Mr Harley and the three Mr Davidsons go to heaven….

I know I missed my Monday post… the draw to ride in the warm sun mixed with warm breezes made me do it! Just the thought of it is intoxicating.
Until the weather changes, you will have to put up with the fact that the girl gets side-tracked in the summer. I just cant help myself. The desire to ride makes me weak. I know that the perfect riding days are meant to be used. Again, I cant help myself!  So, you see, this really can’t be categorized as “my fault”.
To be honest, today is a good riding day, as well.  As much as I want to finish my blog and post the perfect piece, I can’t. I can’t let this gorgeous day pass and not be a part of it.  So, I leave you with this little joke:
 
Mr. Harley and the three Mr. Davidsons, the founders of the famed “Harley-Davidson, died and went to heaven. At the Pearly Gates, St. Peter told them “you boys have led a wonderful life, contributing your inventions for the enjoyment of all, so I will grant you this. When you pass through the Pearly Gates, you may see one person, any person you want to see….” Mr Harley and the three Mr Davidsons agreed that they would like to meet God. And so they did.

As they stepped into God’s office, God turned from his computer to greet the four. “Well, my sons, is there something I can answer or do for you?” Mr Harley and the three Mr Davidsons had this all planned out. Thinking they were quite smart, one said “Well God, we would like to talk to you about the design of “Women”.” God said “Hmm, really? That’s my finest design.”  Another chipped in, and said “Well, we just think the design has some bugs and glitches in it and maybe we could help re-work some of the blueprints, you know, to make it a bit… well…. easier to understand and deal with.”  God looked interested, as no one had ever said this to Him before. He turned back to his computer and brought up the blueprints and CADwork for the “Woman”, as well as an Excel spreadsheet and some graphs. God turned back to Mr Harley and the three Mr Davidsons and said “Well, I don’t know, boys…. according to MY numbers, a HELL of a lot more people ride MY creation then YOURS….

The moral of the story is, if God wanted women to be “easier to understand and deal with” He would have made men smarter….. LOL  Sorry, guys!
Lady Godiva on wheels…. Laughin’as I ride…………………….work will have to wait.

Guess what I did 4th of July weekend…Part 2; American Motor Drome Company’s “The Wall of Death”

To my knowledge, I have never witnessed the “Wall of Death”, although, my father disagrees and says I saw it as a small child. Apparently I was concerned that the motorcycles “will get hurt”. Aw, to be three again!
As I wrote in my prior blog, my friend Christina Shook, author “Chicks on Bikes”, was my house guest and I became her shadow while she was on her west coast book signing tour. I had the most amazing time and met the most amazing people! 
Latus Harley Davidson, Gladstone, Oregon, was hosting their 2nd annual “Wall of Death” event and I had been fortunate enough to make contact with Migon Flemming, the event coordinator, and suggest that Christina come by and sign books. They knew her book well and jumped at the chance.  

In awe as we listen to Cookie

The day couldn’t come soon enough for me! I had read about Cookie Crum, the eight year veteran of the “Wall of Death” and couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually meet her.  I had read everything there is to read about her and all the amazing women that had blazed the trails before we women of today. I was NOT disappointed! When I finally met her, I think my voice cracked a little bit when I first spoke. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out, and took the time to share stories and anecdotes about her life on the wall. She was amazingly casual about something that I found incredible. 

Christina did a wonderful “Wall of Death” slide show and presentation with Cookie as her guest and subject. You just couldn’t put two more perfect motorcycle women together! Strong and confident, there was plenty to go around that day.

  

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I was introduced to Jean Davidson, granddaughter of one of the original “Davidson” brothers in Harley-Davidson, Walter,  and the author of “Growing up Harley-Davidson”, among others publications. My head was spinning! 

And then, the coup de grace, I met Jay Lightnin’, proprietor of the American Motor Drome Company, his Wall of Death, and all his crew. There I was, taking care of Christina’s table and talking about the book when I sat looking at the legendary Jay Lightnin’. He had been ill for the last few years and I wasnt sure I was right about his identity until he looked up from the pages of the book and said with a grin, “Well, I’ve been with at least three of the ladies in this book”. Then I knew…. but, I asked just in case!  He and his friend and fellow performer, Charlie Ransom, were wonderful. They accommodated Christina and put up with me. They even posed for pictures!
 

Then it was time to see the drome in action and all its wonder. It all started with an exhibition on the steps of the drome. The talent of every one of the performers was breath-taking.

  

I don’t remember this young man’s name because while he was doing his show and being introduced, I was standing there with my mouth hanging open in total awe!! If you had told me the ground was on fire around me, I would have missed it!
  

Then the real show started inside the drome. And, start it did. I couldn’t watch because it made me dizzy!! Literally! But, it was well worth trying and the several minutes I did get to watch. Apparently I did better at age 3!!
 

 

Christina took some awesome pictures from inside the drome. She is one brave photographer!! 

Cookie's daughter Michelle

 This was a day that I will always remember and I will surely never duplicate. Thank you, Christina, for letting me tag along… you really rocked the place!  A big thanx goes to Latus Harley-Davidson for the fabulous event!  A huge thank you goes to Cookie Crum for being so lovely and her daughter, Michelle, for providing so many of the pictures that I used for this post. What wonderful ladies you are. Last but, not least, thank you American Motor Drome Company, for making my heart go pitter-patter. But mostly for keeping this precious piece af American history alive.  Jay and Charlie, you were a hoot!  Until we meet again…. 

Lady Godiva on wheels, with a head still spinning! 

Next up; Cookie Crum gets “remarried”!!

A young man from Motorcycle Memoir,with a lot to say….

I am always intrigued by people who have found a way to turn their love of something into a vehicle for giving. It seems to prevail in the motorcycle community, from toy runs that helps to make a sick child smile to poker runs that use the proceeds for researching the cure for one of countless diseases and everything in between. I believe it works well with we motorcycle riders because our community is so endless. Motorcycle riding transcends age, religion, economics, race, location, gender and on and on. Even the manufacturer of the bike you ride becomes immaterial if you are in need. You don’t even have to be a member of the community to benefit from the efforts that so many have made to be of service. I don’t know too many non-church communities that can make that claim. And, that is the foundation for so many opportunities to help others.
Here is an example of one young man who has done just that, to the extreme:

“Follow the journey: six continents, two-hundred countries and twenty-four time zones, as I ride my motorcycle around the globe to raise funds and awareness for the number one cause of death in the world: Hunger. ~ O. Christopher Sorbi”

I am spotlighting one particular blog post, not because I want to advocate his political views or that I agree or disagree with them, but because he delivers them with such incredible passion. I hope everyone can find that “something” to be passionate about!
Enjoy reading all his postings but, start with this one;  http://www.motorcyclememoir.com/?p=1983

Lady Godiva on wheels, feelin the passion..

38th annual BMW International and a little electric bike called Dorothy….

Dorothy and I had one heck of a weekend! All I can say is that my little electric bike was the talk of the entire BMW event and I talked to over a hundred people! I couldn’t leave the bike alone for one minute without coming back to a crowd of 5-10 people waiting to talk to me about it. I was chased through town by two separate guys in cars, flagged down by one guy in a truck, another guy in a truck came out of nowhere to see the bike, and scared me half to death! It was wild. Let me start at the beginning….                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
I was invited to the 38th annual BMW International to show off the my Brammo Enertia and to make myself available for an interview with Cindi Servante of Motoette-in forward motion http://motoette.wordpress.com/, and to do a video QandA.  So, off Dorothy and I went, thanks to our local U-haul and a motorcycle trailer. Mine was in use so I rented one. Thank you, U-haul guys!! www.uhaul.com
Thursday, the 15th, over Mt. Hood and down through the beautiful valleys below and on our way to the high desert of Redmond, Oregon.
There were plenty of bikes already on the road and the day was perfect for the ride. 
                                   Once in town, I made my way to the hotel, the Sleep Inn Suites http://www.sleepinn.com/ . I snagged a great parking place in the parking garage right next to an electrical outlet! Sweet…But, it took me an hour to get from the bike to the hotel entrance.  About that time, Cindi Servante and Liz Peterson of  http://lilredridingliz.wordpress.com/made their way into the parking lot. Let the party begin…..

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Once we were settled in, it was time to head out for the local fairgrounds to register. The girls had pre-registered… I had not!  With that accomplished, I made my way in and found the beer garden (I thought it was a perfect first destination!!) and met the master behind the camera, Dan Albertson http://danzgarage.net/, our video guy along with the girls.    
After a day of travel and constant talking to the interested and the curious, I was ready to rest… cuz, I’m a wuss.
Friday, the 16th, I was all over the place! The morning met a group of people standing around the bike. There were eight fellows circling, pointing, and rubbing their chins. I was there forever and I answered every kind of question you can imagine. There was a great time had by all.
Then it was off to do some filming…  Dan hooked up the camera to his bike and we took off for a run. I was filmed comin and goin and runnin around some curves. I was chased down by a gentleman in a white truck. He asked about the bike, he shock his head in dis-belief!  He flagged me around his white truck so he could hear it run… or, not hear it run! We had a blast filming and in the middle of all that, I get this well dressed man exiting his truck to see the bike… here we go again! 
After the filming, I headed off to the fairgrounds to meet up with Ara and his canine companion, Spirit http://theoasisofmysoul.com/.  We had very little time to chat because of all the attention Dorothy was commanding. I had plenty of questions to answer and even let a couple of guys take a test ride. Ara got in on the action and took Dorothy for a little ride, as well. He came back wearing a big smile! I stowed Dorothy in the “Sheep barn” and hooked her up to an electrical plug-in in the facility where they sheer the sheep before they show them. That brought an even bigger crowd! I was swarmed by people who just wanted to know about that “electric bike”. The first question is always the same, “Is that the electric motorcycle that everyone is talking about?”.  I finally had to say good-bye to the crowd, handed out information cards, and went back to spend some time with Ara leaving Dorothy to wow the crowd alone..and took the key, too! LOL 
Ara and I spent a little time talking about the common denominators in our lives, sad as they are. He was truly a treasure and I was  grateful to have been in the same part of the world at the same time as he was. We will meet again, somewhere, Im sure.
Riding through the fairgrounds, the crowds would part, people would point and make comments. Some gave me the “thumbs up” sign and some just stared.  I felt like a celebrity or a prophet coming into town!! It was amazing at how many people were truly interested. 
Next, it was time to go back to the hotel. When I came in, I found out that there had been a gentleman looking for “the lady with the electric motorcycle”. He stopped Cindi Servante thinking she was me!  She politely told him that Dorothy and I were out.
That night was more of the same. I was so tired by the end of dinner that I opted not to go to the “Paul Thorn Band” concert! Now, that is tired when this girl chooses bed over good music and dancing in the grass.
The next morning Dan got the camera ready and Cindi went over her questions. The interview went really well but, I’m sure the blooper segment will be far better. Cindi looked great but, I was a total spazz! I don’t do well in the presence of greatness!! Thank you, Dan and Cindi, for being so patient with me.
Driving back over Mt. Hood, I was struck by the event and all that had transpired. I had been blessed with such great people to hang out with. I have been so fortunate this year. I have met some wonderful people and had amazing events to be a part of. I can see that my hard work for the past five years is starting to build the motorcycle business that my family will be able to enjoy together for generations to come. I can’t begin to tell everyone how much I appreciate the encouragement and support. 
Well, Dorothy had a real workout this weekend. We depleted the batteries, recharged, and ran them out again! I had a real workout this weekend, as well. But, it was a pleasure to answer every question asked. I love my little electric motorcycle! I love talking about the technology that will help us decrease our carbon footprint. And, now, Brammo is announcing their newest members of the family, The Empulse. Read all about these beautiful motorcyles here..http://www.brammo.com/empulse/ 100 mph and 100 miles on a single charge!    

 

 This was a hard post to do… my brain is still tired!!  
Lady Godiva on wheels……goin to bed to rest my brain…

Dorothy’s got a brand new bag….

I am off to the BMW International in Redmond, Oregon, and I am taking Dorothy with me!! http://www.bmwmoa.org/rally10   Check out the map I made on my website, http://motorcycletravelamerica.com/map.php?map=142 (Sorry but, you have to sign in). Get on and make your own maps to all the places you want to ride, send them to friends as an invitation, and save them for the future to use anytime you need them. (Simpy follow the directions at the top left of the map page).

We are meeting our friends, Cindi Servante, aka motoette on Twitter, and Liz Peterson, aka lilredridingliz on Twitter. This is going to be mayhem!! LOL

We are all fitted up with new saddle bags, via Brammo and my field rep, David Murray.
Dorothy is all spit shined and polished and ready to show off to the crowd! While we are off on our grand adventure, we will be thinking of all our readers and getting some great pics and video to share with all.

Once I make it home, we will be finishing the two posts about the great event we attended on July 4th weekend. You wont believe who we hung out with! I had to pinch myself!!  So, please stand by, we have a lot to tell………….

Lady Godiva on wheels, showin off Dorothy.

50th Anniversary of “To Kill A Mockingbird”….

50 years ago today, the book that broke the subject of racism wide open, “To Kill A Mockingbird” was published.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: Born in 1926, Harper Lee grew up in the Southern town of Monroeville, Alabama, where she became close friends with the soon-to-be famous writer Truman Capote. She attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery (1944–45), and then
 studied law at the University of Alabama (1945–49). While attending college, she wrote for campus literary magazines: Huntress at Huntingdon and the humor magazine Rammer Jammer at the University of Alabama. At both colleges, she wrote short stories and other works about racial injustice, a rarely mentioned topic on such campuses at the time.^[3] In 1950, Lee moved to New York City, where she worked as a reservation clerk for British Overseas Airways Corporation; there, she began writing a collection of essays and short stories about people in Monroeville. Hoping to be published, Lee presented her writing in 1957 to a literary agent recommended by Capote. An editor at J. B. Lippincott advised her to quit the airline and concentrate on writing. Donations from friends allowed her to write uninterrupted for a year.^[4]

Lee spent two and a half years writing To Kill a Mockingbird. A description of the book’s creation by the National Endowment for the Arts relates an episode when Lee became so frustrated that she tossed the manuscript out the window into the snow. Her agent made her retrieve it.^[5] The book was published on July 11, 1960.

Lee never wrote another book and still lives, today, in her home town of Monroeville, Alabama. Being the story was apparently autobiographical, she told all the story she needed to tell! I hope the book is always one to be read. The story is powerful and adaptable to our lives today, 50 years later. Scout would be proud….

Lady Godiva on wheels…..

50th anniversary of the “Twist”….

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the dance move known as the “Twist”.  This dance forever changed the way couples danced together, meaning that they stopped dancing while touching…. damn Twisters!!

FROM WIKIPEDIA: The Twist was a dance inspired by rock and roll music. It became the first worldwide dance craze in the early 1960s, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, the Monkey and the Funky Chicken, although none were as popular. The dance was inspired by “The Twist,” B-side of Hank Ballard’s single “Teardrops on your letter” in 1959.

Here is an example of Chubby Checker, singing his signature song, “The Twist” and performing the dance, which he still does today. I guess the dance keeps a body young! So, everybody “do the Twist”!                                       

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjQwfkQj6e4&feature=related               

Lady Godiva on wheels….. “Twistin”
PS.. I was 5 yrs old the year Chubby Checker first sang the song on American Bandstand!! And, I was twistin!

Summer heat and motorcycle riding…

I didnt think the summer here in Oregon would ever come. We were lucky to get temperatures in the 70s. That was Monday… Today, we are in the triple digits and HOT, REALLY HOT. In fact, when I took the bike out for a ride and meet a friend for coffee, I found out that my spring riding gear was too dang hot. I could feel the sweat dripping down my back bone! Phew… That made me think about the fact that coffee/caffeine wasnt such a good idea and I should have had water with a pinch of salt! With that said, I thought it was time to re-post my blog about summer heat.  So, here is the re-post about the summer heat that hadn’t crossed my mind until today…

On my website I have “beat the heat suggestions” and what to do in the event of sunstroke ( http://ow.ly/hPMR ) and was planning to put motorcycle specific advice in as well.  There are actually quite a few that don’t always pop into your mind until you’re out there and in trouble. The sun can be a nasty fellow if you’re not careful! Hope these tips help!

1) Always remember to re-hydrate! Caffeine drinks are diuretics and you need at least two non- caffeinated drinks to make up for one caffeinated one. Salt helps you absorb and retain water so put a pinch in your water bottle or eat a salty snack. A camelback water backpack

( http://ow.ly/hPPb here at webBike World) is a great way to carry water and sip as you go. If you fill it half full of ice, it lasts a bit longer while being  more soothing when thirsty. If you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrating! A headache wont be far behind, so drink up. As gross as it sounds, be aware of the color of your urine! Pale yellow is perfect. Anything darker is a sure sign that you are headed for dehydration. Also, and this one is gunna hurt….lay off the alcohol! 
2) Consider clothing that allows you to sweat and your body to breathe.  My buddies at Motosport ( http://ow.ly/hPQC ) have a great selection of hot weather riding gear but you can even consider some of the better work-out clothing to achieve the same results. Long sleeves keep you from sunburn. I always take any opportunities to drench myself, my clothing and, even the inside of my helmet on very hot days.  Wetting your head is one quick way to cool off after your helmet has trapped the heat in. Also, consider one of the neck bandannas that have the absorbing crystals inside (here’s instructions to make your own called “Cool Ties”. http://ow.ly/hPUG ). “Cool Ties work on the  principal of evaporative cooling.  Once the polymer is hydrated, the fabric surface of the Cool Tie draws the moisture from the polymer to the fabric surface, which evaporates resulting in an effective body cooler”.
3) Remember that your air and oil cooled bikes are going to get hot! You may want to ride forever but the bike is going to need breaks to cool off.  Its better on the open road but, pay attention to the bikes temperature just to be safe. Along with the heat comes soft asphalt!  When you park your bike, go for the shade of course but, when you can’t find any, remember to take something along to put under your kick stand. I have seen them get pretty buried in that soft black mess and be plenty tough to wiggle free. Left long enough in asphalt

that is soft enough and the asphalt actually wraps around the kickstand like the “blob”! My friends at Whitehorse Gear have these trick little things called “kickstand feet” (http://www.whitehorsegear.com/whitehorse-gear-kickstand-foot ). They are very reasonable so if you get stuck leaving it, you wont be TOO unhappy although, I have never had to.  If you get in a pinch, crush a soda can and use that. I used to laugh about it every time I would find one in a parking lot, buried in the asphalt.  It’s what the motorcycle boot was designed for….drink the soda and crush it with the boot, viola’!
Always remember to carry your medical and emergency information with you. Bring something for a headache and wear a hat, sunscreen, and good sunglasses. Take your time and have fun! 
If there is anything I am forgetting, please let me know. I would love to hear suggestions so that I can include all your fabulous ideas when I update the website.  Experience is the key and passing the good ideas along to our motorcycling brethren is what we do at Motorcycle Travel America ( http://ow.ly/hPZu ). 

Lady Godiva on wheels wishing everyone good, safe and healthy summer riding!!  You know where to keep that shiny side, my friends. 
P.S. Will say a prayer so that everyone gets a little motorcycle angel ridin with them…….

Guess what I did 4th of July weekend… Part 1; Author Christina Shook.

This weekend was one of those weekends that happen every now and again and you have to keep pinching yourself to believe that its real. Then you look at all the pictures and realize that you don’t even have to embellish to make this weekend look good….
First thing to happen was that I was fortunate enough to host a four-day stay in my home for my friend, Christina Shook, and her two darling little girls.  Christina was on her “West Coast Book Tour” for her photo expose book of female bikers called “Chicks on Bikes”. That meant that where she went, I got to follow!! And, follow I did…

Christina spoke and signed books at several locations. Her first stop was Cascade Moto Classics http://www.cascademoto.com/map1.html here in my hometown of Beaverton, where she was welcomed by patrons and invited to the monthly breakfast meeting of the local Triumph riding club, Triumph Riders Association of Portland, and the Moto Guzzi National Owners Club of Oregon, both sponsored by Cascade. The next morning, we joined the group for a great breakfast and more QandA. The group was such a nice bunch of people and we both enjoyed them all.

Next up was MotoCorsa in North West Portland http://www.motocorsa.com .  This event was a bit of a surprise to Christina, especially when she was presented with a bottle of “Corsa Vino”, MotoCorsa owner Arun Sharma’s signature wine www.corsavino.com .  The love of motorcycles and the taste for enjoying a fine wine, made the atmosphere at MotoCorsa a real pleasure for Christina as it is for everyone that visits the shop.

And, last but hardly least… the 2nd Annual Latus Harley Davidson “Wall of Death” event for 2010 in Gladstone, Oregon http://www.latus-hd-motorcycles.com . Christina was awesome with some slide shows and QandA complete with some wonderful stories told by Cookie Crum, the “Queen of the Hell Drivers” and eight year veteran on the “Wall of Death” in the late 40’s and 50’s. I will have much more to say about the day we spent with some wonderful and incredibly interesting people in my next couple of posts.  

The evening of the 4th brought LOTS of fireworks. The locals near my home do fireworks in a BIG way. It gave us a fabulous display to enjoy. We sat out by the fire pit and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows while the sky lit up all around us. My poor puppy, Turbo, a 150lb Rottie/Ridgeback mix, was less than excited about all the loud noises. He is pictured here being comforted by his new friend, Christina’s daughter, Marlena. She called the fireworks “booms” and when she wasnt taking care of Turbo, she was curled up in her mommys lap, enjoying the show. Christina’s older daughter, the very bright and lovely Ella, enjoyed the show as well.  

 The next day gave me enough time to make good on my promise to let Christina ride my Brammo Enertia electric bike. She took a spin around the town but, would have loved to have made it a day ride and get a real feel for the bike. It surprised her in many ways and she was amazed by a few others.
A few more pictures and a couple more laughs and that made it time for my friends to hit the road and make their way up to Seattle http://cretins.org/ for the next book signing opportunity. I sent them off down the Columbia Gorge to enjoy the sites of the Multnomah Falls and the wind surfing mecca of Hood River then across the “Bridge of the Gods” to Washington state. We had such a wonderful few days and are looking forward to getting together again in the future. Look for Christina’s wonderful photo journalistic book, “Chicks on Bikes” at http://www.chicksonbikes.us   

 So, that is just part of what I did this 4th of July weekend! Next up… the “Wall of Death”.           

 Lady Godiva on wheels…. savoring the unreal weekend!!

 

The perfect picture for Brammo…

This is a picture of my bike, while charging, at my son’s house.  He got a new camera and couldn’t resist!!
It would be perfect for a commercial about a new color for the Enertia… Black, aka  the “Shadow”…

Well, I think my son is a brilliant photographer! (Gosh, motherhood makes you blind as a bat!!)

Lady Godiva on wheels… lovin my boy.