Posts Tagged ‘motorcycle ride’

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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All Dressed Up And No Place To Go

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

pt_credit

It’s after work and I’m itching for a ride, but my usual’s are either away on business or tied up for the night so I grabbed my camera bag, jumped on my bike and headed out solo …

I really didn’t have a destination in mind so I road over to the local marina in the village where I live and took a few shots – I couldn’t pass these up.

city_scape

The view of the city skyline inspired me so I jumped on my bike and headed over to the city along lakeshore making my way over to the beaches.  Here I found a nice little parking spot with a view of the sailboats right up front along the boardwalk.

parked_beaches

After a while I noticed two little old ladies hovering about my bike so I jumped up and introduced myself, “howdy ladies”. One replied “is that your bike?”. “It is” I replied… “you got a real nice machine” she said. So from here we all got chit chatting and the next thing you know, I was going for a stroll down the boardwalk .. after a while I just couldn’t keep up with all the gab’n so I told the ladies it was a pleasure and I had to head back to the west end …

From here I headed down Queen street from the beaches into the city where I saw a sighting so I pulled over, grabbed my camera and took a shot … you don’t see too many of these bikes around the city.

royal_enfield

A ‘Royal Enfield’, originally built in around the 1950’s in Brittan, then later mass produced in India – you can still buy these bikes today in the USA and are built off of the 1955 design – some even come with side cars.

From here I continued to head west down Queen where I just couldn’t resist grabbing a close up snap of the city skyline …

queen_city_scape

Still heading west, I decide to pull off at the St. Lawrence Market for something refreshing to quench my thirst … this is where I ran into Mike, a fellow Harley-Davidson owner riding a very cool Ultra Classic Electra Glide .. We ended up rambled on for a good hour about chrome, pipes and saddlebags. We even had tunes playing from this nifty iPod player that he had rigged up to his stereo system.

mike_and_mike

From here I took a couple more shots of the city and then headed on home …

front_fork

… taking that easy going cruse down along the Lakeshore through the bottom of Toronto, into Etobicoke, across Lake view and on into Pt. Credit.

Not so bad for no place to go … I hope you enjoyed my night out.

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Belfountain Offers Much For Ridders

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

BelCurve

Riding hills and curvy roadways along the Credit River

If you are local to the area and you are a biker, then chances are you’ve been to Belfountain.  For those who haven’t, it is one of the most picturesque drive by’s that you can add to your route on your next ride through the Niagara Escarpment. Surrounded by steep valley walls that hide this oasis. It’s forest is thick with cedar, oak, maple and birch trees, and the wildlife is alive .. I even saw a flying squirrel or two (well, maybe it was jumping .. ).

But wait, lets not forget the hills, winding roads and hairpin turns that run adjacent to the Credit River .. This is just an absolutely stunning ride!

Nestled at the top of the escarpment is the village of Belfountain, and its 3-way intersection where

WelcomeBel riders collect to socialize, take in the scenery and enjoy a cup of coffee at the corner café.  On a good day, there can be as many as a 100 bikers taking it in.  It reminds me of a place I once visited while in Italy called Passo del Muraglione, the most famous motorcycle ride in Italy, and like in Belfountain, everyone stops at the top for a coffee at the Muraglione Bar.

So where did Belfountain come from? It all started when the first settlers arrived around 1850, and in 1852, the village was first called “Tubtown”. This was a reference to a local blacksmith, Archibald McNaughton, who used large octagonal iron tubs to cool hot metal. The tubs sat outside his shop, which occupied a prominent place in the village, next to the town pump. Fortunately, this name did not last long. A post office was opened at Belfountain (some sources cite it as “Bellfountain”) by Thomas J. Bush in 1853. By the 1870’s the village had a population of about 300 and the local business establishments included a tannery, grist mill, sawmill, one hotel and two general stores. – Reference from Belfountain.ca.

How do you get to Belfountain?  Belfountain is located on the west branch of the Credit River, at the junction of County Roads 1 (Mississauga Road) and 11 (Forks of the Credit Road), just west of Highway 10 and approximately 15 kilometres south of Orangeville. – Map.

Hope to see you in Belfountain sometime!

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It’s Official: Summer Driving Season is Here!

Friday, June 12th, 2009

petrocangaspricefullIt’s official: summer driving season is here along with the gas price gouge that goes with it! So far this weekend the most expensive I’ve seen was $1.01 cents/liter, although I did manage to see regular for $.92 cents/liter, but that was way up by Clifford on my drive home from my buddy’s cottage. Remember last year at this time, that barrier was $1.35 cents/liter.

Here is some interesting info for you on tomorrow’s gas price today, and how that price is broken down. It even tells you in advance what the price is going to be short term.

I’m sure glad I’m riding my harley this summer. The fuel economy on my Road King is within 6.4 to 5.3 litres per 100 km, that’s 37 to 44 mpg (litres <- that’s the Canadian way). Another interesting read here for you big twin owners on fuel economy over here at Motorcycle MPG Guide: Harley-Davidson Big Twins, also a great site for just general information under their motorcycle categories.

Have a great weekend, and ride safe!

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