Old Timers Lunch At The Crow's Nest Pub In Newmarket

Forty years ago, there were a number of active motorcycle clubs in and around Ontario that came together to form the Ontario Road Riders Association (ORRA). Then, based on the example set by the York Wings, they began hosting weekend camping rallies. The members supported one another's events for the next twenty plus years, with little villages of the same tents setting up in different times and places throughout the summer. It was a time of rich fellowship where we enjoyed riding, eating, drinking and sitting around bonfires. Clubs and rallies came and went but the major clubs and gatherings in the 80's were:

York Wings - Toronto

Road Bike Olympics

Nickel Riders - Sudbury

Rainbow Rally

Waterloo County Touring Club - Kitchener/Waterloo

Cyclefest

Peterborough Tour Riders - Peterborough

The Price is Right Rally

Ottawa Valley Touring Club - Ottawa

Rally in the Valley

Peacemakers - Rochester NY

Lost Weekend

The five Canadian clubs were at the forefront of ORRA. I was the President of the Nickel Riders at the time and, last summer, I reached out to two of the other presidents from that era that I had not seen in decades. Ralph of the York Wings and Ray of the Peterborough Tour Riders lived fairly close to each other so I arranged for us to have lunch at about the midpoint in Bracebridge. Leo Laframboise accompanied me on the ride to the meet. It was great seeing old friends again and catching up.

This year, Ralph and I decided to do lunch again. On the advice of The Mighty Stonewall, we selected the Crow's Nest Pub in Newmarket. This was roughly half way between us but north of crazy Toronto (or so I thought). Another former York Wing who we have stayed in touch with, Eric, lives just off Highway 9. Since I would be going right by his door, I called him and asked if he wanted to come along. He said sure but I decided we would surprise Ralph.

Sandy had thought about coming but then the weather man said there was a good probability of thunderstorms in the afternoon so she decided to stay home. By this morning, the meteorologists had cancelled the rain predictions but she had already made up her mind. The meeting time was 1:00 PM and I left a little early. Good thing because I found Dufferin 3 on the way to Orangeville had been reduced to gravel. The flagman at one stretch told me they would be starting to spread asphalt next week. I am not a big fan of gravel roads but I stayed loose and rode through it.

I took a detour up through the Hockley Valley because the road has a lot of sweeping curves and is fun to ride. Then I took the Mono Adjala Townline, a dead straight 60 KPH road I had never been on before, straight back south to Highway 9. From there, it was a short hop to Eric's house.

About ten years ago, Eric and Sherri sold their large house in Inverhaugh and bought a small place in a retirement community called Tecumseth Pines. Eric showed me some renovations that they had done since they moved in and I was suitably impressed. It looked like the after shots on one of those reno shows. I have to mention that Eric and Sherri with their GoldWing are some of the few people I know who are still regularly engaging in a long haul riding lifestyle.

Eric and I headed out across Highway 9 with him in the lead. It was a straight run with one right turn just before we got to the pub. Traffic got more dense after we crossed Highway 400 and I was starting to doubt the wisdom of picking Newmarket, but we arrived without incident. Ralph pulled up a few minutes late due to missing a turn.

Waterloo to Newmarket - 86 miles

It is good to reconnect with old friends. Eric and Ralph had not seen each other in about three decades and it was like old home week. Plus they both teach college courses now, Eric in accounting and Ralph in law enforcement, so they got to compare teaching note as well. The pub was nice and not crowded, so we were able to take our time and reminisce. After we finished and went outside, we spent more time swapping stories in the parking lot until we had to go. Everyone agreed that we would have to do this again.

Crow's Nest Pub - Newmarket Ontario

Eric and Ralph - Two Old York Wingers

Eric and I headed out together with me following again. Once we got over the 400, traffic got better but, on a two lane road with little chance to pass, you are limited to your slowest common denominator. When Eric peeled off at his turn, we waved and I kept going. I followed Highway 9 right to Orangeville where I fueled up. Then I tried an alternate route to try and avoid the gravel on CR 3. I did miss most of it.

Newmarket to Waterloo

I got home just after 6:00 PM. It was a good riding day, hot but rewarding, and I stayed dry. I need to reach out to a few more folks and do some reconnecting.

The Niagara Escarpment and Dunnville

Although we have not been able to travel again this summer, I have been out from time to time exploring the roads around our new home. We are not total strangers to the area, having attended the Cyclefest Rally here for 29 of its thirty years between 1980 and 2010. The countryside is pretty but the limited stretches of curvy roads are joined by many more miles of dead straight routes. Still, I have been searching out the interesting sections and stringing them together for some fun outings.

The Mighty Stonewall (Gordon) has been a VROC friend for over twenty years. He lives in Woodbridge on the north side of Toronto and we have been talking about getting together to ride for some time now. He offered to show me some of his favourite roads to the south of us, an area I was not that familiar with. We agreed to meet a a Tim Horton's in Milton at 10:00 AM.

I was up early this morning, something I don't do very often these days. I decided to leave a little early and avoid the 401 superslab on the way to the rendezvous. The secondary roads were fairly peaceful and I got to the Timmie's in Milton a little early. While waiting, I talked to a gentleman from Texas who had gotten his motorhome into Canada and was visiting relatives in Toronto.

Waterloo to Milton - 44 miles

Waiting for Gord in Milton

Gord pulled in on his white GL-1800 right right on time. I followed him down backroads past farms and intersections. The scenery was great and then we started climbing up and down the Niagara Escarpment as the turns got tighter. There were even a couple of hairpins marked at 10 KPH. It was a hoot. Eventually, above the town of Dundas, we stopped at the Sydenham Lookout where a few other riders were already admiring the view.

Milton to Sydenham Lookout - 27 miles

Sydenham Lookout - Hamilton on the horizon

Leaving the lookout, we descended and negotiated the busy streets of Dundas and Ancaster before finding the open road. Eventually, we connected with Haldimand County Road 54 at Onondaga and followed it along the Grand River through Caledonia to Cayuga, where we jogged onto Haldimand County Road 17. Signs billed this whole route as the Grand River Scenic Byway.

The whole time we rode along the river, we were traveling through the Haldimand Tract. This is an area of land encompassing six miles either side of the entire length of the Grand River that was granted to the Mohawks in 1784 in return for their support during the American Revolution. This land has been and still is the subject of a dispute between the Mohawks of the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve and the government of Canada. In the meantime, the road made for a pleasant and relaxing ride.

Eventually, we arrived at the Country Chip Wagon in Dunnville, which lies near where the Grand River empties into Lake Erie. It is about half way between Niagara Falls and the sometime motorcycle mecca of Port Dover, where riders gather every Friday the 13th. Food at the chip wagon hit the spot.

Sydenham Lookout to Dunnville - 52 miles

Country Chip Wagon - Dunnville Ontario

Lots of choices on the menu

Gord checking his messages while we wait for our food

When we finished eating, we started back up 17 and 54. Not to far along, i saw something fall from Gord's bike and end up on the road. I stopped and walked back for it but a car clipped it before I could get there. It was a hard case for eyeglasses that was empty when I picked it up. I caught up to Gord, who was waiting on the shoulder a short ways up, and we continued until we stopped on the Six Nations Reserve for fuel. I gave Gord the case and he was surprised that he had apparently left it on his seat and, further, that there was not a pair of glasses in it. This was the second pair he had lost in a short period of time and Mrs. Stonewall was not going to be happy.

Continuing on, I left Gord who stopped at a smoke shop for some discount Backwoods cigars before turning towards Toronto. I continued northwest through Brantford and back to Cambridge and Waterloo. I took a bit of a side jaunt through Glen Morris so I could ride Waterloo Regional Road 75 back to Galt. This is one of my favourite stretches of road and I ride it any time I am nearby.

Dunnville to Waterloo - 79 miles

I got back to the condo in time for supper. I had covered 199 miles, seen some new roads and really enjoyed having someone to ride with. Next time, I will lead.

Happy Birthday, Sandy

The travel blog has been pretty quiet so far this year. That is obviously because there has been no travel. With the US border closed to non-essential traffic and the pandemic numbers there not looking so good, we have been tied pretty close to our new home in Waterloo.

On the plus side, we are really enjoying this leased condo. It is roomy and the building is nice and well managed. The exercise room and pool were just reopened yesterday as Ontario moved to what they call Level 3.

Level 3 allowed unlimited indoor dining and, since today was Sandy's birthday, the family gathered last evening at the Crowsfoot Smokehaus in Conestogo (just north of the City of Waterloo) to celebrate the occasion. This establishment used to be the Black Forest Inn where Heather and Tom tied the knot in the fall of 2009.

We had not seen an indoor table set for ten people in a very long time. Sandy and I split a three meat plate with brisket, pulled pork and chicken plus a couple of sides. This was followed by sharing Black Forest cake for dessert, a family tradition started by Sandy's father Harry.

The first full family meal in a long time

It was a great evening celebrating in person together. After we were done, we all took a drive to West Montrose and crossed the Kissing Bridge, a covered bridge that appeared in the most recent film versions of Stephen King's It and It 2. Then we all headed for our respective homes.

Scene from movie It

After that, Sandy's actual birthday was anti-climactic. We stayed in while she received many congratulations and birthday greetings from friends through her Facebook account.

More often than not since we retired, we have celebrated her birthday on the road somewhere, Usually with friends in places like Lake Topaz, Nevada; Solvang, California; Shelter Cove, California or Richmond, Kentucky. Hopefully, we can get back to out travels while we are still able.

Until then, Happy Birthday to my favourite wife. If I had to be locked down with anyone, you were the best choice possible. I love you to the moon and back

Another Memory From Fifty Years Ago

Here is another brief walk down memory lane. I am recording these things so that once my memory has slipped, I can read and remember.

Fifty years ago, May 3 1971, I rode my new Yamaha 350 from my meager apartment in Gatchell to the Inco General Office in Copper Cliff. I proudly walked into the office carrying my helmet like a badge that told the world that I was a little bit different, a man to be reckoned with. I was a biker.

The men in the Pay Office (women were not allowed to work there until 1974) made the appropriate noises but the boss, Bob McInnis, looked at me like I had two heads. It was a pretty conservative place back then.

Mondays and Tuesdays, the Copper Cliff Police Force (company owned) drove us out to TD banks, mines and surface plants to hand out pay cheques. We had over 18,000 hourly rated employees back then and I personally handed cheques to about 4,000 of them a week. I spent Monday morning at the main TD bank branch on Durham Street paying men who worked at the mills, smelter and refineries (Tuesday was mines day). Back in the office, I was scheduled to spend the afternoon at the Iron Ore Recovery Plant, sitting in the Time Office with Timekeeper Hank Harrison and handing out cheques to the workers as they came off shift. Normally, I would be driven over there by Copper Cliff  Police Corporal Lloyd Walford, a jovial, portly man who I could not imagine doing actual police work. This day, I asked Lloyd to take the cheque box and meet me at the plant gate.

I fired up the R5 and, in a cloud of blue two-stroke smoke, pulled out of the parking lot. Now that I had been riding two whole days, I figured I knew what I was doing. I took Power Street and followed it onto company property past the Copper Refinery gate. I crested a mild hill and saw a large patch of gravel at the end of the road to the new Nickel Refinery, which was under construction. Alarmed, I applied the brakes. Or rather, I applied the front brake because I knew that is where most of the braking power came from. Most of the time. Unfortunately, this was long before ABS and the front wheel locked in the gravel, losing the gyroscopic effect that kept the bike upright. Down we went, the bike and I, at about 40 MPH. I slid, it slid, eventually stopping in a crowd of dust.

I will give the old Yammies credit, they were tough. Thankful for my old, used leather motorcycle jacket and gloves, I got up, dusted myself off and picked up the bike. The handlebars were crooked but everything else looked good so I fired it up and rode the last quarter mile to the IORP gate. Lloyd, using his keen police powers of observation, noted that something had happened. I told him I was fine and he suggested I look again. Blood was running out from under my right sleeve and dripping on the ground. Something had punctured my leather jacket and then my skin as the sleeve slid up. I had a gash in my forearm ending just below the elbow.

Hank took the cheque box to the Time Office while I was sent to the adjacent First Aid Room. The attendant cleaned the wound as well as he could (gravel kept coming out of it for a couple of weeks afterwards), applied antiseptic and bandaged it. Then I went back out to do my job. Soon after, I began to feel cold, clammy and faint. Before I fell off the stool, Hank got me back to First Aid where they decided I was in shock and needed to lie down on a cot. Hank handed out cheques until I felt better.

When it was time to leave, I took the meager tools and loosened the bolts on the front end. Then I grabbed the bars, pulled them into the right place and tightened the bolts again before riding home. And that was that.

Until the next day when I walked into the Pay Office and Bob, the Paymaster, said "Here comes Skid". In addition to being Inco's first Workman's Compensation motorcycle accident, I had earned a new nickname. It probably would not have stuck if the incident on May 17th had not happened. More on that later, but fifty years have gone by and Skid still how many people know me.

Fifty years. Wow. Where has the time gone?

Fifty Years

 Today is a very important anniversary in my life.

Fifty years ago, May 1st 1971, I was 18 years old and had been working in the Inco Pay Office in Copper Cliff, Ontario (a suburb of Sudbury Ontario, then Nickel Capital of the World) since the previous December. Before I moved away from Sault Ste. Marie, I bought a 1970 Yamaha R5 350 cc two stroke motorcycle. As I recall, I paid $912 of borrowed money for it. Because I got it in October, I did not get a chance to ride it before I left town.

The weather forecast for Saturday (May 1st) looked good so I took a Greyhound bus the 180 miles to the Soo on Friday evening. The next morning, after putting the fully charged battery into the bike, I kicked it over. It started right away with that distinctive ringey-dingey-dingey sound that Yamaha two stroke engines of the era were famous for. The R5 350 was a redesigned machine, having been downsized and up-powered from the 1969 350 version To top it off, it was painted a stylish fuchsia and white. Complementing that, I had a metal flake fuchsia helmet, fuchsia shirt and fuchsia socks. Yes, I looked like a neon rider.

1970 Yamaha R5 (not mine but looked just the same)

You have to understand that I had only ridden a motorcycle once before. The previous year, I was the one sitting on an 80cc Suzuki project bike when it finally started so I rode it around my girlfriend's yard until I tangled with a weeping willow tree and ripped off a cable. Despite that shaky start, I was not deterred from the great adventure before me. Once the bike warmed up, I gamely fastened my helmet, clicked the bike into gear and rode to the nearest gas station. After topping up the tank, I turned east on Highway 17 and rode the 180 miles back to Sudbury. And that, friends, was my first motorcycle ride on the road.

Since then, I have had a few incidents (as my nickname might suggest). Two were in the first two weeks of riding and just two more occurred over the next more than 500,000 miles. Riding has been a constant in my life for the last fifty years. It has been about more than just the motorcycles, though. It has been travels far and wide shared with my wife and partner, Sandy, plus all the great people we have met along the way. As I reflect on our history today, I eagerly look forward to what the next fifty years will bring.

Ride safe,

Jim 'Skid' Robinson

Waterloo, Ontario

May 1. 2021

Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021

Here it is, New Year's Eve. Time to bid farewell to a year that really turned out to be underwhelming. COVID and a cancelled summer plus the loss of Sandy's Mom Jan, after she deteriorated due to lockdown, made this one we would probably rather forget.

On the plus side, though, we are in a new place where we do not need to worry about maintenance, mowing, snowblowing or any of those other responsibilities of ownership. We took possession two months ago and have not regretted it for a minute.

Soon after we got back from the last trip, the TV arrived. Kim and Mike helped us pick it up in their van and bring it home. While at Leon's, we also ordered two recliners that were delivered just a few days later. Then we ordered a king size platform bed headboard and frame, also from Leon's, and a foam mattress in a box from Douglas. The stacked washer and dryer that came with the unit died (seized dryer motor) so our landlords Vic and Mone bought a new one. It took a while to get it connected due to condo rules that any connections need to be done by a licenced plumber, but they are now working.

We still need a couch, chairs and tables for the living room, furnishings for the guest bedroom and dresser and bedside tables for the master bedroom, in addition to a few other things, but we are getting by just fine.

We found an optometrist and we have a family doctor lined up. The latter was arranged through Health Care Connect, a provincial government service. Unfortunately, Ontario Premier Doug Ford ordered a 28 day lockdown starting Boxing Day due to increasing COVID rates so we won't be able to schedule an appointment until after that ends. Still, there is light at then end of the tunnel.

After several years of looking at it, I am now doing most of my work on my HP Windows 10 convertible, although the W 7 Dell is still in service. I subscribed to Microsoft 365, which came with a TB of OneDrive cloud storage. Most of my files are mirrored there and can be shared with any of my devices. I have one more program to test in the W10 environment and I then will be able to switch over totally. Then I will start working on the photo scanning project. There are so many photos.

So the year was not a total loss. We are staying positive and staying safe. We look forward to seeing people in 2021 and, if the vaccine works out, maybe doing some traveling. So, on an upbeat note,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Waterloo Ontario to Sudbury Ontario Return - The House Is Sold

In the few days since we arrived in Waterloo, we found a Costco and bought a microwave oven. We also checked out Zehr's grocery store and found that they did not have the product lines we liked despite being part of the Loblaws family. Creatures of habit, we found a Real Canadian Superstore just like the one back hope, except it was about six times larger. While there, we registered with the pharmacy. We also stopped by Leon's furniture store and ordered a 65" Samsung Q80T television. This was a couple of sizer larger and a lot better picture quality than the one I broke (No, I swear I did not break it on purpose). We found out that the furniture pipeline was empty and orders could take a long time to fill. Fortunately, they expected this TV to arrive within the week.

Yesterday, we drove to Sudbury and checked into the Hampton Inn. Then we went out to supper at St. Louis Bar & Grill with Leo and Diane.

This morning, as it rained lightly, we went for breakfast at Perkins with Safe Ride Home Sudbury President Lesli Green. We would normally have been starting the 2020 campaign to provide rides home in their own vehicles for clients who thought they might be over the limit. Alas, with COVID, this season was not to be. While I would be stepping down as Volunteer Coordinator, I expected to remain on board in a consultative role as this program that I really believe in moves forward.

We stopped at the house and carefully loaded our pictures in the car. We saw that Lana had picked up the furniture from the garage, The few things remaining, outside the items specified in the sale agreement, did not bother me since we were turning the house over a month earlier than originally agreed to.

Then we drove downtown for our 11:00 AM meeting with our lawyer, Tracy, at Best Law Offices. Sandy and I had been two of Peter Best's first clients back in 1975 and now, with his daughter Amy spearheading the firm, they would fulfill our last legal needs as citizens of Northern Ontario. We signed a lot of papers and turned over our keys to the house we had lived in for 36 years. You would think there might have been a bit of sadness but, to tell the truth, I did not feel it.

It was drizzling as we headed south just after noon. We caught rain in Parry Sound but the sun was out as we took the back road through Hockley on the way home. We noted that the Rosebud parking lot had been closed off since out last trip. The last way in, we were slowed by big trucks taking the back roads late on a Friday afternoon and it started raining as we reached Waterloo. The Equinox was parked in the garage just before 5:00 PM.

Clouds north of Waterloo

We were now full-fledged residents of southern Ontario, something I have not been since before I was three years old. Time to settle in and enjoy our new home.

Sudbury Ontario to Waterloo Ontario - Moving Trip #4 (Last)

Back from Waterloo on Thursday, it was time to get the last things out of the house. I put out a call to the Freedom Riders and had some of our brothers and sisters of the wind come out Sunday and lend a hand. Not only did we get the furniture we were taking to Waterloo loaded in the trailer, we also got the large couch, love seat and other things we were giving to Lana moved to the garage. It would be easier for her to pick them up from there before the 15th. The weather was absolutely spectacular for the move.

Our TV was on the floor and we ended up sitting in camp chairs for the night. That was after we went out for supper with Leo and Diane at St. Louis Bar & Grill.

This morning, we loaded the TV and chairs in the Equinox. The only things remaining were our paintings and prints, which we would pick up next week when we came up to close the deal on the house.

It was spitting a bit as we left town at 8:30 AM. We stopped at the truck pullout at Burwash to dump the garbage and, with the air a balmy 57 F, the morning did not feel like Northern Ontario in November.

I am going to miss Highway 69

Port Severn - Cottages on islands can be a problem here

Not sure what the Mountie Moose was guarding

It was 70 F when we saw a northbound group of sport bikes at Waubaushene. I would bet they were heading into Muskoka for a bonus last day of riding the curves.

Arriving at the condo by mid-afternoon, we geared up for a wait. That was not to be because the afternoon booking did not show up and Alice let us go ahead early. With Mike and Tom not there yet, I started moving everything that I could alone. That turned out to be a lot of things. Mike arrived early and we got the rest of it while Tom, who had to travel from Tillsonburg after work, arriving in time for the clean-up. He also brought some of the boxes I had stored in his garage on the way down.

The son-in-laws went over with me to park the trailer in its new home. Then we came back and I hooked up the new modem/router. It was as easy as Rogers had suggested and we had the WiFi and cable working in no time. The older big TV in the bedroom was OK but we discovered that the cracking noise when I squeezed the screen while picking up the 49" Samsung smart TV was fatal. We knew something would not survive the trip.

At the end of the day, we were finally in residence. We had my roll top desk (circa 1977), our kitchen table and chairs (circa 1975), camp cots and folding camp chairs plus a ginormous number of boxes. Time to start unpacking. Tomorrow.

Today's Route (288 Equinox/trailer miles):

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Sudbury Ontario to Waterloo Ontario and Back - Moving Trip #3

When we got back from our trip to Waterloo where we picked up the condo keys, we has less than two weeks to get the move done. You can't just pull up to a high rise building any time you want and start unloading a large amount of stuff, so we had booked the freight elevator for three hours Thursday (today) starting at noon. This gave us a target for our penultimate load.

The bulk of our things were going into either bankers boxes or slight larger boxes that had originated at the hospital and came to us via Lana, a schoolmate of Kim and Heather, who had just moved into her first house in Garson. We also arranged to give her some of the furniture we were not taking with us.

Wednesday, I started loading boxes. The symmetry of only having two sizes of box allowed for very orderly arrangement of them in the 5 x 10 trailer. When I had three layers of loaded, we started placing odd shaped and bulky things on top. We also loaded the Equinox and the Kia Rondo, the latter of which would be making a one way trip.

Once again, Leo became an essential member of the moving team. I'm sorry we did not get any photos today because I would have liked to have some visual memories of how this went.

We picked Leo up and brought him over to the house before 6:00 AM this morning. It was warmer as we set out, Sandy and I in the Equinox with Leo following in the Kia Rondo. For our American friends, the Rondo was discontinued in the USA after 2010. This was a 2012 Canadian model Sandy's dad bought new and bequeathed to her in his will. It didn't get used much and had less than 15,000 kms on the odometer. 

It was unseasonably warm (49 F at 7:00 AM) and we saw a northbound Indian motorcycle north of Waubaushene, where we stopped at the new Tim's. Continuing on, we approached Waterloo via Highway 9, Orangeville and Fergus. I found the most efficient way to get to the condo from this side was via Winterbourne and Bridge Street, something I had not considered before.

We arrived at the service doors of 6 Willow Street a couple of minutes before the appointed noon hour. I went in to the management office to look for Alice, the building superintendent, not knowing that she had been watching for me. She tracked me down and watched as we got the vehicles backed up to the service door. Then she showed us how the freight elevator worked and left us to our own devices.

Sandy did not want us wearing shoes inside the unit due to the off-white carpeting. The foyer was tile so that was OK. The system we set up was that Leo would bring the boxes from the trailer and vehicles and stack them by the elevator door. I would load the elevator and ride it up to the 15th floor and carry them into the unit, stacking them in the foyer. Then Sandy would move them into the living room and re-stack them there. The job got finished quickly and we were able to turn the elevator back over to Alice sooner than we expected. Then I booked it again for 6:00 PM to 9:00 on the 9th (so Mike and Tome could help with the furniture move in).

The last task was to take the Kia and park it in one of our spaces in the underground lot.

We were on the road back before 3:00 PM. There were a lot of motorcycles enjoying the unusually warm weather on our way back. Arriving in Sudbury about 8:30 PM, I unhooked the trailer and gave Leo a ride home.

Today's Route (566 Equinox/trailer miles):

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Waterloo Ontario to Sudbury Ontario - Moving Trip #2 (Day 3)

Today was our first morning waking up bright and early in our new home. One thing this place does have is hot water. Lots of it (according to the Welcome to Waterpark Place book, they pressurize the pipes to 150 PSI) and it was instantaneous.

The first stop this morning was at the condo management offices where we met building manager Tracy. We filled out some tenant forms and booked the freight elevator for the afternoon of Thursday November 5th. That would be the first of two trips down to move all of our possessions. On the way, we checked out the exercise room, swimming pool, party room library and billiard room. The pool and exercise room were open, although under COVID restrictions regarding number of people.

I had arranged for cable TV and Internet with Rogers. They had a relatively new system called Ignite where the DVR is actually in the cloud. You get a modem/router and a wireless box for each TV. No cables other than one to connect the modem to the cable outlet. And it was a do-it-yourself install. I got a text from the delivery person and was able to track his progress online, which allowed me to meet him in the parking lot and get my bag of goodies. I just left everything in the unit since we had to head back to Sudbury.

Our new landlords stopped by this morning. Vic and Mone are retired from the University of Waterloo and live in London. They bought this place to be their retirement home but settled in London due to family circumstances and have been leasing this unit out for almost thirty years.. They are very nice folks and were fixing up a few things in the unit.

One last task on the way out was to find the Access Storage office and take care of the paperwork for the storage spot I was renting for our trailer. Then we were heading north just before 1:00 PM.

We followed the secondary roads through Fergus, where we picked up lunch at Mickey D's, and then Orangeville where we followed Highway 9 to Highway 400. Snow flurries started in Barrie and then started to intensify around Mount. St;\. Louis.

Snow in Barrie

After a coffee stop at the new Tim's at Waubaushene, the snow turned to rain near Parry Sound. It was 4:00 PM and starting to get dark. On Highway 69, there was no snow but there were a lot of plows out. What did it matter, it was only taxpayers' money. There was snow on the ground and it was dark when we pulled into the driveway just before 6:00 PM.

Today's Route (285 Equinox miles):

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Woodstock Ontario to Waterloo Ontario - Moving Trip #2 (Day 2) - We Get The Keys

We had agreed to meet our real estate agent Alex Bunker at the condo at 11:00 AM. It was wet this morning so everyone was lucky they had gotten Halloween done before this system rolled in.

Checking out about 10:00 AM, we drove the 40 miles to Waterloo and parked in the Visitor lot near the front door. Alex arrived shortly after and gave us each a ring of three keys including an RFID fob and a remote control. Alex showed us how the fob opened the front doors, the doors to the amenities like the pool, exercise room, etc. and the entry from the underground garage. A nice couple in the lobby explained that button #1 on the remote opened the garage door to Parking Level 1 where our two spots were located. One key opened the door to the storage lockers on P 1, one opened our mailbox and the last opened the front door to our unit. Then we went up and did a walkthrough of unit 1504, which was just as it had been represented to us. Alex also gave us a welcoming gift basket and then bid us goodbye.

I went down and moved the Equinox into one of our parking spaces. Then I used a cart by the elevators to move our possessions in the car either into the locker or up to our unit. We had brought our camp cots along with the memory foam mattresses and bedding Sandy had made for them and set them up in the master bedroom. We had a couple of camp chairs to sit on but we had no TV yet, so we turned in very early.

Today's Route (40 Equinox miles):

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Sudbury Ontario to Woodstock Ontario - Moving Trip #2 (Day 1) - Halloween

Since the run to Woodstock last week, we had made great strides in reducing our worldly goods. Darren contacted us a few days ago to see if we were interested in moving the closing date on the house up again. I told him that we could do November 15th if we could leave a few things in the house rather than cleaning everything out. The buyer agreed.

It was now the end of October. Both Halloween and taking possession of the condo were upon us. We decided to go to Woodstock today for Halloween with grandkids (suitably distanced) and then meet Alex at the condo tomorrow morning to pick up the keys.

Marie and Ron came by with their trailer to pick up the master bedroom set Sandy had sold to a friend of theirs. We also loaded them up with any other goods they were willing to take and struck a deal on our snowblower. Then we stuffed as many boxes and essential goods as would fit into the Equinox.

Just after noon, we set out for the south. Imagine our surprise when we reached the end of the four-lane just before the French River and were unexpectedly directed onto the new highway. Rather, we were on half of it, as one side of the new four-lane road was opened for two way traffic. The were on new pavement most of the way to the Grundy turnoff including crossing the French and Pickerel Rivers on new bridges.

The end of the four lane approaching the French River

The French River Trading Post from the new highway

Looking at the old Pickerel River Bridge from the new one

Last week we were on that other highway

We stopped in Parry Sound at McDonald's for coffee and a bathroom break. It was really a chance for me to wake up again. The rest of the way to Highway 401 in Toronto was uneventful except for one stretch at the Aurora exit on 400 where I suddenly noticed the 80 KPH reduced speed sign. Looking down, I saw that we were doing 132 which could trigger a seven day licence suspension and vehicle impoundment (50 KPH over is where this draconian roadside justice comes into play). I slowed down.

We chose the Toronto/401 route because it was Saturday afternoon and we expected traffic to be reasonable. It was, although we saw eastbound traffic in Mississauga held up by police, ambulance and fire vehicles. There was no evidence of a wreck, just a few unmarked pickup trucks. RIDE check? COVID checkpoint? We never did find out.

Eastbound traffic being held up on 401 for an unknown reason

The stopped line up eastbound went on for a long time

We took a detour through Waterloo so I could show Sandy our new home.

Our unit is 14 floors up (15th floor with no 13)

We arrived at the Best Western Plus in Woodstock just before 6:00 PM. After checking in, we headed over to Heather and Tom's where a modified Halloween was underway. Heather, Sandy and I walked the neighborhood with Jasper and Fiona as they visited homes which creatively dealt with the Trick or Treating under COVID conditions.

Heather and Tom's distancing solution - take one

Somebody inventing obits for still-living neighbors

Getting treats while keeping distanced

This household went all out

After we finished the walk through the neighborhood, where a surprising number of houses were still offering the kids candy, we went back to the house and spent some time with the Jasper and Fiona. Then we returned to the hotel after making a stop at a Subway to pick up something for supper.

Today's Route (315 Equinox miles):

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Sudbury to Woodstock Return - Moving Trip #1

Now that we would have the condo on November 1st and had to be out of the house by December 1st, things started to get serious. We had decided that we would not take much of our furniture with us, so it became a race to sell, give away, donate or throw out much of what we had. We also had a massive job going through all the boxes and drawers of "stuff" to decide what would go with us.

We ended up using bankers boxes for a lot of things we decided to take. Sandy did a lot of the work packing them up, a little more every day. We also made a few runs to the Greater Sudbury landfill with junk and to Restore, Value Village and the Pet Thrift Shop with things that still had some miles in them.

Although we did not have the condo yet, Sandy and I decided I should make an advance run to Woodstock. Heather and Tom had kindly agreed to let us store the bike in their garage for the winter so we would take that and as much as we could carry. Anything not bike related could be brought over to the condo after the end of the month.

I hooked up the trailer and loaded the bike for the first time this season. Then we packed all the related bike gear and as many other boxes as we could. Without folding the rear seats down, the back of an Equinox will hold ten banker's boxes plus some flat things and some soft stuff.

Leo (who helped us so much during the move) and I set out early in the morning. We took Highways 69 and the 400 all the way to Highway 401 in Toronto and then followed that west to Woodstock where we arrived just before noon. It did not take long to unload everything and start heading back. On the way, we drove through Waterloo and checked out Waterpark Place. It looked impressive. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures.

In an attempt to avoid traffic, we headed north on the back roads through Fergus, Orangeville and Stayner. We were back in Sudbury in good time, having covered 633 miles since we had woke up this morning.

Phase One of the move was done. Thank you Leo.

Today's Route (633 Equinox/trailer miles):

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The House Is Sold

 We got word from Darren tonight that, subject to a minor adjustment due to a cracked living room window that we had never noticed, the conditions had been lifted on the agreement to sell the house. The original closing date had been December 15th but, since the condo deal was finalized, we moved it up to December 1st. That would still allow us one month to get things moved.

Freedom Riders Colour Ride to Mattawa

The weather man, notorious liar that he is, forecast an unusually nice Saturday for mid-October. This gave the Freedom Riders the opportunity for one final ride together. For me, it would be my last ride as a local member of the club, although Sandy and I will remain members no matter where we live.

It was warmer than it looked

A good sized group gathered at Tim's on Levesque Street and, once President Rob arrived to lead us, we headed east on Highway 17. The plan was to ride to North Bay and then ride up Highway 64 to Highway 533, which we would then take southeast into Mattawa. This was the reverse of the route we had ridden earlier in the season.

I took up the last spot to keep an eye on the group. As we passed through Hagar, Fabien and Laura joined us, she riding her new Spyder. Then we stopped at the Tim Horton's in Sturgeon Falls where we were joined by Greg, someone I had met on the Facebook group Let's Ride Sudbury.

The ride to 533 was uneventful. Once we turned onto that road, which is more interesting than most in the area, the group spaced itself out as each rider set their own pace. It took a while for me to work my way forward from my spot at the back but eventually I got clear and followed Rob to Mattawa.

We fueled in Mattawa and then stopped at Myrt's, a local landmark for as long as I have been coming through here, for lunch.

Myrt's in Mattawa Ontario

Freedom Riders in Mattawa

Masking up to go inside

The ride back was pleasant and a little melancholy because this was probably going to be my last time on the bike this season. We stopped at the other Tim's in Sturgeon Falls (yes, the little town has two) and said goodbyes to the folks who would be leaving us before we got back to Sudbury.

Tim Horton's - Sturgeon Falls

We got back to Sudbury in good time and I stopped to fuel the bike again before taking it home and parking it in the garage.

I will miss the Northern Ontario terrain but I expect that I will have a lot more riding options in the south next year.

Today's Route (243 motorcycle miles):

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A Very Busy (And Life Changing) Week

 A lot has happened in the last week, so buckle your seatbelts and hang on.

For some time now, Sandy and I have been talking about selling the house and moving to an apartment where we would not have to worry about mowing, snowblowing, maintenance and all those other chores that property ownership entails. In an apartment, we would also be able to just lock the door and go out on the road whenever we wanted.

We had also considered moving south to be closer to family and were only staying in Sudbury because her mother Jan was in a nursing home here.

On Saturday September 26th, after releasing Jan's ashes, and notwithstanding Sandy's cousins as well as decades of very good friends here, we were free to explore both ideas about new living circumstances. We were thinking maybe sometime in the spring because nobody wants to move in the winter. I had a conversation with son-in-law Mike about this and he said his real estate guy in the Kitchener/Waterloo area also dealt with rentals. On Monday the 28th, he sent me the contact info for TrilliumWest Real Estate Brokerage so I sent them an Email and arranged to talk to Alex (Alexandra) Bunker the next morning. Now hang on because it is going to get hectic.

Tuesday September 29, 2020

We spoke to Alex at 9:00 AM and told her what we were looking for. Something in an upscale apartment or leased condo with reasonable space, two bedrooms, an exercise room and preferably underground parking. She said she would look around and get back to us. She sent a list of five possibilities a little later in the day and we agreed to come down to look at them Friday morning.

Seeing that there seemed to be a lot of interesting places, I also called Darren Leblanc of Kat & Darren - The Leblanc Group. He was the agent who sold Jan's house a couple of years ago. He was also a former STOP Officer and I had worked with his father Marcel for over twenty-five years. We had asked him over a while back to see what we should do to make the house saleable and he said that we should pretty much leave it the way it was.

Now, faced with the question of a possible sale, Darren asked if we wanted to be done before the snow flew. If we listed, we could probably get more if there were competing offers but it could also take longer. Plus there was the issue I was concerned about with our unorthodox sump system. He said he had a potential buyer if we were happy to get the asking price rather than taking our chance on an auction. It would also reduce the realtor commission. I told him to consider it.

Wednesday September 30, 2020

Nothing special happened today. We planned our trip to Kitchener/Waterloo. Traveling overnight in a pandemic was new to us.

Thursday October 1, 2020

We drove down to Waterloo leaving about 11:30. We stopped on the Hockley Road to take a picture of the building used as the Rosebud Motel in TV comedy series Schitt's Creek.

Rosebud Motel

We checked into the Best Western Waterloo, formerly known as the Destination Inn, about 5:30. Then we went out and drove around looking at some things before picking up Subway sandwiches and returning to our room.

Friday October 2, 2020

We were given bags of breakfast to go from the hotel and stopped at a Tim's for a bit more on our way to meet Alex at 9:00 AM.

New Miata, anyone?

The first complex was Blackstone, a brand new complex on Northfield Road. Excellent location but only one of four buildings was complete, the three available units were small (under 900 sq. ft.) and the underground parking wasn't ready yet. Then we went downtown to the Caroline Residences. Upscale building (24 hour concierge, brand new) with two underground parking spaces and a spectacular view from the 11th floor. But it was also small and the second bedroom was laid out oddly so it would be almost impossible to get a bed into. I think it was really a study. The third building was the Bauer Lofts, a larger 2nd floor unit overlooking the famous Vincenzo's Market. But it was a little rough and we didn't really feel comfortable.

Caroline Residences - the taller left building

The Residences on Caroline St

Caroline underground parking

Balcony View from Bauer Lofts

Living room/kitchen at Bauer Lofts

A little sadly, we realized we hadn't found our perfect new home yet. I loosened up our terms a little bit and Alex said she would look for some other listings. After meeting Heather for lunch at the Daily Grill on Northfield and giving her some special Sudbury beer we had brought down at Tom's request, we headed home via the back roads to avoid the Friday Toronto rush.

It was a beautiful fall day to travel. We hit a bit of a traffic bottleneck near Barrie but once we got past that, it was clear sailing. As we headed home, Darren called with a couple of questions because he was showing the house to the prospective buyer.

Seen near Orangeville

Lovely fall day in Northern Ontario

We pulled into our driveway a little after 6:00 PM, not sure just where we stood.

Saturday October 3, 2020

Darren let us know that his buyer was submitting an offer for our asking price plus a little extra if we left certain furniture. That was fine with us since we didn't plan on taking much with us.

Then Alex sent us a list of 54 places that she had found. It was late in the afternoon so I set it aside to review in the morning.

Sunday October 4, 2020

I prepared a spreadsheet with columns for each of the key factors in the prospective rental units. Then I went through the list and excluded any unit under 1,000 sq. ft. That left six for which I proceeded to list all the details I had columns for. Square footage, bedrooms, in suite laundry, exercise room, utilities included, parking, etc. 

There were a few nice ones but one unit stood out. It was a condo lease in Waterpark Place in Waterloo, It was a 15th floor two bedroom unit with 1,441 square feet, two bedroom, two baths, a large walk-in closet, a dining room, living room, breakfast room and Florida balcony. The complex had an exercise room, party room, library, craft room and a pool. Plus there were two underground parking spots. It was a little more than the smaller places but looked like it was worth it. It had only been listed a couple of days so called Alex and told her we were interested and did not want someone else to scoop it up on us. 

The condo floor plan - 1504-6 Willow Street Waterloo

Alex checked and said it was still available. The current tenant was leaving at the end of the month to move to Vancouver to be closer to family. They were not showing the unit but Alex said she would be allowed in the next day to allow us a Skype tour.

Monday October 5, 2020

We accepted the offer on the house conditional upon the home inspection and financing. The closing date was December 15. Then we saw the Skype tour of the condo and submitted a lease application.

An interesting side note on the lease application. I have never needed to know my credit score before but it was requested for the application. As I pondered how I should do this, I picked up an envelope in the mailbox from Desjardins Financial. I had a Desjardins credit card because, a few years ago, I had bought furniture from Leon's on a zero interest deal and they handled the payments. Earlier this year, Desjardins suffered a data breach and offered all their clients five years of premium Equifax membership worth somewhere more than $20 per month. Last month, I had found the letter, good until the end of the year, and sent away for the code I needed to enroll in the Equifax plan. And now, the very day I needed to know my credit rating, the means to find it out appeared right out of the blue in my mailbox. Sometimes the universe just reaches out to you.

Oh yes, my credit rating was fine.

Tuesday October 6, 2020

Alex called in the morning and told us we were successful with the lease. We would take over tenancy of the condo on November 1st.

So there you have it. In almost exactly one week, we sold a house and leased a condo. I can often procrastinate but when I do decide to move, things can go very quickly. Now all we have to do is wait for the conditions on the house sale to be lifted and figure what to do with 36 years worth of "stuff" in the house.

Let the fun begin!!!!