October 19, 2009
All The Dirty Details: Part II
This is part 2 of Huggy’s scooter road trip feature. In case you missed part 1, click here.
Day 2 started out with Mike waking me up with the camera in the tent. Soon after, Bruce jumped on his bike and we headed down to Kingston with a brief stop at the Bedford Mill for the scenic, pretty TV shots that make A Motorcycle Experience the top motorcycle show it is. By the way, if you have some beautiful shots of you and your favourite riding location, go onto Facebook and add to your friend list “Yamaha Motor Canada” and “Motorcycle Experience” and upload away….
We moseyed down to Queen’s University and quizzed the kids about gas mileage. Lucky for me, it was “Pay It Forward Day” or something to that effect so they were giving away free hot chocolates!! I picked up a beverage (much appreciated because, as you guessed, it was cold and threatening rain again) and a couple willing students to take my quiz. It was here that I noticed the younger generation has no issues getting in front of the camera compared to those who are older. The kids are alright … and hammy.
We took off from Queen’s on route to Shannonville to meet Andrew Nelson and pound a few laps on the track. I was on nothing else than my BWs125 while he opted for an R6 from Michel Mercier’s FAST stable of bikes. Unfortunately, I didn’t beat Andrew with my lap times but I did smoke him in the long hair competition. I must say that the scooter surprised me a little with how nimble it was on the track and the goal was to show that scooters aren’t completely out of the loop in the performance department. It even convinced me! After another downpour, I realized I had burned a bunch of gas riding around the track that I hadn’t really accounted for. Luckily, Chris Chapelle, race director at Shannonville, is a top shelfer and he donated some gas and a green tea for a warm belly.
We carried on to Sandbanks for the last shoot of the day and again, were rushing to be set up by dark. I bartered for some firewood at a convenience store and then picked through their recycling for a bunch of newspaper. We got to the park and realized there was nobody … I mean NOBODY around for miles. I did feel a little like Christopher McCandless AKA Alexander Supertramp. I was thankful that the site we choose had some kindling in a box from a previous camper. Getting kindling had completely slipped my mind when I was gathering fire materials outside the park. Since all the wood was wet it turned out to be a boon!
Dave and Mike left around 6:30 and the rest of the night turned into a pretty fun time. I guess I can liken it to the simple, yet fulfilling things you do when the electricity is out or perhaps a rainy day at the cottage. A warm feeling of being content with my own aloneness came over me … or maybe I was simply sitting too close to the edge of the fire? Yep, my boot was melting.
I stoked for about an hour making the fire self-sustaining and then crafted a torch to go down to the lake to brush my teeth. Oddly, the thought of drinking Lake Ontario water seemed perfectly fine to me and it tasted refreshing. There wasn’t any crazy side affects like beaver fever so that was a bonus! The torch burned out when I got down there, but I realized I didn’t need it anyway with the brilliant full moon and starry sky. I came back and proceeded to burn the rest of the wood while reading the newspaper with the flashlight my wife had sent me. I hit the sack around 11:00 PM and slept the best I had in 4 days! That was, until I heard something shuffling near my head in the middle of the night….
Check back soon for the third and final chapter of “All The Dirty Details!”
HUGGY
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You guys are crazy! Ride safe!!!
October 19th, 2009 at 4:46 pmRide Safe? But of course!
October 20th, 2009 at 9:46 am