Photo Hunt - Chipped

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 :)

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 :)

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

~ 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 ;)

His Rainsuit or Her Rainsuit?

My husband and I recently had a very good laugh. We actually got our Tour Master rainsuits mixed up and we're wearing each others, lol. Don't ask me how my husband managed to squeeze into my size small, but he did! And I'm very greatful he didn't rip the seams out!!

Last spring we got a really good deal on our rainsuits. We ended up picking the same color, as this color stands out to be noticed and we "like" that. These suits are great quality, too. The only difference is mine is size small and his an extra-large. In the above photo, we actually have on the right suits.

This summer we went on a family vacation and on the first day we hit two hours of non-stop, gully-washing, constant downpouring rain. Side note - we did have a blast riding in the rain - end side. Upon arriving at our hotel, we hung up our gear to dry. The next morning I'm not sure which of us grabbed their gear first (note: not wanting to put blame here, but my husband is always up and packed to go first!!), but whoever did, see previous note (lol), didn't grab their own suit. Before I packed mine away, I'm looking for my tank bag strap that I had put into my pocket when I took the tank bag off and put it in the car with our sons. I'm searching my (actually his) rain jacket and can't find it. We never realized then that we had accidently swapped our rainsuits. We search all over and can't find the strap. I'm pretty upset that I accidently lost it. So we, unknowingly, pack our wrong rainsuits into our motorcycle saddlebags and hit the road.

A couple of months go by and we take a trip up to Cripple Creek for the annual Vets Rally. As goes the course, we get caught in a non-stop, gully-washing, constant downpouring rain, lol. I'm putting my suit on, thinking it's roomier then I remember, and he's putting his suit on, thinking his is tighter then he remembers but thinking it's because he's all wet and trying to put the suit on in the rain. As you know, when it's raining and you're trying to get these suits on, it's not easy even when they are the right size, lol. It's raining very hard and we just want to get our rainsuits on and get back home. We still don't realize the mistake we made months ago.

Now a few weeks go by and my youngest son comes running into the house with my tank bag strap. I'm elated to have my strap back. I do the happy dance. I ask where on earth did he find it? My husband still hasn't realized our mistake. After the dance, I start to think about this. I thought the strap was in my jacket. My jacket (really his, are you confused yet?) is in the house. I go to look at it and see it's size X-large. Now I'm pretty sure I didn't get that size. I go outside and have my husband pull out his rainsuit and it's then we finally discover that a switch had been made. He had a size small rainsuit in his motorcycle bag.


That's when we have a really good laugh. Now he understands why his (really mine) rainsuit was so hard to get on when we were in Cripple Creek. This is one story we will happily remember for years to come.

Wishing you great stories in your journey's,

Betty :)

Motorcycle Scavenger Hunt VS My Dignity

The Mountain Shadow Riders Scavenger Hunt is soon coming to a close (Oct 31^st). I’m sad to see this. It has been a lot of fun this summer trying to locate as much as I could of the just over 350 items on the list. It started April 1^st and I have been sharing some of it with you thru the summer.

Just this last week I got out and located about 30 more items within the city. Now I’m getting to some of the more goofier stuff. It’s stuff that I wonder if it’s worth the 10 points to get. Yah, I have no problem getting a pic of my motorcycle in front of a “mattress store,” and if I’m in the photo wearing pajamas, I get for 10 extra pts!!! I can just hear my “Dignity O’Meter” going down: da-ding, da-ding!!!

I’m not sure I’m up to wearing pj’s in public, lol. Oh sure, I can get there and then slip them on over my clothes. BUT!!! Someone is most likely going to see me, YIKES!! Not to mention my husband is going to laugh his head off.

Then there’s the “Costume Shop.” No problem, I can drive up and get a photo there, but I can get 10 extra pts if I’m wearing a costume in the photo!!! Once again I hear the ‘ol “Dignity O’Meter” going down: da-ding, da-ding, da-ding, da-ding!!!

After an incident this last week, maybe I can do these things. My husband & I cruised up to one more item on the list – “A Strip Club.” My husband found this for me, as I had no clue where one was. Well, it turns out there’s one not far from our house, hmm . . . how’s my husband know this? LOL. Okay, we get up to this place and I get in position for the picture.

But wait my husband get this gleam in his eye’s and decides we need to change things a little. He tells me to pretend to strip for the pic, lol. Well, there are three guys in the next lot over eyeing us. You can tell they are wondering what we are doing. I agree and pretend, but my husband takes FOREVVVERR with the camera!! I’m getting uncomfortable doing this, the guys are liking this and my husband is having a blast. Okay, for the record, nothing much happened. I just messed with my motorcycle jacket. How sexy can that get? By the photo above, not much.

It’s the next day when I get to thinking about this that I realized I was also facing out to the street and all those cars going by were probably wondering what in the world was I doing? Once again I hear the ‘ol “Dignity O’meter” going down: da-ding, da-ding, da-ding, da-ding!!! I just hope nobody I knew was in any of those cars, lol. I’m just glad a cop car never went by.

After that, you’d think I had enough, but NO!! I go to a “Skating Rink” and “rider wearing skates” is an extra 10 pts. I pick a time when it’s closed. I drive up and my heart sinks. There’s a car parked right about were I need to park and there’s people in it, sigh. Okay. I park and quickly get the skates on (but knowing I’m being watched I can’t get the skate on fast enough, lol). How’s the “Dignity O’meter?” It’s going down: da-ding, da-ding, da-ding, da-ding!!! I’m feeling pretty silly with those people watching. I get ready to leave and they then drive away. I quickly get the skate back on to get my husband to take a photo without their car in it.

Then there’s “Fitness Gym” and an extra 10 pts if “rider is wearing workout clothing.” Turns out all the gyms I find have huge glass windows all across their fronts. So the one I pick, I park and quickly get into the final gear. Jump on my bike and pose. I’m feeling eyes boring into my back and I just want to get the shot and get out of there, lol. I feel my “Dignity O’meter” going down again: da-ding, da-ding, da-ding, da-ding!!! YeaGads!! By the look of the above photo I’d better head for a gym, lol.

I don’t mind finding the stuff where I can quickly get in, get the photo with my bike (and me included at times) and get out without much notice. But this last week I got lots of quizzical looks from people. The items lately are more out in public and that’s tough for me. But hey, I’m finding that I’m actually up to the challenge (most of the time, lol).

I’ve already surprised myself by going into a fire station and asking some of the fire fighters if I could get them in my photo. When I first looked thru the list and saw fire fighters in a photo were extra points, I thought, “well I won’t do that.” I thought I’d die of embarrassment if I did. Well, I did ask and I’m still alive, lol.

I find a “street with my first name.”

So will I let my “Dignity O’Meter” drop a few points for a few goofy photos? Will I wear pajamas at a mattress store and/or a costume at a costume store? I really don’t know. I guess time will tell, lol.

Lights, Visibility and the Hovering Helicopter Husband

I've had my Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom just over a year now. Not long after buying it, I took it out in the pitch dark of night and was horrified at how little my light lights up the road in front of me. Even my husband's bike lights up a bit better than mine. I declared I wanted a light bar added to my bike. My husband did the research, gave me that look, and said "It ain't gonna happen soon," as it's pretty expensive.

So over the year I haven't taken it out much at night, except on the main roads that are well lit at night. My loving husband never gave up the idea and came up with a cheaper solution for now. He discovered in the Chaparral Motorsports catalog the Ion bulbs. They provide the equivalent to 90 watt low beam & 100 watt high beam power. They draw the same amperage as a stock 55/60w bulb. For the price, he figured it was worth a try. He bought one for him and one for me. When they arrived, much to his manly dismay, I declared I would change my own bulb!! I worked 4 years as a aircraft hydraulic specialist in the Air Force, I think I can change a V-Star light bulb.

He resigned to the ineviable, and I pulled out my owners manual to see how it's done. He was my technical assistant (a-hem!!). When I pulled out the screw driver to take out the two screws, you'd think I'd pulled out the scalpel and was doing brain surgery (lol). My husband was the typical hovering helicopter "mom" he's always accused me of as our two sons are growing up. The second I'd do something he was hovering all over the place with advice on "do it this way, watch out!, no not like that!!. I finally had to tell him to back off and give me a little room. I know how a screwdriver works!!

See... I managed to get the light housing off and working on unplugging it. Next step, cut the nerve... I mean remove the bulb and put in the new one.
Okay, just kidding honey, I really do remember which bulb I just pulled out (lol)!!!
So I get the new bulb in (without a hitch, thank you very much!) and get it all back together. So, a few beers later, my husband is back to normal and 25 years of marriage is still intack (lol).

It was a couple of nights before we were able to test the results. We are so happy with how those bulbs are working. It's like night and day. We highly recommend this as an alternative, if you are like us and can't presently afford the light bar. We may never get lights bars now.

Note: The Ion bulb puts out a blue light and really lights things up. Because of the blue hue, we feel we stand out a little better to the oncoming traffic. We feel the difference has added a safety element we didn't expect and are glad to have.

Safe Journey in Your Part of the World,

Betty :)