle bag (with a MacGyver twinkle in his eyes) and promply whipped out his hunk'n role of "fix-all" duct tape and fixed my helmet right up. Larry the Cable Guy would be proud, hee hee.

After that, everytime we stopped somewhere that I needed to take my helmet off my husband would come over and carefully peel up the duct tape so I could get it off. We got some weird looks. Even more confused looks when he would duct tape it all back!! Life is never dull.

Wishing you a "No Chipped" and duct tape free weekend in your part of the world ,

Biker Betty :)

Squeeze in One Last Day?

2009-01-22T18:09:00.005-07:00

I was able to ride to work one more day this week, yeah!!! Today it started off at actually 39 degrees!! It was a virtual heat wave by golly. Unbelievably though, was that the last two mornings at 33 and 34 degrees felt warmer than this morning. There was a slight breeze this morning and maybe that contributed to it. Maybe there was moisture in the air? I just don't know.

I don't have too far to ride to work. It usually takes about 15 minutes. So these cold temps don't seem too bad, considering. I told a worker the other day that the cold hurts my neck, but I don't usually like to bother with my windless neckgater for such a short ride. I just "suck it up," a phrase my husband loves to use around the house. My co-worker reminded me about the warm and snugly fleece neck wrap she gave me for Christmas. So this morning I used it. It's very comfortable and blocks most of the cold. The wind does go thru it, as it's not windless. You just got to love the windless stuff out on the market these days. I will have to (ahem) find my windless neckgator and use it. Just to try it out.

When I got off work today it was 60 degrees outside. But, to my surprise, it was very noticeably overcast. Many people around me were saying snow is due tomorrow. I say "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" I actually heard a few days ago that the bad weather wasn't due till maybe Sunday. Predicting the weather is just that - predicting. I don't hold the poor, and sometimes confused, weatherperson to their predictions like some.

So, hopefully I get to squeeze one more day of riding to work this January before the snow flies.

Wishing you a good day in your part of the world,
Biker Betty :)

PS ~ Have you noticed the days are starting to get a wee bit longer?

It's Electrifying

2009-01-21T20:54:00.005-07:00

I was actually able to ride to work yesterday and today. It started off cold, but by the time I got off work it wasn't bad at all.

Yesterday I knew it was going to be nice in the afternoon, so I just planned on riding. When I got up at O'Dark thirty I checked the temperature outside and saw that it was 35 degree F. I think to myself, "Okay, it's a little cold but who cares. It's going to be nice later." I get ready for work and just before pulling out my bike I check to see how much warmer it is. It's now 34 degrees!! I'm thinking, "What the heck?"

I'm still determined to ride and I think to myself "what's one degree less?"(LOL). I pack my lunch and get my stuff together. I pull out the bike and have it warming up. One last glance at the temperature gage - It's now 33 degrees!?! I thought it was suppose to be nice. I start having a few second thoughts, afterall the weather can change here without much notice. I think "what the heck" and go back to plan A and hope on my bike and go to work. I also pray to the weather gods that all will be well.

Driving in the dark early in the morning I take my time. There is gravel on the road and it's not too easy to see till you're very close. No problems getting to work.

Ah, all's well. The weather cooperates and it's pretty decent when I get off. I take the long way home (heh). I make it to the last turn onto my street when my bike slips. Luckily, I don't go down, but you can bet I was thanking the Lord for saving me on that. After parking my bike I had to hop into the car and go get my youngest son from school. As I pass the spot I slipped, I look closely at the ground. There was hardly any gravel, but it was there. Lesson learned.

Today I ride and it was a bit warmer when I start off (34 degrees). I take it easy in the dark and get to work. Now this morning I wash my hair and get lazy and don't put the conditioner in. When I get to work and pull off my helmet my hair is loaded with electricity!! It feels like it's sticking out and you know that feeling when your hair gets static? It was there. Oh man, it was there!! I'm looking in my mirrors and can't get it to cooperate at all. I get a momentary panic attack. People are arriving to work and my hair is looking like I just stuck my finger in an electrical socket. I feel like Bozo the Clown, the Wicked Witch of the West on the Wizard of Oz, one of those Anime cartoon charaters (I think you get the idea). On normal rides I don't care, but I'm at work and I would like to look okay. I run for the bathroom and wet my hands and rub it thru my hair. I was relieved to see that that did the trick. It actually looked better then normal, lol. From now on I will be sure to use hair conditioner when I ride to work. Lesson learned.

This whole week is suppose to be nice and I plan to ride everyday, yah!! It will always be cold in the morning, but I have the afternoon ride to look forward to. Bad weather is due sometime this weekend, y-u-k!

Wishing you well in your part of the world,
Biker Betty :)

Saturday Photo Hunt - Aftermath

2009-01-09T20:40:00.010-07:00

Photo Hunt - Aftermath

Theme: Aftermath ** Become a Photo Hunter

The above and below photos are the "aftermath" of our school library having flooded from a busted water pipe the weekend of December 20/21. The above photo shows them replacing part of the carpet where the wood under it had buckled. In this last Monday's post I had reported that we had 370 books damaged and that I wasn't finished going through all the books yet. Looks like we are now done and 596 books were damaged when the water pipe broke. Most of the books were lost in the history section of our library. Water also came down and destroyed most of our Shakespeare books and some of the poetry.

Many kids would say that that isn't a loss, lol. They'd be more worried that the books in the Twilight Saga Series by Stephenie Meyer were destroyed. Even if the water came down in the fiction section of our library, those books would be safe, as every one of the books in that series were checked out over the Christmas break! Ever since the movie "Twilight" came out, we can't keep the books on the shelves. They were pretty popular even before the movie came out. You can get some info over at The Official Website of Stephenie Meyer. Presently there are four books in the series. Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. For those fans I found out that there is another in the works called "Midnight Sun." I need to read at least the first book, so I can see what the kids are so ga-ga about. I'm just not a vampire fan and haven't had the desire to read them. Have any of you read them and how did you like them?

Now the Harry Potter series - that's a totally different story. I'm a huge fan of that series. The first book was out a year before I finally read it and I couldn't put it down. Took me about two days to read the first book. Then as the rest were published I was at the store that day to buy it, lol. Okay, I wasn't so bad that I was at the store before midnight. My hat's off to those that were, though.

Below are more pictures of the "aftermath" of the flood. As we went through the books on the shelves, we placed the bad ones on the tables.

Below is a close up of some of the damaged books. Just today a representative of Follette Corporation (a book supplier) came out to survey the damage. They are offering us a pretty sweet deal if we go through them to get the books replaced through our insurance. We also will have a representative from another major book supplier, that we also buy our books from, come out this next week. My boss (our school librarian) wants to hear from both before he makes his decision as to which to go through to get all these books replaced.

I was crushed to see the mess this whole thing left our school library in. My hat's off to our custodial staff. They have done a tremendous job cleaning up and drying out the carpet. There were two inches of water that they had to deal with. I have been working very hard wiping down all the surfaces and it's getting there. My last big project is washing down all the shelves that the water and ceiling tiles came down on. This week I can bring the live plants back to work. I take them home to care for them over long holiday breaks and summer. I bought two of them and one of the staff donated one of the others. They add that welcoming feeling to the place.

I was hired the fall of 2007 and the previous person could care less about how the library looked. I love to decorate and slowly, using my own money, I would find bargains of nice items and plants to put on display. We have been getting lots of compliments from the students and the staff about how inviting the library now is. I had a few of the staff tell me that before I was hired the library was like a tomb. The previous person was so mean (as the kids and staff put it) that no one liked to come in. I also like to decorate for the different holidays and seasons. My next goal is to find nice/gently used furniture. We just need a matching couch and loveseat and hopefully some matching lounge chairs.

The library is really coming along and that is pretty exciting. We are recovering from the aftermath of this disaster.

Wishing you a great day in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

Give Me My Kidney Back!?!

2009-01-08T18:39:00.004-07:00

I just heard of this unbelievable story a little bit ago on CNN. I just have to tell you about this. Not sure if you had heard about it, but what a circus it is turning into. Get a load of this... Seems Richard Batista, a doctor in Long Island, is suing his estranged wife for his kidney back or $1.5 million for damages and compensation.

Here's the brief low down:

His wife, Dawnell had two failed kidney transplants earlier. He donated his kidney to her in 2001, in hopes that that would work and she would get better. She still has it, so this transplant must be a success. Years later, feeling much better, she took up karate and hurt her knee during a lesson. Her husband is alleging that she started having an affair with her physical therapist in 2003. In 2005 she served her husband divorce papers. She is also not letting him visit their three daughters, ages 8, 11, & 14.

It's been reported that Richard is so hurt and angry over this, that he has decided to sue his wife in the divorce settlement for his kidney back or the $1.5 million mentioned above.

Okay, do you think this is helping his practice? I mean - Yikes!! He really needs to think deep about this. It's looking real bad for him. He really needs to let this go. Doesn't he ever want to see his daughters? He "donated" the kidney, for cry'n out loud. She is saying she didn't have the affair. I'm not here to judge either way. All I know is what the news portrays (and we know how that can work sometimes). It's just mind boggling that someone would want back an organ they had donated to help another person get better. This takes Indian Giver to a whole new level, lol.

You can go to CNN.com to get the story. I also googled "Richard Batista" and went to a few other web pages for more info.

You know, when you hear stories like this... I'm not so sure we have totally evolved from the ape.

May your part of the world be a little saner,

Biker Betty :)

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's back to ...

2009-01-05T16:36:00.009-07:00

... work I go. I knew ahead of time that today, my first day back from my school winter break, I had plenty of work to do. Sometime during the first weekend of the winter break a pipe broke and flooded part of our school library. I went in twice during the break to help assess the damage.

Originally, word had come down that water had come right down on my desk, but luckily that wasn't the case. On my way to work, at O'Dark Thirty, I stopped at a Starbucks to get my favorite flavored coffee, Caramel Macchiato. I don't stop there often, but a coworker had given me a $5 gift card. So armed with this dreamy coffee creation, I was ready to forge ahead to get my work done.

I tell you what, a lot of water came down thru many parts of the ceiling. Lots of ceiling tile was all over the place. I'm not done with my inventory of the damaged books, but so far it's 370 books. I have one more table of books that have been pulled, due to damage, that I must inventory.

Here's the damage...

and here...

and here...

The above photo shows new books that were on display and water never even touched them. They got damaged by all the moisture in the air. We tried to stack heavier books on top of the warped ones to see if we couldn't straighten them out. This is only 1/4 of the new books warped, ugh!!! We aren't even sure if we can even claim these books.

We also have damage under parts of the rug and I have a lot of shelves to clean. They have bits of ceiling tile and water residue on them. I will be very busy these next few days. Water had fallen on our tables, but luckily they are fine. That's great considering they were standing in 2 inches of water for a day or two.

On top of this, we came back to very bad news. One of our students had died over the winter break. He was very popular and well liked in our school. The students come back Wednesday and many of them will take this news understandably hard. Our school counselors are ready and the district crisis team is on standby. It's horrible when a child dies. I knew this boy some. He would come into the library every now and then. He was very nice. I didn't know it, but he had a health problem and things were starting to look grim for him in December before the break.

Sorry this isn't one of my more upbeat posts. Life isn't always roses, is it?

Here's hoping things are going better in your part of the world,

Biker Betty

PhotoHunt ~ Hope

2009-01-03T10:58:00.007-07:00

Photo Hunt - "Hope"

Theme: Hope ** Become a Photo Hunter

I haven't done the PhotoHunt in a while and I'm pretty excited to be participating this week. Yesterday I had mentioned in my post how I visited Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza and Steve Clark, General Manager, was very helpful in helping me locate the new 2009 Yamaha V-Star 950. The above is the basic model in Raven (black). Steve induldged me and took my picture sitting it. Thank you Steve. It fits just like my 2002 V-Star 650 Custom. This is a sweet bike! It is my Hope that when I replace my V-Star 650 that I can get the V-Star 950, but with the Tourer package. It is my Hope that I could replace it this year with the Black Cherry model before my big trip to Texas this summer for the Women On Wheels (R) Ride-In. One can always Hope, sigh.

I learned about this new model for the first time in my Feb 2009 issue of Rider Magazine. They have a Rider Test writeup on it and just reading it highly peaked my interest. I really like my current V-Star, so replacing it with another upgrade V-Star just seems a no brainer. What I like about this model is that it's not too powerful, but way more powerful than what I have now. I really don't need a 1300 or more powerful engine. Plus, lets face the facts, those bigger machines just don't go low enough for my 5'2" tall body.

One of the features that I really like is it come with floorboards. I have footpegs and after a day on my bike my feet start to go numb. Another feature that I like is that it has eight-spoke cast wheels. I currently have spoked wheels and the members of the Mountain Shadow Riders that rode with me last summer can testify how my spokes do vibrate loose over time. That can be very dangerous, if not watch and adjusted as needed. I have learned that my spokes do work loose and that bugs me!

The 950 has a gorgeous design that I would never want to custom paint. In the write-up Clement Salvadori has many good things to say about the design and the ride. I would be very curious about the clutch, as in the write-up it he says that it's very smooth and "minimizes any risks of stalling when starting up." I would be a good test for that, lol. Okay, in my denfense I don't stall often and I guess we all tend to embarrassingly stall on occasion. I just hope the person behind me doesn't run me over at that green light when it happens.

Until I can Hopefully upgrade, I feel very lucky to already own the 2002 Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom. That is an incredible bike and I can depend on it. I have put over 15,000 miles on it over the last 3 1/2 years and it hasn't failed me yet. It is a rock-solid motorcycle. I have heard other V-Star owners say the same thing. I ride it to work, when the weather allows, and I ride it all over Colorado. It is excellent on pavement, rock, high mountain passes and did an excellent job getting me to the top of Mount Evans, CO (North America's highest paved automobile road). At the top we were at the elevation of 14,240 ft. It is 14 miles of some of the tightest twists imaginable. Once at the top we were warned that due to the elevation our bikes might not start up right away. Well, mine started on the first try and I had no doubt.

I have to say that any day on a motorcycle is a good day. I Hope you have a good day too.

Biker Betty :)

On The Road Again

2009-01-02T19:50:00.011-07:00

I was very excited today, as I got to ride my motorcycle for the first time this year and since early October. I had to go into work for a couple of hours today on my day off. I've been off for the last two weeks since school is out. Into the first week our Christmas break the school library got flooded and it looks like over 300 books got water damaged (and that's another story, sigh).

I planned last night I was going to ride today, as the weather prediction was good for today. First thing I did before backing it out of the garage was start the engine. It hadn't been started since early October and I wasn't certain what would happen. True to my Yamaha V-Star 650 track record it started up on the 3rd attempt. Talk about a dependable bike!! I love my Yamaha ;)

When I took off it was almost 34 Degrees F. Yah, it was balmy, lol. I could see my breath, but I was soooo happy to be riding that I didn't notice how cold my hands were till I was almost to work. When I pulled out of my driveway I had the biggest smile :) After working a few hours I went home to feed my son and then planned a short ride, ahem.

After a quick bite I decided I had better check my tire pressure and the front tire was very low. I should have checked it before taking off earlier - shame on me!!! Note to readers and myself: Don't call your significant other at their work to ask questions to do with minor maintenance before going on ride. They get cranky knowing you are going out and they are stuck at work. They tend to not be very helpful with the knowledge you seek, lol.

My goal was to ride to two motorcycle stores in town. I decided to go by way of Garden of the Gods. It was such a beautiful day I needed to ride thru and take in the winter beauty. It was pretty busy with lots of visitors. Seems I wasn't the only one with the same idea.

On the way out I just had to stop and take a picture of this mountain. I learned most of my rock climbing on it and did many lead climbs to the top. It is lots of fun. The view at the top is breathtaking. I wrote about it early on in this blog.

I then thought it would be really cool to run up the pass (Hwy 24) and do a quick visit to Woodland Park. (Remember - this is just a short jaunt, lol). Little did I know how "cool" it would be. Most of the pass was in the shade and talk about cold, brrrr. It felt like the time I had jumped into a snow fed lake in Oregon. It was very "refreshing"!?!. I get up to Woodland Park, gas up, and head back to the springs.

The town of Green Mountain Falls is situated in such a way that it is in the shade most of the time. I took a detour to take a picture of the snow they still have. It was pretty cold there and I got back on the highway to get to warmer weather.

I haven't been to the two motorcycle stores I like to visit in quite a while. First stop was Apex Sports to see if anything new is out. My main goal was to see the 2009 Yamaha V-Star 950. I read a review about it in Rider magazine and was very curious and excited to see. They didn't have it, or I just couldn't find it. It wasn't thru lack of trying. I looked over everything twice, lol.

Next stop was Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza and - Jackpot!!! - They had what I was dreaming to see. It IS very cool and I will share a picture tomorrow. I couldn't find it at first, but a salesman was very helpful in helping me locate what I was looking for. What a sweet bike. After talking with the salesman who, gave me lots of information on the 2009 V-star, I went into the accessories store to see what new things were there and to see if Sharon was in. Everyone there is very nice, but I have got to know Sharon thru the years. She works in accessories and greets everyone with a huge smile. She was there and we had a very nice chat getting caught up with each other. I was really sorry to hear she and her husband have been thru some rough times this last year with her husband health and I really wish her and her husband the best in 2009.

It was 5pm and I figured I had better hightail it back home. The sun was setting and the evening commute was in full swing. I got home safely and what a fun afternoon of playing hookie. I managed to blow out all the cobwebs from my motorcycle and get 70 miles today

What a great day and wishing you one too,

Biker Betty :)

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T17:30:00.003-07:00

Also Wishing You Bling Under the Christmas Tree

I Hope this year was as great for you as it was for me. Even though I didn't get to post as much as I would have liked toward the last half of this year, I was busy out on my motorcycle. Sorry I didn't share the adventures with you, but I did have a lot of fun ;)

This winter has been more fierce than past winters and I have hardly gotten my bike out, sigh. We have been getting snow off and on for the last few months. Just yesterday we got a decent dusting and it is very Christmasy outside. When the snow melts off the roads there is a lot of that little gravel all over. I do need to get my V-Star out for a run around the block just to keep the battery charged. I did do a few very cool things on my bike that I will have to share over this winter with you.

I finished my first two college classes the first week of December and earned A's in both, yea!!! For those who are new to my blog, at 48 I have gone back to college to earn the degree I never finished. Turns out I waited too long and now I must start all over. Because I work full-time, I'm going the an Associates in Computer Information Systems. I love computers and am really excited about this. The two year degree will take me 6 years at the rate I'm going, lol. For anyone just graduated from high school or graduated in the last two years or so - Don't do like me and put off college. Get it done now and over with!!! It's much harder with a family and a full-time job.

I'm already enrolled in the next two classes that will start mid-January. I really enjoyed and learned a lot with the last two classes - Intro to PC Applications (the Business Suite of Microsoft 2007) and PC Spreadsheet Concepts (Microsoft 2007 Excel). They are already coming in handy at work helping the kids on the computers. The school district is converting over to Microsoft 2007 this coming spring and I will be so ready to help others learn the new layout. I love Microsoft 2007, but boy is it really different from any previous updates.

I had better go, with it being Christmas Eve I have things to do. I've been thinking about everyone and hoping all is well with you and yours.

Happy Holidays,
Biker Betty

Campus Security ?!?

2008-09-10T22:33:00.003-06:00

Yep, this summer has been incredibly busy and not with as much motorcycling as I would have liked - sigh. Early spring we bought a house that is a fixer-upper. It was a lot of work to get it ready for us to move into. Then we had to turn around and tidy up the house we want to sell. We still have projects to finish in the new (to us) house. We also did a lot of camping again this summer. My parents were camp hosting, so we could camp for free. They were right off of a lake. It was beautiful. This summer was a bit cooler then last.

After 20 (something ish, ahem) years I have gone back to college this fall. I don't have a degree and would love to learn more about computers. So I am now working on my Associates in Computer Information Systems. It's a two year degree, but with me working full-time I figure I will be lucky to finish it in 5 years. I get at least 6 projects a week between my two classes. One of them is online and I go to campus for the other after work.

I get out of class this evening and what do I spy? Campus Security scouring my motorcycle and writing notes!!! Another student notices me in my gear and looks at the scene at my motorcycle and quickly puts 2 and 2 together as I quickly speed up my steps. I walk up to my bike and ask what's the problem.

You see, I'm parked in motorcycle parking and I had checked that I don't need any parking passes for my motorcycle or car. So I just can't figure out what he could be upset about. From a distance I could see him taking notes about the front of my bike, inspecting my helmet, gas tank, sides and then writes down my license plate number. My first thought was "did I remember to put my new tags on my license plate" and yes I'm sure I did. I was then trying to figure out if I had parked wrong. By now I'm at my bike.

He quickly backs away when he hears my voice and figures out I'm the owner. One look at me and he says there's no problem now that he sees who the owner of my motorcycle is. He does ask me what time I get out of class and what time I left campus on Monday. Seems a few motorcycles left campus at about 70 mph in a 25 mph zone. I had actually drove my car on Monday, but had noted that quite a few motorcycles were parked on Monday. Tonight it's just me and two others (one on each side of me). He informed me that he had their information and they were in a lot of trouble for speeding. I ask him how does he know that they were the ones and he give me this "Oh, I know" speech. I ask him what time it happened and he said around 8pm. It's dark at that time.

He then asks me what is the sticker on one of my front forks. I tell him it's a military base sticker. He asks me which base and I tell Peterson (just like it says on the sticker, lol). Seems he does ride motorcycles and gives me some advice about winter driving, which I already know. We chat a little longer and I get out of town fast (a, slow that is - at 25 mph). I tell my husband he does have my info and I hope I don't ever get notified of "reckless indangerment," as I believe the guy called it he was ticketing the others for. Not sure I want to park in motorcycle parking anymore now on campus. It is closer to the door then I could get with my car, but not sure it's worth the other hassles.

I just don't think he has a leg to stand on. Wish I knew the other motorcyclist so I could hear how it pans out. They weren't officially clocked or followed. They were just observed from afar, as far as I can tell. Not sure how legal his tickets are. He says maybe they will slow down if points are taken off their drivers license. Can he do that?!? I'm doubting it. He lets me know he has their license plate numbers and VIN numbers (mine too as I saw him take it!) He assures me I'm okay and not considered one of the speeders, so time will tell. He had me guilty at first just because I was parked in motorcycle parking. If I hadn't walked up, he was going after me too. Seeings how I wasn't even there Monday when it happened, makes me wonder how well he could see anyone if he was going to blame me too. Hmmmm...

Wishing you exciting driving stories in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

Photo Hunt - Water

2008-06-21T22:27:00.006-06:00

Photo Hunt - Water

Theme: Water ** Become a Photo Hunter

I must brag on my husband who designed and made the above pond. We have enjoyed this water feature in the backyard of our previous house for 3 summers. It was so great to hear the trickle of water when sitting out on the back deck. Yes, we plan on putting another pond in the backyard of our new house. My husband already has a few neat ideas in mind, but it will probably wait till next summer.

I can't leave out a motorcycle photo, lol. This was taken two summers ago when the Mountain Shadow Riders were doing a scavenger hunt with our motorcycles. One of the items on the list was a waterfall.

Here's another water photo. It's another scavenger hunt photo. I needed to find ducks to get with my motorcycle. I thought I was sunk with this item, but then I remembered a park in town that had a pond close to the road with ducks. How lucky was I? Just over the seat of my motorcycle is frozen water. This was take late September of 2006 and it had snowed, ugh!!

This Photo Hunt is so much fun. Wow, it is hard to believe that I have been participating in this off and on since 9/2/06. I will be coming up on two years this September, Yahoo!!! Consider doing this. It is lots of fun :)

Wishing you fun in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

Photo Hunt - Bad Hair

2008-06-07T18:43:00.005-06:00

Photo Hunt ~ Bad Hair

Hello fellow Photo Hunters and other wonderful visitors. It's been a while since I have participated and I've really missed this. When I read "Bad Hair" I instantly thought of the awful state my hair gets in after many hours of riding my motorcycle with my helmet on ~ hence the famous term "Helmet Hair," LOL. I had my hubby take these photos just today after an all morning ride we took.

I absolutely hate my Helmet Hair and as soon as the helmet comes off, a hat or bandana usually goes on to hide it. The above is a very rare photo you will see.

Whew!!! There that's sooooo much better. I put the helmet back on. Now don't you just love the purple gear? I sure do!!! I love my Joe Rocket mesh jacket and ICON Motosports helmet. A huge thank you to these two companies for thinking of us ladies with such super gear and making it purple at that. Now I just need Joe Rocket to create very warm winter jacket in that beautiful purple design for winter riding in the mountains and I will be all set :)

Wishing you better hair days in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

RIP Jessica Terrell

2008-06-03T23:45:00.005-06:00

Today I have been doing a little house cleaning of my blog. I was going thru my links, as I have discovered that some blogs have retired. But sadly I also discovered a fellow motorcyclist had passed away in January of this year. I actually learned of this tragic accident thru Helmet Hair magazine.com. I go to the MotoFeminia website occasionally to see if a new project has begun. Jessica actually died in a car accident and the little bit of information of her and what happened is about half way down the page here.

I got to know Jessica thru the MotoFemina project a few years ago. MotoFemina ran from April thru September 2006. It was a lot of fun chatting with Jessica, Synth and Laura as they learned to ride motorcycles and compete to win a BMW F 650 GS. They had to do and learn so much that summer. You can still go back and read all about it in the MotoFemina link above. Jessica is the one who one the contest.

So I'm sitting here stunned and sad by the information I have just learned a little while ago. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Everyone, take care with whatever you travel in,

Biker Betty

Gorgeous Day To Do Errands?

2008-06-02T23:17:00.003-06:00

Well, if that is the only way to get out and about on my motorcycle, so be it!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

We have recently bought a new home in the same city and moved in. It is a fixer-upper and my husband was very busy with projects to get it ready to move in. I helped a lot, but there were some that only he could do. We have moved in and now we must get the other house cleaned and on the market. There hasn't been anytime to ride and we are soooo tired of all the work. We are still trying to get all the stuff out of the other house.

Today I had a lot to clean, but I also had errands to do that I could do on the motorcycle. The weather was perfect. I took the long way to everywhere, lol. Needless to say, it took me twice as long. My husband was at work, so it didn't matter. I love working for a school system. I get as excited as the kids about summer break ;)

One of my errands was stopping by Lenscrafters. I get to the mall where it is and go to lock up my helmet only to discover that I had grabbed the wrong set of keys, UGH. At first I couldn't figure out why the key wouldn't work for the helmet lock. You are probably wondering how I could grab the wrong set of keys and get my motorcycle to work? My husband and I each have very cool key rings. You can quickly detach one key from the rest and we both use that for our motorycle key. This is so we don't have all the rest of the keys flopping in the wind and scratching our paint on the tank. I sometimes forget to reattach the engine key and my husband does too. For the first time ever, I accidently grabbed his main bunch of keys. So I had to carry my helmet into the mall and into Lenscrafters. They had a roomfull of people and boy did heads swivel when I walked in with all my riding gear on and toting that helmet. People really notice me with all that purple in the summer.

As I'm sure you have, I have gotten to where I don't notice the stares much anymore. It's like when my kids get to nagging, I turn them off and don't realize they are still talking, lol. When my kids give me that look that I realize I'm suppose to respond - I'm like "Oh, were you talking to me?!?" How many times have your kids done that to you? Revenge is sweet.

Today was so warm that I took my liner out of my purple Joe Rocket mesh jacket. We are finally into summer, YEA!!! I get my errands done. I get to ride my motorcycle. All is well with the world :)

Wishing you adventures on your errands in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

I Hate To Have To Do This

2008-05-31T15:03:00.002-06:00

... But it has been forced upon me. I have had this blog for just over two years and I have now been forced to moderate the comments posted to my blog. Someone has repeatedly been posting very long religious comments on my blog. I delete it and they keep coming back. Is anyone else having this problem recently?

I am religious and everyone has their rights to what they believe or choose not to believe. They should start their own blog and post their ideas. These comments have absolutely nothing to do with my posts. They actually appear to be threatening in nature. So please bear with me and very sorry I had to do this.

Motorcycle Blog to Check Out

2008-05-31T11:08:00.004-06:00

I have just today found a fellow motorcycle blogger that has listed his Top 100 Motorcycle blogs. Many of you are on it and there are a few that are new to me and I must go visit. Cristian - who lives in Bucharest, Romania - has a couple of Honda Nighthawks and hence the name of his blog Honda Motorycles blog. I just read one of his motorcyle travels and it is very interesting. He can ride for miles and miles and not come across another vehicle on the road!! WOW!

A few of you have already found him and chatted with him. I'm playing catch-up, as I have been out of the bloggy world for a few months. School is out and I'm finding more time to do the things I love. I do love working in a high school library, but my first year back was hard for me. I worked full-time till my first child was born and then I opted to stay at home and raise my kids and was lucky to be able to do it. I stayed at home for about 19 years, YIKES!!! Without my extra income we had to watch the pennies and couldn't do or buy what many did, but it was worth it. I can say that I'm glad to be back in the workforce and working with teens is fun.

During the time I was silent in my blog I was still out riding my motorcycle when I could. If there is one thing I love - it is riding my motorcycle!!! People at work and the students love it that their library assistant rides a motorcycle to work.

On that note: Let me wish everyone travels adventures,

Biker Betty :)

Dinner in the Next Town

2008-05-30T23:08:00.003-06:00

Hello to all - I got back from dinner a little bit ago and what a fun time it was. The Mountain Shadow Riders had their monthly family dinner night tonight. I logged almost 60 miles just getting there and back. It was great seeing those who were able to make it. I've missed quite a few of their family dinner nights lately and really wanted to make this. It was partly selfish on my part, as we went to Casa Grande Mexican Restaurant up in Woodland Park. A few of you may have read in past posts how much I love riding up Highway 24 to Woodland Park (and beyond to Buena Vista - where the famous Collegiate Peaks are). Plus I loovvve this restaurant!!

So tonight it was to Woodland Park, CO and to one of my favorite restaurants there. The food was marvelous, as usual, and the place was packed. They recently relocated to a new location they had built and I understand they have been very busy since. We had eight people reserve for the dinner from our group, our organizer reserved ten at the restaurant and twelve showed up, lol. We kept playing musical chairs trying to fit everyone in, as they all din't show up at the same time. It all worked out and we had an enjoyable dinner. The people at Casa Grande were superb!!

At this dinner I was reminded that I hadn't posted since January and would I please post something. I will try and post more often, as I miss everyone and hearing from you. So Don, this post is dedicated to you. He reminds me when I have been delinquent in posting, lol. Don rides a motorcycle and has recently started his own blog. He is also very involved with ABATE in Colorado. As soon as I can I will put a link to him. He told me at the dinner, but I didn't have anything to write on and I tried to commit it to memory - but alas my retched memory has failed me :(

I must close for now.

Wishing you adventurous travels to wonderful restaurants,

Biker Betty

PS: The Mountain Shadow Riders has started our ride contest for this year. In a few days I will tell you all about it. It should be lots of fun!!

Blogger Chick - Sick

2008-01-26T14:54:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to let you know that I'm around, but I've been under the weather for a week and a half. I caught that awful flu bug and did it knock me off my feet. Last weekend I was in bed from Friday evening thru Tuesday morning and even then I almost called in sick. I felt so lucky I had MLK day off. I'm starting to recover, but then my hubby's dad died. So this blogging chick is busy at the moment. I promise it will only be for a little while. Give me about a week to recover from all this bad karma.

Hoping Your Part of the World is Better then Mine,
Biker Betty

Round Robin Challenge: Railroad

2008-01-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

Many of you know me and photo challenges, I Love THEM!!! I found this one thru a link over at Nekked Lizard Adventures. This person is a Coloradian like myself. From there was the link to the Round Robin. Thought I'd have to try this. It's new to me. Gina at Gina’s Spacecame up with the idea for this challenge. Great idea Gina :)

Who doesn't like trains? I don't have any recent photos, but this was was taken two summers ago (2006) when I was doing the Mountain Shadow Riders motorcycle scavenger hunt. I didn't win this contest, but I was one of the upper four people. It was so much fun. The above photo was taken on the road between Cripple Creek and Victor. Talk about a beautiful drive. That train looks like Thomas the Tank Engine (which I loved to watch when my eldest was 4 years old). It's actually the Victor Narrow Gage Line. I have not had a chance to ride it, but it sure looks like fun.

The above is a sample of the views in store with the Victor train. Far out on the horizon is a bunch of the famous Colorado 14ers.

For the same scaventer hunt I also got a photo of the diner car of the train that goes to another famous Colorado tourist location: The Royal Gorge. As a family we went there in our car many years ago and really enjoyed ourselves.

So hop on the train and visit others participating in this challenge.

Biker Betty :)

I'm Not Vain, Am I ?!?

2008-01-07T22:41:00.001-07:00

I hope Jovi doesn't mind that I borrowed this photo from her blog. Till I checked her blog, I didn't realize she caught a shot of me riding as we (the Mountain Shadow Riders) were all getting ready to leave for our ride and lunch that I talked about in the previous post. Jovi got a few nice shots of our ride that day. Go on over and see.

Now that it is winter I have had to put away my purple Joe Rocketmesh motorcycle jacket and pull out my much needed and warmer red Fieldsheer motorcycle jacket. The purple helmet clashes with the red jacket, sigh. I do still have the red helmet, but it just doesn't fit as nice as my ICON purple helmet.

Women's FXRG® Midweight Leather Jacket

The above is the jacket I would love to get some day, but the sticker shock of $560 is a bit high. I'm pretty sure the price has gone up since the last time I longingly looked at it a year ago at our local Pikes Peak Harley Davidson store. It has pockets in the liner to put insertable hot packets that you use for camping. If I had just bought something like this when I was first looking, I wouldn't need to be buying another jacket. I also like this jacket because it has the all-important armor in it that I always look for in a motorcycle jacket.

I bought the above motorcycle jacket so that I would be seen on the road. It has worked. It is a sharp looking jacket. I stand out with all my riding buddies who all wear the black leather jackets, but now it is dingy and very dirty. I dare you to click on the photo to see the dirt/grease spots on the neck, front and arms!! On the cleaning lable it says "Gently sponge outer jacket with a non-biological detergent." Do you really think that's going to clean this?!?!?

It would be easy to keep a leather jacket clean and it's way more durable. It is hard for me to find the leather jacket for me, as I require armor in mine. There are so many leather jackets out there without the armor. It's like wearing a helmet, it's the individual choice. I'm really impressed with the HD jacket and all that was designed in it. So we will see If it works into the future budget now that I'm working full-time.

But for now, I wear a purple helmet with the red jacket. It's not a pretty sight, but it keeps me pretty warm and riding. When it comes down to it, that's what is most important. What kind of jacket do your wear? Is there armor? Are you color coordinated, lol?

Wishing you adventures in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

Mountain Shadow Riders 1st Ride 2008

2008-01-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Admittedly, it wasn't a long ride. We seem to be between snow storms at the moment. It was a beautiful day and pretty warm when we started off, but the wind was outrageous. A high wind warning was issued for our city and surrounding areas. We met at a designated spot and at noon rode to Chili's for lunch.

Here's one of our bloggers - Jovi who was on the ride. You can see by her hair how windy it is. Another fellow blogger, that many of you know, Christine was also there, but I didn't get her pic.

I never get my picture (ha!!)

It was a great afternoon with friends and good food. We had a pretty large crowd and lots of laughs. We had four new ladies come out on their motorcycles to see what the Mountain Shadow Riders was about and they told me they had lots of fun. As many regulars know, the Mountain Shadow Riders is a chapter of Women On Wheels. After lunch there was a plan to ride to Penrose, but there was no interest with the high winds. It was noticably colder going home. The wind was bad, but manageable. I have been in worse winds. It was another good day of riding, even if it was short. In this case it was quality, not quantity.

Wishing You Winter Adventures,

Biker Betty :)

Yea, Warm Weather to Ride !!!

2008-01-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

Today was an excellent day to ride to work. The high today was 58 degree F. and I pulled out my bike and rode to work. Hello everyone - I don't know where the time has gone. Seems like it was just yesterday it was summer. I've got my second wind with my full-time job as a library assistant in a high school and I've had such a bug to get back into blogging again :) I miss not visiting all my blogging buddies and the chats. I could not believe how tired I was the first couple of months I started this job. There was so much work to do. The person before me had stopped working before school let out for the summer and she was just dead space till she got "promoted" to another school. Yep, she did get a promotion. I'm very glad I got this job. I love it and the people I work with are very nice. I love working with the teens. It's so different then elementary school where I did part-time work for 5 years.

This last weekend I opened the garage and tried to start my Yamaha. It has been so cold for many weeks and I hadn't touched it all that time. I would look longingly at it when I walked by it to put recycles in the bins. It was halfway warm last weekend and I decided that if the roads and weather weren't going to cooperate - well I was going to at least start it up just to keep the battery charged. It took some coaxing for about a minute. I was real careful to not flood the engine. I was finally rewarded when it kicked over for a split second, lol. Finally I did get it to start and let it for for about 20 minutes. I had to keep the throttle on twice as long as I usually do. While listening to it run I cleaned it up, checked tires, and made sure there wasn't anything loose and that there was not leaks. My husband and I don't winterize our bikes, as we ride when we can in the winter. This winter hasn't been allowing for much riding. Also, in previous years when I wasn't working full-time, I would get it out and ride a while during the day when it was warmer. Now I have to leave for work at 6:25am and it's just plain to cooollddd!!! By the time I get home I'm too busy to ride, sigh.

One reason I was checking my bike was that the Mountain Shadow Riders have our New Years Day ride coming up tomorrow and I wanted to be sure my bike would start. My husband pulled out his bike and it wouldn't start. When he hooked up the charger to his bike, it wouldn't take a charge and he ended up having to order a battery that he just got in. He bought a gel battery and is pretty excited to try it out. He ordered it Monday and it just arrived. He put it in and his Suzuki Intruder 1500 started right up.

Tomorrow I get to ride with fellow riders. It's going to be in town and we plan on riding to a restuarant for lunch. They are already predicting snow for late Sunday and again later next week, sigh. At least it's going to be nice for tomorrow. Suppose to be close to 60 degrees F. Wooo Hooo, motorcycle ride here I come !!!!

Wishing you warm winter travels,

Biker Betty

Great Day Today

2007-09-18T21:56:00.000-06:00

This morning I get up to 54 degrees F. It is a bit cooler, but still manageable with my summer mesh jacket. I can tell the sun is slowly starting to rise later as the days go by. I didn't need my darker sunglasses this morning.

When I got off work it had warmed up to 78 degrees F. and very sunny. I kept my liner in my jacket, as I was too lazy to take it out - knowing I needed it back in in the morning. The rest of this week is suppose to be pretty warm in the afternoons. Mornings are cooler these days.

Before leaving the school today I was putting overdue notices in teacher's boxes to give to kids. I'm still surprising staff with my riding gear. A teacher walks into the office while I was busy and she exclaims her surprise that I ride. The secretary laughs, as she knows, and says they didn't realize they hired a wild woman onto the staff, lol. So far all the responses from the staff have been positive and they love that I ride. I get lots of support and fun comments from them. They are surprised that I ride when it's overcast and rain is forcasted.

I will say that if it's raining real hard when it's time to go to work I will most likely wimp out and take the van. I don't worry about the afternoon rain. I just don't want yucky hair when I get to work. Hey, I'm a girl and this girl does want to look halfway decent during the day, lol. My long hair sticks out from under the helmet and what a mess when it gets wet :(

On that note, I must get to bed. I'm having to get up at 4:50am and that time comes too early.

Wishing you great rides,

Biker Betty :)

Beat the Weather Yesterday

2007-09-18T21:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday when I rode to work it was 58 degrees F and overcast. The ride to work wasn't too bad and there was a beautiful sunrise to enjoy. I tried to catch it in the above photo, but it didn't show much. As I rode down the road the red got more brilliant and bold, but I didn't have enough time to stop and snap a photo. I didn't leave enough margin of time to travel to work, sigh.

Boy, did I luck out with the weather. A teacher comes walking into the library in the early afternoon and declares it raining. She knows I ride to work and thinks it probably the end of the world for me, lol. I said that rain is no problem, as I have rain gear if I need it. By the time I get off work at 3pm the rain has stopped and just about everything is dry. As I walk up to my V-Star I see some signs of the previous rain, as there were water droplets not yet dried on my bags and parts of my motorcycle. There's a little pool of water on my odometer.

Guess what? After I get home and go to put my Star in the garage it starts to rain. Luck is with me today. It warmed up to 64 degrees F for the ride home. I wasn't sweating with the liner in my jacket this afternoon. There was a slight cool breeze.

A cool thing happened on the way home. At one of the stop lights a teenager hung out the passenger window of the car she was riding and yelled "Awesome bike - way to go!!" and she gave me the thumbs up. I gave her a great big smile and wave. Who knows, maybe she will be a future rider?

2007-09-12T21:14:00.000-06:00

This morning I was oblivious to the weather as I backed my motorcycle out of the garage. It was chilly, but not bad. It was a balmy 54 degree F.

I happened to look left first and saw the above sky. I was busy maneuvering my bike, as my son's car is in the driveway, and I have to move the bike forward and backward a few times to be able to get around his car and out of the driveway. Yesterday he parked too close to the garage and I had to get my car keys and move it back a little - kids!!!

Then I looked right and saw all the clouds. I missed the news last night and was wondering what was in store for the weather today. My usual philosophy is: "If it's not raining or freezing before I get to work, it's a good day to ride." I can handle the rain going home no problem, but I need to watch out that there aren't thunderstorms about the time I get off. I have gotten caught in one a few times in the past and that wasn't pleasant at all. It also depends on how bad the rain is falling at the time I need to leave for work. If it's a light sprinkle, I will forge ahead.

I can tell it's getting close to fall. Mornings are still manageable with my summer motorcycle jacket and it's liner. Two days ago I had to start using the liner in the morning. Today it was 82 degree F when I got off, but I was too lazy to take the liner out. I did sweat some going home, but I knew I'd need the liner again the next morning.

I will hate the day when I have to put my purple jacket away for the winter. I'm on the hunt for a purple leather jacket with all the armor. I do still have my eyes on a black leather Harley Davidson winter jacket that I talked about in the spring. It has all the armor that I require. It's kind of expensive, but hey - I've got a job, lol. Shhhhh ... don't tell my husband ;) With that jacket I won't have to buy another for many years to come - till a purple leather one comes out!!! The black jacket will go well with my purple ICON helmet.

I must go and catch the 10pm news to see what's in store for tomorrow's weather.

Wishing you adventurous journeys,

Biker Betty :)

Colorado Beauty

2007-09-11T21:03:00.000-06:00

Here's a quick glimps of some of what I got to see lots of this summer. Sorry about the spot in my pic, but my camera has something on the inside that shows when the background is light. I'm in the process of trying to get it fixed.

Anyway, all these photos were taken when my hubby and I took our motorcycles on a trip to Arapaho National Forest. We also went on to Rocky Mountain National Forest, but I will save those pics and most of the trip for later. I know there is lots of beautiful places on this planet and Colorado is one of them. Oh yea... I'm luv'n it :)

We stopped to visit my parents and my mom just had to take some photos. I'm getting a lot of practice on many miles of dirt roads. My skills are definitely improving. I was so awesome on the twisties coming up here. Two years ago my husband kind of complained that I was too slow on the turns - this year I was about running him over, lol. There were a few turns that I was frustrated and surprised that he was taking them so slowly. He was amazed at my skill and I was having soooo much fun. He hasn't had much time this summer to get comfortable with his new (used, but new to him) Suzuki Intruder. He is really liking it, though.

This is just a teaser of some of the riding I got to do this summer. I didn't get to ride as much this summer, as last, but what I got to do was lots of fun!!! We did a lot more family camping and couldn't ride as much. We still had lots of fun.

Hoping your summer was great,

Biker Betty :)

Ride to Work Full-time Now

2007-09-11T18:14:00.001-06:00

Here is a big and long overdue ....

******* Hello *******

to all my friends out there in cyberspace. Very sorry for not posting in a while, but boy do I have a lot of adventures and photos to share from the summer!!! First thing - I now have a full-time job, and yea, I know a lot of you think I'm crazy, lol. I did get a librarian position in a school, not the original school I tried for earlier in the summer. You were right that God has a reason for things not to happen at times. This school is awesome and my fellow workers are very nice to work with and the students are great. For the last three weeks I have been riding my motorcycle to work and the staff and students have boosted my ego beyond what it should be, lol. They love my purple motorcycle and that a "girl" rides it.

The reason I haven't posted about it sooner was I was just too pooped when I got home to barely do anything. I'm getting used to the hours - I not a morning person :( !!! I have to be up at 5am to be to work at 6:30am. So in the dark hours of morning, and a time I never knew existed, I'm backing my motorcycle out of the garage and preparing for a nice ride to work. It is getting darker, but the drive is nice. Not many people on the road, I wonder why?!?!?!? For the drive home I have discovered a different route. To return home the way I get to work, the roads are very busy and take twice as long in the afternoon. I have found a different route that is no where near as busy and a nice drive home.

That's it for now. I need to get dinner cooked - speghetti with my homemade sauce. I'm going to visit most of you in the next few days and say hello. Thanks for all the nice comments and see you soon,

Biker Betty :)

Summer's Busy

2007-08-06T23:38:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm still here. I've been so busy that I can't keep up with the home front, but that's good. A little dust around the house doesn't hurt anyone, lol. My family and I have been camping lots this summer. My parents are camp hosts this summer here in Colorado and they have room for us to pitch our tent and we do!!! They are right by a lake and it's gorgeous. Nothing like waking up in the morning and drinking your coffee by the lake, ahhhhhhh.

We have also been hiking lots this summer. My favorite trail is Waldo Canyon. It's 6.2 miles and a 1,000 foot gain in altitude. Once you get in the back part of the canyon it's breathtaking (in more ways then one, lol). The back loop is hard and my youngest son hates it, but I love the exercise and being out in nature.

Yes, I have been riding this summer. All of June, as you read, found me riding to summer school every day. I also rode in a couple of organized rides that I need to still post. I rode in the annual "Fallen Biker" rally, Bikers for Babies, and Fallen Officer's rally. If the weather holds, my hubby and I will be riding up into the mountains this weekend after he gets off work and after I go to my monthly Mountain Shadow Riders meeting. We were just up there camping this last weekend, but by cage.

So, when things settle down I will start to tell the tales of my summer adventures. Wishing you loads of summer adventures,

Biker Betty :)

Time To Get In Shape By Doing Some Hiking

2007-07-10T23:48:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

I really need to get in shape and lose some weight. If I'm not on my V-Star, which is some exercise, I'm sitting here at the computer. My family and I have been trying to make it an effort to get out and enjoy more of the Colorado outdoors. Well, at least my hubby and I. The kids are kind-of fighting this effort, lol. To make this as wordless as possible, we went hiking in a new area called Cheyenne Mountain State Park and the photos were taken there. This park is at the base of the mountain of the famous "Air Force Cheyenne Mountain."

I just love this photo with Cheyenne Mountain in the background. Took this while on the hike.

Looking back on a portion of the trail we were hiking. It is gorgeous out here. There is tons of wild flowers to see. We did a couple of miles today. It was lots of fun. Currently this park is only open for hiking on the weekends.

Wishing you many summer adventures,

Biker Betty

2007-07-06T21:33:00.000-06:00

~ This Saturday's Theme of Fake ~

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

When I saw that this week's theme is "Fake," I knew right away the picture I would use. The giant hercules beetle, being confined in an obviously soundly built fence, is most definitely fake. It does look like something out of a science fiction movie.

The hercules beetle is actually a marker for the locally famous May Museum of the Tropics. This museum is very popular in here Colorado Springs. Many schools and a bazillion students have been here to view the many invertebrates they have to show. Sadly, I haven't been to it myself, but my youngest son has thru a school field trip. He really liked it. Reading about it has me intrigued and I would like to go sometime. They have over 100,000 invertebrates, but as I understand it they only show about 8,000 at any one time.

They also have the Museum of Space Exploration and a Golden Eagle Ranch RV Park and Campground. What more could a person ask for?

No Full-Time Ride to Work in the Fall

2007-07-05T23:56:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty bummed right now. A few hours ago I found out I didn't get the librarian job I had hoped to get. Not sure what went wrong, but oh-well, not much I can do about it. I will still get to work there when they call me to sub and I sure hope they still do. The staff there is real nice to work with and they have a really nice library.

I have an excellent reputation as a library sub and I'm the first called at all the schools I have worked at. That's a nice feeling, just doesn't pay as well as a full-time job. Word is slowly getting out and toward the end of this last school year I was getting more and more calls. This last school year was the first year I opened my availability to all schools and I was surprised by all the calls.

So, I still have the best of both worlds. I will continue to be a librarian sub and get to motorcycle around on my days off. In between all this I have just recently looked into going back to college. I was pretty stupid in my younger days and never even got my associates degree and it keeps coming back to haunt me. I did one year of college and then joined the United States Air Force. I have to admit that I really enjoyed the eight years I served, but things are very different in the services these days. The lack of a degree is probably why I didn't get this last job. I'm real interested in an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Computer Information Systems. My husband is encouraging me to get off my behind and get over to the college and get all my courses transferred and see where I'm at.

So I'm wallowing in the disappointment of not getting this job, but I will try not to for long. It's done and not much I can do about it, sniff. It's just kind of hard to let go, as I was just doing a librarian job for a month in summer school. I really enjoyed that job and was looking forward to doing it full-time. Well, I need to get over to the community college like my husband has been bugging me to do.

Wishing you a better day then mine,

Biker Betty

Week 3 & 4, Adventures in Riding to Work

2007-06-30T22:28:00.000-06:00

This is the weather that usually greets me. In the last two weeks I haven't even needed the liner in my Joe Rocket mesh jacket. I couldn't ask for nicer weather, but the road conditions are a completely different story.

The above sign is what seems to greet you on almost every turn. I can't tell you how many times I changed routes to get to work and mostly to get home. I found a nicer way to get to work after they closed a major bridge I needed to cross to get to work. They did me a favor with that one.

Here's a dreaded sign by most bikers. You can kind of see the difference on the road condition, which are both going in the same direction. The darker pavement is brand new and the lighter road right next to it is full of grooves, as they just recently scrapped up the old road. Driving on that is really weird, as most of you know. A couple of times I got caught in that for more then a mile and couldn't get out of it due to the very uneven pavement.

Trying to avoid road construction is like playing Russian Roulette, lol. Getting to work wasn't usually too bad. First thing in the morning the roads are quiet and the workers are just starting to show up to work. Roads are still open and not reduced to one lane, like they are later in the day.

Driving home is such a different story. I've really tried to find a way home that would avoid road construction, but the best I could do is find the path of least resistance, lol.

Here is a view of my drive to work in the morning. I drive toward the mountains and what wonderful views I have!!! Sadly, this last Friday was my last day of my summer school job. On a good note, I have the next six weeks off.

I did get called to do a job interview this Monday for a librarian job at one of the schools and I'm pretty excited about this. I subbed at this school quite a few times this last year and I really like the staff there. One advantage to working in the school system is I'm usually off when my youngest son is off and I will have summers off with him, unless I work for summer school. I have been a stay-at-home-mom for 18 years and I'm looking forward to a full-time job. With this job I will still be off before my son gets out of school. What more can I ask for?

To my dismay I will miss the official "Ride To Work" day. It's July 18th and summer school was only for the month of June, Augh!!! I would love to be able to ride to work in support of this day. At least I was able to ride to work the entire 4 weeks of my summer job, YEA!!! Everyone at work thought my purple V-Star is very cool. A few even envious that I got to ride a motorcycle to work.

During these last four weeks of work I have done quite a few rides on the weekends, but I would get home and be too tired to post about it. I have put on about 500 miles on my motorcycle during this last month. I will try to get caught up this next month. I do have another ride I'm doing with my husband tomorrow. We are doing the Pikes Peak Fallen Officers' Memorial Ride. The route is covering some of my favorite roads. We're glad to be able to support this, but sad for the reason of the ride. It's to honor two of our fallen police officers that were killed in the last year or so and it would be great to have another reason for this ride.

I will try not to let too much time pass between the next post. My summer is busy with activities and I get lazy in the lulls, lol.

Wishing you great summer adventures,

Biker Betty :)

Week 2, Adventures in Riding to Work

2007-06-17T21:54:00.000-06:00

I have now logged two full weeks of riding to work and loving it!! I have made the decision that as long it's not raining when I need to go to work, I ride. I have been caught in afternoon rains, but that is no big deal. I just don't want to get to work a drowned rat, lol. These two weeks have been fun and what experiences I have had.

This last Tuesday I have to label "Stink and Spit," LOL. On the way to work I took a turn and a horrible smell assulted my nose. I'm talking "diaper gone bad!?!" smell. Looking around I noticed new digging going on and figured it was that. A mile down the road I was still smelling it and wondering where in the world was that smell coming from. I was wondering if it got trapped in my helmet and opened wide the face shield. No dice - still the horrible smell.

Then I suspiciously eyed the truck in front of me with one of those nets on the back that roll down over the bed of the truck to keep debris from flying off. I decided it was time to take action. I couldn't roll up the window to get rid of it. Checking the left lane, all was clear and I decided it was time to pass that stinky bad boy!! Once I got passed it, the air was nice and clear again, thank goodness.

Then on my way home that same day I was at a stop light when all of a sudden this lady just slightly ahead of me in the right hand lane sticks her head out of her window and spit right in front of my bike!?!?! Ewwwww..... I was so glad there wasn't a wind or she would have most likely sprayed me.

These were two experiences I really could have done without, lol. So sometimes riding a bike gets you a little too close to natures smells and bodily functions.

I have only two weeks left of this job, but I have just applied for a full-time library position in one of the schools in the fall. Wish me luck.

Wishing you "nice" adventures in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

2007-06-09T21:41:00.000-06:00

What a motorcyclist wears on their feet can be as important as their helmet, jacket & gloves. Flip Flops, sandals and tennis shoes really shouldn't be worn when on a motorcycle. I wear a good, solid pair of motorcycle boots and that's why I chose these for ...

~ This Saturday's Theme of Shoes ~

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

I had a pair of boots before these, but the tread was just about worn out. Then I went on the search for another pair of boots. I love the above boots. They are River Road motorcycle boots and they are very comfortable. When I bought them, I ended up getting a half-size too big. They didn't have my exact size. I'm glad I bought them a little big, though. Sport and motorcycle socks are pretty thick and with them my boots fit just right. With these boots, my feet stay dry even in a hard rain. They have the special soles that stick great to the ground. My feet feel very solid on the ground with these. I feel great confidence and security with these boots.

Here is one of the reasons I wear a good, solid pair of boots. One day, two years ago, I parked in front of a friend's house in the gutter. I had no problem parking, but when I went to leave the slope of the gutter caught me off guard and I tipped over when I lifted my left foot to get into gear. My right foot got caught between my 500 pound Yamaha V-Star 650 and the cement curb. My ankle smarted for days. I'd hate to think of what might had happened if I was wearing tennis shoes or sandals, like I have seen some lately.

I also have to tell you. The extra cost of sport or motorcycle socks is well worth it. They do a great job of wicking away the sweat. I've tried the Harley socks, REI skiing socks and another brand for skiing and they all work great. I use them even in the heat of the summer. My feet get too sweaty (ewwww!) with regular socks.

Wishing you happy feet,

Biker Betty :)

Hit and Run Motorcycle Crash

2007-06-04T22:36:00.000-06:00

Talk about an unusual motorcycle story. I was reading my local newspaper, when I stumbled upon this story title:

"A hit-and-run suspect in a motorcycle crash...."

Naturally, I'm thinking someone hit a motorcycle and caused a crash - WRONG.

Here's the story out of The Gazette in the Metro section:

Report: Hit-and-run suspect swam away

GRAND JUNCTION - A hit and-run suspect in a motorcycle crash that broke a 16-yearold boy’s leg was captured after apparently trying to swim away on the Colorado River, The Daily Sentinel reported.

The man eluded police for about three hours Saturday night before swimming to shore, naked, bloody and screaming, the newspaper reported.

About 5 p.m. Saturday, a man on a motorcycle was accused of rear-ending two teens on a bicycle.

So here's my question: "How did the man end up naked?!?" Weird story.

Be safe out there,

Biker Betty :)

Love Those Rearview Mirrors

2007-06-04T21:09:00.000-06:00

For the month of June I work in summer school. It's only a four week program and I'm riding my motorcycle to work. It's amazing that one way is only 13 miles, yet the commute thru the city takes 1/2 hour. The only positive thing is I'm having a blast doing it, usaully.

Today I had an incident where I had to decide that the truck was much bigger then me and I immediately braked, as I didn't want to be his hood ornament. As I'm traversing the city to get to my destination, it's time to turn right onto the next street change. I'm coming up to the intersection, look in my rearview mirrors to check traffic behind me (nobody close to worry about), turn on my right turn signal and prepare to move right into a short turn lane. As I'm about to move, I check my right rearview mirror and there's this white truck roaring down and trying to cut me off. It was real obvious the speed he was doing and you could hear the roar of his engine. My first thought is "A## &!%#" and that he's much bigger then me. I immediately swing left, brake (I could brake, as the light was red and I was real close to that intersection), and swing my head in disgust. Needless to say, I was very surprised when he made an abrupt stop and then signaled me to go in front of him. I would have liked to wave thanks (even though he tried to run me down and changed his mind), but my hands were too busy with the clutch and brake.

This last Friday was my first day on the job and my rearview mirrors once again served me well on the drive home. I don't know what it is in my city about changing lanes, but I have seen it often even in my car. Someone signals they are changing lanes, there is an opening, and then suddenly the car behind speeds up to cut you off. I see someone needing to change lanes and I back off and leave them room. Well, on the way home Friday I wanted to change lanes into the (once again) right lane. I look for a nice opening, see it, turn on right turn signal, check mirror (all clear) and move. By the time I had moved into the lane I wanted, some stupid car tried to cut me off. This time I didn't realize it till after I had moved and saw the bumper right on my tail. That car had been way back there just moments before!!

Then she backs way off. I mean "waaayyy off." I don't know why she even sped up, other then she just wanted to cut someone off from changing lanes. Further down the road I'm happy when I see she's more then a quarter of a mile behind me. Till..... you guessed it - I needed to change lanes. It was time to get into the right turn lane and take the most fun curve in the city. I go from one major blvd to another blvd on one of those huge highway turn lanes. I love the lean and the angle of this turn. It's more fun then a carnival ride, lol. I look in my rearview mirror and she's a ways back, so I'm thinking "No Problemo." Wrong!$%&! I turn on my turn signal, check my mirror and move left. In the meantime this girl (young teen) has some problem with this and speeds up and rides my butt ALL THE WAY TO THE NEXT BLVD. I WAS PISSED!! Nothing I could do about it, but watch myself and try to keep some distance. As soon as I'm on the next road she backs off (hmpf!!). So I'm wondering what is her problem, but like I've said this is a problem in our city.

I rely heavily on my rearview mirros, as I know you do. I alway make one last check before changing lanes and that has served me well a few times. I have done many miles in my city with no problems and suddenly in a week....?

Keep safe on those roads and have fun this summer,

Biker Betty :)

Saturday Photo Hunt - Art

2007-06-02T16:11:00.000-06:00

~ This Saturday's Theme is Art ~

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

The above photo is of a turf maze in the village of Hilton in Huntingdonshire, England. We were very happy to live in this village for three years. Our neighbors/friends in this village were so nice. I didn't want to leave when it was time to head back to the states. The United States Air Force had assigned my husband to RAF Alconbury and this village was about 15 minutes from there.

The village of Hilton is very proud of this maze, as it's only one of barely eight left in the country. This maze was cut in the ground by William Sparrow (age 19 yrs at the time) in 1660. I would say he truly is an artist.

The village has maintained it since then, wow!!! My eldest son was just 4 years old when we moved here and we would walk this maze from start to the center and back again. It's one continuous path weaving to the center. We would have so much fun doing this.

I enjoy making miniature quilts and the above photo is my creation of the maze using hexigons that measure 1/2" in size. I drew it out on paper first, just to make sure it would work. Aside from it being in a hexagon shape, and not round, the turns in the path turned out right where they needed to be. My quilt measures 18 1/2" from side to side and took about 1, 684 hexagons. It was completely hand made (10-12 stitches per each hexagon side) using the english paper piecing method. Needless to say, I was very happy with the outcome.

This last March, when my husband and I flew to Las Vegas for a friend's Air Force retirement ceremony, I found this wonderful art on the walls of our airport here in town. They were made by kids in our local schools and I think they did an awesome job!!! The above photo and the two below were all done by kids. Well Done!!!

2007-05-22T22:51:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday Photo Hunt

2007-05-19T20:53:00.000-06:00

~ This Saturday's Theme is Cooked/ing ~

Theme: Cooked/ing ** Become a Photo Hunter ** View Blogroll

Ahhh, here's one of my family's favorite dinners (minus the beer for the kids, lol). It has affectionately been named "Taco Mama." Tonight I didn't make the homemade flour tortilla shells that I quite often make, but I did make my own special taco sauce that we all love. Yummmm Yumm.

This photo hunt is being posted late as I slept in this morning and then I really needed to do some work in the front yard before the afternoon thunderstorms came in, shuttle my youngest son to a school activity, wash my filthy dirty motorcycle, and then cook dinner. I slept in because I stayed up till 2:30am this morning playing Clue and Phase 10 with my 18 year old son and some of his friends. My kids have wonderful friends. They are so amazed (well not anymore, because they now know me) that I love to play board games, card games and some video games with them. I just recently got to try Guitar Hero 2 for XBox 360. That is soooo much fun. My youngest son's friend brought it over and was so surprised when I wanted to try it.

Tomorrow I get up early because my husband and I will be doing the motorcycle run I talked about in the previous post. The weather man has predicted the best weather of the week for tomorrow, so hopefully it is. Anyway, we have our rain gear and are prepared.

Wishing you a great weekend,

Biker Betty :)

2007-05-18T00:30:00.000-06:00

~ Ladies of Harley Annual Mother's Day Run ~

This last Saturday a few of us did the Pikes Peak Harley Owners Group #405 Ladies of Harley Annual Mother's day Run. Yes, I still own a Yamaha V-Star 650 shown at the top, lol. The PP Harley Owners Group here puts on some very fun rides and they welcome all motorcycles on most of their runs. I've done a few runs with this group now and they are very nice. I have enjoyed every run I've done, this one definitely included!!

In the morning, before the run, we first had the montly Mountain Shadow Riders meeting. The meeting was rather sparcely attended, as it was a beautiful day and I'm sure a few were already out on rides somewhere. The meeting business was quickly attended to, so those of us who wanted to do the Mother's Day Run could hopefully get there in time.

As it turned out, by the time we got to the Pikes Peak Harley dealership, the last group had left about 15-20 minutes earlier. There was Mickey, Travis, Taunya, and myself. We were told we could still catch up to the group if we wanted to. Well, it was a beautiful day and we had really wanted to do this run, so we got the route and bought our poker cards. Then Taunya realized she had ran out of time due to a birthday party she was attending in a few hours and we wouldn't be back in time. So sadly, she decided she needed to opt out.

So three of us set out, instead of four. Travis was kind enough to take the lead and head us down I-25 South, bypassing the Garden of the Gods that they had drove past. Our first destination was Pueblo and the Do Drop Inn. It took about an hour and it was a pretty nice ride, considering it was interstate driving. The interstate wasn't too busy and we made good time. We got there to find out the last group had already left. We chose not to have lunch here and were mounting our bikes when one of the people in the chaser group came out to us. She had saw Travis' poker card in his hand and wondered if we were a straggler group. Yep, that us - The Straggler Group - LOL. So we went back in and they were very nice. We chatted just a bit, got our second punch (the first was at the dealership), and hopped on our bikes for the next destination - Canon City.

We took off, with the Chaser Group behind us. We caught Hwy 50 west toward Canon City. This is a very nice road. There was hardly a wind and it was a beautiful ride. We were having a blast!!! About 30 minutes later we arrived in Canon City and our second stop - Cold Stone Creamery. We got our 3rd punch there. We also decided it was time to eat, as it was about 1pm. There was a place right next door and we went in and had lunch. The Coyote's Coffee Den who was one of our sponsors for our breast cancer run last year. As usual, the sandwiches were awesome.

After lunch we rode back to the springs and our next stop - Patsy's Candies. We rode back taking Hwy 50 to Hwy 115. We had the Chaser group behind us. They have two custom Harley's and it was fun riding with them. We were actually two groups, but for most of the ride we were one.

The above photo was our next to the last stop. Here we got our last punch at Patsy's Candies. We left with the Chaser group, but at the light they took a short cut back to the dealership and we took the more scenic route past Garden of the Gods. Just past Garden of the Gods Mickey had to peal off for previously planned activities. So Travis and myself ended the ride at the dealership.

Here we ended the ride in hopes that our poker cards had won. But, alas, that was not in the stars, lol. There was also a motorcycle competition for the women riders and Travis kept telling me I should enter it, lol. But I don't think a plain Yamaha V-Star 650 could compete with custom painted Harleys. The one that won was custom painted pink with white flames. She was part of the Chaser group and we had been admiring her motorcycle already. I should have got a picture, sorry folks.

So ended a wonderful ride. A huge Thank you to Travis for leading our fearless group. He's a support member of the Mountain Shadow Riders and, like all our support members, more like a member. Thank you Mickey. She had just bought her Honda Shadow and really enjoyed the ride. A year ago she and her husband got in a serious motorcycle accident when a semi did a sudden U-turn in front of them. We are grateful they are healed and able to now getting back on motorcycles. Taunya, we missed you and hope the birthday party went well. I arrived home just before the downpour that was threatening us since we got back in town.

My next planned run with this group my husband and I will be doing. We will be riding the annual 5 in 1 run that is a lot of fun. This is their 8th year doing this run and my 2nd time. They do 5 mountain passes in 1 day. And then this Sunday a few of us have plans to do the 19th Annual Colorado Springs Touring Club Poker Run to raise money for the El Paso County Search & Rescue. My husband and I did this run last year and wanted to definitely do it again this year. I just found out tonight that it is about 186 miles of beautiful riding. I also found out tonight that due to lots of snow this last winter the Search and Rescue are rather strapped for cash. They were kept very busy rescuing folks stranded by unexpected snowfall a couple of times. So I look forward to this event and hopefully it raises a lot of money for this worthy organization.

Wishing you wonderful journeys in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

2007-05-11T23:30:00.000-06:00

~ This Saturday's Theme is Five ~

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

WoooHooo I did it again!!! At first I just couldn't think of anything for this Saturday's theme. I was going thru my photos when I found my file of the Harley Davidson 5 in 1 run I did last July. Above are the batches (now on my vest) I got for going on the run. We did 5 mountain passes at 10,000 plus elevation in one day. I did a post on it after the run.

There was a LOT of people who went on this run. The above photo doesn't do justice for ALL the motorcycles that went on this run. They divided everyone into groups of about 18-22 motorcycles. There must have been at least 12 groups participating.

The above picture show my motorcycle with my bags. Most of us spent the night in Leadville that night. The run ended at a reststop about 1/2 hour away from Leadville. It would have been about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour ride back home and most elected to spend the night at Leadville. It was so much fun.

Here is my Yamaha V-Star 650 at Kenosha Pass. It was our first stop. Needless to say, I plan on doing this run again this summer. It is on my calendar already!!

Now I must get to bed. I need to get up early for the Mountain Shadow Riders montly meeting. It's going to be a quick meeting as many of us plan on doing the Pikes Peak Harley Owners Group #405 Ladies of Harley Annual Mother's Day Run. This will be my first year in this run. Last year I thought it was for Harley riders only, but I found out this year that it is open to all motorcycles. So I plan on sneaking my Yamaha in amongst all those Harleys *smile*.

Goodnight,

Biker Betty :)

2007-05-08T21:57:00.000-06:00

~ Hello? Anybody Out There? ~

Wordless Wednesday

Here's a photo from last year's Mountain Shadow Riders photo scavanger hunt. I had to find a red telephone booth. I enjoyed some of the goofy stuff we had to find.

2007-05-04T23:01:00.000-06:00

~ This Saturday's Theme is Childhood ~

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

With the photo hunt theme "childhood," I needed to dig through my photos of when I was growing up. I actually had in mind a photo of when I was pretty young on a bicycle. I was pretty excited when I came across this photo I forgot I had.

This is the first time I was ever on a motorcycle. I'm in the white helmet riding the motorcycle by my dad, who is sitting on the tailgate of his truck. We are at Clear Lake, California and it's April 1970. I'm 11 years old.

It was a lot of fun going through old photos.

Words to the Wise: Don't show your kids your photos of when you were younger, say around 20 years old. They look at you, they look at the photo, they look at you and they look at the photo. Then they get this horrified look like some accident has happened to you, because they are wondering where's the pretty person of 20 years old. My eldest didn't mean to do that, but by golly, he sure did, lol. Then he stammers out, "This is YOU!!!?!?" Yep, I'm an old fart now, sigh.

Have a great Saturday,

Biker Betty :)

PS: In rereading this I discovered an error. I was 10 years old in the photo. It was written 11 on the back of the photo, but I couldn't have been in 1970. It was written there by my dad's girlfriend at the time.

2007-05-01T21:37:00.000-06:00

~ Joe Rocket and Icon I love you ~

This is also a Wordless Wednesday Post

Pictures taken at Garden of the Gods, Colorado

For those interested, the info is below Mister Linky

For over a year I have been on the lookout for purple gear. Or even any gear made for women. More and more the motorcycle industry is recognizing that they need to meet the needs of women. There are many of us out there who ride and don't want to wear gthe unisex gear that fit us like a box. Over the last year I have been amazed at how the industry is stepping up to the plate in designing boots, jackets, helmets, gloves, etc for us and with safety in mind. I applaud them and really appreciate the slowly growing choice of gear to choose from for women.

I recently bought the Joe Rocket - Womens Cleo 2.0 Jacket in purple. I was sooo excited when I saw this mesh jacket and how beautiful it is. It's reasonably priced and it has hard armor in the shoulders and elbows and a substantial armor plate for the back. It also comes with a liner that works pretty well in chilly weather. I was equally happy when it fit so well. Some of the women's jackets have designed their arms so they fit too tightly, but not the different women's Joe Rocket jackets I tried on.

So now I am set for the summer. This is a mesh jacket, which allows air flow thru it and it's significantly cooler for summer use. Because I love this jacket so much I wore it to work in 34 degree F. weather with my REI One jacket underneath and it kept me pretty warm.

Then I went looking for a matching helmet and found this ICON - Women's Hooligan Helmet. I love this helmet so much more then the red HJC LOOK CS-12. Mainly because I can now wear sunglasses with the helmet on and I love the violet color of the ICON. Whenever I tried to wear sunglasses with the HJC helmet they would pop up at a weird angle and I was constantly adjusting them, distracting me from the road. But that is no longer. My solution with the HJC helmet was to buy the tinted shield, but the plastic hinges broke a few times when changing out the different shields due to day/night changes. We were getting frustrated having to buy a new shield just because of stupid plastic hinges breaking.

My criteria when looking for motorcycle gear (in order of importance)

1. Safety - jackets must have armor, gloves must have decent protection

2. fit - It really must fit right and be comfortable

3. Looks - I look for something that I think looks nice for me as a woman

I was then able to find a very cool pair of ICON black/Purple gloves that fit nice and has good protection for the hand and fingers. They are for summer. For winter I will use my black leather gloves that I love and have already.

Now I need to find a winter jacket to go with my new helmet. If I have to, I will wear my red jacket with my violet helmet when the cold weather hits, but I sure hope not.

2007-05-01T18:36:00.000-06:00

Introducing......

(drum roll please...)

Winky, Blinky, & Nod!!!

(from Left to Right)

Here are three of our many fine support members in the Mountain Shadow Riders. They, like our other support members, are quite the characters, lol. Of course, we love them all.

Blinky, bless his heart, was the first to get his nickname. I'm betting you can guess how. A couple of weeks ago he and his wife (one of our members) went on a group ride to New Mexico for lunch. (I would have loved to go on this ride, but I had obligations that day that I couldn't get out of. But I'm crying in public here and need to get back to why I'm writing this.) They all had a good ride and a few came home with nicknames, Blinky being one of them. He kept (you guessed it!) forgetting to turn off his turn signals. He'd go for miles with his blinker on and, as I hear, did it most of the day.

Then there is Nod. He has actually been wanting a nickname for a while. He actually had a "plan" to get his nickname, bless his heart. People would pay to suggest a nickname and "he" would choose the one he liked best, hehe. The first part of his plan wasn't bad. All money raised for this fine endeavor would be donated to our annual breast cancer awareness run in October. (We raised a record breaking $5,700 to donate to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at our run last October '06). So...

The members of the Mountain Shadow Riders were happy to oblige. But he wasn't going to get to pick his nickname and first we needed to be on a few rides with him to see what fit best, lol. I wasn't on the ride that finally sealed (errr.. chose) his fate. It's not all bad. They came by "Nod," because it's an anagram of his name - Don. Not so bad, ehhh?!?

Then there is my husband, Unsupported. Seems he sealed his fate (err... got chosen his nickname) on our last ride to Bent's Old Fort two weekend's back. (I will report on this ride soon). He got caught quite a few times by other members (and Blinky's wife - specifically) leaving one of his blinkers on, LOL!!! He'd go for miles, & miles, & miles . . . with that darn blinker on, bless his fun loving heart. Well "Blinky" was already recently taken. So Blinky's wife came up with "Winky." Partly because it went so well with Blinky and Nod. So Unsupported now has two nicknames.

Many members of our fine group either already had their nicknames from earlier days or they are acquiring them from things they say or do on our group rides. One of the ladies just recently was christened "McSpeedy" on the same New Mexico journey that Blinky took. Maybe I'm glad I didn't take that ride *chuckle*.

The Mountain Shadow Riders is a fun-loving, caring group of people and I'm honored to be a member of this group. I always look forward to future rides with them and we have many planned this summer, not to mention the riding contest we started in April.

Wishing you fun adventures,

Biker Betty :)

2007-04-29T22:19:00.000-06:00

~ The Mountain Shadow Riders Have Been Very Busy ~

The Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum and Hall Of Fame celebrated their 17th Anniversary and 2nd Annual Open House this weekend. Many motorcycle groups/clubs were invited to set up tables and let the public know what they are about. As you can see by the above photo, we accepted the invitation with gusto.

The above photo is also one of my first photos taken for the annual Mountain Shadow Riders yearly riding competition that kicked off the first part of April. Last year we had the wonderful scavanger hunt with over 350 items to search out. This year is a scavanger hunt with a totally different twist. I will post the rules later this week. In the above photo I just earned 5,000 points!!! (WooooHoooo!!!) To earn those coveted points I needed to get a pic of me, my bike with our large banner and a minimum of three Women On Wheels (R) full or support members, including me (mandatory). Poor Blinky (far left and affectionately named by MSR members) was complaining I was covering his face with my hand (See Blinky, I didn't, lol).

The Pikes Peak Harley Davidson was having their own special activities all day Saturday, too. Can you say "free food?" They were offering free hotdogs, popcorn, and canned soda all day long. The museum is in their parking lot.

Much to my husband's distress (didn't I say that a few posts ago, lol?) I have picked out a 2007 FLSTN Softail Deluxe. A girl can window shop can't she? Of course, I have no idea how it actually rides or even costs, but I sat on the motorcycle and it fit real nice. I didn't stand it up, as no sales person was around (can you believe it?!?). But I can tell the height was most likely right on. The seat was much nicer then my V-Star.

We are actually looking at replacing the stock V-Star 650 seat with a mustang seat. My husband has one on his Suzuki Intruder and loves it. After an hour on my bike, even at the end of a summer of riding, and my legs/hips (NO COMMENTS!!) hurt. We should at least be able to afford the new seat as it looks like I got a part-time job for the month of June as a librarian for summer school. I wasn't even looking and that job just fell into my lap, yea!!! Money is tight when you're putting a youngster thru college. I about had to rush my hubby to the ER when we got the first bill. Holy Cow it's expensive.

I helped all day Saturday at the Mountain Shadow Riders table, escaping occasionally to look around. It was lots of fun getting to meet so many people and getting to know fellow MSR members better. We have a great group of people. Walking around I bumped into a few people I haven't seen for a while. We had great weather all day and it was just a fun way to spend a Saturday.

Wishing you great adventures in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

PS: Want to learn how Binky got his name AND want to meet Winky & Nod? That's my next post. Be watching for it soon.

2007-04-29T19:13:00.000-06:00

This is just way too cool. I found it over at Skittle's Place . Check out the link below and see what your Daemon is. Now I'm intrigued about the movie coming out in December 2007.

2007-04-28T22:17:00.000-06:00

~ This Saturday's Theme is Rare ~

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

Today I was at Pikes Peak Harley Davidson dealership. They are now the 5th dealer in the world for Orange County Choppers. For me these photos are very rare as I have never seen Orange County Choppers in person. This is the first time I have ever seen these awesome choppers in person and they are very impressive.

Here is the OCC 2007 T-Rex Softail Chopper

Here is the OCC 2007 Splitback Chopper

Aren't these very cool? My husband and I enjoy watching their show. Of course, the family drama they have while building these are a bit over the top at times.

Wishing you travel adventures,

Biker Betty :)

2007-04-27T22:47:00.000-06:00

Mountain Shadow Riders Family Dinner Night

Please note: I will be posting my Saturday Photo Hunt tomorrow evening. The theme is "rare" and I will be taking it tomorrow and won't be able to post it till tomorrow evening.

The above is not the best picture, as the sun was shining in the wrong direction. The Mountain Shadow Rider's went to Casa Grande Mexican Restaurant and Cantina in Woodland Park for our monthly family dinner. This is the second time since I joined that they have left the city for one of the dinners. It was a very nice drive up thru the mountain pass. We sure were lucky, as we just got hit with a strong spring snow storm just a few days ago and some are still without power tonight.

How about this view from the restuarant? Woodland Park is a beautiful town and always fun to visit. We had the usual good natured teasing, talking and, of course, eating. Casa Grande Mexican Restaurant and Cantina has really good food and is a definite repeat for my husband & I. We had never eaten here before. The food was great, people there are very nice and it's decorated nicely inside.

How about this group of characters greeting you as you come in?

After we'd had our fill, it was time to head back home. Our group of six made it back without incident. You can't help but be a little nervous driving the mountain pass at night. You always hope the deer and other wildlife keep off the road after dark. Hwy 24 has lots of twisties between Woodland Park and Manitou Springs. It's lots of fun in the daylight, but at night a person needs to heed to the side of caution. I did put one extra layer of clothing on for the ride home and didn't get very chilly, yea!! It was a great 52 miles chalked up tonight.

Added 4/28: I should have noted that we had about 20 people show up for our dinner. A few came by cars, some live in the area and the rest of us straggled up the mountain to meet at the restaurant.

Wishing you many food adventures,

Biker Betty :)

2007-04-23T23:49:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm still here

Like many of you in Bloggerland, I can't believe how time flies by. I didn't mean to let so much time get by between posts. This time of year (along with Thanksgiving to Christmas) can get pretty hectic. Just before school lets out, many things suddenly come up. It's like the teacher's realize it's almost the end of the year and need to get some extra activities in. I've been getting loads of subing jobs and been very busy.

A few motorcycle things have gone on. Many times I have been able to ride to work and what fun that has been. I had only one incident of someone almost clipping my front tire when they changed lanes into my lane. Seems they didn't see me, hmmmm.

My most exciting news is that I got new summer gear, YEA!!! Did I say it was PURPLE!!! Yes, I will have to post about it. I've gotten soooo many compliments. Joe Rocket has come out with some gorgeous mesh jackets with armor. I was suppose to wait a month to get a complimenting helmet, but my loving husband thought the red helmet with the purple jacket wasn't going well (plus we got our tax return, lol). Guess where most of our tax return went. We have been having some pretty decent weather and I'm wearing my new jacket lots. It has a liner, plus I have been adding my REI windless jacket underneath. I need to write to Joe Rocket and get them to put out a leather purple jacket with all the armor and winter liner.

I have to admit that my husband is distressed that I have my heart set on a Harley Davidson Women's FXRG® Midweight Leather Jacket for only $560.00 to buy in the fall. Our local Pikes Peak Harley Davidson carries it and it is sweet. I never wanted a black jacket, but so many bikers have them with no problems. This jacket is soooo cool. It even has pockets in the liner to put those hand warmers that you shake and they warm up. When I mentioned that I need to get a full-time job first they said they were hiring and I should apply. Wouldn't that be awesome!! I'd never bring home a paycheck, lol. The ladies in the clothing department are very nice and it would be fun. My part-time job is sporatic at best, but it's Monday thru Friday.

The FXRG jacket will be so much easier to clean then my red jacket. My red jacket is filthy and the instructions say "spot clean only." Let me tell you, the whole jacket is one dirty "spot," lol. Now I need another winter jacket to go with my purple helmet. This jacket has all the bells and whistles.

Our summer is starting to get full of motorcycle runs. We just did an all day run yesterday with the Mountain Shadow Riders. I might have a special project going on this summer, but haven't heard back on that and not sure it's happening after all. I'm still hoping, though.

I will post more details on much of the above. Just wanted to say hi to everyone and I appreciate all the friendships I have made here.

Take Care, Biker Betty :)

2007-03-31T22:24:00.000-06:00

My Life Has Gone to the Dogs, Literally!!!

The above photo is exactly what it has been like since last Friday, lol. We have one dog, which I posted about, and we love animals. So when our friends were going on a family vacation they asked if we could watch their golden retriever. We tried it first, just to make sure the two dogs got along. The first time didn't go well, but I suggested we try it again without them around. The second time Rocky came over and it went very well without his family around. He was too protective with them around.

So last Friday Rocky came over to stay for just over a week. Him and our dog did have some squirmishes, but nothing much to write home about. Rocky's only fault is that he loves to get in Herbie's face and usually lick him. Herbie hates this intrusion of his personal space very much, lol. The above photo shows exactly how Herbie feels. He's the golden one facing us. That's the back of Rocky's head as he licks Herbie. Talk about a Kodak moment.

Things were going so well, that when another friend's neighbor backed out at the last minute, I agreed to watch her dog also. I knew for a fact Herbie and Vice get along well and thought one more wouldn't matter - WRONG!!! Naively, I picked up Vice and brought her to our happy home on Wednesday.

We nicknamed Vice "Cujo." Need I say more. She was the instigator of many dog arguements. When she bared her teeth, Cujo came to mind, lol. We had to keep her kenneled most of the first day. She would pick fights with the other two dogs and the first picture is what would greet me when I walked into the room. It was "dog fur in a blur." The above picture is Vice and I never imagined she would cause such huge trouble for such a small dog. By the second day she learned that if she behaved better she wouldn't get locked up in her kennel - much.

Whenever friends come over and ring the doorbell all hell breaks loose. The snarling those dogs do scares the hardiest of souls on the other side of the front door. They make great watchdogs all together. When we open that door no one's sure they even want to come in and, of course, the dogs are still snarling like they haven't been fed in weeks. The UPS man couldn't run fast enough on Thursday. I'd never seen that truck take off so fast in all my life.

Yesterday Vice's family came to get her. She was actually suppose to stay till today, but that family trip got cut short due to one of them getting sick. So now I'm down to the original two dogs. Rocky is lots of fun to have around. With my son's help, we got the two to stand still long enough for a photo. We have nicknamed them "Laural & Hardy," lol. Don't they look it? Rocky on the left tall and skinny, "Laural," plus he's much younger and springs all over the place. He also has curly and unruly hair. Herbie on the right, "Hardy," short and fat and he's much older and meanders around. He's the older more distinguished and responsible one.

Sometimes being an animal lover can get me in the dog house. The first dog my husband had agreed to watch, but he was very unhappy with the second addition. Oh, did I mention that she pee'd in his briefcase within 10 minutes of me bringing her into our house. Yes, I was dog chow that night!!

Tomorrow Rocky goes home and our home goes back to normal. Herbie will be very happy to have his house to himself. He will be one happy dog and maybe I will be out of the dog house with the Vice fiasco.

Have a great weekend,

Biker Betty

2007-03-30T20:55:00.000-06:00

~ This Weeks Photo Hunters Theme is "Water" ~

I hope no one is tired of seeing my motorcycle scavanger hunt photos from last summer. It just so happens that I had another that matched this week's theme, lol. In the background is a "water"fall. This particular day I was riding with the Mountain Shadow Riders up to Terryall, Colorado. During this trip we got a little rain, almost snow, and lots of cold wind. Later in the ride most of us put on our rain gear and were quite warm. This ride, like all of them, was a lot of fun.

If you're ever looking for fun, I highly recommend taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) beginners course, pass it and get the motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license and get yourself a motorcycle.

Ladies, motorcycles aren't just for guys anymore. The motorcycle companies are recognizing this and making great motorcycle gear for us now. They just need to make more motorcycles for shorter people, that's my only complaint!! But they can lower some of the models, so don't let that stop you. After the MSF course you won't be intimidated by them. They do a great job of breaking it all down in manageable chunks for learning. So you gotta get a motorcycle. It is just loads of fun!!!

Wishing you many adventures,

Biker Betty :)

2007-03-23T23:00:00.000-06:00

~ This Saturday's Theme is Empty ~

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

These pictures were taken last summer for the MSR motorcycle scavanger hunt. I had to have my motorcycle taken with the World Arena. During this time of day the huge parking lot was "empty."

It was a gorgeous day for these photos and it was the second time I ventured out on my own with my motorcycle for a long ride. When the day was said and done I had done 129 miles on August 28th of last year. I went to Penrose and back and was it fun!!!

Wishing you many travel adventures,

Biker Betty :)

2007-03-19T22:00:00.000-06:00

~ It Was Another Great Day For A Ride ~

It was a wonderful day and I didn't get called in to work today. I have a friend who lives up in the mountains and I needed to get something to her. Seems like great ingredients to ride, but then, who really needs a reason? It was 46 degrees, but I had to wear my winter gloves and put the liner back into my jacket. Going up into the mountains always gets chilly at this time of year. On my way was the Garden of the Gods. I thought it would be neat to stop and get a few photos. This is one of my favorite places to hike and climb. It has a great visitors center that I have visited in the past. Today I just stopped for some photos and then got on my way.

It was a great drive up Hwy 24. At 10:30 am there wasn't much traffic. It was a very enjoyable drive, but I was glad I had worn my warmer gear. I was comfortable because of it. I got the stuff delivered, had a nice visit and lunch. By the time I got back to the Springs the temperature was in the mid 60's F.

I drove 61 miles, visited a friend and thoroughly enjoyed my V-Star 650. What more can a person ask for?

Wishing you travel adventures in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

2007-03-16T19:03:00.000-06:00

~ And There Were Drinks All Around ~

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

A small group of the Mountain Shadow Rider's (MSR) took a ride this last Saturday after our monthly meeting. I wrote about it just before this post. We took off about 11:15am and I got back at 3pm. It was a nice long ride. While down in Canon City, we stopped at Coyote's Coffee Den for a quick bite to eat. We had rain threatening to dump on us in the distance.

The main reason for stopping at the Coyote's Coffee Den is that they were one of our sponsors for our very successful 2006 Breast Cancer Awareness Ride. I know I will stop there again the next time in Canon City. They have cozy southwestern decor and it was very pleasant to sit there and have a lunch. I can highly recommend their food. I got half a sandwich with the "works" and I wasn't one bit disappointed. It was very healthy and yummy.

Thanks to the Coyote's Coffee Den and all our other sponsors, the Mountain Shadow Riders broke all previous records by earning over $5,700. All of which went to the local affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. This was MSR's sixth year with this fundraiser. Over 230 people registered for the run and over 100 businesses and merchants donated over $3,000 in prizes. We owe a huge "Thank You" to everyone who helped.

We will be doing the 2007 Breast Cancer Awareness Ride again in October. Anyone who lives in Colorado Springs be on the lookout for the flyers all over town in late summer.

The group was very willing to help me with this week's theme. So everyone grabbed their drinks - soda's & coffee's - and gathered around so I could get a pic. Aren't they great? Thanks everyone for helping me out.

And because I was holding the camera, here I am with my drink of soda. As I mentioned in my previous post, we did manage to get back without getting rained on. It downpoured an hour after I got home, whew!! I hope everyone else got home before it rained on them. I know a few had errands to do before heading to their homes. One of the ladies had a bike that kept cutting out on her and she wanted to get it in the shop pronto.

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Biker Betty :)

2007-03-15T22:15:00.000-06:00

~ Nice Long Ride This Last Saturday ~

This last Saturday the Mountain Shadow Riders (a chapter of Women on Wheels) had our monthly chapter meeting. It was fun seeing everyone. We've got a lot of runs/activities lined up for the summer and I can't wait!!! The details have to be finalized, but our summer scavanger hunt has been decided on. Starting April 1st and going thru October 31st, we are to find businesses with either the words "Mountain" and/or Shadow in their title. We are to get a picture of our motorcycle with their sign. This will be a lot more difficult and some serious searching to find. But I'm up to the challenge!!

After the meeting those of us who could, gathered at 11am for a "Saddle Time Ride." We started off with, I believe, 11 motorcycles and 12 people. Added 4/7/07 - I can't believe I forgot two people, but I did. We had two of our members following in their car as back up, if anyone were to pull out and need assistance. Well, at a couple of time we did have some ladies pull out and off to the side of the road. Paula and Don stopped to offer any needed assistance. Paula and Don live up in the mountains and couldn't ride their bikes into town due to ice. But they came on the road trip and were very helpful a couple of times. Thanks Paula and Don, your help was appreciated by all.

We lost one before getting out of town. She was having problems with her contacts. The sky was overcast and threatening to rain. It was pretty windy all the way to Penrose down Hwy 115. Passing Penrose we stayed on Hwy 115 and somewhere we got on another hwy. I wasn't sure where we were going. Good thing I wasn't leading this group, lol. After a while we emerge on the main drive thru Canon City. As soon as we got on the main drive (Hwy 50), I recognized where we were.

We headed out of the city on Hwy 50, going west. A couple of miles out of town we took a right onto the famous Skyline Drive. I had never been on this road and I will never forget it. It's an extremely narrow paved road that rises 800 feet above Canon City. It's a one way road, thank goodness!! It is very steep going up and I kept hoping no one in front of me had any reason to stop before we got on level ground. I found out that this road was built in the early 1900's by convict labor chain gangs. I'm sure back then it was a dirt road.

Here we are at the top. We pulled off into a gravel pull-out and this is when one of our group had an oopsy-daisy. Her brand new Harley fell down. She's not sure what happened, but with gravel things can get squirrely. I've seen an experienced biker accidently drop a bike in gravel. It just happens sometimes. Many jumped to her aid and got her righted up. She was okay and there were only a few scratches on her Harley.

We took a little time to enjoy the view. It dropped for a long ways down. As you can see in the above photo. The above is a view to our right.

Here is the same view looking straight down!!!

Here is the view on our left side. It a great view of Canon City.

Here I am, helmet hair and all, lol. After we had a chance to look around, it was time to get going. It was raining off in the distance and we hoped to get home dry. We did stop on the way home at a coffee shop for a quick bite to eat. This particular shop was one of our awesome sponsors for our breast cancer run last year. Come back tomorrow night and I have a special post about that stop. I had my fellow comrade riders help me with the Saturday Photo Hunt.

It was soooo fun to have a nice long ride. It had been a while since I have been on my motorcycle for that long a ride. We left at 11:15am and I got home at 3pm. When it was all said and done, I had 131 more miles on my Star. An hour after I got home it downpoured. What great timing.

Wishing you travel adventures in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

2007-03-13T22:28:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

Here's why I didn't participate in the last Wordless Wednesday. See first comment for details.

My favorite penny slot machine while there.

2007-03-12T17:27:00.000-06:00

~ It was a very nice ride to work today ~

To work in this particular school's library I have to get up at the crack of dawn. I'm not used to having to be up at 5:15 am. I really didn't know this time of morning existed till I subbed here a few times, lol. But I do love these hours. When I get off work I still have time left to do something and I'm off in time to get my youngest son from school. I like doing that.

This morning was a balmy 40 something degrees. As you can see by the photo above, it was dark when I pulled out my bike and started it up. You can just make out the lights.

On the way to work I stopped at a shopping mall to get a picture of the sun starting to rise. It was very pretty. There were lots of people on the road this morning, but it was still a lot of fun riding to work. I kept a careful watch of the other cars and chugged along like the rest of them.

The above picture is a photo taken at the same mall from another direction. I love the colors on the horizon and the moon above. Talk about a nice time of day. I get to work safe and sound and even found another motorcycle in the parking lot. Of all things, the helmet is on the ground next to the bike. I find this curious. I take mine in the building, carrying my lunch in it, lol.

Now this is the same school that I did a post on March 3rd. Some of you had asked me to report if the office lady still treated me with apprehension as the last time. I walked in this morning, certain she would remember me, with a smile on my face and a cheery good morning. Well, she squelched that pretty quick. I have since learned she's just not an outgoing person. As soon as I walk in it's just about the same routine. She asks my name - I tell her. She asks who I'm subbing - I tell her. At first she seems not to believe me. I'm thinking "Oh man, here we go again" and brace myself.

The whole process in the office went much quicker this time and I get my sub badge and hightail it out of the office and head to the library. I'm now used to the curious stares of the students. If I sub here enough, they will get used to me, lol.

I find that kids at the elementary level so much more outgoing and excited about motorcyclist. They give me thumbs up and talk excited to me about motorcycling. You can tell they love motorcycles, both the boys and girls. The girls are especially excited to see another "girl" riding something that only boys seem to get to do. The girls love the purple motorcycle.

Like all the other schools I have worked at, I really enjoy working in this school. I have a friend working in the library. Her son and my son went to the same elementary school together and that's how we met. Now I have made quite a few friends at this school and enjoy the day. The day once again went by very fast.

The next thing I know I need to hop on my bike and head for my other school that I do afterschool math tutoring for. By now it truly is a balmy 70 degrees and a very nice ride. I get to the other school. When I walk into the tutoring room with my gear on, as I'm running a little behind, a few of the girls in the other group are giving me the thumbs up. This surprised me, as they have never done that before. The smiles on their faces said it all. The boys followed suit and we shared a fun moment together. Then it was time to get down to the business of math for the next half hour.

What an awesome day and awesome ride. I'm so glad my husband and I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation beginner's course and got motorcycles two years ago. My purple V-Star 650 custom is very cool and fun to ride.

Wishing you great rides to work,

Biker Betty :)

2007-03-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

~ This Saturday's Theme is Architecture ~

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

When I learned of this week's theme I immediately thought of this picture taken last summer. I love the architecture of this building. It was taken for the Mountain Shadow Rider's scavanger hunt. I needed to find a red building. It's funny how things work out. This is where we did all the paper work to buy our house.

2007-03-05T12:10:00.000-07:00

~ Sunday Riding ~

I get up this morning expecting to drive my van to church. My husband has to get there early and goes on his motorcycle. I actually don't feel envy this time, as I know there are times when one or the other of us can ride our motorcycles when the other can't. I get the youngest son up for him to eat and go to church with me. There was just one little hiccup. Yesterday evening he went to a birthday party that also went to the theater. He got home late and now I can't get him to stir. So I wake up the eldest to bring his younger brother to church when he goes to Sunday School."

Suddenly I'm the only person going in the van. Well, gosh, that's a waste of gas, isn't it? I had decided earlier this morning I wasn't riding today with my youngest on my motorcycle. There are spots of gravel on the road and I didn't want to take a chance with him on my motorcycle. You see, yesterday after dropping my son off to his party with the van I skidded on gravel. The backend of the van fishtailed a little. I know that if I had been on the bike, it might have gone down. But I also know I would have been a whole lot more careful and it probably wouldn't have happened like in the van.

So now it's just me. I can manuever around the spots of gravel, there was just no way I wanted to chance anything with my younger son on the back. So I change to "Travel Plan B." I quickly change my shoes to my motorcycle boots, pull my motorcycle out of the garage and get all my gear. Yahoo, I'm riding my Yamaha V-Star 650 to church!!! It's a gorgeous morning and I can't wait to get out and on my way.

The above picture is of my bike at church. I get there with no problems. There were patches of gravel to steer around, but nothing scary. As you can see, the sky is a beautiful crystal clear blue and a great day to get out on the bike.

After getting back from church, my husband and I decided there were errands to be done. First stop was Wally World (Walmart). After getting what we needed I snapped the above photo. How can you beat a view like that?

Or a view like this? Look at that sky. We had a few more errands that (oh darn!!) took us a couple of hours and 37 sweet glorious miles. We drove up into the driveway at dusk. We got everything needed and huge smiles on our faces with the fun of riding. What a great Sunday it was.

Wishing you great travels in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

2007-03-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

~ Are You Judged by What You Wear? ~

(Read all about it below)

I have some extra visitors coming by from Blogging Chicks.
Ladies - You love to blog? You, too, can join Blogging Chicks.

Funny thing happened this last week at work. I've been a substitute school librarian for 4 years now. Until two months ago I was only subbing in my son's school. Suddenly I started getting asked to sub at other schools and am now able to do it now that my youngest is older. Now I get calls all the time. I get warm & fuzzies that the ones I work for call me personally now to sub again. I love being with the kids and working with the books. I don't just sit behind the desk. If there's nothing to do I go out into the books and straighten them, pull them forward, put in order those books not in their proper place. I love to do this. The people I fill in for love that they can come in the next day to an orderly library and know that things are in their place.

This last Monday I was asked a second time to come back to this particular high school. With pretty decent weather I rode my motorcycle to work. So I drive up to the teacher's parking lot and park my bike and then walk into the office to check in. I get lots of stares. It's chilly and I'm wearing my motorcycle jacket and leather chaps, carrying my lunch in my helmet and a book bag over my shoulder with my notebook and all I need for the day. The above photo is showing what I was wearing, but I was carrying my helmet and not wearing it (remember - lunch?).

I walk into the office and immediately the office clerk is right there asking "Can I help you?" It just felt like that question was loaded with lots of unsaid stuff. As she was asking that, I got the impression with her tone that she was really stating "I don't think you're in the right place." She's looking me up and down. So I answer that I'm here to sub in the school library. She's looking bewildered and wants to know who I'm subbing for, but once again with her tone I sensed she felt I wasn't in the right place and she's sure I couldn't possibly be there to sub. I would have loved to be able to read her mind. She was asking questions but her tones were saying something completely different. I answer her questions and took no offense. No reason, she's just doing her job. She then asks have I ever subbed there, because she has never met me.

Well, I had subbed there about two weeks ago and she was in the office, lol. That particular time I was dressed in normal work clothes and walked into the office and no one even batted an eye. I had driven my van and didn't need all the protective gear, lol. No one took any notice and didn't ask if they could help me. Luckily, I had been in the day before to get briefed on my sub job with the library clerk who I was to replace for the day. So I knew where to sign in and grab a badge.

Today I walk in expecting to just sign, grab a badge and go Suddenly I'm getting the third degree and only able to walk about four steps into the office. They were nice about it, but leary of this motorcycle garbed woman who had just walked into the school office that they didn't know. I did finally get my pass and was able to go do my job.

This high school is obviously not used to people driving motorcycles and wearing the proper protective gear. As I'm walking thru the halls to the library I get lots of stares from students and staff. They're the kind of stares that if I was wearing a dress I'd have to duck into the girls bathroom to make sure that the back of my dress hadn't got caught in my pantihose, lol.

It's amazing that what you wear can bring so much attention. Everyone at my son's school doesn't think anything of it, but they know me. They do think it's cool that I drive a motorcycle and love it's purple color. The kids there are in childlike awe. At another elementry school I had no problems when driving my motorcycle and walking into the office, they knew me from one other time. They remembered and recognized me even wearing the jacket and chaps.

I guess high schools can get busy and who knows whose going to walk in off the streets and declare they're there to sub. I have been asked to sub there again in a little over a week. I hope for nice weather to ride my motorcycle. If I'm able to do this, think they will remember me by what I wear? LOL

Now I ask you, do I look dangerous? Okay, bad photo, lol.
This is one of the photos for the MSR scavanger hunt last summer.

Wishing you fun journeys in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

2007-03-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

~ How about a little "salt" with your motorcycle in this week's

Saturday Photo Theme ~

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

Some very dear friends of ours gave us these motorcycle "Salt" & Pepper shakers as a gift. They were on vacation when they saw these and thought of us. Bet you thought there was no way a motorcycle could get in this theme, lol. I also had to include Sponge Bob Sqaure Pants who lives in a pinapple house at the bottom of the "salty" ocean in Bikini Bottom.

Why not test your knowledge of how much you know about Sponge Bob. I did and I actually did pretty good, lol.

2007-02-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

I took this picture of a daisy last summer.

2007-02-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

~ Nippy Weather on the Way to Work Today ~

When I got up this morning to sub in a school library I couldn't decide if it was warm enough or not. So I thought I'd get my hair washed (why? I don't know! Helmet hair messed it up, lol), dressed and then checked the outside temp. It was hovering at almost 30 degrees F., but with the wind they said it "felt" like 23 degrees F.

I just read Steve's blog over at Scooter In The Sticks yeststerday. Here's what he had to say "It was 14° F when I started the Vespa this morning. The weather forecast promised temperatures rising into the mid-20's under sunny skies. These kinds of days always provide a break in the bad winter weather and allow a ride if you are so inclined."

Well, I really had my heart set on riding to work, so I figured "I was so inclined." He made 14 degree F. sound down right balmy, lol. I thought I had to give it a try at least once. The forecast was for almost 50 degrees later in the day, so the ride to my afterschool math tutoring at another school should be warm.

The ride to this school took 20 minutes and there was a slight brisk wind that was like a jump in a cold pond. But it wasn't so bad that I was terribly uncomfortable. It was a fun ride and I was glad I chose to do it. What better way to get to work? The sunrise was hitting Pikes Peak and it was gorgeous. After I got off the first job it wasn't the balmy 50 degrees F. I had hoped for, but it wasn't as cold as the morning. I was anticipating taking the liner out of my motorcycle jacket, but with one step out of the building and into the wind I immediately changed my mind. It was cold. It was supposedly 48 degrees and with the wind it was reported to feel like 43 degree F. It definitely wasn't as bad as the morning, but "Brrr" came to mind.

One thing I wish I had done was fueled up the other day. This morning I rolled my motorcycle out of the garage and it was close to empty. I felt pretty confident I should be able to get to work without "hopefully" having to turn the fuel valve to reserve. The last time I had to do that it happened at the most inopportune time. It was two summers ago when I had only had my motorcycle for about 4 months. I was in the middle of a busy intersection, not realizing that I was running out of gas. The motorcycle chugged it's way slowly to the other road and died before I could get the darn valve turned, aughhhh!!! I was able to get out of the way of traffic, but some were mad at being inconvenienced at the slow down. Once I was out of the way, I turned the fuel valve to the reserve and then it wouldn't start. Finally it did after a minute, and that was about a full minute that felt like a cazillon years when everyone is staring at you passing by.

Long story short, I keep a close eye on my fuel gage and fill up long before I need to. But this morning did catch me in that uncomfortable situation. I got to the school, but then I was sweating a little riding to the next school in the afternoon. As soon as I got out of math tutoring I was high-tailing it to the nearest gas station. That thing drank a lot of gas, lol. I'm just glad that it's not as expensive to gas up the motorcycle as my van.

So this story ends with another great ride to and from work. Hopefully the weather holds for my sub job on Wednesday and I will try and take a picture. I'm not an early bird by nature, so I usually don't have time to spare to stop for pics in the morning and I'm rushing in the afternoon to get to my math tutoring job. So, we will see.

Wishing you adventures in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

2007-02-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

~ Meet my dog Herbie, who I am featuring in this week's Photo Theme ~

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

When I thought of this week's theme "Soft," our dog Herbie came to mind. His fur is very soft and many people have commented on how soft his fur is. It surprises them that he is so soft.

Herbie is a cool dog. He's part Golden Lab and Basset Hound. He has the lab body and the basset legs. God does have a sense of humor. Herbie about the cutest dog there is. When he's laying down, people don't notice the legs and think we have a lab. That is till he jumps up, lol.

2007-02-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

~ Rode To Work ~

Yesterday I woke up to a bright blue sky and a work day looming ahead. I'm a substitute school librarian and I was called to work today. I have caught the sniffles and I was so afraid I wasn't going to be able to work, let alone ride. I woke up feeling better and was very happy to know that I was going to ride my motorcycle to work after all today.

While I was packing my brown bag lunch, my husband offered to pulled my bike out for me. The day was already getting nice and there was only a hint of chill in the air. Grabbing everything I would need, I headed off to work. I've worked at this school once before and was looking forward to the day there. The weather prediction for the day was almost 60 degrees and a nice day ahead.

This is the first time I have ridden my motorcycle to work and I was pretty excited about the new change. The winter weather has wreak havoc on our city roads. I had to stay alert for pot holes and, indeed, did dodge a few. Sadly, it was a short 15 minute drive and I was there. The kids in this school are very nice, I had plenty to keep me busy and the day went by quickly. Next thing I know it was time to head to my other part-time job. I do after school math tutoring and had to head off to that. The kids in my group are great and it's not because they think their math tutor is cool for riding a motorcycle, lol.

All in all, it was a fun day at work and a great ride there and back (despite the icky sniffles, lol). Sorry I wasn't able to get a photo to post with this.

Wishing you a great day in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

2007-02-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday #3

I took this picture this last summer. It's a poppy that was growing in my front yard. Sorry I'm a little late posting this. Between a fair amount of sub work lately and having the sniffles, I've been busy.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Wednesday,
Biker Betty :)

2007-02-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

~ Now Here's An Antique Motorcycle ~

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

I found this antique motorcycle in Victor, Colorado. It has definitely seen better days. This was my first day trip on my own on my motorcycle and boy was it fun. I was out searching for items for the Mountain Shadow Riders scavanger hunt this last summer. This wasn't one of the items, but I thought it was pretty neat.

2007-02-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

There's a new look here at Biker Betty. I owe a huge "Thank You" to Giest over at The Ride. He worked with one of my photos and came up with this wonderful Topper for my blog.

*applause ~ applause*

To go with my new picture I tweaked just a few minor colors to reflect my personal preferences. I'm finding "tweaking" the template to be very interesting. I do make backup copies of the template before messing with it.

So here's my fun for the day, since it's way too cold and icy in spots to get out on a motorcycle. Thank you again, Giest. Go on over to The Ride and check out his cool design on his blog.

Wishing you winter adventures in your part of the world,

Biker Betty

2007-02-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

~ Here's What a BMW F 650 GS Looks Like ~

Please Note: Wordless Wednesday is 2 short posts down

In my next post I talk about a neat contest that happened this last summer. One of the ladies won a BMW F 650 GS and this is the bike, but in a different color from what she won. I was curious what the motorcycle looked like in real life, so this last summer during their competition I went over to the local BMW-Ducati of Southern Colorado to check it out.

It's a very cool bike, isn't it? I can just read your mind. Bet you're wondering if I'm trading in my bike for this model. It's a very cool bike and I love that it's dual - in that it can ride on both roads and dirt. My problem is they say they can't lower it to my height. It's about 1-2 inches too tall. Plus, I have to admit, I love my purple Yamaha V-Star 650. I was seriously looking at the BMW till we discovered it was a tad too tall. Oh well....

Read the brief summary about the contest in the next post and click on over to see the cool pics and YouTube videos they have published.

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day,

Biker Betty

Funny Note: My 18 year old son is calling today "SAD Day" "Singles Awareness Day," which he says rather sadly.

2007-02-14T00:05:00.000-07:00

MotoFemina - A Real Women's Motorcycle Series

Please Note: Wordless Wednesday is below this post

Some of you may remember that I did a few posts on this special women's motorcycle project this last summer titled MotoFemina. There were three women, Jessica, Laura, & Synth, who didn't know how to ride a motorcycle. As part of the project, they were enrolled in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) Beginners course. They were given topnotch BMW motorcycle gear and super cool loaner BMW motorycles. They learned many motorcycle skills through the summer and were evaluated throughout. At the end of the summer one of them was chosen to win a brand new BMW F 650 GS. I don't want to say who, as it's on the DVD that is now available.

You can view some of the segments on YouTube and the entire project is available on DVD. I have the DVD and really enjoy watching it. What they published on YouTube is a small portion of all the super-de-dooper stuff they have taped. There were a couple of incidents that happen during this project that are shared by the ladies. So go here and view the YouTube segments. They give a great overview of the project also at this site. It's much better then how I'm explaining it.

Wishing you many motorcycle adventures,

Biker Betty

2007-02-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday #2

Me loving rock climbing

Note added a bit later: I am climbing top-roped. Which means I have a certified climbing rope safely attached to my climbing harness and a person (belayer) on the ground controling the rope. You can't see the rope, but it is there. If I were to slip, my belayer would catch me and I wouldn't have gone far. Don't ever attempt this kind of stuff without all the proper climbing gear and training. This climb appears dangerous, but actually is totally safe with all my safety gear and the climbing classes I took.

2007-02-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

It Was A Gorgeous Day In Colorado

Wow, it was absolutely gorgeous today. Because I was very busy today, I was only able to ride my bike to and from church. With all the horrible weather we have been getting the last two months, I was very glad to be able to ride my V-Star that much. It was warm and the roads only have patches of gravel on them from previous snows.

I came home ahead of my family, due to my schedule. All the way home I kept hearing this little voice saying "Take the shortcut," which actually was the long way home, lol. Sadly, I didn't have the time for that today and took the straight and true course, sigh. I'm just grateful to have been able to get out. The above photo was taken this morning, so it's hot off the press, lol.

Wishing you sunny weather in your part of the world,

Biker Betty :)

2007-02-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

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

This Scarecrow is all "broken" up and loosing his head over it.

These cows have "broken" into a run to get away from me, lol. Just click on the picture and you will see it better. I caught some cows in mid-gallop in the photo.

"Got Milk?"

2007-02-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday #1

Added a little later: I've had quite a few ask how I took this pic. That is my husband, known as Unsupported by my biker lady friends in town, lol. Anyway, I took a pic of my review mirror on my Yamaha V-Star 650 and he was standing behind my bike. It was totally unplanned and one of my favorite pictures.

2007-02-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture you just wouldn't expect on someone's blog...

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

This week's photo theme is "Gross." I really had to search around for this. But I was up to the challenge, lol. I searched all over the city, looked high, looked low, and then "Ding!!!" Trash day was looming and I thought "Ah Haaa." There is nothing grosser then the inside of my trash can. Well, there actually is, it's my trash can in the summer heat!!! Now that I have truely grossed you out, Ta Da, here it is......

Some of my regulars probably never thought they'd get to see the inside of Biker Betty's trash can. I never dreamed I'd ever be showing it, LOL. My neighbors must think I am a certifiable nut case, if they caught me taking said picture. So using all I learned watching James Bond, I slinked out there took that picture and snuck back in again. Whew!! Mission accomplished.

It was my trash can or the above jack-o-lantern from Halloween. I keep forgetting to put it in my "trash can," lol. It has fallen off the front step and is right now, as I type, by the front door. How gross is that?

Okay, I just couldn't resist. I know, I know, you expected something like this. You just knew I would sneak something like this in, lol. I'm so caught. The above is a gross picture of my motorcycle engine. This last summer we took a family trip (boys in family SUV) to Glenwood Springs, Colorado and got caught in the rain for a couple of hours. Hence, as very dirty and muddy motorcycle. But I had sooo much fun on this trip and it was worth it. You may be able to see them, but click on the picture and you can see the reflection on my husband and eldest son on the motor. They are looking on in dismay at my gross motorcycle.

Look away if you must, but here it is again a little further away. For some motorcyclist, this is beyond gross. They would be running, no hauling tail, to the nearest car wash to eradicate the dirt!! I was too tired to even care. It was just going to get more dirty on the trip home. It was a great trip and well worth all the mud.

Have a Great Weekend in Your Part of the World,

Biker Betty :)

2007-01-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

~ 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 :)

2007-01-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-01-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

~ 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

2007-01-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

~ 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 :)

2007-01-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

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 :)

2007-01-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

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 :)

2007-01-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

~ 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 ;)

2007-01-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-01-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

~ 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.

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!!!

2007-01-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

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 :)

2006-12-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

Wishing You, Your Family And Friends

The Best in the Coming Year

All the Best,

Biker Betty

How do you bring in the New Year? We were suppose to have a new years day motorcycle ride today with the Mountain Shadow Riders, but as you can see by the pictures I have been posting that just isn't going to happen. Even as I type, I was suppose to be on that ride *sniff.* My poor motorcycle hasn't been out of the garage in about two weeks now.

So, we were suppose to do that ride and then do the party our eldest son asked to do. He asked if we could host a "Halo" party for his friends. So, we will be bringing in the new year with a house full of young adults. We have had many of them at past new year's parties when we hosted our church's youth group for the big night.

What is a "Halo" party you might ask? Halo is a video game that they will be using on the Xbox 360 game system. Some of our guests will be bringing their systems, as we only have one. They will have T5 cables going down the hall, stairs, into rooms and who knows where else. I think the plan is to use 3 to 4 systems interconnected. We've done this before, for our son's birthday, and they had a blast.

We (my husband & I) provide the food and they amuse themselves with the game. Boy are we lucky !?! So we will be ringing in the new year with a house full of young adults playing a video game, lol. My husband will be cooking quesadillas and they are all looking forward to that. Seems my husband has a reputation for making some of the best quesadillas they have ever eaten. They begged him to please make these. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. I agree with the kids, they are the best.

How are you bringing in the new year? Are you sleeping thru it? Partying at your own home? Partying at someone elses? Going crazy with a group of kids in your house? Whatever your plans are, may you have fun. And remember, don't drink and drive, we want to see you next year.

Below are a few pictures I took today on my way to and from church. I thought I would share just a few more shots of the snow that hit Colorado. So I will be leaving you with these to look at and see you next year. ;)

Now I had better get, because I have a house to clean and a party to get ready for!!!

Above and below is the same car. It got stuck and they (or someone) left the door open. When we passed it on the way to church, I thought someone was getting ready to dig it out.

But here's the same car, with the door still open, on the way home from church. It has been abandoned. Looks like they spun out and got stuck a day or so ago.

Here's a shot of the difference between the main roads and the side roads. The cleared (mainly black) part is a main road thru town. That car across from us is on a side road. What a difference.

Here's a well-used side road.

Here's some houses that haven't even begun to dig out yet. They have some decent sized snow drifts in front of their houses. This is also a shot of part of their street. The snow removal truck hasn't been thru here yet.

How would you like to be that first car on the left side? They have some digging to do to get out. This is a side road not driven much. They have a lot of snow on their road, too. A snow plow hasn't been thru here either. There are just a lot of roads to clear and the snow plows are getting to them as fast as they can. A bunch of the plows broke during the last storm and they didn't get a chance to fix them before this next storm hit.

Here are some guys helping yet another stuck vehicle on these slick and slippery roads.

Here's a person digging out. Now there's a lot of snow!!

Now this guy knows how to get around!!

Wishing you great adventures in the new year,

Biker Betty ;)

2006-12-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

~ Colorado Starting Again To Dig Out ~

We may actually be done with the snow at the moment. The storm shifted and the Springs got spared twice during this storm. We didn't get dumped on Friday night as predicted and it looks like we aren't going to get dumped on tonight either. When it's all said and done, I don't believe this storm will be anywhere as bad as lasts weeks. It did cause our motorcycle group's New Year's run to be cancelled. It was announced today and while I understand, it's just a bummer!! :( . . . Bad Snow!! Bad Snow!!

In the afternoon the sun came out and is still out. Looks like we will actually get to see the sun set for the first time in I don't know how many days. It's an absolutely gorgeous blue sky we are experiencing right now. I just had to get out and get some pictures to share with you.

Above shows how bad some of the drifts got in my area. This truck is going to have a little work getting out. There were a few houses on this street that had snow drifts, like that in the picture above, in front of their homes. I would have taken a picture of them, but people were digging out and I didn't think they'd appreciate me taking a picture.

Here's how bad our side roads are. And yes, that is yours truely standing in the middle of the road. I have heard there are many roads in the city that are currently impassible. The north end of town was hit hard, the south wasn't suppose to be too bad, and I live in the middle of town.

I'm standing in a field and where you see the wind blowing snow is actually the top of a 6 ft fence. I'd say they won't be out in their backyard for a while, lol.

Here's a very powerful picture of the mightly Pikes Peak. If you look close (or click on the picture) you can see the wind blowing snow around. There is actually a small group of people heading to the top to hopefully set off fireworks at midnight on New Year's Eve. It's a tradition for this group to do it every year. I was looking to see if an article was in the newpaper about them, but I don't see it. It will probably be in tomorrows paper. The paper prints one every year and it's always interesting to read. If I can find it, I will link it in in the next few days. Actually, I'm wondering if they will be able to get to the top this year.

Here's my son enjoying the snow, gusts, cold, . . . did I say enjoying, lol?

Here's a shot up a street. I'm attempting to walk on the sidewalk? I'm actually knee deep in snow.

Here's a shot from the same spot, looking in the other direction. Right in the middle, toward the back, is Pikes Peak.

I can't believe someone shoveled this walkway. The highest point of this drift is above my waist. I'm just glad I didn't have to shovel it, lol.

Ooops, here a car has gotten stuck. It's hard to see, but there is a lot of snow under the car preventing it from going anywhere. I had helped to push it, with two other people, just a few minutes earlier, but then a bunch of guys came along and I thought little 'ol me would just step out of the way and leave them to it. It took 5 minutes of pushing and shoveling to get that car out. This picture was taken after it had been pushed 20 feet toward a main street.

Here's what happens when you try to take a picture near your husband shoveling. Just as I shot the picture, he heaved a shovel full of snow. No, this actually wasn't staged, but I love how it turned out. It wasn't headed toward me, either, lol.

So, Wishing everyone out there a warmer new year then we will have, lol.

Biker Betty ;-)

2006-12-29T16:02:00.000-07:00

I am now a "Photo Hunter." The weekly Saturday Scavenger Hunt has changed names, but the purpose is the same. Each week we are given a theme and then we must interpret that with a photo we have taken. We can't use someone else's, clip art, or whatever media there is available. It's really fun and I've been doing this for 4 months and loving it.

This week the theme is "New." Considering I just celebrated Christmas, this was a no-brainer. I only had to choose from what I got and take a picture. So scroll down and see what I picked.

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

There are a few "new" things in this photo. First, I'm standing in "newly" fallen Colorado snow. We have gotten so much snow that our governor has declared a state of emergency, so the National Guard can help the harder hit areas. The roads in my city of Colorado Springs are passable at best. For a while today the snow quit falling. But it has started back up, so we will see what happens next. It all depends on how the winds blow, lol.

The motorcycle sweater is "new" and my Biker Bunny is "new." The sweater has a great story behind it. The giver was embarrassed to tell me at first, but I finally got it out of her and, to me, it makes the sweater more special to have. It seems this sweater was first received by one of the girls in my youth Bible study group. She got it as a white elephant gift exchange at her dad's work family Christmas party. She herself had to go to our church's youth group Christmas party the next day and still needed a white elephant gift for it. She decided to use the newly acquired motorcycle sweater. Then my giver, another girl in my youth Bible study ended up with it. She knows how much fun I have with my motorcycle and how I love motorcycle related items and gave it to me as a Christmas gift. You can bet this sweater is no longer being passed on to another person. It fits great and I love it!! I'm just wondering a few things: how long has this wonderful motorcycle sweater been passed around and how many previous people had received it, lol.

Above is Biker Bunny. He is new. Santa brought him to me this Christmas and I love him. He will go on a few trips with me in the new year. He is as cute as can be, but ..shhhhh... don't tell him I said that!! After all, he has a biker bunny image to maintain, lol. And yes, he is wearing a Harley Davidson biker jacket.

Wishing Everyone a Healthy and Prosperous New Year, Biker Betty ;)

2006-12-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

~ Noon - Colorado Time - Road Conditions: No Motorcycling Today ~

Above is a photo taken not long ago. As you can see, no sane motorcyclist would venture out today. Now my scooter friends just might. It seems scooters do much better under these conditions. On my sidebar is Rush Hour Rambling who does get out in the snow with his scooter.

I did get out in my van this morning just as the snow started. At first it was nothing to write home about, but then the big flakes started flying. In the first store I arrived at the store clerks were worrying about the weather as I was checking out. When I got to the second store the clerks there were starting to get hostile. I could over hear them saying "We'd better get off early," "I'm not getting stuck in this," "What do these customers think their doing shopping in weather like this." Then the "looks" started coming from a few clerks. It's like - getting your business done and get out of here! - sort of looks, lol. Now the weather had only just started, but everyone was getting highly wired and weary of what was to come. All thanks to last weeks storm. This is good, though, as most people will be more cautious and get home as early as they can. A lot of people got stuck going home in last week's storm.

In the last storm the snow plow drivers' biggest complaint was that people were in their way. Mostly the vehicles that got stuck. Which put huge piles of solid snow into the streets, such as the picture below.

The above snow pile is almost as tall as me and I'm 5ft 2inches tall. It's going to be there for quite a while, as it's very solid and will melt very slowly.

As I was leaving the last store to come home, I ventured a gander at a passing clothing store. Two clerks were looking out their store window and one had a hand over her mouth and one on the window, the other one had both hands on the window glass. They gave me the impression that all mankind was abandoning them in their store - to be trapped forever in the snow storm. It was really kind of weird.

Now it's 1:30pm and the roads are very slick. Most vehicles coming up my street are laboring under the process. It's a slight incline and many slipping their way up it. I witnessed a near-miss of two vehicles almost crashing. A truck was coming down another street and couldn't stop and would have plowed into the car, if the car hadn't stopped in time. It was a close one. Actually the truck driver was an idiot!! I saw another car come down the same street and had no problem stopping at the stop sign. Even as I type, I hear vehicles slipping on the road. I can hear wheels spinning and cars getting no where. I can almost smell the burning rubber this is causing. The main roads are probably not as bad, but will be soon enough.

The weather stations are saying there is no avoiding this storm. One station called it "Winter Storm Part 2" and I'm wondering if that is the official name they are giving this. Many places have closed or are closing soon. Of course, not Walmart, Target, etc. Heaven forbid if they must close early to let their employees get home safely!! The wind is starting to pick up, so it's only a matter of time. The worse of the wind is suppose to be tonight and into tomorrow morning. The snow is expected to tapor off by sometime Saturday morning.

For tonight, they are telling everyone to pick a spot and expect to have to stay there for quite a while. If this is like last week's storm, people will most likely be there till sometime late Friday or Saturday afternoon.

I have bird and squirrel feeders in my back yard and the squirrel below has the right idea and that's to stock up. Awwwe, isn't he a cutie? And later he will be heading for his home to weather out the storm.

So, keep safe out there. I hope the snow storm hasn't hit you first or that it's not coming your way next.

2006-12-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

~ Winter Storm (Not Yet Named) To Hit the State of Colorado Later Today ~

Okay people, the snow storm is now predicted to start at 10am today, Thursday. They have yet to name this one. They are probably waiting to see how bad it gets. They are saying it very probable to be a two day blizzard!!! Yikes. They are predicting high winds (higher then last week's) and whiteout conditions. My city in Colorado is predicted to get anywhere from 10" to 16" of snow. Not far north they are predicting 15" to 30" of snow and south 3" to 9". So how much will I get, only time will tell. It's suppose to be pretty much like lasts week's, but maybe a little worse. So I will be needing skis instead of my motorcycle pretty soon to get around the city. Don't get me wrong, I love snow, but I'd like to see the storms a little farther apart!

Last week's blizzard was so bad it closed closed Denver's Airport for 45 hours, the longest in their history. It's reported that it is very rare for Denver airport to close at all. They are hoping for the best with this next storm. They haven't had time to get the proper equipment to prevent what happened last week. People are already either getting out early or planning on staying later to avoid the airport.

With this upcoming storm, it's the first time that I have heard the Red Cross announce in advance where their storm shelters will be located. The stores are reporting that they are running out or running low of essencial supplies. Some stores are reporting that they haven't had a chance to get fully stocked from the last storm. When I went to buy milk at the base commissary, they were almost out of milk and it sounds like their not used to that. The TV channel is showing people what to put in their emergency kit for their cars, in case they get stranded or stuck.

Once the snow starts to fall, the city has asked that if you don't need to be out, please to stay at home. I have to snort at that. Many people would love to stay home, but their bosses have something to say about that. My part-time job is on winter break, since I work for a school system. If this storm is true to form, most people will be let off early and be home by about 3-4pm. This storm is starting later in the day then the last one. Most people were home between 1-3pm on the day that storm started.

So here's how I feel about this whole thing:

I can only hope that when the storm is over, it dries up fast and the roads are clear with decent warm weather. My poor motorcycle is very upset in the cold garage, where it’s been parked for way too long *sigh.*

I hope the weather is better in your part of the world, Biker Betty :)

2006-12-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

Oh Man, Not Another Blizzard!!!

I can't believe it. I just heard that we will be getting hit with another winter storm. The worse of it is to hit after lunch on Thursday, with whiteout and blizzards conditions. They said we are lucky if we get one of these once in three years. Here we are getting our third one in three months, with the last one just a week ago. I'm still having problems getting to my trash cans, as they are behind a rather high snow drift, lol.

The Mountain Shadow Riders, which I am a member, have plans for a New Years Eve day ride. This storm will most likely put the kibosh on that. They traditionally have a ride on New Years day. But this year decided to do it on New Years Eve day, to avoid riding with a hangover. Last year we couldn't participate and they had a beautiful day for a ride. This year we made sure to keep our calendar empty for the day. Well there's always next year.

I do look forward to a new year with great rides already planned, or in the planning stages, with the Mountain Shadow Riders. This last year I enjoyed every single ride I participated in. They are a great group of people whose main goals are to ride safe and have fun with others. We also like to do things for the community. We had a very successful Breast Cancer Awareness ride, that raised just over $5,000 to give to our local Susan G. Koman Foundation and we have adopted a nursing home. We have adopted a part of a highway to take care of. We look for other opportunities as they arise. While this is a group formed for women, we do have men in our group. The ladies are "Members" and the guys & family members are "Support Members." We are a chapter of "Women On Wheels" and there are chapters in just about every state in the United States. I hear about some of the other chapters having a great time riding, too.

I hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas. I had a great Christmas and will post pictures of some of the neat things in a few days. I hope the weather permits you to get out and ride. :)

2006-12-25T00:31:00.000-07:00

~ Day 12 of "Biker Betty's 12 Days of Christmas" ~

Wishing You, Your Family & friends

A Merry Christmas

A Happy New Year

In honor of the holiday season, I have come up with my version of

"The Twelve Days of Christmas."

"Biker Betty's Twelve Days of Christmas"
~ Day Twelve ~

On the Twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me

12 roaring mufflers (Can you hear me now?)
11 GPS's (which way do I go?)
10 pieces of luggage (I'm a heavy packer)
9 bungee cords (all assorted lengths)

8 Kuryakyn floorboards (see 6th day)

7 heated vests (one would be awesome, but the song calls for seven)

6 chrome brake pedal covers (they have been known to fall off my bike, so extra is a good thing)

fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive gallons of gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!!!!! (worth gold these days!)

4 shiny chrome crash bars (that stick out so far I can't fall over, lol)
3 years of insurance (full coverage, mind you),

2 heated hand grips (Ya Baby!!!),
And a horn for my motorcycle (made of chrome).

By Biker Betty

Come back each day to see the next verse. I came up with this all by myself. I didn't copy this from anywhere and I would appreciate it if you don't copy this without asking me first. Thanks.