It seems to me that women-only motorcycle events are starting to become a big trend in our motorcycle world. I’ve always struggled with women specific events because for me, personally, I don’t think they’re necessary to make me proud of being a female rider. I like to hang with the boys anyways!

I was perusing my news aggregator this morning and Steve over at Biker News Online mentioned the second annual International Female Ride Day on Friday, May 2, 2008, with lots and lots of sarcasm and even raised the question: Why do women riders need a special day to celebrate themselves?

Now, here’s my disclaimer: I’m not attacking or singling out Steve’s post for any detrimental reasons, I’m merely highlighting it because for the first time, someone posted about a women-only event with the question: Who gives a f**k?

That’s what I’m wondering. While the women’s ride to Daytona was kind of a cool thing, I also just read on Women Riders Now about the Diva Custom’s Divas Only bike show that’s happening at the end of May. Are these events a good thing or is this women-only madness spiraling out of control? Is it helping female bikers or is it setting up a precedent for women to segregate themselves from the biker community rather than being a part of it?

And just like Steve at Biker News asks: If a chick can master a motorcycle and hold her own among the biker crowd, does she need empowering?

I opened up a pretty big can of worms when I tackled the subject of social networking for bikers. Back in August I wrote a post about Bikerworlds, the first social site I found geared toward the biker community. In October I wrote a follow-up post regarding BikerOrNot.com, which is another very popular social network (and also a very popular post for this site).

For part three of this subject matter I’m going to highlight a few more sites that I’ve found since I last wrote. One thing to keep in mind, not all of these sites are created equally. While a lot of them share the same basic idea and similar buckets of content, some are technically easier to use and more thought out than others. It all depends on what appeals to you in the end.

Motorcycle Syndicate: This site has been around since summer ‘07. I’m not quite sure what their member base is, but according to their site they “strive to be the premier interactive online community for motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide.” They also use other social networking sites to their advantage when trying to get the word out. You can also win a free T-shirt if you’re a registered member and help spread the word.

Hogstr: I got an email about this site a few weeks ago so I thought I’d check it out. Seems this site is a brand-spanking newbie, having only come into existence in the beginning of February. Not a lot of members or content yet and now that I look at it I’m not even sure if it’s officially “launched.” I see lots of profile pics with half-nekkid chicks on bikes, which kind of turns me off. I’m going to file this one under “wait and see.”

Harley Social: I think the title for this one speaks for itself, but this social network is for HD enthusiasts. It looks to have launched early this year and encourages it’s members to upload photos, videos and to post blogs. It’s a visually robust site, almost to the point where I don’t know where to look first, but the emphasis on this site seems to revolve around just having a good time.

Biker Nation: From what I can tell this site has been around since late 2006. Like all of the other sites it has forums, news feeds, blogs, classifieds, events, pictures, videos and music. It also has a “babes” section (if you’re into that sort of thing) and online auctions. For the amount of time this site has been in existence I guess I expected more. Perhaps they’ve been spending more time focusing on their heavily-tattooed, sister site Inked Nation.

If I had all the time in the world I would love to join all of these sites, but I just don’t. You can still find my profiles on Bikerworlds, BikerOrNot and of course, good old myspace.

Do any of you have a favorite social networking site that you use regularly?

It occurred to me recently that it’s been a while since I’ve done a somewhat personal/informative post, so today I’m going to take the opportunity to catch up on some info.

Way back in October, I was bound and determined to get my ass to Daytona this year. Well…looks like that’s not going to happen after all. Since I just started a new job last month, taking off on a trip so soon didn’t seem like the right thing to do. Sigh. So, once again I’ll have to experience it all vicariously through daytonabikeweek.com. I will also miss being one of the many women participating in the largest Harley Women’s Ride. Repeat: SIGH.

I can happily report that rippin-kitten.com continues to gain momentum in being a successful and esteemed motorcycle blog written by a female. Site traffic shows that this site has been maintaining a increasing stream of visitors. Nice!

Some very exciting news: new Rippin-Kitten stickers are on order and I’m pleased to say that I’ve also got some t-shirts designs finished and ready to be ordered! Look for the new Rippin-Kitten store to be up and running in the next month or so!

Another blog award to report: Linda Moore of Raven’s Roads has given this site the Excellent Blog Award. Big thanks to Linda! I guess the idea is to pass this on to 10 more bloggy friends so here I go: The Salem Insider, Eternal Vigilance, Keep the Rubber Side Down, Crusty the Biker, Go! Smell the Flowers, Come on in, the Web is Fine, The Many Thoughts of Harley Girl, The Ride Report, The Necro Files, KT Did. Whew! That’s a lotta blogs!

Rippin-kitten.com has been awarded: The Addicting Blog Award.

This award was sent by Gabrielle Faust of www.gabriellefaust.com/

Awarded by
Gabrielle Faust
to Rippin Kitten

Thanks to Gabrielle! She’s got a great horror-themed blog, so check it out if that’s your thang!

This Harley-Davidson V2 engine computer case mod runs for real!

OK, you may be wondering what in the hell I’m talking about, right?

Well, apparently some guy decided that having a cool-looking computer case wasn’t enough: he had to build a computer case that’s a 1:1 scale Harley Davidson V2 engine from scratch. The engine runs for real, pistons pump water through the system to cool the components. He included a bunch of Harley Davidson motorcycle pieces into the mod, including chromed out exhaust pipes.

The actual computer inside this crazy case has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Abit AW9D-MAX motherboard, and the 2 x XFX7900GT video card, in case you were wondering.

You can read the full, tech-laden article and see lots more photos at bornich.org.

The 2008 Motorcycle Bloggers International Choice Awards are under way and accepting nominations! So, check out the site, view all of the categories and get to nominating! The nomination period ends on February 10th.

Yours truly has been nominated for “Women riders booster of the year“-how cool is THAT? But already the competition is tough. I’ll be sure to remind everyone when the voting period begins, so you can vote your lil hearts out! Until then they need you to go nominate your favorites. Go go go!

‘Sup dudes?!

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season and got lots of shiny things to bolt onto their big, metal babies. Now that all of the holiday madness has passed, we cold weather climate dwellers have a nice, long stretch of months to lament the fact that it’s still too cold to ride and that spring is still months away. *sigh*

As more and more motorcycle blogs pop up onto the world wide web, posting new and interesting content becomes a bit more challenging. When I read someone else’s blog that happens to post information that I’ve written about previously, it make me wonder if the content is being pilfered or if it’s just inevitable in this small niche we’re writing about. I can honestly say that I do strive to write about unique and interesting things and promise that I shall continue to do so in 2008.

I’m looking forward to a great year. It’s already starting off with a bang for me personally because tomorrow I start a new job after being at my old one for seven and a half years. I also have some great additions in the works for rippin-kitten.com. And as the months go by, readership of the site continues to grow which makes everything worth while.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has faithfully visited and told their friends about the site! Rippin-Kitten.com wouldn’t be what it is without you.

Lately I’ve had a bit of an obsession with the Steampunk movement. What the heck is that? you may be wondering.

:Steampunk:
Definition: a genre of science fiction set in Victorian times when steam was the main source of machine power. (You can learn more at wikipedia.)

Artists have been experimenting with steampunk art for a while and it’s gaining in popularity. It incorporates a lot of brass, copper and the use of gears and cogs and has a high-tech, yet vintage look. One of the most recent creations that has spread online is the steampunk LCD monitor and keyboard modification (which can be found at the Steampunk Workshop if you’re interested in modifying your own set up).

I began to wonder if anyone had created steampunk style motorcycles and with the help of Google, a blog called Dark Roasted Blend and The Kneeslider (both sites posted about steampunk style motorcycles back in July, you can read them by following the appropriate links) I found some examples.

While these motorcycles might not have specifically been created to reflect the steampunk sensibility, they come pretty close and I think they’re really fantastic.

This is the Bobster trike from Zeel Design.

This bike was initially created for a motorcycle comic and the artist’s brother decided to make it real.
You can see more images of this bike on this German site.

Now this bike, the Hubbard Steamcycle actually has a steam-powered engine. Read more about it.

This is the B120 Wraith which was made by the Confederate Motor Company.

And lastly is this beast: the Aero Bike by none other than Mr. Jesse James.
Cycle World has an article about Jesse and this bike.

There’s no doubt that these motorcycle are really fricking amazing, but I hope one day someone builds one with steampunk specifically in mind.

Thank you to Gabrielle Faust from Eternal Vigilance™ for giving the Community Blogger Award to Rippin-Kitten.com. The Community Blog Award celebrates people who reach out and makes the blogger community a better one. It also underlines the importance of a blog’s readership community, one of the most rewarding parts about blogging. It’s the people that come back to comment, adding to the conversation, making you feel like someone is listening and interested.

I was curious to see where this award originated from and it appears to be the creation from SultanaBlog who made it up to honor a fellow blogger and it has caught on like a wildfire.

Now it’s my turn to pass along this award to the bloggers that have contributed to the Rippin-Kitten.com blogosphere through their support!

Biker Chickz Blog
Raven’s Roads
Rapture of the Road
The Many Thoughts of Harley Girl
Biker Chick News

Thanks to everyone for supporting this site!

Here’s a clip of another inspiring woman, Sasha Mullins from the 2003 Discovery Channel documentary “Motorcycle Women.” Sasha has been busy writing books and making music with her band Motoroadeo.

P.S. Rippin-Kitten.com is mentioned in the latest (and fabulous) blog post by GO! Smell the Flowers! So, a big thanks and many flowers to them!