Some rain, some sun, and some awesome memories
Trip Start
Aug 09, 2010
1
5
Trip End
Aug 22, 2010
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Day 4 of dad's and my journey began in Kingston. The Tour was having breakfast at a local Harley dealer then heading down the 401 for a ceremony in Trenton. Since dad isn't a fan of 4-series highways (what my American friends would call Interstates), I charted an alternate route that would take a little longer but would get us to Trenton on time if we skipped the group breakfast. Besides, we didn't want those Harley folks drooling all over our Beemers. :)
We took off early, around 7 AM. After stopping briefly for a quick breakfast at Timmies (I should have got them to be our sponsor!), we got onto Bath Road, also known as Highway 33, and headed west. This route took us along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. This was a very scenic ride, and could only have been better if it wasn't threatening to rain.
Part of this route took us onto a short ferry ride between Glenora and Adolphustown. This is a free ferry that crosses every half four or so. About 5 minutes out from the ferry, it began to rain (lightly). By the time we got to the ferry the rain was picking up in intensity. This was the first time for either of us on a ferry with our bikes, and we were both a little concerned about the slippery steel grates that we had to go up onto the ferry. |In the end, all was well. We were able to don most of our rain gear while the ferry crossed (a short trip) and finished on the other side before continuing our ride into Trenton.
One of the major stops on the Ride for Dad cross-country tour was planned to be the Canadian Forces Base at Trenton. This base is where all Canadian soldiers are repatriated when they have been killed overseas. The soldier's bodies are then transferred to Toronto along what has become known as The Highway of Heroes (HOH). CFB Trenton was a major staging area for the ride, and saw hundreds of riders joining us from all over Ontario to honour our fallen soldiers and ride the HOH. The gods of weather must have realized how special this was as the rain stopped and the sun came out during the speeches.
I was fortunate enough to raise enough funds to become a "vanguard rider" with the tour. In addition to receiving a tour jacket (now I have biker "colours"), it also let me ride at the front of the pack for special events. I had chosen to stay with dad for the ride so far, but I really wanted to ride up front on the HOH. Dad was gracious and agreed to let me go on ahead.
The ride down the highway was something to see. Nearly 600 motorcycles stretching down the right lane of one of Canada's busiest highways. Passing motorists gave us a wave, and truckers would sound their horns. Dozens of folks came out to the overpasses to wave and cheer us on. This part of the ride gave us all time to reflect on the sacrifices that our military make, and that of their families, so that we can live in freedom.
Dad and I decided to leave the tour route that day. We got off at Brockville and headed our way north and west to Newmarket. The night prior to us heading off on this big adventure, I noticed that the windshield on Dad's helmet was cracked, and having gone through the same thing on my helmet recently I knew it would eventually break from being opened and closed several times per day. He had ordered a new one from Open Road BMW in Newmarket and today was the day to pick it up.
Turns out that this was a good choice as the ride captain took the group on a tour of Highway 7 from Pickering to Markham, then the 404 in the late afternoon, followed by Highway 9 through Newmarket. If any of you are familiar with these roads, you know that they are not the friendliest at the best of times (stop lights, traffic, crazy drivers) ... now consider 600 bikes being added to the mix!
After a hurried dinner at home (thanks Ma!) we were off to Base Border for the evening festivities. We all gathered in Angus and paraded onto the base. I was again in the Vanguard, wearing my "colors" as we were escorted by military police. I thought it must be funny for some people to see a long line of bikers heading to a military base, being escorted by both provincial and military police with lights flashing. Perhaps they thought we were all arrested and being escorted to jail for the night!
Arriving at Base Borden was an amazing experience. There were over 900 people waiting for us! What an amazing crowd of well-wishers! After the speeches and the barbecue, Glass Tiger performed for the crowd.
Dad and I got to sleep in our own beds that night, which was good since we were t-i-r-e-d! We got the opportunity to un-pack a few things turns out I had more than enough underwear, plus other extra junk). Tomorrow is going to be a short ride from Barrie to North Bay.
