Whoever said “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” never rode a Sportster on a four-lane highway in 30 mph cross-winds. It sure seemed like a beautiful day when we were standing in the driveway… there really didn’t seem to be any wind, the temperature was around 70 with a clear blue sky.

Our original plan was to collect Garry and Shirley in Carlisle and then make a loop to the southeast and then back up to Newton and home on old highway 6. When we got to Carlisle with Howard and Brenda, Garry & Shirley suggested that we go a little farther on to Pella, where the annual Tulip Festival had just concluded. Since I’m not as familiar with that area, we had Garry take the lead to get us there.

We rode south on Highway 5 out of Carlisle, and I was really noticing the cross-wind pushing me around on the road. We turned left onto Marion Co. highway G40 at Pleasantville and took that to Lake Red Rock. G40 ends at highway 14, just shy of the entrance to the Mile Bridge going over the lake. We crossed the bridge and turned southeast onto G28, which we took into Pella. This was a really scenic ride that took us past Cordova State Park, where the water tower-turned-observation-tower is located. (Lake Red Rock is an Army Corps of Engineers lake farther downstream but part of the same system as Polk County’s Saylorville Lake.)

We parked on the square in Pella and took a little time to walk around and look at the tulips in bloom. The Pella Tulip Festival is a long-standing Iowa tradition. The town has a distinctly Dutch heritage, and every year they build a community festival around the thousands of tulips planted around the square and in a variety of gardens around town. Although we missed the official festival by waiting til Sunday to ride down, the tulips were still beautiful - a few were fully bloomed and blown, and some will peak in a few more days. Most, however, were in full regalia and it really was a lovely time to visit. (Full photo album here.)

We decided to take the faster, less scenic route home - we took Highway 163 from Pella into Des Moines, and this was where I really got sick of the cross-wind. I swear I have never been pushed around so much as I was on this 40-mile stretch. (Even our first day of riding home from Sturgis in 2006 wasn’t this bad!)

One of the most annoying things for me is that I seem to have a problem with my jacket ballooning up from the wind. I don’t know if it’s the fact that my sleeves don’t fit snug, or that the jacket’s not vented… it doesn’t even matter which jacket I’m wearing, I always have this problem in strong wind. So I was battling the balloon, and had to keep my jacket zipped all the way up to my chin - only to find that this caused the little fabric zipper pull to whip me repeatedly on the chin and mouth. My solution was to clench the fabric pull between my teeth. I must’ve looked like a dog pulling on his chew-rope. At least it kept me from getting whipped in the face. (Turns out, Garry had a whipping problem too - the radio antenna on his ‘Glide kept catching him on the back of the head and ear!)

In all we rode a hundred miles - and I am FINALLY sporting that “sun-burned from the forehead, down” look you get from wearing a do-rag and sunglasses!

subscribe to my RSS feed!

Jackie H. in Panora, IA just got this beautiful red/red Road King, and came over to Big Barn HD for the 2008 Blessing of the Bikes and Mystery Ride. She’s also a new member of the Des Moines HOG chapter, so I got to introduce her to the group this past month as well. (It’s a nice scenic ride over to Jackie’s house, btw… though I had a little trouble with that last year! LOL)

subscribe to my RSS feed!

Readers of this blog know I’m all about V-Twin cruisers… particularly Harleys and my Picky Bitch of a Sportster… but, I can appreciate any kind of bike for the freedom it affords the rider and the sense of camaraderie it inspires. So I’m happy to be included on a list of “Top 100 Motorcyle Blogs” over on the Honda Motorcycles Blog, where the CB750 Nighthawk and the CBF600s are celebrated. The list covers lots of kinds of bikes - not just cruisers, and not just sportbikes - and it makes for some really good reading!

subscribe to my RSS feed!

Thought I would just show off the new configuration of my speedometer. I’ve never been crazy about the black, pebble-textured speedo housing. And, we found after we put the pullback risers on that the speedo was sitting at an angle where I could barely read the speed and couldn’t read the mileage at all. So a new configuration was needed.

Steve turned the black housing around so that a bend in the shoulder area would put the speedo at a better angle. He switched out the original black handlebar bracket for a chrome “Live to Ride” version, and bought the neat chrome bezel as well. The problem was, the black housing was supposed to lay on top of the chrome L2R bracket, and when it did, it covered part of the eagle design. Steve’s solution was to bolt the speedo housing to the back of the chrome bracket rather than the top.

The whole thing required a little fabrication on the housing as well as a re-setting of the lights that go across the shoulder piece, and some further noodling to figure out how to show the entire eagle design. What’s neat about it is that the black housing really fades into the background, while the chrome bezel and bracket kind of pop forward, visually. I’m not sure I’ve accurately described it, but the whole setup looks really neat. The L2R bracket matches two other L2R items I have on the bike.

subscribe to my RSS feed!

We took a 60-mile ride on Sunday from Des Moines down to Carlisle, over to Martensdale and then back up to Des Moines. It was chilly, but it was so great to get out and ride that we didn’t really notice til the very end. Well, most of us didn’t.

Six of us - Steve, Kristin, Hollie, Howard, Cassie and myself - left Des Moines around 2 p.m. My car had told me it was 53 degrees at 1 p.m., so we figured it might hit 55 even though it was overcast and clammy.

We rode down to Carlisle where we collected Garry and Shirley, then the 8 of us took off down Highway 5 to County Road S23, south down S23 to Highway 92, west on 92 to Martensdale at Highway 28, then north on 28 back into Norwalk and then Des Moines. This is a really nice loop, one we have done a few times before as an alternative to riding “up around the lake.” Our only stop, once we met up with Garry and Shirley in Carlisle, was a Casey’s in Norwalk. By the time we got there, everyone was noticing the chill a little - especially Shirley, who wasn’t wearing gloves. (Okay, it’s really not enough to say she was “noticing the chill a little.” Her comment was that she was glad she didn’t have to do any sudden maneuvering of the clutch or brake levers, because her poor hands couldn’t have managed it. We need to get that girl some proper handwear!)

We milled around Casey’s for a half hour or so, got warmed up, and then headed home. By the time we pulled into our driveway, we were all feeling the cold a bit. I mentioned to all that it felt like the temperature had dropped five degrees in the time since we’d left Norwalk. As it turns out, I was pretty much right: I looked up the 24-hour temperature history on Accuweather.com and it showed that at 2 p.m. the temp was 50. That means it had already dropped 3 degrees from the day’s high of 53 before we even left home! And at 5 p.m., when we pulled into our driveway, it said 45 degrees! Now eight degrees might not feel like a significant difference when you’re talking sub-zero. (Does minus-28 really feel all that much different from minus-20?) But when you’re talking 53 vs. 45, it’s HUGE - especially when it’s cloudy.

Despite the chill, it was great to finally get out and ride. WOOHOO!! Riding season is here!

subscribe to my RSS feed!

Took me a few days to get it posted to the blog, but I did get to go on a very short ride on… hmmm, think it was Monday of this past week. Just a couple miles, but had to get out as it was really nice out and I hadn’t had a chance to test out my new pullback risers that we added to the ape hanger handlebars a few weeks ago. One of these days soon I’ll pull the bike out into the driveway and take pictures of all the goodies that got added this winter - the bike doesn’t look drastically different from 10 feet away, but the details are sure looking good!

subscribe to my RSS feed!

WOW - we had a terrific membership meeting with the Des Moines HOG chapter last night, in which over 100 people were in attendance including 24 new members. (Special welcome to Hollie, Marla, Denise, and Susan/Coyote and her hubby Paul!) That’s twice as many new members as the past two months. (IowaHarleyGirl, where are you?? )

One of the items on last night’s agenda was a report from the Big Barn Harley-Davidson service manager, who gave us a short list of the five most important items to check on the bike as we get ready to ride this Spring. Certainly this info is helpful to all riders, so I thought I’d share it here with thanks and credit to Tom Reed for sharing his expertise!

Check these items before your first ride:

1. Tire pressure. The single most common reason for tire failure, says Tom, is inadequate tire pressure.

2. Indicator lights. Make sure your signal, brake and headlights are functioning, and replace non-functioning bulbs.

3. Gasoline. “Old gas” is bad, m’kay? Especially for carbureted bikes. What’s old? Tom says gas starts to deteriorate in the tank within three weeks. If your gas has been in the tank since last fall, time to siphon it out and replace it.

4. Oil. Start and run the bike for a few minutes, then check the smell of your bike’s oil. If it smells like gasoline, you’ve got fuel leaking into the oil tank and the oil should be replaced. Tom says an oil change is likely a good idea anyway - your owner’s manual probably recommends an oil change every 3000 miles OR every 3 months. That includes time the bike’s been sitting in the garage, waiting for good weather.

5. Brake pads. Look for wear and replace if needed. Some groaning/squeaking of brakes is normal on the first ride of the season, but the noise shouldn’t last. If it does, time for a service call.

subscribe to my RSS feed!

We took advantage of the 60-degree temperature on Sunday as best we could… putting all the chromey bits on the Picky Bitch that I’d gotten for Christmas! Here’s what we added:

• Belt guard cover
• Front axle nut covers
• Rear master-cylinder cover
• Pullback risers

A note on the pullback risers… last fall, my wonderful husband purchased and installed Ape Hanger handlebars for me (you might remember the story about how I didn’t seem to notice!). I noticed after a little riding that my shoulder blades were kind of aching, so we talked about pullback risers. The bike is looking awesome with the risers on there, so I’m really hoping those solved the shoulder-blade problem. Guess we’ll see… in a MONTH or more! (What IS IT with this @#$ winter??)

subscribe to my RSS feed!

… but  we couldn’t ride… the first picture below shows what’s at the end of our driveway - an 8-foot wide swath of ice! This end of our yard and driveway are not in the sun, so they won’t be clear until probably late April! (Also, we are getting another winter storm tonight so the whole @#$ yard will be back to ice by tomorrow morning!)

Then, this picture shows the road on the other side of our house. It’s unpaved, and the picture doesn’t even begin to tell the story of how rutted and sloppy it is. So, while we did see a few bikes while we were out and about today, we certainly didn’t get to ride.

subscribe to my RSS feed!

UPDATE Feb. 12: Wow, Stephanie at Iowa Harley Girl has a HUGE selection of photos from the Capitol City Customs Bike Show! Be sure to visit her blog to see all the neat customs from this past weekend!

If a crowded swap meet is a sign that Iowans are getting sick of winter, then this year we must all be on the edge of insanity. Not only was it nearly impossible to find a parking spot, it was difficult to even walk the rows of merchandise - I’d say this event has outgrown the 4H building at the Fairgrounds, where it’s been held for many years. As always, this event featured many used parts, leather dealers, and other bike-related booths, plus the custom bike show that I thought was a little larger this year. We missed one bargain - a quick-release windshield that might’ve fit Kristin’s bike for only $65 - and ended up not buying anything at all. But it was nice to get out and shop for bike-related stuff anyway. I took a few pictures of some of the custom bikes and put them on Webshots. Have a look, but don’t be fooled - the swap meet is wonderful but it’s no substitute for getting out there and RIDING!

subscribe to my RSS feed!

In researching a state legislative bill on a non-motorcycle-related topic, I found out that last year’s Iowa Legislature introduced two biker bills that could come back for debate this year: one was the obligatory helmet law, requiring motorcycle riders under the age of 18 to wear helmets (HF465). The other proposed a “safety helmet surcharge” (appropriately, HF666) on motorcyclists - $5 or $10 per year of license validity.

That’s right, a tax on being a biker.

I was livid. For years the argument for requiring helmets on all bikers was that “the public” shouldn’t have to pay their medical bills if a rider has a helmet-less accident and happens to be uninsured. (”Why should we have to pay for your stupidity?” has been the cry, as if helmets were the key to preventing all death or serious injury on a motorcycle.) So, our state apparently wanted to charge $5 extra per year of license validity if the biker declared s/he and all passengers on her/his bike would always wear helmets. $10 per year if they wouldn’t make such a guarantee. Point being, as a biker you were going to pay extra whether you wore a helmet or not.

This is absolutely an unfair proposal that singles out one group of legal vehicle operators for no reason. Except for this: the state of Iowa offers a deep discount on vehicle licensing fees to people who drive pickup trucks. In the old days, when pickups were used as farm vehicles, lawmakers of this largely agricultural state thought it would be helpful to offer this price break to poor farmers who couldn’t afford to pay the standard annual registration fees on their “working vehicles.” These days, of course, Iowa’s urban areas are large and growing. All kinds of people drive pickups for all kinds of purposes - even as family vehicles. But the state doesn’t have the balls to reinstate the normal registration fee because the ag lobby is still very powerful. So they’re looking for any and every way to force other vehicle owners to cough up more money to make up the difference.

Which is chicken-shit, especially because bikers get the short shfrift when money goes out, too: another bill in the 2007 session would have offered tax credits to individuals who purchase “fuel-efficient vehicles.” But guess what: motorcycles, which typically get anywhere from, what, 30-50 mpg? - are excluded. So bikers get hit with the helmet surcharge, but they don’t get the benefit of the tax reduction for riding a 40-mpg vehicle. Nice.

When you put this with the disturbing trends in road repair I reported on last summer, it adds up pretty quickly: Iowa legislators view bikers as some sort of expendable cash cow. We don’t deserve a smooth ride on the highway, we don’t deserve help with medical bills if we are uninsured (even though non-bikers who do stupid things probably do), we don’t deserve the tax credit for our fuel-efficient bikes. But we DO deserve to be stuck with an exhorbitant fee tacked on to our driver’s license just because we choose to ride, and we DO deserve to have our freedom of helmet choice taken away.

Four words to sum this up: Thank God for ABATE.

And two words for the Iowa Legislature, but I’ll let you guess which two they are.

subscribe to my RSS feed!

The Iowa Motorcycle Safety Forum takes place on Friday, March 14 from 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Sheraton West Hotel in West Des Moines. Participants will have an opportunity to ride the Impairment Simulator, get a legislative update from the American Motorcycle Association, visit a variety of vendor booths and see the Orange County Choppers E-85 Farm Bureau Chopper. Pat Hahn, author of Ride Hard, Ride Smart and How to Ride a Motorcycle: A Rider’s Guide, will also give a presentation.  You can register for the event at the Iowa Motorcycle Safety Network website.

subscribe to my RSS feed!

Tom Binyon of BaggerWorks Custom Touring Motorcycles in Wichita, Kansas has announced he’ll reveal his charity bike, “The Dakota,” on Saturday, February 2, at 9:30 a.m. at the Duke Energy Center during the V-Twin Expo in Cincinnati, Ohio.  If you are in that area, I really hope you will go and see Tom’s creation, which benefits the Children’s Home Society of the Black Hills Region as well as the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame.

“The Dakota” will be the featured auction item during the Kids & Chrome 2008 benefit dinner and auction on Wednesday, August 6, in Spearfish, South Dakota at the Spearfish Holiday Inn and Convention Center. 

subscribe to my RSS feed!

If you are making plans for this summer’s Sturgis Rally, the Mayor’s Ride is now signing up participants. This year’s ride includes Vanocker Canyon, Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park. There are several commemorative goodies included and proceeds benefit the Sturgis Volunteer Fire Department. Registration is limited to 250 participants. Here’s the Sturgis Mayor’s Ride website for complete info!

subscribe to my RSS feed!

Just thought you would like to see the wonderful birthday cake Brenda had this past week as she celebrated a birthday numbering somewhere between 20 and 45… her sweetie Howard made this awesome confection, complete with Brenda look-alike riding the frosted bike! The colored squigglies are the candles - sure brought real meaning to the phrase “light ‘em up!” Brenda’s a true biker chick from right here in Des Moines - she’s been riding an older bike nicknamed Lumpy (an ‘84 Honda 700) for a couple years… then this summer she got this beautiful ‘05 Honda Aero 750. Happy Birthday, Brenda - we sure had fun celebrating with you!

subscribe to my RSS feed!

Yes, yes, I admit it, I’m ready for riding season to start. Well, who isn’t with this @#$ crazy weather?? So I’ve been online doing a little Googling, and came up with a few ride, rally and event dates to share. This info will be handy if you are the “go-to gal” (or guy!) for your li’l group of riding buddies. You know - the one they always turn to and say, “Hey, when is _____?” Well, now you’ll know!

Capital City Custom Cycle Show & Swap Meet  - February 9-10 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Daytona Bike Week - February 29-March 9 in Daytona, Florida.

Blessing of the Bikes - April 19 at Big Barn Harley Davidson, 81 NW 49th Place, Des Moines.

Indianola Bike Night (”Bike Down to I Town“) - April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18, August 15 and September 19 on The Square in Indianola!

Honda Hoot - June 17-21 in Knoxville, Tennessee

Iowa State HOG (Harley Owners Group) Rally - June 20, 21 in Bettendorf, Iowa.

ABATE Iowa Freedom Rally - July 3-5 near Algona, Iowa.

Sturgis Bike Week - August 4-9 in and around Sturgis, South Dakota.

Hawgstock Rally - August 21-24 near Winterset, Iowa.

ABATE Toys for Tots Toy Run - October 12 at the State Capital in Des Moines.

Biketoberfest - October 16-19 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

If you have an event that’s either held in Iowa or is a major event of interest nationwide, let me know!

subscribe to my RSS feed!

Whenever we are out on the bikes, my husband likes to ride sweep - which means he likes to be the last rider in the line-up. (Here’s what happened when I tried riding sweep last summer.) He has said he does this because he wants to keep idiot cagers at bay - you know, the ones who insist on driving so close to the vehicle in front of them that they couldn’t possibly stop in time to avoid a rear-end collision.

I was thinking about this the other day while driving to my dad’s, and noticing one of those really huge pickup trucks that was so close on my bumper I couldn’t see his headlights in my rear-view mirror. The whole thing made me wonder what I would do if, in fact, I had someone tailgating me on the bike.

It seems to me there are a few options:

1). Tap my brakes and hope they get the hint before they actually rear-end me.
2). Give a wave or other appropriate gesture which says, “You are too close and should back off.”
3). Ride with a .38 Special tucked visibly into the back of my waistband. Good only if no cops happen to come up behind me.
4). When safe, pull off to the side and let them pass.
5). Pull up to a stoplight, shut off the bike, put the kickstand down, and walk back to the offender and ask them just what the hell they think they are doing.

Another one I’ve heard bikers talk about is to throw small objects from your pocket at the vehicle. Of course, you don’t throw your housekeys or other personal effects - you carry something specifically for this purpose. Examples might include small ball-bearings, chunks of busted ceramic material from old spark plugs, small pebbles, glass marbles, frozen peas, or even Skittles. While I can relate to the sense of glee one must get from exacting revenge in this way, it seems to me that these days you might only be provoking someone’s sense of righteous road rage.

What I usually do in the car is slow way down so I’m at least 5 mph under the speed limit, and wait for them to get impatient and go around me. I’ve never had that not work, so that’s probably what I’d do on the bike - followed by hand gestures if necessary. Or maybe even if not necessary. 

How about you - what’s your best strategy for discouraging tailgaters?

subscribe to my RSS feed!

This is Angie T. of Texas, a.k.a. Smart Blonde. She was kind enough to send me this photo of her new baby, a 2007 Harley Road King. About her motorcycling journey, she says: “About two years ago we pulled up to a stop sign and my hubby about dropped the bike when I whispered in his ear ‘Baby, I think I’m ready for my own bike.’ I took the MSF Course on Mother’s Day and the rest is history. I started out on an 05′ VStar 1100 Classic which I really enjoyed. I recently upgraded to an 07′ Road King! I absolutely Love the King! I never thought I’d end up on a Harley but have definitely been converted to the dark side! There are a lot of great bikes so find the one that fits you and just go for it! Why not! Life is too short not to enjoy it, the beautiful scenery, the fellowship of good friends and the quaint little restaurants you find on the journey. This season of my life is wonderful and I’m truly enjoying every moment! Lots of traveling on the horizon for the King and Me! My motto - Live Well, Love Much, & Laugh Often!”

subscribe to my RSS feed!

Just a few newsy notes to share this week - here we go:

If you join our HOG chapter…
I will gladly introduce you to the group! Had a great time at the HOG meeting this past Wednesday, it was my first as New Member Ambassador. I had a blast introducing eleven new members to the group, even received word that one of the couples I introduced had thought I did a great job - that was neat to hear! Went back up to the Big Barn on Saturday for the “zero run” and chili feed - a few bikes showed up to ride one mile for each degree of temperature. I think it was 28 or so, I know it was spitting snow… then over a hundred members enjoyed chili and fixin’s.

If you “appear” between 18-28…
Received an email from a guy named “Peter Beer” recently - now I’m not sayin’ that’s his real name, I’m just sayin’ he sent me an email. (He did greet me by saying “Hey Corn Dog” - so he’s at least reading the blog instead of harvesting emails!) Pete says he’s a producer for “Gigantic Productions” in New York, and that he is producing an episode of the MTV “True Life” series about going to Bike Week. He’s looking for “…people who appear between 18-28, to participate in the show…”

Now by 18-28 I assume he means age-wise, which lets me out because while I like to think of myself as being perpetually 26 years old, I most definitely do not “appear between” 18-28. I’m not about to post Peter’s… er, “attachment”… lest it be found to contain a virus that may unleash itself in my email. But, he did leave this contact info so you can get in touch if you’re interested in the project: casting@gigantic.tv or call 212-343-2674. And yes, I’d definitely love to hear from you if you contact him and you find out he’s either a). full of shit, or b). on the up-and-up.

If you think your bike is giving off dangerous radiation…
The UK has granted a patent to a Canadian inventor for his ‘electromagnetic shielding motorcycle seat’. The invention is designed to protect the rider’s vital organs from the electromagnetic field created by the rumbly parts of the bike. The release states:

“‘Various types of extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic field (EMF) radiations have been linked to health disorders including cancer. Many motorcycles generate excessive ELF EMF radiation up through the seat penetrating directly into the rider’s groin and torso. The prostate is of major concern as it is one of the closest delicate glands invaded by the radiation. The colon and neighboring organs are also at risk,’ adds (inventor Randall) Chipkar.”

Now again, I’ve done absolutely no research to explore the scientific validity of the claim that a bike’s electromagnetic field radiates anything harmful. You are welcome to start the vetting process at the inventor’s website, http://www.motorcyclecancer.com.

If your pet frog is disobedient…
… give him a motorcycle! Little Nong Oui of Thailand seemed content to drop the live food he was carrying around when tempted with this hot green chopper (what frog wouldn’t be??), and even predicted a couple of lottery numbers. He was pop-pop-popular until his predictions came out wrong; now all he’s got is his bike and his cruising/boozing frog-friends. Is it his fault those crazy Thai villagers were trying to find numbers in his spots?? NO, I say… ride on, Nong Oui!

If you’re feeling out of date…
… then you probably are! “The biker-chick look is so over,” proclaims the stylist for that show on TLC where the princess and the clothes horse tell dumpy women that their clothes are horrible and they should start thinking twice about what they put on in the morning. She’s instead encouraging these same dumpy women to go for something called “The Safari Look.” Seems to me that the only people for whom the ‘biker chick look’ is over… are those who weren’t really biker chicks in the first place! Yeah, that’s what happens when you try to be somethin’ you’re not.

subscribe to my RSS feed!

In addition to being listed with FindingDulcinea.com as a “website that matters,” BikerChickNews also received another nice recognition recently: Liz (aka Rippin Kitten) gave me the Community Blogger Award for creating a website that not only contributes to the community of bikers and bloggers (and biker-bloggers!), but also recognizes the importance of blog readers - like, oh you know… you!!

I really appreciated Liz taking note of the great group of readers/commenters that frequent these parts, and as always, I thank YOU for continuing to stop by and take part in the conversation here.

In the spirit of the award, though, I didn’t just want to accept it - I wanted to share it with other biker chick bloggers who also entertain us with their writing, welcome comments from readers, and/or share the joy of being a biker through blogging.

So, here are my choices for the next round of the Community Blogger Award, and rest assured these are three FOUR (!) blogs you won’t want to miss!

Froggi Donna
The Delaware Curmudgeon
Shanon/Bloody Wench
Iowa Harley Girl

Keep up the blogging and riding, girls, I hope to see you on the road!

subscribe to my RSS feed!