In remembrance

Ride for the Cure: A blast-and-a-half for a great cause

Hey Biker Chicks, have you had your mammogram yet? October, as you know, is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and every woman over 40 should have this annual exam. Mine came back normal, but there are two women in my life who have either survived it, or are currently battling it. It’s a concern for every woman, regardless of age, family history or background.

One of the largest benefits this year (if not THE largest) was Ride for the Cure, benefitting breast cancer research. Ride for the Cure was held October 4 and in Iowa it consisted of several ride routes all converging on the Iowa Speedway in Newton, where thousands of riders gathered and got to blast around the track. The Des Moines group took off from Big Barn HD; Carole, aka Pinky, attended and shared TONS of photos. Here’s what she told me:

Hey, Janet, I just wanted to let you know that the first annual Ride for the Cure was a tremendous success!  As soon as the final totals come in I will let you know what was raised but as for turnout there were 1200 registrants at the Newton Speedway alone!  A group of 330 bikes left Big Barn Harley Davidson being escorted by the Sheriff’s department to Newton.  Other riders left from other dealerships across the state to meet us there.  When we arrived at the speedway everyone had the opportunity to ride around the lap which was invigorating to say the least!  I wasn’t able to make the pitstop to the winery but heard it was really great too.  Everyone converged at the Val Air ballroom for the big nightcap with a great dinner, silent auction, live auction, and a live band which rocked!  I encourage everyone to plan on registering for next year’s event which will be bigger and better (if that is possible)!!

The photo above and this Flickr album tell the whole story – if you have pictures or stories to share from this ride, please hit the “Comments” link and tell us about it!

 

Final opp to support ABATE 2008 Toy Run, this Sunday 10/19!

Well this was a good week, because I learned something! In my previous post about the 2008 ABATE District 4 Toy Run, I said that the event was a benefit for the Toys for Tots Program. That’s actually incorrect. Here’s the real scoop, and an opportunity in case you missed the run this year:

Laura from ABATE District 4 tells me that although the event in the past has donated the toys to Toys for Tots, these days the group sorts and distrubutes the toys themselves for needy families throughout Polk, Dallas and Warren Counties. And that’s the opportunity – ABATE District 4 will meet this Sunday, October 19, at the Waveland Fairgrounds Cafe, 304 E. 30th in Des Moines, at 2 p.m. and will be able to collect toys at that time if you would still like to donate.  Thanks, Laura, for the corrected info!

 

East Village Bike Night is July 25

Since I’m unable to go on the Dangerous Curves ride this year, weather-permitting I will be going a few blocks down the road to East Village Bike Night – this is always a blast, with live music and ethnic food all rolled up into a biker street party.

Here are the official details, from the Historic East Village organization that hosts the event:

Historic East Village, Inc. presents the 4th Annual East Village Bike Night Friday, July 25, 2008 from 5-11 p.m.

Begin the evening at Blues Before Sunset from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the State Historical Building , 600 E. Locust, with Erick Hovey Band. Stick around after the blues concert for more music, food vendors, beer gardens and some of the coolest motorcycles around in the heart of the East Village – the E. 5th Street and E. Locust Street vicinity. Bike night is an opportunity for motorcycle enthusiasts from across central Iowa to show off their bikes and admire others! This is the only Bike Night held in downtown Des Moines and has become one of East Village’s most popular events.

Motorcyclists are asked to enter the event at E. 5th Street and Walnut, where they will be directed to designated street parking. No vehicles will be allowed into the event.

Food vendors will include:

Kabaab House (Greek)
Chef Joe’s
Los Primos (Mexican)
New Oriental Food Market (Chinese)
The Tavern (Pizza)

Historic East Village, Inc. will also be selling T-shirts with proceeds benefitting the nonprofit organization. The band TOASTER will play on the outdoor stage located on East 5th Street near Grand Avenue from 7-11 p.m.

The 4th Annual East Village Bike Night is sponsored by Historic East Village, Inc., Sayles Graphic Design, The Blazing Saddle and Big Barn Harley Davidson.

For more information, call (515) 281-4011.

So – am I gonna see you there??

Ok, sometimes it IS the destination!

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!

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!

Indianola Bike Night 2006

Just wanted to show you Indianola Bike Night – it continues to be one of our favorite local events. Third Friday of each month, May-September… bikes, food, folks and more bikes on the square in Indianola, Iowa. About 2000 bikes, maybe? I’m a terrible judge of crowd size, but the square’s a block long, and bikes are lined up 3-4 rows per street, plus 3-4 rows per sidestreet (8 sidestreets). This cool photo, by the way, is courtesy of the Indianola Record Herald (www.indianolarecordherald.com), the local newspaper that featured us on their front page recently. I thank them for letting me use it!