Motorcycle Misadventures

One Wear System Motorcycle Jacket

Our quest for the perfect motorcycle jacket never ends. Women Riders Now reports on Marsee Designs "One Wear System" and I can't wait to try it. Rider/product tester Pamela Collins has ridden with it for 5000 miles and says that it takes a rider from the hottest days to chilly ones in extreme comfort with a minimum of bulk. It also has a handy dandy rain shell. Sounds like a good bet for San Francisco Bay Area riders like me, who ride miles in the city's summer fog to cross the Golden Gate Bridge into bright sunshine and hot winds. I pack my Olympia Moto Sports suit for hot weather rides in the southern hemisphere, but for here at home am always looking for a more versatile solution. Check this article out and the rest of Women Riders Now magazine from Genevieve Schmitt.

Save the Internet from Corporate Control

What is this about?
Bloggers Unite! This is about Internet freedom. "Network Neutrality" -- the First Amendment of the Internet -- ensures that the public can view the smallest blog just as easily as the largest corporate Web site by preventing Internet companies like AT&T from rigging the playing field for only the highest-paying sites.
But Internet providers like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are spending millions of dollars lobbying Congress to gut Net Neutrality. If Congress doesn't take action now to implement meaningful network neutrality provisions, the future of the Internet is at risk. More info at http://www.savetheinternet.com/

New Motorcycle Bloggers Awards (MBI)

A couple of months back I joined a motorcycle gang...on the Internet, that is. This new group, Motorcycle Bloggers International (MBI), is an association of bikers around the world who "write and ride," and whose first act has been to create an annual “Riders Choice Awards.”

The group created these awards because we believed that the annual “best of” awards tell only part of the tale of each year’s life in the motorcycling world. The idea is for everyday riders from around the world to recognize noteworthy achievements and lapses of judgement on an international level. Any new motorcycle or related product, service, event or even an action by an individual or organization, can be nominated for the MBI Star or MBI Fallen Star award. Check out the categories for 2006, among them:

- Standing ovation - for best contribution to motorcycling
- Object of lust - for the motorcycle we most want but can’t afford
- Wish we'd thought of that - for the most innovative or interesting new product
- What were they thinking? - for the least useful or practical new product
- Ugliest new bike - for the motorcycle we love to hate

There's more...you can see all the nominees and winners on the site.

Because this is our first year, the charter group of bloggers performed both roles as nominators and judges. However, we want to open up the process to the greater motorcycling public for the 2007 awards and are working out the process now. Currently, we have members around the world in ten countries. If writing and riding is what you do, too, let us know. Membership is open to anyone who maintains an active motorcycle related blog or news site. No dues or hoops to jump through--so join us join us and help prepare for the 2007 awards. If you are a rider, but not a writer, just stay tuned to the site, my blog (subscribe via the RSS feed using Bloglines or another RSS reader) or the blogs of the other members for information about how you will be able to vote for the 2007 awards.

Leave a comment: tell us what you think of this idea, ask questions or offer suggestions for future awards or the awards process.