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To Bruce County and Back

Sunday, August 16th, 2009


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It was my god-daughters birthday this weekend so I made a trip up to the Bruce to spend some time with her and her folks.

My plan this weekend was up to highway #10 through Orangeville (B), then west on Wellington Road 109 (highway #9) through Arthur (C), then Harriston (D), through the Fultons (E) and on into Belmore (F), my destination for the weekend.

Saturday was hot, 30 degrees in the city and the ride home Sunday was even hotter … and humid!

Fields of gold through Wellington County (just after B):

side_road

The Grand River (between B and C):

grand_river

Now entering Bruce County (between E and F):

welcome_bruce_county

Same intersection, just a different angle (between E and F):

bruce_county_sideroad

There is green all around me … isn’t there a song about that (Johnny Cash – 40 shades of green) just outside Belmore – F:

miles_of_green

Side road bridge off Wellington Road #109

the_bridge

This is a shot of the ring around Orangeville (B):

around_orangeville

Now entering the Escarpment (olde Baseline Road – between highway #10 and Mississauga Rd):

escarpment_country

The Bad Lands – In the Escarpment:

the_bad_lands

While resting, I bumped into this really cool couple riding a hip Johnny Pag Chopper … this is a great looking little bike and you would never guess that it is only 300CC’s:

johnny_pag_chopper

Still resting ….

side_road_rest

That was my weekend.  350 KM round trip, 1 night stay over, good times with good friends, and a BBQ to remember.

There’s something in that country air …

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Early Morning Ride

Friday, August 7th, 2009

There was something special about this morning … the sun was in full bloom, the wind gentle and the air was crisp and clean. We haven’t had many of these mornings this summer so I took advantage of this one and decided to ride into work today.

As I was making my way down the Lakeshore I turned and caught a glimpse of the bright golden shine reflecting off the lake from one of the side streets that run off Lakeshore … I just had to turn around and head back.

Wow! What a view … to think I stumbled onto this! I pulled over, grabbed my camera and took a few shots to seize the moment.

m_20090807_morning_ride

They say you should take time to smell the flowers … well this was it for me, and what a difference it has had on my day :) .

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A Weekend in the Kawartha’s

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009


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You probably couldn’t ask for better weather this weekend … or at least this summer anyway.

The destination this weekend was to Chandos Lake in the Kawartha’s, just north of Apsley, Ontario. The route started out at Port Credit (A) and went along highway #427 north to highway #401 east, up through highway #115/35, merging onto highway #7 east, then turning northbound onto highway #28 into the town of Apsley (B), the final destination.

Below is a snap shot of Burleigh Falls, on route to Apsley (B):

m_20090801_burleigh_falls

Windy roads through the Kawartha’s between Perterborough and Apsley – Northbound on highway #28:

Windy_Road_To_Apsley

Arrived at the town of Apsley (3.5 hrs from point A) – Still on highway #28:

Town of Apsley

Side road to cottage, now on the north side of Apsley:

Road_To_Cottage

Entrance to the main road (the only road really) leading to the cottage:

which_way

The cottage … :) :

the_cottage

An evening sunset on the dock:

Cottage_Sunset

Early morning mist off Lake Chandos:

m_20090801_cottage_sunrise

A glimpse up to the cottage from the dock:

the_cottage

The walkway up to the cottage from the dock (that’s about a 300 calorie climb up these steps):

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Alvin (the chipmunk) spotted me, then darted after me, I didn’t know what to do … ;) :

avlin_seen_me_coming

… friendly little guy:

hanging_with_alvin

Some tall trees (Alvin’s up there…):

alvins_tree

Out for a spin on the lake:

speed_boating

Strange fish sighting while swimming in the lake … :) :

strange_swim

Tell me this doesn’t represent Cottage Country, Northern Ontario:

cottage_country

Well … at this point the weekend is almost over and it’s time to start heading home.

The route home went down through Peterborough, then west along highway #7/7A, all the way back into Toronto through points C, D, E and F.

Below is the pond along the back road on route to highway #28 – back to the city :( :

m_20090801_the_pond

This is very scenic, the river runs up along side the road down to Burleigh Falls – Southbound on highway #28 (i think that’s a bear on the other side of that wooden bridge ;) ):

roadside_river

Picnic area and boat launch in the town of Omemee – Westbound on highway #7:

picknick_area_omemee

A snap shot of the country side between Omemee and Lindsay … spectacular isn’t it – Westbound on highway #7:

kawartha_farm

Taking a rest in the shade .. the town of Lindsay – Westbound on highway #7:

downtown_lindsey

Main street, Port Perry – Westbound on highway #7A:

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From here the route continued west along highway #7 through the town of Brooklin, into Unionville, over to highway #404/Don Valley Pkwy, down through the bottom of Toronto, along the Q.E.W into Missisauga and finally into Port Credit.

It was a good weekend :)

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An EYE-CATCHING Ride

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Fat_Bob_1

I made a trip to Harley-Davidson this week while I was out and I ran into this really cool Fat Bob … but this wasn’t just a Fat Bob, it was a Screaming Eagle Fat Bob.

Just sitting there glistening in the sun, the paint was speckled and the chrome was polished … I even saw sparkles as I reached for my sunglasses and grabbed my camera.

Fat_Bob_2

This particular model was part of this years (2009) spring line up of H-D CVO’s (Custom Vehicle Operations) and came with a 110-cubic-inch screaming eagle engine … that’ll get you from point A to point B in a hurry.  In fact, this one even came equipped with a custom seat that was made of Italian alcantara fabric combined with high grade leather … that’s high-end!

Fat_Bob_3

And if I had to pick just one word to describe this bike … it would be ‘handsome‘, because this truly is a handsome bike.

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That Piaggio’s Got Bling!

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

I was out this morning for a leisurely ride thinking that I would head west to pop in on a buddy of mine who was taking a riding course over in Oakville.  That’s when I noticed that I needed gas and lucky for me there was a Sunoco station right there through the intersection so I pulled in and filled’er up.

piaggio0

I’d just put the nozzle back when I heard a voice call out to me “did you put 94 in’er”.  I looked up and quickly identified the man and said “yuppers, and how about you?”  The man replied “always, it only cost me six bucks, I get better mileage and she just seems to run better”.  ”Amazing”, I said “a couple drops of gas and you probably go all week”.  From here we got talk’n about CC’s, all the places you can go on a bike, and the smells, he pointed out smells … and you know, I never really gave it much thought before, but he’s right … you can smell everything.

That’s right about the time when he said “come check out my modifications”.  I said, “what, you’ve modified your Piaggio?”  ”I sure did” he replied “I chromed it out” … “let me see this” I said.  And sure enough, he had chrome all over it, and it looked sharp too.

There was chrome trim added on the fender, around the license plate, red markers, signal and brake lights and a nice little line down the rear side panel:

piaggio1

Up on the console we’ve got chrome trim around the gauge cluster and inside the rearview mirrors:

piaggio2

Not only do we have chrome trim around the front fender, its also around the headlight and turning signals … Harley-Davidson calls these ‘Trim Rings’ and you pay big bucks for them:

piaggio3

I was impressed .. not to mention that was my first chromed out Piaggio sighting.

That’s when we introduced ourselves.

Nice job Shane … just the right amount of bling and a real nice touch.  I hope you had a good day of riding.

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