7th Annual Pink Ribbons For Life

The Chrome Divas had a rough start on their way to the Chrome Angels 7th Annual Pink Ribbons for Life event today.  Shortly after kickstands up, Divas Debi and Chris had a bad get-off on Chris's bike at some railroad tracks in serious need of repair.  Thankfully, Chris's helmet and leather jacket took the brunt of the impact and she and Debi are both okay, with the exception of having been a bit shaken up and some minor aches and pains. Chris seemed to have taken the worst of the fall, and, after Debi saw the damage to Chris's helmet (Debi normally does not wear one), has since decided that she would, from this day forward, always wear hers.  This has been a valuable reminder to all of us, that no matter how experienced you are as a rider you can still go down in a blink of an eye and that you should never become complacent about wearing the gear that can make a difference in saving your life or, at the very least, keeping your injuries to a minimum.  Chris will be nursing a sore shoulder for a while, but we are so thankful they are okay!

Once Chris and Debi made it safely home, the rest of the Divas continued with the ride.  We were all feeling a little somber about what had happened -- it's always a little traumatic to witness any biker go down, let alone two of our sisters -- so we took it nice and easy and headed over to TwoJay's Deli in the Dr. Phillip's area for breakfast and to regroup.

After breakfast, Keri's husband, Mark, joined us and we all headed out to Cowboys and had a good time with the Chrome Angels and all the other bikers that participated.  The Chrome Angels do wonderful work with women in the Central Florida area who are undergoing cancer treatment and are in a hardship situation.  They have paid bills for these women when they just didn't have enough to cover it that month, they've provided food for patients and their families, provided medical equipment, helped pay for expensive treatment -- the list goes on and on of the many ways they have swooped in and come to the rescue for so many women in the Orlando area.  The annual Pink Ribbons for Life is a huge fundraiser that allows them to provide all this financial support.  We are in awe of the turnout they get for these events and of just how generous bikers are!  Way to gather the troops girls!

Fun at Cowboys...

Christmas Card from SafeHouse

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Divas Lead the Holiday In The Park Parade

The Divas officially kicked off the Orlando Christmas Parade at 3:30 pm on Saturday, leading the procession around Lake Eola on our motorcycles.


 The staging area with Chris and Melissa

Plenty of time for Taz and Victoria to catch up.

All the Divas' bikes are in the staging area and ready to get this party started up in here!

Has Martha Stewart paid the Divas' garages a little visit? Hmmm... We're looking mighty festive.

Yay! Akili is back in the saddle to ride with us!

Lynn made it too!

Even Diva elves have their own cell phones these days.

Martha and her dog came out to meet up with the Divas and watch the parade.

Melissa trying on Keri's bike.

This one should fit just right.

Our Toy Soldier has a new friend. You think she's negotiating an insurance plan for the Divas?

Where in the world is...?

This elf is ready to ride!

Victoria hanging out with the WJRR crew.

Our Toy Soldier clowning around with Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart.

The Divas take the lead and parade around Lake Eola.

Thanksgiving Weekend Car Wash

The Divas put on their baggy pants this morning -- it is the Saturday after the Thanksgiving feasts after all -- and headed out to Friendly's Restaurant in Altamonte Springs to hold another car wash. Each car wash we have has been a little more successful than the last. This time was no exception, especially after a patron suggested that our Toy Soldier carry a donation jar. [PALM SLAP TO FOREHEAD HERE] Why didn't we think of that?!

Orlando Sentinel Clipping

Picture of Zazzoo the Clown and Diva Chris leading the Rollin' for SafeHouse Poker Run made this morning's edition of the Orlando Sentinel...

The Chromes Divas' Rollin' for SafeHouse Poker Run 2009

We did it! On Sunday, November 22nd, the Chrome Divas of Orlando pulled off a successful poker run -- our first ever! -- to benefit SafeHouse of Seminole. There were so many blessings to be counted today. We are so grateful for all the people who donated their time, money, products and services to make our event the success that it was. We're thankful for all the people that came out and rode with us in the run. And we are certainly glad that the rain waited to come down until the event was over! Hallelujah!!

Here are a few of the highlights:

Chris and Zazzoo the Clown up and at 'em bright and early at Birthday World, where the ride would begin after registration and breakfast.

Jo Alaniz (with the Seminole County Regional Chamber of Commerce), Zazzoo and Donna Loader setting up the computers for online payment for our guests.

Keri signing in our first riders.

Representatives of SafeHouse of Seminole dealt the cards at Birthday World.

Some of the members of C.O.B.B. came out to participate. Here, two of their members draw cards.

Sharon and Bunny were selling extra raffle tickets at Birthday World.

The first group out was lead by Zazzoo the Clown.

Trish's group at Donna's Bar & Grill, our 2nd stop. Joni and her friend Ashley dealt the cards at this stop.

The Chrome Divas of New Smyrna Beach came out to support us today. Here they are at The Sports Den, our 3rd stop of the run.

Melissa and Lisa dealt the cards at The Sports Den...

...and sold raffle tickets for this liquor basket.

The Chrome Angels (front row) came out today and dealt the cards at Wolfy's Bar & Grill, Stop #4.

Taz, Rory and Lynn were detailing bikes at Seminole Harley Davidson, the final stop of the run.

Last bike in, and the party is in full swing at Seminole Harley Davidson.

Akili and her son joined us at Seminole Harley Davidson.

Trish and Zazzoo begin to raffle off all the prizes.
This took a while -- we had lots of 'em!

"I won!"

Another lucky winner.

Mark can't believe his luck -- third time up!

Becky with the Chrome Angels couldn't help teasing some of the winners as they came up to claim their prize (all in good fun!)

How perfect is it that Divo James ended up winning the motorcycle training course? (He's been talking about wanting a bike and getting his endorsement.) The Divas are grateful to him and all the help he gave us, including making sure that the men's rooms in bars all over the Orlando area had Rollin' for SafeHouse fliers posted in them.

Sharon and Rob: The good news is, they had a lot of prizes to take home at the end of the day...

...the bad news is, they had a lot of prizes to take home at the end of the day. Somehow they made it work, though!

And so it's over. And what do we have at the end of the day? New friends, for sure. A sense of pride at being able to have pulled off an event like this in such a short amount of time. Feelings of optimism and confidence that next year's run will be even bigger and better after having learned what works and what needs to be tweaked. And enough funds raised to cover the Christmas party for SafeHouse that we are hosting December 6th and to be able to present them with a very special surprise at the party...

Yeah. It was a good day.

Final Preparations for Poker Run

We had a Bag Stuffing Party tonight at Birthday World for the Poker Run this Sunday.

Here's our assembly line for filling the registration bags with all the goodies that were donated...

Bags stuffed and boxed...

One last huddle up before the big day. Hope we're not forgetting anything...