Freedom Riders Mall Display

he Freedom Riders promote motorcycle safety and awareness every spring with a display in the New Sudbury Shopping Centre. The main purpose is to remind the public that motorcycles are back on the road and to ask them to look twice. We also get a chance to make other riders aware of the club and what it has to offer.

We set up Thursday night after the mall closed. President Rob's pretty 2001 1100 Yamaha V-Star was the central attraction. It 's mounted on a revolving turntable Gord masterminded and surrounded by plastic chain.

Lea, Gary V, Chantal, Dan and Rob listen as Gord tells how it is done

We also have a table with promotional materials. Since we are a new member of Action Sudbury, we handed out many of their promotional items encouraging safe and sober driving. Impaired drivers are a serious threat to riders.

The new feature this show was the display case that Dan and Gary V built over the winter.


It is an excellent piece of work and gives us a place to display out club awards (or anything else that might need displaying).

Various members worked the display over the next two days. We made many contacts with both the motorcycle community and the general public. It's a lot of work, but worth it.

Saturday night, after closing, the usual crew arrived to tear down the display and load it. Tomorrow, Gary V and I will deliver the various components to their respective storage locations.

Sudbury Rocks Marathon

This isn't a travel post but the day was a little out of the ordinary so I figured I would record it for posterity.

The Sudbury Rocks Marathon is a large event by local standards. It involves a full marathon, a half marathon, a 10K and a 5K run as well as walkers. The full marathon is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon so some serious runners show up. The proceeds from the event go to the Canadian Diabetes Association.

A while back, the Greater Sudbury Police Service contacted Normie to see if, once again, the STOP Officers could assist with traffic control. Quite a few of us volunteered. The race was starting at 8:00 AM and our briefing time was at GSPS headquarters at 7:00.

It was a clear, crisp morning and I was early. I figured that, with HQ being close to the YMCA and the run starting at the Y, parking might be at a premium. I was wrong. Had the whole parking lot to myself as I ate my Tim Horton's breakfast sandwich and drank my black Timmy's coffee. Eventually, other STOP people showed up and we wandered across the street to get our directions.

The route ran from downtown around the northeast corner of the old city and back. One loop was the half while full marathoners would do the course twice. One traffic lane along the entire way was blocked with traffic cones. We found ourselves assigned to intersections along the earlier part of the route. Somehow, my name was left off the assignment list but there was one extra intersection at the corner of Madeleine and Lasalle that was unmanned so that's where I got sent.

Arriving at the intersection, I parked in a private lot belonging to a small accounting firm on the corner and took my place. Shortly thereafter, a yellow school bus stopped and let off a young lady. Caitlin was a high school student doing her community service requirement by volunteering for the Diabetes Association. She would assist with traffic. We introduced ourselves and then we waited.

At about 8:30, the first runners appeared coming our way. The ones leading were running along easily. Since we were past the turnaround points for the 5 and 10K runs, all we would see were the half and full marathon people. Over the next half hour, quite a few people came by as we stopped traffic on and off Madeleine which might have interfered with their passage. Some were running well and others were already feeling the pinch.

When it was obvious the people had all passed by for the first time, I realized we would have to wait quite a while before the full marathon crew came around the second time. Gary (Biker) lives nearby and would be heading out shortly for a Freedom Riders meeting, so I called and asked if I could borrow a couple of folding chairs. He dropped them off right away and Caitlin and I settled in to wait.

An hour or so later, the lead runner sprang into view running all alone. He passed us and didn't even look like he was breaking a sweat despite the fact that he was about 26 kms into the run. Before too long, a couple of more came running along. Then the rest slowly reached us, spread out much more than the first time. Vehicle traffic on Lasalle picked up too, so we actually had more to control. Finally, about 11:30, Constable Rick came by to tell us the last were gone.

The STOP crew had decided to go for lunch afterward at the Win Fortune Chinese buffet. Caitlin was going to have to wait for the yellow bus and then follow the whole route back to the Y, so I gave her a ride and dropped her in the south end on my way to lunch.

This was the first marathon I have worked. I was impressed by the leader and eventual winner's athletic ability. A friend tells me that last year he ran six full marathons in six consecutive weeks. Super human comes to mind. I was also impressed by the runners' courtesy. Many thanked us for working as they came by, some with breath they could little afford to spare. Lastly, to the lady who didn't look when pulling out onto Lasalle, thanks for not hitting that truck and causing me a lot of paperwork.

It was a good day for a good cause and I expect that, if we are asked again next year, I'll be there.

R&L Equipment and the Flat Tire

Last Thursday, I decided to get the bike ready. When I had it uncovered and unhooked from the battery tender, I removed the right muffler tip and retrieved a moth ball that had fallen in there last fall. Baggies of moth balls over the pipes discourage nesting rodents. It fired up on the first press and then I checked tire pressures. Front 41, rear zero. Spinning it, I found a piece of wire right through the tread. Damn!

We don't have a Honda dealer in Sudbury. Silly for a city this size, but I have been dealing with J&R in Wasaga Beach for years. But that is 200 miles south and I needed a quick fix so I called R&L Equipment in Verner, 45 miles east of town. The R&L guy apologized that he couldn't get the bike in the next day. It's spring, I had no expectations. I was busy early in the next week, so we settled on today at 2:00. They suggested a Dunlop E3 tire,which I dislike. I asked about the Bridgestone G704 and, wonder of wonders, they had two IN STOCK. And, without asking, he knocked 20% off the MSRP.

Date set, I aired the rear tire up. Three days later, it had only lost two pounds so I figured the wire could stay in place for the ride to Verner.

Thursday, Leo and I set out for R&L. We got there at 1:30 and they took the bike right in. At 2:00, I watched through the window to the shop as the bike went on the lift. The mechanic changed and balanced the tire, changed the final drive oil and greased the spines in 45 minutes. Excellent service and price.

They gave me the old tire to play with. I took the Stop and Go tire plug kit, which I had never used before, and plugged the hole. Now I know how it works in case I need it somewhere on the side of the road.

Canadian Blood Services

I've been a regular blood donor for years. When I hear that only 4% of eligible Canadians give, I shake my head. It takes so little time and means so much to those who need it.

I was deferred for almost ten years due to high blood pressure but they called me back about six years ago due to a change in the rules. Last year, I gave my 75th whole blood donation (80 now) and so was invited to the annual awards banquet.

Just a word about whole blood versus platelets. Whole blood donors can give evary 56 days. I think the platelet donors can go every second week, so they rack up higher numbers of donations. On the other hand, while I give a unit of blood in less than ten minutes, they are hooked up to the machine for an extended period of time. In my opinion, they deserve every bit of recognition they are accorded. I don't have an option anyway. With my O Negative blood making me a universal donor, they won't let me five platelets.

By coincidence, Sandy's ex, Brian, and his wife Judy were attending and taking Sandy's parents as guests. Judy was being recognized for 200 donations. Once at the caruso club, Tom from the Freedom Riders showed up. He had given 150 times. Leo should have been there for 75 as well, but didn't know anyone else was going.

The Caruso Club is one of the finer venues in town. It was festooned with ballons and the hall was moderately full. CBS people representing the region (Northeastern Ontario and Nunavut, if you can believe that spread) made some speeches in both French and English. Then they called up each person present for their awards. The read a vignette on every person, provided earlier by the donor. Mine mentioned our premature kids and getting into the On-Neg baby donor program, as well as helping Mom with blood clinics in Timmins when I was a kid.

There was a hierarchy. Fifty and 75 donations got certificates, a handshake and a group photo. One hundred got all of the above but the certificate was framed. The 150's got all the above and two handshakes. Judy and the other 200's also got an individual photograph. Two people celebrating 400 got a standing ovation and nobody was quite sure what to do with the first bone marrow donor.

After the awards, we went through the buffet line and had some excellent Caruso food. The only limitation was that we were restricted to one piece of breaded veal. I even cheated and had dessert.

A significant announcement for regular donors was that the new computerized screening system was about to be introduced. Since screening is the longest part of my donation experience, anything to streamline this process is greatly appreciated.

Blood donors give the Gift of Life. I'm proud to be one and hope that anyone eligible who reads this and isn't an active donor gives it some consideration.

Sudbury Tourism Gathering

The Freedom Riders received an invitation to an event regarding Sudbury Tourism at Science North because of our Freedom Rally activities. None of the Executive were interested, so I took it. Leo agreed to go along with me to put the club's name out there.

In my sled days, I attended many schmooze events. This was the same. Complimentary wine, cheeze and appetizers. Some booths by the local hospitality establishments. A few speeches, some awards. I ran into a number of people I knew from the sled promotion days, INCO and other activities.

There were four door prices. My ticket was xxx019. They called xxx018. Then, at the end, they called xxx020. This was Leo's. The gift package had a shirt, some goodies and quite a few very nice free admission and discount certificates.

To cap the evening off, we were given a free IMAX show, Sea Monsters 3D - A Prehistoric Adventure. It was, as billed, 3D and, for a while, I thought I might be picking fish out of my teeth.

All in all, this activity isn't the Freedom Riders usual cup of tea. That said, it didn't cost anything and I think we managed to heighten the awareness of the club and motorcycling aas a benefit to the community in some useful places.

The S.T.O.P. Season

The Snowmobile Trail Officer Patrol (STOP) started in Sudbury in 1992 in response to a number of sledding fatalities, combined with police budget and manpower limitations. STOP Officers are volunteer Special Constables and Provincial Offences Officers empowered to enforce the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act (MSVA) in Ontario. I served with STOP from its inception until 2003, when I turned in my badge because I had lost interest in snowmobiling.

In mid-2007, I approached Normie, the Sudbury Area Coordinator,about getting re-instated. This would be a first for the Patrol and the Provincial Committee worked out a process. I had to rewrite the exam and undergo the new, more rigorous background check.

Due to circumstance I won't go into, the crew of trainees in Sudbury and yours truly haven't been sworn in yet. We hope this gets done soon but, in the meantime, we assist police and sworn STOP Officers in making snowmobiling a safer sport.

I am still riding the 1998 Skidoo MXZ 440 fan cooled sled that used to be Sandy's. It's small, light, underpowered and generally reliable. For the first time in several years, we had an excellent winter. There were many patrols and most of the people were riding safely and responsibly.

STOP Officers Ready For Patrol at -26C
Trevor G, Me & John O (Photo by Andrew H)

It's been good to get back out there. We know from both the hard statistics and the anecdotal evidence that the STOP and police presence on the trails are responsible for saving lives.

My last patrol was March 14th, when we had four days of +9 and the ice coating on my crusher dust driveway melted, effectively stranding the sled in the garage. While the riding in the city was done, they kept running the north end of our system for another few weeks.

Old Time Photos

Martin Carey, a mainstay of the old Nickel Riders Motorcycle Club, posted some photographs on Facebook that recalled a much earlier age. I grabbed a few of them to share with people who don't follow Facebook.

Here, for your viewing enjoyment, is The Way We Were.

Note the skinny guy masquerading as me.

Aspencade, Lake George NY, 1983
Receiving the Aspencade Family (AMA) Award
Sherm will probably recognize Til Thompson, founder of the original Aspencade in Ruidoso, NM

Waterloo County Touring Club Cyclefest - Same Era
Observation Run winners

Cyclefest clowns

Doing a club display - downtown Sudbury

Hung over in Cannington, Ontario

The outfit in a rainy field somewhere

At The Shop - Fielding Road, Lively

One of the twins (I can't tell) touching Terry's Terraplane sidecar

Us on the road

About 145 pounds soaking wet

Holding the Ride For Sight Cross Canada Torch
Leo is on the right

Little Red Riding Hood

My Witchy Woman:-))

The Dodge Caravan

Our Caravan is a 2003 model with 135,000 kms on the clock. About two weeks ago, the 'Service Engine' light came on. The dealership looked at it right away and determined it was a transmission sensor module. External inspection showed it didn't seem to be in very good shape, but they reset the code to see if the problem would recur. It did the next day, so I asked them to order the part. The module finally came in on Monday.

I left the van there this morning and got a shuttle ride home. In addition to the module replacement, I asked them to give the tranny its 50K service and check out the front end. There was a shake/vibration and it had recently started pulling slightly to the right. The van was ready about 2:00 and the shuttle came to pick me up.

The module cost $821. I guess I'm helping to bail Chrysler out. The transmission was serviced and they said one of the OEM tires had a broken belt. Since these tires had 135K kms on them and were showing about 4/32nds tread remaining, I wasn't surprised. Next stop was my favourite Goodyear shop.

I discovered that the OEM tires, Integrity, are available and only have an expected life of 80K kms. Looks like I stretched that way out. For a little more, I upgraded to the Assurance Comfortread. they are supposed to be quieter and have a better ride. I also asked them to check the alignment since I always believed new tires should all be pointing in the same direction. While installing, they found the left outer tie-rod end needed replacing. I had the right one changed last fall.

After they were done, I took it for a little drive. No engine lights, the transmission shifted fine, it tracked straight and the tires were quiet and compliant on the rough Sudbury streets. It was an expensive day, but I will enjoy driving the beast again.

Something to do for the day......

Leo called and asked if I would go to Toronto with his ferry crew and drive a car back for the Ford dealership. Not much pay, but I like to drive.

Five of us left here southbound at 6:00 AM in a Ford mini-van. It was -13C when we left, but the sky was clear and stayed that way all day. There was a quick pit stop at the Tim's south of Parry Sound and we arrived at a Ford dealer near Yorkdale at about 10:15. John picked up an F150 truck and started home. Then we dropped Leo at another dealer where he picked up a 450 truck with a small dump bed. Don, our captain on this trip, made a mistake between the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway, so we got a tour of a part of Toronto I'd never been in before.

My car was at a dealership on the Queensway, right beside where the Gardiner, QEW and 427 meet. This time it was a Ford Fusion. Automatic transmission, cruise control, all the important stuff. I hooked up the GPS (Don said a GPS was cheating) and followed directions up the 427, across 401 and north on the 400. Grabbed lunch in Barrie and had the car at the dealership in Sudbury by 4:15.

The Fusion drove nicely. Good handling, nice ride. Visibility to the rear wasn't as good as I'm used to and the brakes chattered for some reason, but I didn't use them much. Around Barrie, I discovered the Sirius satellite radio built into the console. After playing for a while, I found US talk radio and listened to a discussion of President Obama's efforts so far.

One thing I did notice was the heavy layer of salt still on the roads. We'll need some solid rain before I do this run on the bike.

All in all, a good day. Some pleasant driving and a few dollars in my pocket.

Season Planning

Although it's snowing today, yesterday was the official FIRST DAY OF SPRING and there was a lot of melting over the last week. It will be possible to get the bike out as soon as we have a good rain to wash the salt off the road. All it needs is the removal of a mothball that fell into the right tailpipe as I was applying anti-rodent baggies last fall. It's in a harmless location but I'm not sure what it would do if it heated up in there.

So now it's time to consider our plans for the upcoming season. With the Wolfman's Wandering Rally (WWR) being held in Kentucky and our plan to ride down with Heather and Tom, it looks like a ride out west won't be in the cards this summer. That said, we'll try to do some more laid back, closer to home riding and maybe I can figure out how to hit a golf ball again.

So here's what I know right now:

May 07-10: Freedom Riders Mall Display, Sudbury On
May 14-18: Fry Guys Weekend, Combermere On
Jun 11-14: WWR, Richmond Ky
Jun 18-21: NEVROC Laconia Weekend, Epsom NH
Jul 31-Aug 03: Freedom Rally, Sudbury On
Jul 09-12: GLVROC Rally, Angola In
Aug 13-16: Interlochen Mi
Aug 22-23: FNVROC Meet In The Middle, Somewhere in Ontario
Sep 03-07: Cyclefest, Waterloo On
Sep 18-20: either NEVROC Maine Ride, Bethel Me OR VROC Reunion, Eureka Springs Ar
(unless one of them reschedules, the we do both)

Brother Bear also tells me he and Laurie are traveling the two weeks after July 4th, so we might go riding with them. That W(BG)V trip a couple of years ago was fun and they are good people to share the road with.

I may take the bike to Georgia for a suspension rebuild this spring, or I might put it off until later. I also want to squeeze in some time in the North Carolina mountains, riding the best roads in the world. A few closer camping and exploring trips might get fitted in as the urge hits us.

Whatever happens, we will keep the blog going and share our thoughts of the open road with anyone who is interested.

The Netbook

I was supposed to be on sled patrol this afternoon, but they forecast rain and we cancelled. Instead, I went to Staples and bought the ASUS EEE 1000HA Netbook I wrote about on the weekend. I also got a slimline Sony USB CD/DVD since netbooks typically don't have them and a Panasonic voice recorder with speech-to-text capability. Hopefully, this should both let me capture my blog thoughts while riding and reduce my typing time.

I'm not in a rush to configure this little machine, but it will become my primary computer when I finish. The desktop will be relegated to network hub, file backups, printer sharing and games.

Cambridge to Sudbury Ontario

We didn't get a chance to see Heather and Tom yesterday because they were at work trying to clean up a backlog Heather has been facing. They were going back in today for 9:00, so we headed over early to buy them breakfast. It was REALLY early, because we sprung the clocks ahead last night.

Tom led us down the road a short piece to the Cedar Barn Restaurant. We had a nice breakfast and got a chance to visit a bit. Then they headed for Ayr and we headed home.

On the 401, I saw a GL1800 Kitchener bound. About five miles later, on our side, I saw a salt truck dispensing product on the road. Maybe he knows something the Wing rider and I don't. Traffic was light through Toronto and up the 400. The ski hill at Mt. St. Louis had lots of snow but very few skiers. I can't imagine why people aren't out in droves for some nice spring skiing.

We got home mid-afternoon. I settled down to watch the Atlanta NASCAR race. Once again, my choices didn't help me a lot. Them's the breaks.

It looks like we'll be around home until we get the bike out, unless something comes up. I'll be posting our tentative summer itinerary soon.

Fred's Birthday Party

We were up at 6:00 AM. I did some Netbook research (posted separately), picked my NASCAR Fantasy League drivers for this week's race at Atlanta and caught up on some other chores.

Then came the reason for our trip down. Fred Poysor of London was being feted with a surprise 80th birthday party at the New Sarum Diner. You'd never know that Fred was 80, considering how spry he is. He credits chopping his own wood with his fitness.

Plans changed at the last minute and it was just Kim, Sandy and I going to the party. It poured rain as we drove down the 401 towards London and then cut south on 74. New Sarum Village has been there since the 1800's and has not gotten much bigger since them. We arrived at the Diner, about a block off Highway 3, and found the party was taking place in the hall out back. It was just was dripping with ambiance.

Display in the hall entryway

We were greeted by Fred's daughter and met Peggy, a rider we know from the rally circuit, as soon as we got in the door. There was a group of people in the hall that we didn't recognize, and a couple we did. Not long after, Fred and Ginger (dance, anyone?) arrived. He thought he was going to the famous candle shop down the road.

Kim, Peggy & Sandy

Ginger & Sandy

The Birthday Boy & Friends

Immediately upon arriving, Fred was given a Rickards Red. Then, as he worked his way through the crowd of well-wishing family and friends, someone crowned him. The Diner set out sandwiches and other food at a table and we grabbed some nourishment while talking about old times. A few other biker friends stopped by as well. Later, Fred cut the large birthday cake and I broke my diet to have a piece. I think the Rickards and sugar high got to Fred a little towards the end:-)

Makes me think of Showgirls gone horribly wrong

About 5:00, the party wound down and we headed back to Cambridge in a driving rain. Mike had prepared a fine supper of slow cooked beef with BBQ sauce, potatoes and spinach salad. Then we tucked into the dieter's friend, angel food cake. At least they tell me it's one of the better choices when on a diet. I'm not sure about the whipped cream and fruit on top.

We caught some TV and played with Jolene before turning in. I have never seen a baby this good. Very little fussing. So I'll close with a couple of today's baby pictures.

Are you looking at me?

Just another nap

Netbooks

Back in 2005, I was looking for a small full-function computer to carry in the trunk of the bike that would let me post blogs, sort photos, handle Email, pay bills and keep my financial records while on the road. Laptops and notebooks took up too much space. After searching high and low, I discovered a Fujitsu Lifebook. It was about 10" x 7" x 1.5" and weighed about three pounds with the heavy duty battery. The technology was three years old when I bought it in March, 2005 for the huge sum of $1,700.

Over the last four years, people have commented on the little machine. It has served me well even though the low power consumption Crusoe processor was slow and the screen wasn't bright enough to use outdoors without using my jacket for a hood.

Then one day ASUS came along with a little machine called a EEE (Triple E). It was the same size as my little Lifebook but faster. I was leery because it had a small solid state drive and ran Linux. Soon, however, the market exploded and these little Netbooks were being made by many manufacturers. Trying to compare all the different models and features was making my head spin, but the Lifebook's days are numbered and I need to upgrade soon.

OK, I have finally decided that I want one of the two ASUS models, now that they run XP and have 160GB hard drives.

ASUS Eee PC 1000HA or ASUS Eee PC 900HA

Both have the same 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, screen resolution and Atom N270 processor. Neither have Bluetooth and I give up the touchscreen I had on the Fujitsu but I get USB2, a web cam and speakers. The downside for the 1000 is that it is slightly bigger (10.5" x 7.5" x 1.5" compared to 8.9" x 6.7" x 1.33") and 0.7 lbs heavier at 3.2 lbs. The plus side is that it has a wider screen, larger battery and much higher resolution web cam. Prices are in the $400 range, much better than four years ago.

I have decided to go for the 1000. I saw a tag for it on the shelf at Staples here in Cambridge yesterday. Checking on line today, though, I can't find it on the Staples website. Nor the Future Shop website. Lots of vendors I have either never heard of or have no easy access to. Lucky me, as usual. Now my search will begin.

Sudbury Ontario to Cambridge Ontario

Here We Go Again

It was just a week ago that we came down this same road heading for Cambridge/Waterloo. That was for dress shopping. This time, we're heading for a birthday party. Fred is a friend of ours from the motorcycle rally circuit who lives in London. He rides a GL1800 in a sporting manner and is the gentleman who coached Heather when she was working on her motorcycle licence. Well Fred is going to be 80 and they're having a surprise party for him in New Sarum tomorrow afternoon.

BTW, New Sarum is adjacent to St. Thomas, home town of Rachel McAdams, if anyone is interested in star gossip.

But what a difference a week makes. Last Friday, we set out in the tail end of a blizzard with temperatures dropping down to the 10F below levels. Snow was drifting and whiteouts were common. This Friday, the temperature is 35F and a light rain fell overnight. The roads are clear and spring is in the air despite four feet of snow in the front yard.

We left Sudbury just before 7:00 AM. The drive down was uneventful and traffic was light. All the snowmobile trailers we saw going south on Sunday were headed back north today. They were in for a major qualitative difference in their riding experience this time. At Derek Roberts' Esso in Waubaushene, where a couple of sleds rode in for gas last Sunday, there was only grass and dirt today. I opted to follow the 400 right down to the 401 and avoid the tolls. We made it into Kitchener in about four hours and twenty minutes, good time considering I held to 20 KPH over the limit.

The Passport Office

Since we were coming down this way and since our passports just happened to be expired, we planned to visit the Kitchener Passport Office as soon as we got to town. I had pulled up the PDF forms on line and filled them out, printing the hard copy. We got photos at the CAA last week and don't need guarantor signatures because we are renewing within a year of expiry. We would have gone to the Sudbury Passport Office, but we don't have one. our former Liberal MP campaigned in the last election saying we should have one, but she didn't do anything about it for the 13 years she was part of the government. One reason why she is 'former'.

I found a nice big parking lot right across the street from the government building. Unfortunately, it was for monthly parking people only. Going around some blocks, I found an underground lot with lots of spaces. It was a three block walk but the first two hours were free.

They have a reception counter where a knowledgeable person checks your application and photos and gives you a number. Sandy and I shared a number, D353. After signing in the appropriate places, we sat in a waiting area looking at a big electronic board of which window was serving which number. A's were new applications, D's were renewals. I have no idea what B's and C's were. But they were at D347 in Window 07 so how long could it take?

For the present, we discovered 07 was the only renewal window. No big deal because how long could a renewal take, especially since the application was vetted already. We didn't count on D349. I don't know what this younger gentleman did, but the lady working the window had to go and confer with her boss twice, they both conferred with someone else once, they tore up his application and made him write a new one, then she went and wandered around looking lost for a bit before making him write some more. Personally, I wasn't concerned with his problems except that he was doing all this in the ONLY window serving us poor D type people. If he screwed up the form, why wasn't he sent back to the end of the line to start over? Or taken in a back room and beaten with sticks? I was starting to think I could become a waiting room hero if I hit him with a chair.

Eventually, they noticed the backup and, after good old 349 had been tying the window up for a half hour, they switched a couple of other windows to renewals. Shortly thereafter, we were summoned to Window 10 where Joanne ably took care of us quite quickly. We talked about bikes and the upcoming Friday the 13th at Port Dover while she completed the paperwork. Then it was off to pay the $87 each and get a receipt. The passports will be shipped to us within the next ten working days and then I will notify NEXUS of our new documents. Can't be too careful when your name is on the Watch List.

Hey, we made it back to the van in just under two hours so the parking was free.

What a Nice Day

It was hard to imagine an early March day like the one down here. Unlike our snowbanks back home, the ground is clear here. It's about 60F and there is no sign of salt on the streets. The sun is shining brightly. We saw our first motorcycle on the 401 in Milton and now they are everywhere. My throttle hand was twitching.

Kim hadn't had lunch so we stopped at Subway on the way over to her place and got us all healthy sub choices. While Kim and Sandy caught up on soap operas, I took a run to Staples for some new Zebra gel pens and notebooks. They have new selections in the Netbook category so now I have to do more research. Sooner or later, I will have to jump in, probably by the end of this month. The trusty old Lifebook is just getting too slow.

Back at the house, I finished up the Freedom Riders monthly treasurer's report and the 2008 annual financial statements and sent them out to the members. I won't be at the Sunday meeting, but that's no reason not to have the reports done. Then we had an excellent supper and watched TV for the rest of the evening, taking turns playing with Jolene until it was time to turn in.

Jolene Picture

Sandy took the camera and got some shots of Jolene. Here's one.

Grandpa, I Guess

Son-in-law Mike took this picture last Friday and sent it to me. Jolene was paying a lot of attention to my watch so I took it off and was showing it to her.

Blog Links

There are a host of blogs out there, some of them VROC and some others that I find interesting. Since the new Blogger system makes it easy to manage these gadgets on the right side of our blog, I've decided to provide links to some of them. There is one section for current VROC ones we're following, another for completed blogs that show our history and a 3rd for non-VROC blogs I found interesting.

They are ordered, in each section, based on the date of the last post. Most recent are at the top.

I'll add more as I find them.

Waterloo to Sudbury Ontario

We decided to return home Sunday instead of staying over. We'll be headed back down again on Friday anyway.

The day was clear and so were the roads as I took Highway 401 to Toronto. I skipped the 407 and went all the way to 400 because it was Sunday morning and the traffic was relatively light. Not much doing all the way up to Sudbury other than the snow levels increasing as we got closer to home.

The plow had filled the mouth of the driveway after we left. It was hard work with the snow blower because it was pretty frozen but I got it done.

It's hard to believe the large snowbanks here contrasted with virtually no snow down south. On the plus side, our two thaws since Christmas took down a lot of snow otherwise we would have more snow than I have ever seen. As it is, it looks like we'll finish out the best snowmobile season in years in fine style.

Dress Shopping Day In Waterloo

We were up at Kim's and she, Sandy and I headed for Heather's in Waterloo early. Mike was taking Jolene to see his parents in Aylmer while the ladies searched for bridesmaid dresses.

Heather and Tom were up, with Tom's best friend Darryl and his wife Erin. Soon after, his brother's girlfriend Justyna arrived and the ladies set off in our van for the dress shop in Elmira where they met his other brother's wife, Agnieszka. And so the bridal party was complete.

Tom, Darryl and I kicked around the condo with Tom giving us a masterful demonstration of the advanced levels of Guitar Hero on the Wii. Just before noon, the girls called to say they'd meed us at the Black Forest Inn in Conestogo for lunch.

The Saturday brunch buffet at the Black Forest is much less crowded and a little cheaper that the one on Sunday but it's every bit as good. With the new glucose monitor, I've been staying on my diet quite well and was good today. Other than a very small (but excellent) croissant and two small pancakes with no topping, I avoided starches and sugars. I even passed by the excellent dessert table. The custom made omelet was extremely good.

The ladies had gotten the dress buying done with an absolute minimum of fuss. Erin said she had never seen anything like it. Sandy even picked out a Mother Of The Bride dress.

Erin, Kim, Heather, Agnieszka, Justyna and Sandy outside the Black Forest Inn

After brunch, Sandy and I took Kim back to Cambridge where she planned to take a nap until Mike got home. Then we got our gear and returned to Waterloo for the night.

Thanks for lunch, Tom. Next time is on us.

Sudbury to Cambridge Ontario

Heather decided that this would be the weekend to look at bridesmaid gowns. Sandy wanted to be there and see if she could find a mother of the bride dress at the same time. Great. Besides, we hadn't seen Jolene in quite a while, so southward we would go.

Of course, the winter weather wasn't going to co-operate, as usual. After a fine week, they called for a winter storm Thursday overnight and Friday morning. Lots of snow interspersed with a bit of rain and then a flash freeze. Further south, it was supposed to rain all night and then freeze. I went to bed Thursday night somewhat apprehensive.

Friday morning dawned nothing like the forecast. It never got warm enough for rain so the flash freeze was out. There was more snow, dropping temperatures and a driving north wind that made some pretty substantial drifts. The snow texture was neither light nor wet and was packed by the wind solid enough that it would be ideal for igloos.

I planned to wait until the snow stopped, clean the driveways and then head south, hopefully before noon. In the meantime, I set out about 6:30 for the YMCA for my morning workout. It took three runs to get out of the driveway. Then because the plows were working on the main roads but ignoring the side streets, it took three more tries to get out of the subdivision. At that point, surrounded by whiteouts and stuck cars, I gave up the workout idea and went and fueled the van. Then I went home and watched the weather radar.

About 8:30, the radar showed our snow should be ending. Sure enough, the sky brightened but that wind kept howling. I put on full snow gear and started blowing our driveway and the neighbor's.

Our driveway, not showing the big drift on the other side of the van

It took a while, but eventually I blew the snow about three doors away. The plow will come along while we're away and I'll be faced with another mess when I get home but there was no point in worrying about that right now. We packed extra warm gear just in case and headed south about 9:45 under clearing skies.

A couple of years ago, the Ministry of Transportation installed what they call Compass Signs on highway 69. These are the overhead signs with the messages they can program from some secret central location. Usually they say "Buckle Up" or "Watch For Moose" or something equally banal. I don't even look at them any more. Lucky Sandy was watching as we were leaving town because this time it told us Highway 69 was closed at Highway 64, about 40 miles south of town. Unlike other places, there are no convenient alternate routes available.

I called my father-in-law and he looked up an 800 number for MTO. I phoned them and was told that the closure had just come up but they didn't know why. Then I phoned the OPP regional HQ and found there was an accident at Point Au Baril and they were still waiting for the technical investigators. There was no estimate how long the road would be closed. The detour is across to North Bay and down Highway 11, adding about 75 miles to the trip. But, thanks to the Compass warning, we didn't drive 40 miles south and then have to backtrack.

The highway to North Bay was relatively clear but visibility was limited at times

Some people seemed to be having trouble with conditions

Travelling around North Bay, Highway 17 was very icy. No problem as long as you don't make any sudden moves. Like stopping or steering. Once we headed south on Highway 11, traction and visibilty improved.

Many rock cuts have pretty ice formations

Near Gravenhurst, the roads cleared completely. South of there, the snow started to disappear. We skirted Toronto just before rush hour and got into Mike and Kim's about 4:30. After being drifted in in Sudbury, here's what Cambridge looks like.

Snow? What snow?

This was the first time we've seen Jolene face to face in over a month. That's half her life. I don't want to be one of those bragging grandfathers, but she is the prettiest and pleasantest baby I've ever seen.

We'll take it easy tonight and tomorrow the dress wars begin.