My wife and son were in Cambridge Ontario this week checking out apartments (he's moving). From there, they decided to travel to Montreal for some site seeing. My wife suggested a dinner date Friday evening and since I'm always looking for an excuse to ride, I agreed.
Thursday afternoon I left Timmins at 4:30 pm. It was 15C and sunny. Stopped in New Liskeard for gas and made my way to North Bay. Got in at 8:30pm. Temps had dropped to 8C and I had stopped to put on my Froggtoggs to keep warm. Spent the evening with my sister and brother in law. I cut a swath through bug country contributing to the downfall of several millions blackflys.
Friday morning I left early. Temp was 9C and cloudy but promised to be a good day. Headed easy toward Mattawa then south to Ottawa. At one point I went 240km without going to reserve near Cobden. The sky cleared with temps going up with the sunny skies. Made my way to Ottawa and the Goodtime Center (Triumph Dealer) where I purchased some parts (filter, brake pads, cleaner, etc). The salesman tried to get me to take a Thunderbird out for a ride but I was running late for my dinner date. Left for Montreal and missed most of the Friday traffic escaping the city. Got in at 6:00 pm. We went for dinner by 7:00 then spent the evening by the pool relaxing.
Saturday I decided to travel back rather than spend the day shopping in Montreal....aren't I good! Heading westbound on the TransCanada I spotted an America rider. I quickly caught up with him and we road side by side for 40 kms. When we finally parted company we gave each other the thumbs up and I headed south for the 401 and Belleville Ontario. Along the way I had to switch to reserve at the 200km mark (far cry from 240 the day before). Travelling at over 130k really sucks gas. Multi lane interstates aren't my cup of tea. Temps climbed to over 30C. Finally got to Belleville and some twisty 2 lane blacktop. Headed north from there on Highway 62. At Bancroft I stopped for a bite and perused the scenery. Spoke with a trucker who was infatuated with my Triumph. He was impressed with how much the engine looked like the original. Made my way to Algonquin Park, west on Highway 60 stopping along the way to admire the scenery. Saw 1 moose, 2 deer and 3 bears. The bug carnage was horrible. I literally couldn't see out my windshield. Every other protruding part on my bike including my helmet, boots, jeans, jacket and gloves were covered. Made my way to Huntville then caught Highway 11 north to North Bay where I spend a second evening with my sister and brother in law. He owns a 750 Shadow and wants to upgrade to a .....cough Harley. After several sessions on the Triumph website, he might become a convert... We spent the evening having a good laugh watching the movie "The Hangover".
Sunday morning I left early to beat the heat. Headed north on Highway 11 till I got to New Liskard and Tim Hortons. There were at least 20 bikes in the parking lot and guess whose ride became the center of attention? During the whole trip I only saw that one other Triumph along the way. After a half hour talking with the group I headed north and arrived home at 1:30 pm. I bet you I removed at least a pound of bug guts from my bike.
Spent some time in the afternoon cleaning her up, making her purdy then relaxed. The missus wasn't supposed to be home until late that evening.
All in all, it was a great dinner trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Oh, I did have to pay also!
http://g.co/maps/tggz3
