NO!! haha motorcycling is sure reducing my spring cleaning time! haha
I decided to go out riding in the rain today. I figured, best to choose to ride in the rain to check out my gear and how long I could ride before it soaked through or not. The gear was ok the boots not so much. Boots only lasted about an hour. The decorative stitching on the instep of the boots leaks. In fact when I pushed down on the boot at this point, water squished through from inside the boot. Well I guess I could try the rubber booties over top of the boots, but I think I will try the tent seam sealer first over top of all the seams on the boots.
Stopped by to say hi to Princess Scooter Pie, then rode to the other side of town to visit with a friend for a cuppa tea.
So after riding around and visiting it was time to head home to reorganize my house. Oops no not again, babysitting grandkids....fun times of course. So here I sit this evening eating my french onion soup my place still in disarray from starting the reorganization that never got finished. Oh well tomorrow night? And I have company this weekend so I have to get it done.
Good night.
Transplanted kiwi now living in Victoria Canada. Have discovered a passion to ride motorcycles and an even bigger passion to ensure riders safety on the roads. Follow me on twitter@Kiwi_Deb
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Saturday, 28 January 2012
My saturday
Well today was a little drizzly outside, of course its saturday! But first thing this morning I had to get my "ex" to help me out with his truck to go and pick up and big tv and entertainment centre that a friend was giving me. We went and picked it up thinking that I would be able to give it to my daughter, but it was the same as what they already had. Ok now I have to get rid of it too. I am sure I can find someone who would like to have them.
But now my place is pretty crowded which has me thinking spring cleaning and a major rearranging of furniture. I know its not spring, but a change would be good at this time of year. I actually like to regularly change things around at home.
Well even though today was grey and drizzly I still got out for a ride. Went over to one motorcycle shop, met a couple of riders there, sat on a couple of bikes and perused all the "stuff" I would like! But just window shopping though.
It was so funny today, Princess Scooterpie was going to meet me at the bike shop because she had seen me riding by when she was out. So messaged me to say she would meet me at the bike shop. It was strange, I was downstairs, she was upstairs and we couldnt find each other until I realized we were at different bike shops! Oops! haha
But I did have a good talk to the bike shop salesman. It appears they all know me well there since I bought my first bike off them. Now it appears I may buy my second bike off them if things go right and another client wants to trade his bike in. Im looking at a a Suzuki Gladius as my next bike....very pretty bike and it feels really good. Just the right size.
Well time to get onto some knitting tonight, still trying to make myself a sweater, I wonder if I will get it finished before summer?? Tomorrow is going to be busy with rearranging all my furniture.
Just to finish this blog I want to share one of my favourite sayings
"The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement."
But now my place is pretty crowded which has me thinking spring cleaning and a major rearranging of furniture. I know its not spring, but a change would be good at this time of year. I actually like to regularly change things around at home.
Well even though today was grey and drizzly I still got out for a ride. Went over to one motorcycle shop, met a couple of riders there, sat on a couple of bikes and perused all the "stuff" I would like! But just window shopping though.
It was so funny today, Princess Scooterpie was going to meet me at the bike shop because she had seen me riding by when she was out. So messaged me to say she would meet me at the bike shop. It was strange, I was downstairs, she was upstairs and we couldnt find each other until I realized we were at different bike shops! Oops! haha
But I did have a good talk to the bike shop salesman. It appears they all know me well there since I bought my first bike off them. Now it appears I may buy my second bike off them if things go right and another client wants to trade his bike in. Im looking at a a Suzuki Gladius as my next bike....very pretty bike and it feels really good. Just the right size.
Well time to get onto some knitting tonight, still trying to make myself a sweater, I wonder if I will get it finished before summer?? Tomorrow is going to be busy with rearranging all my furniture.
Just to finish this blog I want to share one of my favourite sayings
"The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement."
Sunday, 22 January 2012
2012 Motorcycle Show at the Tradex!
Woo hoo - I made it to the show, my blog alas will not be as well written to my esteemed riding buddy Ms Princess Scooterpie! She is such an awesome friend. We are certainly going to be getting into mischief as the year rolls on by.
Wow awakening at 4:30AM on a saturday is a rude awakening....but once awake, showered, dressed and packed my back pack for the day. I was told by a friend to take a back pack to put all the stuff in you collect through the day......boy was Mike right!! It weighed a ton by the end of the day.
The plan for the day was to enter all the competitions I could find, pick up all the brochures I could find and sit on as many bikes as I could. Check, check and check. We three moto divas sure did that.
So as the day started, hopped into my little car and drove down to the meeting place, and of course as usual, I am always the first to arrive anywhere, and always by a good amount of time, so I sat and waited.
Soon my riding buddies arrived and after getting out of the cars, jumping around with excitement we awaited the scared Martin and Kevin to arrive. Oh and while waiting, we still couldnt figure out why the fire ambulance across the road starting beeping his siren?? Was it at the 3 mature woman jumping around at 5:15am in the morning?
The guys arrived and after the hugs and screams we got into Kevins NICE escalade with the cream leather seats and so many lights inside that it looked like a christmas tree. We pulled out of the parking lot to a cheer from us girls of "woo we are on our way"!!
It wasnt long before the guys were hearing "are we there yet" and then we got to Swartz Bay and boarded the ferry.
Now dont think the ride onto the ferry was uneventful, cause it wasnt. Amidst the girls cheering , our lane started to move and we were directed up the ramp.....now BC Ferry staff...note here that you need to space cones so that it is actually possible for a vehicle to make it around the curves, and not dead end a lane into another lane! Oh and then to the young man who was waving us onto the ramp, if you want us to stop, use the right signals!! Poor Kevin got glared at by the young man and yelled at to stop....
BUT did we care - no not at all cause we was a heading to the motorcycle show.....
We ended up with the best parking spot in the house - right up front with a view. That is as long as the ferry didnt have a HARD landing again. haha We met up with another rider friend Richard who came over and spoke with us.
We got into the line up for the yummy ferry white spot breakfasts, after getting our food and sitting down, I had to go and purchase a second cup of coffee. The first one was a little on the spicy side, I had mistakenly put salt and pepper in my coffee instead of the sweetner! Oops what can I say - excitement and the early hour contributed to that oopsy. lol
The trip sure didnt seem to take too long with all the excitement and the window shopping in the gift store! Its sure expensive on the ferry.
It was time to get back in the van and get reading to get off the ferry.
It was a pretty good docking - once the captien finally docked the ferry, it was the slowest docking I have ever had - I guess they have to try and improve their dockings without crashing eh? Oh that wasnt nice to say hehe
Then we were off and heading out to the show....now you would think, Kevin had a pretty nice GPS on board, yet still asked for directions. Darlene was getting directions from her blogging friend Bob, Cindy was messaging her hubby for directions, Martin was using the GPS on his phone and Martin was looking at the GPS in his car and also directions that were given to him.....they all had different directions - BUT we made it.
No potty breaks were had from the ferry to the show and so we had two highly caffeinated and doing the potty dance in the line up waiting for the doors to open, cracking jokes and trying not to laugh. Finally we got in and everyone immediately disappeared to the closest bathrooms.
AND NOW the show began. I was absolutely overwhelmed by how much was there and how many people! Holy cow it was HUGE. I didnt know where to start so the plan was to methodically work out way around the building in quarters.............that kind worked but Princess Scooterpie, like me, is very easily sidetracked, like kids in a candy store!
My favourite colour is yellow so of course this attracted me, I like Kawasakis too. I realized that these sport bikes arent so bad afterall - this one I could pretty much sit upright which is what I want.
Here is Darlene on her favourite bike. Doesnt she look cool on this bike?
Again here is another bike - I have lost track of the bike model but Im pretty sure this was a Ninja? I have to work more on learning the looks of the different model of bikes.
Now here is my dream bike - the BMW650GS!! Sigh....and its a great fit, I could handle this bike. But I am thinking this is not a possibility because its so expensive.
Well this was a great start to the day, but its late and I have to go to work in the morning, I might just ride depending on what the weather report says in the morning. I want to try out my new helmet and tank bag, its so cool getting all this bike stuff and outfitting my bike. I will carry on my blog tomorrow evening. Good night for now ..... sleep well.
Wow awakening at 4:30AM on a saturday is a rude awakening....but once awake, showered, dressed and packed my back pack for the day. I was told by a friend to take a back pack to put all the stuff in you collect through the day......boy was Mike right!! It weighed a ton by the end of the day.
The plan for the day was to enter all the competitions I could find, pick up all the brochures I could find and sit on as many bikes as I could. Check, check and check. We three moto divas sure did that.
So as the day started, hopped into my little car and drove down to the meeting place, and of course as usual, I am always the first to arrive anywhere, and always by a good amount of time, so I sat and waited.
Soon my riding buddies arrived and after getting out of the cars, jumping around with excitement we awaited the scared Martin and Kevin to arrive. Oh and while waiting, we still couldnt figure out why the fire ambulance across the road starting beeping his siren?? Was it at the 3 mature woman jumping around at 5:15am in the morning?
The guys arrived and after the hugs and screams we got into Kevins NICE escalade with the cream leather seats and so many lights inside that it looked like a christmas tree. We pulled out of the parking lot to a cheer from us girls of "woo we are on our way"!!
It wasnt long before the guys were hearing "are we there yet" and then we got to Swartz Bay and boarded the ferry.
Now dont think the ride onto the ferry was uneventful, cause it wasnt. Amidst the girls cheering , our lane started to move and we were directed up the ramp.....now BC Ferry staff...note here that you need to space cones so that it is actually possible for a vehicle to make it around the curves, and not dead end a lane into another lane! Oh and then to the young man who was waving us onto the ramp, if you want us to stop, use the right signals!! Poor Kevin got glared at by the young man and yelled at to stop....BUT did we care - no not at all cause we was a heading to the motorcycle show.....
We ended up with the best parking spot in the house - right up front with a view. That is as long as the ferry didnt have a HARD landing again. haha We met up with another rider friend Richard who came over and spoke with us.
We got into the line up for the yummy ferry white spot breakfasts, after getting our food and sitting down, I had to go and purchase a second cup of coffee. The first one was a little on the spicy side, I had mistakenly put salt and pepper in my coffee instead of the sweetner! Oops what can I say - excitement and the early hour contributed to that oopsy. lol
The trip sure didnt seem to take too long with all the excitement and the window shopping in the gift store! Its sure expensive on the ferry.
It was time to get back in the van and get reading to get off the ferry.
Then we were off and heading out to the show....now you would think, Kevin had a pretty nice GPS on board, yet still asked for directions. Darlene was getting directions from her blogging friend Bob, Cindy was messaging her hubby for directions, Martin was using the GPS on his phone and Martin was looking at the GPS in his car and also directions that were given to him.....they all had different directions - BUT we made it.
No potty breaks were had from the ferry to the show and so we had two highly caffeinated and doing the potty dance in the line up waiting for the doors to open, cracking jokes and trying not to laugh. Finally we got in and everyone immediately disappeared to the closest bathrooms.
AND NOW the show began. I was absolutely overwhelmed by how much was there and how many people! Holy cow it was HUGE. I didnt know where to start so the plan was to methodically work out way around the building in quarters.............that kind worked but Princess Scooterpie, like me, is very easily sidetracked, like kids in a candy store!
My favourite colour is yellow so of course this attracted me, I like Kawasakis too. I realized that these sport bikes arent so bad afterall - this one I could pretty much sit upright which is what I want.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Snow
So yesterday when my son picked me up from work, we were driving home down Mackenzie when to my utter surprise, a UVic student was riding his scooter, with a terrified look on his face, in the centre lane, towards the university. Because of the weather conditions, he was of course riding slower than the traffic and was holding up traffice with a line up behind him. This was not the worst, he had a helmet on which was great, not a full face, an open face helmet. He had a jacket and jeans on, but on his feet he had runners on.....AND he had both feet on the ground on both sides of the scooter, sliding them along as he rode using his feet to keep his balance while he rode on the snow and ice! I really believe that we need to have licensing for scooters and that since they share the road with cars, trucks and motorcycles, they should have some kind of guidelines and be treated the same as motorcycles.
But I was sad to have to put my motorbike away in her shed. I have a nice little heater in there to keep her warm and dry. I still havent come up with a good name for her yet. She is like me, shorter and smaller than most other bikes, she doesnt have as many cc's as all her friends, but what she lacks in size she makes up in enthusiasm. She is adventurous, daring and lots of fun. So lets see what would fit as a name for her.........
Hmm now that description matches a mischievous little New Zealand bird called the Kea, its a very personable bird, likes to be around people, loves to chew anything that has rubber on it and has been know to wreak tyres, wiper blades and peck at anything on your vehicle or motorbike.... how does Kea sound? Check out this video of the Kea... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKWCz0YhmcY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l0DNaVQ-P4
Well saturday is coming up fast and a group of us want to get over to the Motorcycle show in Abbotsford. A yearly event that I have never been to before and Im so excited to go. Problem is "the SNOW" I wish that the sun would come out and melt everything and keep it from freezing for the next few days - then I dont mind if we get more snow, I just want to go to the motorcycle show!
There are a few of us that are car pooling - but of course we want to be smart and if the road conditions are not safe, then of course we wont go. I want to check out the bikes for size, check out the womans section of the show and maybe purchase some heated gloves or a new helmet. I also want to enter in all the competitions that I can, I would love to win the motorbikes that are being put up as door prizes!
Well its that time of night that I should be sleeping so goodnight and lets hope for a nice warm day tomorrow.
Sunday, 15 January 2012
License Scooters and mandate riding gear for ALL riders.
I got my first motorcycle license in NZ many years ago - and the rule still applies - you had to get a license to ride a scooter. You also have to hold the steps to getting the full license longer, and cc's are restricted. Even though cc's dont mean much in regards to the power of the bike. But maybe BC should do the same? Maybe minimum riding gear should be mandated like Helmet, fully enclosed fastened footwear, riding or leather gloves, full length pants at least jeans and riding jacket or full leather jacket? Now Im not sure if anyone is following my blog, but I would be interested in your thoughts?
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/getting/motorcycles/motorcycle-licence.html
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/getting/motorcycles/motorcycle-licence.html
Friday, 13 January 2012
What a week!
Well this week sure has had a lot of twists and turns! Starting with a personal identity breach at my place of work. The ramifications of that are so long term I dont even want to think about it. Maybe it good that I dont have lots of money in the bank or the kind of credit that these people go for!
Then ended the week up with my son having a major meltdown over his girl friend who had hurt him. It was a rough night. I love my kids to bits and so glad that I have a great relationship with them, but still it can be hard as a parent to watch them try to deal with tough times in life.
I also decided to make a new years resolution, this year I am going to lose weight, and blog it as well. Maybe then I will be accountable to myself! Hmm am I going to be able to do it? I hope so - I want to look good and get into some nice riding gear for my bike.
Well its time to go to bed, I hope its not snowing tomorrow, I want to ride to the bike shop to get my clutch lever.
Then ended the week up with my son having a major meltdown over his girl friend who had hurt him. It was a rough night. I love my kids to bits and so glad that I have a great relationship with them, but still it can be hard as a parent to watch them try to deal with tough times in life.
I also decided to make a new years resolution, this year I am going to lose weight, and blog it as well. Maybe then I will be accountable to myself! Hmm am I going to be able to do it? I hope so - I want to look good and get into some nice riding gear for my bike.
Well its time to go to bed, I hope its not snowing tomorrow, I want to ride to the bike shop to get my clutch lever.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Frustrating!
Today was such a beautiful day for winter. It was so nice to be out riding :) But I was so frustrated today as well because everywhere I rode today I saw drivers blatantly talking on hand held cell phones and others obviously texting on cell phones while driving. Do these people really think we cant tell? The drivers doing the head bob, or the drivers leaning over to the right with the phone against their ear thinking no-one can see them?? Do drivers really think they are fooling anyone? Im frustrated because as a driver you can at least write down the license plate.
Today I also had to go and inform my bank and the credit bureau that personal information and banking information has been stolen from my place of work. This affects thousands of workers and is going to be long term! I hope they catch the theives, but we will never know if the data they stole has been passed on or copied or sold and if not now it could be compromised in years to come. This really does bring into focus just how vulnerable we have become with the digital age.
Oh well enough about that - my dad is home from hospital and hopefully on the road to a good recovery. Mum has started chemo, but has had to stop because of a problem with her blood? Dont know what that means but I think I will phone and talk to them on the weekend.
I now have arrangements in place to go over to Vancouver to the Motorcycle show. Woo hoo a new Kiwi Adventure!! This is my first time to do something like this. I will be going with 6 other people and we are all a little crazy about motorbikes. We are car pooling which is great because it makes it totally affordable to go. I am looking forward to seeing all the bikes there, hopefully being able to sit on them and finally really test out the bikes for size and maybe choose my dream bike and the practical bike that I will be able to get next.
I will certainly be posting from the motorcyle show some blogs and some photos. First though I do have to go and upgrade my cell phone and plan to be able to do this on the go.
Well time to get a bit of knitting done tonight which has been on the back burner lately being busy with learning how to get this blog going.
So goodnight
Today I also had to go and inform my bank and the credit bureau that personal information and banking information has been stolen from my place of work. This affects thousands of workers and is going to be long term! I hope they catch the theives, but we will never know if the data they stole has been passed on or copied or sold and if not now it could be compromised in years to come. This really does bring into focus just how vulnerable we have become with the digital age.
Oh well enough about that - my dad is home from hospital and hopefully on the road to a good recovery. Mum has started chemo, but has had to stop because of a problem with her blood? Dont know what that means but I think I will phone and talk to them on the weekend.
I now have arrangements in place to go over to Vancouver to the Motorcycle show. Woo hoo a new Kiwi Adventure!! This is my first time to do something like this. I will be going with 6 other people and we are all a little crazy about motorbikes. We are car pooling which is great because it makes it totally affordable to go. I am looking forward to seeing all the bikes there, hopefully being able to sit on them and finally really test out the bikes for size and maybe choose my dream bike and the practical bike that I will be able to get next.
I will certainly be posting from the motorcyle show some blogs and some photos. First though I do have to go and upgrade my cell phone and plan to be able to do this on the go.
Well time to get a bit of knitting done tonight which has been on the back burner lately being busy with learning how to get this blog going.
So goodnight
Monday, 9 January 2012
Mondays....isnt it friday yet!
Well today was a pretty good day to ride to work, slept in a bit and left for work a little later which led to a ride with more light. With all the riding I have been doing lately, I am realizing more and more how often and how many people do in fact drive with undue care and diligence. In fact now there are even more things to distract drivers. And really, this new found awareness is only because I took up riding. Being vulnerable brings about awareness.
The motorcycling really came about because of a life changing event that happened to me which led to me meeting new people. One special person took me out for a ride on the back of his bike, and I was absolutely hooked! From that moment on I had a strong desire to get my license and my own motorbike. I have always believed that if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen. So I did. I cant tell you how excited I was when I booked my motorcycle riding lessons through Vancouver Island Safety Council here in Victoria. Well actually some people could because they never stopped hearing about it from me! lol
Booking those lessons was the first thing I have done for myself in so many years that I couldnt remember the last time I did. It was the beginning of my motorcycle adventures that this kiwi has started.
With the motorcycling came another passion I found I have and that is to promote safety on the roads for motorcycle riders and in fact all motorists whether they are on bikes, scooters, bicycles, cars or trucks etc..... just ensure all roads are always being maintained and updated to protect all motorists where and whenever possible.
Im still not sure where my blog is going, but as I am a person who tends to be forever looking for ways to makes things better, to help people, I hope that my blog doesnt get boring! haha
But I do have to say that I have come by my love of riding honestly. I did ride a scooter when I was in my teen years, then didnt do it again, although all 3 brothers took up riding, which in turn came from a dad who was a mechanic, built his own racing cars and raced on the speedway circut for many years. He also took up a love of motorcycles and road for many years. Over the years, one brother had a motorcycle accident when he was trail riding, went over the handle bars and broke his neck, he was a paraplegic at age 22. The other two brothers were in a head on collision on their way to a motocross event they were competing in, one brother died. My dad himself was T Boned by a car who just pulled out without looking. My dads neck was broken and he spent many months in a halo, then months of therapy, but he still went back to riding again when he was cleared, only to lose his sight. So these events are what make me want to ride....yes I said want to ride, but also make me want to do all that I can to make roads as safe as we can so that all motorists and passengers can be as safe as possible.
The Malahat needs barriers because they WILL SAVE LIVES.
Ok enough ranting from me for the night.....I think I have to invest in a new cell phone so I can post during the day as things pop into my mind.
Well over and out and goodnight :)
The motorcycling really came about because of a life changing event that happened to me which led to me meeting new people. One special person took me out for a ride on the back of his bike, and I was absolutely hooked! From that moment on I had a strong desire to get my license and my own motorbike. I have always believed that if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen. So I did. I cant tell you how excited I was when I booked my motorcycle riding lessons through Vancouver Island Safety Council here in Victoria. Well actually some people could because they never stopped hearing about it from me! lol
Booking those lessons was the first thing I have done for myself in so many years that I couldnt remember the last time I did. It was the beginning of my motorcycle adventures that this kiwi has started.
With the motorcycling came another passion I found I have and that is to promote safety on the roads for motorcycle riders and in fact all motorists whether they are on bikes, scooters, bicycles, cars or trucks etc..... just ensure all roads are always being maintained and updated to protect all motorists where and whenever possible.
Im still not sure where my blog is going, but as I am a person who tends to be forever looking for ways to makes things better, to help people, I hope that my blog doesnt get boring! haha
But I do have to say that I have come by my love of riding honestly. I did ride a scooter when I was in my teen years, then didnt do it again, although all 3 brothers took up riding, which in turn came from a dad who was a mechanic, built his own racing cars and raced on the speedway circut for many years. He also took up a love of motorcycles and road for many years. Over the years, one brother had a motorcycle accident when he was trail riding, went over the handle bars and broke his neck, he was a paraplegic at age 22. The other two brothers were in a head on collision on their way to a motocross event they were competing in, one brother died. My dad himself was T Boned by a car who just pulled out without looking. My dads neck was broken and he spent many months in a halo, then months of therapy, but he still went back to riding again when he was cleared, only to lose his sight. So these events are what make me want to ride....yes I said want to ride, but also make me want to do all that I can to make roads as safe as we can so that all motorists and passengers can be as safe as possible.
The Malahat needs barriers because they WILL SAVE LIVES.
Ok enough ranting from me for the night.....I think I have to invest in a new cell phone so I can post during the day as things pop into my mind.
Well over and out and goodnight :)
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Tested the new Pressure washer
I just finished spending 3 hrs outside with my lovely bike and the new Pressure washer. Lets see 1 hour figuring out how to assemble and use the pressure washer, 2 hours washing, soaping, washing, rinsing, rinsing again, drying and waxing the bike. I am absolutely dirty and the bike is sparkly clean. I still havent settled on a good name for my bike! I had thought of Indy, for Independance! My first bike and my first real thing I have done for myself. But it just doesnt seem to fit. My bike is for sure a girl.....but what is her name??
Motorcycle adventures
My next adventure might be over to Vancouver to the motorcycle show. There is wonderful sessions all about woman riders and their adventures!
http://www.vancouvermotorcycleshow.ca/saturday_she_rides_nite_and_she_rides_grand_prize/
http://www.vancouvermotorcycleshow.ca/saturday_she_rides_nite_and_she_rides_grand_prize/
A little more about me
Goodmorning - well I woke up way too early for a sunday, but of course what did I do instead of rolling over and going back to sleep? I turned on the computer. I was excited about my blog that I started last night with my new and dear friend scootermayhem.blogspot.com. We got my blog started and then chatted the night away. We have even started our own new riding group for mature woman! haha I can see that the two of us are going to be a force to reckon with - so look out Victoria.
So now that I have done my first blog last night, I guess you can see the way I think about rider safety. You will no doubt hear more about this as time goes on.
I should have introduced myself before I got into my little rant about what I encounter when out riding. But the rant was ready first......haha.
I am a fairly new rider, but have already been riding to work everyday so far through the winter....thank goodness its been a mild winter so far. Have been clocking as many kms as I can to get as much experience as possible before the summer arrives. Then the real riding will begin and you will never find me at home. A little more about me, I have 3 wonderful kids and 2 grandkids, my grand daughter is 5 months old and my grandson is 6 yrs old.
Well I think I might just go back to sleep for a little longer then get up and clean and polish my bike - she has been neglected for a while since I leave for work in the dark and get home in the dark. Then after that I might just go look at a new cell phone. One that I can blog and tweet and fb from on the go! Then a ride!! Will tell you more as the day goes on!
So now that I have done my first blog last night, I guess you can see the way I think about rider safety. You will no doubt hear more about this as time goes on.
I should have introduced myself before I got into my little rant about what I encounter when out riding. But the rant was ready first......haha.
I am a fairly new rider, but have already been riding to work everyday so far through the winter....thank goodness its been a mild winter so far. Have been clocking as many kms as I can to get as much experience as possible before the summer arrives. Then the real riding will begin and you will never find me at home. A little more about me, I have 3 wonderful kids and 2 grandkids, my grand daughter is 5 months old and my grandson is 6 yrs old.
Do you see me now??
Were you the driver of the red PT Cruiser?
Happy new year! I thought that today I would head out for a new years day ride on my motorbike. After getting my bike ready, I completed all the safety checks I was taught in my riding classes I took with the Vancouver Island Safety Council. I then got on all my riding safety gear and lastly putting on my bright neon yellow riding vest to ensure that I would most definitely be seen, I headed out around 2pm on a very clear day with no visability problems on my bike. I pulled out onto the road and less than half a kilometer from my house heading down a hill, I was approaching a road on my right that had a yield. As I was riding down the hill I noticed a red PT Cruiser/vehicle coming up to the yield sign on my right, I watched him slow down, I prepared in case you pulled out in front of me, something we were taught in the classes to do, and of course once I was right there, you did! So now to the driver of that red PT Cruiser/vehicle why did you not yield to me, why didn't you see me with my headlight on high beam, my bright neon yellow riding vest coming right down the hill towards you, why did you pull out in front of me? Today was my lucky day, lucky because the truck coming towards me in the opposite direction gave me enough room so that when I swerved around you crossing the centre line, that I didnt get hit head on. Do you not know what a yield sign means? Did you know that a cyclist was killed there a few years ago because another driver did exactly what you did to me today? Did you know that I have 3 kids, 2 grandchildren and many family and friends that would miss me if you had indeed hit me - because it would not have been a very positive outcome if in fact you had hit me. And did you know that today was YOUR lucky day too? Lucky because if you had hit me - you would have been at fault, you would have had to live with what you could have done to me today.
Did you know that I am one of the people that is trying to make the roads a safer place? Safer from the inattentive, irresponsible drivers like you!
Thanks to the training I have received from the Vancouver Island Safety Council and advice from many experienced riders I know, I survived to write this letter. I was taught to be a defensive rider and driver and today I put all that training to use. I hope to goodness that you had the living daylights scared out of you when you suddenly noticed me beside you inches from your drivers door, that you will remember this incident each and every time you drive from now on, remember how lucky YOU were today to have not killed someone. I just wish that I was able to have seen your license plate number so I could have called you into the police and reported you. Maybe one of the vehicles following behind me did, maybe they reported you! So in conclusion to the driver of the red vehicle, make what happened today your new years resolution to be a safer driver from now on.
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