From: Ron Ginter
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2003 21:46:09 -0400
Well it seems I've been elected to act as Trip Reporter in the absence
of Pitbull. After I post my descriptions and impressions, hopefully
the other participants will chime in with their own feelings and corrections.
SATURDAY
The ride began as scheduled, at 9:00am at the phantom PetroCan station
(sorry Meanie!) at LakeRidge Road and Kingston Road in Ajax. I arrived
at the appointed time to find Lazer and Cruz waiting. Soon after,
we were joined by Meanie and the Shiners (both Moony and Sunny). Five
bikes, six people, three days, and a gazillion roads to ride.
I had posted the route, and had poured my years of experience east
of the city into creating an interesting and challenging one, and
was rewarded by being appointed the ride leader. Lazer volunteered
to ride tail, which is totally in character, and off we went. Lazer
had asked if we were starting by riding up Lakeridge Road, and I had
responded in the affirmative. What I didn't say was that we would
only ride that road for a few kilometres before venturing off onto
somewhat more "interesting" roads.
We rode at a "moderate" pace, at least at first, and I
got my first taste of the big Wing filling my right-hand rearview
mirror. It would prove to stay there, in spite of my best efforts,
all weekend. These new Gold Wings are incredibly capable machines,
and the skill of the rider (that would be Cruz) contributes in no
small way. Up Coronation Road, then Ashburn Road, across 7a through
Port Perry, up 57 through Caesarea then a series of sweeping ninety
degree turns, and we were just getting warmed up.
Up Highway 35 to Lindsay, then a quick jog over to 36, which possesses
a fine set of twists and turns. By now we were a little more aggressive,
passing cars (safely, of course) and the grins inside our helmets
were expanding as well.
Did I mention that it wasn't raining? After the most dire predictions,
enough to make even stalwart riders such as BT and Sporty cancel their
"high-mileage" travel plans for the weekend, we were dry
and lovin' it. The cloud cover was heavy and low, and we were prepared
for a deluge at any moment. Of course, at this point we didn't appreciate
the full import of Lazer's Karmic Umbrella.
Well, Highway 36 leads inevitably to the famed 507, and after the
obligatory gas/washroom stop at the gas station, we strafed the 507
in fine style. A quick jog to the west put us on county road 3 for
more of the same. In mere seconds (it seemed), we were heading east
on 121, then took the dreaded shortcut 4 through the switchbacks into
the ravine. This led to 648 at Wilberforce, and that led to number
10, the famed "Elephant Lake Road".
At Maynooth, we turned south on 62, and stopped for lunch at Tim
Horton's in Bancroft at 1:00pm. This seemed to be the most popular
Timmie's in the universe, and it took us a full hour to get some food
and devour it. No matter, because we all had Zen smiles on our faces,
and we were still dry.
After lunch, 28 took us to Denbigh and 41 south to Cloyne, where
we picked up 506, which is the southern loop of which the "Ompah
Stomp" is the northern half. 506 turned out to be the worst road
of the weekend. For some unknown reason, the powers-that-be had decided
to rip up the pavement in sections along 506, and lay nice thick gravel,
freshly-graded. Each time we would survive a section of slippery gravel,
we'd think it was over, and shortly thereafter would find ourselves
back on another section, jiggling and sliding and praying. By the
time we reached 509 at Clarendon Station, Moonshine was asking where
the nearest liquor store was located!
The important thing is that we came through it with flying colours,
and
continued on to highway 7 east to Maberly, where we picked up 36,
a most delightful curvy treat, all the way to Westport. From there,
it's just a hop, skip and jump to the Opinicon, where we got checked
in, showered, and changed. The room rate at the Opinicon includes
all meals, and I enjoyed a salmon steak this night, as we all excitedly
shared our experiences of the day. The Shiners had a room on the main
floor, while the four boys had two rooms joined by a bathroom on the
second floor. We had a big screened-in balcony outside our rooms,
and bright red rocking chairs to relax in.
We eventually sat up until 2am chewing the fat and drinking the...
er,
libations. Good riding, good friends, good roads, good weather, good
hotel. Oh, I almost forgot, there was a big corn roast going on down
by the river, and a Shania Twain clone singing her heart out, or was
she? We felt obligated to go down and check out the festivities, doing
our best not to stare at all the young lovelies shakin' their thangs.
SUNDAY
Let's see... what did we do on Sunday? Oh yeah! We rode all day!
The sky was low and the overcast was heavy, but the ground stayed
dry. We all assembled in the dining room for breakfast, and picked
up our prepared lunches. The Shiners announced that they were going
solo for the day. Something about women having to shop, and not wanting
to chase suicidal moto-maniacs. We were a little groggy after sitting
up so late the night before, but some food and fresh air soon had
us feeling ready for the road.
So it was a little after 9am that we got rolling, and I was hoping
that my combination of map, GPS, and written instructions would allow
me to continue my good fortune from the previous day, and not get
lost. We rode up to Westport first, then got on 10 to Perth. 10 proved
to be a very nice road, and served to set the tone for the day. Every
time I looked in my mirror, there were those GoldWing eyes staring
at me, and it made me want to speed up in order to get away. (At least,
that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)
At Perth, we picked up 511 north. This highway is straight and boring
for the first while, then about 35km south of Calabogie, it's like
someone threw a switch, and the curves start. The pavement is new
and smooth, the sightlines are mostly good, and the curves are the
type of high speed sweepers that make you feel like you're flying.
I really had to work the Duc to open a small gap between me and that
Wing, and Meanie was right there too. He had that Streak living up
to its name! Lazer had a bit of a ground clearance problem, and had
bad luck with opportunities to pass cars, and fell back a little,
but it was big fun no matter how you look at it. In Calabogie, we
took a break beside the river, across the street from "Lorna's
Fries" (take note, Pitbull).
As if that wasn't enough, we then headed for the well-known route
along the north sides of Calabogie Lake, Black Donald Lake, and Centennial
Lake (I wonder what it was called prior to 1967?) on 508 and 65, passing
through Matawatchan on our way to Vennachar. As we headed south toward
Plevna, I couldn't help but think back to last year, when I hit a
rock in the road and nearly had A Big One. Instead, this year there
were no wayward rocks, and we pulled into the Plevna Community Centre
for lunch. The place was deserted, so we parked anywhere, mostly in
the middle of the parking area, then sat on the lawn to picnic on
our Opinicon lunches, complete with sandwiches, cheese, fruit, and
a slice of cherry pie. As we're sitting there, a car pulls in, then
another, then another, and soon our bikes are blocking access to a
good portion of the lot. Long story short, there is a family reunion
taking place at the community centre, and we just happen to be there.
Everyone was friendly, although Meanie scared one of the children
when he started his bike.
We followed 509 around the northern loop of the Ompah Stomp, crossed
the Mississippi River, and came out on Highway 7. At this point I
meant to swing west and get on the Mountain Grove Road down to Parham,
but made a mistake and took 38 instead. That got us to Godfrey, where
I was looking for 8, and when I saw the sign that said "Westport
Road", I figured that should be it. It was, and proved to be
a VERY beautiful road.
Just as we pulled in to Westport, and were stopping at a Beer Store
for a break, who should appear from another direction but the Shiners
on their most excellent FJR1300! Coincidence, or karma? They had enjoyed
their day acting like tourists, and Sunny showed off her new leather
jacket. They were on their way back to the Opinicon, and Lazer decided
to join them since his twisty-meter was off the scale, and Meanie
joined them because he was anticipating a dip in the pool. It was
around 3pm by this time.
Cruz and I decided to finish the route I had planned since there
was just one more loop, down 10, across 12, and up 11, through Jones
Falls. As we cruised down 10, I saw a sign that said "Opinicon
Road". It headed in the right direction, and I thought it was
a bit early, but remembered the earlier instance where a name was
used instead of the number, so I took it. It was very nice for the
first half, then suddenly turned to dirt/gravel, and we crept along.
Suddenly I was hot, tired, and sweaty, but there was no escape. In
the end, it brought us to the Opinicon from the back way, across the
swing
bridge that spans the lock, so at least it was interesting from that
perspective.
Then we were forced to drink cold beer on the veranda, followed by
a dinner of especially savoury steaks. At the same time, there was
a storm brewing. We could see flashes of lightning during dinner,
and as we relaxed after dinner on the veranda, we were treated to
a major thunderstorm. It poured! The lightning and thunder flashed
and crashed with wild abandon. The roof of the veranda started to
leak, and those leaks turned into steady streams of water, which forced
us to move our chairs a couple of times to avoid getting wet. Everyone
we had asked regarding the weather forecast told us that it was gonna
be storming tomorrow, so we anticipated a wet ride home.
MONDAY
There was some consternation regarding the route home, since the
weather conditions would, to some extent, dictate what we did. There
was little point in riding twisty backroads in pouring rain, and nobody
liked the idea of slabbing it home either. In the morning, the sky
was dark and heavy, and we feared the worst but pressed on regardless.
After another good breakfast, and another round of prepared lunches,
we packed up, checked out, settled our differences (monetarily, that
is) and headed out about 9:30am.
Since it wasn't actually raining, I figured we might as well enjoy
as much as we could, so after riding to Westport, we got back on the
road from the day before, and rode 12 and 8 to Godfrey. This also
had the added benefit of allowing the Shiners to see the road. There's
a very tight section around the end of a lake that is inspiring in
its beauty. At one point, the previous night's rains had caused a
waterfall to form down the side of the rock face.
After a short jog down 38 to Verona, we took 7 (Bellrock Road) and
14 through Enterprise to highway 41. Then a short jog north brought
us to 32, which is marked only with a sign pointing to Marlbank, where
13 took us over to Tweed. This road was new to us all, and definitely
has a place on my "A" list.
We took a break by the water in Tweed, but it was still too early
for lunch so we pressed on under lightening skies. By this time we
thought that perhaps Meanie's rain suit was the good luck charm, because
as soon as he removed the jacket, the sky darkened again. Ultimately
however, it was clear that the Karmic Umbrella was watching over us.
I wanted to get onto 38 heading west out of Tweed, but didn't see
a sign, and we went all the way north to highway 7. Then we turned
west over to Madoc, south on 62, and tried to find 38 again. This
time it was called Spring Brook Road, and I guessed (correctly) and
took it. That got us to Campbellford, then after crossing the Crowe
River, 35 took us to Hastings.
At this point I was back on familiar ground again, and we took 2
west along the north shore of Rice Lake. Along this stretch we saw
an eagle sitting in its nest atop a telephone pole! Unfortunately,
Lazer's gas range is relatively small, and the kilometres rolled past
with no gas station in sight, I was anxiously watching in my mirror
(just the left one since the right one was always full of Wing!) to
make sure he didn't have to stop.
Finally at Bailieboro there was a gas station adjacent to a chip
truck (yes, Pitbull, there are chips in Bailieboro), so we stopped
and had lunch as well. After that it was fairly mundane stuff, with
28 north to 21, then west through Millbrook, over to Pontypool, past
Mosport, down 57 to 3 and finally meeting Highway 7 again at Whitby.
I finally got the Wing out of my mirrors when I turned off at Westney
Road, and was home a few minutes later.