From Eric's place in Joisey we slabbed it up to Connecticut and spent the night at Jacuzzi's (MIG #2313). Too bad Don didn't think to whip out his camera and gather some evidence! The next day we rode north along route 7, stopping to stretch our legs in a few interesting places along the way...
Sloane-Stanley Museum and Kent Iron Furnace
I was particularly fond of the area around Kent and Kent Falls State Park in Connecticut. I'm still not sure how high the waterfall at Kent Falls goes - Don's a wimp and didn't want to keep climbing.
Kent Falls State Park
Somewhere in Connecticut...
Not much to see in Massachusetts, just a bunch of semi-urban back roads. In fact there really wasn't much to look at until we started following the Hudson River in NY toward Adirondack State Park. Beautiful area, but with the sun going down we decided to stop for the night at a B&B instead of risking the chill and twilight wildlife.
Hudson River
Adirondack State Park
After an excellent breakfast we hit the road again, taking a roundabout route through the park up to Watertown, NY. Twisties, hills, and lots to look at. I could be right at home here if I only knew how to hunt my own game!
From Watertown we slabbed it up to the Canada/U.S.A. border. Silly customs officer thought Don's bike was too loud, and actually asked him to walk it out of the space between the booths before starting it up again. ...and to think, I've been riding with him all day and don't have any problem with the noise!
A bit more slabbing, a bunch more rural back roads, and our ride comes to an end in Beckwith Township, ON. Sure was nice to get off the bike & warm up.
On June 18th Don, Sacha & I caged it to Shannonville, Ontario and camped at a place called Shannonville Motorsport Park. I couldn't get much sleep thanks to a very busy set of railroad tracks nearby, but the next day's entertainment made up for it.
Don & Sacha took Fast Riding School's "phase 1" course; they spent all day learning the basics of racing sport bikes on a track. While I wasn't allowed to ride on the track with them, they told me all about it and gave me a tour after their course was over. I even got to sit on one of the track bikes, a GSX-R600.
On July 7th I got to meet a few members of the Ottawa Fiero Club. Weird bunch. They keep their engines in the back and the spare tires in the front. They tell me that these strange little cars are almost as fun in the twisties as motorcycles are, but the day was too wet to go out for anything other than a relaxed cruise."
On July 12th I rode with Don down to Woodstock, Ontario where he introduced me to Steven "Hardcore" Middleton, MIG #3157. From there it was only a short 45 minute ride to our motel in London.
C'mere little doggie...
"Hardcore" with the bikes
The next day was Friday the 13th! After having a bite to eat and some caffeine, we rode down to the town of Port Dover. Port Dover lies on the north shore of Lake Erie, and has a population of about 5,500. For the past 25 years or so, every Friday the 13th the town hosts what is arguably Canada's largest motorcycle rally. On this particular 13th, approximately 150,000 people attended.
There's lots of info about PD13 at the official web site, PD13.com.
Don also set up an online photo album with lots of pics of cool bikes here.
On Saturday morning Don & I headed for home. It would have been a nice ride through some rural areas between Peterborough & Carleton Place, but I had to spend that part of the trip hiding in Don's luggage thanks to a whole lot of rain. I'm a cat after all...
and I don't like getting wet!
Next, I'm on to
New York with Doodles