Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Love Your Officers' Meeting

 Hello! Tonight's meeting is being held slightly farther south in Clintonville, due to our typical Panera Bread location being already spoken for.  Global Gallery is located at 3535 North High Street, which is just north of North Broadway and on the west side of N. High. (At the intersection of North High and Dunedin.)

Why the short notice? Because, frankly, the officers are a little tired. Leading an amorphous and diverse group takes energy, and the only reward we get for our efforts is job satisfaction. There hasn't been a lot of that this summer. Margaret was the one assigned to posting this blog, and truthfully, I wasn't sure what to say or how to say it.  At first, I thought, we'll do the end-of-year sort of "how do you think we're doing and what do you want from BSLR?" Then I realized that four voices weren't necessarily being heard that way, and it was precisely the four that end up trying to organize and sort out what goes on in our group. Maybe we're trying too hard? We don't know. But we've been thinking about it and talking among ourselves about it, and if you want to hear what we're thinking and feeling, then meet us tonight at the Global Gallery. The menu isn't nearly as robust as at Panera's, but the chai is exceptionally good! We reserved the back room from 7-9 pm--their schedule is a little different than Panera's.  Rose and I will be there by 6, as we have some picture swapping to do, and you are welcome to hang out.  If you don't like their food choices, there are a few places up and down High Street where you can get something and bring it in.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Ride to Stockport Mill!

This will be cool, no matter what the temperature! This Saturday we ride to Stockport Mill, a working water-driven mill that provides its own electricity to the restaurant on the premises. It's quite a story, actively grinding wheat and making electricity until 1997, changing hands through time, then after a lengthy restoration--just a couple of folks passing through town on their Harleys--it returned to powering turbines in 2006.

A lovely ride, of about 2 hours, just outside of Wayne National Forest, gets us there in time for lunch and meandering. Departure is from Motohio, with kickstands up at 9:00 AM!

The route is available in the link above, and as you can see, one doesn't have to go back the way one arrived. You can ride back on your own at any time, or with the group. In fact, if you can't make  the KSU time, you are welcome to find your way there later. Fun and flexible, with food! (The 3 most important aspects of any ride. ;)

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012



 My favorite rock and roll band The Who,  couldn't have said it better..... There ain't no cure for the summer time blues........!   The dog days of summer are extra hot this year,  I hope everyone is having a fun and safe summer and staying cool as best you can.


     Whew!  The past few weeks have been packed full of things going on;  riding with the girls to the WOW National Convention in Greenville,  S. C. was a blast and a road trip not soon to be forgotten.    Margaret, Rose, Dee and Maggie are on their way home from  Carson City, Nevada and the AMA Women's Motorcyclist Convention. I cannot wait to hear about their ride and all the adventures they've had. Traveling on the motorcycle in the extreme heat our country has been having takes some planning to be somewhat comfortable.  I know it was pretty tough riding through North Carolina and South Carolina in 100-105 degree heat and those girls have been riding through it for 14 days! 


  There are plenty of rides going on in the month of August.  On Saturday, August 11th, we have planned a ride with Cathy Bisset planning the route. More on this soon but she said it will be an all day ride to eastern Ohio.  Put it on your calendar! There are many new members who we've not had the opportunity to ride together so I hope some of you newbies will be able to make this ride.
On September 2,  our president of WOW,  Sue Frish  wants all of the WOW women to celebrate 30 Years of WOW by taking a ride together or next best thing, riding with your chapter! We will start planning a ride for this great milestone for women in the sport of Motorcycling.  Carol has expressed interest in taking a weekend ride in the fall, anyone interested? I am!


 That's all for now.
More soon!  I wanted to keep in touch with everyone and let everyone  know to stay cool and ride safe!
Also, don't forget to check your last issue of Women On Wheels to vote for our future Trustees. Christine has been putting in lots of time for our club and wants to remind all of you to VOTE!


your wind sister,
Dru Pritchard






Tuesday, June 26, 2012

About Tonight's Meeting





In life, as in riding, adaptability is a requirement! We are not the only ones to discover the delights of using Panera's community rooms, and someone else out-reserved us for our usual Clintonville location. Our fallback location, up in Dublin, is available, so that is where tonight's location will be. To repeat:


Tonight's meeting will be held at

6665 Perimeter Loop Road

Dublin, OH



We realize this is not convenient for many of you, and we apologize. (Its location may be why it was available.) We originally thought we could move our meetings to Eurobike Night in Grandview Heights, but that is tough to negotiate, parking wise, and getting table space can be tricky, too. Hmm. I sense a theme here-- that popularity has its drawbacks, sitewise, at least!


We will try to do better about scouting out more central locations. Panera Bread will likely continue to be a favorite, though, since has good space and good food.


Despite the change, we hope you will be able to make it to tonight's meeting. We will be discussing general standards for group riding--culling through resources and reviewing what we think should be our own standard for the Buckeye State Lady Riders.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

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.

Monday, June 4, 2012

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.



Wednesday, May 30, 2012

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.)

Friday, May 18, 2012

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.......