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 :)

Photo Hunt - Water

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

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

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?

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

... 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.