Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites

VIBE Magazine today announced its entrée into motorsports with the launch of a partnership project with Revolution Racing in support of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Program. The program kicks off at the 2011 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, the sport’s premier short-track racing showcase at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale CA on Jan. 28-29 and further represents NASCAR’s efforts to reach the urban demographic.

Revolution Racing fields ten race teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, as well as a youth racing development program. Revolution Racing’s drivers are chosen from hundreds of applicants in a combined-style tryout camp in an effort to find the next female or minority racing sensation.

Darrell Wallace Jr. was the first race winner of the 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East campaign and earned the NASCAR K&N Series East Rookie of the Year in his first season as a 16-year-old. Wallace will look to become just the second driver to win the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown following his rookie season.

With driver Sergio Pe?a behind the wheel, Revolution Racing qualified on the pole for the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown in its debut race as a team. Pe?a finished a close second to NASCAR Sprint Cup star Joey Logano after 225 hard-fought laps.

“Vibe is proud to support Revolution Racing’s initiatives in providing a platform for minority drivers to further their aspirations,” said Brett Wright, Chief Creative Officer of Vibe Lifestyle Network, the parent company of VIBE Magazine. “Vibe Magazine’s involvement as a sponsor speaks volumes to growing presence of minorities in racing, not only as participants, but as fans,” said Max Siegel, Revolution Racing’s Chief Executive Officer. Both nights of racing will air live on SPEED.

Beware Bus Driver Abuse . . . Appreciate the Guy Who Gets You There Safe & Sound

At times beyond my control I have taken the Greyhound Bus to different destinations. I have taken busses, subways, metros, trains, planes and tour cars throughout the world, but this January I took a bus on 1/13/11 to Hollywood, California from Santa Barbara at 6:00 a.m. The driver was very helpful and assisted me in getting my small bag (a bag that I have taken on every European and

carrier during the past few years) on board. He also helped me off the bus in Hollywood and wished me a good day. This bus was new and very clean, and the trip was enjoyable and only ten minutes late on arrival.

My return trip from Hollywood to Santa Barbara on 1/14/11 at 1:40 p.m. was the trip from hell. As I approached the driver with my ticket and began lifting my bag on the bus he began to scream “no, get off the bus” and when I tried to explain that I had taken this bag on the bus coming he screamed and shoved my ticket in my face and said “shut up, I don’t want to hear it – take your ticket and don’t ride the bus”. I tried to explain that I was not feeling well and was going home. Again he began shouting “I don’t want to hear it – shut up and get on the bus” and ordered me to the back of the bus. He then took my bag and threw it under the bus, and I had a feeling if there were no witnesses he would have thrown me under the bus. I was truly terrified by this maniac.

The bus was delayed departing because a young woman who was a friend of his had to buy a ticket. He helped her put her bag on the bus and gave her a seat in front, which he denied me. This girl looked to be twenty-five – I am a grandmother – Perhaps if I was young hip and slick and not a grandmother this scenario would have played out differently.

To say I was angry would be an understatement. Never anywhere in the world have I experienced or witnessed any traveler being treated so horribly, so abusively and with such verbal violence. It was clear this man was dangerous and I just tried to stay calm.

As we were getting ready to depart North Hollywood the man sitting across the isle woke up and said “where are we” I said we are leaving North Hollywood. He said “What, I’m going to Long Beach – the driver saw my ticket why did he let me get on this bus?” Then a woman who was sitting near the front said “have we come to North Hollywood” and the driver began to scream at her and humiliated her in front of all the passengers by making the inference she was stupid and a nuisance.

In Oxnard, which was a ten minute stop, the driver went to another building with the young lady he had helped on the bus earlier, and the stop lasted nearly 20 minutes. We were quite late getting to Santa Barbara. After I exited the bus and got my bag I saw the driver shaking his fist in the air in a power motion. I am wondering where Greyhound gets these crazies to drive innocent and unsuspecting victims on the LA freeways?

Greyhound needs to get this mess under control fast. This driver should be removed from any situation where he is dealing with the public. He is clearly a disturbed person and a potential danger to travelers. I doubt I will ever take this form of transportation again, and I am notifying Amtrak of the dangers of connecting innocent unsuspecting travelers to these Greyhound drivers who may have mental problems. rf

While "Viva VERDI" may apply to his La Traviata in this season’s new Metropolitan Opera production, 150 years ago this was a political acronym signifying a desire for a unified Italy by Garibaldi and his followers known as redshirts, some of whom in 1860 traveled the length of Italy to move things along.

To honor everything Italy such as opera, pasta, wines, art, landscape and most of all people, ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours is hosting a nearly 1,400-mile, 28-day Italy 150 Expedition that pedals from Sicily to Rome, north along the Tyrrhenian coast to Tuscany and across the Apennine Mountains to conclude in Turin in the north where in 1861 a document-driven effort began unifying disparate entities that comprise today’s Italy.

Cyclists will experience enroute nine of Italy’s 20 regions in the north and south that culturally, politically and economically even today are worlds apart. Milan and Turin are aligned more to industrial northwest Europe than to the impoverished Campania, Puglia and Calabria in the deep south. Rome and the surrounding Latium, which divides and attempts to unite the two regions, remains a transition zone. Two 20^th century writers with the same surname came from Turin: Carlo Levi who exposed the poverty of Italy’s south to the government, and Primo Levi who wrote about his Holocaust experiences when taken north out of Italy.

Maria Elena Price, ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours Co-Owner and Manager, said this legacy bike ride http://www.experienceplus.com/tours/itinerary.html?tid=2288 may be repeated by popular request. This year’s dates are May 7 to June 4. The per person, double occupancy rate is $8,850 and includes use of a 24 - 27 speed high-tech bicycle; 28 nights in comfortable 3 and 4 star hotels and country estates; 28 breakfasts, 17 dinners, some lunches; van support; bilingual tour leaders; and cultural activities. Cyclists will average 60 miles a day, with three rest days factored in.

No North American company has been running European cycling tours longer than ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours (http://www.experienceplus.com/). Launched in Italy in 1972 the Colorado-based company now offers global cycling tours immersed in local character to 20 countries on five continents. Throughout the years as the business and industry has evolved ExperiencePlus!’s roots as a family business have remained strong. Authentic, experienced, self-paced and engaging were the ethos of parents Rick and Paola Malpezzi Price which have now been passed down to their daughters and current directors Monica and Maria Elena Price.

ExperiencePlus! pays it forward each year with donations to select charities and social initiatives. In 2011 the company will donate a portion of client trip fees to the Adventure Cycling Association for their work on the United States Bicycle Route System and the Federazione Italian Amici dell Bicicletta that influences the Italian government on promoting bicycle safety in Italy.

A company division, BikeRentalsPlus!, a partnership with BikesPlus! SAS in Italy offers bicycle rentals in over 100 locations in Italy and France along with competitively priced self-guided tours and customized options for a variety of cycling vacations.

ExperiencePlus! is a 2010 recipient of National Geographic Traveler magazine’s 50 Tours of a Lifetime for its Cycling the Camino de Santiago: Roncesvalles to Santiago adventure. Recognized for her visionary work within the industry, Monica Price has been named to the Adventure Travel Trade Association Advisory Committee for the 2011 Adventure Travel World Summit to be held October 17-20 in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.