Lets Ride!!!

This Saturday, April 9th we are heading down to Motor Sports of Dayton for the Victory demo rides and the Bike and Safety day.  We will be meeting at the Meijer (close to the gas pumps, it is a large parking lot) on 665, the address is 2859 London Groveport Road,  Grove City, OH 43123-9035.  Take off time at 10:00 sharp.   Plans are to take back roads, with travel time being 2 hrs to get there.  We will plan to head for  home around 5:00.
Thanks to Rosemarie for making the plans. 


Please let us know if you are going to join us by emailing ridecoordinatorbslr@gmail.com.  

Quick! Grab a Pen!

Tomorrow is April 1st, which is not only April Fool's Day, but it is also the start of the Women On Wheels® Annual Mileage Contest. You don't have to mail anything in yet, just write down your odometer mileage tomorrow, or at least before your next ride. (Unless you are Christine, then yes, you have to wait until tomorrow.) You can download the necessary form at this address.  The form is also in the March/April edition of the WOW National magazine. Lastly, you can take the needed information and send it off in an email. The starting mileage form must be postmarked by (get this!!) no later than August 30th! So all you really gotta do tomorrow is go out and note your mileage.

All of this information, and more, is available at the address provide in the link above. Apparently, there is also a state category of total miles ridden. Let's do our part; go Buckeyes!

Why I Have Deadlines

Al-righty then! When last we visited our superheros, the Buckeye State Lady Riders, they were whooping it up at the Panera Bread in Clintonville. A whole lot of dates and papers were passed about, fun and food was had, and  one of those co-directors (yeah, that'd be Margaret) promised to email copies of some of those rides out to the interested parties. "If you haven't heard from me in a week," she said, "email me."

The week is up today. My mother, if she knew, would have predicted that it would be done not a moment too soon. But, it is done. The following ride postings/schedules/info were emailed today:

• The WLR tentative schedule for 2011
• The WOW weekend flyer
• The Croozapalooza flyer
• The Bolton Field/Motohio Dinner Ride schedule

If you thought you were going to get one of these and have not received it, email me! If your name was on the bottom of the paper schedule, I sent it to the email address I have on file.  If you are seeking information on a ride that was discussed, but it isn't on the above list, email me!  Also, if you have a fool-proof warm weather-inducing dance, voodoo charm, a chant, or special prayer, then email that to me, I will forward it to the rest of the group (possibly the rest of the world), and maybe Spring will put in a more lasting appearance!

Oh, Bologna!

Well, our first ride of the season went without a hitch! Once we got going, of course. There were some meet-up snafus--at first it looked to be just Susan and I. However, once we got those taken care of, it was the four of us, the sunshine, and the wind. Oh, yeah, there was wind, and it takes a bit of getting used to. Tracing the west side of the Scioto River, we saw puppies, toyed with a roundabout, easily swerved past a four-wheeled obstacle, and swooped the occasional curve on our way to fried bologna at the G&R Tavern.

Personally, I find homemade, half-inch fried bologna to be . . . well . . . bologna.  I took a nibble, courtesy of a generous chapter member, and was satisfied with my selection: the chicken sandwich.  The pie was another matter. The PIE! OH, THE PIE! A giant wedge of creamy peanut buttery goodness heaped high, then topped even higher with whipped cream. There was a crust under there somewhere, but we had to work to find it.  One serving was quite enough for three riders, with another mostly abstaining. (Something about struggling into her chaps.)

We had planned to alter the return trip, crossing Rte 23 and heading toward Alum Creek, but the High Water! signs meant business. (That's not always true, btw. Just throwing that out there so Christine and Rosemarie don't think I'm utterly reckless.) Instead, we trekked back toward the Scioto, taking Rte 203 and Section Line Rd, then followed the east side of the river back to Dublin.  The temperatures were beginning to cool, the sun was thinking about leaving the sky, and it was time for home.

Hope you all make the next one.

Margaret

Roulette Details

Here are the details for the ride to G&R Tavern this Saturday:

We will meet at the UDF in front of Tuttle Mall, on Tuttle Crossing Boulevard. You can empty your bladder and fill up your gas tank there, but KICKSTANDS UP at 2:OO sharp! The route is straightforward, nothing tricky. Should high water close some of our road--we head up toward Prospect--there are alternate routes readily available.

If you are thinking you might attend , please email me at columbus.wow@gmail.com. I will send you my phone number--I don't want to put it out in the public sites. Then, come Saturday, call or text me and let me know whether you are definitely going or not.  I am perfectly happy to ride in a bit of rain or cool temps, but I am not interested in sitting around waiting at the gas station for people who aren't gonna be there! If you are "circumstance-dependant"--meaning you will ride if the temperature makes it to a certain number, or if there is absolutely no chance of rain, or if it is at least dry to start out with--please don't leave it to me to interpret which factors are in place for your decision. You decide, then let me know. Whatever you decide is good, but I can't know what each person's deciding factors are, and I would hate to assume someone wasn't coming when, after all, they were.  I would also hate hanging out at a gas station because, after all, they weren't. :)

Having said all that: the Rumble Pack was amazed we are even going to try to ride. (Sometimes, bragging rights are a little fun.)  Rock on, Buckeye State Lady Riders!

Fried Bologna Roulette

Well, it's nearly here--the Roulette Ride, that is--and the weather wheel is still spinning. (Okay, 'bout done milking that metaphor.) Current forecasts are calling for a high temperature of about mid-40's, but no precipitation. Some of us will find that doable, others will consider it ghastly and no fun whatsoever.

Either category is fine, by the way. But if you are hoping to ride on Saturday, then it would probably be the better part of wisdom to not make Saturday the first time you've ridden the bike this season! Maybe not even the second, if you feel your skill set is rusty and in need of polish.

We do hope to have some Parking Lot Practice, and soon, but, as you may have noticed, the weather has not cooperated on the weekends.  I will email those who expressed interest in doing PLP when a good weekend looks likely. Conversely, feel free to email me if you think there is a good weekend ahead and I haven't sent anything out.

There are a couple of things regarding the G&R Tavern. One is that they are cash or check only. That's another way of saying NO CREDIT OR DEBIT!  Another  is that they are usually out-the-door on Saturdays around lunchtime. It was suggested to me that if we want to sit down, we should arrive by 11:00 am, or after 3:00 pm. Also, while they don't take reservations, they appreciate a heads-up when a large party is coming.

I am thinking we should aim to get there after 3:00 pm, as the temperature is rarely warm in the mornings. More details will follow, though, so keep checking back.

Ride on, ride safe!
Margaret

A Ride that Dreams Are Made Of. (maybe)

Genevieve Schmitt, editor/creator of WomenRidersNow, an online women's motorcyclist magazine, just sent this out:

Several All-Women Motorcycle Tours Taking Place This Year

Now taking reservations to exotic destinations

India? The Himalayas? Timur? (where?) Makes an all-women tour of Alaska sound downright . . . tame!  However, these are all possibilities for some serious touring, if you're interested. This year is definitely out for me, but maybe in a year or two.  I can dream, anyway!

And that's what this tidbit is for: dreaming. Especially in wintertime. It may be more than you want right now, or ever, but just know the possibility is out there.

Cheers!

--Margaret

Hooray for Ice Melt!

Okay, it is still February, and the meteorologists promise that this break in the weather won't last. But, still, the weather finally turned in our favor, if only for a little while. This caused jubilation for the women at last night's General Meeting of the Buckeye State Lady Riders, and we have gone ahead and scheduled our first ride: March 12, to G&R Tavern in Waldo, OH. (Guess we should tell them we're coming, huh?) The departure site and time have not yet been figured out, and we didn't nickname this the Roulette Ride for nothing--the weather can be mighty chancey this time of year. But the opportunity for a group descent upon the best fried bologna in Ohio is not to be overlooked, and there is also some mighty fine pie to consider.

We had a good time last night, except that some of us were hungry, and Stauf's is a coffee shop with an emphasis on the coffee. BSLR has procured the community room at the Clintonville Panera Bread (4519 North High St)  for the next four months, and has changed the meeting date to the fourth Tuesday of each month. The time will remain the same, from 6:00PM to 8:00 PM (or whenever, but the officers are determined that the agenda will be finished by 8 PM at the very latest.)

Highlights of the meeting were: lots of great and friendly women, information on various WOW chapter events in the month of June, the merits of Parking Lot Practice and plans to implement it, local dinner rides and bike nights, and reviewing the best ways to get information out to our members about all of the above. The Facebook Fan Page and the Blogsite are the most used and the most effective, so look to these for your most current updates and musings. We'd like to fine-tune how these are working, so please use the "Comments" section in each, and if they don't seem to work for you, email us.

Looking forward to March 12!!