These moments are the hardest. For those of you who do not follow Facebook, this is to inform you that on Sunday, June 10th, Janet Balsamo, the Chapter Director of one of our sister chapters, died after a motorcycle crash while out riding with fellow Wright Lady Riders. 


Our hearts go out to all of Janet's family and friends, and especially to her fellow WOW members. Buckeye State Lady Riders should check their email for information on the visitation and funeral.

Quilt Barns and Labor-Saving Opportunities

A few topics of interest to, um, interest you. One, the quilt barn ride is this weekend. We leave from Motohio European Motorbikes at 9:00 AM.  This will be a fairly lengthy ride, but there will be points near major roads for those that have to return early. We will be hunting down quilt barns in Athens county. There are several down there, and in the Athens area, there are always fun ways to get from one place to another. 


Rumble Pack, the Cleveland area chapter of Women On Wheels®, is again hosting a WOW-Ohio weekend, but the date has been moved to Labor Day weekend, and it technically won't be a WOW weekend, as they are extending the invitation to several other women's motorcycling groups in Ohio. It is now called Lakeside Madness (scroll down to get to the information, note also that there is another link to click on to get the registration form.) There is/was some confusion about who got the email. It sounded at first as though they were emailing it out to individuals, but they had gotten a fair amount of bounceback, so they have asked the chapters to get the word out. The.  Word. Is. Out.


Ah, the Alpha Ohio Ride. So quickly launched, so quickly obtained. Yes, Dee and Maggie have completed the alphabet. They will have to fight amongst themselves over who gets first and who gets second. However, do not despair, oh fellow riders! Some of us are still up for the challenge of completion, and there will be consolation prizes forthcoming for  at least the next four top finishers. 


A word of note: Margaret, as you may all know, is a strong gear advocate. Of late, we have had two members go down with their bikes. One member's bike was hurt worse than she was, for another, it may be a draw. Both of those members had gear that took the brunt of the impact. Remember, you can't go back and put it on afterward. Okay, Margaret is s-l-o-w-l-y climbing off her soapbox.

The ABC's of the Alpha Ride, now available online!

    Most of you already have your copy of the rules for the Alpha Ohio Ride, but I have posted them here for easy access. I also dressed them up a bit and highlighted some important bits. Has anyone else not started yet, except for Margaret? (She's hoping to come on strong any day now, and slay a whole bunch of towns.  Hmmm. . . it is nice weather today . . . 

Alpha Ohio Ride

Start date: April 24, 2012

End date: September 25, 2012

• You need to get an album of photos of city signs or villages within Ohio, and they need to be taken in alphabetical order. Ride to the city/village of your choice, take a picture of your bike and the city sign with date and time on your picture. If the city sign is too difficult or dangerous to access, find a library or post office with the city name on it and get that picture.  We are not going to be terribly picky about your bike--having enough of it in there so that it is identifiable as yours will be fine.
• Needs to be in booklet form if printed or on computer in a presentable format. We can then transfer the data from your computer via SD card or USB drive
• They have to be in alphabetical order and date order. 
• It is the first letter of the city that counts. For example, 'New Holland" is N (not H).
• Date and time stamp needs to be on photo. Usually, there is an internal date/time stamp on digital cameras (as with phone cameras), but if you can program it so that it is on the outside (i.e., visible in the photo), that will be much easier for us to sort out.
• We will be using the Motorcycle Ohio map to determine if an area is a city or village. It cannot be unincorporated, such as Clintonville. 
• The first BSLR member to complete the entire alphabet correctly wins first place. The second person will get second place. (Tricky bit, that, but if you re-read it carefully, it makes sense. ;)
• When you have completed the alphabet, contact one of the officers as soon as possible.
• The end date is Sept 25. If no one completes it by then, whomever has made it farthest down the alphabet will be the winner. (And, the second most will be--guess!!--second place!)
• First place prize will be a $30 Visa gift card or gas card!
• Second place prize is a $20 Visa gift card or gas card!
• The purpose of this is to have fun, but please use good judgement and be safe when obtaining your goals. (Winning $30 dollars won't seem like much if you have to get dents hammered out of your bike because it tipped over on a dodgy roadside.)

No Time To Be Bored!


What beautiful weather we have had here in central Ohio.  Just wanted to remind everyone that to be sure to keep up with all the riding opportunities, check the calendar often.


1.  Saturday May 19th  Thunder Alley at Race for the Cure.   Leaving AD Farrow at 7am.  Meet at                      Chestnut and High st..
     adfarrow.com/event


2.  Alpha OHIO contest. What letter are you on? What, haven't started yet? Get out and ride!!!


3. MOTOHIO open house this weekend. Demo rides, talk with Annie and see all that Motohio has to   
    offer. They are a sponsor for Women On Wheels, Buckeye State Lady Riders.


4.  This isn't until September but make plans now to ride and celebrate WOW's 30th anniversary.
     Sunday September 2, 2012 in Massachusetts. 


5.  Sunday, May 20th, R.A.D. and Gatsby's Poker Run. See the calendar for details.


6.  Ohio Bike Week is coming up the first week in June. Anyone want to go? 








 2 weeks ago when Cathy, Rosemarie, Debbie and I were on our way to Napolean, we were caught in a real downpour on a two lane freeway.  A few scary moments as we were adjusting helmet shields while semi trucks were whizzing by in blinding rain. But these are teaching moments too. Fine tune your skills and gear so you can ride safely and comfortably in all conditions. 
P.S. Ask Debbie or the other girls about the fashion show.......

Yes, today!! Ride to Portsmouth!

Today is the Portsmouth ride! Looks like beyoooootiful weather, so get up and go!! We meet at Independent Motorsports at 9 AM!

This will be a fun ride, for those of you (unlike Dru and I) who can make it. A lovely, meandering route planned by the effervescent Maggie that takes us down to the Portsmouth murals.

Have fun, take many pics, and tell us all about it!

~~Margaret

When You Check the Calendar

...here on the blog site, you have to actually click on the entry to notice things like, say, that THE GREENVILLE PLANNING MEETING FOR SATURDAY IS POSTPONED. Many who wanted to attend are unable to attend, for a variety of reasons.  Stay tuned for the reschedule date, and thank you!

(Still on for tomorrow's photo ride, though!)

Photo-Op Next Friday!!

Okay, ladies, don't forget! Next Friday, May 4th, is International Female Ride Day, and WOW hosts a photo contest--the winner to be announced at the Ride-In this July. The photo above is our entry from last year.

This year, we'd like it to include as many hard-working members as we can, so the photo will be somewhat later. It will also be somewhat closer. We will meet at 5:45 PM near Tuttle Mall, at the United Dairy Farmers located on the corner of Tuttle Crossing and Bradenton Ave. We will leave there by 6:00 and be at the photo shoot by, oh,  6:05.  I hope the light will be good enough, and that Debbie Drake will be on hand with her photo wisdom to make it all good.

Traffic is always a treasure, so if you can't meet up at the gas station, you can still meet us at the Field of Corn itself. The actual photo shoot will be at the corner of Franz and Rings roads, at the concrete cornfield sometimes referred to as "Corn Henge." Entry is on the south side of Franz Road. Here's what you're looking for:

The photo itself will take more time and patience than you likely expect, so please bear with me while I try to put it together. Afterward, we will ride up to Olde Dublin for sustenance.

Hope to see you there!

~~Margaret

Stop in and say "Hi!

Don't forget that on Saturday, March 31st (tomorrow, as a matter of fact! Don't let it be said that we give you too much advance notice. ;)
several of your fellow Buckeye State Lady Riders will be (wo)manning a booth at Independent Motorsports Recruitment Fair.

There will be a slide show (nobody knows about it except Margaret, until they read this...) of pix from past rides, also balloons, brochures, and, quite probably, brownies.

Even if you aren't hosting at the table, please stop by and say hello to us, and possibly gush enthusiasm at whomever is passing by at that moment.

Cheers!
~~Margaret