Women in the Wind Tulsa Newsletter
(Reformatted for the web)

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Twisted Times

A Twisted Sisters Publication – June 2008
www.witwtwistedsisters.com

American Hero Ride Summary by Skippy

The whole Hero Ride adventure weekend was a blast as usual. Road Dogging w/Sprout and the Guard Dogs was an adventure in itself and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I only ALMOST got hit one time in Little Rock during the whole trip which puckered me up pretty good. Scout even saw it and was a little concerned that his "toy" was going to be hurt!!! LOL!!! Nice to know he cared!!! Other than that and a little incident that Kit (Pres. Guard Dogs) had with about 5 OK Highway Patrol, things went smoothly. It really was an honor to be asked to participate in that capacity with the Guard Dogs and think some of those riders were a little shocked to see Sprout and I (mere girls) hauling ass by the group, weaving in and out of traffic, stopping semis and doing a little shoulder driving to get back to the front for two days of riding. I even wore my helmet for the entire two days of riding to Memphis. Just sort of felt like a helmet wearing kind of ride for me!!!!!

Friday night in Little Rock the party ended up back in Tazer, Grenade, Scout and my room!!! We unofficially hosted the Guard Dogs along w/many Sisters! It was a good time had by all and some exciting new developments came as a result of this little get together but I will let Sprout share that story!!!! Needless to say, the Guard Dogs now probably think we are even WAY COOLER than they originally thought we are if that is possible!!!

As always it was good to get to the Memphis VA hospital and see the veterans. Several were the same we have seen for the last 2 years and could tell they appreciated our being there. We got to present the VA Staff with our donation along with the Eagles Nest and Ron's and that was exciting!!!! You all should be proud of what we accomplished for our 1st solo fundraising endeavor!!!! Good job ladies!!! Several bikers came up to me right after we presented our donation and told me what a great job we did. The woman now in charge of the recreational stuff at the VA got very choked up after the donations were made b/c every little bit makes a difference in these soldiers stay at the hospital.

The whole Hero Ride trip is quite an experience and am honored that we have been a part of it now for so many years!!! Our group's participation is noticed and appreciated tremendously and once again you all have made me very proud to be a Twisted Sister.

Sidenote:::::One of the Guard Dogs (Wire) asked how we (TS) get such good turnout/participation for this event as well as others that we do? Interesting question, and I laughingly told him that it really is simple.....we are a group, here to ride and support the causes we feel strongly about as well as that I as the President plain and simply EXPECT a lot from you all!!! We have set the bar extremely high in the Tulsa area as to participation and with that comes a responsibility to not simply wear the patch and say you are a Twisted Sister, but you got to get out there and be a Twisted Sister and that means RIDING!!! Again Ladies, I can't tell you how proud of each! and every one of you because without each and every one of you getting out there and being seen, participating and representing women bikers in such a positive way, we wouldn't enjoy the success and respect that we have from the Biker Community.

I had a request from Ron as to getting his HONORARY TWISTED SISTER patch and was wondering what you all thought about that? Ron and Mark are the two guys that live in the Sapulpa area, close w/the Planet Biker staff and know most of the Twisted Sisters. They are neat guys and very supportive and for some reason they want patches that show they support us!!!! I suggested the Property of patch to them but they weren't quite sure that would go over very well!!! LOL!!! I don't have a problem with it at all b/c really doesn't mean anything as to our Chapter by laws....just sort of lets them show their support of our group in a public way on their vests. Kind of flattering to know there are other guys out there that support us and want to be linked to us in some way!!!! Give me your thoughts and if there are no issues, I can have Patchwork do up something.
 

Safety Tips / Curves

You are riding down a road and as you enter a turn you feel as if you are going too fast and are heading for the tree on the side of the road. What should you do? Get on the brakes? Roll off the throttle? Bail?

Believe it or not this is where a good number of inexperienced riders will get into trouble. As a novice rider approaches a turn most will instinctively look directly at a stationary object such as a tree, guard rail etc, (target fixation). Staring at an object makes the rider feel as if he/she is coming in too fast, in turn causing a panic situation.

In Diagram 3.1 the rider target fixates on the tree on the side of the road, and automatically heads right for it (path A). What most novice riders don't realize is that a motorcycle will head in the direction that he or she is looking, see the tree hit the tree. If the rider turns her head however, and looks through the curve then the bike will also go in that direction (path B). So to answer the question is none of the above. The one thing that you don't want to do when your bike is leaned over is dramatically change your speed. This will upset the balance of the motorcycle and could cause you to loose traction. Most motorcycles can accelerate, turn, and stop extremely well. They just don't like to do more than one of them at the same time.

Another thing that an inexperienced rider lacks is the understanding of how far a motorcycle will lean before it will fall over. If you have ever watched motorcycle racing you will have an idea. I must also say that how far a bike can be leaned over is also dependent on ground clearance and available traction. Obviously clean, dry pavement offers more traction than wet, painted or dusty surfaces.

Another mistake that novice riders tend to make is that they take curves too tight. That is they start their turn too early, which can have a few disadvantages. By taking the turn too tight in Diagram 3.2 the rider will be faced with a few challenges. Most importantly the riders view is obscured by the tree. She cannot see the puddle of oil, gravel, or other debris (A), or the car crossing over the centre line (B). Another problem that our rider will have is by going into the turn so tight she will be forced to drift wide (close to the centre line) on the exit.

Diagram 3.3 shows a safer way to take a curve. Notice that the rider turns in later giving her a more complete view of what is around the corner. The rider is then better prepared to handle any obstacles she encounters, because she is able to see them sooner.

 

The AMA International Women & Motorcycling Conference
August 19-22, 2009 / Keystone, Colorado
http://www.womenandmotorcycling.com/

The premier event in women's motorcycling heads west to the Rockies in 2009
The best women's motorcycling event is heading west in 2009 to one of the best riding areas in the United States. The American Motorcyclist Association has announced that its 5th International Women & Motorcycling Conference will take place at the Keystone Resort & Conference Center in Keystone, Colorado, on August 19-22, 2009.

Located approximately 90 minutes west of Denver, Keystone’s state-of-the-art amenities and infrastructure, as well as its proximity to world-class motorcycling destinations within Colorado’s Rocky Mountain region, are expected to substantially increase the stature of what has become known internationally as the premier women’s motorcycling event. The selection of the Keystone site was the culmination of several months of research by the AMA and representatives of prominent women’s motorcycling organizations.

The 2009 event will be the fifth AMA International Women & Motorcycling Conference. Previous conferences took place in 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2006. The AMA looks to continue to build upon the success of past conferences with the Keystone event, which will be the first Women & Motorcycling Conference held west of the Mississippi River.

Event pricing, reservation applications and lodging information for the 2009 conference will be available soon.

Happy Birthday!
Krackhead – 16th Medic – 25th

Oklahoma Motorcycle Safety Laws

Twisted Sisters Online Store

Grenade has updated our online store that you can access through the Twisted Sisters website – www.witwtwistedsisters.com. There is a list of items of particular interest to bikers, however, you can access the entire Amazon site from our webpage. The chapter will receive a certain percentage of all sales when the buyer accesses Amazon from our site, even if the buyer purchases something other than our listed products.

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