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Canada

The Riding season that wasn’t!

June 5, 2020 By Colorado Rider News Leave a Comment

By Belt Drive Betty

Thanks to COVID-19, everyone’s world has been turned upside down, including ours!

Hundreds of events cancelled, hundred more rescheduled and everyone struggling to get some fundraising done.

As we get closer to the middle of June, we in Canada are looking forward to crowning a new Rider Friendly Community.   The idea behind the contest is to find those communities that love having riders visit.

What community has the best wings, 

  • the best burger, 
  • the best pie and coffee or the best donuts.
  • Which volunteer made being at an event worthwhile?

It’s all about celebrating the smaller communities. No community over 100,000 can enter.

Over the last five years of the contest we have learned about some of the most incredible out of the way Large Roadside Attractions Like the miniature Eiffel Tower in Montmartre Saskatchewan or the Moose in Manning Alberta.

We learned about the Run to the Hills Memorial Rally in a small community called Two Hills Alberta, and an amazing toy run on Vancouver Island BC called the Port Alberni Toy Run. We learned about the incredible riding community in Lloydminster Alberta and the quaint community of Hafford Saskatchewan.

Every community that has won our trophy has been unique and interesting and truly the diversity of scenery and people is what makes being a motorcyclist one of the most rewarding things a person can be.

To see the communities that are entered in the contest and learn a little about them and Canada visit riderfriendlycontest.ca

Filed Under: Magazine Tagged With: 06/20, Belt Drive Betty, Canada

Canada Tourism

March 5, 2020 By Colorado Rider News Leave a Comment

By: Renee “Belt Drive Betty” Charbonneau

Spring, you can feel it, it is trying so hard to break free from the white cold fingers of winter.

Here in Northern Alberta, it’s been a long, cold, uncomfortable winter. There have been a couple of bright spots though. In January I took in the Edmonton Motorcycle Show as an exhibitor with a booth representing the Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association, Grande Prairie Regional Tourism and the presenting sponsor for the CMTA – White Knights Injury Law Team of Braithwaite and Boyle Accident Injury Law. And in February I took in the World of Wheels, again as an exhibitor, promoting our Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association, our presenting sponsor and Grande Prairie Regional Tourism.

Why is an injury lawyer sponsoring a motorcycle tourism association? Well Ken Braithwaite is an avid motorcyclist himself and he was involved in an out of country motorcycle crash. And so he gets it. He understands the need to ride and the fears, the challenges and frustrations felt by a rider who is injured. If you were injured here in Canada you want to know that there is someone who can help you, guide you and put you on the right path, who can partner with your attorney in the US if needed. Ken Braithwaite and the White Knights Injury Law Team are here to serve you in your time of need. They do nothing but Injury Law and can serve you in Alberta, British COlumbia, the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

If you intend to ride to Alaska like most red blooded Americans who ride do, it’s good to know who to reach out to. And hopefully, like packing rain gear, now that you know there is good a rider attorney who can help you if you are injured, you won’t need him and his team.

The CMTA has begun creating partnerships with all sorts of Canadian Influencers in the Motorcycle Travel and Tourism Industry and we have tour providers on both coasts and a few in between that we are now connected to. Tammy Kidd of Canadian Xtreme Adventures can help transform your trip to Alaska (a trip of a lifetime) into your trip through Western Canada to Alaska, (an EPIC trip of a lifetime!)

If you are planning a trip through Canada on your way to Alaska let us help you find the best resources to take advantage of! We have folks in the Kawarthas of Ontario, who can help you eat your way through the countryside, and on the East Coast, the Cabot Trail Biker can help you see Cape Breton in ways you never thought possible!

The Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association, Powered by White Knights Injury Law Team, here to help inspire you to take more road trips!

Filed Under: Magazine Tagged With: 03/20, Belt Drive Betty, Canada

RiderFriendly.com: By Riders for Riders

August 30, 2019 By Colorado Rider News Leave a Comment

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!

Filed Under: International, Magazine Tagged With: 09/19, Belt Drive Betty, Canada, Ride Canada

Ride Canada – Airdrie Bikes & Bulls, Rumble on the Runway

September 7, 2018 By Colorado Rider News Leave a Comment

By: Renee “Belt Drive Betty” Charbonneau

The last weekend of July, I headed for Airdrie and the Airdrie Bikes & Bulls, Rumble on the Runway put on by the Alberta Oilmen’s Association. This was to be my second time attending this event, last year’s was held at the rodeo grounds; this year was to be held at the Airdrie Air Park.

The AOA had decided that the old rodeo grounds, while an accommodating venue to work with, just wasn’t the location to help the event really take off the way it should, and so they negotiated a deal with the Airdrie Airpark.

What a great move! [Read more…] about Ride Canada – Airdrie Bikes & Bulls, Rumble on the Runway

Filed Under: Events, Magazine Tagged With: 09/18, Belt Drive Betty, Canada, Event

A Very Special 10th Anniversary in Canada

August 2, 2018 By Colorado Rider News Leave a Comment

By: Renee “Belt Drive Betty” Charbonneau

On Saturday, May 5th, I was blessed to be the only reporter and the only female in attendance at the 10th Anniversary Cpl. Michael Starker Graveside visit by the Veterans MC Canada.

Killed in an ambush by the Taliban 10 years ago on May 6th, 2008, Cpl. Michael Starker was a Calgary Paramedic and a co-founding member of the Veterans MC Canada.

I’d known Mike for a little over a year before he was killed, and I had attended his deployment party, a party where Haley and Dave got engaged, and two other members were also getting ready to deploy. Over the course of our friendship, I had learned to appreciate Mike’s unique sense of humor, and it cracked me up how he could push the buttons of Anthony, the other co-founder of the Veterans MC Canada. Those two could not have been more different from one another if they tried, and they provided countless hours of amusement and entertainment for those who knew them!

I was honoured to be the person to capture the graveside visit and to be allowed to share it with everyone else in our community. This is a rare glimpse into the Veterans MC Canada and the brotherhood that exists because of the rigorous vetting and mutual histories and hobbies that these men share.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, I was picked up at my friend’s place in Airdrie by Sean Ellis, a man who has also become my friend.

We arrived at the clubhouse in Calgary, and the smells wafting out of the backyard had my mouth watering. Fozzy, another prospect was serving coffee, eggs, sausage and pancakes.

Fozzy is an interesting character; he speaks with an English accent but spent a good amount of his time with the Veterans MC Netherlands. I was directed to talk with him to find out more about the history of the Veterans MC, the various chapters around the world and their involvement in an alliance called the Brothers in Arms.

After a big scarf and being introduced to a good number of the 24 club members who would be attending at the graveside, it was time to head out for Queens Park Cemetery.

I rode with Sean, who had all of the graveside amenities already loaded into his SUV.

We pulled into Queens Park Cemetery and walked over to Michael’s grave. A bouquet of green and white flowers from the club was placed on his marker. A lot of the men who are a part of this MC today never met Mike. They didn’t experience his brand of friendship, loyalty, mischievousness, etc.

Telling the same stories year after year, making sure that each new comer to the club learns about its co-founder and his values, is a task left to people like Kris Dlouhy.

Every year he does his best to educate the newcomers about the philosophy and sense of brotherhood on which this club was founded. Like every other year, Kris spoke of Mike and his values, and while his voice cracked, he held his composure together for the most part.

After some tears, some cheers and a few photos, everyone headed back to the clubhouse. One of the wives had made spaghetti sauce, and that was the first smell that hit you when you walked in the door. Instantly people were ready for a late lunch, and so it was decided that we’d go to a local pub for growlies.

After the luncheon, it was back to the clubhouse, and by now you could smell the spaghetti sauce out in the backyard too. I didn’t think I was going to make it until supper time!

Some of the gents had to head back home as they had to work the next day, but in their stead came more club members, many of whom brought their significant others. The backyard was full, so was the front yard and the house itself. There were people everywhere.

After an amazing supper (and Melanie, that was amazing spaghetti sauce), many of the different riding clubs that make up the fabric of the Calgary Motorcycle scene started dropping in.

The show of respect was evident from every RC that showed up. The prospects, all 8 of them, were busy ensuring that every guest was being looked after. They kept the yard clean, the beverages flowing and were offering all of the new comers a bite to eat should they be hungry.

I watched young men like Pork Chop work his way through the guests and make sure that everyone was taken care of, and he did it with such joy and reverence that I had to smile. Likewise, Matt was just as considerate and efficient in taking care of the club’s guests. They all were.

If Mike was alive today, I think he’d be so proud.

The quality of the young veterans or serving members that comprises this club is really remarkable. I watch the way they work together, ride together, move together, and I can’t help but think that the training these folks undergo, no matter the division, makes it so that they can work side-by-side in a precise fashion even if they have never worked together before.

The brotherhood of people who have fought side-by-side, who have trained side-by-side, is so unique. Firefighters and Veterans/Serving Soldiers see horrid things during the course of their careers. Many have had to do things that you and I couldn’t possibly fathom.

I hear a lot of people throw that word brotherhood around, but I am here to tell you that the average person that thinks they know what brotherhood really is, probably does not have a clue.

“Brotherhood is an unconditional love that I feel for my brother. I would do anything to support or help my brother, anytime, anywhere. If this (prospecting) doesn’t work out for me, then I will become a lone wolf because I don’t want to be a part of any club. I want to be a part of THIS CLUB because of what it represents,” said Pork Chop.

Filed Under: Magazine Tagged With: 08/18, Belt Drive Betty, Canada, Veterans

Ride Canada – Most Rider Friendly Community

July 7, 2018 By Colorado Rider News Leave a Comment

Bordertown HOG Chapter

Lloydminster, Alberta

By: Renee “Belt Drive Betty” Charbonneau

Our Quest to find the MOST Rider Friendly Community from the 2017 riding season is over, and, in a resounding win, Lloydminster, Alberta won that honour. [Read more…] about Ride Canada – Most Rider Friendly Community

Filed Under: Community, Magazine Tagged With: 07/18, Belt Drive Betty, Canada, Rider Friendly Business

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