Honda Backorder

Rhonda called. The GL1800 propeller shaft (drive shaft) is back ordered until May 8th. Here's hoping that the date is accurate.

Cambridge Ontario to Sudbury Ontario

Home On Four Wheels

It was an uneventful trip home without the bike. Kim and Mike headed off to their respective jobs early and we sat around watching TV until Leo and Diane came to get us. They had visited Diane's niece in Brampton the night before, although the purpose of the whole trip was just to rescue us. Friends like that are a blessing.

Leo drove north as I guided him through my favourite route. Diane had never been through the Forks of the Credit, so we went that way first and then followed up with a run up the Hockley Valley. On the big road, we stopped for gas and a pit stop at Derek Roberts Esso in Waubaushene. I took over driving from there home.

I'll wait to hear from Rhonda as to when the bike will be ready.

Hanging Around Cambridge

It was a slow morning. Mike got up and went to work for a while, Kim and Sandy were down in the kitchen and I slept in. When I did get up, I found that the hat I had forgotten at home might have protected me from getting the nasty sunburn on my expanding forehead yesterday.

Kim made breakfast and then I got down to catching up on some blogging. Stopping only for lunch, I finally got caught up by 2:00 PM. Then I turned to my outstanding Email. For some reason, I tend to let the Emails slide until there are a large number. I have no idea what I have against Email, but it's a curse I live with.

Next, I started doing some camera research since the old one is fried. I really want one like Sherm has, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3. This camera, a 9.1 MP with a 10X optical zoom and a 3" LCD screen was introduced in January, 2007. Wouldn't you know that it was superseded in January, 2008 by the TZ5. The new one has additional features but nothing I felt I really need. It seems TigerDirect cleared out their TZ3's a month ago and I 'm going to have to hunt around for a source.

About 4:30, we got a call from Heather. She and Tom had gone out for a ride. Knowing Tom didn't have a lot of fuel, they were expecting to find a station but had taken a route on which there were none. He was out and she was very low. I got the location from her, took Kim's car and a gas can, stopped for a couple of gallons of gas and found them right where I expected to, New Dundee Road about a half mile from Trussler Road. On the way out, I was looking at a black, ugly cloud to the west but when I arrived it turned out that storm was northbound, missing us completely.

While gassing up, Tom suggested his nickname should be Empty Tank. ET works because he did phone home so that's what it will be. Nicknames are much better when they are earned:-)

Heather and Tom followed me back to Kim & Mike's where they joined us for supper. Then, darkness coming on, they headed back to Waterloo. It's a strange feeling watching one of your children head out on a motorcycle without you. Unsettling. Now I know how my Mom and my in-laws must have felt. But they phoned an hour later and said they were home safe.

Mike and I went over to Blockbuster to pick up a video. Normally, BB has the DVD jackets out front and the generic cases with the actual disc's behind. Tonight, all we could find were the jackets, the way it appears when they are all out of a title. But there were no generic cases. Finally, we checked and saw bar coding on the original cases and realized that they had changed the way they did things. We grabbed Juno and headed home.

Juno was a funny, quirky movie. The acting was great on all fronts and our new favourite Canadian actress, Ellen Page, was excellent. I first saw her in Hard Candy, a very disturbing film in which she played a tough role very well. The quintessential girl next door, I expect we'll be seeing a lot more of her in the future.

After the movie, we all turned in. Leo and Diane will be by in the morning to pick us up and take us home.

Cambridge Ontario to Newmarket Ontario and Back

Operation Suzuki

The BIG DAY is here for Heather and Tom. Today they travel to Newmarket, Ontario (about 2 hours away) to pick up the two new Suzuki C50 Boulevard SE motorcycles they bought at the Toronto Bike Show back in January. They have been arranging insurance, registration and other details all week. Paul, the salesman at Suzuki of Newmarket, hasn't been the most confidence inspiring individual but the price couldn't be beat.

The one catch with todays expedition is that neither Heather nor Tom have a great deal of riding experience. Heather got her licence in the fall of 2006 and did a small amount of riding with us on her 250 Rebel last year. Tom passed the course last year but has done virtually no riding since then. The C50's weigh over 600 pounds, light by today's standards but very close to the weight of my 1976 GL1000, a bike that we considered monstrous back in the day. It would have been nice to have the Wing so I could run interference for them, but we'll just have to make due with what we have.

Sandy and I took Tom's car over to their place in Waterloo, arriving about 15 minutes after the appointed 7:00 AM rendezvous time. Apropos of nothing, on the way over I caught a rock version of the famous Irish song Whiskey in the Jar. I told Sandy that it sounded like Metallica and so it turned out to be. Enough to make an Irish traditionalist (Hi, Mom) nuts. Later, I find out it won a Grammy in 1998. I guess I lead a sheltered life.

We headed out of Waterloo by 7:30. We went up to Highway 9, stopping in Orangeville at Timmie's, and then a cross to Newmarket arriving at the dealership about 9:15. Suzuki of Newmarket is a Superstore with motorcycles and cars in the same building. Paul the salesman got the paperwork and escorted the kids to the sales manager where they settled up the cash, registration and other details. Then Paul took them outside where Heather's blue and silver SE sat next to a plain Jane C50 in Tom's chosen colours of grey and silver.

After convincing Paul the Flake that they really had ordered and PAID FOR two SE's, we start to work on how to get this sorted out. The SE package comes in a kit with windshield, saddlebags and a backrest and is a bolt-on deal. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have any at the moment and don't expect any in until Tuesday. As we are going over Heather's bike checking out all the details, and I have sent both bikes back to have the tire pressures corrected, I start in on Paul about something to make up for the inconvenience. A token. Maybe a shock wrench that, surprisingly, doesn't come in the tool kit. Paul says he asked the service manager and they said no. Paul is blaming the whole screw-up on Service and won't accompany me back there. The service manager doesn't even know what a shock wrench is, but his assistant Marco describes it to him and says they don't stock them. On the bigger plus side, he does tell me that they found an SE kit and will get it installed straight away. Give them an hour and a half. OK.

I take Heather's bike and ride it just up the street to a largely empty Leon's (big box furniture store for you non-Canucks) parking lot. Heather gets her helmet and jacket on and fires it up. First she rolls ahead a little, checking the clutch action. After a few of these, and figuring out where the floorboards and foot controls are, she heads out and does some laps of the lot in 1st gear. Then she tries 2nd and rides some more. Eventually she stops and Tom takes a turn. The bike stays upright and they appear to be having little difficulty. Meanwhile, I speak to Stonewall down in the city. His bike work is done and he and a friend are heading up to see us.

About noon, we wander back to the shop. Tom's bike still isn't out, but some SCRC riders come in and we chat. Then Stonewall and Bitman show up. Then Tom's bike appears. We check it over and then head back over to Leon's. Stonewall, Bitman, Sandy and I chat while both Suzuki's do laps of ever increasing complexity. In the meantime, Bitman has a Garmin Nuvi GPS like Tom's with a motorcycle RAM mount. Turns out the mount is available quite reasonably. He said his is great but the MP3 player only does one song at a time. I showed him the Play All button. We both gained valuable knowledge.

Finally, it was time to challenge the open road. Stonewall and Bitman had to go the other way, towards Markham, so we said our goodbyes. I drove the car with Sandy and plotted a course north to Bradford. The roads were busy and the two were not the best at first at getting rolling with authority. But they did get going. I stopped once to suggest that they move a little quicker but, actually, they were doing quite well. On a hill in Bradford, with one lane closed, Heather learned that if you try to go too slowly on an uneven surface with your feet up, you will fall over. Nothing hurt except her pride and I had her back up in a minute.

From Bradford, we took Highway 88 (or whatever it's known as now) to Bond Head. Once we crossed the 400, traffic died down. We cut a little north and continued west on CR1. It's dead straight until Hockley and now the bikes were keeping up. After Hockley, to 70 KPH road sweeps back and forth for a very enjoyable ride. Tom said later that he really enjoyed it. They looked good. We went around Orangeville and on towards Fergus were Tom, making the turn from Highway 9 to CR 3, went in too fast and swept wide. My horror was replaced by admiration as he stuck with it, riding right to the edge of the sand and bringing it around the corner. Many newbies would have given up and dropped it.

As we approached Fergus, Tom pulled over on the shoulder. I had checked Heather's bike for gas and it was full, so I assumed (ASS_U_ME) that Tom's would be full too. Nope. And when the gauge starts flashing, it's pretty much too late. Heather and I waited with the bikes while Tom and Sandy took the car and got a gallon of gas to go.

I took Tom's bike and rode it a few miles to Inverhaugh. I was quite impressed. It is very stable in a straight line and very nimble in turns. Low speed maneuvering is very confident. But I soon gave it back to Tom because it was only right that he complete his first trip in the saddle.

We headed on into Waterloo where Tom and Heather passed us on the way to his parents' house. Sandy noted that Tom's turn signals flashed twice as fast as Heather's did. I said that usually meant a bulb out. Sure enough, when we checked neither front signal light was working. When they had the front apart installing the SE kit, they never reconnected the wires. So I pulled the headlight, found the two unconnected wires I was looking for (plus two more I have no idea what for) and plugged them all in. Eureka. And chock one more up for Suzuki of Newmarket.

Tom's Mom barbecued some steaks and pork. It was some of the best meat I have had in long time. Then we put the bikes in her garage and the kids brought us back to Kim and Mike's in Cambridge. They were out at friends and we went to bed before they got home.

I had a lot of good pictures today, but when I got home I found that the rotten Sony chip in my Canon A70 camera (what were they thinking?) had finally failed just the way they described in the camera forums. After almost five years, it is toast. The next photos you see should be with a new Panasonic Lumix like the one Sherm uses.

Late Breaking Update

I managed to get a photo of the bikes that Tom took. Heather is standing by hers on the right. Tom isn't in the photo because he was taking the picture.

Cambridge Ontario to Wasaga Beach Ontario and Back (sort of)

Some days you eats the bear.......

.....and some days the bear eats you.

By the time I got up this morning, Kim and Mike had already left for work. Sandy and I headed up to Canadian Tire to get a copy of their house key cut, stopped at Mickey D's for breakfast and picked up a few groceries at Zehr's, dropping them back at the house.

Tom had taken the day off to clean Heather's Rebel, which was being stored in his Mom's garage near his condo in Waterloo. We rode over to see him and then we all went over to Heather's office for lunch. She looks lost in there with a table, one computer and a chair in that large empty space. Most of the furnishings went at auction earlier this week and she will be done at the end of the month. The bike noise seemed to be getting worse, so I called J&R and spoke to Rhonda. She said John was there this afternoon, so I decided to ride up and have him take a look. Tom took Sandy back to Kim & Mike's.

On the two hour ride to J&R in Wasaga Beach, I noted that the noise was worse when I backed off the throttle and, at lower speeds, I could feel a vibration through my foot pegs. Not a good sign. I arrived at the shop about 3:10. John dropped what he was doing and took the bike on the road for a test. I hoped for a dragging caliper or dirty brake pad, but he came back and confirmed what I really knew but didn't want to think about. Drive shaft universal joint. The same as happened to my 1976 Wing with 40K miles on it, only this one has 82K miles, many of them towing a camper trailer at 80MPH. Interestingly, the extended warranty kicked in two weeks ago.

When I think about it, this is all for the best. It will cause me some problems in the short term and tomorrow won't be near as much fun, but this early will allow us to get it fixed with minimum disruption. If it had happened during any of the big trips this summer, it would have really messed things up.

So now I am stuck in Wasaga Beach. As some kind of a weird positive omen, a guy pulled in on a Honda Rune, the only one I have ever seen on the road. I called Heather and she arranged for Tom to come and pick me up. Then I called Leo and was telling him the tale (he is negotiating right now for a new Wing). He asked if I wanted him to come down to Waterloo Monday and bring us home. I said sure. Friends like this are a prize better than gold.

Tom arrived about 5:45 and, on the way back to Cambridge, I got him to drive through the Hockley Valley and the Forks of the Credit. He figures he might like Hockey tomorrow on the way home with the new bike, but that the Forks would have to wait until he has more experience. Good call, IMHO:-)

Back at Kim and Mike's, Mike had cooked up some excellent stuffed pork chops and then we all sat around and passed the time for a while until Tom and Heather went home and the rest of us turned in. Tom and Heather took her car and left us his so we could go over to their place in Waterloo in the morning and get Operation Suzuki under way.

Sudbury Ontario to Cambridge Ontario

Heather and Tom will be picking their new bikes, matching Suzuki C50 Boulevard SE's (800 cc shaft driven, liquid cooled cruisers with windshields, saddlebags and backrests) up at Suzuki of Newmarket on Saturday and then riding them home. The linked article is about a C50T, which is the same as the SE except that is has studs in the seat and saddlebags. Other than course training, Heather has limited miles on her Honda Rebel 250 and Tom has virtually none, so we intend to escort them home.

I went to the gym first thing this morning, stopped by the optometrist to complain about the prescription of my new glasses and then came home to pack. It was clear and quite warm, an exceptional day for April. We got all the gear stashed on the bike without incident.

Sandy hasn't been on the bike since I decided to increase the preload settings on the rear shock, so I took a guess at 20 based on our experience with the spring-only ride to Georgia last September. It was perfect. A word to Traxxion users with the regular spring, don't get lured in by the talk of low settings. The ride, bumps and all, was much better with the higher setting.

The ride down Highway 69 was comfortable, not to cool with moderate traffic. I set the cruise at 19 KPH above the limit based on the GPS. It was easy to see the salt still on the pavement. I think this is worse since they started using brine. It will take some more heavy rain to wash this off into the ditches where it will entice the moose out to the side of the highway and we will have our usual spring rash of car/moose collisions.

As we reached Nobel, about 100 miles into our journey, I had to slow down for construction. When I did, I started to hear a faint swish/swish sound from under the bike that varied in relation to our ground speed. This identified it as being related to tires, wheels, brakes, final drive or drive shaft. We stopped at Mickey D's in Parry Sound for lunch and I put it on the centre stand to see if I could see anything. Nothing visible with the brakes, nothing if I spun either wheel, nothing if I moved the rear wheel in gear (except perhaps the lash was a little more than I remembered). Maybe it was salt in the brake pads?

We continued on, taking some of our favourite Ontario roads. Off the 400 at Highway 89, we went towards Alliston but took the road around the Nottawasaga Inn to Tottenham Road. Then we went south to County 1 and then west, with the road eventually becoming the Hockley Road. They have added a much needed traffic light in Loretto which should save a few lives. The Hockley Road is perfect. Good pavement and no sand in the corners, although the 70 KPH speed limit is quite limiting. When we reached Highway 10 in Orangeville, we went south through Caledon to Forks of the Credit Road. This has been closed for over a year and a half, but is now open again and many bikes will be riding it as the season goes on.

Once through The Forks, we continued on Highway 24 to Guelph and Cambridge, arriving at Kim and Mike's by about 4:30. After taking about what to have for supper,the girls decided that they would like to try the new Chicken Bowls from KFC. Mike and I headed over there to get some. The girl at the counter said they didn't have any large bowls, but she would give us two small ones for the price of one large. That was a great deal and so we headed home after a successful hunt with EIGHT chicken bowls. Surprisingly, they weren't too bad with the mashed potatoes, corn, cheese, chicken nuggets and gravy.

We must have been tired because Sandy and I hit the sack about 9:15 and went right to sleep.

The Bike Is Out

It was a nice day yesterday. The snow that fell on Friday and prompted the final use of the snowblower had mostly melted. I went to the garage, checked the tire pressure and oil level on the Wing and fired it up. It started up immediately and settled right into a smooth idle.

After getting suited up, I tip-toed out into the sand covered street and on out of the subdivision. It was just a short ride. Here on out through Garson and on the the village of Falconbridge (I wonder if they should change the name to XStrata since the company doesn't like the name Falconbridge?). The bike ran strongly and smoothly and the new suspension setting continued to eat up the few bumps I was unable to avoid. On the way back, I took a slight detour around on Maley Drive and down to the Kingsway, but didn't stay out too long.

Today, I went back out again, on to Falconbridge with a stop at the Sudbury Trail Plan office to see Normie. Then I took a spirited ride down the Garson/Coniston Road before stopping for gas $1.19 / Liter) and coming home.

It feels great. I am happy.

In The Gym Again

I was never a very fit person during my working days. Other than some squash playing in the 80's, I hadn't seen the inside of a gym since I was in high school. The, at the end of 2001, I signed up for an introductory program at the Sudbury YMCA. The staff there taught me how to use the cardio and weight equipment and, over the winter, I dropped 35 pounds (down to 185) and got in pretty good shape. However, when spring came, I stopped going as riding season started.

The next winter, I went back to working out again. More benefits, although the summer weight gain didn't come off as easily. This annual pattern continued, gym in the winter and not in the summer. Some winters, I was more diligent than others. This went on until last winter.

I finished the riding season last year at 208 pounds. Not bad considering I had started the season at 211. But I didn't get back into the gym in the fall. Sandy had surgery in October and I quit smoking in September, throwing things out of kilter. I went to the YMCA a few days in early December and a couple in mid January. In the meantime, my weight skyrocketed to 229 by the beginning of April. All in all, this was a less than ideal situation and, by April 7th, I had had enough.

Not going to the gym in the winter is much worse than in the summer. At least, in the summer, I am relatively more active. During the winter, I just lay around most of the time. And it showed when I got back on the cardio equipment. The first two days, I wasn't even able to keep up my entry level treadmill routine of 25 minutes at 3.8 MPH at a 6% grade. The 15 minutes on the horizontal exercise bike was rugged and the mere five minutes on the elliptical almost finished me. I did a few basic weight machines but didn't overdo it. This was the worst start back at the gym after a lay-off ever.

The third day was rough too, but I realized when I got home that I had forgotten my BP meds, including my beta-blocker. Fortunately, Thursday and Friday were somewhat better. Today, Monday, the start of the second week, things seem to have kicked in. The cardio workout, while having a long way to go, is quite acceptable and I am running the full weight routine and adding weights daily.

As I get older, I can't afford missing workouts. It's harder to get in shape again and the ups and downs aren't good for me. I need to get the weight down because that will improve my blood pressure and my blood sugar. So I need to be sure that, even if I am just home for a day, I need to go to the gym and do something. We'll see how I keep up with this as time goes by.

The 2008 Itinerary

One of the fun activities that keeps us going over the winter is watching the calendar of events develop and then planning our trips to see how many we can attend. Here's what we have come up with so far.

April 19/20 weekend is the Hill Country Ride in Texas that we originally planned to attend since our last time there was 2005. However, we canceled because this was the weekend Heather and Tom wanted to pick up their new bikes in Newmarket and we wanted to be there for the event and the ride home.

May will be quiet. The weekend of the 10th, we're working on the Freedom Riders Motorcycle Awareness display in the New Sudbury Centre. The next week involves the Bikers for Life Challenge to get blood donations and a Motorcycle Awareness Week proclamation at City Hall. The Victoria Day long weekend will be spent, as always, at Stevenson's Lodge in Combermere, Ontario with the Fry family and friends. We rode together years ago and this is our one big gathering of the year. If Heather and Tom want to ride up, we'll go to Waterloo first and travel with them. Unfortunately, this means we will again miss SEVROC, the Southeast VROC gathering in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

In June, the traveling begins. June 7/8 weekend is VROC at KSL (Kickstand Lodge). We'll haul the camper trailer down and set up on the beautiful KSL grounds, taking time to ride some of the nicest motorcycle roads in existence. From there, we'll haul the trailer home and drop it, heading west for the Great Midwest River Run in Boscobel, Wisconsin the next weekend. The following weekend, we'll be in Topaz Lake on the California/Nevada border for the High Sierra VROC weekend. We'll be sharing a room with Sherm at the Topaz Lake Resort and Casino. Sherm will then join us heading east to the Aztec VROC gathering in Deadwood, South Dakota.

The big July run is the annual Wolfman's Wandering Rally, being held this year in Coos Bay Oregon on the July 19/20 weekend. Our original plan had been to come home after Aztec for a week or so and then head west again. However, west coast hospitality is so nice that we'll head for the coast after Aztec, visiting Sandy's brother in Vancouver; our friend Scorpion~ in Olympia, Washington; Sherm and Pat in Coos Bay, Oregon; and Don VSP Inamasu in Stockton, California; before heading back up the the WWR, aka Oregon Trails Rally. After that, we'll head for home and get to work preparing for our own Freedom Rally in Sudbury on Civic Holiday Weekend (the weekend with the 1st Monday in August).

The week after the Freedom Rally, we'll be at Cycle-Moore Campground in Interlochen Michigan with the Michigan VROC contingent and friends. If Heather and Tom want to attend, we'll come through Waterloo and ride with them. From Interlochen, we'll set sail for southeast Pennsylvania where a VROCer named Badluck will be hosting his second annual bash. We missed it last year. I hope to get a chance to see some cousins while we're in this neck of the woods. Then it will be home for the rest of the month.

The September run will be the usual. We'll haul the camper trailer to the 29th Annual Cyclefest in Waterloo Region for the Labour Day weekend and then will head on to Indiana for the WARB gathering the next weekend. From there,we'll head back through Sudbury and drop the trailer before heading out the the New England Maine Ride the week after. We'll finish up with a run across to Eureka Springs Arkansas VROC Reunion for the last event of the traveling season.

Gas prices will be challenging, but not enough to make us stop. Maybe some day, something else will catch our attention but, for now, this is still working. I have a few minor bike mods in the works, including a cord that will let me use the cell phone (through the BlueTooth capable GPS) while riding. I'm also working on a voice recorder so that I don't lose some of the thoughts I have as I cruise along, the ones that slip out of my mind before I can stop and make note of them.

So stay tuned to this channel and ride with us as we meet friends old and new, and explore more of the continent.

The Snowmobile Season

Snowmobiling used to be a big winter activity for me. In the early 90's, 3,000 miles a season was fairly common. Later in the decade, when I was (volunteer) working as the OFSC Provincial STOP Coordinator, I spent most of my free time working away from the trails. As a result, I got out of the habit of riding for fun for a long time.

More recently, the last couple of winters have been less than ideal from a snow standpoint, with 2006/2007 so poor that I never took the sled out once. In addition, I developed a case of tennis elbow the year before that took a long time to heal.

I am now down to one sled. A few years ago, Sandy told me she didn't want to ride any more, so I started playing a little with her little machine, a 1998 Skidoo 440 cc fan cooled MXZ. This is just a little bitty thing compared to most sleds today, but I found I was having a blast on it. Light and nimble, I can throw it through corners very aggressively. The only downside is that it can't keep up on rail beds or lakes because it tops out about 120KPH (75 MPH). In any case, two years ago I sold my larger 1995 Skidoo Formula Z in favour of this little yellow toy.

To ensure that I had a reason to get out and ride this year, I told Norm last spring that I wanted to get reinstated into the STOP program. They had never reinstated anyone before, and had to develop a process that included me retaking the final exam (I passed) and undergoing a complete background check. The background check hasn't been completed yet, so this winter I wasn't sworn in and was unable to write any tickets myself.

I did get out, though. Worked at least one shift per week from mid January until the week before Easter including a couple of emergency call-outs. The photo is me at about -20C outside the Greater Sudbury Police offices in Azilda, ready to head out on a patrol.

It was great getting out. The police partners here, both OPP and GSPS, are excellent. The public is generally well behaved except for a small minority who are in need of our counsel. Norm and his crew kept the trails in spectacular condition most of the winter.

I will be back next season.

Toronto Bike Show

The North American International Motorcycle Supershow was again held the weekend after New Years at the International Centre in Toronto. This used to be the only big TO bike show, but it is now one of two. It is a little rougher around the edges than the December show at the Convention Centre downtown, but it is much larger and more crowded.

Sandy and I trekked south yesterday to Cambridge and moved in with daughter Kim and son-in-law Mike for the weekend. Although we are going to the show with Heather and Tom, they don't have a guest room. The roads were generally good although there was a little bit of greasy snow on the highway between Parry Sound and Barrie.

Heather and Tom arrived from their Waterloo home this morning and we set out for Hogtown in the trusty Caravan. A brisk drive down the 401, up the 410 and across Derry Road put us at the International Centre about 1:00 PM, where we were greeted by the not unexpected "Parking Lot Full" sign. We headed a little ways south on Airport Road to an office lot which had, according to the sign, been made available to show attendees. Someone in an orange vest directed us to a multi-level indoor lot. Pretty snazzy.

It was only about a quarter mile to the International Centre, with a Tim Hortons on the way. We went in through the doors in Building 1 and then had to thread our way to the ticket booth and entrance in Building 3. Inside, we scouted around through aisleways clogged with motorcycling humanity until I cut the three loose and headed for my 2:30 Ontario Road Riders Association meeting in the Vancouver Room. It took a little less than two hours to do our business there.

After the meeting, I reconnected with my crew. Tom and Heather had been wandering the various Suzuki dealer booths looking at the C50 Boulevard 800SE prices. This is a nice 800cc liquid cooled shaft driven V twin with windshield and saddlebags. They selected this as their bike at the December show and I figured they were just looking again, but Tom said they were ready to put some money down. After another pass, they got the best deal at Suzuki of Newmarket and put deposits down on two, a blue/silver for Heather and a grey/silver for Tom. The show specials made a huge difference in the prices they paid. In the picture, Heather is standing by the display model.

Business done, it was time to head to the Mandarin Restaurant over at Rexdale and Highway 27. This is the 10th year that Guns has organized a show dinner for the original (not those Alberta upstarts) Frozen North Chapter of VROC. We arrived to find Guns, Iris, Maxxx and Marianne waiting. When they escorted us to our seats, new guy Zever and Donna were waiting for us. The top picture features Guns, Zever and Donna and the second has Maxxx and Marianne getting settled. Shortly after, The Mighty Stonewall, accompanied by Roger the Big Grouch from Windsor and Ray and Lisa from Michigan (third picture), rolled in. Lastly, Ace and his lady showed up.
The last photo shows Stonewall and Ace, bosom buddies and the Heroes of Knawbone, in an unusually photogenic shot.

We talked and ate and talked some more. The food was good, the lines were busy and no one was rushing us so we stayed a little later than usual. This is an important break in the winter to get together and both reminisce and plan the next season. Thanks for looking after us again, Glenn. Zever, it was great to put a face to the name and we'll be seeing more of you.

About 10:00, with a light mist following, we headed down the 427 ans across the 401 back to Cambridge. The upgraded GPS maps now know the Canamera Parkway and guided me right into a RIDE sobriety checkpoint. Officer had a sense of humour, I was alcohol free and we were sent on our way. At Kim and Mikes, Heather and Tom grabbed there vehicle and headed out while we turned in as soon as we got in.

First Toronto Bike Show

The show went according to plan. We got there before opening and scored parking in the Convention Centre underground lot.

The show is pretty flashy. Our main gaol was to check out potential bikes for Heather and Tom. The criteria were about 750 cc, liquid cooled and shaft driven. After checking what was available and comparing prices, they settled on the 800cc Suzuki boulevard SE, complete with windshield, floorboards, saddlebag and backrest. I expect they will do well with these.

After the show we headed up to Radioworld on Steeles to return the faulty Zumo motorcycle mount. They took a mount out of a new box and gave it to me, a move I greatly appreciated. Interestingly, RW had a booth at the show where they were selling Zumo's for $699 on a show special. I paid $879 in June. Such is the world of technology.

From there, we started back to Cambridge, stopping for supper along the way. All in all, it was a nice day.

Bike Show This Weekend

The first of the two Toronto motorcycle shows will be taking place at the Convention Centre this weekend.

We're planning to meet Steve "Jester" Wilner of Detroit, newly retired, and Bruce McGivern from the south side of Georgian Bay in Barrie about 4:00 tomorrow.  They're attending the show Friday while we're going Saturday.  Steve won't be at the January show so we're looking for a chance to get in supper and a visit.  Steve was the one we hooked up with for our first VROC rally in Suches, Georgia back in 1999, known as the Good Old Days.

After supper, we'll head on to Kim and Mike's in Cambridge.  Saturday morning, we'll pick up Heather and Tom and head for the show.  Since both of them are now licenced, they'll be looking at the bikes very closely.

I hope to get a change to drop the Zumo motorcycle mount off at Radioworld, north of the city, for a warranty replacement.  The rubber contact guard didn't fare too well in the UV rays and broke off.

Stay tuned to this channel for show coverage.

Dragon Video

I was looking at a few Youtube videos of The Dragon, the 11 mile stretch of US 129 that winds 318 turns through Deals Gap between North Carolina and Tennessee.  There are many of them, but I found this one to be quite laid back and enjoyable.  Make sure your volume is on.

A Day in the Life of the Dragon at Deals Gap

Everyone here seems to be on their best behaviour.  Then there are guys like these:

Dragon Wars: Got Freedom at Deals Gap?

This is one of my favourite riding areas.  I hope you enjoy.

Still Riding

It's almost half way through November and I still have the bike out.  Leo and I have been getting out on the sunny days for a few miles.  This is the latest I have ever ridden for fun, although I had the green Nomad out once on December 7th for a few miles.

It looks like this may be the end, though, because it is forecast to get much colder and snowy in the next week.  Today, I'll be rearranging the garage, swapping the mower for the snow blower and the sled for the bike.  That pretty much marks the season changeover for me.

BTW, I didn't post about it but Sandy came through her surgery on October 15th with flying colours and her recovery has been nothing short of spectacular.

Jan Is Home

Jan came home from the hopsital today after her triple bypass surgery a week ago. She is doing remarkably well. Just thought you'd like to know.

Happy Birthday, Ace Eakely

Sherm tells me it's your birthday today, Ace.  He says you read the Blog so I decided this would be a good place to wish you a Very Happy Birthday.

I enjoyed my morning there in the pool with all of you.

Muskoka And Back

A colourful day........

Last evening at the monthly Freedom Riders supper, Leo (remember him from the May Georgia trip?) and I talked about taking a ride today.  We thought maybe south.  Leo called Dave Butler, a rider we have known since the old Nickel Rider days, to see if he wanted to go.  He said yes.

Leo showed up at 8:50 this morning, ready to go.  Surprised me because I thought he said 10:00, but he said we were supposed to be across town in ten minutes.  I dressed quickly.  We headed out through the same damn construction I came in through last week.  Still no change.  We got to Timmy's in the south end a tad late, and Dave was already there with his 1986 K model BMW.  It looks like Dave has the go ahead to upgrade and has his eye on a 1998 RT.

We set out south on Hwy 69 towards Parry Sound.  It was 16C when we pulled out but rapidly dropped to 12C and then 10 before we got forty miles out of town.  We were in a mild overcast with some light fog before breaking out of it south of the French River.  We arrived in Parry Sound without incident.

The trees are changing more north of the French, although all along there are long stretches of green punctuated by sections with brilliant yellows, oranges, reds and burgundies.  The leaves haven't started falling yet, so this is the best time of fall.

We had coffee in Parry Sound and then headed south on Old Hwy 69 to Hwy 141.  It was a spirited ride through the sweepers from Humphrey to Rosseau.

Here we are at a small park in Rosseau.  Leo is on the left and Dave is in the red.  Lake Rosseau, behind me when I took this, has some cottages of the rich and famous on it.  Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, Steve Martin and others have found this to be an excellent getaway.

I mounted the solid state video camera I've been testing and followed Dave and Leo on the next (and best) part of 141.  Unfortunately, we ended up behind three slug vehicles that slowed for every corner.  By the time we passed them, we had missed some of the best curves but we made the best of the ones remaining until we got to Bracebridge.

I stopped the camera when we got into town.  After lunch at Harvey's (another Canuckian phenomena) and 95.5 cent gas at Crappy Tire (still one more), I let Stella take us back to Rosseau via Hwy 118.  The plan was to go to Port Carling and then cut up the west side of the lake to Rosseau.  Stella had other ideas.  When we turned off 118, I started the camera again, thinking this was the road I wanted.  Instead, it took us to Windermere Road and up into Ullswater.  This meant we had to ride 141 back to Rosseau from Ullswater, but this wasn't a problem since this is the absolute best part of the road.

In Rosseau, I stopped and took the camera off.  Then Leo and I traded bikes for the rest of Highway 141.  Not counting my mechanics and Sherm, Leo is the first person other than me to ride this bike.  After a few miles on his R1150RS, I am amazed that he went all the way to Georgia with me on it.  It certainly isn't my style.

Trading back, we road Rankin Lake Road back to Old 69 and on into Parry Sound where we swung onto New 69/400.  As we turned on the ramp, there was an OPP cruiser with a constable standing on the roadside.  Seatbelt check, I guess.

We made one more stop at Timmy's in Nobel, where a fellow from Kincardine pulled in on a 1976 Honda 750.  It looked pretty good.  Dave also talked to some Bultaco fans, since he deals in them.  Then we headed for home, stopping to take a couple of inadequate tree shots.

There were so many more that were better than this, but I was past them before I could stop and we were running too short of time to turn around.  Maybe I'll take another run down in the next few days and get some better ones.

We also got to see one of the new black and white OPP cruisers with the red and BLUE lights pull someone over.  I know blue lights are old hat in most states, but up until now the only things in Ontario that had them were snow plows. 

We got in before 5:00 after covering over 300 miles.  It was a good day.  The only bad part was that when I went to upload the video footage, I somehow either erased or overwrote the first segment.  The second, with me leading, is pretty good right up until the camera shut itself off (for some unknown reason) part way through the Bent River Chicane.  If I ever get a camera, it's going to have easier buttons to use.

Here's to some more great fall riding days before winter storage time arrives.

An Update on Jan

Sandy's Mom had the triple by-pass on Friday as planned. Sandy and Harry saw here before they took her to the O.R. first thing in the morning and then came home for a bit. They returned to the hospital before noon, since the operation was supposed to take four hours. In fact, it took 6 1/2. The surgeon had trouble getting the heart lung machine connected due to calcification of the aorta and found one artery 100% blocked and a second one 95% blocked. Fortunately, he persevered and got the job done.

Jan wasn't too with it the next couple of days. Slowly, they started disconnecting her from things and on Monday they moved her out of ICU to the regular floor. She's been getting around well, says she doesn't have much pain and should be home by next weekend.

Alma Michigan to Sudbury Ontario

The last trip of the season......

I woke up this morning to the realization that this would be the last day of the last trip of the season. Oh sure, there will be day rides as long as the weather holds but the traveling days were done for another year. This is the fourth year Sandy and I have been on the road steady in the summer and this day is always a sad one.

At least today's weather was staying on our side. It was 52F (compared to the high 30's last week when we dragged Sherm up this same road) and the radar was clear although there was a little bit of fog rising.

Today I'm trying the shock pre-load up on 12 and it did just fine on the smooth Michigan interstate. I don't know why I am playing with this, though, since the 10 setting did fine all summer until the seal blew. I think I'm probably overanalyzing this.

We headed north on I-75 and I watched the temperature gauge fluctuate between 14C and 15C (57 to 59F). There were a few more trees changing than a week ago, but many were still green. North of the Big Mac (where the crossing was even easier than last week's record easy passage), I pulled a Sherm and started taking some photos from the bike. This was a hit or miss proposition since the infernal CCD display wasn't working. I really do need a new camera.

There was a long stretch between St. Ignace and the Soo where traffic was down to one lane. I don't know why since there was no work being done in the other lane. Maybe they are trying to save wear and tear on the pavement.

Here is the famous Stella who has been our guide the last few months. You can see, with all the orange barrels out front, that I am doing 59 MPH, just below the reduced speed limit. The guy in my mirror wasn't at all pleased about this.

I do want to get back to the Upper Peninsula for a few days next year. Mackinac Island, Tahquamenon Falls, the Shipwreck Museum, the Mystery Spot and more deserve exploring but have been ignored by us for years because they are so close.

Here are some of the orange trees over an orange barrel.

More trees starting to change.

And the view from my 'office'. You can see that we are out of the construction zone, the speed has picked up and the cruise is set. The cruise has to be set because my throttle hand is holding the camera with no safety strap. Look closely and you can see that the odometer says 128,415 km's or just a fraction under 80K miles. At this point, we are purring along without a care in the world.

The International Bridge crossing back into Canada was easy. We had a line-up of about four cars ahead of us but, as usual, the US bound traffic was lined up over half the bridge. A few quick questions and we were back in the True North Strong and Free.

The three hours from the Soo back to Sudbury were uneventful. Little traffic, few police. I did catch up to two Nomads near Spanish. When they stopped at Vance's, I pulled in for a couple of minutes to chat. They were from Blind River and were just out for a short ride.

As we approached Sudbury, I had to decide whether to fight rush hour traffic or, hoping that they had made progress in the last four weeks, take the by-pass and go through the RR 55 construction zone. I figured that, in a month and with fall underway, they would have had to pave the loose gravel, so we took the by-pass. As usual, I overestimated their capabilities. The loose gravel and state of work done had not changed since August. Go figure, my tax dollars at work.

We got home and unpacked quickly. Stella gave me a few quick stats since we headed out for Cyclefest. The key ones were 9,448.3 km's (5,871 miles) at an average moving speed of 89.1 KPH (55.4 MPH). Not bad for a whole trip when you factor in the sightseeing and wandering we did.

Jan will be having her triple by-pass surgery tomorrow morning, first thing, so Sandy and Harry went up to see her tonight.