#10 #29in29

Today I am reaching for a photo for our blog challenge.  I have been in bed for 2 days straight and not feeling any inclination to go out and find pictures.  You have to know I am not feeling good if I don't want to venture out on Scarlett or Vixen.  This was shot was in a barrel suspended 50 ft off the ground in an aerial obstacle course with zip lines.  It was very challenging to make it through the course and took us about 2 hours.  You get quite the work out and if you are afraid of heights don't even contemplate doing the Monkido course at the Bungy Zone.

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#9 #29in29 Wiarton Willie may be right! Love that rodent!

Dare I even believe my eyes?!  Those would be buds waiting to blossom into springtime loveliness!

The Canadian groundhog Wiarton Willie of Wiarton, Ontario is predicting an early spring.  He is at odds with his American cousin Puxsutawney Phil who retreated back into his burrow, which could mean another 6 weeks of winter if you trust the shifty little bugger.  Okay its a cute idea, but really people why would you trust a rodent with long yellow teeth, who would probably rip your hand off if you shoved said hand into his burrow to yank the smelly little beastie from his winter sleep? Motorcycle Man tells me that I am down right snarkificious if you wake me up from my slumbering.  I am usually not very friendly until I have at least 1 cup of the demon bean to get me going.  (I actually thought I was a ray of morning sunshine, but those around me say NOPE)

What if Puxsatawney Phil was just a lazy wanting to sleep-in type groundhog OR he was tired from a big ground hog party the night before and too many shots of tequila?  I wonder if they are mistaking his retreat as a groundhog hangover and him being in dire need of a cup of the demon bean?  You just never know. (I am taking cold medicine, this could explain the randomness of the post - or not.  Humming the Benylin song to myself as I write this)

                              My Demon Bean of choice Fernwood Coffee Strongback blend

I think I will side with Wiarton Willie he seems to be a bit more optimistic and got up on the right side of the burrow.  Early Spring - Yeah Baby! See ya on the road tearing up the twisties!

    For those of you who live on Vancouver Island, this is the end of the Twisties in East Sooke.  

This picture was taken just after my first experience riding twisties with Motorcycle Man - LOVED IT

#9 #29in29 Picture blog challenge created by FuzzyGalore, click the link to see her blog posts & pics.

#8 #29in29 Caution Don't feed the animals......

      CAUTION DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS......


This is where Scarlett and Vixen reside while I am up being a productive human and earning money to pay for them.


#29in29   FuzzyGalore a girlie motorcycle blog!

#7 #29in29 Man Cold - Where the HELL IS PAM?!!

My cure for the MAN cold, hot toddy, couple of squirts of oil of oregano, vitamin C and garlic.  -
I'm heavily learning towards the hot toddy or a few of them........

Most of you who follow my blog know I have caught the MAN COLD.  Yup it's full blown man cold leaving me with a 1,000 pound nose and foggy head.  Last night I tried one hot toddy and tonight I think I might have two.  According to Motorcycle Man I was annoying him all night long because I was snoring.   I know I was snoring, my nose feels like someone has stuffed two socks up each nostril and wanted to see how funny I sound when I am sleeping.  My theory of the hot toddy is that it was an old time cure because heck they didn't have anything else and if you had a couple of these babies you really didn't give a rip that your head felt like it was going to explode off your shoulders.  So my question is WHERE THE HELL IS PAM?!!!!  She seems to be catering to everyone else's man cold, but not my  (wo)man cold.  

PAM, PAM, CALL MY MOTHER.........

A girl has to have a sense of humor about all of this.........

#29in29 Picture blog challenge FuzzyGalore.com

#6 #29in29 - Man Cold - Just call me PAM *shiver*

Who knows?  ONLY THE SHADOW KNOWS.......

Today I woke up with a fuzzy feeling head because 'the cold bug' has decided to pay me a visit.  I have been diligently washing my hands, almost obsessively actually, since the start of flu season.  There is one nasty influenza virus going around and it has decided to rent a room at my house and we have been dealing with it since January 20th.  My kiddo came down with it and then relapsed.  She required antibiotics and we have gone through 2 cycles and she is still feeling punky.  Now Mr Buggio has decided that Motorcycle Man is an awesome place to live and he has a 'man cold' - think NyQuil commercial and a pathetic sniffling mass of man blob in bed pathetically calling for his wife, "Pam, Pam".  I have been dubbed Pam now and I have heard my name being called from afar.  I have actually been really good to Motorcycle Man, made him soup, buttered him crackers, handed  him tissue, fed him Tylenol and ear thermometered him. All the while reassuring him he is not dying.  Seriously when I am sick I am lucky if I get a cracker thrown at me from the doorway of the bedroom or even a snort of soup.  A cold has to be bad for me to get it, because I am usually too ornery for them to survive in me.  So for now I am temporarily answering to the name 'Pam' - NOT.

                         So here I am diligently sitting at my desk working away & dreaming of twisties

 Off  to work I went  on Scarlett, it was a gloriously sunny day,  one where you wished that you could keep going and go find some twisties to ride for the day.  The sun was brilliant, the air was crisp and it was hard making Scarlett obey my commands.  She is all too willing to go play and keeps calling me from downstairs.  I introduced Miss Scarlett to my Harley & Ducati riding boss and he loved her! After work I met up with Kiwi Deb for a little tootle on the way home.  We are good riding buddies and we are like ying and yang.  It is awesome riding with someone who is well trained and knows how to ride in a group setting.  Hopefully we will do few more after work tootles.  We took the scenic drive home by the ocean and it actually helped to clear some of the fuzzy cold feeling out of my head, so I guess there is nothing better than sea air, it cures what ails you.  I am home now and tucked up for the night and think I am going to call it an early night and may even make a hot toddy to heck with 'Pam and her NyQuil'..............

                                         Miss Scarlett and I on Dallas Road with Deb

                                                          Kiwi Deb on her wee Suzuki DR

FuzzyGalore.com  #29in29 blog challenge

#5 in #29in29

Scarlett in front of Big Blue - Does this pic remind you of another?

I am starting to grow accustomed to my new ride, I have been feeling a little tentative on her.  I am still a new rider and still getting my proverbial motorcycle boots wet.  Yesterday was the first time in two months since I have ridden anything bigger than 50cc and my shifting is a little rusty, but I know it will smooth out with continued riding and more time in the saddle.  It was pretty cool yesterday when I was out riding and pulled up to a light and a girl in a truck beside me leaned way over to look at my bike and then she gave me a thumbs up.  I wonder what the dudes are thinking when they look at me on my bike? Maybe it's; "Hey thats a girl riding that bike, see honey you could do that too."  I remember hearing those very same words out of Motorcycle Man's mouth.  In looking back on it, I think I just didn't feel ready to do it and maybe there was a bit of fear mixed in there.  Actually a whole lot of fear.  It's one thing to be the passenger, but it's a whole different story when you are the one piloting the rocket ship.  

Today I picked up my new riding friend Cindy and we went to visit Kiwi Deb.  It was a beautiful afternoon for a ride and it was very scenic because she lives out in the country.  We had a lovely girlie afternoon sipping Chai Tea and eating goodies. The nicest thing about motorcycling is that you meet the nicest people on 2 wheels.  It is a very friendly community and all are welcome no matter what you ride.  As we were tootling along we passed several other motorcyclists and I have to say giving 'the wave' still gives me a little kick.  I was still feeling a little antsy riding Scarlett and particularly when I am riding with someone, because I still feel like a bike imposter.  I wonder if other new motorcyclists feel the same? I am pretty certain that this feeling will go away at some point.  There are usually two things running through my mind as I am riding 1)  I still can't believe I am doing this!  2)  Holy Hannah is this bike mine?!  I'm still feeling surprised over this gift.  

                                                                             Deb 'Kiwi Deb' Adventure Kiwi blog

After Cindy I parted company, I meant to meander home, but didn't feel quite ready to put Scarlett away.  It was gorgeous and sunny and I was feeling the groove.  I took a quick little side step to down town and down Dallas Road my familiar comfort route.  It's a great route to take because it's 30km/h most of the way.  There are some great sharp turns and lots of stop signs, which gets me used to learning the feel of Scarlett's brakes and how she handles.  You don't always have to be going mach 1 to learn how to handle and manoeuvre your bike. In fact I think if you can master the elementary skills at slow speed and use the friction zone you will be that much better at higher speeds.  I can see plenty of practice in the parking lot coming up and really developing a strong skill set.  I have been mulling over where motorcycling might take me and I think once I get some more experience under my belt I might like to be an instructor.  I actually feel part of the responsibility in riding is sharing your knowledge and role modeling good skills.  So I think my journey may be more than what I had thought in the beginning, which was just a mode of transportation to work, I think it is to share and encourage others to be proficient and artfully skilled riders.  But for now I am content with learning what I need to do and riding in the sunshine with my friends and Motorcycle Man.  BTW did I say how much I like my new bike?!!!  Thanks Motorcycle Man & Moto Daughter for giving me the best present ever !

                                                   Inner Harbour Victoria, BC 

#29in29 picture blog challenge FuzzyGalore.com

#Four #29in29

Scarlett - Our first real ride!

It's February 4th, and a beautifully sunny day.  It was the perfect day for a ride, only thing was I had to get out and get insurance for my beauty.  Most of you know that I was spoiled rotten by Santa and the Elfette.  They bought this gorgeous Honda Shadow VT500C for Christmas.  I only had an hour to ride her when they gave her to me because there was only temporary insurance and it expired on Midnight Christmas Eve.  I did take her for a short rip, but was a little nervous because I wasn't familiar with her and it was dark when we were getting acquainted.  I was a little tentative because I was worried about black ice and other drivers.  We went for a lovely short ride.  I felt extremely sad when I had to put her to bed for the night and until I figured out what I wanted to do about the insurance.  I felt very much like Cinderella leaving her glass slipper at the ball at the stroke of midnight, only my glass slipper was my motorcycle boot.  Santa also gave me a new pair of those too!  

Today was the day, I made up my mind that I was going to insure Scarlett.  After that was accomplished it was time to do a practice session in the parking lot to get acquainted with my new ride.  My insurance for a year with my safe driving discount $868 - ouch.  Motorcycle Man who has been in on my journey from the beginning accompanied me to the lot and helped me go through the paces.  After a little while he said "Come on lets go ride down the highway and I will follow behind you."  He always helps my confidence level soar and makes me feel protected, he is an awesome sweep rider, but today he was following along in the car because he has caught the beastly cold that is going around.  This bike is all that and then some!  She glides down the highway with little effort and her ride is as smooth as silk.  I had her up into 6th gear and IT WAS FRICKEN AMAZING!!!! I have been feeling a little blue this past 2 weeks and I can't tell you how much this lifted my spirits and is the best 'drug' for a sad motorcyclist.  I think if more people rode a motorcycle or scooter there would be more happiness in the world! 

     PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE - You get a little rusty after not riding for awhile.  New bike & New Boots!

PS:  I know I cheated by adding 2 pictures.

If you don't know about FuzzyGalore's picture challenge check out her blog FuzzyGalore.com  It is an awesome girlie motorcycle blog!