Archived News - Motorcyclist Kingston Area, Ontario

Today...we Remember all those who answered the call; those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and all those who dared and who came back to us.

Today we celebrated 100,000 kilometres being rolled over on Al Dodd's Triumph Adventurer at Tony's Cycle - Bath Road, Kingston, Ontario. During this event, people came from as far as the Niagara Region and involved friends from various groups including the Red Knights, Sun Riders and Canadian Motorcyclist. Boog & I presented Al with a framed Road Eater certificate on behalf of both Sun Riders and Canadian Motorcyclist. Much thanks to everyone who attended!

Congratulations Al!

The distance on your speedometer represents many good times traveled in front of you, behind you and, most importantly ... at your side. Long may you run!

Kevin

“Indian Larry”, aka Larry Desmedt, died of head injuries after a motorcycle stunt went bad on Monday, August 30^th, 2004 in Charlotte , N.C. He was not wearing a helmet. Larry was 55 years old. The stunt was conducted during filming of a new segment of “The Great Biker Build-off” for The Discovery Channel in Charlotte . Larry had just successfully competed in the build-off with Billy Lane and other riders of custom-made motorcycles.

Deseronto Show and Shine is scheduled for October 24th, 2004.
Anyone interested should click here for more info.
Contact person: Guy Fortier.

Once again Canadian Motorcyclist supported the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada by participating in the Mystery Tour in Kingston, Ontario. We want to take this opportunity to publicly recognize the great effort, valuable time and organizational skills demonstrated by MotoSport Plus and friends for this important cause. As of 4:00 p.m., on the day of the ride, forty-five thousand dollars had been raised for MD.

Sun Riders are switching on the 2nd annual Ruff and Rumble Poker Run on Sunday, August 29th/04. More info here: http://www.sunriders.ca/ .

The Mystery Tour kicks off September 5th, 2004 at Kingston Ontario's MotoSport Plus. More info here: http://www.canadianmotorcyclist.com/events/2004/04mdtour/ . This ride is definitely worth checking out. The cause is for MD.

If there are any motorcycle-related events in your area, please send us a message.

A reminder that the Ride to Remember 2004 is on this weekend, June 5th & 6th at the airport in Picton Ontario. See here.

Charlie Mahoney, father of Campbellford Ontario's 'Indian Days' passed away. He will be sadly missed. (More info).

We received news today that we'd won a Golden Web Award.
(Recorded for archives) :)

Member Angie Fyke directs this play which is on at the Domino Theatre in Kingston, Ontario Thursday, April 8th - 24th, 2004. Check out the poster HERE. Any support is welcomed!

Kingston's MotoSport Plus has scheduled its 2004 Mystery Tour for September 5th. For anyone at this event last year, it was well worth it. MotoSport Plus has been a great contributor to the Kingston community and this is just another example of how they can integrate helping out those in need with a pastime we all love.
For more details, click HERE.

The Motorcycle Ride for Dad has eyes on Kingston for the 2004 season kick-off.
For anyone who's been on the ride these past few years, this news may well stir up some smiles. With its inception in Ottawa this ride has raised some eyebrows, and some memories folks won't soon forget. More info soon.
Ride For Dad

The Message Board is growing as is membership. All links have been updated.
Please register and remember your login and password. The Members Only portion of the message board (different from Members Only pages) is also now active but will not appear for you unless you request access. The General Chat is public-accessible though. Members - check email for update. Our Polling Station has been replaced by a similar message board feature.

A Motorcycle show is set for 26 April at the Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario.
See details here.

Transport Canada has a searchable database for recalled vehicles. This includes motorcycles. A recent check revealed many motorcycles of various makes and models recalled. There are some pretty important recalls listed there. Click on the link below, type in the make you're interested in and search for your model:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/recalls/search_e.asp

Sun Riders Motorcycle Club is back online. They can be found at www.sunriders.ca .
For anyone unfamiliar with the Sun Riders, they are a Kingston, Ontario area riding club which has been in operation since 1999 - a great bunch of people quite active in the motorcycling community and in charity.

Much thanks to The Sunriders' Boog and Steacy for organizing such a great bowling night in Kingston, Ont. The atmosphere and company were great. There were about 50 great motorcyclists from the area. What a great way to break up the winter blues and renew friendships. Thanks Boog and Steacy!

Tomahawk 500-HP concept motorcycle revealed.
Interestingly, this motorcycle reportedly does 645 km/h and costs over $390,000.00 U.S. Check out the Message Board for full story.

Also, Boog sends best wishes for 2003 to all CM members from the Sunriders!

As we approach the end of 2002 we've grown a bit - over 100 new members! Thank you all for making this year such a great one. We've just finished a 15 minute still-photo VCD which is a condensed review of our activities for 2002. It was surprising to see everything we've been involved in this year.

To all of our members, friends and fellow motorcycle enthusiasts everywhere, we wish you Happy Holidays and a great New Year!

The party was great. Thanks to all who attended. Kudos to Duke for organizing the day (not to mention the surprises). Some photos are available in our members' News which is available in our Members Only section.

The Festivities are taking place on Saturday, 30 November, 2002, between 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. at:

Fiddleheads Bar & Grill
53 Herriott Street
Perth, ON K7H 1T5
(613) 267-1304

We're getting pumped about an idea - clean water for all. We're learning more about WaterCan, its people and the great things they're doing - saving lives.
Check out WaterCan . We'll let you know what develops.

Monday, 4 November, 2002 - Cabot Trail Adventure 2003

We're getting together a list of people interested in a summer ride to the Cabot Trail.
If you're interested, send email to: cabot@canadianmotorcyclist.com and include:
name, phone number, and how many may be coming with you. Nothing is etched yet. We're just getting a list of interested parties. We'll fill you in as we go!

Today, we received a special request to assist a motorcyclist in the Ottawa area. Please click here for more information.

Excellent! This best describes the caliber of people comprising our ride to Calabogie. It also best describes the entire day as we putted along roads through country that would drive envy into the hearts of those who "have it all". What an incredible group!

Honda Silverwing Motorcycle scooters recalled!
"Tokyo, Japan - (MCNW) Honda Motor Co. is going to spend about 1.9 billion yen to recall 160,131 vehicles in Japan and 21,395 motorcycles in the United States and Europe because of three separate defects.

According to a report by the Associated Press, certain models of the Silverwing motorcycle manufactured between March 2001 and August 2002 have weak rear wheel spokes that could break from continued use.

In the US, the recall affects 2509 Silverwings, 600 in the United Kingdom, and 5513 in Japan. The remainder were sold throughout Europe.

Also being recalledin Japan are seven models of passenger vehicles, the Accord Inspire, Inspire, Vigor, Rafaga, Saber, and Ascot, and a truck/wagon, the Capa, because of defective switches. In the cars, a faulty switch inside the engine could short-circuit and cause a fire to break out in the engine. The Capa recall is due to wear of a faulty ignition switch that could cause the engine to stop suddenly.

Honda anticipates that the total costs of the recall of 1.9 billion yen (approximately USD $15.7 million) should not affect the company's earnings forecasts."
See http://www.americanmotor.com

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Chia Tse. He was in a motorcycle accident on Watson Road near Guelph on 20 august 02. Chia was a member of the Fuzzy Riders of Toronto and Canadian Motorcyclist. He was an MMIC instructor and professor at Ryerson College. There is a thread discussing the accident here:
http://www.cmgonline.com/cgi-bin/soapbox/index.cgi?read=15311

Ellen's story about her trip Nova Scotia is online! Check it (and photo album) out here!

Road Pro Motions (RPM) website is up and running! You can access their website (rather nice) here: www.roadpromotions.net . For those of us who, due to time constraints or other obstacles, cannot travel to events and rides in distant places, RPM can make all the difference! They're on the pulse of the active motorcyclist community and are extremely well connected. Presently, RPM is doing a transport run from the GTA to Halifax departing 2 Sept and arriving in Halifax on 5 Sept. Wouldn't it be nice to have your bike there and waiting for you? Anyone interested can contact John Ely to book. Because of the short notice, discounted pricing is being offered. We wish Road Pro Motions much success!

August 24, 2002

Kingston, ON - Last week we jumped into the Red Knights Memorial Observation Ride which was nothing less than great! Leo P. led us from Kingston to Rossmore on a hasty but very nice ride along hwy 2 through Napanee. Al Dodd led us through some of the finest roads I've seen in these parts and the scenery was fantastic! Excellent ride! PHOTOS

August 13, 2002

"Alton, VA; (MCNW) Nicky Hayden clinched the AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship Saturday, August 10, 2002, at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virgina. Hayden, who turned 21 on July 30, becomes the youngest champion in the 27-year history of AMA Superbike. The Honda rider from Owensboro, Kentucky, wrapped up the championship by winning his ninth race of the year in the first round of the doubleheader Superbike weekend at VIR."
http://www.motorcyclenewswire.com

Kingston, Ont - Road Report. The Jones Falls road (Cty Rd 11), is under construction at the north end (twisties). It has a 4 kilometer stretch of loose gravel.

Ever consider attending a rally far, far away and having your motorcycle transported down there for you? Well, you may be interested in Road Pro Motions Ltd. This Canadian company is launching its website this month (20 Aug 02). We'll keep you posted.
You might want to bookmark this url:
www.roadpromotions.net .

For those of you who asked, Garry Janz is doing well as he recovers from his terrible motorcycle accident. Here is an interesting story: "Motorcycle mishap brings out 'guardian angels'" by Dave Brown of the Ottawa Citizen.

Flat Track races are coming up in Belleville, ON this coming Saturday. Admission is $10.00 and they start at 7:30 PM. Anyone interested in attending, please let us know by posting a message on our Yahoo Board - see members only section.

Honda trial rides are being held at Motosport Plus in Kingston on 23 August 2002. They just finished their Harley trial rides. It was very well organized to ensure that everyone had a chance to ride.

Jones Falls, Ontario is a place one never seems to get tired of visiting - especially on a beautiful day. It was on this fine day that a group of Canadian Motorcyclists experienced what is best described as a perplexing moment. You can read about it here.

Events - Ontario Events page has been updated. Remember, if there are events in your area which you'd like posted, send in the details here and we'll post them.

Photos from the Ride to Rebuild are in. Check them out in the "Snapshots" section. Anyone with photos is invited to send them in to photos@canadianmotorcyclist.com when you can. More on the Ride to Rebuild soon!

Kingston, Ont - Normal Saturday morning ride has been cancelled for today as we join the RIDE TO REBUILD Fort Henry.
More information here: http://www.ridetorebuild.com

Kingston, Ont - We're gearing up for the Ride To Rebuild - 27 July 02! Sure hope you'll be there.
More information here: http://www.ridetorebuild.com

Kingston, Ont - Colin G. will be leading an interesting ride tomorrow from Kingston, Ont to Picton. Here is a message from him:

Canadian Motorcyclists!

Get your swimsuits ready because this Saturday's ride is going to involve a
quick dip in the big drink. We'll meet at Coffee Ritual (Bayridge and
Princess) at 10am. The ride will be along the Parkway (33) to the Glenora
Ferry. We'll cross on the ferry, then head over through Picton and end up
at Sandbanks Park. Here's where the trunks will come in handy. After a
refreshing swim we'll make our return to Kingston via the bridge route.
Return time should be around 2 or 3pm.

Hope to see you all on Saturday!

Colin - colingalinski@hotmail.com

Kingston, Ontario - Jones Falls Ride. Kingston area members rode to Jones Falls on what has been arguably the nicest day of the summer to date. PHOTOS

Remember our Thursday evening Sunset Ride! See you at the Tim Horton's at Princess St and Centennial Drive (Herbies Drug warehouse lot) at 6:00 p.m.!
(We changed back to this location for Thursday evenings only since Coffee Ritual closes at 6 p.m.)

Kingston, Ontario - Saturday morning ride to Jones Falls - meeting at the Ritual.

Reminder for the Campbellford Indian Days Ride on Saturday, July 6th, 2002. Check out the details here.

Also, everyone is invited on the Sun Riders' Father's Day Poker Run. Check out the details here.

Bath, Ontario - Yesterday, a few of us joined the Sun Riders at a Canada Day parade in Bath, Ontario. It was a HOT one and we were moving at a snail's pace through town but it was fun. It was also surprising to see how many in that small town showed up on the main street in lawn chairs or sitting on the curbs - watching and encouraging the parade participants. Such patriotism is commendable! After the parade was over, we couldn't navigate to the local ice cream parlour due to road closings for the parade. We ended up at the Dairy Queen in Kingston, Ontario. The heat registered 36 degrees in Bath today. Weather forecast calls for 39 today!

Kingston, Ontario - Traditionally, we've been meeting at the Tim Horton's at Princess St. & Centennial Drive. Effective today, our new meeting location for Kingston area members will be the Coffee Ritual - 2812 Princess Street, Kingston, ON. For many months now, members have been unhappy with the service at our previous location.
The "Coffee Ritual" folks have offered their hospitality. Click here for info.

In our travels today we came upon a motorcyclist-friendly restaurant called the "Coffee Ritual" in Kingston, Ontario. Check it out when you get a chance! It is owned and operated by Kingston H.O.G. members Darlene Nason and Bruce Arseneault - good "down homers"! You can find other such links here.
We're off on the Peace Ride tomorrow.

This was not a wasted weekend, however. 6 of us headed out on a local Kingston, Ontario ride yesterday and Shakin' came down from Pickering, Ont today for a country ride on Desert Lake Road, Sydenham, Ont. Great ride guys! Here are some pics before we headed out:

Peace Ride - keeping our fingers crossed for Saturday. If the weather is un-co-operative, we'll do it Sunday!

Peace Ride - initial date postponed due to thunderstorms. Check for update here.

Ride To Rebuild Breakfast, Kingston, Ontario - Excellent! Re-cap to follow. Meanwhile, enjoy some photos from the day's events. Click here. (Opens in new window). Well done, Duke!

Motorcyclist fined $103.000 for speeding! - Interesting article.
If anyone is organizing rides in your area - use the yahoo message board OR send an email in with the details and they'll be posted on a page for your area.

Excellent deals posted in the "Buy and Sell" include Joe Rocket Phoenix jackets. I bought such a jacket for the summer because this jacket combines mesh with armor. It is perfectly cool for hot days.

Tonight marked our first Sunset Ride in the Kingston area. We toured north to Westport and weaved southward through the county and back to Kingston where we feasted on Dairy Queen products. Check out the photos here.

Breakfast being served - Fort Henry
Date: 09 June 02
Time: 08:30 - 10:30 A.M.
Place: Fort Henry
Cost: $8.00 (tax & tip included!)
Menu: Tea/Coffee, 3 pancakes, 2 strips of bacon and 2 sausages.
This event will be followed by a ride - probably the 1000 Islands Parkway.
If you plan on attending, please contact Mark (aka Duke) and confirm.

*NOTE: - this is a promotional event for the Ride to Rebuild and
the Ride to Rebuild is still happening at the end of July. Cya there!

The Ride To Rebuild is another important event which is aimed at restoring Fort Henry - a crucial icon of Canadian heritage. Please check out this great site at http://www.ridetorebuild.com and pledge your support. Under their "How can I help" section, there is a printable/downloadable petition form which is easy to fill out - then send it in to show support.

The Ride for Dad was, to say the least, impressive! It was well organized, the weather was excellent and the line of motorcycles extended for 11 kilometres as we weaved our way through Ottawa. Check the message board for Feedback.

Please check the "Members Only" section and confirm your email address information. Some have been just updated. Let us know if there is a change.

Dave & Janice MacMillan, Mark Staveley and I were at the Kingston Bike show today. The show was great. We chatted quite a bit about a ride which Mark is organizing - Ride to Re-build Fort Henry. I was quite surprised to learn how badly it needs funds to avoid crumbling. More to come on that. Meanwhile, please check it out - http://www.ridetorebuild.com/. This is one I hope we can all make. Details are in the Events/Rides link for 27 July 2002.

Remember the Toronto Spring MC Show April 13-14, 2002. See details at the "Events" section.

We struck our 90-member mark today with another motorcyclist from Ottawa, ON. Check our "Members Only" section for more info.

Check out the conversion of this bike: http://www.indycycleonline.com/ .
I know of at least two members who would likely gasp at the idea. I won't mention any names though Gary or Steve. :)

"Friday the 13th: The Devil in Dover", is a documentary on "Rough Cuts" being aired:
05 March, 2002 at 10:p.m. ET.
"For the past twenty years, Port Dover, population 5,000, is invaded by thousands of motorcyclists every Friday the 13th. What began as a lark by a local biker and a few of his drinking buddies, has become Canada's largest motorcycle gathering..."

Triumph's 2200cc "The Twenty Two will be the biggest capacity bike in mass production – and offer more than 150lbft of torque – equivalent to two Honda FireBlades."
- www.motorcyclenews.com

We updated the members page to reflect our newest arrivals. A demographics map has been created to show a reasonably detailed picture of how we're spread out across the country (link on main page). When we did this as a trial a few months ago, the red was barely noticeable. The Events/Rides link has been replaced and updated with some good information about upcoming rides for the 2002 season. Hope you can make them!

Anyone with information they want posted should send it in. Pictures are always welcome. Thanks to those who have taken the time to pass on the fact that we exist. New members arrive regularly now.

Spring is on the horizon. We've updated the "Events" page to reflect a few upcoming rides. One in particular is the "Ride for Dad 2002" which is dedicated to the fight against prostate cancer. If you can make it, I have it on good authority it's going to be great! You can get more information here. If you intend on going, please let me know.
Kevin

The first meeting of the Tony's Cycle R.A.T. Pack will be held Saturday 9 Feb 02 at 3pm in the cozy sports room of Dailey Cafe. We will discuss/plan events and rides for the year as well as t-shirt designs, so if you have any ideas this is the time to share them.

Note that you do not need a R.A.T. membership, nor do you need to be a customer of Tony's Cycle to attend - all you need is a Triumph and a genuine love of the marque. There will be no attendance criteria and no rules other than common sense (!), so come on down and join the other nuts as we get this Pack on the road!

Directions to Dailey Cafe (Kingston):
- take Gardiners Rd/HWY 38 exit off the 401
- go South on Gardiners Rd, turn right at Progress Ave
- Dailey Cafe is at the corner of Gardiners and Progress in the Progress Square mini mall, ya can't miss it!

The site is now amalgamated. Events and rides as applicable to CM will be posted at pages linked to the left "Events/Rides". This link also allows members to post events and links themselves. The main splash page is the one identifiable through search engines. It is here. We'll try to keep navigation simple.

A while back I asked member Rob Bellis to show us his custom B.S.A. and he did. Here.
It's a real work of art - especially for a guy who's never done anything like this before!

Today Ralph joined Gary, Chris and I went for a modified Hay Bay ride. We found that the road at the end of Hay Bay was well packed now and made for good riding. After Napanee we headed for Camden East, Moscow and over to Verona and Harrowsmith. We headed south-east to Sydenham via Holleford Road and Boundary Road. Today's heat made jacket-peeling a necessary evil for some of us.

We had a great ride and are looking forward to next week's Slowpoke run! Hope to see you there.

Kevin

Westport was our mid-point destination today on our way to the Blues Festival in Kingston. An interesting story was that, upon our arrival we met a few cool dudes from the area - one of whom had just changed the ignition on his bike. The problem was when he did something any of us might have done - forgot to take the key for his gas tank. Luckily and interestingly, Brian (Brockville) managed to pick the lock using a fish hook from a nearby bait shop and a screw driver. If he joins us, he'll be known as the locksmith for his important part in this interesting adventure. It was a pleasure having met Ron, Brian and Chuck.

Bruce's Yamaha 650 Heritage Special has been the topic of discussion on more than one occasion here at Canadian Motorcyclist. What happened today was funny as hell. As we finished up spectating the a/m locksmithing act, it came to Bruce's attention that his licence plate was gone. How, you ask? Well, the thing apparently vibrated completely in two! Yeah, that's right. It cracked off near the top from vibration. I knew those things vibrated and were the envy of many anxious would-be passengers but this was crazy! Now I know why Bruce always seems to be smiling whenever he's revving that thing up around 3800 rpm.

We have a couple of new members: Tom Burant from Rockland and Mike Laflamme from Ottawa. Welcome guys! Hopefully our Ottawa Area site will be up and running soon. Anyone with Ottawa area riding routes is encouraged to send 'em in.

Riders today may be scarce, but we've been known to ride with only a couple before. I probably won't make it - bad timing since Martin is planning on showing up. Today, Al Dodd is expecting to show up and offer some information on the Sun Riders - another group here in Kingston. (Their Homepage link is posted on the links page).

It's looking good for some organized rides in the near future. As summer fades and fall arrives, we'll enjoy a "Slowpoke" ride which is being organized now. This ride will involve two or more groups merging somewhere north and between Kingston and Toronto. It's called a Slowpoke Ride because, yeah baby, it's speed-limit cruising. That'll give us a chance to smell the smells, see the sights and spread out a bit. If anyone knows of a cool location between Toronto and Kingston which will offer each group a pleasant and not too long of a ride, please email me with details. Our rendez-vous point has not yet been confirmed. Calabogie, Bon Echo and Bewdley on Rice Lake have been suggested so far. Ideas welcomed!

I'm free this week if anyone is up for a ride. On Wednesday evening at 6 p.m., I'll join Tony's Cycle for a ride. Everyone is welcome to join us!

RIDE: Gary, Chris, Bruce and Kevin did the Hay Bay ride today and although it was a great ride, we ran into some unexpected gravel at the north-west end of the bay. This stretched for about 3 kms and was unmarked.

EVENT: Flat Track Races - Belleville. In a word - whoa! I should preface all this with the fact that it is now 12:35 a.m. and I'm pooped after such a long, long day which included more riding than I usually do in a week! (BUT...my butt's thanking Corbin!) I can't give the evening's events enough description but here's a brief summary:

Chris, Gary D. and I joined Tony's Cycle and 7 of us rode out to the fairgrounds where the event was held. We had dinner at "Bailey's" which is located just across the street from the fairgrounds. I'd recommend their Ceasar salad and toasted club sandwich anytime. The races - you'd have to have seen them to fully understand what they were all about. Some of these racers are certifiably ... nuts! I wanna join! In total I think there were 15 or so races. A young Trenton woman named Sheena Morgan won the Novice 250 division by a long stretch. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about her in the not-so-distant future. Her little brother, Jesse, came in third in the Youth 85 division. Surely, Mom and Dad are proud!

We arrived home around midnight after a nice, cool ride back. Thanks again to Tony's Cycle for setting us up and a special thanks to Larry for his lessons in motorcycle racing. I think I'm hooked. Who's all in for the races at Shannonville?

It was a great ride to Westport today. Tony, Gary, Chris and I decided to be a bit adventureous and took the Holleford Road north from Sydenham...and....hit dirt. Yup, dirt road for about 2 kms. BUT...it was well worth it when we caught the west side of Desert Lake Road and bypassed Verona. The weather was awesome and traffic wasn't too bad either. We had refreshments at the Esso in Westport before heading back via County Rd. 10 (Division). Next week we might attend Shannonville's tracks for the flat track races. Here is the schedule - (opens in new window).

The main page has been updated a bit in anticipation of new groups developing sometime down the road. If any of you know motorcylists from other towns or cities who might be interested in contributing - to setting up a site for their area, please invite them to check us out and contact me.

Our website has been moved with only a few glitches. Looks like this will be home for some time. Please feel free to pass along this url to friends and motorcyclist - folks you meet.

Bruce, Chris and I (Kevin) showed up for the Jones Falls ride and made it a whopping ride! We had a blast on the twisties north of Battersea and checked out the locks for refreshments. Afterwards, we headed down to Gananoque, west to Deerfield and took in a few twisties westbound to Joyceville Side Road. We ended up going through Kingston Mills Locks and on to Jackson Mills. It was a great day!

Mark, Bruce, Gord, Gary, Tack and Kevin showed up and cruised the Hay Bay loop in 30 degree (celsius) heat. It was a pokey ride there, but a quickie ride back! Check out Snapshots for pics.

CYA next week for the Jones Falls ride. For any of you who've not been there, don't miss this one!

Off we went through the back roads of the former Kingston Township and into South Frontenac Township's Burnt Hills Road. The road was far more dilapidated than expected, but still acceptable as far as Canadian country roads go. The scene of the swing bridge hovering over the lake was worth a few words in any magazine and the rickety, thumpety sounds of motorcycle wheels spinning over the wooden bridge would have made a nice sound-effect-intro to a good homemade movie. All was well. Well, that is, until we struck a strangely discoloured road on Seaforth. What was in the minds of the guys as the realization we were on gravel set in can only be imagined. DOH!

Fortunately, it only lasted 6 kilometres AND this particular road was well packed. Luckily for Kevin, the group was a forgiving kind. Perhaps, inwardly, thoughts of cruel torture and unimaginable pain had developed but when we stopped for our rest in Gananoque, the outward expressions of our riders were, well...merciful. It was a good ride but it was not without some noteworthy experiences. For details, click on "Pedro's Luck".

We met and waited a bit for possible stragglers and we headed out at about 10:40 a.m.. Gary led us north-eastward to Athens and back down through Gananoque. While we were waiting to order our fries and drinks a town siren sounded. Apparently, Athens sounds off it's siren each day at 12:00 p.m. to indicate it's noon!

Well, after some near-finagling I ended up with the weekend free! So, I'll be at Tim Horton's tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. after all. Maybe we can do a Hay Bay ride or slip over towards the northern part of Gananoque, depending on how whomever shows up feels.

30 Jun 01 - Desert Lake Road - So, who's dumb idea was it to go this way? I'll get to that later. Here we are, Kevin, Chris, Peter, Tony, Bruce and Heather all in a pretty row. It's hot as hell and we're 400 meters from Desert Lake Campground when, just around a curve and up a short hill, Mr. Smokey (and his friends) is standing there waving us over. We stop and are asked to stand beside our bikes while the nice officer collects our licences, insurance cards and registration certificates. (Vaguely familiar scene). Soon thereafter, the Emergency Response Team arrives in their van and I'm wondering who they think we've killed. What we learned was that a certain other biker type is in the park partying and wearing "colours". Heck, Immigration Canada dudes were even there. When the officers realize we were cool bikers, we're on our way - one of us with a warning for an expired insurance card. Whew!

Okay, so back to the dumb idea guy. That's me. See, we had so much fun last week, we all agreed we'd do it again (with a few other routes added). I had no idea there'd be a mc gang party in Desert Lake. This made me contemplate once more the bummer it must be to live the lifestyle of the gang bangers. We returned from whence we came and took a quickie break at the local Sydenham Chip Wagon before touring the countryside towards Napanee. Gary would have liked that chip wagon inspection. :)

#1. Desert Lake. This route runs north and north-west from Sydenham to Verona. It is a varied and winding route which has many sharp turns. Along the way we found gravel and some sand on the turns but nothing a little caution didn't take care of. We stopped along the way and a fisherman offered to take our picture. It rained (yuk) but we finished the trip before it got too bad. It was great meeting Chris. All in all, great trip! We're considering repeating this journey next week in hopes of better weather.

16 Jun 01 - Although we didn't have a huge turnout, our ride went very well. Three of us teamed up and headed north through Sydenham. We by-passed Harrowsmith, came out at Hartington and made our way through Verona. We ventured onto the winding Westport Rd. and enjoyed some winding turns on the way to Westport where we enjoyed some chat and refreshments.

We headed back on the Perth Road and took in some beautiful scenery at a decent pace. We deviated onto the Burbrook Road, over a creek and on into Kingston where, sadly, our ride ended. It was great riding with Paul and Bruce. Hope to see you all next Saturday!