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What makes a business Rider Friendly?

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By Belt Drive Betty

As a rider, I am sure you have experienced those in business who are wary or uncertain when it comes to people on motorcycles. If you have not, it is probably because the image of riders is improving.

I have been turned away at a motel because I was on a motorcycle and it was an extremely uncomfortable experience. I was angry and hurt, insulted, offended and COLD that day. Another motel took me in and made me feel valued. 

That Motel was the Walking Eagle Inn in Rocky Mountain House AB.

Trust me, no customer should ever be made to feel the way I felt that day.  

The Walking Eagle Inn made a horrible experience better because they knew to put me in a cabin where my bike could be parked out front, they took my wet clothes and dried them out for me.  They cared, and it showed.

There are some businesses like Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in Golden that really get it. 

They are riders, they have the heart of riders and therefore their customer service, community involvement, entertainment and food hit every hot button a rider has.

Here in Canada, despite some not so great places, we have a lot of businesses that share those values in their business practices.

Blackjack’s Roadhouse in Nisku Alberta is comparable to Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in Golden.  Great food, wonderful service, awesome entertainment, HUGE community involvement – their bike nights Pre-COVID were 700+ bikes every Tuesday, their Ride for Mom event sees 300+ bikes turn out

Just over the overpass from the service road that leads to the Edmonton International Airport, Blackjacks Roadhouse is located next door to the Airways Country Motel and the Airways Airport Parking, all owned by the Clarence Shields family.

So, when the border finally opens up, if you are thinking of heading to Alaska or want to see all that Canada has to offer, you need to come up on the Alberta side of things and experience the hospitality of Blackjacks Roadhouse, check out their listing in our Rider Friendly Directory! riderfriendly.com/blackjacks-road-house

Canadian Veteran Memorial Gardens

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The Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association is the organization building a project with purpose in Grande Prairie Alberta Canada known as Veterans Memorial Gardens + Interpretive Centre. www.veteransmemorialgardens.com

On September 18th, 2020, our association and its project benefitted from a tree planting day spearheaded by Tree Canada and volunteer crew Pembina Pipeline.

We had ten Pembina employees take part in the planting, and we were joined by Brandt Tractor’s sales Manager Dave M who ran the skid steer and augers, Brandt employee Mark C, Kevin O from Wetaskiwin and Jason L and his dog Denver from McLennan and young Zach S – a 16 and a half year old volunteer and Susanna who brought us some raspberry canes and spent a lot of time on the watering hose.

The transformation of this sacred space in 8 hours was nothing short of amazing.

The edible trees and shrubs that were planted will be looked after by Greenblade Landscaping. They have agreed to mentor us and make sure that our trees get the best chance of survival possible!

It takes a community to see projects like Veterans Memorial Gardens & Interpretive Centre through to fruition, and we are grateful for a community that steps up when we need them!

About the Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association:

VISION: To have motorcyclists recognized for their significant contributions to Canada as tourists, volunteers, and community leaders.

MISSION STATEMENT:

The Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association believes that our heritage, history, and tourism are natural partners in growing better communities. Our relationships with partnering organizations allows us to contribute to the well being of our veterans, youth, and families in the communities we live and work in.

Belt Drive Betty is owner of Riderfriendly.com and a contributor to Colorado Rider News

International Female Ride Day Now: Sat., August 22, 2020

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By Diana Rowe

Ladies, no question, 2020 rolled in like a pissed off Mama Bear. Yet what remains for women is still our passion for riding.  Did you know that nearly 20 percent of motorcycle owners are women who bring the girl power to nearly 1 in 5 motorcycle owners? Hey I’m looking at you Team Gen X and Y as your age group is the fastest growing motorcycle owners, at 22 and 26 percent respectively. (Source statistics: https://www.WomenRidersNow.com/) But the super cool part is that that passion for wind therapy has not age or gender restrictions!

One of my most precious memories in gearing up and setting off with my BFFs for motorcycle riding adventures. I challenge the ladies to make 2020 the year for female riders. Call your girls and let’s get out there and ride together. If you’ve never ridden on International Female Ride Day, save the date to meet up with your girlfriends to ride on the rescheduled date of Saturday, August 22! This celebration of women motorcyclists is now in its 14th year, and it’s happening in your home town.  

What IS International Female Ride Day (IFRD)?

Launched in 2007, this annual international one-day event was created for women motorcyclists by women motorcyclists and this year, it celebrates its 14th anniversary this year. 

Vicki Gray, Founder of IFRD, said it best, “IFRD, created for change; to advance motorcycling for women.” All brands participate and all forms of motorcycling participate: road, track, dirt, three-wheelers, side-cars, and scooters.  JUST RIDE!

All over the world, now in six continents and over 120 countries, women fire up their motorcycles for a globally synchronized ride on IFRD each year (usually) on the first Saturday in May. Due to COVID-19 concerns in 2020, the annual ride was rescheduled to Saturday, August 22. But the mantra remains the same, calling women to “JUST RIDE!”

Who celebrates and empowers this Movement? 

The group behind IFRD is MOTORESS, an online community of women motorcyclist enthusiasts based in Canada. This group wanted to bring greater awareness to women and motorcycling by designating one day each year for all female motorcycle riders to get out and ride. Their grassroots efforts have paid off as IFRD has grown to be the worldwide phenomenon it is today with hundreds of thousands of women getting the message to take out their motorcycles on that one day and ride.

In addition, Polaris, the global leader in powersports, recently partnered with International Female Ride Day® (IFRD), the globally synchronized ride day celebrating women riders and their passion for powersports.

On Saturday, August 22, in communities all over the U.S. and the world, women riders are organizing their own group of riders to spend the day on their motorcycles together. Riders who don’t have a group to ride with or simply want to ride alone, just getting out on your motorcycle, scooter, or trike on that day is good enough. If you feel like sharing your day with others, take a photo and post it on social media with the hashtag #ifrd. 

Tips to JUST RIDE on IFRD

Ride to work. Call your girlfriends and arrange a meet up! Ride to a local motorcycle dealership and go shopping. Take a ride in your neighborhood. Just ride into the mountains. Ride to your local motorcycle restaurant and bar for lunch. JUST RIDE!

In addition to Colorado Rider News, there are several ways to find a group in your area of you’re not aware of one yet:

Visit MOTORESS for details on events.

Check out, LIKE and follow the official Facebook page for IFRD for more info and for sharing photos.

Visit WomenRidersNow.com and their extensive list of Women’s Motorcycling Clubs and connect with one in your area.

Call your local motorcycle dealership and ask the folks if they know of any groups of women riding on that day.

To learn more about this special day and how to get involved, visit the IFRD page on Motoress.com. You’ll also find a link to buy t-shirts and other IFRD merchandise.

Creating Memorable Tourism Opportunities

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by Belt Drive Betty

What do you do when you find your entire riding season all but cancelled due to Covid-19? If you are a Canadian writer and moto journalist in northern Alberta, you get to work on creating motorcycle tourism products!

We are working with our regional tourism office to create a riding the north website complete with touring maps and information on the services that the various routes north offer.

One of my favorite day rides in my backyard is the Shaftesbury Ferry.

Located near Eaglesham Alberta the Shaftesbury Ferry takes you across the Mighty Peace River.  The riding in the river valley is wonderful with nice twisting roads and sweepers that for a few minutes make you feel like you are in the BC mountains.

Here in Northern Alberta Canada, we have a lot of amazing things to offer people who ride, but few outside of our region seem to know about them.

One of the things that is hard to express in marketing materials like brochures is the number of hours that the sun shines. The sun starts rising in the north at around 4:30 am and sets around 11:30 pm. 

That much sun can put you in the saddle for a lot of extra hours of exploration compared to southern riding.  Another thing that we have an abundance of, is open roads and a small population.  There are places here in the north where you can ride for two and three hours and see maybe one or two vehicles.

Beyond big skies with lots of sun and open roads with truly little traffic what does northern Alberta offer the rider?  We in Grande Prairie Alberta are approximately one hour from BC and the mountains, we are your gateway to the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Alaska.

If you enjoy getting off your motorcycle to explore, the north is filled with historical places, museums, trail rides, canoeing, river rafting, hiking and so very much more.

Good food, warm hearted people and wildlife and some exceptional landscapes Northern Alberta is here for you to explore when the travel restrictions are over.

We would love to see you here!

Our world has changed drastically in three weeks

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Renee “Belt Drive Betty” Charbonneau

Hugs and holding hands, handshakes and sharing a meal all seem like distant memories.

I watch the Colorado riding community spurred on by Laurie and Chomper Montoya and I wonder what this community would do without such dedicated, hard working volunteers. Laurie is just everywhere responding to the needs of her community.

Every community has their champions, the people that always seem to be there when someone needs them, Laurie is one of them.

The latest thing that I watched take place was with the guys from Dirty Dogs Roadhouse, BikerDown, Rider Justice and the riding community of Denver was the feeding of 30+ frontline responders and others in need – on short notice!

I am humbled to be a part of a community that does such compassionate work.

So how do you stay human and connected while social distancing or self isolating?

Since there has been zero business, none, not even a little bit, I have been grant writing for Veterans Memorial Gardens & Interpretive Centre and trying to do good for others.

My biggest pleasure during this whole pandemic thing so far was last week when I had a local delivery company take some very special donuts to our hospital, RCMP station and all 3 Fire halls the other day.  Donuts made by the ladies of the community called Crooked Creek are known famously as Crooked Creek Crack – think Krispy Cream but better.

Knowing the smiles that were had by our frontline responders made me feel good.  The next biggest pleasure was giving my postal delivery gal a baggie of individually wrapped mints with a note that said thanks. Her smile made my heart happy.

I am trying to stay connected to humanity, but the way some people behave and talk to each other makes it challenging.  Finding other things to focus on and be grateful for is something I find myself seeking out regularly. It takes some of the sting out of the behaviours of some.

I’d love to know what you are doing to try to retain your humanity and your sanity! I am holding on for true social distancing season to start.

A little wind therapy right about now would go a long way to making me feel whole again.

But, just like this Virus has changed plans for everyone around the world, Mother Nature and Father Winter are making things mentally a little rougher for us Northwestern Alberta.  

Hoping where you are, you are safe and warm!

Please reach out to me on Facebook @ BeltDriveBetty I’d love to hear what you are doing to cope and stay human.

Lacombe Alberta

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By: Belt Drive Betty

This central Alberta community has lots to offer! 

Lacombe is located in the QEll Highway corridor, with access to hundreds of kilometers of additional secondary routes making the city of Lacombe a natural stop when touring through Central Alberta.  Situated in the beautiful parkland district between Edmonton and Calgary Lacombe is the perfect weekend or day trip destination!

[Read more…] about Lacombe Alberta

Make Alberta a part of your 2020 Travel Plans!

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By Belt Drive Betty

Here in the great white north, the snow is beginning to fly, and we are getting ready for what could be a rough winter.  Our election has resulted in a Liberal minority Government, which for Western Canada where I live, is devastating.

[Read more…] about Make Alberta a part of your 2020 Travel Plans!

RiderFriendly.com: By Riders for Riders

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By: Belt Drive Betty

This has been the riding season from HE** (Double Hockey Sticks) where I live in Canada.  Rainy, cold, miserable and a season filled with motorcycle accidents/crashes that have killed and injured large numbers of riders this year.  

The trend of higher than normal crashes and riders being killed is happening right across North America and figuring out why this is happening must become a priority.

There are tools a rider can have in their arsenal that will help them.

#1 – Training

Upgrading and practicing your defensive riding skills  including emergency stopping and maneuvering gives you peace of mind knowing your skills are honed and ready when you need them.  Many accidents while the cagers fault might be avoided if you continue to practice and rev up your reaction skills. 

#2 – Never Ride Alone Program 

It is available for members of riderfriendly.com for free, the Never Ride Alone Program is like having your guardian angel riding with you. The real people on the other end of the phone track your progress as you check in along your ride and should something happen that you forget to call them – they try you twice. If they still can’t reach you, they dispatch 911 to go find you from your last check-in. It’s based on the Never Work Alone programs and gives you and your loved ones some peace of mind when you are riding solo. Good in the Continental US and Canada – the toll free number can connect you to the community at riderfriendly.com too – it’s a direct – toll free line to our answering service who can reach myself or my webmistress and then we can reach into the community if you can’t! 

#3 – Networking 

Use the community to find riders to help you along with the directory at Riderfriendly.com for savings on hotels, motels and learn about businesses other riders are recommending. Knowing you can get help if you need it from fellow riders, and that you have another avenue to find businesses that want to work with riders, give one a little peace of mind. Again, your membership card with the toll-free number is in your profile page when you register for free.

#4- SkyMed Insurance

The cost of an air ambulance in the event of a motorcycle crash can be a rather jarring $10 – $60K depending on where the crash took place and the distance the air ambulance must travel.  Then there are a whole host of other considerations, like, your spouse/significant other, your motorcycle, your doctors/hospital bills and if you don’t have travel insurance that can run into the hundreds of thousands very quickly depending on your situation.

SkyMed Insurance offers several ways to help you minimize the financial trauma and it’s a product that Biker Down is now working with and the CMTA here in Canada is offering memberships to Canadian Riders who would be financially crippled if they were ever in a crash in the US.  Here is the link to the US site – https://skymed.com/ – ask Laurie Montoya, your editor to connect you to the person she deals with so that she can get you the Biker Down Rate.

#5 – BikerDown Foundation Membership

(www.bikerdown.org/join-us/) Because of the perks of roadside assistance and the assistance you get in the event of a crash, because you just never know when it could happen to you.

These are five things that I believe can help a rider enjoy their season a little more, upgrading your skills, using a free tracking device like the Never Ride Alone Program, the Rider Friendly Directory of Businesses, SkyMed Insurance and Membership in BikerDown. They all give you peace of mind and that helps make the season a little bit sweeter.

I am off on what will likely be my fourth and last ride of any import for the season.

I am off to film in Hafford Saskatchewan, the 2018 riding season’s winner of Canada’s MOST Rider Friendly Community Contest.

It will mean I get a paltry 10,000K/6,000 miles in on the season, but hey, it’s better than no mileage – right?

Next time, I’ll fill you in on my visit to Saskatchewan and show you why this little community has won our Contest!

Ride Canada

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By: Belt Drive Betty

If you are like most riders, there are places that you ride to that just melt your heart.

Either you love the ride to the place, or the people once you get there, the scenery, the customer service, the hospitality, friendliness.

Whatever it is, it’s a hidden gem and it’s most likely in a more rural location too.

[Read more…] about Ride Canada