Here is Southern Ontario we can go from one
extreme to the next. Snow in May and brutal heat in the first weekend in July.
Which is the Canada Day weekend, 151 years since we became a country, albeit
a vassal nation for Britain, at least back then. I think we are a little bit
more independent now, even grown up enough to have a spat with our other boss,
the cousins down south. Things are a little edgy here right now, being attached
at the hip to the crazies is not a comfortable situation to be in. In a way it
may not be a bad thing for Canadians to figure out that having all of our eggs
in the USA basket is not a clever thing. It’s a rude awakening to discover that
the special relationship is not that special and we are not actually a pseudo
state of the Union. So my Canada Day message to my adopted country is; seek
markets elsewhere, forget Florida (at least for a few winters), buy Canadian
where you can and cherish and nurture our liberalism and respect for others.
The conservative victory in Ontario was bad enough, the fact that it was lead
by a Ford is a worrisome indication that we too are an inch away from
Trumpizium. Ok, so I’m blogging about politics, sorry, I’ll get onto motor
cycling shortly. The world is going to hell and there is no way we seem are
able to stop it. I have an image of mushroom clouds all over the globe and the chief
god is watching with the apprentice god standing next to him and the chief god turns
to the apprentice god and says, ‘You are so fired, Yahweh. I warned you that
leaving the monkeys in charge was a seriously bad idea.’
Okay so onto motorcycling, lets enjoy things
whilst we still can. I have been doing plenty of this activity, albeit not
today, even though its Saturday of the Canada day weekend and it’s windless and
not raining. This seems to be the ideal day for it, but 45 degrees (with humidex)
is why I grounded myself, that and the effects of a shingles vaccine I had
yesterday, I actually feel quite off-color. I do however plan to ride tomorrow,
I’ll get up early and get in a couple of hundred Km's before it gets too unbearable,
tomorrow is forecast to be a repeat of today.
 |
| It's 8 pm and it has 'cooled' down to 42 degrees (with humidex) |
So if
you have been following this blog at all you’ll know that I have mostly been a
bit of a lone ranger, and that hasn’t entirely changed, but I have been doing
some group rides. My neighbours, Murray and Janice have invited me along on a
few rides with them. (Murray – see http://not-so-easy-rider.blogspot.com/2014/07/thank-you-murray_22.html).
I was quite apprehensive about doing group rides, pretty much the last group
ride I did was on the ride that killed the Boulevard. http://not-so-easy-rider.blogspot.com/2015/08/death-of-boulevard.html.
However, Murray is a seriously good rider, very experienced and a good group
leader. He plans the route well, knows when to stop for a break and doesn’t
push the pace beyond the capabilities of the weakest rider (sometimes this has
been me), yet does push you to up your game. After a few rides group rides with
Murray, I do feel slightly more confident.
 |
| Michel, Murray and Janice - at the end of the ride - coffee at MacDonald's in Beaverton |
A few weekends ago, we (Murray, Janice, a couple of other riders and me) rode up to
Huntsville in Muskoka where we had lunch at a restaurant called ‘3 Guys and a
Stove’. Now this sort of name has been done to death (5 Guys Burgers and Fries,
2 Guys and a Truck, 2 Gals and a Chap – actually that last one isn’t a real thing,
just that bucket list item), nonetheless the lunch was pretty darn good, and
the menu was definitely worth another visit http://3guysandastove.com/pub/All-Day-Menu.html.
After lunch we went north on Highway 11 to Emsdale where we picked up County
Road 518. This was the northern most point of the ride, now it was homeward
bound. I’ve ridden this road before, so was attuned to the fun that was coming.
This is one of the best motorcycle roads that I have had the pleasure of riding
(http://not-so-easy-rider.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-screaming-heads-of-muskoka.html).
Mostly long sweeping curves that you can take at a decent speed, but
occasionally they throw in a tight one to keep you on your toes. The whole route is through Muskoka forest, just so gorgeous it takes the breath away. We stop at
Orrville for a coffee and cake break at the Orrville Bakery, which is a great
little place. I pass on the cake, but go for the coffee, it is that time of the
afternoon that one actually needs a nap, but failing that a shot of caffeine
helps. They have a proper barista machine so the usual pee bewitched drip coffee
is nor served (hooray), triple shot Americano does the trick.
From Orrville we make our way down to Bala,
another one of my favourite spots, and gateway to county road 13, better known
as Southwood road. There are few roads that challenge quite like this one, very
twisty and very technical, tight cornering and lots of gravel. Actually I have
already ridden this road this year and the amount of loose gravel is way less
than it was a few weeks before. Murray pushed the pace and it really is a
challenge to keep up. I have a few sphincter tightening moments when the wheels
slip on loose gravel on some of the corners, but this is the type of road that
the KLR is designed for... or so I tell myself. We head down Highway 11 for a
short distance until Washago where we take County Road 169 and then wind our
way home on the eastern side of lake Simcoe. Total distance for the day 560 km,
quite a respectable ride for a Saturday.
I have done a few other rides, so far this
season I have managed over 5000 km, so it’s been pretty good, however I
have been building a pergola over the deck, which has been fun, but has cut
a little into the biking time. The project is nearly done so I’ll be getting
back to riding, weather permitting. I have put in vacation to do a two and a
half week ride – my original intention was to ride to the Grand Canyon, but in
line with the thoughts expressed in paragraph one, I have changed my mind. It
will be the Canadian Maritimes, PEI, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 |
| Pergola Project (not quite the Alan Parsons Project) |
Happy Canada Day.
Cheers
