august 20, 2006 :: day four

sorry, no details on the jacuzzi thing... ;p

we awoke to another gloomy looking day, but at least it hadn't rained.

off we went to get another free breakfast and secure a table for the group of us.

it took a while for everyone to get down to the dining room. some of us went to bed much later then others and had a few more pitchers then others...lol.

there was the usual chatting and discussion of another ride. we couldn't go because we had to start packing up and getting ready to leave.

farewells were said and everyone promised to make a post when they got home safe. me and joey would obviously be the last posters.

the ride back was going to be a bit different. instead of going back through the states, we were going to brave toronto traffic and do a short little tour.

i have to say that paul and line were the best. they were our guides and they tried to make things interesting on what would be a long and sometimes boring ride. always seeing their teddy bear on the back of their bike made us smile as well.

once in toronto, paul had a wonderful idea to take us to a local market that he used to frequent while living there. unfortunately the market was closed and we ended up heading to a starbucks to relax.

some chatting about where to go next, a drink and a pee break later, we were on the road again. joey managed to snap a few pictures while we were puttering around. we were both wearing full faced helmets and it was impossible to look out the viewfinder of her camera. she was relying on the autofocus which she later found out was turned off. so, some of the pictures were a tad blurry. on the other hand, the ones taken while off the bike were quite nice.

with toronto now well behind us, we were eating up highway on our cruise east. this lead to our first close encounter with a highway traveler in a mini-van. we were in the passing lane behind paul and line, clipping along at a good pace when suddenly a mini-van pulled in front of us. it was a close call, but my brakes won out and we avoided what would have been quite a mess. i look up and see the driver looking to his right several times before pulling back into the right lane. i pulled up next to him and glared while he mouthed silent apologies behind his window. i shook my head and cruised past him.

i learned later that paul had seen me disappear and he slowed down so the driver would get the message to get the hell out of the way. joey also told me that kids in the back of the van apparently saw us and were hitting the driver to get him to pull back to the right. it was a close call, but we survived and the adrenaline was put to good use. ;)

we took our usual breaks along the way with one of those being a stop at quiznos subs for a great toasted sub sandwich. couple that with a ridiculously thick chocolate shake from an onsite dairy and you've got one heck of a meal. i think the shake was meatier then the sandwich!

the day was still very overcast and we were all very thankful that the weather was holding up. that took a slight change with a break at a local rest stop. this would also be the last stop that we would have with paul and line. it started to mist so we figured we may as well suit up instead of getting caught while on the highway.

while getting our rain gear together a woman parked in a mini-van next to us asked if her daughter could see the teddy bear on the back of paul's bike. apparently the little one had been crying for it for quite some time. paul gladly obliged and the woman took her little daughter out and she gave the teddy bear a kiss. quite adorable... :)

we gassed up and headed on our way.

a short time later, paul and line departed our company as they took the off-ramp for their destination. we all waved and honked horns and as i watched them turn off, my heart sunk. that was it, we were on our own again and headed for home. that seemed to be the defining moment in the trip, that one point where you know that the vacation is over. i was glad to have joey with me to share in this experience and in many ways i think it helped repair a dangerous rift that had formed between us.

it seems that paul and line were also our good luck charm...shortly after they left, it started to rain.

it's ok though, we were suited and ready for it. at the beginning of the day i also put plastic bags in my boots just to be safe.

by now, it was starting to get dark and i knew we were way behind schedule. we needed to get past montreal in order to make the last leg of our trip feasible. that meant driving through montreal's highway system in the dark and rain. it wasn't something i really wanted to do and it definitely wasn't something i wanted to put joey through, but it had to be done and we both knew it. i like riding at night, i find it relaxing, but riding at night, in the rain with wacky car drivers was not my cup of tea.

we pushed on.

i'm not going to lie or sugar coat it, this was a dangerous choice, but i never once got a bad feeling about it. i've never had an issue with riding in the rain, but now i had my wife with me. i had two lives in my hands and we were in another province with a first language that we didn't speak. the two saving graces were that it was sunday and we had highway 20 east on our side. traffic was minimal, so it was easy to keep an eye on the signs and the rain was more of a mist, but everything was soaked.

my visor kept steaming up, so i would click open the shield a bit so that it would clear up. unfortunately that led to water getting on the inside which meant that i could no longer keep my visor clean. that meant even more reduced visibility which lead to me missing something.

i noticed one of our exits too late and shot past it. we had no choice but to pull over. trying to find another route in montreal can take hours when it's day light, let alone dark and wet. there was only one thing to do. joey got off the back of the bike and walked back to the turn off, slowly guiding me in the process. i didn't want to turn the bike around and face the oncoming traffic. the last thing i needed to do was confuse some poor motorist into thinking a vehicle was coming at him. i'm guessing that this is the point that we picked up our little hitch-hiker. i'll go into more detail about him in the next post.

we finally made it back to the turn off and joey mounted the bike again. i took stock of everything and asked joey if she was doing ok. she was cold, as was i, but doing well. the suits kept us very dry, but the gloves had gone well past their usual repellent nature. my hands were cold, very cold and i could only imagine that joey's were the same. the only plus she had was the ability to keep her hands out of the wind. mine had to stay in the wind...you know, me being the driver and all. ;)

off we went again.

we were probably a little over half way through montreal now and as much as we wanted to stop, we couldn't. my reduced visibility almost caused another missed turn, but joey caught it before i shot past it.

i was starting to see familiar sights and knew that we were finally getting out of the city. the traffic was a little more dense and care had to be taken in order to keep a safe distance between me and the much larger vehicles in front of us.

the last remnants of montreal passed by us and we were once again on straight highway. it was time to start looking for somewhere to stay.

out of the corner of my eye i caught a red light. a big beautiful sign that said motel. i pointed at it and joey gave me the signature thumbs up. the next exit was ours.

we pulled in under the car port and joey, dripping wet, went inside. the woman behind the counter gave her a towel and good news. they had rooms available at a good price. at that point i honestly didn't care as long as there was a bed and a shower.

we paid for the room and i brought the bike around back to our door.

the room was a decent size. two beds, full sized bathroom, tv and...a heater! that thing may as well have been placed there by the gods. we brought the pack inside and stripped out of the riding gear to find that we were completely dry except for our hands. joey's jacket was damp, but none of the water had gone through. i took the gloves into the bathroom and proceeded to wring as much water out of them as possible. everything that was wet was stacked on top of the heater and i cranked it to full.

nothing inside the suitcase had gotten wet either. dare i say that we had packed perfectly? ;) funny thing though, the shorty helmets that we brought along were bungie netted to the top of the suitcase. they took the brunt of the weather, but they never got wet.

i pulled out my cell phone while joey was in the shower and hit the internet. i couldn't have been happier to have put an internet package on my phone. the weather didn't look very promising for the following day, but it had a low percentage of rain. i checked my email and hopped in the shower once joey was out.

feeling refreshed, i set an alarm on my cell phone as i plugged it in for charging. it didn't take long for us to drift off.

to be concluded...

august 19, 2006 :: day three

and on to a reasonably early morning. we were all pretty lazy on that saturday and very much ready for the free breakfast being offered by the hotel. it was nice to see that it wasn't a continental breakfast, but a full breakfast with eggs, toast, bacon, and hash browns. yum. it very much hit the spot.

everyone gathered around and chatted and discussed what was going on that day. apparently we were going to meet up with some other people at a local diner called The Flying Saucer. after that it was a meet up for the actual ride that was planned for that day.

the day didn't look like it wanted to agree with us though. it was very overcast and obvious that it rained over night.

we were hopeful though. and if that didn't work, we could sacrifice joe to get sunny weather. he made the mistake of saying that we were going to have good weather for the weekend and jinxed us.

off we all went to The Flying Saucer.

it was an odd place, to say the least. shaped like a flying saucer (no kidding) and deceptively small. everyone chatted outside for a bit and then moved inside. the chatting continued and some drink and food orders were made. apparently the food left a lot to be desired. i had a shake, joey had the fries. "how can they screw up fries." she said. well, she found out.

and down came the rain.

we tried waiting it out, but it really didn't look like one of those days where the rain was going to pass. needless to say, none of us were prepared for rain. everyone that had rain gear had left it at the hotel, including me and joey.

the rain made the ride back seem extra long and my pants got drenched. joey didn't make out too bad, seeing that she was mostly protected from the rain by me.

everyone got changed, took out their rain gear and gathered around on the veranda of the hotel. we were all half geared and watching the Tim Horton's parking lot across the street. if anyone else showed up, that's where they would be.

the only person that showed up was brian, which was a good thing because he was leading the ride.

we waited until well past the ride start time and finally said the hell with it. we finished gearing up and hit the road.

it was a light rain. just enough to soak you if you weren't prepared for it. my gloves held out well, as did my rain suit. my boots, on the other hand, have zippers on the sides that aren't very water proof. needless to say my feet got soaked. joey held out quite well and never even got wet. her new Teknic jacket faired great through the whole trip. the jacket also kept her camera dry between shots. ;)

we made a quick stop at a park with a giant floral clock. lisa, leo and joe had no rain suits and thus were very very wet. everyone else seemed to be fairing rather well. it should be noted that joey was the only passenger that came for the wet ride. it also should be noted that she was the only one excited about riding in the rain. this wouldn't be the last amount of rain we saw on this trip...(insert foreboding music)

as we were milling about, someone in the group pointed out my pipes. it seemed that joey had touched her left leg on the side of my muffler. yellow Canadian Tire rain pants + extremely hot muffler = melted plastic. it never melted through her pants, but it left a lovely brown oval mark on my top pipe. jokes were made and suggestions were passed around. minutes later, joe realized that he had burnt his own pants on his pipes. he immediately blamed joey and laughter ensued.

while we were standing around getting more wet, a young Asian man came up to us and asked to take our picture. we gathered around and smiled as he captured us in all our wet glory.

off we went again, making our way down one of the more scenic streets. there were plans to go to a place on that street for a sit down, but we all decided that Tim Horton's would be better.

Tim's was cold...freezing! raining outside and air conditioning inside. brrrr! we stayed for a while, trading stories and trying to warm up with coffee. i had the worst tea ever and didn't even finish it. that was one of many bad tea experiences i had on that trip. truth be told, i never got a good cup of tea until we finally got back to New Brunswick and i made one myself.

when we finally left, the rain started to hold up. for the last leg of our ride joey was able to whip out the camera and take a number of pictures.

on the way back, i had to stop at Canadian Tire to pick up a pair of shoes and jo wanted to get a pair of the now famous Canadian Tire wet pants. both joey and willie had a pair and jo thought they were a steal and would be great for rides in the rain (dryness + extreme visibility). too bad he was already wet...hehe.

back to the hotel we went.

everyone dried off and got ready for the next food-fest. it was off to Mick & Angelo's. seeing that most of us would be having a drink or two, the bikes were left behind and everyone hoofed it up the street to the restaurant. it was a crazy little place and extremely busy. we got a table out on the patio underneath a very dark and threatening sky. mother nature was very kind to us though and didn't spill a drop of rain on our night.

there was lots of talking, picture taking and great food, but we knew the festivities were slowly coming to an end. this would be the last night with everyone as we were leaving the next day with paul and line. one of our number had left earlier in the day and by the end of supper we had three more hit the road, including joe.

the rest of us grabbed a cab and headed back to the karaoke bar!

paul, line and lisa did a rousing version of "Love Shack" by the B-52's of which i have three videos. me and joey did some minor shopping for our little one. we didn't have much room, so we couldn't pick up too much.

there is a Harley Davidson shop next to the karaoke bar and we ventured inside. i don't think i have ever seen so many H-D branded items in my life! it was funny watching people get on the full sized Fat Boy they have on display there. i kept thinking, "heh, we rode to Niagara Falls on our bike."

it was an early night for some of us, with the call of a morning departure ringing in our heads. we hopped another cab and headed back to the hotel.

besides, me and joey had an appointment with a heart shaped jacuzzi.

to be continued...

august 18, 2006 :: day two

as was mentioned in the last post, we woke up late. none of the alarms went off and we started the day a good hour or so later then we really needed to. oh well, can't say we aren't used to being late...hehe.

out we went and packed up the bike. it was another gorgeous day and i couldn't wait to get on the road. i considered this to be the most challenging day. we would have to ride through Montreal and make sure that we stayed on highway 20. getting lost in Montreal was not on my list of things to do that day. we had it happen while driving the car and it wasn't a pleasant experience.

the hotel was offering breakfast, but due to the fact that we were already behind schedule (and the fact that i can't eat right after i wake up) we hit the road. once we both started to get hungry we would stop for something to eat.

getting out of the town was a heck of a lot easier then expected. once we were out on the main drag we could see a sign for the highway and the direction to Montreal. within minutes we were on the highway and well on our way to Montreal.

we made a quick stop at a Mike's Restaurant for breakfast. they have a great breakfast selection for a decent price, but i find the rest of the menu a little lacking on the servings and abundant on the price.

it was pretty easy to stay on highway 20. after Montreal, highway 20 turned into the 401 which is the highway that leads to the border crossing and our first meet up with people from HS.net. the only worry that i had was navigating the maze know as Montreal.

we stopped at a Shell gas station a little ways into Montreal, got some gas and sat down to figure out where we needed to go. a very friendly woman, who was just getting into her car, asked if we needed some assistance. we asked her for advice on staying on highway 20 so that we could connect to the 401. she really couldn't have laid it out any simpler for us; stay left until you see signs for Toronto. after that, Montreal was a breeze. i was actually enjoying weaving through traffic and watching for the signs. in no time at all we were seeing signs for Toronto and the 401. my new hero was highway 20. there couldn't be an easier way to get through Montreal and avoid the worst of it's traffic.

with the complicated part of the trip behind us, all we had to do was make our 12 noon meet time at the border. we were cutting it close as it was.

things were working out pretty easy and i thought the signs were pretty much guiding us to where we needed to go. we saw the first sign for a border crossing and i knew that wasn't the one. i figured it would be the next one for sure. we grabbed the exit for the next border crossing and pulled into the parking lot for the duty free shop. no sign of a yellow Honda Shadow though, it seemed like we made it with time to spare.

we started taking our gear off and sucking back water. it was quite warm and we were happy to get a breeze. i asked one of the locals (on a whim) if this was the border crossing near Lansdowne, Ontario. nope. it's about a half hour down the road. on went the gear and off we went again.

that set us back a little bit and we were a little late , but at the duty free shop was the yellow Honda Shadow.

we pulled in and got out of our gear once again.

paul comes up to us, "Black Shadow Sabre, New Brunswick plates...must be jason!"

introductions go around and we have met our first people from the forums, paul and line. great couple and i would easily ride with them again.

we sat around for a while chatting, having a drink and generally relaxing. it was nice to take a long break from the saddle and soak up the beautiful day in good company.

after changing up some currency, we headed out to the border crossing and waited...and waited...and waited some more. damn it was hot! joey was dying on the back and my leather was sticking to me like glue. i couldn't have been happier for an easy border crossing.

the crosswinds going through New York state were nuts and it was a fight every time the sides of the highway opened up. when we stopped for gas i realized that i was going to have trouble figuring out my gas use and the amount of money that we spent. the switch over to gallons and american currency was going to throw things off. honestly, i still haven't sat down to calculate it. ;)

we made a few short stops on the way, but were once again pressed for time. we had to meet up with another HS.netter in Rochester and still get to Niagara Falls before 8pm.

we pretty much had smooth sailing all the way to the meeting point. we did, however, push through some of the darkest clouds i've seen. we had a few drops of rain, but managed to get to the other side before it got bad. looking in the review mirrors revealed a really nasty looking sky. a thunder storm for sure.

we stopped at a Chili's restaurant for some drinks while paul gave joe a call and told him that we arrived.

introductions and stories swapped (joe couldn't believe that we had traveled so far on a stock bike) and we were on the road again.

joe led us the rest of the way to Niagara Falls, or at least to the border. after that, we sorta got lost...hehe. joey knew the way to the hotel, but it was from another bridge, not the one that joe had led us across. with a couple of turns we managed to get a spot where joey could direct us into town and to the hotel. navigating from the back seat, no less.

we stowed our gear once we got our rooms and called a taxi. it was time to meet the rest of the group.

the maniacal taxi driver got us to Boston Pizza in one piece and it only took a minute for joe to track everyone down.

lots of talking and food and then it was off to visit the falls and then the local karaoke bar! the karaoke bar is a huge out door deck. it has monitors that are out by the street and all over the bar so that everyone can see you on stage (no i didn't get up, yes i'm a chicken ;p). both paul and line got up to do songs and the rest of us made general fools of ourselves. i'm not much of a drinker, so i had my usual one cooler and then switched to Coke.

it was a long night after a long day of driving, but i didn't feel tired until we hit the bed at around three in the morning.

to be continued...

august 17, 2006 :: day one

we tried to get up as early as possible, but that never seems to work out for us regardless of what we are doing. thankfully we packed everything up the night before. we had breakfast (egg sandwiches) tied the pack to the bike, suited up and off we went for gas. we did the usual pre ride check and maxed the pressure in tires.

we had our first "oops" on our way out of town. i was paying so much attention to the road that i blew past our first exit...hehe. luckily it wasn't the last exit and we managed to take the second one which got us merrily on our way.

the weather was the best that we could ask for. it was warm and slightly breezy which made for a great riding experience. seeing that our riding was all highway, i couldn't be more thankful.

the next "oops" that was made was a minor miscalculation in the amount of gas that the bike would be burning with a load. see, i usually get around 200km or so until i hit the reserve line. after that, i'm looking at around 40 more kilometers until i'm completely out of gas. we were cruising along and about to pass a gas station. i looked at my trip meter and deduced that we have another 40km to go before i had to switch to reserve. that should be enough to make it to the next town, even if i had to touch reserve. 10km later, we hit the reserve line. with the full load on the bike, we lost 30km worth of gas.

now i'm thinking, oh shit. i haven't seen a sign for another town for quite some time. we are already on reserve which means i might have another 25km before we run out of gas completely. what a start to the trip that would be. forget getting lost, running out of gas is about ten times worse and it puts a ridiculous delay on getting anywhere.

i was literally watching the kilometers click by, just waiting for the bike to start sputtering. i could see what looked like a small town in the distance, but it was hard to tell exactly how far away it was.

we rounded a couple more hills and my anxiety disappeared. i could see a bridge leading to the town of Nackawic and just past the bridge was a gas station with a restaurant. we stopped for gas and a bite to eat, two birds with one stone. i vowed that would never happen again, even if i had to stop at every single gas station from there to Niagara Falls.

the rest of that day was pretty much uneventful. we made our way to Drummondville, Quebec where we thought it would be easy to find a hotel. it was already dark so navigating a strange town was a little more difficult. after puttering around for a good half hour, we finally found a Best Western to stay at. very comfy spot, but all i could think of was how i was going to find our way out of the town again. day and night can make a world of difference in the look of place.

they were doing renovations, but the room was very nice. two beds, nice bathroom, very cozy. i set two alarms to wake us up and we watched TV for a while before slowly drifting off to sleep.

to be continued...

the trip

well tomorrow is the big day. we hit the road at 7am to make our way to Niagara Falls, Ontario. we are both very excited and i hope that at least i can get some sleep tonight. i'm notorious for being like a little boy at times like this. not being able to get to sleep due to the excitement.

the bag is packed and i finished picking up the last couple of things that we needed. i also managed to get in one last ride with the guys from the dealership. their rides are every wednesday evening and this is the last wednesday i have off for another three weeks. that will bring me pretty close to the end of the riding season for this area. ugh, don't even want to think about that.

well, i'm off. wish us luck!