tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65447332209129700632024-03-13T12:12:42.820-07:00Moto-MoJoMoto-Mojo: <br>
1) (noun) a motorcycling mobile journalist.<br><br>
2) (noun) the log of a moto-mojo's two-wheeled adventures.<br><br>
Note: If you click any photograph in this blog, it will open a full-resolution version.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-61773459923670304092010-11-06T18:31:00.000-07:002010-11-06T19:01:03.932-07:00More information emerges as SIU clears officer in passenger fatalityA <a href="http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/98699--officer-cleared-in-fatal-whitby-crash-siu">few (very few) more details</a> have been released by police about the Aug. 27 death of 40-year-old Ioana Bocunescu, the passenger who fell from a motorcycle as the rider fled police on the 401 in Whitby. In saying the officer who tried to pull the rider over has been cleared of any wrongdoing, police investigators said that when a marked cruiser tried to pull the rider over, the rider instead "entered the westbound paved centre median, and accelerated out of sight." If you look at a Google satellite view, the only thing that could be a "paved centre median" would be the left-side shoulder next to the cement highway divider. Here's <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Brock+St+S,+Whitby,+Durham+Regional+Municipality,+Ontario,+Canada&sll=43.865568,-78.946123&sspn=0.012748,0.045018&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Brock+St+S,+Whitby,+Durham+Regional+Municipality,+Ontario,+Canada&ll=43.866253,-78.936918&spn=0.000797,0.002814&t=h&z=19">an aerial view</a> from Google and here's an <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=212+Holborne+Ave,+Toronto,+ON+M4C+2S1,+Canada&daddr=brock+st.+whitby+on&hl=en&geocode=FcO9mgIdQ8JF-ylNpn43R8zUiTFYXa_DdBV_7A%3B&mra=ls&sll=43.866745,-78.944118&sspn=0.000402,0.001407&ie=UTF8&ll=43.866243,-78.935161&spn=0.000797,0.002814&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=43.866236,-78.935065&panoid=PjKuLnpQBHiX--fy4eSa0Q&cbp=12,295.2,,0,2.6">eye-level view</a>. <br /><br />So, police are saying the rider evaded being pulled over by police by riding around traffic on the left shoulder? And then made several lane changes, which is when Bocunescu fell and was run over by traffic. <a href="http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/93706--man-facing-charges-in-motorcycle-passenger-death">Rashid Soujah, 37, has been charged with manslaughter</a>. No word yet on a trial date.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-91740724890476441772010-09-22T07:31:00.000-07:002010-09-22T07:59:11.354-07:00Manslaughter charges in death of passengerA North York man has been <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/crime/article/863262--manslaughter-charge-laid-in-death-of-motorcycle-passenger?bn=1">charged with manslaughter in the death of his motorcycle passenger</a> after he fled police three weeks ago on the 401 in Whitby. Rashid Soujah, 37, is in custody. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1598983708&ref=search"> Ioana Bocunescu</a>, 40, was the victim. You can leave condolences for her family on an <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestar/obituary.aspx?n=ioana-bocunescu&pid=145061867">online guest book</a>.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-17040277204201147602010-08-31T11:43:00.000-07:002010-09-02T14:22:14.008-07:00Gnashing of teeth into the dark of the nightThe past few days have been rough on riders of motorcycles in the greater Toronto area.<br /><br />It started in the wee hours of Saturday morning, with a shocking <a href="http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100828/motorcycle-passenger-highway-death-100828/20100828?hub=TorontoNewHome">report about a rider who ran from police in Whitby</a>. The rider wasn't alone; there was a passenger on the back of the bike. When the rider cranked the throttle to escape police, the passenger fell off. And was immediately hit by more than one car; Whitby's only 10 minutes east of Toronto and the 401 is busy, even at that time of night. One witness's account of seeing body parts strewn across the 401 in the aftermath was so horrible I won't dare repeat any of it. Death must have come quickly, but before shock set in the pain would have been unimaginable.<br /><br />Horribly, that's not the most shocking part: THE RIDER KEPT GOING. Left the passenger to be crushed and dismembered in traffic, without a look back. As did the cars who ran over her. No one stopped. <br /><br />Let me repeat that: NO ONE STOPPED.<br /><br />This is reminiscent of the murder of Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed to death near her home in the Kew Gardens section of Queens, New York on March 13, 1964, in full view of dozens of her neighbours. Some reportedly called police, but her attacker had time to leave and come back to finish the job. No one intervened.<br /><br />How can that happen? There, then? Here, now? <br /><br />Not many facts about Friday's gruesome event have been made public. Why didn't motorists stop? Did those who ran over the passenger's body think that they'd hit a deer? How could the rider - regardless of WHY he (or she - police haven't released the gender) was running from police - leave a passenger to die, alone?<br /><br />These are troubling questions, and unlikely to be answered until the police find the rider and charge him or her, since it's clear they're holding their cards close to their collective chest until their investigation is ready to close in.<br /><br />But this sordid tale has caused many a GTA motorcyclist several sleepless nights. There were 30 pages of posts in a discussion of the event on GTAMotorcycle.com by Saturday night. Almost everyone expressed shock and disbelief at the rider's unconscionably cavalier disregard for his passenger's life. A few implied that the guilty party was a member of the board well-known for speeding irresponsibly, often with passengers riding without protective gear. A small but vocal group was throwing out accusations that the draconian Ontario highway code that convicts speeders on the spot by confiscating vehicles was responsible for the rider running. That forums where riders discuss why they might run because of the new law might have influenced the rider. <br /><br />That's ludicrous. Let me make this clear: why the rider ran is irrelevant. I, and the majority of riders -- THE MAJORITY OF HUMAN BEINGS -- don't care a whit WHY he or she ran. We want to know HOW anyone could do such a thing. Leave another human being to that passenger's fate. Fail to stop once it was evident the passenger was gone. <br /><br />How motorists, subsequently, could fail to stop.<br /><br />How have we come to live in a society where any of these things are even possible?<br /><br />Riders are a group hardened by the harsh reality of the danger of the sport. The passenger's death isn't the only one being discussed this week. <br /><br />A funeral will be held Wednesday for a rider well-loved by many on the board after his bike piled into a car stalled at Eglington and Albina last Thursday. Another rider I know and respect is recovering from multiple broken ribs and internal injuries sustained when a moose jumped out in front of his bike three weeks ago on Highway 11 near Thunder Bay. Another friend may never be able to use one of his arms again after a horrible crash in North Carolina last summer. <br /><br />An 18-year-old novice died earlier this month when she lost control of her motorcycle in Clarington. Another rider lost her life on Highway 507 near Gooderham yesterday, mere minutes from where a good friend of mine was hit by a pickup truck last October, shattering both her wrists, an eye socket, a knee, and inflicting many other excruciatingly serious injuries, some of which she may never completely recover from. <br /><br />The "Rider Down" thread on GTAMotorcycle.com gets far too many posts each season, and each year as I meet more riders I personally know more of the riders who go down. As riders, we know the risks. Most of us wear as much protective gear as we can, knowing that it can happen to anyone, at any time, even when we're vigilant, alert, and road conditions are perfect.<br /><br />Motorists who have never ridden on two wheels are oblivious to how vulnerable riders are out there. This is evidenced by how closely they tailgate motorcycles in stop and go traffic. Tapping the bumper of a car scratches the paint. Tapping a motorcycle with your bumper puts that motorcycle down and INJURES the motorcyclist. Cutting off another car in traffic results in a fender bender. Cutting off a motorcycle in traffic can kill or permanently maim the motorcyclist. I really wish everyone had to ride a motorcycle in Toronto traffic, just for a day, before being issued a driver's licence. Maybe they'd drive a bit more carefully.<br /><br />But it's clear that some motorists consider all motorcyclists a menace. I was stunned by the vitriolic comments some readers made on news sites where the story was posted, passing judgment on everyone who uses two wheels for transportation, based on this one rider's actions. It's disheartening to read that someone can hate you, without knowing anything about you, based on your mode of transportation.<br /><br />But the hardest of all this week's bad news was hearing that <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_15952026?source=rss">13-year-old Peter Lenz was killed on Sunday</a> after getting run over by another motorcycle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during warm-up laps before his race.<br /><br />Track is the safest place you can ride: the skills and focus of those on the track are light-years ahead of those of the average commuter. Although racing pushes the limits, track fatalities occur so rarely that any death on a track is shocking. But when the victim is only 13 years old and someone with such amazing talent that we were all watching, waiting, and hoping he would be the next Valentino Rossi... it doesn't get much worse than that.<br /><br />All these deaths make my heart ache. Peter's broke it.<br /><br />Please ride carefully, my friends. I'm not sure I can take much more of this kind of news.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-44474299745145284262010-08-17T05:29:00.000-07:002010-09-03T08:26:37.461-07:00Bikes tested at Canada's 1st International Women Riders Congress and FestivalIt took some doing, given the workload I'm juggling right now, but I managed to get to Canada's 1st <a href="http://www.iwcf-cfifm.ca/">International Women Riders Congress and Festival</a> in Huntsville Thursday, a day after it started. After getting there I ended up spending all day Friday writing a C<a href="http://autos.sympatico.ca/photos-videos/5571/10-chick-cars-every-guy-should-try">hick Cars Every Guy Should Try</a> feature for Sympatico's Autos channel, a follow-up to <a href="http://autos.sympatico.ca/features/5397/chick-cars-aint-what-they-used-to-be">Chick Cars Ain't What They Used to Be</a> that I wrote last week. <br /><br />Made up for missing Friday by spending all day Saturday doing test rides of bikes at the Huntsville air strip. Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki were conspicuously absent and I missed Harley, which had been there Friday but had another demo ride to run elsewhere on Saturday. But Honda, BMW, the CanAm folks and Ducati were there. <br /><br />Apologies that I don't have photos of any of these bikes. Typically I take a lot of photos every time I go to a bike event, but because I was feeling overextended with work I decided against trying to document the weekend, as I'd normally do - just didn't have the energy to spare.<br /><br />This is the first demo ride I've attended where litre bikes were available. I was quite eager to take advantage of that, as dealers don't usually like letting customers test ride the litre bikes. I was dumbfounded that there weren't lineups for the Ducati demo rides. Harley dealers and dealers of most of the Japanese bikes regularly hold demo rides, but Ducati demo days are less frequent. Consequently, this was the first opportunity I'd had to test ride a Ducati. I'd sat on them at bike shows, but never ridden one.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ducati Monster 796</span><br /><br />I knew from the bike shows that I could flat-foot a Monster 796, so that's the first one I tried. I've never ridden a sport twin before and had been told to expect the throttle to be on or off without much gradation between. They weren't kidding. The 796 throttle was very twitchy and she wasn't happy if you weren't revving high. That would be OK for city riding and, in fairness, with no fairing that's what the original naked sport bike is for. I didn't really care for the twitchiness and asked if the Monster 1100 was any smoother; the answer was a qualified 'yes,' but I decided to try a supersport next. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ducati 848 supersport</span><br /><br />The 848 was MUCH smoother, and an easy ride all round. The ergonomics weren't as aggressive as on my ZX7-R, which may have the lowest bars of all the supersports. My Ninja snaps nicely into corners but you definitely have to push or tug her bars; the 848 didn't really require much pressure or pull to lean into the corners. It was a demo ride so I never got past 3rd gear, and didn't get to see how she'd react to a real boot. But with 140hp and 72.3lb-ft of torque at 9,750rpm, she certainly felt like she had a lot more to offer, given the opportunity. The main surprise was the racket produced by that liquid cooled L-Twin engine. I'm used to inline fours and these twins are incredibly *busy* compared to inline fours. Loudly so. You definitely need ear plugs if you want to ride one of these and keep your hearing. The the 32.6-inch seat height was a bit of a challenge for my 27-inch inseam - kept me en pointe. But on a bike that weighs only 370 pounds (dry) it wasn't too bad - the only time I was worried about tipping was when there was a lot of gravel or sand under foot.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ducati 1198 supersport</span><br /><br />Next, I tried the 1198 supersport. Handling and ergonomics were quite similar to the 848 and the throttle was smoother yet. She was only seven pounds heavier than her smaller cousin and the seat height was half an inch shorter than the 848 - but that didn't make much difference. She was even noisier, too, which I wouldn't have thought possible. But I have to say that this is the first time in a long time a bike surprised me: with 170hp and 97lb-ft torque at 8000rpm, the bottom torque is *SOMETHING ELSE* and that rear tire had major authority. I felt like asking if they could clear the airstrip so I could see how fast she could go! Not sure I'd want to tour on her, but she'd be awesome on the track.<br /><br />I wanted to try the hypermotard too, but had time to test only three other bikes that day so I moved on to see what BMW and Honda had to offer.<br /><br />A note about Ducati mirrors: even the best of them suck at letting you see what's behind you. The short, low-profile ones they had on the Monster - I think they're called performance mirrors (less to break if the bike falls, I guess) were entirely useless. The stock ones on the supersport were a bit better, but not even as good as the ones on my ZX7-R, which are pretty bad.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">BMW K13000S supersport</span><br /><br />Over at BMW I hopped on the K1300S supersport, which, as I expected, was as well-behaved as her baby sister, the K1200S, which I'd tested for the first time four years ago. BMW may have taken its time moving away from the boxer engines (which are reliable as hell but entirely uninspiring) but its foray into inline fours is damn near perfect. The engine puts out 175 hp with 103 lb-ft of torque at 8,250 rpm and, given the opportunity, she would certainly haul ass. Yet at sedate speeds she purred like a kitten and was almost impossible to accidentally over-throttle. And, even though at 503 pounds she's almost 80 pounds heavier than my ZX7-R, she feels lighter because of the ingenious way they've canted the engine forward in the frame, lowering the centre of gravity.<br /><br /> Any track junkie would love her yet she's still suitable for lackadaisical Sunday rides for riders less performance conscious. And you have to love a bike with electronic suspension control - there's a toggle that lets you choose a suspension setting for one rider, a rider plus passenger, in sport, normal or "comfort" mode. Her mirrors gave the best rear view of any of the bikes I tried Saturday, too.<br /><br />Anticipating short inseams at the women's congress she was fitted with the low seat (BMW offers thin seats for most of its bikes for the height challenged), giving her a seat height of 31.1, which allowed me to plant the balls of my feet pretty sturdily on both sides. But she felt so light I would have still been OK with the stock seat.<br /><br />I lusted after the S1000RR, which was initially made to compete in the 2009 Superbike World Championship, but since it's unlikely I'd be able to afford it (or the K13000S, for that matter) in the near future, I moved on to Honda, which had a CBR1000 I might be able to afford somewhat sooner, and I will have to consider replacing my Ninja eventually. She had 6,300 kilometers on her when I bought her used in a private sale in the spring of 2007 and she started this season with 60,000 kilometres on her odometer. I don't really know how much longer she's going to last, although I've heard of ZX7 engines lasting well past the 100,000 kilometer mark. And I'm religious about maintenance, particularly frequent oil changes. But I know I'm going to have to replace her within the next three years. So, since Kawasaki wasn't there, I made a beeline for Honda.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Honda CBF1000</span><br /><br />I've tried recent iterations of Suzuki's 600 GXS-R, Yamaha's R6 and Kawasaki's ZX6-R at dealer demo days in the last three years, but you don't typically get to try out litre bikes at dealer demo days. So when I saw Honda had a CBR1000 there, I headed straight for it. It was already booked for that session, unfortunately, so they suggested I try the CBF1000, which was the same engine but with more relaxed gearing and more upright seating ergonomics. I was disappointed, but the CBR was available for the next ride, so I figured this was an opportunity to check out this engine in its two configurations. I actually like the aggressive ergononmics on my Ninja, the bars are so low and my torso and arms are so short that I'm almost in tuck by default. I've gotten so used to it that a more upright, relaxed riding position usually feels really weird to me. <br /><br />But the CBF1000 ergonomics were entirely comfortable, even though the seat was wider than the CBR1000 and splayed my legs out more, so that the 31.3-inch seat height put me on my toes. That did feel a bit challenging because at 502.7 pounds dry weight, she felt much heavier than the K1300S. For touring, I like a bit of extra weight, though - it makes passing transport trucks less scary. I had to be very careful about smooth braking and stops because any jerk at all would tip us over; on the tips of my toes I'd not have enough leverage to keep almost 503 pounds from going down. There was no lack of power with 96.55hp and 71.5 ft.lbs of torque at 6500rpm. She felt very smooth and very well-behaved - was so easy to ride she damn near drove herself. This is a great introduction to a sportbike engine for someone who'd like to try a sportbike but is weirded out by the supersport seating. The pegs are still rear-set so you can shift weight onto them in the turns, and you still lean forward but not aggressively so. I wouldn't mind touring on her, although I'd shave some of the foam off the seat to get more of my feet down at stops. I almost regretted relinquishing her at the end of the ride to try the CBR1000.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Honda CBR1000RR supersport</span><br /><br />The CBR1000 was pretty much what I'd expected. At 461.0 pounds dry weight she was considerably lighter - and even more spry than the CBF1000. The 32.3-inch seat height was higher, but felt lower because the seat profile has been shaved so your legs don't lose as much height to splaying. Ergonomics are quite aggressive, I wasn't in tuck by default but it certainly felt more natural to lean over the tank than sit upright. She handled beautifully. Power galore, natch, with 178hp (that difference in gearing is critical to how much power gets delivered to the wheel) and the 82.6 lb-ft torque at 8500rpm was spread out quite nicely throughout the range. <br /><br />I'd prefer her for a long day ride over the 1198, I think.<br /><br />But the big surprise of the day was that I found myself thinking that of all the bikes I tried the CBF1000 would be my choice for a ride that lasted more than a day. Sure, the gearing makes her a less than ideal bike for racing, but, damn, she was comfortable. And had more power than you'd ever likely need on the street, for quite sporty touring.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-58557744852914357782010-06-19T10:00:00.000-07:002010-06-19T21:32:24.264-07:00Why Internet users should ride motorcyclesWhen an <a href="http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/05/ff_nicholas_carr/2/">article in the June issue of Wired</a> based on a book by Nicholas Carr first started me thinking about this topic, I intended to post my thoughts on my <a href="http://media-gleaner.blogspot.com/">Media Gleaner blog</a>. Adapted from Carr's book <span style="font-style:italic;">The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains</span>, which was released this month, at first blush, the article appeared to belong in the category of media.<br /><br />By the time I finished thinking about it and started to write about it, I realized it also belonged here on my Moto-Mojo blog, because my conclusions apply to both topics. And the process of thinking about it and coming to that conclusion also proved Carr's thesis.<br /><br />That probably sounds crazy, so, please allow me a digression.<br /><br />I read a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer">novel in 1984 by William Gibson</a> that introduced the word cyberspace for the first time. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-William-Gibson/dp/0441012035/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276967092&sr=1-1">Neuromancer</a> instilled in me such a longing for the universe it described that I couldn't believe my luck when in 1989 I became one of the first editors in Canada to work in online media. A scant few years later, the Internet boom was upon us. It may not have provided the neural interface in the same way that Gibson's characters "jacked in" to cyberspace, but for all practical intents and purposes that universe was now ours. I became an evangelist for it, spent two decades working in it, and looked upon it as the promise of Neuromancer delivered. <br /><br />A long-time fan of speculative fiction, I am used to thinking of new technology with skepticism, because advantages are often accompanied by disadvantages. Nuclear power is a good example. It provides clean energy without polluting, unlike coal, fossil fuel, or even hydro power, which results in diverting waterways and drowning vast numbers of acres of vegetation. Yet it also provides the ticklish problem of what to do with all those spent radioactive rods. It takes millennia for them to cease to be a danger to biological life forms, including us.<br /><br />In retrospect, it's curious that I didn't apply that skepticism to the technology underlying the Internet. After reading this article on Wired by Nicholas Carr, I may now have a clue why. Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian pioneer who introduced the concept of how the nature of a medium changes how we perceive it, would have delighted to observe the way the Internet had rewired my brain.<br /><br />Carr has pulled together a fascinating collection of research on how using the Internet affects our brains, and even causes us to want and need it. <br /><br />Here's the part I found shocking: According to one well-documented study, it takes only five hours of Web use to rewire a human brain to read faster and solve problems faster. The Internet teaches us to pick up on patterns in data to allow that to happen. <br /><br />Access to so much information can make us feel smarter. That doesn't mean it's making us smarter. It just means we're using our brains differently. Studies show that when we read online, we also read less thoroughly because the number of links distracts us and breaks our focus. Even deciding not to click on a link is a distraction that disrupts the cognitive process we use to transfer information from short term to long term memory. Research has now shown that heavy multitaskers are more easily distracted, have less control over working memory, and are less able to concentrate on a task than those who habitually concentrate on a single task. Multitasking is no longer considered the most efficient way to accomplish things. <br /><br />So the Web may be altering our ability to think deeply and with complexity. This is not good news. Yet it has become so integral to keeping us informed that we willingly accept this loss of focus. We don't want to feel out of touch or socially isolated, Carr points out.<br /><br />What to do? Well, for one, we can ride motorcycles. Allow me to explain.<br /><br />I've long noticed that when I'm concentrating, really concentrating, on a single task, whether it's reading a book, writing, editing, drawing, painting, or making music, my brain enters a state that I really like. It's almost like an inebriation of sorts, minus the negatives such as loss of coordination and verbal slurring.<br /><br />According to this research, that state is exactly the opposite of the state my brain is in when I'm surfing the Web. Concentrating on a single task makes me notice details only insofar as they apply to how they can be used on the task at hand, while multi-tasking has me juggling the details without applying them to any deeper thought process.<br /><br />The state my brain enters when I'm creating, focusing and concentrating also happens when I'm riding a motorcycle. When I'm riding, my eyes have to collect a massive amount of data that my brain then has to sort into information that is immediately relevant and that which isn't. It's exhilarating. It also inexplicably relaxes me, even though I'm hurtling down the road on a machine that can reach a speed approaching 300 kph. But the important thing is that, every time I get on a bike, within a few minutes it has cleared out the cobwebs in my brain. And allows me to take walks inside my head that the fast pace of modern society doesn't often provide time for. I do some of my best thinking while riding.<br /><br />The remedy, clearly, is to continue to read things off line and to indulge in activities that require us to focus -- such as art, music, or making or building something. And ride motorcycles. These are the things that will allow us to benefit from what the Internet offers, while maintaining the wiring that allows us to focus, and analyze complex issues.<br /><br />It's another reason to ride my Ninja. I love it.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-37964667555219501072010-05-19T22:26:00.000-07:002010-11-01T08:15:11.805-07:00When the shiny side doesn't stay upMost motorcycle accidents are single-vehicle accidents. It's the nature of the beast: when you're rolling on only two wheels, things happen and you sometimes fall over. Those who haven't learned the ins and outs of push steering for cornering, particularly, often end up in ditches or worse.<br /><br />But in accidents between a motorcycle and a car, statistically it was the car driver's error the majority of the time. We know we put ourselves in harm's way every time we suit up. Smart riders work on their skills and emergency maneuvers.<br /><br />Yet that isn't always enough. Cagers (those who drive cars) can be oblivious to anything smaller than their cars. Every motorist who hits a motorcyclist says: "I didn't see him."<br /><br />They don't see us because they're not looking for us, in part because there aren't as many motorcycles as there are cars. In Europe, where the ratio of motorcycles to cars is much higher, motorcycle fatalities and accidents are lower. <br /><br />And I have to say from my personal experience, when I was hit, the drivers were not only oblivious to my motorcycle but to traffic in general. And both had callous disregard for the fact they almost ended another human's life. The guy in the Pathfinder who sideswiped me looked at the side of his van before he checked to find out if I was still alive. Then yelled at me for not getting out of his way. He failed to show up for his court date and still got fined only $200. <br /><br />The woman who hit me and ran felt pretty entitled to leave. Her fine, $400, pretty much validated her opinion. Not much happens to you when you hit and run in Ontario.<br /><br />It's easy to get angry about the low fines, especially when our system provides no legal recourse for pain and suffering. I was told by a lawyer that if you weren't injured badly enough to keep you from working, there's no point in suing in civil court in Canada. Every day of the four weeks it takes for a broken rib to stop hurting every time you breathe in and out you get a sharp reminder of your powerlessness. As I said, it's easy to get angry about that.<br /><br />But I'm more interested in the attitudes. And I don't think higher fines would be much more effective at deterring hit and runs or improving driver behaviour.<br /><br />That would benefit more from better driver education, with dramatic reminders that we're driving 2,000 pound weapons down the road. Driving is a privilege, not a right. Yet the way we train drivers doesn't pound that home. And what we focus on in our laws doesn't either.<br /><br />The law adopted in Ontario prohibiting the use of cellphones behind the wheel went into force last January. But it has not resulted in people putting down their cell phones. Just this week alone, I narrowly avoided being hit three times by drivers with phones glued to their ears.<br /><br />And that will continue as long as people remain convinced they're the exception to the rule. According to a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/30/tech/main6346963.shtml">study done by the University of Utah</a>, only 2.5 percent of the population are good enough at multi-tasking to drive and talk on the phone at the same time. And the ones who say they can do it are precisely the ones who can't. Those who don't think they can do it are more likely to be able to do it.<br /><br />I participated in a distracted driving test last January that was organized by Shuan de Jager, founder of <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/30/tech/main6346963.shtml">Roadawareness.ca</a>, with the help of Scott Marshall, director of training for Young Drivers of Canada. They had us drive go-carts around a track while trying to talk and text on our phones: <a href="http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/p/1721/ontario-police-enforce-ban">I drove into a wal</a>l trying to text a four-word message.<br /><br />The National Safety Council in the United States says that drivers are four times more likely to be in a crash if they use cell phones behind the wheel, while drivers who text increase their risk 8 to 23 times.<br /><br />The source of most of the English public service videos I've found on YouTube that dramatize the repercussions of killing or maiming someone on a motorcycle, whether because of cellphone use or excess speeed, seems to be Australia and the U.K. Both spend money on educating people about the dangers of distracted driving and both have taken what some consider to be shocking approaches. One video that went viral showed ghostly figures watching grieving parents in very graphic accident scene recreations. One of the most popular shows motorcyclists riding their bikes in the buff, with the caption: "Do you see me now?"<br /><br />Canada doesn't spend federal money on those kinds of ads and I don't recall seeing any produced by a province. Down south, a few states have bankrolled a few. <br /><br />And 25 out of 50 states have banned using cell phones behind the wheel without the aid of a hands-free device. A few, including Vermont and Illinois, have been cited for launching innovative education programs that teach young drivers, who are particularly at risk because of less experience behind the wheel, of the real dangers of texting while driving. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100516/ap_on_bi_ge/us_no_text_while_driving">The Associated Press reported</a> that Vermont and Illinois have launched programs that put teens in golf carts and ask them to text while driving the carts. Their experience is very similar to mine. <br /><br />Such driver awareness exercises really drive home the fallacy of "it can't happen to me" thinking.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-9064584965771895212010-05-07T22:12:00.000-07:002010-05-08T10:04:07.517-07:002010 International Female Ride Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-T-ySd0LZI/AAAAAAAABx8/n5CcC4gV9-Q/s1600/03.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-T-ySd0LZI/AAAAAAAABx8/n5CcC4gV9-Q/s320/03.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468775987438431634" /></a><br />Blustery wind, bouts of torrential rain, thunder and a lightning show didn't keep women from showing up for the Toronto Rally for the Ride Home for the 2010 <a href="http://www.motoress.com/femalerideday.asp">International Female Ride Day</a> tonight.<br /><br />The rally was organized and hosted by International Female Ride Day founder, Vicki Gray, aka <a href="http://www.motoress.com/">Motoress</a>, at the Keating Channel Pub on Villiers St. in Toronto. A former racer, instructor, coach, and writer, the Ontario native was sponsored by the likes of World Championship team Ten Kate Honda and Ducati during her racing years. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-T_SU2GyJI/AAAAAAAAByE/VFD_jbVgMXc/s1600/08.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-T_SU2GyJI/AAAAAAAAByE/VFD_jbVgMXc/s320/08.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468776537832999058" /></a><br />Gray’s now teaching at Canadian National Superbike Champion Michel Mercier’s FAST Riding School in Shannonville and has been tirelessly promoting the sport to women, working with local dealers to host women's bike nights and other events. <br /><br />Since inaugurating International Female Ride Day in 2007, Gray has been encouraging women to ride their motorcycles to work on this day. Here in Toronto, the skies have poured on us three out of those four years but women keep showing up on two wheels. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UADrcuz0I/AAAAAAAAByU/_8dUj3UzhAs/s1600/02.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UADrcuz0I/AAAAAAAAByU/_8dUj3UzhAs/s320/02.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468777385714175810" /></a><br />I've braved the rain on my bike every year until this one, when I (and a few others) wussed out and caged it to the celebration of the day. <br /><br />But Vicki rode in, as did many other women, including one who rode all the way from Hamilton Ontario, which is almost an hour and a half away. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UBhcO3OyI/AAAAAAAABys/5Wh_TUjgHTU/s1600/05.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UBhcO3OyI/AAAAAAAABys/5Wh_TUjgHTU/s320/05.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468778996537178914" /></a><br />In previous years, women met in front of Princes Gates downtown before work, which made it difficult for some people to make it. <br /><br />Because the celebration was after work today instead, this year probably would have been a huge gathering, had it not been for the weather.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UAyAQBiLI/AAAAAAAAByk/XNI_iQR9-T0/s1600/14.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UAyAQBiLI/AAAAAAAAByk/XNI_iQR9-T0/s320/14.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468778181572004018" /></a><br />Before drawing tickets for prizes being raffled off, Gray read us messages from women around the world who are now using this day every year to promote solidarity among other women who ride. <br /><br />When I bought my first bike (a 1977 Honda CB125) in Montreal in 1979, I knew only one other woman in the city who rode: the wife of a British bike repair shop who happily rode a Triumph around town. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UCPyq-5MI/AAAAAAAABy0/02IWvF6_TGM/s1600/09.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UCPyq-5MI/AAAAAAAABy0/02IWvF6_TGM/s320/09.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468779792834684098" /></a><br />People kept telling me about another woman, who was (they said at the time) in her fifties and had been riding most of her life, but I never met her and always wondered if she was an urban legend.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UCfj0JlSI/AAAAAAAABy8/3WA89mSOTig/s1600/10.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UCfj0JlSI/AAAAAAAABy8/3WA89mSOTig/s320/10.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468780063724508450" /></a><br />So it's been pretty amazing to witness the number of women who have joined the sport in recent years. <br /><br />A women's rider social group that started off with 20 members on <a href="http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/">GTAMotorcycle.com</a>, Toronto's largest chat board for motorcyclists, at the end of the last riding season grew to 80 strong over the winter. <br /><br />We may still be only 13 percent of riders on two wheels, but we're making inroads and are forming a community both locally in the GTA and online. I've been invited to join no fewer than 20 Facebook groups of women riders in the last year alone.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UDtmbUVII/AAAAAAAABzE/12EfKY5XY40/s1600/IMG_0011.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UDtmbUVII/AAAAAAAABzE/12EfKY5XY40/s320/IMG_0011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468781404455457922" /></a><br />And I've met a growing number of women tearing up the track in the last few years, one of whom has started racing and another who's gotten good enough we're encouraging her to race. I used to celebrate the racing achievements of women I've never met and may never get to meet. Now I'm celebrating the racing achievements of women I run across in my own community.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UAghwlxjI/AAAAAAAAByc/HkrZEBUaZEM/s1600/12.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/S-UAghwlxjI/AAAAAAAAByc/HkrZEBUaZEM/s320/12.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468777881329321522" /></a><br />Ride on, sisters!Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-67104764993760476592010-04-16T06:54:00.000-07:002010-04-16T07:01:10.168-07:00'Supertaskers' who can drive and talk are rareThink you can safely drive and talk on your cell phone at the same time? Then you probably can't. A new study shows that 'Supertaskers' who can drive and talk on phone are rare - only 2.5% of population can do it. Even more interesting, the people who *think* they can do it safely are usually the very ones who can't, the study says: <a href="http://bit.ly/cMR4sj">http://bit.ly/cMR4sj</a><br /><br />This supports the results of the Driving Distraction experiment that RoadAwareness.ca organized in January. <a href="http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/p/1721/ontario-police-enforce-ban">Click here</a> to read an article I wrote about that for Yahoo! Canada.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-34119971900375100912010-04-12T13:31:00.001-07:002010-04-12T13:33:59.419-07:00Driver behaviour and how we share the roadThis poor blog has been neglected over the last year. Not because I've lost interest in the sport (far from it) but because I've been getting somewhat involved in covering our four-wheeled cousins. I spent nine months editing the Autos Channel at Yahoo! Canada, and was fascinated by the many ways the two interests intersect. Particularly when it comes to trying to predict and understand driver behaviour.<br /><br />The latter, in particular, has become a keen area of study for me. After being hit twice two years ago, I was stunned at the attitudes of both motorists who hit me. The first, a man in a Pathfinder who sideswiped me in bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic, got out and carefully examined the side of his van before yelling at me (while I was still lying in the road) for not getting out of his way. He had, after all, signalled. Even in my stunned state (came perilously close to fracturing my pelvis that time- the hip pads in my gear saved me), I almost laughed at his sense of entitledness. And wondered where it came from. The driver in the car behind me, who was alert enough not to run me over, stopped his car and made sure I was OK before starting to direct traffic around us until the EMTs could arrive.<br /><br />The second time, a woman zoomed out of a parking lot in downtown Toronto to dart across three lanes to cut me off. She took off without stopping. Miraculously, the fellow in the pickup truck behind me not only didn't run over me when I went down, but chased after her and stopped her at the next red light to tell her she had to come back and give her insurance information. He said she told him "No I don't," before taking off again. He wrote down her plate number, came back to give it to me (along with his cell number) and asked if I wanted him to wait for police with me. I thought I was fine, so just thanked him (profusely!) and sent my white knight on his way. Found out later I'd broken a rib and a thumb. <br /><br />Both times perfect strangers in cars behind me came to my rescue. And both times the person who'd hit me could have cared less that he or she (no gender divide, here) had almost ended another human being's life. I will be writing more about that, and the possible underlying causes, later. Will also be writing about Ontario's peculiar justice system, which seems to depend on insurance companies to penalize people for dangerous driving.<br /><br />The penalties certainly aren't a deterrent. The man in the Pathfinder was fined $200 for an illegal lane change. The woman who hit me and ran was fined $500 for leaving the scene of an accident.<br /><br />Think about that. $200 and $500. And compare it to fines for speeding that endanger other drivers but don't directly impact them.<br /><br />Clearly, I have thoughts on that subject.<br /><br />Stay tuned!Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-23996740158572627372009-05-31T14:00:00.000-07:002009-05-31T21:17:01.098-07:00Lil Red Bird Ride Saturday May 30, 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMOhxUm4II/AAAAAAAABvk/3Ze8OwHxAR4/s1600-h/1st+gas+stop+with+LRB+in+frame.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMOhxUm4II/AAAAAAAABvk/3Ze8OwHxAR4/s320/1st+gas+stop+with+LRB+in+frame.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342129556329783426" /></a><br /><br />I rolled into my driveway last night after 15 hours in the saddle, exhausted and excited. No -- make that exhilarated. Few things wind me up like Lil Red Bird ride and I'd just followed LRB (the charming fella in the red and black jacket in the right side of this first photo) on his circuit of 840 kilometres of northeast Ontario twisties, along with 22 other riders. Some riders broke off at the halfway point in Maynooth, but at least half completed the whole ride.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiL4kJYrorI/AAAAAAAABt0/VAns_or57k8/s1600-h/1st+gas+stop.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiL4kJYrorI/AAAAAAAABt0/VAns_or57k8/s320/1st+gas+stop.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342105407893250738" /></a><br />The ride was scheduled to leave at 8 a.m. Saturday, so I got up at 5 to get to the ride meet-up point at Haugens BBQ on Highway 12 north of Whitby by 7:30. Only two things will get me up that early: a track day or a Lil Red Bird ride.<br /><br />Lil Red Bird organizes these rides for members of <a href="http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/">GTAMotorcycle.com</a> several times a year. Lynn's his given name, but Lil Red Bird, or LRB for short, is his monniker on GTAM, a discussion board for bikers in the GTA area. During riding season there are dozens of rides posted each week on GTAM, but his rides are the stuff of legend because they cover so much territory -- and no one knows the roads of northeast Ontario like he does. Outside of organized riding groups, LRB has initiated more new riders into the wonders of Ontario twisties than anyone else.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMPxLvhT4I/AAAAAAAABv0/tnoOmty3azc/s1600-h/507+gas+stop.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMPxLvhT4I/AAAAAAAABv0/tnoOmty3azc/s320/507+gas+stop.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342130920631652226" /></a><br /><br /><br />GTAM is an incredible resource for local riders. I belong to more than one riding group, but GTAM provides most of the benefits of a regular riding group with none of the obligations. If you're up for a ride, and one's posted, you're usually welcome to join them. Some rides -- usually posted as "spirited" -- are best left to very experienced riders, because that means the pace will be quick. But lots of "noob-friendly" rides are posted and these rides give new riders a chance to meet other riders and get some experience riding in a group under their belt.<br /><br />That's been the subject of a lot of debate on the board in the last year, because several rides ended with someone crashing. A lot of finger-pointing goes on when that happens, some got aimed at inexperienced noobs and others at hooligans. Circumstances varied, and I'll leave the discussion of hooliganism for another time. There are people I've met through GTAM with whom I will never ride again. But for the most part, I've met a good combination of eager newbies and careful, caring veteran riders. All noobs have to start somewhere. And GTAM is a good place for them to meet people who can informally mentor them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMPPPlZKcI/AAAAAAAABvs/qZRRH2yzdIw/s1600-h/first+stop+at+turn+in+Gooderham.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMPPPlZKcI/AAAAAAAABvs/qZRRH2yzdIw/s320/first+stop+at+turn+in+Gooderham.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342130337547364802" /></a><br /><br />Of all the GTAM rides I've been on, LRB's are always the best organized. He's been doing this for years and his safety record is amazing, considering how many new riders are being introduced to technically challenging roads for the first time. That's largely due to his insistence on everyone riding their own ride, at their own pace. The more experienced riders just wait at the turns until everyone gets there. Simple, but effective rule. This pic is the group waiting at the turn in Gooderham at the top of the 507, before we headed west on the Loop before looping back to Elephant Lake Road, which led to Maynooth.<br /><br />LRB doesn't live in Toronto and rides an hour and a half west to the Haugens BBQ meet-up point, because that's more convenient for GTA riders. The riding community owes a lot to LRB.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMX_fYk3jI/AAAAAAAABxM/DKWOHNPzNJo/s1600-h/gas+stop+at+Maynooth.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMX_fYk3jI/AAAAAAAABxM/DKWOHNPzNJo/s320/gas+stop+at+Maynooth.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342139962515316274" /></a><br />Saturday's ride started out chilly; the bit from Haugens to the 507 and up around Elephant Lake was bracing, to say the least. But once we got to Maynooth, where we had lunch at a chip wagon at the gas station (the photo above and below), things warmed up and the rest of the ride was absolutely perfect: sunny, enough wind to keep the trees whispering their secrets to each other and just cool enough to keep us from getting too hot in our leathers. Baby's engine loves weather like that. Perfect riding weather.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMYe15wO8I/AAAAAAAABxU/XhMxO4904Bk/s1600-h/lunch+Maynooth.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMYe15wO8I/AAAAAAAABxU/XhMxO4904Bk/s320/lunch+Maynooth.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342140501135997890" /></a><br /><br />The stretch after Maynooth over to Calabogie and the Ompah (the northern curve of the 509 east of Calabogie) was awesome. I lost track of where I saw them, but we rode through sections with jagged rock faces on one or both sides of the roads. LRB had warned us that there might be sand and gravel in unexpected places on the turns, because a big thunderstorm had dumped large quantities of water on the area in a very short time the night before. We were lucky and only a few turns had enough loose material under our wheels to worry about.<br /><br />There was a big lineup at the next fuel stop -- I think it was after Calabogie on the way to Ompah -- with a group of about 30 cruisers waiting at the pumps ahead of us. That turned into a long break. After we left that stop there was a bit of a wait on the road, while emergency crews directed us past an accident. Couldn't tell exactly what happened but the road was filled with what looked like the group of all the cruiser riders who had left the fuel stop ahead of us. Wondered if one of the bikes had gone into a ditch - but we weren't there long enough to get the story.<br /><br />And we were the only ones on the road for miles after we headed toward the Ompah. It's been two years since I've done that stretch, the last time I made it to one of the rides organized by LRB.<br /><br />That's two years too long. We covered 840km from Haugens to where the main part of the ride ended at the Marmoraton Mine Reservoir, all of it through gorgeous countryside on winding, twisty roads. That is some of the best food for the soul imaginable.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMS171mLzI/AAAAAAAABwc/LXQpZp0bAA0/s1600-h/mine+entrance.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMS171mLzI/AAAAAAAABwc/LXQpZp0bAA0/s320/mine+entrance.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342134300796399410" /></a><br /><br />And the Marmoraton Mine Reservoir, the last stop on the route, was stunningly beautiful. It was hard to pick which of the dozens of photos I took there -- the rest on this page are all from that last stop. Vlad (on the far right of this next photo), who along with El Zilcho (both screen names - I'll let them identify their real ones themselves in the comments, if they wish) met me downtown to head to the main meetup spot, said people swim there when it gets warm. Like The Gut, the remains of a logging operation south of Bancroft, the Marmoraton Mine Reservoir is one of Ontario's best-kept secrets. Much easier to get to than The Gut, too - because the last 10 kilometres to The Gut is sandy dirt, boulders and rocks - not easy to transverse without knobby tires.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMSiLXruxI/AAAAAAAABwU/kSEAYexQuqM/s1600-h/vlad+reservior.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMSiLXruxI/AAAAAAAABwU/kSEAYexQuqM/s320/vlad+reservior.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342133961368517394" /></a><br /><br />Vlad volunteered to show a particularly nice stretch of Lakeshore to those of us heading back to Toronto after that. I was keen, but cars kept breaking up our group on the 401 and I missed the exit he took. The skies to the west -- the direction of Toronto -- were starting to darken, so I took that as a sign I should head home. The Weather Channel had forecast thunderstorms to hit Toronto around 8 pm that day, and it was now 8.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMTubEPCGI/AAAAAAAABwk/6R6ffCuRfE0/s1600-h/reservoir.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMTubEPCGI/AAAAAAAABwk/6R6ffCuRfE0/s320/reservoir.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342135271251970146" /></a><br /><br />As I rode west on the 401, the skies were increasingly menacing. I didn't have enough gas left to get to Toronto, so I pulled off the highway at the Nickelby's rest stop about an hour out of town and topped up the tank while I put on my rain gear. <br /><br />Got back on the highway and booted it, hoping to make good distance and time before the rain hit. Ten minutes later it was pouring buckets; cracks of lightning lit up the sky as I watched jagged fingers of electricity repeatedly snake down to earth, followed by the deafening boom of thunderclaps.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMUDU4XI_I/AAAAAAAABws/HSq-HhbPQuY/s1600-h/reservoir2.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMUDU4XI_I/AAAAAAAABws/HSq-HhbPQuY/s320/reservoir2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342135630368809970" /></a><br /><br />And wind. In spades. The wind had picked up so much that it could have blown me into the next lane, had I been riding any supersport but Baby. The ZX7's 515 pounds comes in handy in high winds. The new generation of supersports weigh less than 400 pounds for the most part, and even a passing transport truck can generate enough of a gust to blow them sideways. But Baby hugs the road like ... what was it that reviewer once said? Like a well-behaved bull rhino.<br /><br />Even so, the gusts were strong enough to force me to grip the bars much more firmly than usually necesssary. I was no longer having fun.<br /><br />Then the rain REALLY started coming down. Could barely see 20 feet in front of me. <br /><br />I was now about 30 minutes outside of Toronto. The sky was a fantastic show, the air smelled fresh and electric, and the booms of thunder were boosting my adrenalin levels to new heights. I love storms like that -- when I'm not on a bike. But yesterday, I couldn't really appreciate it because I was too busy trying to see tailights in front of me through the sheets of water. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMVW00t6wI/AAAAAAAABw8/v9VWZ4yQLJA/s1600-h/Marmoraton+Mine+Reservoir+sign.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMVW00t6wI/AAAAAAAABw8/v9VWZ4yQLJA/s320/Marmoraton+Mine+Reservoir+sign.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342137064872602370" /></a><br /><br />Visibility was so bad that I was afraid to try to take an exit because I couldn't see much in my mirrors. Even a shoulder check to see if someone was coming up beside me in the right-hand lane wasn't a guarantee in those conditions. I couldn't see the vehicle in front of me -- just his tail lights -- never mind one behind me. There are still older cars on the road where lights don't come on automatically -- and I don't trust motorists to remember to turn them on.<br /><br />After a number of shoulder checks *seemed* to indicate the coast was clear, I was thinking maybe I should risk changing lanes so I could pull over or take an exit ... when suddenly the rain slowed down enough that I could see more of the car in front of me than just his tail lights. Almost simultaneously, the sun broke through below the clouds in a glorious burst of red. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMUsFH0lpI/AAAAAAAABw0/ZuY9103hzlI/s1600-h/reservoir3.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMUsFH0lpI/AAAAAAAABw0/ZuY9103hzlI/s320/reservoir3.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342136330513323666" /></a><br /><br />Sunset was upon us. It was an incredible feeling: riding through pouring rain toward one of the most beautiful sunsets I'd ever seen, a big red ball taking up the stage between the earth and the clouds. Heaven. That's what heaven looks like, I thought.<br /><br />I was almost at the Toronto city limit now, and the rain had slowed enough that I was longer worried I'd miss my exit for the DVP because I couldn't see the sign.<br /><br />My almost perfect record of timing a ride around rainclouds is now tarnished a bit. But better at the end of a ride than the beginning or the middle. And the sky at the end was breath-taking. I really wish I had a picture of that.<br /><br />It was an interesting -- and dramatic -- end to a wonderful day. <br /><br />It was 70 kilometres to the ride meet-up point from my house in East York, so Baby logged just under 1,000 kilometres for the day. I'm surprised I wasn't sore this morning. I needed a new pair of wrists at the end of my first LRB ride three years ago. More surprising: I didn't get that fire burning between my shoulder blades that I usually get by hour eight. I think my Pilates classes may have helped with that. I consciously kept relaxing my shoulders and arms and "pulled my ears away from my shoulders" just as the instructor kept reminding us. Seemed to do the trick.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMQaKW6wiI/AAAAAAAABv8/l9_TPEuUKsI/s1600-h/Lil+Red+Bird.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SiMQaKW6wiI/AAAAAAAABv8/l9_TPEuUKsI/s320/Lil+Red+Bird.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342131624634663458" /></a><br /><br />I'm now ready for a longer road trip. Not sure how to fit one into this summer, because this year I'm working regular shifts at the Yahoo! Canada offices on Queen's Quay and am already scheduling time off for track days. The last three years I'd been freelancing from home, with a much more flexible schedule. It's easier to fit road trips in when you can do interviews during lunch and write at night. <br /><br />For now, I'll feast on the memory of this perfect ride, perfect day. Thanks, Lil Red Bird!<br /><br /><b>Route note:</b> For those who'd like to duplicate this ride, LRB and Vlad have put <a href="http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=226493">route coordinates with GPS data you can download</a> online. And <a href="http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?dirflg=r&hl=en&daddr=Montreal-Canadiens+Bell+Centre&ie=UTF8&moduleurl=http:%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fintl%2Fen_ca%2Fhelp%2Fmaps%2Ftransit%2Fmontreal%2Fmapplet.html&mapclient=google&msa=0&msid=102856891330530828090.00046a1a4ade741d91aba&ll=44.777936,-78.266602&spn=3.368969,9.887695&z=7">here's a link to a Googlemap</a> with the gas stops (very important if your tank has a range in the neighbourhood of 200 kilometres).<br /><br /><b>Gear note: </b> Got to try out my new Joe Rocket "rainproof" gloves with the squeegee on the left thumb. They worked pretty well. The outside soaked through and still had to be dried out when I got home, but the inside stayed dry and the squeegee, although not as effective as I'd hoped it would be, was still a big improvement over not having one. Don't know how the inside dryness would hold up to several hours of rain, but they withstood a half an hour of downpour. My FroggToggs kept the rest of me dry. They don't last as long as most rain gear, but when rain protection weighs ounces instead of pounds, I'm willing to replace it every five years or so. I can keep FroggToggs tucked in Baby's tail with the toolkit without adding any weight or taking up room in my tank bag, they're always there when I need 'em. <br /><br /><b> Also: </b> Last time I rode in the rain, my Alpinestar Goretex water-proof touring boots leaked. Which upset me no end, because it was the end of only the second season I'd worn them. For boots that cost in the neighbourhood of $260, I think you should get three seasons, minimum, out of them. It's not like you wear them all the time. The waterproofing should last at least as long as the tread on the soles will.<br /><br />But they held up this time. My feet remained perfectly dry. Go figure!Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-57604414600991840212009-05-27T15:00:00.000-07:002009-05-28T07:28:34.918-07:00The Ganny May 10, 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh27RpfwBJI/AAAAAAAABtU/yO5GalM-EOY/s1600-h/5.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh27RpfwBJI/AAAAAAAABtU/yO5GalM-EOY/s320/5.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340630645002470546" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh24JoOGJkI/AAAAAAAABs8/D8MQ9kzgJuI/s1600-h/1.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh24JoOGJkI/AAAAAAAABs8/D8MQ9kzgJuI/s320/1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340627208686151234" /></a><br /><br />Have been up to the Ganaraska forest three times now this spring on my lil red zinger (CRF230). This has been a big gap in my biking education, and I'm finally filling it. The first two pics are of one of the entrances where you park to access the trails. Finally bought a season pass - a bargain: $130 for the whole summer. It's the most wonderful experience to be riding through the forest -- I love how beautiful it is. One of the single-track trails we rode was blanketed on both sides by a carpet of trilliums; a feast for the eyes.<br /><br />I think I'm going to buy a winter pass, too - so I can go cross-country skiing there next winter.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh24P75QphI/AAAAAAAABtE/jdUXtyMyveY/s1600-h/3.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh24P75QphI/AAAAAAAABtE/jdUXtyMyveY/s320/3.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340627317046683154" /></a><br /><br />The next two pic are of Ty with his KTM505. He LOOOVES that bike. I swear he'd marry it, if he could. I've never seen him grin as wide as when he's on it. And the smile stays for hours afterward.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh24XWuImiI/AAAAAAAABtM/jJ9poqHb__Y/s1600-h/9c.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh24XWuImiI/AAAAAAAABtM/jJ9poqHb__Y/s320/9c.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340627444506860066" /></a><br />I still want to try my YZ250F, even though my feet dangle nine inches off the ground on both sides. Moto Marta, who rode a KTM with racing tires on it on the track, assures me that I'll get used to that. But I'm increasingly convinced I'm going to prefer the CRF on the trails. Now that I'm used to an electric start, I sincerely doubt I'm going to want to work up a sweat kicking the YZ over, when I stall. And, given how awkward stops are going to be on the YZ, I think stalls are inevitable. <br /><br />The CRF is more than enough bike for me and is giving me a lot of valuable experience throttling through loose materials with a squirrely rear wheel. The first time we went up was before the end of April -- we didn't know that you're not supposed to enter the forest on a motorized vehicle until after April 30. And there was still snow on the trails. I hate riding on snow, even with knobby tires. You can't get ANY traction, like you can in mud, and can't correct your direction, either, or you slide and go down. Even sand lets you steer. Snow is weird.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-89920497727601362882009-05-27T14:42:00.000-07:002009-05-27T14:52:42.826-07:00The Busa ride May 3 (well, it was a LOT of Busas!)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh20RIAEjwI/AAAAAAAABs0/ypXm8g_f3eI/s1600-h/Busa+ride+May+3+(5).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh20RIAEjwI/AAAAAAAABs0/ypXm8g_f3eI/s320/Busa+ride+May+3+(5).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340622939429834498" /></a><br /><br /><br />The pretense for this ride down to Buffalo was to munch on wings, which the rest of the riders dutifully chowed down on. Being (mostly) vegetarian, I opted for the portabello stuffed ravioli - a strange, but delicious, find at a wing place.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2o0Z1zm4I/AAAAAAAABrs/vr7fOI-Uqmo/s1600-h/Busa+ride+May+3+(2).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2o0Z1zm4I/AAAAAAAABrs/vr7fOI-Uqmo/s320/Busa+ride+May+3+(2).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340610351374506882" /></a><br /><br />There were 20 bikes on this ride - a pretty large group. Suzuki predominated (lots, and lots of Busas - but gixxers, too) but we had a small complement representing Kawasaki. It was amazing to me that we rode together in one group that large. Most of the riders were fairly experienced, but it's novel to me that we all managed to stay together.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2pxkwDgwI/AAAAAAAABr0/58WZS3s-H3A/s1600-h/Busa+ride+May+3+(4).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2pxkwDgwI/AAAAAAAABr0/58WZS3s-H3A/s320/Busa+ride+May+3+(4).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340611402275193602" /></a><br />Even at the border, where it seemed to take forever. Bikes don't take up as much room as cars so our line, although it looked small, took quite a while to process.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2n49zMrxI/AAAAAAAABrk/UHhmfJJmqBM/s1600-h/buffalo+wing+run.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2n49zMrxI/AAAAAAAABrk/UHhmfJJmqBM/s320/buffalo+wing+run.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340609330235092754" /></a><br />I find it interesting that U.S. customs didn't ask me to take my helmet off, but Canadian customs did. That's the third time I've seen that now. I'm sure it's harder to see whether the person on the passport photo is the person on the bike when the helmet's on, but when you're juggling passports and driver's licences, it's an incredible juggling act to also have to remove gloves (so you can take the helmet off) and the helmet - all while you're handing them and they're handing back your papers.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-6290325619413497282009-05-27T14:31:00.000-07:002009-05-28T07:10:36.642-07:00International Female Ride Day May 1 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2y732BNXI/AAAAAAAABss/ooe3L1Z7wwI/s1600-h/May+1+International+Female+Ride+Day+(4).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2y732BNXI/AAAAAAAABss/ooe3L1Z7wwI/s320/May+1+International+Female+Ride+Day+(4).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340621474803823986" /></a><br />Last year Mother Nature rained on the International Female Ride Day kickoff in Toronto, so despite the fact it was still COLD ... we were pretty happy that this year the morning was dry. Race girl Vicki Gray (the blond in the first pic) launched this annual event three years ago, and it gets women out on their bikes to celebrate the fact there are more and more of us every year.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh6bTOvedBI/AAAAAAAABtk/MW48WVFalGs/s1600-h/May+1+International+Female+Ride+Day.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh6bTOvedBI/AAAAAAAABtk/MW48WVFalGs/s320/May+1+International+Female+Ride+Day.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340876962785031186" /></a><br /><br /><br />It gives me a real sense of pride to see so many women on two wheels in one spot. That's my friends Brandi Jacques (a Duc rider) and Lindsay Cai (another Ninja comrade) in the second pic with Vicki. <br /><br />What a wonderful way to kick off the riding season!Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-45678772034769687122009-05-27T13:47:00.000-07:002009-05-27T14:31:49.877-07:00First ride of 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2uwQoXO5I/AAAAAAAABsk/zAuZdTOmUT0/s1600-h/SC+brunch+ride+April+5.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2uwQoXO5I/AAAAAAAABsk/zAuZdTOmUT0/s320/SC+brunch+ride+April+5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340616877252492178" /></a><br /><br />It was COLD ... but went for my first ride of the season on April 5. My friend Wally, who'd joined my chapter of the Southern Cruisers for a brunch that morning, our friend Ann, and Goldie, who was still breaking in her engine, all went for a ride after the brunch up along Mississauga Road and around the Caledon area. That's the three of them in the first pic.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2utYScUQI/AAAAAAAABsc/DOB0IZM-z7U/s1600-h/SC+brunch+ride+April+5+(2).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/Sh2utYScUQI/AAAAAAAABsc/DOB0IZM-z7U/s320/SC+brunch+ride+April+5+(2).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340616827768426754" /></a><br /><br /> The second pic shows some of my SC chapter pals leaving after the brunch.<br /><br />I stubbornly didn't even use my heated vest or gloves that day. It really feels like it took forever for spring to arrive this year. Here we are, almost June, and temps still aren't staying above 18C for more than an hour or two at a time.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-25643925835438283982009-05-06T19:38:00.000-07:002009-05-06T21:03:08.079-07:00Spring 2009 is finally here!OK, you can stop emailing me now about how long it's been since I've updated this blog. Now that it's spring and I've been trail biking and on my first three rides of the season, I'm all out of excuses. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJLgNBw-RI/AAAAAAAABp8/wF5coIWnXq0/s1600-h/Goldie04.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJLgNBw-RI/AAAAAAAABp8/wF5coIWnXq0/s320/Goldie04.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332907925385050386" /></a><br /><br />This year's spring was long coming, and I seem to have lost my tolerance for cold. Baby was stuck at TO Cycle for the winter after that woman hit us in November, and between forecasts of snow and ice and sand still on the street I didn't go pick her up until the end of March. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJMYh7QpRI/AAAAAAAABqM/k6sMXB8dk3A/s1600-h/Goldie14a.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJMYh7QpRI/AAAAAAAABqM/k6sMXB8dk3A/s320/Goldie14a.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332908893067584786" /></a><br /><br />Meanwhile, the second weekend in March, my friend Goldie, who was a new rider last year, upgraded to a brand-new 2009 Ninja 250 and needed a lift to the dealer in Burlington to pick it up. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJND30MICI/AAAAAAAABqc/CpkBxDTSHF8/s1600-h/Goldie18a.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJND30MICI/AAAAAAAABqc/CpkBxDTSHF8/s320/Goldie18a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332909637677883426" /></a><br /><br />I drove her there in the car, since I hadn't picked Baby up yet from TO Cycle. It was REALLY windy that day and it was Goldie's first time on her new bike, so we went to the parking lot down the road from the dealer for her to put it through its paces and get used to how it felt.<br /><br /> She did great. It may be only her second year riding, but she has good form and is careful. Her friend Fiaz (see last pic of him on the gixxer) met us there to ride back with us. What a nice guy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJXNNx9bNI/AAAAAAAABqs/8FdQppKfifQ/s1600-h/YZ250.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJXNNx9bNI/AAAAAAAABqs/8FdQppKfifQ/s320/YZ250.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332920793309211858" /></a><br /><br />Meanwhile, my new YZ250 is still in my kitchen because I don't have a garage -- nowhere I can lock it up. I'm still a bit leery of it, to be honest -- my feet dangle nine inches off the ground on both sides when I sit on it. Marta (who's at least three inches shorter than I am) tells me I'll get used to that -- and to propping it up on chain link fences to kick it over, but I'm still somewhat dubious.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJZDCElf_I/AAAAAAAABq8/dmvto4abAfI/s1600-h/Red+Zinger2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJZDCElf_I/AAAAAAAABq8/dmvto4abAfI/s320/Red+Zinger2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332922817390673906" /></a><br /><br />So I bought a CRF230. At least I can get a toe down on both sides. I'll get my trail legs on it, and THEN try the YZ250. I took it up to the Ganaraska two weeks ago with Ty, and really enjoyed zooming around in the forest. There were still patches of snow, though, and I hate trying to ride on snow, even on knobby tires. You can't get any traction on it, unlike mud, and can't change direction at all on it, or you'll go down. <br /><br /><br />Ty just bought a KTM505. He's wanted one forever, and finally found one in fantastic condition at a price he was willing to pay. We both had two dirt bikes this spring, he bought a CRF450 and rode it a couple of times before he sold it - see him below with it outside Chesterman's indoor MX track, where we went in March. The last pic is inside Chesterman's. It's a small track, but when there's still snow on the ground... you're happy just to be able to ride. Anywhere.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJaHKWg_1I/AAAAAAAABrE/RBaVediqtbE/s1600-h/Ty+with+his+CRF450_3.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJaHKWg_1I/AAAAAAAABrE/RBaVediqtbE/s320/Ty+with+his+CRF450_3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332923987844464466" /></a><br /><br />I don't mind how dirty I get on the CRF. It's part of the fun. But ... I gotta tell ya, having to wash her down every time I take her out is going to be a drag. I might wash my Ninja twice a season. Maybe. If she's lucky. So having to wash a bike down every time I ride her ... groan. And Ty tells me I need to rebuild her top end every season. Some people do it every time they RIDE. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJaeZyTW5I/AAAAAAAABrM/Gs32vVQmD8M/s1600-h/DSCN8156.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SgJaeZyTW5I/AAAAAAAABrM/Gs32vVQmD8M/s320/DSCN8156.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332924387124534162" /></a><br /><br />Mind you, those are the folks who really push their bikes. MX people are the craziest riders of all.<br /><br />Still. Kinda crazy!<br /><br />More pix from my first rides later. It's bedtime, now.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-53590563417908543672009-01-21T17:27:00.000-08:002010-11-01T08:18:27.754-07:00Plea to Torontoids: Stop using me for target practice. Please?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfniLzFyAI/AAAAAAAABpU/SfiKRpExz-4/s1600-h/Pathfinder+boo-boo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfniLzFyAI/AAAAAAAABpU/SfiKRpExz-4/s320/Pathfinder+boo-boo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293954461465954306" /></a><br /><br />Went down again on Nov. 2, after a woman zoomed out of a parking lot on Harbour Street to zip across three lanes to cut me off. That makes three crashes in one season after 20 years without a single crash. The difference? I'm riding in downtown Toronto a lot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfn0EdtOrI/AAAAAAAABpk/T9XTR6FQ-xc/s1600-h/Pathfinder+boo-boo3.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfn0EdtOrI/AAAAAAAABpk/T9XTR6FQ-xc/s320/Pathfinder+boo-boo3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293954768734862002" /></a><br /><br />In June, when a Pathfinder sideswiped me up on Ellesmere, I got a bruise that ran across my pubic bone, a foot high around my hip, and across my spine. This time, in November, I cracked a rib and broke a thumb. It was four weeks before I could breathe in or out without excruciating pain. Talked the hand clinic into swapping my hand cast for a thumb splint after a week -- and got the splint off right before New year's, but it still hurts.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfnpKwP-UI/AAAAAAAABpc/Esi6zVVU0iE/s1600-h/Pathfinder+boo-boo2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfnpKwP-UI/AAAAAAAABpc/Esi6zVVU0iE/s320/Pathfinder+boo-boo2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293954581444688194" /></a><br /><br />And I got off easy. I wasn't going fast enough to go down hard and was wearing fully armored leather. I'm still angry about it, which is why I haven't yet written about how this woman zoomed out of a parking lot across three lanes of traffic to cut me off on Nov. 2. I was already angry about the Pathfinder driver who sideswiped me the last Saturday in June: he looked at the side of his van before checking to see if I was still alive. And then yelled at me for not getting out of his way when he found out I wasn't dead. <br /><br />I posted a long note on Facebook after the incident, but was too upset to write about this latest event, yet. Someone chased after the woman who cut me off and asked her to come back and give her insurance information. She refused to do that, saying that she didn't have to because she hadn't hit me, before taking off again. Police disagreed: she was later charged with leaving the scene of an accident.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfo3syKc5I/AAAAAAAABps/dXHjOfGhvaM/s1600-h/Go-Lo2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfo3syKc5I/AAAAAAAABps/dXHjOfGhvaM/s320/Go-Lo2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293955930609316754" /></a><br /><br />Both displayed egregious disregard for human life and a callous attitude toward their victim. I have been thinking a lot about why that could be and will be writing more on that subject after I've processed it.<br /><br />Sorry about the gap between my last post and this one; it's not just because of going down in November. The month of September crazy busy as I tried to cram as many track days and rides as I could before a) the snow hit and b) I started a full-time contract at Yahoo Canada at the end of October. A 9-5 schedule would start limiting my rides to weekends and commuting downtown.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXff4xvHBRI/AAAAAAAABn8/3leaAt9oRog/s1600-h/Go-Lo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXff4xvHBRI/AAAAAAAABn8/3leaAt9oRog/s320/Go-Lo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293946053513905426" /></a><br /><br />As it turned out, the November crash eliminated the possibility of any more fall riding and the snow came early this year. My recuperation and the new contract took my undivided attention for quite a while, but here's a short recap of September and October:<br /><br />Finally got to try the Long Track at Shannonville (see the two track photos above), and it was a humbling experience. The Long Track makes Shannonville's Nelson track look like a cakewalk: more than twice as many turns -- enough that you could spend an entire day and still not be sure of the order of the turns. It's a hard track to memorize and the mixed elevation makes knowing those turns pretty important -- you can't always see what's around the turn. That many turns means memorizing the good apexes gets tricky. I crashed almost at the end of my second full lap session.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfkNA9PGRI/AAAAAAAABpM/MdUyBOJAifY/s1600-h/Long+Track.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 118px; height: 149px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfkNA9PGRI/AAAAAAAABpM/MdUyBOJAifY/s320/Long+Track.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293950799243581714" /></a><br /><br />The red "X" in the pic of of the Long Track on the right indicates where I went off the track.<br /><br />Here's what I posted on Facebook:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">Picked a too-late apex on the second to last turn before the main straight, went egregiously wide, tried to save it by leaning more, and lowsided into the grass.<br /><br />Ralph (at TO Cycle) told me it's impossible to keep a bike up when you enter grass on a lean. I wonder if the result might have been different had I'd tried to stand her up and take her into the grass on purpose. Sigh. I guess this is how you learn?<br /><br />Baby: broke her shifter link, so that was the end of that track day. We were out of commission before lunch. Got a CAA tow back to TO Cycle, where Junior replaced the shifter link and did some more plastic welds. So Baby's back.<br /><br />Should have taken pix of the damage; don't know why I didn't think of it. Another sign my focus was off?</span></blockquote><br /><br />I realized, (not entirely unexpectedly) that if I'm going to continue to squeeze more track days into a short time frame I'm going to have to stop riding Baby to the track the morning of the track day. I need to get a trailer, arrive at the location the night before to get a good night's sleep. Before this crash, I was running a sleep deficit. And getting up at 5 a.m. to get to the track early enough to prep the bike for an 8 a.m. start time put a big dent in my ability to focus. I used up my one long-distance CAA tow getting Baby from Shannonville to Junior at TO Cycle in Etobicoke, to get her shifter link replaced. The next distance tow would cost a mint.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfgRiCCP_I/AAAAAAAABoE/d3PjsIeaxNE/s1600-h/Trail+Tours2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfgRiCCP_I/AAAAAAAABoE/d3PjsIeaxNE/s320/Trail+Tours2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293946478795046898" /></a><br /><br />I finally got on my first dirt bike -- and fell in love. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, at least to learn the basics about throttling through loose material. <br /><br />Hills -- heh. That was another story. Deep, muddy ruts? Bit me twice.Just what I needed: another transportation-based obsession. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfgbBI8JCI/AAAAAAAABoM/ahABw5vK-J0/s1600-h/Trail+Tours.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfgbBI8JCI/AAAAAAAABoM/ahABw5vK-J0/s320/Trail+Tours.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293946641764328482" /></a><br /><br />Carolina, one of the gals I was fortunate enough to meet through the Chic Riders, set us up at Trail Tours and after a morning of learning how to get knobby wheels over lumpy objects like tree branches and boulders and how to change gears while wearing Frankenboots, spent an afternoon terrorizing the trees in the Kanaraska forest. Some of the best fun you can have with your clothes on!<br />http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160123&l=dc3aa&id=713220000<br /><br />You can <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160123&l=dc3aa&id=713220000">click here</a> for more pix from the Kanaraska Forest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfhZnoMu5I/AAAAAAAABoU/vovASQuWORc/s1600-h/Fenelon+Falls.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfhZnoMu5I/AAAAAAAABoU/vovASQuWORc/s320/Fenelon+Falls.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293947717247875986" /></a><br /><br />Also went on a ride with my friends Equus and Rose up to Fenelon Falls. The leaves were just starting to turn red. The ride was beautiful and we found a wonderful little restaurant that overlooked the falls when we stopped for lunch.<br /><br />The next week, a fall colours ride up to Collingwood drew so many riders who wanted to get one last glorious run in before the snow fell that we had to break up in six or seven groups - it was the largest ride I was on all year, after the annual ride up to Aminal & Fozzy's. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfhxMS5LtI/AAAAAAAABoc/kK_nhQK59eM/s1600-h/Fall+Colours2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfhxMS5LtI/AAAAAAAABoc/kK_nhQK59eM/s320/Fall+Colours2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293948122227617490" /></a><br /><br /><br />This picture shows us in a parking lot, staging the different groups, with John Reed (who'd organized the ride) getting experienced volunteers to lead each group, followed by a volunteer "sweeper" who makes sure no one gets into trouble and falls behind.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfiAYkkm0I/AAAAAAAABok/Pbux6K3El3g/s1600-h/Aminal1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfiAYkkm0I/AAAAAAAABok/Pbux6K3El3g/s320/Aminal1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293948383221029698" /></a><br /><br />Aminal & Fozzy really outdid themselves for their annual BBQ. They do every year, but this year we were only a handful short of 500 bikes riding in one group, in staggered formation, snaking about 10 kilometres from the Elmvale Zoo to Aminal & Fozzy's house. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfiLkWC7fI/AAAAAAAABo0/_JktXMQuRAc/s1600-h/Aminal.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfiLkWC7fI/AAAAAAAABo0/_JktXMQuRAc/s320/Aminal.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293948575359888882" /></a><br /><br />You read that right: 500 bikes. Aminal and Fozzy invite the entire community of bikers in the GTA to this every year, and Aminal (who's a chef) cooks up a spread you wouldn't believe. That's Aminal in the vest with all the patches on it, in the parking lot of the zoo before we got into formation for the ride.<br /><br />He carves his radishes to look like wee little mousies, complete with little radish tails. I kid you not. They are SOOOOOO cute.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfiWnRK7_I/AAAAAAAABpE/BRQiViN356E/s1600-h/Aminal2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SXfiWnRK7_I/AAAAAAAABpE/BRQiViN356E/s320/Aminal2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293948765123309554" /></a><br /><br /><br />I was happy to see a number of first-season riders (including my new friend Goldie from the Chic Riders) join that pilgrimage. This last photo shows all the bikes parked up and down Aminal & Fozzy's street: his neighbours move their cars to make room for us. Those are VERY nice neighbours.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-2153839270603428942008-08-16T13:56:00.000-07:002008-08-17T16:59:34.085-07:00Where's Liz?I apologize. I'm way behind on updating this blog. There's been so much going on and I've been so busy riding (among other things) that I've neglected it. <br /><br />But I'm grounded this weekend and hope to start catching up.<br /><br />It's been a busy riding season. After starting the season off by meeting hundreds of fellow bikers at the <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114014&l=27074&id=713220000">Spring Bling</a>, I have:<br /><br />1) Been to Elephant Lake three times with some <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=141753&l=60ddf&id=713220000"> old </a> and <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127390&l=b0c83&id=713220000">new </a> riding buddies<br />2) Discovered really cool roads in and north of Orangeville <br />3) Been introduced to Herald Road by <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127384&l=6518e&id=713220000">Equus, a new intrepid riding buddy</a> who's teaching me a lot of good stuff<br />4) Finally ridden the Forks of the Credit (three times now, <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=143733&id=713220000">the last time in the rain</a>) <br />5) Been on several <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127732&l=b3e45&id=713220000">rides with my chapter of the Southern Cruisers</a> (despite a month's worth of conflicting events and a weather system that seemed fated to rain on our ride every Wednesday), and enjoyed the hospitality of some of our members who were kind enough to <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135290&l=6804e&id=713220000">host a barbecue</a> for us all. <br />6) Been to half a dozen bike nights in both <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=130799&l=5ed9d&id=713220000">the north</a> and <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116451&l=153e9&id=713220000">southern parts of town</a><br />7) Helped <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125528&l=a0821&id=713220000">host a number of bike nights</a> at the <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123632&l=89c29&id=713220000">Shopsy's downtown</a> on <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=121383&l=73886&id=713220000">Front Street</a> with the Chic Riders<br />8) Had Baby washed by <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125774&l=debd0&id=713220000">comely women in short kilts</a> who did a marvelous job of protecting their assets while doing so to raise money for the Ride for Sight<br />9) Been on a <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123642&l=1e81d&id=713220000">ride to Collingwood </a>with some really nice fellas from GTAMotorcycle.com<br />10) Been to a <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123662&l=ec58c&id=713220000">Yamaha demo day</a>, a Harley Davidson demo day (blogged that -- see Buell, Schmuel below) and a <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123650&l=6a581&id=713220000">BMW Ladies Motorrad Day</a><br />11) Visited <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120626&l=a370e&id=713220000">The Gut</a>, an unfortunately named but beautiful waterfall that is one of Ontario's best-kept secrets<br /><br />I've also:<br /><br />12) <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127394&l=a29e8&id=713220000">Completed Level 1</a> of <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127503&l=0b1b1&id=713220000">the FAST course</a> at Shannonville race track<br />13) Participated in Vicki Gray's <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=131320&l=792d3&id=713220000">Motoress track day</a> and saw Nina Wee <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=131352&l=be961&id=713220000">perform poetry in motion there</a> doing stunts on her fidy<br />14) Raised money for charity by getting sponsors for my participation in the <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120602&l=1d398&id=713220000">Women Ride Out Against Rape ride</a> and <br />15) Been named Street Team Leader for the GTA section of the <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=118371&l=2e28a&id=713220000">Ontario chapter of the Chic Riders</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SKdQKS2KkKI/AAAAAAAABG4/Q56ZljsOnw0/s1600-h/Baby%27s+boo-boo1.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SKdQKS2KkKI/AAAAAAAABG4/Q56ZljsOnw0/s320/Baby%27s+boo-boo1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235241229629427874" /></a><br />And I've <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&suggest¬e_id=26735160538">survived being hit by an idiot in a Pathfinder</a>. The damage to Baby was relatively easy (albeit expensive) to fix. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SKdQbzf7CJI/AAAAAAAABHA/lZPRTbhHh9w/s1600-h/Baby%27s+boo-boo2.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SKdQbzf7CJI/AAAAAAAABHA/lZPRTbhHh9w/s320/Baby%27s+boo-boo2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235241530452281490" /></a><br />The external bruising took a month to heal and internal contusions are still tender and can be felt as palpable lumps six weeks later. I took photos of the healing process and am including one small sample (see my hip, below). The attending in the ER said I must have great bones and was lucky my pelvis didn't crack. My hip armor didn't hurt, either. But haven't decided yet if I'm going to share the rest of the photos. Some of the most serious injury occurred on parts of my body I don't ordinarily share pictures of with strangers. But from the sample provided, you can imagine the rest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SKdQnF9TubI/AAAAAAAABHI/9FZCq0iJnmQ/s1600-h/Baby%27s+boo-boo3.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SKdQnF9TubI/AAAAAAAABHI/9FZCq0iJnmQ/s320/Baby%27s+boo-boo3.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235241724385933746" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SKdWQzNykII/AAAAAAAABHQ/OlNr9YX900c/s1600-h/bruise.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SKdWQzNykII/AAAAAAAABHQ/OlNr9YX900c/s320/bruise.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235247938467434626" /></a><br /><br />I'm still not fully recovered. I'm still getting acupuncture and Shiatsu massage therapy for my neck and shoulder, which suffered soft tissue damage, although I'm mostly functional. <br /><br />This was the first time in almost 20 years of riding that I've been hit by a car and I have lots to write about both the physical and psychological impact of that.<br /><br />All of the links in the post above are to Facebook photo albums where I uploaded pictures of all those events.<br /><br />Which brings me to a topic that cross-pollinates with my Media Gleaner blog, which has also been neglected for some time now.<br /><br />I've chronicled almost all those events with photographs on Facebook instead of here. Not because Facebook is a better site for blogging, because it isn't. As part of the booming growth of social networking on the Web, it <span style="font-weight:bold;">*IS*</span>, however, an excellent way of sharing photos and quick information updates with people you're already connected to in some way. <br /><br />Facebook has become the largest photo-sharing site in Canada, and possibly the world. Which is ironic, because the photo resolution on Facebook sucks. Unlike here on Blogger, where you can click through to a full-resolution version of a photograph, Facebook allows you to load only small versions of your photos and the resolution is pathetic.<br /><br />BUT ... with only a few clicks, you can load up to 60 photographs at a time and walk away until it says it's done. Which is usually less than five minutes later.<br /><br />Here on Blogger, you have to load one photograph at a time, wait for it to tell you it's ready to upload that one photo (which takes forever), click DONE when it tells you it's finished, and repeat that process for every photo. It takes about 45 seconds per photo. To upload 60 photos would take about 45 minutes, if you're lucky, instead of the (approximately) five minutes it takes on Facebook.<br /><br />It's a painful, laborious process and way overdue for an updated interface that makes posting photographs simpler and faster.<br /><br />Hello, Google. Anybody listening?<br /><br />More on the rest coming. Promise.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-23829490045311782902008-05-13T15:36:00.001-07:002008-12-10T02:20:27.047-08:00Test ride demo daysSeveral demo days are already behind us, but I've gone online to Toronto area dealers' websites to look for upcoming demo days and called those who don't have them posted on their webites. Registration at all of 'em (except BMW) starts at 9 a.m. and rides start at 10 a.m. For the BMW Motorrad Days, you have to call and book your bike and time slot in advance and rides start at 9 a.m.<br /><br />Most of the dealers have concession tables with food, and are donating the sales from the food to charities. BMW is requiring a $20 per ride donation to the March of Dimes.<br /><br />For Honda fans, if you're looking to test ride a Honda this season, it's not looking likely. A sales representative at Classic Honda Brampton told me they have no Honda demo days scheduled this year and he doesn't know of any other dealers who are holding any, either. No reason was given, but the suspicion is that Honda's had insurance woes over demo days.<br /><br />Below are the demo days lined up so far for this season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sunday, May 18, 2008 <br />Yamaha Demo Ride Day<br /></span><br />Yamaha Motorsports (905-420-4172)<br />1698 Bayly Street<br />Pickering, ON<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Thursday May 22, 2008 <br />BMW Motorrad Test Ride Day </span><br />Budds' BMW Oakville<br />2454 South Service Road<br />Oakville, ON<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Call 1-866-562-0893 or 289-291-5140 to book a bike and time slot.<br />Or email Todd Humber at thumber@buddsbmw.com<br />A $20 per ride charitable donation to March of Dimes required.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Friday May 23, 2008<br />BMW Motorrad Test Ride Day</span><br />Open Road BMW <br />87 Mulock Drive<br />Newmarket, ON<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Call 905-895-8700 to book a bike and time slot.<br />A $20 per ride charitable donation to March of Dimes is required.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Saturday May 24, 2008 <br />Yamaha Demo Day </span><br />Kahuna Powersports (905-264-3117)<br />4342 Steeles Avenue West <br />Vaughan, ON<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Saturday May 24, 2008 <br />BMW Motorrad Test Ride Day</span><br />BMW Toronto<br />11 Sunlight Park Road<br />Toronto, ON<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Call 1-888-261-7744 to book a bike and time slot.<br />A $20 per ride charitable donation to March of Dimes is required.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Saturday May 24, 2008 <br />HD Demo Ride</span><br />Harley Davidson Toronto (416-703-4647)<br />578 Front St W. <br />Toronto, ON<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sunday, May 25, 2008<br />BMW Motorrad Exclusively Female Test Ride Event</span><br />Starts from the Best Western Orangeville at Highway 10 and Highway 9<br />Contact info to reserve a bike and time is at:<br /><a href="http://www.bmw-motorrad.ca/En/flash_content/index.html">http://www.bmw-motorrad.ca/En/flash_content/index.html</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Saturday June 14, 2008 <br />Suzuki Demo Day</span><br />Suzuki of Brampton (888-618-0881)<br />181 Canam Crescent <br />Brampton, ON<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sunday July 13, 2008<br />HD Demo Ride 2008 models</span><br />Kitchener Harley-Davidson (1-866-803-6837)<br />2255 Kingsway Drive<br />Kitchener, ON<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Saturday July 26, 2008<br />HD Demo Ride 2009 models</span><br />Mackie Harley Davidson (1-800-668-5828)<br />880 Champlain Ave.<br />Oshawa, ON<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sunday October 19, 2008<br />HD Demo Ride 2009 models</span><br />Kitchener Harley-Davidson (1-866-803-6837)<br />2255 Kingsway Drive<br />Kitchener, ON<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCyNUN76nzI/AAAAAAAABGw/bc2GeEk_tpw/s1600-h/fuel_wallet_meter.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCyNUN76nzI/AAAAAAAABGw/bc2GeEk_tpw/s320/fuel_wallet_meter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200687048183947058" /></a>Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-49023482845207526622008-05-11T22:22:00.001-07:002008-12-10T02:20:28.208-08:00Buell, Schmuell<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCfcrd76nxI/AAAAAAAABGg/gHB0PqI1p7U/s1600-h/tank.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCfcrd76nxI/AAAAAAAABGg/gHB0PqI1p7U/s320/tank.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199366934150946578" /></a><br /><br />OK, rode all the way down to Clare's Cycle & Sports in Fenwick -- close to St. Catharines -- Sunday to test ride the Buell Lightning scg. And was not impressed. I was SOOOO hoping I'd like it cuz I love the way they've tucked the tank under the seat and put all the wiring into a transparent orange bulb where they tank would normally be -- it's like they took one page out of the iMAC book of design and one from BMW.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCfcTt76nwI/AAAAAAAABGY/ykAEa6tXTMc/s1600-h/Buell.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCfcTt76nwI/AAAAAAAABGY/ykAEa6tXTMc/s320/Buell.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199366526129053442" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCfakt76nuI/AAAAAAAABGI/kdzGP2_74_E/s1600-h/Clares.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCfakt76nuI/AAAAAAAABGI/kdzGP2_74_E/s320/Clares.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199364619163573986" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCfbUd76nvI/AAAAAAAABGQ/N124nKNGPJo/s1600-h/group.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCfbUd76nvI/AAAAAAAABGQ/N124nKNGPJo/s320/group.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199365439502327538" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCffJd76nyI/AAAAAAAABGo/QSB59wTrxvw/s1600-h/vineland.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCffJd76nyI/AAAAAAAABGo/QSB59wTrxvw/s320/vineland.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199369648570277666" /></a><br /><br />Although it was pleasant to be reminded of how hard a twin can vibrate when there's some muscle in the engine, can't say I was impressed. And not just because the shifter was set up for a much larger foot and I had to actually lift my foot off the peg to shove the toe kick up into 2nd or any of the higher gears.<br /><br />The sitting position was almost upright but the pegs were still cafe style -- very strange. Awkward. <br /><br />Nah. Was actually more impressed with the Harley Sportster 883 Low I rode while I was waiting for my shot at the Buell. Again, mostly for the monster vibes created by the muscle behind those twin pistons. I've been riding an in-line four for so long I'd almost forgotten how nice the brute force of a twin could feel.<br /><br />The ride down there was COLD. The high was supposed to be something like 15 but it felt more like 5. But the stretch of Victoria Avenue from the QEW to Highway 20 where Clare's is was lined with blooming trees. Beautiful.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-49064012779631617002008-05-10T22:47:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:20:31.350-08:00Spring Bling, Take 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaRJt76nrI/AAAAAAAABFw/IKcBccXbJc4/s1600-h/Other+side+just+rows.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaRJt76nrI/AAAAAAAABFw/IKcBccXbJc4/s320/Other+side+just+rows.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199002415981567666" /></a><br /><br />Just posting a few quick pix tonight from Saturday's Spring Bling. Will post more Monday or Tuesday, because I'm going to be on the road all day Sunday.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaPBd76npI/AAAAAAAABFg/jW6ovQYSt7A/s1600-h/The+Girls.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaPBd76npI/AAAAAAAABFg/jW6ovQYSt7A/s320/The+Girls.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199000075224391314" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaR7t76nsI/AAAAAAAABF4/f2WMIoShikI/s1600-h/Lori+%26+Girls.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaR7t76nsI/AAAAAAAABF4/f2WMIoShikI/s320/Lori+%26+Girls.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199003274975026882" /></a><br /><br />Spring Bling wouldn't be complete without representation from the Chic Riders. Here's the gals in a group photo. From left to right, it's Lori, Karen, Gina, Kristina me (in the back!) Cassie, Julie and Annette. In the second photo it's Kristina, Starlene, Lori, and Gina.<br /><br />We had great representation, not just of Chic Riders but women in general at the Spring Bling. <br /><br />Here is another shot of some of the Chic Riders.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaSjt76ntI/AAAAAAAABGA/r1kwSFCkFaw/s1600-h/Group+ride+arrives.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaSjt76ntI/AAAAAAAABGA/r1kwSFCkFaw/s320/Group+ride+arrives.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199003962169794258" /></a><br /><br />And here's one of a group ride arriving en masse.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaMd976noI/AAAAAAAABFY/Q1Sm8RkUSEc/s1600-h/Wheee!.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SCaMd976noI/AAAAAAAABFY/Q1Sm8RkUSEc/s320/Wheee!.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198997266315779714" /></a><br /><br />Essentially it was a great, big, honking poser meet to kick off the riding season. Everyone comes, parks, and admires each other's bikes. It's kinda insular, cliquish and, despite that, a lot of fun. I couldn't get more than 40-50 bikes in a single shot -- about half a block worth of parked bikes, shoehorned pretty tightly together. But estimated about 300 bikes.<br /><br />That's all for tonight cuz I gotta get up EARLY Sunday to get to Fenwick for around 8. Clare's Cycle and Sports is holding a Harley demo day and I want to test a Buell Lightning -- and if you don't get an early spot in line there's no guarantee you'll get to test the bike you want. When I called they said a Buell was definitely going to be on the truck but they weren't sure which one. Hope it's a Lightning. <br /><br />Anyway, it's an hour and a half to Fenwick -- it's right next to St. Catherine's on the other side of Lake Ontario. That means I have to leave here by 6:30 to get to Fenwick for 8. <br /><br />I hear my pillow calling me.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-73861272314578500922008-05-03T07:07:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:20:31.714-08:00International Female Riders Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBx5Q1Bw6EI/AAAAAAAABFA/xbSEWKAZ-no/s1600-h/MOTORESS_INTL_FEMALE_RIDE_DAY_08newX250W.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBx5Q1Bw6EI/AAAAAAAABFA/xbSEWKAZ-no/s320/MOTORESS_INTL_FEMALE_RIDE_DAY_08newX250W.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196161400098056258" /></a><br />OK, so mother nature pissed all over us yesterday on International Female Ride Day, spearheaded in Canada last year by Vicki Gray, a motorcycle racer, instructor and coach who has been riding since 1983. She also founded the RaceGirl MotorSport and Motoress websites to promote motorcycling among women. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBx9UFBw6FI/AAAAAAAABFI/HTnwVhOnnqI/s1600-h/Gina+Brandi+%26+Vicki.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBx9UFBw6FI/AAAAAAAABFI/HTnwVhOnnqI/s320/Gina+Brandi+%26+Vicki.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196165853979142226" /></a><br /><br />Vicki's the blonde on the far right in the first photo, with Chic Riders Gina (far left) and Brandi (middle). She kicked off the day in Toronto Friday morning at Princes' Gate at Exhibition Place next to the Lakeshore. The pissy weather had an impact on how many women turned out for the kickoff, but it was followed by a short ride along the Lakeshore.<br /><br />Ontario Chic Riders came into town to a dinner to celebrate the day from as far south as Hamilton, as far west as London, and as far west as Ajax. That's us in the group photo in Shopsy's at Yonge and Front -- which, incidentally, is where Chic Rider Bike Nights are gonna be every Wednesday all summer. Left to right, bottom row, are: Lori, Sarah, and Gina. Left to right, top row: Me, Karen, Melissa, Camille, Nina, Vicky, Sarah and Alexandra. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBx0mFBw6DI/AAAAAAAABE4/YSiqpnxDl64/s1600-h/Chic+Riders+group+shot+IFRD.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBx0mFBw6DI/AAAAAAAABE4/YSiqpnxDl64/s320/Chic+Riders+group+shot+IFRD.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196156267612137522" /></a><br /><br />I'd promised Ontario Chic Rider prez Lori (far left, first seated row) that I'd swing by our meeting spot at the Goose & Firkin on Leslie north of York Mills to see if any of our members showed up to ride down together to our IFRD dinner. <br /><br />But most of the gals would have to ride in from the outskirts. Just getting to the Firkin would have been a long, soggy ride for most of 'em, so I had a lonely wait. Everybody else ended up taking their cages (cars) downtown. And were glad they did, cuz when we left after dinner there was a major downpour going on. <br /><br />The ride home? Damn. I climbed into my raingear and soldiered on home. I just LOOOOVE riding in the rain, especially in city traffic (NOT)!<br /><br />My raingear kept me dry but the steam from the engine kept fogging my visor cuz traffic wasn't moving fast enough for the air to clear it. I had to lift the visor just to see where I was going, so the rain was stinging my face. Annoying, but the worst part of riding in the rain with an open visor is that I wear glasses. When glasses get wet, you get halos around all the lights. Which, as all of us who wear corrective lenses know, improves visibility (all sarcasm intended) SOOO much. Ack.<br /><br />I coulda sworn I ordered that rainstorm for AFTER I got home. There musta been a mixup.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-34602038357951385532008-04-28T18:41:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:20:32.182-08:00The making of a road captain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBaK7lBw6CI/AAAAAAAABEw/_IPhuP9Teq8/s1600-h/Wally2.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBaK7lBw6CI/AAAAAAAABEw/_IPhuP9Teq8/s320/Wally2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194491976374872098" /></a><br /><br />This is my friend, Wally. Last summer I joined a riding group called the Southern Cruisers on his recommendation. He belongs to the chapter in Brampton and I belong to the one in Toronto.<br /><br />Every Southern Cruiser ride has a Road Captain, who rides in front and is responsible for setting the pace and leading the group through traffic. It also has what members of the SC call a Tail Gunner, who rides last and helps the Road Captain by doing things like changing lanes at the same time as the Road Captain so the rest of the group can change lanes safely in between the two of them.<br /><br />Most riding groups have some version of both. Members of GTAMotorcycle.com have a Ride Leader and a Sweeper, who brings up the rear and makes sure no one gets left behind.<br /><br />This past Sunday, Wally took his Road Captain test with his Brampton chapter, and led his first SC ride. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBaJklBw6BI/AAAAAAAABEo/gOp5GgfVnLk/s1600-h/Ready+to+Ride.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBaJklBw6BI/AAAAAAAABEo/gOp5GgfVnLk/s320/Ready+to+Ride.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194490481726253074" /></a><br /><br />Here is the group before the ride.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBaDjFBw6AI/AAAAAAAABEg/hxeL7V6F1NA/s1600-h/Finalizing+the+route.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SBaDjFBw6AI/AAAAAAAABEg/hxeL7V6F1NA/s320/Finalizing+the+route.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194483858886682626" /></a><br /><br />The last photo shows Wally discussing the ride route with Bill, the senior road captain who was along to observe. He still has to get input from the other road captains before Wally gets the green light to become a road captain. Fingers crossed!<br /><br />Postscript: Wally totally aced the whole thing and has been leading rides for his chapter of the Southern Cruisers all summer. I borrow him sometimes, too. He's a great ride leader!Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-27998276943347890902008-04-17T19:13:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:20:34.774-08:00First all-day ride of the season!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgKVwLemkI/AAAAAAAABC4/3kjwJO6c_00/s1600-h/DSCN0252.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgKVwLemkI/AAAAAAAABC4/3kjwJO6c_00/s320/DSCN0252.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190409939371072066" /></a><br /><br />My riding buddy Timothy had to go to Sturgess Cycle in Hamilton to pick up his new bike and the day was gorgeous, so I went with him. Here he is, with his new love.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgN8wLemmI/AAAAAAAABDI/MkGbA49nAwk/s1600-h/DSCN0257.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgN8wLemmI/AAAAAAAABDI/MkGbA49nAwk/s320/DSCN0257.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190413907920853602" /></a><br /><br /><br />And here he is, gearing up to ride!<br /><br />We hit up Snake Road in Burlington first. But that's a very short ride -- you can do it end to end and back the same way in 20 minutes. Timothy wanted to get a good feel for his new baby. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgOiALemnI/AAAAAAAABDQ/PpShkB8bRHs/s1600-h/DSCN0263.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgOiALemnI/AAAAAAAABDQ/PpShkB8bRHs/s320/DSCN0263.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190414547870980722" /></a><br /><br />After my disappointment checking out the condition of Southwood 13 yesterday, we figured most of the twisties up north would be in similar condition. Some of the fellas on the GTAMotorcycle.com boards said Forks of the Credit Road near Caledon here in Ontario was still pretty sandy. Highway 507 isn't very technically challenging, but it slaloms nicely and gets a lot of traffic, so decided to head up there to see if it was any cleaner.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgZUQLemtI/AAAAAAAABEA/zfpI60CugHU/s1600-h/Highway+507+copy.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgZUQLemtI/AAAAAAAABEA/zfpI60CugHU/s320/Highway+507+copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190426406275685074" /></a><br /><br />Here's a map of how to get to the 507 from the 401. The section from B to C is the part that is the 507. And here's a link to the <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=8085182364584534728,44.075747,-78.590698%3B10579920122651346763,44.740450,-78.331680%3B7981329376561024592,44.902210,-78.382040&saddr=44.075747,-78.590698&daddr=44.614912,-78.384018+to:CR-507+%4044.902210,+-78.382040&mra=dme&mrcr=0,1&mrsp=1&sz=11&jsv=107&sll=44.665234,-78.479462&sspn=0.227087,0.6427&ie=UTF8&ll=44.514135,-78.310547&spn=0.910699,2.570801&z=9">complete Google map</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgcCgLemuI/AAAAAAAABEI/EryEpzvb6_M/s1600-h/dscn0273.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgcCgLemuI/AAAAAAAABEI/EryEpzvb6_M/s320/dscn0273.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190429399867890402" /></a><br /><br />It was almost pristine. Here's a pic I took of Baby while I was waiting for Tim to ide by so I could get action shots of him on his new baby. There was some sand on the side of the road, but the road itself was quite clean. We were able to push the speed limit a little bit. Fast enough to get some nice leans on the sweeping curves.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgSlALemrI/AAAAAAAABDw/HyGas_sCtTY/s1600-h/DSCN0283.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgSlALemrI/AAAAAAAABDw/HyGas_sCtTY/s320/DSCN0283.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190418997457099442" /></a><br /><br /><br />Here are some nice shots of Timothy putting his new ZX-6R through her paces. <br /><br />You gotta admit the lad has excellent taste in his choice of colour. (grin)<br /><br />We looked *GOOD* riding together. I'm not prejudiced at all! (laughing)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgO8QLemoI/AAAAAAAABDY/Ie5eudKeuYQ/s1600-h/DSCN0280.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgO8QLemoI/AAAAAAAABDY/Ie5eudKeuYQ/s320/DSCN0280.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190414998842546818" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgRGQLempI/AAAAAAAABDg/1xUwkUvlq3A/s1600-h/DSCN0281.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgRGQLempI/AAAAAAAABDg/1xUwkUvlq3A/s320/DSCN0281.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190417369664494226" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgR5wLemqI/AAAAAAAABDo/77JfP_HpMus/s1600-h/DSCN0282.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAgR5wLemqI/AAAAAAAABDo/77JfP_HpMus/s320/DSCN0282.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190418254427757218" /></a>Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-17300706004451269882008-04-16T20:24:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:20:36.208-08:00Southbeach 13<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbRBALemjI/AAAAAAAABCw/A8qg_oDoMpk/s1600-h/Southwood+13+map.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbRBALemjI/AAAAAAAABCw/A8qg_oDoMpk/s320/Southwood+13+map.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190065435749292594" /></a><br /><br /><br />I was hoping to go on a couple of group rides this weekend up to Southwood 13 north of Orillia. If you click on the Google map on the right you'll get a better look at the road.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbGlQLembI/AAAAAAAABBw/QmnGcG570ZA/s1600-h/sandy+southwood+curve.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbGlQLembI/AAAAAAAABBw/QmnGcG570ZA/s320/sandy+southwood+curve.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190053963891644850" /></a><br /><br />But it was so full of sand during that glorious week-long thaw in January, I decided I better go scout it out before taking anyone up there. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbF0wLemaI/AAAAAAAABBo/bNOMl-HSsqA/s1600-h/southwood+at+the+beach.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbF0wLemaI/AAAAAAAABBo/bNOMl-HSsqA/s320/southwood+at+the+beach.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190053130667989410" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbHFgLemcI/AAAAAAAABB4/2eE35Ckw79A/s1600-h/sandy+southwood+curve2.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbHFgLemcI/AAAAAAAABB4/2eE35Ckw79A/s320/sandy+southwood+curve2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190054517942426050" /></a><br /><br />Good thing I did. <br /><br />Southbeach. <br /><br />That's what I'm calling it now. As you can see in the pix on the right, there is so much sand it might as well be one long, curvy beach. <br /><br />Never got out of 2nd gear the whole time -- and was in 1st for much of the time because the asphalt was so broken it was like riding on gravel.<br /><br />Even where there isn't sand, the winter heave has wreaked havoc with the asphalt and turned it into gravel-sized chunks. The road is almost impassable on a bike. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbI_QLemfI/AAAAAAAABCQ/TaL62e7No9U/s1600-h/southwood+broken+asphalt.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbI_QLemfI/AAAAAAAABCQ/TaL62e7No9U/s320/southwood+broken+asphalt.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190056609591499250" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbJhgLemgI/AAAAAAAABCY/CBs4CwDjqjQ/s1600-h/southwood+broken+asphalt2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbJhgLemgI/AAAAAAAABCY/CBs4CwDjqjQ/s320/southwood+broken+asphalt2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190057198002018818" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbKPwLemiI/AAAAAAAABCo/gJ2AbNDqW5Y/s1600-h/sothwood+broken+asphalt4.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_omUXCRi8MzY/SAbKPwLemiI/AAAAAAAABCo/gJ2AbNDqW5Y/s320/sothwood+broken+asphalt4.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190057992570968610" /></a><br /><br />I rode it as far as I could -- almost to the end -- but couldn't go more than a kilometre past the last railway crossing because the road was flooded. Forgot to take my camera out to get a pic of the flood, but on the way back (knew there wasn't anyone behind me) stopped a few times to chronicle the sad state of one of my very favourite twisties. <br /><br />Forget about riding Southwood for more than a month. It needs major repairs and several heavy rains before it's safe. Normally, it's 30 to 45 minutes from one end of Southwood to the other. Today, it took an hour and 15 minutes each way.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544733220912970063.post-48508875293692863802008-04-16T19:39:00.000-07:002008-04-22T18:04:17.736-07:00Baby's got new shoes -- and the riding season is open!Two weeks ago I went and picked up Baby from Brampton, where she was taking her winter nap in the garage at my friend Wally's house. It was barely above freezing, so I wore my heated gloves and Gerbings heated liners (they all daisy chain and plug into a harness I connected to the battery) under my leathers. Had an appointment at Riders Choice in Mississauga to get new tires and a chain put on her. Bought them as part of a special deal they offered at the bike show in January, and part of the deal was that the installation was free. <br /><br />Even inner-city roads and highways were still pretty messy that weekend. Some of the turns -- especially on highway ramps -- were pretty hairy because they were still full of gravel and sand. But the ride to the shop was mostly uneventful, if you don't count the ditzy woman in the Toyolla Coronary who decided to pass me on the inside of the "on" ramp to the 410 South off Sandalwood. Almost ran me into the guard rail. I don't think she was *TRYING* to run me into the guard rail. I just don't think she cared if she did.<br /><br />My friend Leslie, who had given me a lift to Brampton, was following me in her car. I could almost hear her cursing -- she's very protective when I'm on Baby. Thought for a minute she might try to chase after the ditz, so I started flashing peace signs. <br /><br />But idiots are everywhere in the GTA. If I let myself get upset every time someone pulls a boneheaded move like that I'd be constantly exhausted. So I concentrated on getting to Mississauga in one piece and enjoying the rest of the ride.<br /><br />Baby's old tires were touring tires, which aren't particularly suited for the kind of riding I like to do. The kind of riding I'm trying to learn to do. But at the beginning of last summer I thought I was going to be riding to Oregon and didn't want to have to change tires before I got back. So I had touring tires put on her. <br /><br />But then I couldn't find anyone to ride to Oregon with me, and still had touring tires. Regretted it many times over the course of last summer. Even on the ride down to North Carolina and Tennessee. Yes, that was touring -- but could have used sticky tires when I was on the Tail of the Dragon.<br /><br />LOOOOOOVE my new tires. Metzeler M3s: compound tires that are hard in the middle and soft on the sides. Really sticky. They fight me when I try to turn the bars when Baby's at a stop. <br /><br />It rained a lot that first week, so we didn't get out much -- just when the rain stopped for a little while. Didn't go far, because the rain came in spits and spurts. and never knew when it was going to start pouring again. But didn't really mind -- we needed the rain to wash away all the sand, and, in some places, ice that was still on the roads. <br /><br />And I'd just landed a whack of work (interesting stuff on the hydrologic system and how Canadians use water), so didn't have much time to ride last week, anyway. <br /><br />So this past Sunday -- my birthday -- was the first day I got out on Baby for more than a few minutes at a time. Rode her to a Chic Riders meeting at the Goose & Firkin on Leslie St. north of Lawrence. This was my second meeting with them. I signed up at a meeting in March. I think I'm going to like riding with these folks. They seem to be a really together group of women. It wasn't cold enough on Sunday to wear the Gerbings, but it *WAS* still cold enough that only two other women showed up on their bikes. So we didn't go for a group ride afterward.Liz-Metcalfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04797775065826888577noreply@blogger.com0