Happy 2010!

In remembrance

Best ‘biker chick’ story ever, plus links of interest

Sometimes my random web reading really pays off. I have a “Google alert” set up to notify me whenever someone writes a blog post using the phrase “biker chick,” and many of the results are utterly useless. THIS, however, is quite possibly THE FUNNIEST ‘biker chick’ story I have ever read. Check out what happens when ‘Dreamgirl’ goes on a date with her tall, dark and mysterious Spanish Harley rider.

Haha, Shirley’s been bit by the “Iowa Historic Marker bug.” She told me the other day that she really enjoyed the trip to Tama and got to thinking about other historic sites around the State, and now wants to ride to the American Gothic House in Eldon, and the Villisca Murder House. Both of which are ALSO on my must-ride list, so we will be planning those soon along with a visit to the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend and the museum showcasing the wreck of the Steamboat Bertrand in Missouri Valley.

Cripes, if you want to wallow in accident reports, set up a Twitter alert for the words “woman motorcycle”.  Nothing but death and destruction. But, there was one gem, from @MissAdventuring (Carla King) who linked to this  thorough “how-to” guide to buying a used motorcycle.

Finally, earlier this spring Harley-Davidson’s very own Willie G. Davidson was a presenter at the American Country Music Awards and participated in the Chairman’s Ride. Video footage of the ride is now available and features many of country music’s biggest stars including: Eddie Montgomery, Troy Gentry, Toby Keith, James Otto, and Krista Marie, as well as Willie G. Davidson. Check out the ride at the HD YouTube channel.

April is helmet awareness month, part 3

April is Helmet Awareness Month so I think it’s only fitting to end this series of posts by sharing my view of the helmet law debate.  If we get out of the first 100 days of the Obama Administration without a federal mandate, I’ll be amazed. (Hell if we get out of the 2009 runaway Iowa Legislature without a mandate, I’ll be amazed.)

Proponents of helmet mandates state that helmets “work” – meaning, they save lives. Let’s look at that statement:

Helmets might save lives, but only in those cases where head trauma would have been the cause of death. About 37 percent of all accidents involving riders not wearing helmets, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (Note: that’s not 37 percent of all accidents. It’s 37 percent of all accidents where riders were NOT wearing a helmet and where head trauma was the cause of death. You can further dilute this by noting that the helmet would only have saved the life if it prevented a sufficient degree of the trauma.)

Understanding that even a very small percentage still represents actual human beings with families and friends who love them, it’s important to note that every life is worthwhile. But, it’s equally important to note that helmets only prevent head injuries. The vast majority of motorcyclists who die in accidents do so as a result of body trauma – blunt-force injury to vital organs other than the brain. Helmets, therefore, do nothing to prevent the vast majority of motorcycle fatalities.

When you couple this with the fact that about half of all motorcycle accidents involve another vehicle, it seems more logical to argue that accident prevention should be of greater importance than taking away personal liberty from all riders because a small percentage die from one type of injury.

As I said in my first Helmet Awareness Month post, I wear a helmet and I’d love it if you did, too. But, I don’t think our government should step in and force everyone to wear them.

Awesome nostalgic bike rally pics, ca. 1965

Oh my gosh, I just HAD to post this link for you. Frank “Skootch” Pennucci shared this over on one of the motorcycle forums – pictures from a wonderful old photo album purchased at a swap meet, and originally posted/shared on Stretch’s Nostalgia On Wheels blog.

Be sure to click through to the front page of the blog, too – there’s some amazing stuff there!

1965 Rally photos

Full Blog – Nostalgia On Wheels

Thanks to Skootch for sharing the link, and thanks to Stretch for preserving the photos for all to see.

First ride of the season – 2009

I was bumming today because I put my daughter on a charter bus bound for NYC – missed her before they even left the parking lot, but of course am so glad she has the opportunity to go and do some sight-seeing. Went to breakfast, came home and did some yard work, then decided as the temp climbed above 50 that we’d take the first ride of the season. I’d been out to the garage a couple weeks ago and started the bike, so knew the battery was good and she was ready to go.

We decided to keep it simple, just a jaunt down to Carlisle to see Garry and Shirley (and their new dog, Buddy). That’s a much shorter ride now that we are on the south side of town! It was wonderful to be out, had a great visit (CUTE dog!) and then took a slightly more scenic route home where we skipped the highway and instead wound our way around the Easter Lake area. VERY pretty, slower speeds, less traffic. Seemed like it only took 15 minutes tops to get home, but by then it was cooling off already so good enough.

Heard Kristin, Hollie & Howard were out for a bit today,too – sorry we missed you guys! Where’d ya go?? :)

Frogs on choppers, your toxic bike and poor fashion choices, and new HOG members…

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.

A few quick links for winter reading

Okay fellow winter-state bikers, are you going absolutely BONKERS yet, waiting for spring?? Seems we have had our usual January weather all throughout December – so I’m hoping we’ll get a break here one of these days.

A few quick thoughts to pass along:

I wanted to be sure to share a link I found recently – the photo at left probably shows that I haven’t really learned the proper technique, but the link is a humorous and instructional article about the best way to tie a doo-rag out of a bandana. The photo also shows that I look better with glasses than without, unlike most people.

As predicted, I’m hearing more rumblings that suggest our state legislature will be pursuing a mandatory helmet law this year. It frankly pisses me off considerably – I am simply trusting that ABATE will fend off the nannies for us again.

This site was recently included in a list of motorcycle-related blogs in an article at FindingDulcinea.com, an internet-based library of resources on a wide variety of topics. A happy little blurb about BCN suggested that it’s “regularly updated,” which prompted me to get in here and write an update.  

Late last year I had a lot of trouble with the files that create the color scheme and layout of this site, and I lost the file that contained links to other biker chick blogs. I’m working now on rebuilding that list, and happily found a new blog to add to it. Please take some time to check out Karen’s Riders on Adventure site, and look for the full list of biker chick bloggers coming back very soon! (Update: I’ve restored the Biker Chick Blogroll and have added several new sites! Check them out below right!)

Finally, here’s a cool story about a 70-year-old woman in Florida who’s embarking on a four-month motorcycle tour to promote awareness about breast-cancer screenings.  The self-proclaimed “Vagabond Granny” will travel 8,000 miles across the United States on her 1996 Yamaha Royal Star. Her trip is sponsored by the United Breast Cancer Foundation in New York.

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is so much to be thankful for… not the least of which is this beautiful scene right outside my front door today! Have a beautiful holiday!

Dude, where’s my website??

Wow, not sure what happened to my WordPress template, but sometime between Nov. 8 and today it disappeared! Guess that’s an opportunity for a re-design, eh?

So while I’m working on that, you all just enjoy this perfectly wonderful picture of Howard & Einstein!

UPDATE: 10 minutes later. That was weird, but it’s fixed now. I think I need to learn to develop my own WordPress templates so I don’t have to rely on the kindness of strangers for these free (but possibly unstable?) ready-made themes.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Nov. 18. Dude, WTF?? I check back a few days later and the theme is gone again. I give up. I’m using this temporary “skin” till I can find something that fits the site perfectly.

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