AMA Women's Motorcycling Conference - Keystone, CO

Anyone going?? A friend from Austin and I are leaving Aug 14 to dawdle our way out of the heat and into some hopefully cooler weather once into Colorado.

Any interesting back road routes (paved) you might want to suggest would be appreciated along with good places to eat.....we get really tired of the ubiquitous Dairy Queen!

Meet us on the road and join up for the ride to the conference!! The conference is Aug 19-22. Let's hear it for the women riders!!!

MotorcycleBelle

Which way are you going?

Still planning the route, will want to stay off interstates as much as realistically possible. Scenic routes preferred. Whatcha got??

I went into Pagosa Springs, Colorado on 84 from Santa Fe, NM. It was gorgeous.

From there I would hop over to 550 to go over Ouray. At Montrose take 50 which takes you thru Gunnison and then hit 285 and right after Nathrop take the 24/285 split to go thru Fairplay and then 9 to Frisco Jump on 70 until you take the turnoff for Keystone.

RASZ: That looks like a great route! I saw your ride report with pics from that trip. I will have to incorporate the Colorado portion into the trip. I was going to try to go to Sante Fe as well but the annual Indian Art & Rug Festival & Jewelry Show is next week. Not going to fight that crowd.

HOWEVER, just found out that there's a Jazz Festival and Art Show in River Run right next door to Keystone starting Saturday right when the Women's Motorcycling Conference ends!! hmmm, should I stay??

(cue the music) oh won't you staaaayyyyy, just a little bit loongeerrr,
please, please saayyyyy, say you'll stay.....

MotorcycleBelle said:

RASZ: That looks like a great route! I saw your ride report with pics from that trip. I will have to incorporate the Colorado portion into the trip. I was going to try to go to Sante Fe as well but the annual Indian Art & Rug Festival & Jewelry Show is next week. Not going to fight that crowd.

HOWEVER, just found out that there's a Jazz Festival and Art Show in River Run right next door to Keystone starting Saturday right when the Women's Motorcycling Conference ends!! hmmm, should I stay??

(cue the music) oh won't you staaaayyyyy, just a little bit loongeerrr,
please, please saayyyyy, say you'll stay.....

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Yes! Stay for the festival!! I heard about this conference before I went on vacation in July but had put it out of mind because I knew I couldn't do both times. But I would sure love to go. Have fun for me & take tons of pictures.

UPDATE: Hello! I am in Gunnison, CO having ridden from:
Friday: College Station to Lubbock = hot.
Saturday: Lubbock to Santa Fe, NM = windy. Stayed with a friend for 2 days and recovered nicely,
Left Monday morning for Pagosa Springs, via Abique and Ghost Ranch and Chama but went on ahead to Durango, CO. Met up with a gal from Scottsdale, AZ and today we rode up to Silverton, Ouray, Montrose and over to Gunnison. The Million Dollar Highway was worth every penny!

Tomorrow we will finally arrive at the Women's Motorcycling Conference in Keystone, CO.

It has been a beautiful and exciting ride. Much more fun than I ever anticipated. Every day I'm tired but ready to go again the very next day. The scenery is so beautiful and the twisties so challenging. Very exhilarating!!

Just wanted to post an update. I wish every woman on TWTex was along for the ride.

MotorcycleBelle

PS: I'm taking pictures, I promise.

I'm glad you posted. I was wondering where you were. I am so wishing I could have gone, I am driving the people at work crazy when I talk about doing another Colorado ride on the scooter
Have you had any problems with the bike?

Take care and come back home.

cant wait to see see the pics!

RIDE safe..

It's the first night of the AMA Women's Motorcycling Conference in Keystone, CO. A more beautiful site they could not have found. I'm very tired today having ridden up from Gunnison through Leadville, maybe it's the altitude, maybe it's the excitement seeing so many women riders together. They are on every kind of bike from Harleys to KTMs complete with Happy Trail packs, Spyders, trikes, sidecars, FJRs, ST1300s, BMWs, you name it, it's here and has a woman rider.

Leslie Porterfield was the first speaker, holder of a Land Speed Record at 209 MPH, and recorded at a speed of 232 MPH at Bonneville. She gave a great speech and is gorgeous as well.

Karen Davidson spoke about her family and the history of Harley Davidson.

Ashley Filek, 18 year old National MX points leader for 2009 and inductee into the AMA for 2009. She is truly an inspiration having been deaf from birth. She is a groundbreaker for women in MX sports having led the way for women to turn pro after competing and graduating the amateur circuit.

The rest of the week is full to overflowing with demo rides, seminars, vendors, and parties.

I wish every woman rider could hear these inspirational speakers.

MotorcycleBelle

PS: Rasz: No problems with the bike....a little cold starting but I have that at home. It pops a little but I think it's just happy to be here!!!!

Are you back?

Yes, I'm back home safely after 3 days of travel from Keystone. 2,441 total miles traveled on the motorcycle, not a single problem. A lot of funny moments though, due to my own ineptitude.

The conference was superb. I promise I will write more later when my wrists and arms don't hurt so much.

MotorcycleBelle

MotorcycleBelle said:

Yes, I'm back home safely after 3 days of travel from Keystone. 2,441 total miles traveled on the motorcycle, not a single problem. A lot of funny moments though, due to my own ineptitude.

The conference was superb. I promise I will write more later when my wrists and arms don't hurt so much.

MotorcycleBelle

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I hope I meet you Saturday at Sam"s and you can tell us all about it.

Day 2: MY HEART DOESN"T BEAT, IT REVS!! That's on the t-shirt I got from BMW after the 2 demo rides I did at the conference. One on the F650GS (twin) lowered. Pretty cool but a little top heavy IMO.

Then the dream bike. The R1200R. Azure blue, sparkling like the mountain lakes reflecting the rhinestones on my riding jacket. yum, yum, yum. You can feel the torque of that big boxer twin engine twisting that bike to the right. Perfection. Just needs a little taller windscreen. It eats up the twisties and almost makes you believe you are in Bavaria.

They don't waste any time on those demo rides.....they get right down to business...down to the red light, left onto the mountain roads. 45 minutes for a demo ride!! Try to get that at any dealer. For two hours at the conference I got to ride BMW bikes. What a pleasure, and got the t-shirt!!!

As I was signing up for the Ducati Monster ride, Genevieve Schmidt came along to interview the Ducati dealer who was talking to me about the bike. I was sitting on the Monster, Genevieve, who is the Editor of Women Rider Now, the Harley Magazine for Women, interviewed me for her magazine piece about the Ducati. WOW! Look on the website for mention of my name soon. How exciting! No picture though, thank goodness, my hair was a fright!

The Barn Dance was Thursday night at Keystone Stables. Much line dancing, horseshoe throwing, and a pitiful exhibition of women trying to rope a hay bale. Dollar Store cowboy hats and green Kawasaki bandanas were the favored attire. It was very chic.

I saw a most inspirational sight at the conference, this one stands out among many. A woman in a wheelchair rolling in the parking lot towards a trike. She rolled herself up to the trike. Put herself onto the trike, disassembled her wheelchair, loaded it onto the trike, fired up that baby up and zoomed off down the road. How's that for not letting your disabilities keep you from enjoying motorcycling? We all gave her 2 thumbs up.

MotorcycleBelle

DAY 3: It was a day filled with informative and entertaining seminars. But first, a little maintenance. My helmet visor has been giving me trouble. I finally had the time to look it over and it's a good thing I did. Two screws fell out of the base plate holding the visor on and the whole visor, base plate and all fell off. Good thing I wasn't riding. That might have made a good ride a little too exciting. I took it to a vendor selling helmets like mine and asked for help and it was graciously given. The guy couldn't find anything wrong with it except that the mechanism wasn't sliding well so the visor could go up and down smoothly. Not having any lubricant, he grabbed a little packet of mayonnaise from the lunch cart and now I smell like a sandwich, albeit a sweaty one! But it works great! So, onward!!! And much thanks!!

The Survive Institute Seminar is truly the most entertaining and empowering seminar I have ever attended. Taught by Debbie and Mike Gardner, former law enforcement officers, using a courage based crime survival mind set every person should know. Taking back personal rights and not having a victim mind set in America is one of their basic tenets. I was selected from the audience as one of their "criminals" to watch out for, the assassin. The most dangerous criminal, I was given an AK47 and told to spray the crowd with bullets. I happily did this.......it was a water gun! A more unlikely assassin they have never seen!

How to defend yourself from this criminal? In a school setting, in an office? Use your schoolbooks, your backpack, your purse, office files, reams of paper. They showed us a film where they did a demonstration using automatic weapons, .357, .45, and shotguns. Three schoolbooks were effective in stopping every bullet from penetrating completely through the books. A 500 sheet ream of paper stopped the bullets as well. Laptop computers were less effective but did help some. Anything you can put between yourself and a bullet will, of course, lessen the velocity and, hence, the damage.

Tell your children, attend this seminar, look it up on the internet. It's worth the price of her book. She teaches if you are attacked, your family and loved ones are being attacked through your skin.

I went to a few other seminars today as well. The Bike Contest and Bike Gear Fashion Show is tonight right out in front of the condo. There should be some good pictures.

There are some OVER THE TOP bikes here. The bike at the top is just a little teaser. WOW!!!!

BIKE SHOW BEAUTIES & BABES: For the last two nights my life has been enriched by meeting the two women editors, owners, and all around "knock your socks off babes" of Helmet Hair Magazine, an e-zine for all things on two-wheels. Becky and Cara Mae are from San Antonio, so naturally we bonded immediately. I've been reading this online mag for quite some time and have always enjoyed it's eclectic collection of stories, artists, advice, and all around goddess-ness!!!

I have also had the pleasure of meeting Lesley Gering, international photographer and writer for motorcycling magazines. Her words of wisdom will carry me home like the flight of the dragonfly. Professionally known as Motorgirl in Canada and abroad, her art is internationally known and recognized. She is the shizzle!!!

The bike pics did not turn out since they were in the shade by the time I got through shmoozing with the celebrities. I'll have to see if I can find the bikes later on today and take some more pics. I'm sure they'll all be at the Closing Ceremonies when Lois Pryce speaks. This gal I can't wait to see!!! She rode an adventure ride all the way from ALASKA to ARGENTINA! Can't wait to hear about it.

DAY 4: The last day of the conference was a blend of local tourist fare and the closing ceremonies tonight. I had finished with the seminars so I got to go to the Jazz Festival in River Run and do some sightseeing in the ski village. It is beautiful. I wanted to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain but with the ride home beginning tomorrow I could not risk any altitude sickness. The tiredness I have had at this elevation is enough.

The gal in red is Lois Pryce, one of the reasons I wanted to come to this conference. She is a Brit who rode a Yamaha 225 from Alaska to Argentina all by herself. She was tonight's Keynote Speaker for the closing ceremony. She and her husband are currently touring the US of A in a Ural sidecar rig, while doing a boat tour of the world. Truly an inspiration and a very vivacious girl. Her slideshow was astounding!! After she did the A to A trip she upgraded to a bigger bike......a Yamaha XT250! HA! and rode the length of Africa through the Sahara desert to Capetown. I got nuthin...

All the speakers were insprational and awesome. The AMA & Harley Davison/Buell, MCC of Canada and all the other sponsors did an excellent job of putting on the conference. Over 1,000 women attended and I wasn't the only one who rode over 1,200 miles to get there. YOU SHOULD GO!

Every type of rider was represented. Every club from Motor Maids to the only 3 patch rocker wearing club, Sister of Scota, were there wearing their colors. It was amazing! Every vendor had MY SIZE IN STOCK!!! That alone was worth the trip!

MotorcycleBelle

Coming Home: I left Keystone at a little after 8AM Sunday morning and got to Santa Fe at 5PM.I crossed the Great Divide at Wolf Creek Pass stopped only for a picture and a quick chat with a couple from Canada. It rained all the way from Chama, NM to Santa Fe. Just had to stop once for the rain.

I had the couple from Canada take my picture with the bike and we all looked at the picture with me in it to make sure we got it but now it's gone. I can't believe it. Well, somebody rode that bike up there!!!

MotorcycleBelle

TAKE ME BACK TO TEXAS: I got a good start, but the winds kicked up early. It was cold until I got to Santa Rosa where it was in the 80s and I realized I had 3 shirts on, my leather jacket and the liner in my riding pants. I was roasting. I pulled over at the Santa Rosa Car Museum I had spied on my way up and started shucking clothes in the parking lot. Then I realized 2 shirts down, I had my pink lacy tee on underneath and had to leave it. Dang. Plus, no place to put the riding pants liner. Changed my leather to mesh riding jacket and the pile on the back of the bike got taller. Now I really look like the Beverly Hillbillies going down the road leaning into the wind.

Still hadn't remembered to open the vents in my helmet so my head is still cooking, visor fogging. Finally got a clue on that. The wind was brutal all day. I didn't make it to Lubbock. Part of motorcycling is knowing when to stop. So I'm posting tonight from Littlefield, Tx, the home of Waylon Jennings. A pretty welcome sight for my eyes. I couldn't go another mile. A plus was the pool, with no kids in sight....YEA!

The Santa Rosa Route 66 Car Museum is pretty cool. I have too many pics to post of the great cars they have on display. So many fabulous Mustangs (my favorite). I'm only posting a very few of my pictures.

I knew I was back in Texas when the first two things I saw were.......a dead possum in the road and a Blue Bell Ice Cream Truck!!! YEA!!!!! And, of course, a guy hauling hogs.

I got a toot toot from a choo choo today and a big wave at the Texas border too. It's interesting that the very border between Texas and New Mexico at Parmer is 4 railroad tracks all put together.

MotorcycleBelle

HOME AGAIN: Ain't no curvy roads between Littlefield and College Station. I swear you can stand in Sweetwater and see straight into Temple. If it weren't for the road construction vehicles, that is.

I left the home of Waylon Jennings early with the sun coming up, with never a chance to investigate if all they have of Waylon is a billboard. They did have a great hot tub though at the motel, a good view of the fingernail moon, replete with sounds of goats bleating next door. Not your average spa night, but different!!

As promised, I did retake the pictures of the awesome wind farms north of Sweetwater. Hmm, some of these pictures might have been taken at speed, that explains why they are so crooked!

Guys, I know where your doves are!! In those sunflowers fields, flying erratically, trying to bash into defenseless motorcycle riders!

I was back in the familiar Texas heat around Gatesville and the push was on to see whether fatigue or the heat would tire me quickest.

I learned that loads shift during riding. I had my Monkey Butt powder in the outside pocket in case of any Monkey Butt emergency. Well, during all the wind and bumpy roads in our beloved summer session of road construction, my load had shifted to make my Monkey Butt canister ride sideways instead of sitting straight up and it had come open as well. So, I'm riding along and checking my mirrors every so often to make sure nothing sneaks up behind me....like a DPS officer. And I see little puffs of white smoke coming out every time I hit a bump. Oh great....what would cause white smoke???? I can't imagine. It can't be coming out of my pipes, they're too low....so I stick my hand back there and take a look at my glove, which is covered with powder, sweet smelling MONKEY BUTT POWDER! Everytime I hit a bump, I'm poofing Monkey Butt powder out the back. It can only happen to me........the little engine that could!!! By the way, I'm out of Monkey Butt.

So, I made it home. It's been a great adventure, a terrific conference. A trip of a lifetime.......let's get the maps out and figure out where to go next!!!


MotorcycleBelle

MORE PICS: Ghost Ranch, NM where Georgia O'Keefe lived and painted some of her famous paintings. It is a conference center and relaxation and meditation center now. Very rustic. I had to ride down a dirt road to get there. That took more than a little deliberation on my part since I was on a cruiser, but I really wanted to see it. I had no problems but....been there, done that.

MotorcycleBelle

Congrats on a great ride

These are the last pics.....I made this ride by myself after being inspired by Soozy & Rasz. I found I enjoyed the daylights out of being on the road by myself!!! Thanks gals!!!

MotorcycleBelle

I learned that loads shift during riding. I had my Monkey Butt powder in the outside pocket in case of any Monkey Butt emergency. Well, during all the wind and bumpy roads in our beloved summer session of road construction, my load had shifted to make my Monkey Butt canister ride sideways instead of sitting straight up and it had come open as well. So, I'm riding along and checking my mirrors every so often to make sure nothing sneaks up behind me....like a DPS officer. And I see little puffs of white smoke coming out every time I hit a bump. Oh great....what would cause white smoke???? I can't imagine. It can't be coming out of my pipes, they're too low....so I stick my hand back there and take a look at my glove, which is covered with powder, sweet smelling MONKEY BUTT POWDER! Everytime I hit a bump, I'm poofing Monkey Butt powder out the back. It can only happen to me........the little engine that could!!! By the way, I'm out of Monkey Butt.

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To bad that story doesn't come with pictures
I love this story

So, I made it home. It's been a great adventure, a terrific conference. A trip of a lifetime.......let's get the maps out and figure out where to go next!!!

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I'm ready--lets go