Tony's Cycle Calabogie Fall Ride

  by Larry Tate

Kevin asked me to say a few words about the Tony's Cycle weekend day ride on Sunday Sept. 16, since I was to blame for the date and the route. So, here we go.

This turned out to be a two-pronged deal. The shop had already planned this as our last day ride of the year, when Mike "Kasemeister" Palmer decided it was time to organize a Tony's Cycle RAT Pack (one of those corny acronyms, in this case meaning Riders' Association of Triumph) among our many Triumph-riding customers. He felt it would be appropriate to have the Triumph group ride separately to the same destination to inaugurate the Pack, so we did it that way.

We were shocked by the turnout, frankly. Even though it was such a perfect day, a Sunday just after the kids get back to school isn't always the best time to get away, but a lot of people managed it. In fact, we had riders from as far as Petawawa, Toronto, and Pickering join us at the start, and bikes from Ottawa and Renfrew joined us at the lunch point in Calabogie. We ended up splitting the non-Triumph group into two, with long-time customer and chip truck afficionado Gary Droppo leading one while Greg and Karen took the second. I had been elected to go with the Triumph group, riding the very cool TT600 Baby Speed we've built here at the shop, and even that, with just shy of a dozen bikes, was an excellent turnout.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that the route itself encompassed some of the best riding roads anywhere in Canada. I've ridden in every province except Newfoundland, and while there are individually fabulous roads and areas everywhere, I have no hesitation in placing the back roads of eastern Ontario right up at the top of the "fun to ride" scale.

The good stuff starts north of Hwy 7 (locally -- around Kingston -- and probably unfairly referred to as the I.Q. Line), but even getting there allows ample opportunity for sightseeing and a few swoops. Once on the 506 road heading toward Plevna things get more interesting quickly, and heading out of Plevna on the Buckshot Lake Road up toward Venachar and then north to Matewatchen takes you into remote territory and challenging roads that I dare you not to enjoy.

From Matewatchen our route curved back east to hug the top of Black Donald Lake, which is one of the best motorcycling roads anywhere, let alone in Canada. Fresh pavement, fabulous terrain, and terrific views all contribute to the joy ... you can ride it fast for the thrill, or slow for the scenery, or do a bit of both. I can't speak for the other groups, but the Triumph crowd tagged comfortably along with me at what I'd call a nice brisk pace; quick enough to keep your interest up but slow enough that you could still enjoy the scenery. We made good enough time that we stopped at the Black Donald dam for some RAT Pack photos and still got to the lunch stop first.

Said lunch stop, by the way, was the Buckhorn Roadhouse at the west end of Calabogie on 508. Great place; very friendly, fast, and efficient service and they were delighted to see so many motorcycles in the lot (we weren't the only group to stop). In fact, when he saw us taking some group photos, the owner asked me to send him some copies for the restaurant wall.

Splitting up and heading back home the groups rather straggled out, heading south on 511 toward Perth and then 10 to Westport. Bill Litchfield (Sprint ST) and I cut west at Lanark on 12, then south at Elphin on 36 to Westport, then west to 38, which was an awesome way to end the day's riding.

This is the second year we've done a Calabogie run in September, and based on the popularity and the positive comments we've received we may just have to do it again in 2002. Thanks to all who came out. Cheers.

Larry Tate
Tony's Cycle