Well, thanks to an email from Blogger, I decided to get a post in, lol.  I am still here and still riding my motorcycle.  It is still the same 2002 V-Star 650 custom.  Since my last post I have done a trip to South Texas three summers ago and last summer went to Vegas on my motorcycle.  Both times having a ton of fun.  Since the beginning of the blog I have logged almost 30,000 miles on my motorcycle, Yahoo!!!!  I have one trip planned at the beginning of summer. I will have to post more often.  Got out of the habit when I went back to college and ran out of time trying to do that and work full time.  I look forward to catching up with everyone.

Happy Motorcycling,
Biker Betty

Spring Riding Season Starts

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 :)

PhotoHunt ~ Hope

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 :)

Merry Christmas

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 ?!?

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 :)

Gorgeous Day To Do Errands?

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 :)

Motorcycle Blog to Check Out

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 :)

I'm Not Vain, Am I ?!?

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 :)

Yea, Warm Weather to Ride !!!

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

~ 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.

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 :)