Summersville West Virginia to Maggie Valley North Carolina

It was a sunny 37 F this morning in Summersville. I couldn't log onto the WiFi and was wondering what I was doing wrong until I asked at the front desk. They told me the provider changes the password every Monday morning. Then all was good, although you would think noon would be better after all the guests checked out. We had another trailer in the lot with a drag car out of Ohio.

A mean looking car - note the parachute

Looks like it is built to run

I want to try one

After a breakfast of raisin bran, toast and yogurt, we were rolling at 8:00 AM. As usual, there was a local cop with someone pulled over on the south side of town. Anyone passing through here needs to know that this is one of the biggest speed traps in the east.

In Oak Hill, we passed a sign indicating that we were crossing the 38th parallel. It was dedicated to the Korean War veterans. We stopped at the Tamarack Service Centre in Beckley for fuel and then pushed on south towards Virginia.

Thought of the day from Steven Wright. "Why are pictures square if lenses are round?"

We entered Virginia in the middle of East River Mountain tunnel and then went through Big Walker Mountain tunnel before stopping at the Travel Center of America in Wythevillle for a sandwich and coffee to go.

East River Mountain tunnel - Virginia border is in the middle

Try not to rub the wall

Descending into Virginia

Big Walker Mountain tunnel

I-81 was moderately busy but the hills were much less severe as we slogged southwest towards Tennessee. Into a headwind. As usual. As we crossed the border going through Bristol, Jeanne Robertson was telling a story about Bristol Tennessee Virginia (the city lies on the state line) on Blue Collar Radio.

Mountain Man Mobile Cooker

Welcome to the Volunteer State

Note the flag direction

Past Bristol, we turned south on I-26 East. I know, the highway directions sometimes don't match the map. We proceeded south through Johnson City. I usually take back roads south of Bristol but the trailer dictates staying on the super slab when I can. We climbed up the side of the ridge to the North Carolina line. It was a long, slow pull but we made it. On the northbound side, Tennessee has opened a new welcome center we will have to stop at sometime.

Johnson City has a preference

The last state line of the trip out

I keep an eye out for the runaway truck ramps

We stopped at the North Carolina welcome center for a quick break and then continued downgrade, passing the infamous spot where out camper, on its first trip, popped open at 60 MPH in what has come to be known as the Great Drag Chute Incident. You can read my thoughts of that day here. 

At the NC welcome center

The spot where the trailer popped open

Pretty flowers along the right of way

We passed north of Asheville on I-240 and followed I-40 to the US 74 exit. There were a lot of orange barrels on 74 but we soon took the exit towards Maggie Valley, arriving at the Applecover Inn about 2:35 PM.

The motel office was locked up with a sign saying they would be back at 3:00. Derek is no longer resident and has a manager named Billy looking after the place. We unloaded the bike and waited. Just after 3:00, I phoned the number on the door and Billy sent his son James over to get us checked in. He told me where I could drop the trailer so we got everything parked and moved our gear into Room 14 on the front.

We are here.

Today's Route (326 Avalanche/trailer miles):


View Larger Map

Fort Erie Ontario to Summersville West Virginia

Mother's Day dawned with the news that it was +2 C and had snowed in Sudbury. Luckily for us, there was no white stuff here, but it was cool. I hope all the mothers out there had a great day. With the temperature the way it is, this truck/trailer thing isn't so bad.

We didn't rush and were out of the lot at 7:45. We followed the GPS instructions to a nearby McDonald's for coffee and a muffin to go. Maybe there will be a Mickey D's there some day but all we found was a vacant lot full of brush. Executing a deft U-turn, we headed the other way on Garrison to where I knew there was another and we got our order filled.

At the border, the agent asked where we were going and why. I explained about the bike in the trailer and the great roads in North Carolina. He asked if I owned the trailer and what the plate number was. I had no idea what the tag said and scrambled for the registration. He then asked about alcohol (none) and cigarettes (four packs). He thought I said four CARTONS. Once we cleared up that little misunderstanding, he wished us well and sent us on our way without even looking in the trailer. I guess I am still back in the Homeland Security good books.

Buffalo from the Peace Bridge

The US border at the Peace Bridge - Buffalo

We headed for I-90 West and passed through the toll booth, letting the EZ Pass take care of the fees. I still have to use a manned lane in New York so the attendant could enter the proper class because of the extra axles, but the transponder saved time and juggling coins and bills. And there was no need to figure out where to stow the toll ticket en route. Pretty good for a device that costs me nothing. The ETR 407 could learn from this.

We proceeded west into what felt like the teeth of a gale. I put the truck in 3rd and set the cruise at 50 MPH. I had adjusted the tires on the truck to the prescribed 30 PSI at home but, unfortunately, I did it at 80 F. Now just above freezing, the sensors were reading 27 so I stopped at the Travel Centres of America in Erie and pushed them all the way up to 35. I also bumped the trailer from 43 PSI to 50. The air compressor was high volume/high pressure but it still cost me $3.00 to get all eight tires adjusted. We'll see if the theoretical reduced rolling resistance has an impact on fuel economy.

It was raining south of Erie but we missed the brunt of it, catching a bit on I-90 and a bit more on I-79. Lunch was leftovers from last night, steak sandwich and chicken strips. They were even good cold. We did get passed by some interesting vehicles.

Storm clouds south of Erie

Windshields are nice things on days like this

Bumper sticker said "You gotta love rednecks with money"

It was 3 C (38 F) as we crossed into Mercer County. How is that global warming working for everyone? We were the slowest thing on the road except for a white Prius driven by and old dude sporting an Obama sticker on the side window.

I stopped for gas just before the north I-279 split. The young lady at the cash wondered if we were going home and was very surprised that we were southbound. She believed us when I explained that we were not normal. We continued south towards West (By God) Virginia, crossing the Ohio River at Mckee's Rocks and up the twisting road that climbed the hill on the other side.

The bridge over the Ohio River

Entering West Virginia, we found ourselves facing another headwind. Seemed like we couldn't find a break. I find in places like this that I often can't tell up from down. If it wasn't for the way the engine was working and the elevation readout on the GPS, I wouldn't have a clue. We made the turn onto US 19 and proceeded due south towards Summersville.

Downs and ups on the Mountaineer Expressway

The plan for today had been to make it to Wytheville (pronounced Withville), Virginia but I had gone through two bouts of fatigue today that had required me to get out and walk around to clear my head. Discretion being the better part of not driving off a mountain, I decided we would call a halt in Summersville, where the hotels were largely unoccupied because it was not yet rafting season.

The Super 8 had room, so we got parked and settled in. The rate was much better than last night although the pillows and bedding weren't nearly as plush. The TV remote refused to work until I discovered that someone had put one of the batteries in backwards. Then all was well.

For supper, we walked next door to Applebee's. I had forgotten that it was Mother's Day evening and that everyone and their dog would be taking Mom out for dinner. Luckily, they were all larger parties with an expected wait of thirty minutes. A party of two was seated at a high table almost immediately. Sandy and I split potato skins and an oriental chicken salad.

After supper, we returned to the room where I sorted photos for the blog and we watched Cochran win the Survivor finale. Then we turned out the lights and went straight to sleep.

Today's Route (412 Avalanche/trailer miles):

View Larger Map

Sudbury Ontario to Fort Erie, Ontario

I didn't mention in the previous post how, as I was getting ready to deliver carnations and figured my hair could use a trim, I attached the wrong guide to the clippers. Instead of a #2 cut (1/4"). I now sport a #1 (1/8"). Strangely enough, I like it, as long as I wear a hat on sunny days.

 Today was the day to leave for SEVROC in Maggie Valley, but first we needed to complete the jobs that we couldn't do yesterday due to the rain. Luckily today was dry, albeit cold. First, I took the truck for fuel. Then I hooked the trailer up and loaded the bike. The lawn needed mowing and, while all of this was going on, I was updating the maps in my Garmin Zumo GPS.

 If you aren't interested in GPS's, skip the next two paragraphs. The Zumo is an older 550 and I have come to rely on it heavily. But it has a few quirks. The internal memory is about 1.1 Gb while the current map files exceed this. This means that I can either install a part set of maps or I can install to the SD card, a somewhat more complicated process. The second feature is that the Zumo uses USB 1.1, which means loading a map set cab take up to four hours. Interestingly, there is a single solution to both problems.

 The SD card in the Zumo can be loaded in the card reader in the computer for faster speed. For example, backing up the music and audio files on the Zumo would take 74 minutes via the USB 1.1 connection but just took four minutes via the card reader. Rather than install the maps to the Zumo directly (even though I see the new load program will give the choice of which media to install on), I download to the computer. Then, using Mapsource, I can install them to the SD card in the reader. Unfortunately, it took an hour and a half because I had, for some reason, put the SD card back in the GPS. Oh well, I was mowing the lawn and loading the bike while all this was going on and I now have the 2013.4 version of the maps installed.

Ready to roll 

 We were rolling by noon under sunny skies, although the temperature had only gotten up to 11C. Southbound traffic was very light and, even though I was travelling at about 95 KPH, almost no one was catching me. At the Alban turnoff, we saw they were golfing despite the construction work. There was silt screening between the fairway and the new road, but folks were out. I stopped briefly at the French River Trading Post to check the bike tie-downs and, south of the Pickerel River, a large bear ran across the road but Sandy didn't have the camera ready.

 You don't realize how many hills there are on Highway 69 until you tow a trailer. Near Still River, we met a line of clouds. Entering this zone, we started getting some crosswind buffeting, although the trailer tracked well. The temperature started to drop and was down to 8 C by Pointe Au Baril.

Cloud line just north of Still River 

 We stopped at the McDonald's in Parry Sound for some food to go. I couldn't help but notice all the solo cars parked in the pull through trailer spaces. But that's OK, I parked in a bus space. By Waubaushene, the clouds cover had broken and there were large patches of blue sky. As we reached Toronto, Canada's Wonderland was open and they had a sign advertising Dinosaurs Alive. We haven't been to Wonderland in many years. Sandy hates roller coasters so I need to find a ride buddy.

Canada's Wonderland 

 We splurged and took the 407 to the 401 to Kim and Mike's. The side trip was necessary so Sandy could pick up the jacket I had left at Heather and Tom's on Easter weekend. They brought it to Cambridge when they came too visit. The service centres on the 401 are coming along nicely.

New service centre construction on the 401 near Cambridge 

We arrived at Kim and Mike's at 5:30 PM. Heather and Tom were also there, and Tom was on his bike. Jolene and Robyn were both happy to see us. although Kim said Robyn has been scared of almost everything for the last week. This was unusual because, up until now, she has been absolutely fearless. Our planned 15 minute stop turned into an hour but time with grandkids is always good.

Jolene with Aunt Heather and Uncle Tom

The original plan had called for getting to Erie, Pennsylvania tonight but it was getting late so I decided Fort Erie would be a good place to stop. I called our usual Comfort Inn and found it was now an Econolodge. The desk clerk told me they were renovating and probably didn't have room for the truck and trailer in the lot, so I checked out the only other place there, a Clarion Inn and Conference Centre. They had room and said the parking lot was huge.

Stelco steel plant in Hamilton 

On the way down to Fort Erie, I took advantage of the fact that I now had the NASCAR channel on XM radio and was able to listen to the night race from Darlington. We found the Clarion after wandering a few back roads by mistake and they were right. There were several parking lots and they were all huge. The room was very nice with comforters and lots of big pillows, although that was to be expected for the price we paid.

 There was a restaurant, Freelands, downstairs that didn't close until 9:30. I had the soup of the day (cream of mushroom) and an open face steak sandwich with a Caesar salad. Sandy had chickens strips, five large ones. The soup serving was generous with more mushrooms than I have ever seen in a soup bowl. The steak was an excellent New York strip on toasted French bread topped with cheese, mushrooms and onions. The Caesar dressing was just right and the salad had lots of large bacon pieces. Sandy said the chicken strips were great. All in all, it ws a much better meal than I had expected, although there was so much that we packed some of it for tomorrow.

 Back in the room, I watched the rest of the NASCAR race on TV before turning in for the night. Tomorrow, we would see if Homeland Security still liked me.

Today's Route (372 Avalanche/trailer miles):


View Larger Map

Three Days Of The Carnation

The MS Society of Canada sells carnations just before Mother's Day as its signature fundraiser. Rona Ramsey is the mastermind of the Sudbury Chapter campaign, which I participated in for the first time this year.

The flowers were to arrive at the Twin Forks Playground building Wednesday between 9:00 and 11:00 AM. I got there a few minutes after 9:00 and found Chapter Secretary Rose and her husband Andre already waiting. What we didn't know was that the truck driver from Toronto, who was supposed to deliver in North Bay first thing and then drop our flowers in Sudbury before proceeding west to Iron Bridge, got his orders mixed up. He went to North Bay all right, but then he went through Sudbury and on to Iron Bridge before coming back to us. That was an extra 280 miles and he showed up just before 5:00 PM.

When he did arrive, we got a look at what nine pallets of carnations looked like. There were some single stem cut but most were small pots, fifteen to a box. This was going to be a big job for the three of us so Andre, the silver-tongued salesman, asked four teenagers playing tennis if they would give us a hand. And help us they did, for almost 45 minutes of lugging boxes into the building. They were cheerful, courteous and industrious and  had to be persuaded to take a potted plant each for their mothers and a can of ginger ale as thanks for their efforts. Too bad I didn't have my camera to record the team, because they renewed my faith in the younger generation. With all the plants unloaded, Diane and her volunteers showed up to sort Thursday morning's deliveries of pre-ordered flowers to local businesses.

Thursday dawned as another unseasonably warm and sunny day. I had been awake since 3:00 AM, although I am not really sure why. My morning task was to be one of the delivery people and I drafted Leo to help. We were at the playground before 8:00, waiting for Laurel who got hung up in a traffic jam. That wasn't hard because every road across town was being worked on this morning. Good planning by the city. When she arrived, we loaded as many boxes as we could in the Avalanche and headed out to make our first drop at the Greater Sudbury Police Service HQ. They had nine boxes ordered and needed them before 9:30 AM.

The police plants were delivered on time and then we wandered around downtown delivering the rest, with Leo driving and me running in to find the people, drop off boxes and collect money. We had to go back to the playground for the second part of the load but had everything done by noon. Good thing because we would be selling plants at Vale's (formerly my old employer Inco's) Copper Cliff Mine from 2:00 until 6:00.

We loaded the truck with plants and stopped by home to pick up Sandy, since having a lady sell in a predominantly male environment was supposed to be better. The traffic was still hung up and we got to the mine at 2:00 sharp, which did not allow for reconnoitering time. Vanessa, the plant Admin, got us set up in the warm room and we laid the plants out on a shelf. There were people waiting for us and sales started out briskly. Tam, the Production Superintendent, was our biggest asset, encouraging the miners to buy and even lending money to some who didn't have any with them. Miners usually leave their wallets in their vehicles when they go underground. Sales tapered off as the afternoon wore on, but not before I sent Sandy and Leo to get more small bills and coins when our float became depleted.

Tam's story was interesting. He escaped Viet Nam as a boat person when he was fifteen, sharing a raft with 161 other people. They had no food or water and two died before they reached Malaysia. In the refugee camp, he declined a chance to come to the USA, choosing Canada because he spoke French. After ending up in Sudbury, he put himself through high school and studied engineering at university before joining Inco 23 years ago. He worked his way up to his present position and demonstrated an easy manner of overseeing the people who reported to him. Anyone born in this country who complains about their lot could take a lesson from Tam.

By 6:00 PM, we had sold 118 plants and loaded the rest up to take with us to Stobie Mine the next day.

It would have been nice if the good weather could have held on for one more day, but it was not to be. I was up again around 3:00 AM and found a cold, rainy day. I had planned to load the bike into the trailer and mow the lawn before noon in anticipation of leaving for North Carolina tomorrow morning, but all I got to do was to lay out my stuff for Sandy to pack.

After lunch, I went over to the playground and loaded 17 boxes in the truck. Then I got Sandy and we picked up Leo. Because of the rain, the construction work was shut down and traffic flowed smoothly. We were at the mine in plenty of time and the Plant Protection Officer let me bring the truck inside the gate and right up to the door.

As happened yesterday, business was brisk at first but tapered off later on. Although we were to be there until 7:00, the last cage came up at 5:15 and people going underground weren't buying so we knocked off at 6:00 PM again after selling 88 plants. Then we delivered the remaining flowers to the Rona Ramsey MS Centre of Hope to be put out for sale at local stores tomorrow. Then we dropped Leo off and headed home for some much needed rest. Many thanks to Leo for service above and beyond the call of duty.

This was my first time working on this campaign but won't be my last. I will have a lot better idea of how this all works next year. What I do know, as Chapter Treasurer, is the good works funded by the proceeds of this and other fundraising activities.

Freedom Riders Ride To Sturgeon Falls

Spring has been pretty much of a non-entity this year. We have jumped right from a won't-give-up winter straight into an awesome summer in a matter of days, and the Freedom Riders Motorcycle Association of Northern Ontario, Inc. is more than ready for it.

Last evening, there was a surprise Email from Freedom Riders VP Nepper suggesting it was too nice a night to not have a bonfire. Sandy didn't want to be up too late so I took the bike and rode alone out to join Nepper and Yollande at their place in Chelmsford. They have a very nice fire pit and benches in the back yard and he was right. It was too good a night to stay inside. Unfortunately, it seems I was the only one who was able to respond on short notice but the three of us spent a pleasant couple of hours watching the logs burn as we swapped tales. It was an early night and I got home before 11:00 PM.

This morning saw the dawn of another excellent day. We rode the bike to our monthly club meeting at the Falcon Hotel in Garson. It was well attended and we got through the business in short order. Then some of the bikes and one car set out via Garson/Coniston Road to Highway 17 and then eastbound 55 miles to Sturgeon Falls. Sandy had decided after the meeting that she was tired so friends Tom and Eve gave her a lift home and I rode solo. It seemed like every second vehicle on the road was a motorcycle enjoying the suddenly perfect weather.

In Sturgeon, we stopped at the Riv Chip Stand, which was overrun with both riders and regular folk. I wasn't hungry so I watched everyone else eat. The hamburgers looked absolutely awesome so I will have to stop here again. Or maybe at Larry's, across the street. I found an interesting Globe and Mail article about their decades long rivalry.

Riv Chip Stand - Sturgeon Falls, Ontario

Some of the Freedom Riders bikes

A brindle pit bull/shepherd mix

Leo, Yollande and Nepper

Chantal and Carole

Kristine, Ray, Mary Ann and Shawn

President Rob is ready to eat

Dan R. Sitting with all his freinds

After we were done eating, we headed straight back to Sudbury. The winds, buffeting on the way east, were a bit less choppy on the way back and traffic flowed smoothly for the most part. Interestingly, all the slow vehicles were silver. I hope that doesn't speak ill of the personality traits that make an individual choose silver, since that is my preferred colour of vehicle.

Back home, most peeled off at Royal Distributing while Leo and I came straight back to the house and watched some of the NASCAR race at Talladega.

In the evening, we went to the funeral home to pay our respects to the mother of fellow member and good friend Terry. His Mom was 93 when she passed away and had been active and mentally sharp right up until the end.. Still, it is always hard to lose a parent and our thoughts remain with Terry, Patsy and their family through this difficult time.

Today's Route (109 motorcycle miles):


View Larger Map

The Toys Are Out

We were tired after the NODD conference yesterday, plus I burned the candle a little more by watching the NASCAR Richmond race after I got home. What a joy it was to watch the recorded race and see most of my Fantasy League drivers, competitive at the beginning, get taken out on wrecks beyond their control.

Anyway, I didn't wake up until 9:00 AM and wasn't  really mobile until noon. But it was another gorgeous spring day so I called Freedom Riders president Rob to  see about retrieving our big trailer which spent the winter stored in his back yard. His wife Chantal told me they were just heading out for a ride but Rob would move the vehicles so I could get at the trailer.

After lunch, Sandy and I took the truck to Hanmer. The trailer hookup went well and all the lights worked. The drive back to Sudbury was equally uneventful. At home, I managed to back the trailer into the driveway in one shot, totally impressing the next door neighbor. He didn't know that it was blind luck.

With the trailer home, it was time to turn my attention to the bike. After pulling the snowblower and lawnmower out into the driveway, I unplugged the battery tender and removed the fabric softener sheets spread around the bike (word has it that rodents hate fabric softener sheets). I checked the oil and found it was right at the bottom of the dipstick. Since it was changed when I stored it and there was no evidence of oil under the bike, I have no idea why it was low but I added a bit to bring the level to the middle of the stick.

The tires were also a bit low so I got out my small Airman compressor, which promptly destroyed itself when I switched it on. Oh well, I've had this one for over four years and it originally cost me $19.95 so I can't complain. It was off to Crappy Tire to get a new pump and then fill the tires to the prescribed pressure, 36 PSI front and 41 rear for anyone who cares. The next task involved putting all the gear back in the appropriate bags and pockets (Sandy helped me with some of them) and then pulling the bike outside. Sandy swept the garage and then I put the snowblower, lawnmower and other implements of destruction into their summer locations.

Next came the best part. I put on my jacket and helmet and fired the bike up. It started well and ran well, not bad for a machine with 240,945 kilometers on the clock. Then I took it out for a short ride to make sure it all worked on the road. It did and it felt great. I stopped by to visit Rose and Andre, new friends who have a Yamaha 1700 Roadstar. The Roadie had some Route 66 graphics so I told Andre he will have to meet Sherm sometime.

Returning home, I parked the bike in the garage and came in with a smile on my face. The season has begun!

MS Society of Canada Sudbury Chapter - Northern Ontario Development Day

Sandy's and my involvement with the Sudbury Chapter of the MS Society of Canada began gradually. First we started attending meetings of the chapter self help group, then called Hope Seekers and now renamed Trailblazers, at the Rona Ramsey MS Centre of Hope. Then we began going to the Thursday lunches held by the chapter members. The next thing you know, I had volunteered us to take the aluminum pop cans they collected to the salvage yard and bring back the funds this generated. Finally, an off hand comment resulted in me being recruited last December to fill the vacant Treasurer position on the chapter Board.

Rona Ramsey MS Centre of Hope - Sudbury Ontario

The Northern Ontario Development Day (NODD) was an idea that had been percolating for several years and now the Board was about to make it happen. The plan was two-fold. First we would have a morning working session with the Northern Ontario chapters to share ideas and best practices regarding fundraising, as well as to discuss chapter issues common to the north. Second, we would host an open afternoon seminar where speakers would talk about the possibility of developing a  neurological clinic in Sudbury to service the north. Recognizing that there are not enough MS patients to warrant a dedicated MS clinic, the invitations went out to other organizations representing neurological disorders which could also benefit from such an institution.

Finally, under the leadership of Director at Large Paul B., aided by new Director of Public Relations Lori, chapter staff person Sheila and other Board members, the vision imparted by Chapter Chair Laurel was about to become a reality.

The weather was amazing this morning. It was almost as if spring finally realized it had been waiting in the wings too long and finally burst upon us in one amazing day. Sandy and I got to the Centre about 8:00 AM. Most of the setup for the morning session had been completed Friday afternoon, so it was a fairly relaxed atmosphere as we waited for the attendees to arrive.

Sandy, Lori and Cyndi prepare to greet the guests

There was a nice continental breakfast laid out and the coffee was on, so everyone fixed plates of fruit, yogurt, breakfast bars and homemade muffins. Sudbury members arrived as did Peter and Lionel from Timmins and Sandy from Thunder Bay. Last in was Sylvia Leonard, MS Ontario Division President and National VP, who had driven up from Toronto yesterday to observe.

At 9:15 sharp, we set aside the breakfast dishes, got one more cup of coffee and got down to business.

The chapters attending shared the strategies they used to make the main fundraising activities successful. Timmins is renowned for their Carnation campaign while Sudbury's Walk is successful. Chapters also shared other means of fundraising. Everyone agreed that what works in one place may not work in another due to local dynamics but that there were also some commonalities. After the break, we talked about these issues and Sylvia shared some thoughts on changes she would like to see as the new Division president.

Sheila, Laurel, Rona and Gilles from Sudbury

 Sandy from Thunder Bay and Division President Sylvia

Sandy, Sylvia, Lionel (Timmins), Cyndi, Dr. Shawn and Paul B (all Sudbury)

Gilles (Sudbury), Peter (Timmins), Sandy (T Bay) and Sylvia (Toronto)

Sandy, Rose, Lori, Paul H and Sheila (all Sudbury)

All in all, as we broke for a lunch provided by the Trailblazers, everyone agreed that the morning had been worthwhile and would like to see it done again. It was one workshop where I was engaged all the way through, an unusual and positive thing. It was particularly nice that Sylvia made the effort to come and listen to what the northern chapters had to say.

Yours truly and  Paul Brokenshire, rated one of the 75 most interesting people in Canada

After lunch, the chapter people, aided by our guests, sprang into action to convert the workshop space into the layout for the afternoon seminar. Tables were folded and put away while chairs were set up for the expected fifty plus attendees. the podium, sound system and projector were put in place. We managed to get everything in order as the afternoon guests started to arrive.

MC Paul B giving some opening remarks

First to speak was Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas. She gave a talk on how to organize a campaign to get what we needed from government, followed by a question and answer session. Some of her points were ones I was already familiar with, while a few provided insight into additional methods and considerations. Her asides about how politicians operate were both informative and humourous.

MPP France Gelinas addressing the assembled multitudes

Dr. Melanie Ursell was the next up to the podium. A neurologist specializing in MS who moved her practice from Toronto to Bracebridge, Dr. Ursell used a Powerpoint presentation to impart facts about MS as well as new advances in drugs and treatment regimens that were on the horizon. She was extremely well versed in her subject and took questions from the floor as she went along. It seems that some new drugs and well as the idea that aggressive treatment be commenced right after the first exacerbation are yielding very positive downstream results in slowing the progress of the disease.

Dr. Melanie Ursell from Bracebridge

Dr. Ursell was followed by Sherry Frizzell, who described the workings of the Northeast Local Health Integration Network, which is responsible for providing most of the local health care services and would be involved with any potential new neurological clinic. She was followed by closing speaker Dr. Shawn Rossi, Sudbury MS Chapter Director of Client Services and coordinator the neurological clinic project.

During the afternoon break, cake and coffee were served to the attendees. At then end of the session, Sudbury Chair Laurel gave some closing remarks to tie the seminar together. As the guests departed, the chapter people restored to building to its everyday layout in short order and most of us headed out for supper.

Paul B. had arranged a private room at Curious Thyme's Bistro, located at Science North. The company was excellent, the service was good but the food was just OK. I will say they know how to make asparagus taste good to me (and I usually hate asparagus).

Lionel (Timmins), Gilles and Paul H (both Sudbury)

Cyndi (Sudbury), Sandy (Thunder Bay), Paul B, Rona, Sandy and Rose (All Sudbury)

Sandy (Thunder Bay) and Paul B (Sudbury)

After supper, we left and spent some time talking in the parking lot. Peter from Timmins rides a motorcycle, although he is more of an adventure tour rider and has a Kawasaki KLR 650. Still, it was good to talk a little motorcycle speak on such a pleasant evening.

All in all, it was a good day. We met new friends and learned a lot from each other. I expect we will get together and do it all again next year.

Northstar Recreation Open House

Northstar Recreation - Sudbury Ontario

Northstar Recreation is a motorcycle dealership in Sudbury started a number of years ago by Dave Bimm. Dave had been the service manager at another local dealership prior to that and had taken good care of my previous GoldWings. A couple of years ago, after a lot of work, North Star was granted a Honda dealership in addition to the Kawasaki line they had started with.

North Star Recreation Owner Dave Bimm

Today we were there in response to an invitation extended to the Freedom Riders along with other local groups to witness the unveiling of the new Honda F6B. The original F6 was the 1500 cc Valkyrie, which was a stripped down bike using a hopped up version of the GL1500 motor. Using six carburetors instead of two and more aggressive cams, the bike would pass everything except a gas station and found a strong following. The F6B is a stripped down bagger style bike using the stock GL1800 motor. While this was the Canadian unveiling, I did point out the bike was on the road in the USA and U-Turn had just picked up his in Chattanooga and was riding it back to Boston.

The shrouded F6B awaiting introduction

Dave had laid on a very nice spread of food and refreshments. The small crowd came from various organizations and also included regular North Star customers. In advance of the appointed hour, since we were all there, one of Dave's staff started the unveiling by uncovering the three versions of the new CB500.

CB500F, CB500X and CBR500R

With the entry level bikes uncovered, the crowd held its collective breath and the cover was pulled off the jet black F6B. With a shorter windshield and no trunk, the bike is lower and lighter than a GoldWing and should be attractive to the bagger crowd, those that like the Kawasaki Vaquero or Harley Davidson Road Glide Custom. The F6B should be the fastest, best handling bagger out there, reinforced by the super reliable GoldWing engine. Plus, in black, it just looks plain mean. The centre stand is optional and it doesn't have a cruise control (a mistake in my mind), but it is state of the art in its class.

Freedom Riders Ray, Terry, Leo and Sandy around the F6B

It was nice of Dave to invite us and we enjoyed stopping by. When he first got the Honda dealership, he warned me that his mechanics were not up to speed on GoldWings. I appreciated his honesty at the time. He told me that they have gotten them figured out now so I am looking forward to finally being able to deal with a local shop for the first time in over ten years for my rare routine maintenance.

Thank you Dave Bimm and Northstar Recreation. We will be seeing you down the road.

Woodstock Ontario to Sudbury Ontario

After a few nice spring-like days, it was back to cold this morning. There was a hard frost, a little snow on the ground and a forecast high of -6 C. The tailgate on the truck was frozen shut so, rather than fight with it,  everything went into the back seat.

We were rolling at 7:30 after a quick stop at McDonald's for coffee, breakfast sandwiches and muffins to go. We ran through some snow squalls on the way to Cambridge and there was more snow on the ground when we got there.

Snow squalls on Highway 401

When I exited the 401 at Hespeler Road in Cambridge to head up Highway 24, I felt a slight clunk. At the stoplight, I got out and found my suspicions were correct. The frozen tailgate that hadn't released when I pulled the latch back at Heather and Tom's had finally decided to cooperate. It was wide open and, had I not checked, some of the items stored in the box might have parted company with us. Lucky to have caught it sooner rather than later, I shut it firmly before we continued on.

Going through Guelph a different way, I saw a sign for John Galt Park. Ayn Rand fans will get a kick out of this, although it was named for a different John Galt. This one was the founder of Guelph but it should still be a good venue for libertarians to congregate.

The trip up Highway 24 to Airport Road, north to Highway 9 and east to Highway 400 was uneventful. I watched the speed because of the ticket I got along this route last summer, but saw no police this time. We made up for that on 400 north where we saw three traffic stops within a few miles near the Highway 88 interchange. On the plus side, they were working the southbound side, catching people heading back into Toronto after the long weekend.

Through Barrie and north, we experienced severe crosswinds and blowing snow. It may be April first but it felt like a severe November day. The construction was still going on at the Barrie northbound service centre, until recently an empty lot. We stopped at the Esso at Waubaushene so I could grab a couple of 5 Hour Energy bottles. These are great for fighting off drowsiness when driving.

Barrie service centre construction

On the two-lane north of Parry Sound, we got into a line of slow traffic following a snowplow which was salting a bare highway. Since we were approximately 43 vehicles behind the plow, I bided my time and waited for the passing lanes. Unfortunately, the plow took up both lanes in the passing stretch so nobody was going anywhere until he pulled over at Pointe Au Baril. As we went by, I noted that not only was he salting a bare road, he was plowing it as well. It is always nice to see one's hard earned tax dollars being flushed down the drain.

Now we were lined up about 42nd behind a tanker that had been right behind the plow. Again I waited for the passing lanes but every time we got to a passing lane, some twit would pull to the left and briskly not accelerate. Sometimes they weren't even passing anyone and so I went by two on the right. I finally got by the truck just before the Magnetawan River and the last sixty miles was relatively easy.

Near the Britt turnoff, the OPP were running a bit of an immoral speed trap. A cruiser was parked hidden in some trees and the constable was using laser to paint southbound traffic a half mile away. The immoral part is that the traffic was being clocked as it came to the end of a passing lane on a downhill section. People who were actually driving the speed limit everywhere else would probably be exceeding it in this situation. This was very much like how I got ticketed on Highway 9 last summer.

We got a couple of shots of the construction around the Highway 64 turnoff, as well as what used to be the Holiday Golf Course until they built a traffic lane over one of the fairways. The four-laning is a good thing and I hope they can get it done by 2017, as scheduled.

What's left of Holiday Golf Course near Alban

Heavy equipment waiting to go to work

We pulled into the driveway about 1:00 PM. There was a raw wind blowing and we discovered the salt truck we followed had been dispensing brine. As a result, the front and sides of the truck looked like they had been whitewashed. But we were home and that is what counted.

The brine covered truck

Today's Route (312 truck miles):


View Larger Map