After days of fog and mist and getting wet on the way to work while roads were dry, we were finally blessed with a day to remember.
We had two possibilities on Saturday. One was a charity run and the other was just a run of pure self indulgence. Don't get me wrong, I love charity runs and it's a great place to meet new people, but sometimes you just need to get away from everything. So we decided on the self indulgence run.
As a mater of getting things square, "we"= me and my second officer from my CMC chapter. We were the only ones that showed up for the run and my wife was feeling a bit under the weather. The day added up to one heck of a boys day out.
The previous four days weather made Saint John a fog covered waste land. It was sickening and things were made worse when you knew that ten minutes outside the city it was warm and sunny. Ah the joys of living near the ocean.
When I woke up that morning it was like I had moved to a different country. The sun was blazing and it was already well into the double digits. If it was like this in Saint John, Moncton (much farther inland) would be an oven.
We met up at the local Tims for a quick coffee and realized that we would have to make a straight trip to Moncton on the highway. The motorcycle shop that we wanted to visit (namely Atlantic Motoplex) was closing at 1pm and it was already well after 10am. From Saint John to Moncton it's a good couple hour run. With stock Honda seats you can add more time for butt revival.
The highway run was nothing special, but the warm air and little to no wind made it one of the best highway rides I've had in years.
Sussex (the half way point) arrived in short order and we stopped for a breather...and some cold water. It doesn't take long to get thirsty being force fed dry air.
With my thirst quenched and my companion's addiction stick burnt away, we were off once more.
I was right, Moncton was more akin to an oven then a city. It was a wonderful 27 C (80 F) and even in my full leathers I was enjoying it to it's fullest. Of course, hitting every red light on the way to the cycle shop almost had me stripping layers of leather on the fly.
With 30 minutes to spare we pulled into the parking lot for Atlantic Motoplex. I had heard tons of things about this place, but had never set foot inside. I was more then a little excited to finally have a chance to see and sit on one of my favourite brands...Ducati.
Inside the giant air conditioned building was a maze of motorcycles the likes I had never seen. The main brands were Yamaha, BMW and Ducati, but there were plenty of others there as well. We spent the next half hour wandering and drooling over all the machines and gear. Saint John really needs a place like this...so I can save gas when I want to drool.
I saw my share of Ducati's and fell in love with two. As much as the sport style bikes were beautiful and seemed like they were at top speed standing still, it was the Ducati 696 Monster and the Ducati GT1000. If I had my choice though, it would have been the Monster...it just fit me so well...*sigh*
After cleaning up the puddles of drool for the nice people at the shop we lost some leather layers and hunted out a place to eat. The local chinese buffet hit the spot perfectly. With a window view you could see how popular the beautiful weather was with everyone that owned a bike.
With tanks full, both human and machine, we rolled off on the scenic portion of our trip. And scenic it was.
We spent the rest of the day cruising the Fundy Trail. Even though I had my camera with me, I just didn't want to stop. It was one of those perfect days. A day that you just have to ride, you just have to keep going. With every kilometer you roll your smile gets that much bigger and you realize what riding two wheels does for you spirit and your mind.
The Fundy Trail runs the coast and hits several scenic areas as it meanders along. It flows through the cozy (and tourist trapping) town of Alma and then winds through the Fundy National Park.
On future runs I'll have to take more pictures and make more stops and also try not to leave the camera at my parents house. There are just so many things to see and capture. Maybe next time we'll take the wives, pack a lunch and make the day of it. But for now I'll have to list this and one of the most pristine runs I have ever done.
Here's to motorcycling and all the joy it brings.
