Leesburg Bikefest 2011

On April 10th the Divas met up and rode out to join in on the festivities at the Leesburg Bikefest. 

Main Street was already packed by the time we rolled in.

 

But the Divas weren't worried; we had VIP parking at Teresa's house, which is just a short stroll from all the action in Downtown Leesburg.

The group shot.

The goof off shot.

The eating shot.

The modeling of newly purchased head gear shot.

Ditto.

  

And, finally, the cooling off under Teresa's porch shot.  (It was a hot one out there!)

Thanks for everything Teresa!

Divas-Only Ride to Astor, Florida

Today was one of those perfect sunny-and-70s days that every motorcyclist in the world must dream of.  Thirteen Divas headed out today to enjoy the great outdoors on two wheels.  In fact, we were so excited to get out and ride that we rolled out of the meetup parking lot one minute before our kickstands up time.  Whoa! 

Victoria and Trish then led us on a great ride away from the subdivisions of Central Florida and right into the heart of the Ocala National Forest, where we stopped in at the Blackwater Inn overlooking the St. John's River for a delicious seafood lunch. 

. 

Mmmm... popcorn shrimp and hushpuppies.  Let's go back!

The view wasn't too shabby either.

We're all just big kids really, aren't we?

Some more than others though! 

(Looks like Melanie broke out some dance moves for us.)

What a great day, ladies!  Looking forward to our next playdate.

Ride to Winter Garden

Brrrrrr!! 

We had planned to ride to San Antonio, Florida today, but when the temperatures dipped down into the 30s this morning we decided on a much shorter ride for later in the afternoon once the sun started to warm things up a bit.  We agreed to meet up at Broadway Pizza at noon, and although the temperatures were still only in the high 40s, fourteen of us, including five new Divas, showed up dressed in warm gear to RIDE. 

Chris was apparently really cold!  (Or really warm)

Victoria led us through some nice backroads to Winter Garden where we stopped in at the Sweet Traditions Bakery & Cafe for a delicious lunch.

The temperature warmed up to a balmy 58 degrees by the time we finished lunch.  Here we are looking not quite so bundled up at the fountain in downtown Winter Garden.

And then we geared up again to continue on with the ride.

Funny, the last time we did this ride we had to start early and leave early because it was so hot! 

It turned out to be an absolutely fabulous day of riding, though.  What started out as a bummer ended up being a blessing because we had so many brand new Divas that actually appreciated the shorter ride since it was the first group ride for some of them. 

Now they're ready for the ride to San Antonio next weekend!

(Fingers are crossed for good weather.)

Bike Run For The Coalition For The Homeless Of Central Florida

On Sunday, January 9, 2011 the Chrome Divas, along with many other bikers in the Central Florida community, loaded up their saddle bags with requested food donations and joined in on the ride to benefit the Coalition For The Homeless Of Central Florida.  The ride began at Porkie's Original BBQ in Apopka, where breakfast was served for all who participated. 

After breakfast and the riders' meeting, everyone rode to the Coalition in downtown Orlando.  The residents of the shelter were waiting outside with "Welcome" and "Thank You" banners.  The children could hardly contain themselves as they watched over a hundred bikes roaring into the parking lot.  Some of them were brave enough to ask to sit on the bikes and the Divas obliged.  The ear-to-ear smiles and joy on these children's faces really touched our hearts.  It was a very rewarding day for many in the biker community. 

Well, for most of us it was...

Cindy calling a friend to come tow Carlos, Akili's bike of 15 years.
It's back to the mechanic he goes.
We're hoping for a speedy recovery!

Christmas Party

Our first Christmas party was at Chris and Debi's house this year.  A group of Divas spent a Saturday afternoon the week before blinging the place out for the party.  Grace did a fantastic job of heading the project up and even created a "toy shop" for our gift exchange.  After all that work we had a crazy storm come through, which involved lots of taking down and setting back up on Chris and Debi's part.  Just minutes before the party started, the rain and drizzle stopped and we were able to have the party poolside as originally intended.  What a break! 

And what fun! (Here are the pictures to prove it.)



Much to her chagrin, Melissa chose the "censored" gift...



Christmas Cookie Decorating Party for SafeHouse of Seminole

The Divas hosted a Christmas cookie party for the kids at SafeHouse this afternoon.  We went into a baking frenzy the day before and ended up bringing 35 dozen cookies to be decorated.  It was a wonderful day and all of us -- the kids, the moms and the Divas -- couldn't resist the pull of decorating sugar cookies. 
It's the simple things.

At meetup.
What's a Diva get together without a mechanical issue?  Hey, we're getting good at this stuff!

The Divas and Zazoo the Clown



The Divas with some of the volunteers (friends and family) that came out to help us.



At the SafeHouse getting everything ready before the children arrive.

Chris keeping a close eye on the gingerbread cookies in the oven.
 Mmmmm... They made the shelter smell all Christmas cozy!

 



You know, "Too many cooks in the kitchen..."  That's our excuse and we're sticking to it.



We had a little cookie icing mixing incident.

But some of us came prepared.

Prepping the tables for the decorating messy.

Zazoo was on hand to entertain the children with balloons and face painting.

Akili enjoyed holding this little sugar cookie.

The decorating in full swing.

The kids seemed to be having so much fun. 

Even the Divas got in on the decorating action.  Not sure who had more fun, us or the kids.

One of the masterpieces.



A table full of masterpieces.