What I Look Like Really....No Really

The editors at Clutch and Chrome wanted me to write a story for their site on blogging, motorcycling, or something of interest between the two. I took them up on their offer and asked what they were looking for. All this communication was done via my yahoo account. This account happens to have my “signature”: a photograph of me, a link to this very blog and a quote. All very cutesy in order to try and drive web traffic.

I got a response from the editor and he commented on my photograph. Evidently I look quite different in my biker garb. Yeah, I’d say so; I was wearing a dress, had makeup on and actually took the time to roll my hair. Needless to say, I look quite different as a girl dressed up for a date than a girl dressed up in ride gear.

Well unless I’m going on a date in my ride gear, that is!

We got the details of the article worked out and I submitted it. Should be published fairly soon; they’ll let me know when it does. Of course, I’ll do C&C the same favor when it posts to drive the traffic to their site as well. They wanted additional pictures, so I sent them a few pics—who knows which ones they’ll use. I’m really curious to see what image they use as well since I know that the attractive people do a much better job of getting attention than the ones that are not.

My Yahoo account is linked to the Yahoo groups as well so I also respond to the various postings and questions asked when I have something to contribute. What I find funny is the folks over at the Star Riders Yahoo Group think I resemble Pam Tillis. I don’t think so. There for a while it was quite the debate. I guess there were no questions regarding the best saddlebags, pipes, lights, windshields, fuel or whatever the question of the day may be. We debate if I look like Pam Tillis. I do not think I resemble her at all, but hey, that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it!

I’m just excited that someone asked me to write for them! Well, write something besides school stuff. Not much of a motorcycle story, but it’s about writing, riding and there’s a story so it fits my criteria!

Stay tuned for the details….

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

The Fatboy on His Side

That day arrived. It was a beautiful November day in the neighborhood and my friends and I had geared up for one of the local toy runs in the Springs. Toy runs are fun and of course, for a good cause. Riding in the local runs is always a challenge because the sheer number of bikes (I think we had about 900) and the slow traveling speeds. All of the toy runs I have done locally are fairly short runs.

If you’ve read my title, I’m sure you are thinking that this is an article about dropped motorcycles. Add the opening paragraph of many bikes and slow speeds makes for a recipe for my story of dropping my bike. While it is a story about when I dropped my bike, it wasn’t at the toy run. I got through that run unscathed and safe and sound. Of course, as mortified as I would have been, there are 900 of my fellow riders that would have been more than happy to get my bike up.

No, my drop occurred after the run. I wanted to get out and ride a bit more. My riding time is quite limited and I will take advantage of riding every mile I can. I set out after the run with no destination in mind. I was out alone since my girlfriends wanted to hang out with the other bikers. I headed out west to Woodland Park.

Since it’s up in the mountains, I got a bit chilly. I decided to pull over and put another layer on. Finding a spot on the side of the road was not a problem; there was a new residential neighborhood with a wide turn in. Looked like a good place to stop.

As I pulled in, I noticed the ground had a bit of a slope, so I noted the angle and found a spot that looked safe. Boy was I wrong! What I didn’t realize was the ground was covered in asphalt gravel that I didn’t see it until it was too late. As hard as I tried to get good footing down, I couldn’t. Over I went. Seeing that it was a futile battle to stay up, I let the bike down as gently as I could and hopped off to safety.

Clutch and Chrome has an excellent article on picking up a dropped bike. The humor is right there as well. I am well schooled on picking up dropped bikes and can pick up my V-Star (yes, I dropped it too). Unfortunately, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t get the Fatboy up. I still couldn’t get the roadway clear enough to get good footing. Combined with the slope of the ground; the bike was over the apex of the angle and I just couldn’t get enough leverage to pick up my Mr. Chubbs.

So I sat on my bike, waiting for someone to stop and rescue me.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a long wait as a nice couple stopped and helped me pick my bike up. They were really great and stayed with me to make sure the bike was ride able and I was able to crank it. Fortunately, the only damage I had was the clutch lever, the clutch lever housing and minor road rash on my derby cover.

I was pretty shaken, only because I was in a situation that I couldn’t fix myself. Had the Fatboy been over on its side on flat pavement, I know I could have righted the bike. It just wasn’t the case for me on that particular day..

I was able to ride it home and get the parts necessary to do the repairs and was out again the next weekend.

Thanks, Laurence, for the reminder on how to pick up your bike. It’s an important lesson to know. Like “they” say…it’s not a matter of dropping your bike, but when.

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Prayer for my Friend’s Friend

Yesterday, I talked to one of my girlfriend riders who lives out in California.  She is in Laughlin at the moment enjoying the rally.  She was supposed to ride up with another girlfriend, but it didn’t happen.

Her girlfriend was in a serious accident.  Ms. Girlfriend (I don’t know her name) was riding her brand new Harley when she was T-boned.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the technical term, she was broadsided.  In a car, that can be a pretty serious accident, on a bike it IS a serious accident.  

Ms. Girlfriend was not killed, but she has some serious injuries.  She suffered serious damage to her leg; so much that the doctors have reattached the limb but are not sure if the reattachment is going to take.  It’s a wait-and-see game.  My heart goes out to Ms. Girlfriend because she was in a serious car accident and more or less loss the use of her other leg and now this.

She’s a serious rider as well; she loves to ride and braves any type of weather to do so.

My heart goes out to her and she’s in my prayers.  It’s a sad story to tell and I hope that she pulls through this with minimal damage.  

I can tie this together with my plea on the blood run.  Ms. Girlfriend is not the only one hurt; I’ve heard countless other tales of accidents or fatalities since the beginning of the month.  

Please be careful out there, do what you can to support your riding community, and if you have a moment, please send a prayer for Ms. Girlfriend.  She needs our prayers at the moment.  If you ride for any length of time, I know you have a story like this to tell.  Ms. Girlfriend may not have a face, but there will be a time that she’ll become someone you know and it will be sooner than you’ll want it to be.

Thanks, all.

Keep the Shiny Side Up

~The Rainbow Wahine

The Blood Run

The Mountain Shadow Riders have been busy putting together a Blood Run. Taunya, one of our members has been working to get this project off the ground. I think it’s a fantastic idea!

The idea was proposed at the February chapter meeting and the members voted on the doing it as a project, thus setting the Blood Run into motion. The date is set for August 12, which is the Saturday before the Women in Motorcycling Conference and the Cripple Creek Rally.

As you are aware, the majority of accidents involving a motorcycle rider results in some type of injury. Having available blood can be a critical factor. As motorcycle riders, we pride ourselves in being a giving community; that is evident by the staggering amount of time and money given for the various causes we stand for. So why not give blood?

The state of Colorado does not allow for banking for a specific cause; the blood would be available to the general public on an as need basis. Blood also has a short shelf life. However, if giving blood makes a difference in ANYONE’S life, then why not contribute? Also note, Memorial Hospital is one of the TOP TEN busiest trauma centers in the United States (thanks Jeanne for the tidbit of into), so they can always use the blood.

The details of the run are still being ironed out, but we have a date and a location. The date is August 12, 2006, and the gracious folks of the Memorial Hospital IT department have graciously offered the use of their cafeteria as our facility. The drive will not be at the main hospital, but at the IT facility. I will have the time frame available shortly and will post it as soon as the information is available to me.

Please come out and support us! It is a very important cause and one that you won’t have to open your wallet for. The summer months are critical times for accidents and the blood supply is strained since the number of accidents increases and the donation levels decrease (because everyone is out doing things). This is another opportunity to do a wonderful community service!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

The Women on Wheels® Colorado Mileage Contest

The gauntlet has been thrown down from the Denver Chapter of Women on Wheels.  They think they are going to beat us in accumulated miles ridden?

Alright I’ll quit laughing…..  

In talking to the various members in our Chapter, it’s amazing to hear how many miles have accumulated already.  Sandy already has over 1,800 miles on her new Honda Sabre (or Spirit; I remember it’s an 1,100cc bike)!  I see or hear Stamps, Unsupported, Sweet Cheeks, Scooter Gurl, The Blonde Smoothie, Hoot, The Teacher, Miss Kaybee, Del, Corrie, and Kim,  are out every weekend!!   I know that Amazon rides to work.  Not to mention that I’m already close to pushing 2,000 miles for the month of April and one weekend left to go!!

Then there are the other members:  Christine E, Reyna, Wendy (and her red hot new trike), Dorothy, and the whole gang that I know are out riding.  

Not to mention that I have my huge vacation ride in June.  I start out in Estes Park and ride down to the Four Corners and back.  I can’t wait to ride the route!  

Not to mention the fact that we have several members doing the cross country trip.  

Whooohoooooo!!!!  I love it….we are going to beat the tires off the Colorado Gold.

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

PS….think there’s a bit of a competitive streak in me?

PPS….lets see if Stamps figures out who she is.   And I hear that we got a new moniker for a certain red-headed rider.  Sugar Britches?  And you think I wasn’t paying attention *big grin*.

Sunday Ride to Tarryall

The Sunday riding group was seven motorcycles and eight riders: Karla, Del and Corrie, Steve, Dorothy, Ziggy, Paul and I met at the usual meet spot. We didn’t have a destination in mind so we threw some ideas around. Steve closed the deal when he suggested Tarryall. No one in the group had ridden it (except for Steve), so we all quickly agreed on the destination and mounted up.

To get to Tarryall required going up Highway 24 to Woodland Park then to Lake George. It’s a favorite ride to do since it’s getting up into the mountains and the drive is not only fun, it’s beautiful! Once we were up past Lake George, we cut off on County Road 77 and then up to Tarryall. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful! Imagine being on the plains with the snow-capped mountains all around!

Scavenger Hunt Item: National Forest Sign

We stopped for a break and while everyone was chatting, Paul stated we passed a dude ranch sign on the road we were on. Dude ranch, you say?? That’s on the scavenger hunt list! We tell the others we are running down for a photo op, crank the motorcycles ride down. What a find!! We all know that Paul has a useful use other than running sweep with his Mohawk helmet!!

Dude Ranch, ya say??

Paul "Sweetcheeks" Mohawk

After getting back to the group, we head out and ride up until we get to Hwy 285. Steve heads south and the rest of the group plans on going north, so we bid him thanks, goodbye, and part ways.

We come out south of Conifer so we decided to stop and take our lunch break at the Plantation Inn. It was a nice lunch and we had a great time visiting and teasing the waitress. Of course, couldn’t resist that humongo chunk of bread pudding that I saw in the dessert cart. Thank goodness those calories don’t count in high altitude!!!

Heading out after lunch, we had additional chances for scavenger hunt items—this time I’m mum on what we found because it’s a toughie on the list…but we also did manage the river and a log cabin. Go hunters!

Scavenger Hunt Item: River

We cut back at Hwy 67 (I think it’s Hwy 67) through Pine and then back to Woodland Park. It was going to be a fun ride—off the side of the mountain and full of twisties!!

We had a bit of trouble when Ziggy laid his motorcycle down in the curves. We weren’t going fast—I was leading and it was an unfamiliar road. We also had a trike in our pack so extra caution was the rule for the moment. I can’t say what happened, but fortunately, the only damage was a bit of road rash on one leg and on the engine guard. Mr. Ziggy was quite dirty since he went down on the dirt rather than pavement. I’m sure he’s quite sore at the moment, but it could have been much worse.

Getting him settled and cleaned up, he made the decision to ride his motorcycle back down. His Beemer fired right up and down we went. I give him a lot of respect for getting back on and riding down. I’m guessing that Ziggy is in his mid 70’s and to get back on after a scary incident and ride down earned this rider’s respect. We rode him down at the pace that he was comfortable with and got him down off the mountain.

Another sad statement was the miles of acreage that was burned from the forest fires. The fire was devastating to the area. If I’m not mistaken the fire was the Hayman Fire in 2002 in which 138,000 acres burned for three weeks. The scarring of the land is evident even today. It was quite sobering to realize that one person was responsible for the damage of this magnitude.

The ride on Sunday was one to enjoy the fellowship my friends but I know I was reminded how fragile we are and how quickly things can change in a blink of an eye.

Keep the Shiny Side Up

~The Rainbow Wahine

Dog Bone Story of The Day

Saturday at our Open House brought the Mountain Shadow Riders some interesting characters. I think I won the “dog bone” contest!

Towards the end of the day, I was talking to one of my riding friends and a group of folks passed by. I said “hi” to a passerby and he stopped. He was carrying a helmet and showed it to me.

“See my helmet?” He asked.

Yes, I did. It was scratched pretty badly.

“What happened?” I asked.

That was the $64,000 question!

Mr. Helmet proceeded to give me a blow by blow tirade of his motorcycle crash. He thought it was a good idea to start motorcycling. He’s a big fellow and decided to start riding on a Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic. Nice bike, of course, since I own one.

I should have suspected something was amiss when he told me that he was a big fellow and felt that taking the MSF course on those bitty 250cc motorcycles would be highly inappropriate. Besides, he commented, his neighbor has been safely riding without a crash for thirty five years…so why not save the $200 for the class, avoid the embarrassment of riding an obviously much beneath him tiny-sized motorcycle and be taught by a fine and upstanding citizen of the motorcycle community—his neighbor?

He was out street riding when he crashed. Evidently, he lost control of the bike and got it somehow stuck in a rut and managed to start pushing himself in two complete revolutions (I believe he was basically doing an uncontrolled burnout because his front wheel was stuck) before he came to a halt. I find that odd simply because his statement before was “well, I wasn’t going that fast”.

Well, maybe not, but I suspect when he got stuck, he twisted the throttle which resulted in the two complete revolutions.

I guess his neighbor, Mr. Never Crashed, failed to teach him about that—LET GO OF THE THROTTLE IF YOU LAY THE BIKE DOWN. Actually, I think letting go of the bike altogether is the best idea. I want that machinery to get as far away from me if I’m involved in a crash.

To make a long story short, come to find out Mr. Helmet is a doctor and felt it necessary to give me a blow by blow account of the whole ordeal—including his $9,000 medivac flight. I’m thinking that $200 MSF Course is a bargain in comparison!

I didn’t say anything because at that point, I wanted out of the conversation and didn’t want to appear rude. After all, we all have our stories to tell and unlike the internet; if the reader wants the experience to end it’s not a matter of clicking the close dialog box!

At any rate, the whole conversation was bizarre. While the MSF Course is not a substitution for street experience, it does give the novice or non-rider a safe, closed course to start riding. The purpose of riding the smaller motorcycles is obvious: to give the interested rider the experience of riding but not too much power. Not that it keeps people from injury; people have been injured taking the MSF course. However, to begin entry to motorcycling in a closed environment taught by certified instructor is better than no training at all.

After all, he was supposedly a doctor. I’m sure that I wouldn’t let him operate on me if I knew he was trained by his neighbor—even if his neighbor was a world-renowned surgeon with 35 years of experience with no deaths. A weekend class with the neighbor on major surgery…yeah, that’s enough—NOT!!

The State of California has an interesting report regarding the effectiveness of the MSF Course. It’s an interesting read, and the biggest point I took was the study found that crash statistics of riders who did and didn’t take the course in the first six months was quite marked. It is noted that the study was highly unscientific because of the logistics of the test itself…they admitted they could not use a group of novice riders, give them a license and turn them on the street vs. giving another group of novice riders the MSF Course and then comparing the statistics.

I will agree with Mr. Helmet that the course may not have prevented the crash; however, I do know the accident wouldn’t have happened on that particular day. I know this because he was on the street practicing to take his motorcycle license exam that was scheduled for the next day!!!

Then he had the nerve to be outraged because he got a ticket for being an unlicensed rider.

That’s right; he was an unlicensed rider on public streets. Not only did he put his life in danger, he was placing other lives in danger as well as further damaging the reputation of responsible riders.

The story doesn’t end here, however. He admitted that the helmet saved his life and then asked if I rode without a helmet. On occasion I don’t and so much admitted to that. I agreed with him that my face would not be quite a beautiful if it encountered pavement in a crash. However, it is still my choice just like it was his right in thinking the MSF Course would have done him any good.

At that point, he just concluded that as fun as motorcycling sounds, it just wasn’t for him. I agreed with him and wished him well.

I suppose there is a lesson there, even if it just makes him more aware of motorcyclists.

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Thank You for Supporting Our Breasts

It was a beautiful day for our open house—kinda. The day started out cloudy and cold; typical for this time of year. Not near as cold as “winter”, so I am not going to complain!

The ride down to the open house site was the long route; I had a few errands to run! One being the post office to drop off the mail and then off to the car wash since my Fatboy was dirty from the riding last weekend. Besides, I knew the car wash was on the scavenger hunt and I figured I could get some taking a photograph of me washing my bike.

I was right!

Bike wash, anyone??

In typical Christine fashion, I found that I had forgotten to pack my towel so my seat was wet. With no time to spare, I swiped off the water and let my bootie dry off the rest of the seat as I climbed back on and headed south.

Since I was running late at that point, I decided to take the most direct route—which means riding Academy. I dislike riding Academy since that is where I got bumped in January. However, the ride was uneventful and I made it down to Rocky Mountain Plaza safe and sound.

With Bucky, Jeanne, and Reyna at the helm of the grill, Dorothy and Karla out in the walkway talking their typical trash, and Barb manning the 2006 Women in Motorcycling conference table, we started the day off running. I took running the cash box since Kelly was out riding the Breast Cancer Ride for the Cure in Denver (lucky her!).

Dorothy, in her typical German determination, wouldn’t take no for an answer and I think collected a donation from just about everyone that passed by! At some point during the day, Karla started selling using the “eye candy” sales technique and I think they tried to sell me once or twice!! Fortunately, they were unsuccessful!!!! Whew!!

At one point, someone had made a donation to our cause and someone piped up “thank you for supporting our breasteseses” We were just rolling; it was so funny!

Overall, it was a great day. The weather cleared up and the day was a spectacular one! We closed up shop early since the grill died and we could no longer keep the food hot, so we cleaned up and went for a short ride.

Scavenger hunting, of course!!

Balancing Rock, Garden of the Gods

What a glorious Saturday—talking to women about motorcycling, collecting money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and just hanging out with my friends! Then to close the day with a ride around the Garden of the Gods and downtown.

Life on the back of a motorcycle with a great bunch of friends is indeed great!
Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Open House Mania Vol II

The Mountain Shadow Riders’ 2nd open house is Saturday, April 22 at Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza.  I’m looking forward to getting together with the ladies and hanging out and having some fun.  The weather is forecasted to be in the mid 70’s and I hope that gets quite a few ladies out and shopping for motorcycles!

I may decide to ride my Yamaha out, but then again, I’m a bit conflicted…

You see, one of my Scavenger Hunt items is having my Harley out in front of a metric dealership!  I need to have my Star in front the Harley dealership as well.  Of course, if that’s the biggest issue that I have, well, I need to just stop my whining.

There’s a few rides scheduled as well.  One is the Rocky Mountain Ride for a Cure.  It’s in Denver, but it would be a fun ride since it goes out to Blackhawk—a ride I’ve never done.  The Fallen Brothers Ride is also tomorrow.

Sigh, all the rides, no time to do them all!!

At any rate, if any of you local folks out there want to stop by and give me and my other biker chick friends a holler, eat a brat and help support the Susan G. Komen Foundation, come out and see us.

We’ll be at Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza, 412 N Chelton Road, Colorado Springs, CO  80909.  We’ll be there grilling up a storm and having a blast!!!

Well, let me get out and clean up the bike….

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

When Gas Gets to $6 Per Gallon, We Quit Riding?

Thanks to Steve at Biker News Online for giving me the heads up about this article from Nationwide Insurance regarding motorcycle use for commuting. Steve provides a link to the pdf article and I did find the reprint at Insurance Journal as well.

Nationwide did a survey on motorcycle use and the results are unsurprisingly predictable. Thirty five percent of motorcycle riders plan on riding their bikes due to the increase in gas prices.

That makes sense, doesn’t it?

Further down in the article is the comment “Motorcyclists are so passionate about their fuel-efficient bikes they indicated they will pay $3 to $4 more per gallon before they stop riding….” That doesn’t make much sense to me. Does this mean that when gas hits seven or eight dollars per gallon that they’ll stop riding? Then what? Walk? Take the bus? Or go back to their cages?

The article then goes on to say that male motorcycle riders invest over $7,000 in accessories and performance upgrades—which is the highest amount spent in all “powersport” sectors.

You mean to tell me, the average motorcycle rider will spend over $7,000 to put bling and vroom on their bike but draws the line at riding when the price of gas doubles? That doesn’t make much sense to me.

The article talks about having adequate insurance coverage on motorcycles. I’m not sure if I interpreted the message of the article correctly, but possibly that riders are willing to pay for upgrades but don’t worry about their coverage?

Of course, insurance coverage is very important and everyone should have more than adequate coverage. Having proper coverage is more important than having more shiny stuff on your bike, but hey, it’s more like the choice of deciding whether or not a rider wears a helmet and protective gear—it’s their choice.

They don’t mention how many automobile drivers are underinsured, either. Especially in light of increasing gas prices. I wonder how much coverage gets sacrificed when it starts costing over $150 to fill up a full-sized SUV???

While I’m not crazy about the increase in gas prices since I drive more than I like due to my son being too little to ride on the back, I’m glad to see that motorcycling is seen as an alternative to gas reducing fuel consumption. It raises awareness of riders on the street and makes the sport more acceptable in “mainstream” America.

I somehow doubt that I’ll come off the back of my bike if gas hits $6 or $8 per gallon. I’m thinking I’ll quit going to the movies, eating out, buying bottled water, and turn off the cable that I never watch. Not come off the back of my bike, that’s for sure.

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

All Eyes Are On Me?

I was out scavenger hunting on my Fatboy last week and was sitting at a traffic signal patiently waiting for the light to change. I’ve got my headphones plugged in my ears and am listening to the soundtrack from the movie Pride and Prejudice. It’s not loud music and I can hear the traffic around me so I usually listen to it while I’m putting around town. I remember the music because in the middle of my favorite track I hear yelling. I look around and see this guy trying to get my attention. I mute the music and remove one headphone and say “I beg your pardon”?

This guy was yelling “all eyes are on you, all eyes are on you”!

My response: None. I wasn’t going to yell back at him so I just smiled and nodded.

I mean, what am I supposed to say? Not only was he yelling--he was three lanes of traffic over!!!

The guy then yelled “everyone’s watching you, d*mn you are sooooo hot on that bike”.

I get some interesting comments and questions while I’m stopped at a signal and have even had great (short) conversations with folks in cars. This is just too much. The comments weren’t really a big deal but added with the fact that he was yelling at the top of his voice over three lanes of traffic embarrassed me.

Fortunately, that story came to an end since my signal went green and I could go. And go I went as soon as I checked I had a clear turn.

This isn’t the end of this story. I was thinking about this incident and then started thinking about my Lamborghini story a few weeks ago. I was waiting for the owner to bring his Ferrari down; I overheard his friend talking about driving the Lamborghini. Seems he was out cruising and the car was so hot that he didn’t have to pick up women. They would walk by and throw their phone numbers in the car without asking!

I’m sitting on my Harley just waiting and listening (and pretending I’m not listening) and I think….”wow, do women really DO that”? I then wonder what kind of “luck” I’d have if I took the car out cruising.

Well, it’s a moot point as I don’t have much use for any strange woman’s phone number!

In light of both stories, I’m not sure I’d want to cruise anywhere behind the wheel of the Lamborghini (or Ferrari for that matter). I’m on the back of my Fatboy and I get Mr. What’s His Nutz yelling across three lanes of traffic…what would happen if I were behind the wheel of an Italian sports car?

Errrrrr…nevermind, you don’t have to answer that.

Yet this story goes on….

I was group riding a couple of Sundays ago. We were stopped at a traffic signal and I heard Greg (my friend that was behind me) have a conversation with the car next to him. Now, Greg is exceptionally hot in a total package kind of way. Yes, he is so much all that that exceptionally is bolded, underlined and italicized!

I didn’t hear the whole conversation, but I’m sure the chat they were having was not about how hot Greg is! I don’t know, it could have been, but somehow I doubt Greg would have politely answered him back so that’s how I knew the conversation was along normal lines. Otherwise we might have had a fight in the middle of Garden of the Gods Road!

How come his conversation is NORMAL???? Which makes my next question this: how many of you all have traffic light “encounters” with the weirdoes of the world?? I know it can’t be just me…..I know you guys probably have had the occasional flash by a woman….

*Groan*…now that’s all I need now…for the day that a man decides to flash me….

Anyway, I know there are plenty of stories of what riders and BOBs do while riding; I’m more curious to what people do to you the rider….

Just a little reader assurance that I’m not the only one out there that has to deal with weirdoes.

For the record, the Lamborghini/Ferrari guy didn’t get my phone number. After all, I went out with a guy that owned 150 motorcycles and he didn’t impress me too much after he “forgot” to call me…..

Guess he was too busy dealing with those women throwing their phone numbers on the seat of his bikes!

Keep the Shiny Side Up (at least until the next adventure)!

~The Rainbow Wahine

June Vacation: Riding the Rockies

I have been debating what the plan for my vacation this summer, when I received an invite from a group of riders that call Virginia home.  It seems that this group of riders picks a destination every year and ride and this year Colorado is their destination!!!  Whooo hoooo!!!  I’m game!!

How did I meet this group?  Funny you should ask!

E-bay.  Yes, this single girl trolls E-bay looking to pick up men.  Not really, but the whole story is rather interesting—at least for me.

I was looking at possibly putting rhinestones on my primary cover on the Harley and wasn’t particularly happy about paying full retail for a brand new one.  I decided to start shopping the biggest garage sale of all:  E-bay.  I don’t shop E-bay too terribly often; I’m more of the seller type so my biggest problem is finding the part and then forgetting to enter my bid for the last-minute entry.  This is what happened on several derby covers—I’d find them and forget to bid at the close of the auction.

E-bay is a great place for OEM stock parts, by the way.

I finally snag a primary cover and placed my bid.  Lo and behold, I win!!  In the process, the seller asks if I ride a Harley and not really wanting to disclose a lot of personal information, I tell him yes, but not much else.   He does e-mail me back and tells me why he’s asking:  he and a group of riders is riding out to Colorado and wants to know if I would like to join them.  

I tell him:  send me the info and I may show up with 40 of my biker chick friends!  Okay, he countered, he’ll let his group know that they’ll be joined by 40 motorcycle riding women!!  LOL!

We’ve been e-mailing back and forth for quite some time now and I finally got the itinerary last week.  Looks like fun!!  The ride consists of parts of the state I’ve never ridden as well as parts I have and want to ride again!   Plus stops to sight see as well!   The scavenger hunt is never far from thought so I’m seeing all the places I need to go as well!!

I post up the invite and info to the Mountain Shadow Rider’s bulletin board with a note of the three couples and six singles that are riding.  I interpret the message as six single guys.  Did I get that wrong:  its six single riders.  Gee, this single gal was getting all buzzed up!  LOL!  Ah well, no worries, I’ll stick to my plan of cruising the car wash and bowling alley for men *wink*.

I’m kidding, of course, while I’m seeking, it is not desperately seeking.  Although I will say that I’ve met quite a few interesting people while at the car wash…………….

All kidding aside, I do plan on doing this ride. The opportunity to get out and see the beautiful state of Colorado, group riding (safety in numbers), mountain twisties (and snow) and the chance to make new friends works for me!  The timing is convenient and lots of photo ops!

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Clutch and Chrome

Laurence sent me an interesting blurb on a new site called Clutch and Chrome.  I’ve checked it out and it has a lot of great information on site.   There’s information on events, bikes, regulations.  Anything that a noobie or experienced rider might be interested in knowing can be found.

Of course, I’m going to blurb the site…the folks over there were kind enough to list my blog on his site, so it’s only right to return the favor.  

Check it out, the layout is clean and organized and there’s interesting material to read.  

Well, if you aren’t out riding, of course!

From the Motorcycle Rider in Red~

~The Rainbow Wahine

It’s the Foxy FOXC

If you notice (and someone hasn’t commented at this point), I have a vanity tag on my Fatboy. I had been kicking around the idea to put vanity tags on my bike since a girlfriend has one on hers. Hers is MYLF…which according to her innocent explanation to the folks down at the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles stands for My Life.

Heh. All of us that know her better know it doesn’t stand for that. I’ll let you figure it out.

At any rate, my tag is simple, it’s FOXC. Most assume that it’s a variation of FOXY—this is my substitution since the latter was taken. However, it’s not true. Actually it’s my name. Last name, first initial. I thought it was cute and pretty funny. Like one of those thar sinnonims or antinims or costonants or what have you (ha ha ha). I was surprised that it was still available.

Not that I’d want to publish my tag for all the free world…but it is available for everyone to look at when I’m driving down the road so what the hey. Besides, my six very large dogs and arsenal of weapons keep me warm and protected. I *did* learn somethin’ by living in Louisiana ya know!!

Had it not been FOXC, I’d have done Wahine. I think I would have confused more people than not, but hey, maybe someone would be paying attention to the motorcycle ahead of them when stopping…HEY IT’S A MOTORCYCLE!!

On a short note, KT is no longer a horn virgin. She found her horn and used it appropriately!! Evidently the dreaded cell phone in a car user tried to run her over. I’m sure the phone cell user was trying to bring world peace among the mad hatters of the world.

And her PINK-PINK skid lid!! OMG!!! I WANT ONE!!! LOL…Jeanne would flip for sure. Actually, I’d settle for shiny red, but pink’s good.

Enough of my blibbering.

From the Motorcycle Rider in Red~

~The Rainbow Wahine

Sunday Run—Riding the Twisties

Since our Saturday ride was cancelled due to the nasty weather, we decided to get out for a ride on Sunday. The ride was a long one: 360 miles by Karla’s estimation. The riders for the day are Karla, Del, Corrie, and me. We are to pick Jeanne and Sonya on the way and possibly Phil and Steve were to join us later in the route.

We set out at 9:00 AM. It’s a brisk and beautiful Sunday morning!! Whooo hoooooo!! I get voted to lead. I understand Karla doesn’t want to lead since she does most of the time. So I agree to take it until we get to Sky Line Drive.

We decide to take I-25 down to Hwy 115 and I’m leading the way. When it’s time to exit the interstate, my motorcycle dies. Great. Now what? I pull off to the shoulder and do a visual check. I’m not panicked—yet—although I’m mentally thinking many many profane words!

What I did was flipped the kill switch when I signaled to get over. I’m glad it was a simple problem, but I’m wondering if this is an indication of things to come. If it is; then it’s going to be a long day!!

We pick up Jeanne and Sonya at the designated spot, organize into our riding order and talk about our next stop: Sky Line Drive in Canon City. I knew how to get to Canon City so I agreed to continue leading. Off we go!

The ride was uneventful. When we got the Canon City, Karla took over as leader. I have been past Sky Line Drive and have ridden it, but was unsure to its location. Karla took the lead at a traffic light stop and off we went.

I didn’t realize that she intended on riding Sky Line Drive: It is a really cool road on the top of a ridge. However it is a narrow drive, and has some serious hairpin turns. I also thought it was not completely paved. Mental note: ask my other girlfriend next time I talk to her. This time riding it—it was paved.

Taking a stop on Sky Line Drive

Another view of the sights...wow!!!

We stopped up on the path and got to take in the view! Jeanne had never been up on the road and admitted to being a bit nervous. Of course, it’s understandable—we are up high, the road is very narrow and her daughter is on the back!! We take our time and of course, stop and enjoy the view!!

Up On Sky Line Drive
Isn't the Sky Gorgeous?? Isnt' this sign FUNNY??!?!?!

Back on the bikes and off we go. Before we head out, a group of tourists want to take their picture with us. I guess they wanted a photo with a group of bikers—LOL. Yeah, we are the stereotypical representative of bikers—if the only knew!! They didn’t speak English so beyond the basic “hello” and “can we take a photo”, we had no idea what their plan was.

Scavenger Hunt Photo Op: A rock bigger than my motorcycle

Next stop was Salida. This is a great road to ride—it’s full of twisties and runs along the Arkansas River and the view was gorgeous. I didn’t stop for photos—it was just too much fun to stop!!

Salida was also our lunch stop and there we discussed the rest of the ride. The plan was to head out to head south to Alamosa, make the Sand Dunes, Walsenburg then home. I was getting crunched for time, so Jeanne and I decided to split off and head north to Johnson Village, Florissant, Woodland Park then back to the Springs. We ate lunch, visited then said our goodbyes.

The ride back home was another gorgeous ride. I’d never ridden a portion of that route and Jeanne had, so she took the lead.

A stop along Hwy 24...snow still up on the mountains

We pulled in around 4:00. I still wanted to ride, but had other plans so I headed home.

I looked down at my odometer and was surprised at the mileage. I just turned over 9,100 miles. Considering I had my bike in the shop a little over three weeks ago; at the rate I’m putting on miles, it’ll be a few more weeks before I have to have Mr. Chubbs in for maintenance again. A total of six weeks between maintenance? I need to ride my Star some too….LOL.

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Are We Idiots or Something?

I talked to one of my rider girlfriends the other day.  She called me all upset because she wants to add GPS, power her mp3 player, and possibly add a source of power so she can run heated gear on her bike.  She’s not particularly handy so she is more than happy to farm the work out and get someone else to do the work.

Well, it’s been a problem since everyone she has called has not had a clue.  Oh, wait, one motorcycle shop would have been more than happy to put power on her bike:  to the tune of $1,100 dollars!!  Are they daft in the head?  Now, she’s not particularly mechanically handy but she’s not stupid.  She also knows that I tinker around and am cheap.  

She tells me what she wants and asks what I would do.

I can’t imagine what would cost $1,100.  To add those three things is pretty simple, so this just boggles my mind.  I’m thinking the motorcycle shop doesn’t have a clue or thinks she doesn’t have a clue.  Even adding a power inverter wouldn’t cost that much and she could mount the darn thing in her saddlebag.

As long as she doesn’t exceed the electrical load of the bike, she’s good.  We talk a good bit about what I recommended, get the parts list hammered out and then move on to talk about our personal lives.  

I am also thinking I’m in the wrong business if a motorcycle shop can quote $1,100 to put power on a bike and get it!!  Yikes!!

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Scavenger Hunt Update: 340 Points

We didn’t get up to see The Frozen Dead Guy this afternoon. The weather was uncooperative and everyone was against going.

Not too many new things: I think the scoop of the week was Mile Marker 6!

I passed a whole lot of things…..especially that orange Volkswagen. No worries, I’ll find it again!!

The 18 wheeler was an interesting photo. While I was shooting another image, I turned to find a semi pulled over. All it took was walking over and shooting the pic. Didn’t even have to move the bike!! Whoooo hoooooo.

An 18-wheeler--caught luck this time instead of passing it on the road!!!

On deck for today was supposed to barbequing, but I think we are going to make up for the ride today and head out early in the morning. Cool…I’m all for it. I have to be in earlier than everyone, but that’s okay, I miss my little boy.

Happy Easter Everyone! Hope everyone gets a chance to spend it with those you love!! I’ll see my little one soon enough….he’ll come home all wired up on chocolate. No worries, me too!!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Scavenger Hunt Tales: Distance to Bishop’s Castle

I had a rare opportunity to get out and ride Friday afternoon and I took full advantage of the opportunity and rode in with a group of my friends down to Bishop’s Castle. Bishop’s Castle is an unusual tourist attraction in the state of Colorado. This structure has been in the process of being built for the past 30 some years. This is a one man project and to see it is amazing. Not only is the structure mind boggling (you see it and think—what one guy did this?), but the various signage around the property tells his story on the encounters of various government officials he’s had.

Located on Hwy 165, the ride is spectacular! The road goes up to 9,200 feet above sea level and has great scenery and twisties. We still had to wear some cold weather gear—there was still snow on the ground!

Stopping at the castle and poking around is always fun. It’s just amazing to see this structure. Since it is being built by the Bishop family and outside any jurisdiction—it’s being built with no formal plan or under any building code. While I’d love to take my son to see it, at the same time, I look at the haphazardness and apparent lack of safety (like no guard rails to protect my son from deciding to take a plummet off the top) and decide that he’ll have to wait a few years!

One of the riders in our group is a home builder and I asked him his opinion about the apparent lack of adherence to any building code. His response was: “It’s amazing that this building is even standing”. I also noticed that he didn’t climb all the way up to the top either.

The Bishop’s Castle is on the Scavenger Hunt list and of course, I remembered to take my handy-dandy camera along to get a photograph.

Bishop's Castle

I also was fortunate to find mile marker 6 on my ride today.

Mile Marker 6--it's out there Scavenger Hunters--I'm not telling where, though!

We also took the opportunity to stop and watch a mountain goat bound across the highway. It makes good sense to give the animals the right of way since hitting a large sized goat isn’t good for a motorcyclist or rider. And is less messy.

It was a great day for a ride!

Saturday’s adventure is to Nederland. The girls and I are riding out for a date with The Frozen Dead Guy. See you then!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

If You Don’t Wear Leather, Wear Spandex

We had 80 degree weather yesterday and I gave up on my paper for a bit. Got out and rode. I just couldn’t stand it any longer. The plan for the day was to get up to Denver for the Purple Corvette shot, but alas, my paper took longer than I anticipated so that plan was nixed.

I just decided to do more in town scavenger hunt stuff.

It was nice to get out and ride around in the sunshine and not freeze!!!

Shots taken for the hunt: Church, Barber Shop, Restaurant on Wheels, 18-wheeler, and bank. What I’m looking for is a darn bakery. Evidently there are no bakeries on the north end of town. Aren’t any on the East side either since I did quite a bit of riding out that way as well.

Looks like I’ll have to get downtown to do that. Jeanne clued me into several she passes on the way to work.

Me and the Church....

Isn't the sky beautiful? It was a GORGEOUS day!!

There was a bit of daylight left so I decided I needed to get they gym shot as well and exercise. It’s been nice this whole week, so I’ve been running outside. Miss KayBee laughs at me because when I ride to the gym I just put my exercise gear on and ride down. Versus her suggestion of taking the gear with me and changing when I get there.

That makes sense, but I’m only like 15 minutes to the gym and I don’t feel like schlepping another bag around so I change and then ride in.

The receptionist at the desk was great about shooting the photo…in front of the gym and me in my workout gear. Extra 10 points for that!!! Whooo hoooo!!!

Spandex....

Gotta love it!

Not too exciting, but fun.

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Go For A Ride…Anyone Interested???

I’m thinking CROSSWINDS….LOL..

I’m thinking it would be a neat road to ride!

What do you think??

This was sent to me by a friend...the FYI is..The Millau viaduct is part of the new E11 expressway connecting Paris and Barcelona and features the highest bridge piers ever constructed. The tallest is 240 meters high and the overall height will be an impressive 336, making this the highest bridge in the world.

I didn't check to see if this was an urban legend or not, but either way....it's a cool pic and yeah--I would ride it!!

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Try This Only If You Have No Sense

I was riding down Powers Boulevard the other day in my van to pick up my son from his dad’s home. It was a beautiful day and there were many motorcycles out. I had ridden that day as well and wistfully wished I could continue to ride the remainder of the daylight out.

Isn’t that the way life is? Even though I average between 200 and 500 miles per weekend, I wish I could have more!! I’m having a mad love affair and can’t get enough. My great love is a vehicle that has two wheels and a rumbly motor!!

At any rate, I’m driving south and I see a pack of sport bikes out. I think sport bikes are cool and would ride one if the opportunity presents itself. I’ve never been on the back of a sport bike either as a rider or passenger. I’m afraid if I rode one, I’d be hooked!

While I pass this colorful group of bikes, I notice one that looks odd. Odd as in why do I see both feet and legs of this rider on the right hand side of the bike?

HOLY !@#$%^&*(, this rider is basically riding this bike side saddle. Not only that, he has both feet about three inches off the ground!! WHAT?!?!?!?! The guy behind him was also riding a bit strangely; both of his legs were up in the air in a “V” shape.

Rider #2 got brief consideration…he can put his feet back down fairly quickly if necessary. Rider #1? Well, I think he’s basically SOL. Not only was he in a position which was impossible to reach his rear brake, what happens if his foot slips and catches pavement?

Not only that, he’s keeping pace with traffic, so he’s at least doing the speed limit—which on that stretch of the highway is 50 MPH!

If this guy was a professional stunt rider, I’d still be concerned. Powers is a major north/south thoroughfare and there were a large amount of vehicles on the road. I don’t have much issue with the idiot rider if he gets hurt—he was the one being stupid. However, to not ride responsibly and be the cause of an accident where a driver will have to live with the guilt of hitting a motorcyclist is too much.

We gripe often enough of cagers that don’t pay attention to motorcyclists. This one is full on the motorcyclist.

In the state of Colorado the fine for riding on a public road in a wheelie is $1.500. I don’t see too many wheelies anymore. The fine alone is $1,500. That doesn’t include the other charges of reckless driving or what ever the police official wants to throw at you.

Instead of wheelies, I see this. I’m pretty upset because of the energy that is expended to defend the safe riders of the world gets dashed because of reckless behavior like this. If the rider wants to stunt ride, I have no issue with that. Just do it on a private track, a private parking lot, or if the rider has need to ride Powers….do it at 3 AM when there’s no traffic!!

I’m not hammering the sport bikers...this guy happened to be on a sport bike. Yes, he was in full riding gear but hitting the pavement in full leathers, gloves, full faced helmet and boots isn’t going to do much if he gets run over by a car or bounces a couple of times on the asphalt.

What’s worse is had this rider gotten into an accident, it would have made our local newspaper and the folks in the Moral Majority Network of our community would have been on this like ……..well, you fill in the blank.

I know if that were my son, I’d have taken that motorcycle away from him and revoked all driving privileges for an undetermined amount of time. That showed no respect as a representative of the motorcycling community at all whatsoever.

For once, I was glad I wasn’t on the back of a motorcycle. That was just plain stupid and irresponsible.

The Friends I Ride With and Don’t Try This At Home

With 70+ degree temps and the day off….am I riding?

YES!!

I was invited to ride in with a group of friends so I headed down to Pike’s Peak Harley to meet up with them.   Our group ended up being a pack of ten.  We discussed the route and decided to head East and then North.  Off we went.

One of the riders is a crusty fellow who is a bit hard of hearing.  I guess it’s from the roar of the pipes and wind noise (I’m guessing and could be way off base).  I’ve ridden with him before and enjoy his company.

Last week, we rode together and he was behind me in the pack.  As we are tearing up I-25, our fearless leader signals to pass a slow-poke car and we all make the move to follow him.  Unfortunately, there is a cage that is more interested in passing through the pack.  I see the vehicle and am aware of the space I have.

Space in which I have plenty of so I look again, give my hand signal (my signal indicator is on already) and move over into the passing lane.  I should say had space until the darned car speeds up.   I’m annoyed simply because of the lack of recognition from the cage driver to acknowledge that I’m a vehicle on the road.  However, in light of the car vs. motorcycle contest…I’m not playing.  I may be on a 700 pound motorcycle but the car still outweighs me plenty.

I whip back into the right lane and let the car have the lane.  No worries; it’s not worth the grief of getting upset.  

Unbeknownst to me, my crusty companion evidently got cut off as well (sorry, wasn’t watching him, was paying attention to the car).  The next thing I know, he’s taking off up the highway.  I’m hoping that it wasn’t due to the altercation we just had, but who knows.  He may have needed a potty break.  Whatever it was, he was in a hurry.  We estimated his speed to be around 100 MPH because he left us like we were standing still.

As we were passing the Pueblo exit, I notice a State Trooper with his lights on.  Hmmm.  I don’t see a car so does that mean it’s a motorcycle he’s stopped?  

Exactamundo.  My crusty companion’s yellow and blue Heritage Softail is pulled over and I think they are discussing the fine art of Colorado’s traffic regulations.    My other cohorts, in a show of support, wave as we pass.

I later get the story of why Mr. Crusty got pulled over.  Supposedly, Mr. State Trooper witnessed Mr. Crusty and his door kicking expertise and decided to pull him over.  My dear friend fortunately didn’t get a ticket for speeding or idiotic behavior—his only punishment was a lecture and the fact that he’ll never hear the end of this story!

The likelihood of kicking a vehicle at high speeds on a beautiful afternoon is like a fish tale—one that gets bigger every time it’s told.  I am not an advocate of retaliatory behavior.  It is dangerous and could end with tragic result.  Of course, he may have gotten pulled over for speeding without kicking the car as well.  I wasn’t there to witness the altercation so how much truth is there—I have no idea.  

Knowing Mr. Crusty and the insanity of the story gives me pause to think there’s truth in the story after all.  

Whatever happens, don’t try this at home, folks.

Of course, we were wondering where Mr. Crusty’s door kicking skills were when a fellow rider (I’m calling him Mr. Crash) tells our group the story of motorcycle vs. school bus.

It’s another funny story since no one got hurt and one I’ll save for another day.  I’ll just say it’s a story about a big motorcycle, a new rider, quick throttle, slow reflexes and a school bus.

Mr. Crusty told me today that his decision to give chase to the car was not a wise one.  I’ll agree.  Fortunately, today, he was on his best behavior.

Gotta love it.

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

The Dream Ride

The Dream Ride

Woolybuggers has an impressively monumental dream of creating a charity for children.

How?  By creating The Dream Ride.  A coast to coast ride for kids who suffer from disability, illness and other obstacles that I can’t fathom a child having.

I’m not as eloquent as Woolybuggers is, so I’ll let you click thru the link for The Dream Ride and check it out.   Come through Colorado and I’ll ride it!

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

So It Isn’t a Purple Corvette…

But it is on my Scavenger Hunt List!

I had been promising my friend and fellow support member Kat to come down and hang out with her Mustang group. They get together with the other car enthusiasts of our fair city and show off their cars.

Chrome, engines, and tricked out cars! What fun!!

I pulled up to the Grocery Warehouse on Powers and find it full of great cars! The new cars are neat, but so are the old ones! I even saw a burgundy ’73 Pontiac Ventura! I take note of the automobile since my high school sweetheart drove that particular make and model and that brought back some wonderful memories!!

Kat was wonderful introducing me to her fellow Mustangers and they are a fun group! As I was visiting and looking at the cars, my fellow MSR and former chapter director Chris E. pulls up on her Heritage Softail. Chris and I will hang out on occasion, but I’ve never had the opportunity to visit with her in any real depth.

As we are talking, we are watching the cars pull in. Lo and behold this gorgeous red sports car pulls into the lot. Hmmmmm….Chris and I look at each other and I read the expression her face: “is that a Ferrari”?

We tear off across the parking lot on foot and chase this guy down. Yeah, two biker babes chasing down a red sports car! How funny is that? We flagged him down and ask the question: we need a picture of your Ferrari with our motorcycles, can you help?

Except it’s not a Ferrari.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr……………………………..

It’s a Lamborghini.

Funny, the owner laughs and says, “no problem, I can go home and get the Ferrari and bring it down if you want”.

Boy, do we ever “want”!

Gee, I thought *I* had a dilemma when I was deciding on which motorcycle I was going to ride!! Hmmm…should I drive the Ferrari or will it be the Lamborghini today? *Smile*. I only wish I had THAT problem!!

Mr. Chubbs amongst the coolness

He was good to his word and brought the Ferrari down for us to shoot. What a nice man for going through all that trouble for two middle-aged crazy women.

So while it’s not a purple corvette, it solves my problem of riding up to the Ferrari dealership and pleading my case. I’ll still have to ride up to Denver (hint-hint for those of you who are playing in the Scavenger Hunt and read this blog) it won’t be for the Ferrari!

Oh, and the plan is shaping up that I’ll have the purple Corvette image on Thursday.

Won’t that be a hoot??

Items for this week: A Ferrari, the red building, snow, a ranch sign, a bar, and heavy construction equipment. Not as many as last week, but as Miss KayBee hinted: I need to pace myself!!

Snow

Misses: I did find the dude that wears the sh*t kickers, rode down to Southside Johnny’s, found the adult bookstore….and left my camera at home……..bummer!! Not only that, but I followed a horse trailer with a horse in it for a few miles. Too bad I was riding, LOL!!!

Keep The Shiny Side Up!!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Broken Hearted Saviour by Big Head Todd and The Monsters

One of my fellow motorcycle friends sent me this file knowing how much I love music.

It’s a Colorado Band and I thought I’d put it up for you!

It’s on my iPod and I do listen to it when I’m rolling down the road *smile*.

On Picking Up The Garbage--Good Riddance!!

One of the activities that the Mountain Shadow Riders does is highway beautification. Yes, it is all about picking up trash on the side of the road.

Not necessarily as fun as riding the twisties of Colorado, but it does provide fellowship and a chance to do some community service. The day was sunny and beautiful but gusty! It started out cold, but as I started working I appreciated the cooler breeze.

Karla, Mom, Dad, Betty, Jo Lynn, Wendy, Chris E., Cindy, Lisa, Kelly, Paul and I were the team for the Spring ’06 trash pickup. Jim and Loree joined up a bit afterwards. Late is better than not showing up!

It took us a couple of hours to do our mile stretch of highway. We have both sides of the road to do so we normally split up and work the road. Safety vests, gloves and the bright orange litter bags were the main features of the activity. Our stretch of highway is at higher elevation so there were some places on the roadway that still had snow on the ground.

Not a good thing to have to work around, but for that particular day it was a welcome find since it’s on the Scavenger Hunt list!! Yes, we all took pics of our motorcycles and the snow!!

The Mountain Shadow Riders tries to schedule at least two pickup periods per year. While I don’t necessarily enjoy the task at hand since I have to pick up after someone else’s carelessness, it also serves as reminder of the importance of not littering and I do get the satisfaction of playing a small part of giving back to the beautification of this gorgeous state in which I live.

Thank you to all the folks that participated! The more hands that help; the quicker the job gets done. In working side by side with the members, I strengthened my relationship with those that I ride with and see why I call them my friends. Not only for the commonality of riding, but the fact that they are some really terrific people.

Even when Sweet Cheeks gives me grief about my ex!!

If you are ever out on Highway 24 east of Colorado Springs, look for our sign and PLEASE don’t litter. If you happen to be tooling down that section of road and see a line of motorcycles pulled over on the side of the road, stop, say hi and lend us a hand!

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

It’s Saturday, Let’s Ride

My ride adventure started Friday evening when I rode down to the HOG meeting.  It was good to see everyone and especially to ride down to the meeting!!  It was a bit cool, but since it was only a 15 minute ride from my home, I figured what the heck!!!

I did ride downtown so I got a bit more riding in.  My friends are so funny.  I walked in to Jack Quinn’s and I’m all geared up—chaps, jacket, eye protection, gloves, AND motorcycle helmet—only to be asked “did you ride”?

LOL.  Okay, guys, I get geared up in my motorcycle gear just so I can drive my mini-van down!!!  Of COURSE I rode in!!

I ended up hanging out with them until 11ish and then headed out.  The Mountain Shadow Riders Chapter meeting was at 9AM and I was bound and determined to get in and eat a bit of breakfast before the meeting.  I got there early, but instead of eating breakfast like I planned, I ended up running my mouth.

Of course, I rode in!  After all, we are a riding organization and it’s clear so it’s all about being on two wheels!!

I’m packing the gear on the Fatboy and I remembered Jeanne had given me the April door prize gift and I had to take it in.  I fish it out of my laundry room only to realize that she sent me a door prize gift that was in this huge honkin’ bag that I had to somehow strap on my motorcycle.  Granted, I’ve had this gift for about two or three weeks and the size issue doesn’t dawn on me until five minutes before I planned on leaving!

I would say Jeanne planned this on purpose, but I know better.  If she were to make life unpleasant for me, she’d put a darn brick in the gift bag!!

The meeting was productive; there was a lot of great information that was handed out.   I especially liked the handout on hand signals.  Yes, I know what left, right, slow down, form single file and a couple of other signals mean, but I had no idea that there was a hand signal for “I need gas” or “I need to potty”….

Since we are a wussy girl’s group, we have to stop every 12 feet for a potty break.  That’s how girls are!!

The safety tip this month was on a first aid kit.  Janet made it fun by having each table pick an item out of her first aid kit and we were to talk about the “intended” and “creative” uses of the item drawn.  Someone commented that there wasn’t a condom in the kit and Janet responded that there should be.

Yes, practing safe something or another while riding the motorcycle, eh??

Evidently, she had heard he rumor of using a condom for fuel transfer.  

Okay, if it works for her…but then again…..

Well, never mind, this is a blog on a motorcycle adventure.

Overall an excellent meeting!  Our guest speaker commented that we were one of the best-organized groups he’d ever seen.  Of course, with all the great members we have, it can’t be truer!!  

Not only do we love riding, but we want to share what works and encourage everyone to grow and gain confidence as motorcyclists.

We ended our meeting, geared up and headed out to pick up trash………..

Stay tuned for that adventure!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

I’m Calling 1-800-Weather

I expect the gusty winds but I look out side and it’s SNOWING!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

No, KT, my Fatboy and my Star are going to stay snug in the garage.  

Unless by some miracle it stops and magically warms up, which I don’t expect it to.

Forecast is still supposed to be mid 60’s tomorrow…and I do anticipate riding.

Trash pickup is still on for tomorrow.   The Mountain Shadow Riders has a mile of highway that we are responsible for.  

Snow on the ground, it’s still Friday and it’s a great day indeed!!!

Notice Anything Different?

I’ll admit it….I can’t let KT be the only one out there with tunes on her blog.

Copying is the best form of flattery, eh??

Besides, you all think I’m all about soundtracks, string music and The Phantom of the Opera?

I could be jammin to this as well….

It could be about me and my man…except I’m quite unattached at the moment.

Well, I *do* have my love affair with the two wheeled machines in my garage…..*smile*

Happy Friday, ALL…..I’M RIDING THIS WEEKEND!!!!

Change It

Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble

You can't change it

Can't re-arrange it

If time is all that we got

Then baby let's take it

Lovin' is a lovin'

The moment is a-right

It's worth all the years in the past

Let's go one more night

Get away from the blind side of life

Honey I want you to be by my side

Me and my back door moves ain't no more

No more

Get away from the blind side of life

Honey I want you to be by my side

Me and my back door moves ain't no more

No more

Get away from the blind side of life

Honey I want you to be by my side

Me and my back door moves ain't no more

No more

Goodnight my darlin'

Another day has passed

Forget all those painful memories

Our love's gonna last

Come to me baby

Come to me one more time

It's time we got movin'

Time to move on

Let's slide out the door

Let's slide out the door

Glide our way home

Let's glide our way home

Let's go, let's go

Let's go, let's go

Let's go, let's go

I've come back for more

KT Did’s Patriot Guard Riders Experience

I haven’t had much time to get out and read everyone’s blogs but I finally got out in cyberspace and did some catching up.

If you don’t normally click the links, make sure you take a stop at KT Did’s blog site and read her story.  She had the opportunity to ride with the Patriot Guard Riders and her story is an incredible one.  

I hope that I never have the opportunity to ride with the chapter of the PGR here in the Springs.  I only say that with the hope that we won’t have to lay another service member to rest here in the Springs.  In the event that it does happen, I will ride with them.

Thanks, KT for sharing your story.   You earned my respect when you did what was needed.  My hat is off to you!

If you haven’t been over to KT’s site…go and read her story and she has some wonderful pics posted.  

I’m proud of you KT…and proud to be a motorcyclist, a woman and an American.

Keep the Shiny Side Up

~The Rainbow Wahine

On Deck for the Experienced Rider’s Course

The idea of having a all female Experienced Rider’s Course (ERC) has been kicked around the Mountain Shadow Riders and the Ladies of Harley groups. I was unsure of taking the course due to timing issues but it seems last night I was talked into taking it. Seems one of my fellow motorcycle riders just wouldn’t take no for an answer.

I’ve always said that if I were to take the course, I’d probably take it on my V-Star. Why? Because it’s the easiest of the two bikes to maneuver.

Thank goodness I’m a female…and have the right to change my mind at any given moment!

I’ve been doing quite a bit of in-town riding due to the Scavenger Hunt I’m participating in. What I’ve found is the riding that I’ve been having to do is quite different than the typical cruising I normally do in town. Spotting the items I need photos with requires many U-turns and backtracking as well as the maneuvering required getting my motorcycle in the shot.

This is a good thing because I’m being forced to do some real clutch/throttle/brake work at slow speeds. It’s one thing to be able to make decisions while in the saddle at high speeds, straight line cruising or navigating curves. Being able to work the clutch/throttle/brake at slow speeds and getting a motorcycle go where you want it to go is quite another and as equally important.

In the short time I’ve been Scavenger Hunting, I’ve found that my skill and confidence level on my Harley has increased. I am at the point that I’m confident enough to consider taking my Fatboy out on the ERC course. In my particular riding experience, I find that riding my V-Star is easier to maneuver than my Fatboy.

I think taking the ERC will be more challenging on my Harley, but at the same time I believe that taking the course on the Fatboy will give me more benefits because it is the difficult of the two to ride.

We’ll see how it goes. Between now and June, I may change my mind again!! I’m hoping that a good many of my riding gal pals will take the course with me!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

On Driving a Beamer

The Blonde Smoothie has been after me to post this….so here it is!!!

I was putzing around one Sunday afternoon at The Blonde Smoothie’s house a couple of Sundays ago. Her daughter Sonya is the proud new owner of a Beamer and wanted to show it off as well as practice driving it.

Sonya is a generous young lady and offered me the opportunity to take her Beamer out for a spin.

Heck yeah!!! I will take any opportunity to take a motorized vehicle out for a spin!!

I climb in the driver’s seat, take a moment to familiarize myself with the control placement and take a deep breath. I always am a bit anxious to operate someone else’s vehicle for fear of crashing. I am always concerned about an accident when I get behind the wheel, but more so when it’s someone else’s vehicle.

This is a brand new Beamer so I would be mortified if something happened.

Obviously, I’m not so worried that I won’t take it for a spin so I start the Beamer and off I go for my round the block jaunt.

I can say it was a very different experience! I come to the corner and make my first right hand turn. As required, I use my hand signal and my turn signal. Why The Blonde Smoothie found it funny is beyond me.

Quickly finding my comfort zone, I finish making the block. It was a fun trip.

Oh, here’s the pic of my trip:

Look Ma! No clutch! No footbrake!! Yikes!!

Okay, so it's not the Fatboy....

And here’s one of The Blonde Smoothie on the Beamer as well. I think she forgot I took one!!!

Never turn down an opportunity to ride a new vehicle….even it is a 50cc scooter!!

For the record, the Beamer has been officially named as of yesterday. It seems that the fully qualified naming source has Christened the ride as “Darling”.

Darling it is.

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Scavenger Hunt Adventures: Chapter Two

Since I had a few extra hours to ride on Sunday…I took full advantage of the opportunity to scrounge more points for our Scavenger Hunt!

It was pretty breezy Sunday and had a couple of big gusts. Don’t you hate it when you are riding and see the big dust cloud blowing over the road?? It was that bad on occasion.

I’m riding south of Powers in search of a massage parlor. I think it’s the only time in my life that I actively sought a massage parlor! What luck, right next door was a liquor store so it was a matter of pulling around the corner and snatching that photo!

Someone want to explain the difference between the "Oriental Spa Massage" vs. a "regular" spa? Errr..nevermind *grin*!

I marked those two off my handy dandy item sheet and looked at what was next. Church, mattress store, ice cream shop….okay. Go!

As I head north, I spot the Imax Theater. Gosh, the movie theater!! I pull off Powers and make the turn into the shopping center and look for potential parking spots to shoot an image.

Thank goodness for handicap ramps because I saw the perfect spot to shoot—right in front of the box office. I pull up amongst the pedestrians and into right smack into the courtyard. Get off my bike, take my picture, remount, crank the Harley and ride off. What great fun! Putting the Fatboy into a place that it normally isn’t supposed to go! The picture was a great image too.

I went to check it off my list. It isn’t there.

There's no movie theater on the list!

Sigh.

What?!?!?! This isn't on the list??

As I was waiting to pull out of the parking lot, two police cars pass me. I know that police car is on the list, so I pull out behind them and follow. All the while praying for a red light so I can speak to one of the officers. As luck would have it, I got a red light and struck up a conversation:

Me: Excuse me, officer, I need a little help.

Officer: Yes, ma’am.

Me: I’m doing a scavenger hunt for my riding club and one of the items is a police car. Is there anyway I can get a picture of you, your car and my motorcycle?

Office: Sure, follow me!

I pull in after the police car and sure enough he pulls into the parking lot and I snap the pic!!

One of my fellow riders passes by on the street and instantly knows what I’m doing--*I* pulled over a police officer!!!

Can you beat this??

What’s even funnier is that he was a cutie and I’ve discovered a great way to pick up guys!!!

I can see it now, guys and girls running around town….”excuse me, I’m doing a scavenger hunt…….can you help me”?

For the record, I didn’t pick him up.

What’s even wilder is that I spotted the security guard when I was at the mall and figured he’d be more than cooperative. I pull up beside him and put on my most nicest voice and ask.

I get turned down.

Now isn’t that hysterical? The official police are more than happy to help, but rent-a-cop can’t????

I get my images downloaded and the data entered on my spreadsheet. I figure I had a lot of points. I have 230 out of 3,550. Seems I got a long way to go, eh??

I *did* manage to locate a purple corvette and hope to get that image shot this weekend. I’ll bet dollars to donuts I will *smile*.

Never did get that church either, but I did locate the coffeehouse. Of course, THOSE are on every corner of the USA.......

Coffee, anyone?

Stay tuned for the next chapter of the Scavenger Hunt Adventures!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

In Search of a Purple Corvette

I had a chance yesterday to get out and ride a bit. The wind was blowing full force…one of March winds thing, I suppose. Except it is April. I’m not splitting hairs; since it is warm enough to get out without four layers of clothing!

I got a ride invite with some fellow HOG members and decided to head out with them. They were kind enough to meet me on “my” side of town since I was just coming in from church.

Yes, this motorcycle rider in red goes to church. I even sing in the chorus!! LOL. Well, it can not be all about motorcycles, right? Err…it can, since I’ve been known to show up for church on my Fatboy! I just had a chorus performance to give Sunday morning, so I went down in my Odyssey.

Quit laughing…my ‘other’ vehicle is a mini-van.

Oh, let me get back on track. My friends were kind enough to meet me close to my house and when I pulled up to the meet point, they were complaining about the wind.

“Let’s leave your side of town, Christine, this wind is too much”.

Uhhh….okay. The direction for the day is south and we’ll stop in Pueblo for lunch and then ride up to Penrose and back. Great, it’s a nice day for a ride!

We make our way south and take a short break to regroup—in front of Pike’s Peak International Raceway. Great!! A photo op!

Since the Scavenger Hunt is in full swing and I missed so many opportunities yesterday, I’m going to take them now as I get them. So I ask to take the shot with PPIR in the back. It’s an important photo since PPIR was closed and sold and will be torn down. I wanted to get the photo before it disappears. Rumor has it that the bleachers have been sold and will be taken out very soon.

PPIR in the background

While I’m shooting my photo, my riding friends get the scoop on what I’m doing. Phil fills them in on the 411. I was surprised that he knew as much as he did....but then again, he’s friends with Christine E (I’m Christine F.). I had forgotten that they took the Experienced Rider’s Course yesterday afternoon.

Phil looked at me and said, “Hey, Christine, I know where a purple corvette is and it’s close by”. COOL BEANS! Let’s go!

Our group takes off and five minutes down the road I find myself surrounded by Corvettes. Phil is beaming because he knows I’m in search of this car and he’s proudly pointing it out....

Except it’s not purple.

It’s a gorgeous deep red/burgundy and I’m thinking that this car matches my Fatboy nicely!!!

Grrrr…Phil, it’s not PURPLE!!

The Fatboy and The Corvette--IT IS NOT PURPLE!!

Phil says “It’s close enough”.

It’s not even close.

This particular ranch boards horses, has cattle and corvettes. Pretty cool. Evidently, the president of the Colorado Corvette Club resides here and we get a chance to see if I can locate one.

Hmmmmm…..

It appears that he knows of ONE purple corvette in the state of Colorado and it’s owned by a company “way up in the mountains”. Great. I put the impossible thing to find on the list. Honestly, I knew it would be a tough find and put the challenge up for everyone. We’ll see what happens.

Anyone out there own a purple corvette? Drop me a line and the Harley rider in red may come out to visit.

Actually, I have a work-around, but I want to see if I can find the darn thing. It’s a Christine thing, you know??

I shoot the image even though it won’t count since I had to ride down a dirt road to get to the car. No worries, I get my image with the cows, so it’s all good.

Can anyone say steak? Yummmm

We give thanks to the folks at the ranch for the interruption and head out to lunch. Life returns to normal and we visit and have a good time.

For the record, it was just as windy south as it is in my neck of the woods.

Our ride was cut short because of our goofing off, so we head back after lunch instead of up to Penrose. Since I get back earlier than expected, I have the opportunity to ride around town and scrounge up some more photos for the Scavenger Hunt.

That’ll be the next post.

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Scavenger Hunt: Day One

Saturday, April 1, was the first day of the 2006 riding contest of the Mountain Shadow Riders. Of course, the gang and I were out riding in the April Fools Day Poker Run put on by the Strike Zone in Palmer Lake.

Our Gang of Misfits

The ride was fun (as evident in my last post) and frustrating. It was frustrating to ride by things on the list and not be able to stop and take a photo! I just pointed at them as we rode by. The ones in the group that knew what I was doing understood. The others thought I was crazy.

With the ride over and a bit of food in our bellies, talk turned to the ride and then the ride contest.

Hey, wait…we are in a bowling alley….isn’t that on the list??

Why yes it is!

I excitedly run out the door and start snapping pics of my bike in front of the bowling alley. Cool Karla walks out—carrying a lime green bowling ball.

10 Bonus Points in Front With a Bowling Ball

LOL…a photo with your bike in front of the bowling alley with a bowling ball is an additional 10 points! We end up passing the ball around to all riders.

In the meantime, Jill had called hubby to come and pick her and her bike up. Jill is a new rider and has NEVER ridden in the rain. Well, if she hangs out with us, she will!! Another rider comes in and asks for Jill. Jill responds and he asks her “did you order a trailer”? TRAILER?!?!?!?

Another run out of the bowling alley whooping and hollering. There’s a rule in the contest if we catch another rider trailering instead of riding we deduct their points and add to the trailer-trash catching photo snapper. Jill’s a bit upset since she thinks she’s going to lose major points. She’ll lose some, but not a whole lot.

By that time the organizers of the run are questioning why we are carrying on like we are. Karla explains the Scavenger Hunt contest and shows them the list. One of the ladies sees the fire station on the list and her eyes light up! They support the local fire station in Palmer Lake and IT’S RIGHT ACROSS THE PARKING LOT!

They call over and ask if we can bring our bikes around and get photos taken. The fire fighters over at the Tri-Lakes Monument Station are more than accommodating—the roll up the doors, roll out an engine so we can drive our bikes right up into the station and take as many photos as we want!! We get extra points for a fire man and double extra points for a fire woman—they have both!! They got in the spirit of things and even geared up for us!

Tri Lakes Station in Monument--Our Heroes

I was touched that they were so accommodating to our cause. It was raining outside and they rolled one of their engines outside in the rain.

It was great fun and a wonderful experience!

Oh, except The Blonde Smoothie. She had to ride her bike back to the Springs due to an emergency and came back up in her cage so no points for her!! Well, she shouldn’t gripe…..she won money in the poker contest!!!

I did get the pic of the Fatboy in the rain so there are more points. Only thing was I didn’t put my raingear on. I’m sure it won’t be the last time I get caught in the rain!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine