Allllll-moooosssttttt…..

SPRING! I can’t believe we didn’t have a day to ride in March… or at least, I didn’t – I know a few who did, those who do not have the same days off that I have… anyway, it’s been a long winter and the groundhog is a LIAR, and I feel like I’m babbling already. So I’ll just say, it looks like this Saturday might be the day. Fingers crossed… how about you? Where did you go in March? Where are you going in April?

Wishing you a very happy new year !

Don’t mind me…

… just sweeping out the dust and cobwebs as I prep for an AWESOME new year! Hope your Christmas was beautiful!

Wishing you all…

… a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! More soon, I promise!

In remembrance – eleven years

Chrome Divas come to Des Moines

I’ve been keeping this under my helmet for awhile, but am so excited to finally be able to mention that the CHROME DIVAS have come to Des Moines – and that I am a founding member!

While poking around on the Web one night last summer I did some reading about this organization for women motorcycle enthusiasts, founded in 2002. I was surprised to learn that although there was a very large and active chapter in the Cedar Rapids area, there was not yet a chapter here in Des Moines.

So, together with my gal pals Shirley, Susan (Coyote) and Stephanie (Iowa Harley Girl), we launched the Chrome Divas of Des Moines in August 2011. We’ve added two additional members since then – Janet (“Seven Over”) and Penney (“One Cent”).

The Chrome Divas is simply an organization for women who share a passion for motorcycles – all brands, all levels of riding. We currently meet monthly, and we’ll be creating opportunities to ride together and work on behalf of some our favorite community organizations. Our primary mission is four-fold:

• Promote a positive image of women who ride, and of motorcycling in general.
• Provide a social atmosphere for women who ride or simply love motorcycles to gather and get to know each other.
• Give back to our community by participating in local non-profit events and activities.
• Ride and have fun!

We’re lucky and thankful to have Sambetti’s, a local bar and grill, as the “official home of the Chrome Divas of Des Moines.” A big THANK YOU to Paul Strome, owner of Sambetti’s, for his encouragement and support of our little group!  (I personally recommend the “10 oz top” special, the chicken strips, the house dressing on the crisp, cold salads, and – OMG – the ONION RINGS!! Lunch, dinner or drinks – Sambetti’s is one of my favorite spots in Des Moines!)

As for membership, right now we’re keeping growth slow and purposeful so as not to get too big too fast, but we are excited about being part of this great organization and are definitely planning to increase our numbers!

 

 

 

A big milestone!

It’s been a crazy-busy month around here as my daughter wraps up her senior year of high school. As of this writing we are two days away from the actual graduation ceremony, but at this point she has officially completed her required education. She is just plain excited – to be done with high school, to be heading off to college in the Fall, to be entering a new phase of life. I’ve been a little emotional, and honestly it’s hard to explain exactly why – I’m not sad, though this time does indeed signify her passage into adulthood. I’m very, very happy for her, and extremely proud of her… but maybe just a little blue that my role in her life is changing. I’ve had to consciously remind myself that this time is not about me and my emotions – it’s about her, and her accomplishments. And I’m very, very proud of the young lady she has become, so, onward and upward! And congratulations to my beautiful daughter!

(P.S. – her stunning senior pictures were taken by Randy Shebek of Des Moines, Iowa, owner of Great Life Photography. What a wonderful experience it was to work with Randy!)

Ride like a girl!

  Today is International Female Ride Day! Here’s hoping you have the opportunity to get out and ride!

This and that – April update

What a crazy Spring! We had a very mild winter here in Iowa, with very little snow and unseasonably warm temps throughout the season. Now in April, though, things have cooled off and I suppose with temps in the 50′s and frequent rain we are back to what’s normal for this time of year. This has been frustrating – it was great to take a few short jaunts back in March, but these days it seems the weather is not really cooperating. We did take a nice scenic loop down to Winterset and back a few weeks ago, and attended the Christian Motorcycle Association chili feed up at Big Barn is mid-April. But we did not ride up for the bike blessing that accompanied the chili feed. We will have to try again to get blessed on May 12, down at Route 65 HD in Indianola.

Also, the first Indianola Bike Night has come and gone – it didn’t get canceled, but we didn’t attend due to the cool temperatures. (If anyone ever calls me a wimp over these decisions, I always respond with: “Hey, I rode to Sturgis and back on an 883 Sportster, so… ha!”) Attendance was light, I’m told, but no less enthusiastic.

All this falls into the category of “just as well,” anyway, because we are in the midst of “Senior Year” here in our household and our non-riding life is quite busy right now. Yes, my beautiful daughter is about to graduate high school, so it’s going to be a tearful (and joyful) six months as she passes this milestone and heads off to college.

Finally, a couple quick shout-outs to my gal pals… Shirley – welcome home! Shirley and Garry are back from wintering in Texas, though I’m not sure we didn’t have nearly-comparable weather here this year. And Janet – congratulations! Janet successfully completed her 4th Dan test in TaeKwonDo, following a rigorous training period to which her commitment was just as impressive as her outstanding performance in the test itself.

Happy Hiatus 2011!

Well hi! Remember me? Once again I seem to have taken my traditional, annual, accidental hiatus from blogging… I swear, it’s getting to where you can set your seasonal clocks by me, no? Well I’m happy to report that things are humming along just fine, I just ran out of steam like I usually do at the end of the riding season.

And we had the small matter of my hubby Steve being hospitalized for 18 days – he is STILL dealing with complications from his surgery right before Thanksgiving, but at least he was home and (relatively) healthy for Christmas.

We had a lovely Christmas here, I was fortunate to have four days away from work and felt like I was able to slow down enough to enjoy it. (Today was my first day back and I learned we were having a Norovirus outbreak – ick!! I feel like I need to wear a mask and rubber gloves!)

Finally, worth a mention has been the weather – we’ve had no measurable snow as of yet (highly unusual for late December in Iowa) and temperatures often in the 40′s. I have no doubt we’ll get some eventually, but for now, every day that passes without snow is one day closer to Spring. (I’ve got what’s still just a nagging little thought, but might become a full-blown idea: given the weather so far, I wonder if I’ll get to ride at least one day every month in 2012?)

By the way, the amazing “Santa Bike” photo accompanying this post was snagged from the Facebook page of A.D. Farrow Co. Harley-Davidson Buell of Columbus, OH, “America’s Oldest Harley Dealership” celebrating 100 years in business – wow!! Congrats on this amazing milestone!

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