2018 Advocate Harbour or "F is for Fun!"

So if you were keeping track, you would know that I've a new riding partner, CLine, and I've been racking my brain trying to come up with roads that she would like to ride. So far that's been a straight forward task, as her only trip off island this year had been to Shediac NB via the highway for the most part. Our first ride together was the Fundy FunDay ride, a couple of weeks ago, and this past weekend I decided she was ready for the Advocate Harbour day trip, but perhaps at a slower pace so she could polish her peg scraping skill...

Now that CLine and I were an item, we felt confident enough to invite the Red Isle Riders to join us, as well as some of our work colleagues along to join in on the fun. 

Day Tripping - Charlottetown PE to Advocate Harbour NS and return - 500 km 

Charlottetown PE to Advocate Harbour NS and return - 500 km

Looking this good so early in the morning is harder than you might think
Photo credit: CLine

CLine and I made it to the Irving down the street from my place, where I discovered I'd forgotten my wallet, AFTER pumping my gas! CLine loaned me enough to pay for my fuel and while she headed over to the Tim Horton's to meet up with the other riders we saw on our way to the Irving, I dashed back a few blocks to run upstairs and grab my wallet, then off to the Tim Hortons, feeling a bit foolish, but only a few minutes late. A great start to the day, no?

Cline had my back and after presenting me with a coffee and breakfast sandwich, we introduced ourselves around the table, then passed on some of my elementary group riding rules to set everyone's minds at ease, and it was off to the Irving near the Confederation Bridge to pick up the final member of our party for the day, CLine, myself, Chris on his Beemer, with Don and Michele pulling up the rear riding two up on his cruiser. 

We were supposed to meet up at the Irving for 0900 out by the bridge, but the rider thought we meant the Esso, and had already headed home as we were a bit late getting there, but as she had come off of night shift and was riding on 2 hours of sleep, I think it best that she sat this one out after all. 

We headed across the bridge and were only on 16 NB for a few minutes before turning off on 955 NB headed for Murray Corner, then we doubled headed across Blacklock Road and onto Hardy Road, back out to 16 for a short brap down to Port Elgin where we headed East on 940 NB towards Baie Verte and Tidnish Bridge Nova Scotia. 

I pulled into the wee park at Baie Verte expecting to see a couple of bikes behind me, and there were... But none of them were Chris or Don's! CLine and I were alone, and not two hours into the ride I had lost everyone else, somewhere in New Brunswick. *sigh* 

Photo credit: CLine

Lucky for me CLine figured that we would still have a great day, so after taking a few pictures, we hit the road to find Chris and Don just a short ways down the road in front of the Bistro Le Chat Bleu aka The Blue Cat Cafe in Baie Verte New Brunswick. I hear it's got good food which Chris confirmed, and one day I'll put in to try it, but it was early yet and time to get a move on towards our fuel and coffee stop in Amherst NB. 

Baie Verte NB at low tide

If you stay on 940 NB it will take into Tidnish Bridge Nova Scotia and end at the Sunrise Trail, 366 NS aka Tyndal Road that will hook up with Highway 6 and run you straight into the heart of Amherst where you need to head over to Highway 2 aka the Glooscap Trail where you will find gas stations and McDonalds in close proximity to the TransCanada 104 NS.

Saturday morning on a beautiful summer day, McDonalds seemed to be a pretty popular place, and the line up was fairly long. CLine and I tag teemed our washroom breaks while in the queue, using our new partnership for good, not evil.

Our ride was going to start once we got to Joggins NS, so we headed South East on 302 NS and then East on the 242 until we hooked up with the 209 out of Joggins that heads along the coast of Fundy Bay and takes you out to Chignecto Cape, a nice run of 57 kilometers out to Cape Chignecto Provincial Park, our photo stop for the afternoon, and a few minutes away from the only fuel this side of Amherst, the Irving in Advocate Harbour itself, but we still had an hour of riding to do before we got there, and as CLine had never been on this road before, I let her take the lead and away we went!

Maccan River NS

Maccan River NS

Bridge Selfie!

Maccan River NS
Photo Credit: CLine

It's a beautiful day to be on a bike

Chris rode on up ahead while we enjoyed the scenery and snapped a few pictures.

Don and Michele

CLine and I had a set of the older Cardo Scala G4 helmet communicators, and I was able to chat with her during the ride, as well as listen to our music. I have to say I quite enjoyed the experience. I had to tell her more than a few times, "I can't see any headlights behind me, would you mind pulling over for a bit until they catch us up?". She was working on her cornering technique and was learning how to take more speed into and out of the corners, for that is all this road is, one corner after another, although the surface isn't in the best of shape. I'd watch the rear suspension of her bike soak up the first big bump, then rebound in a classic 1/4 cycle decay.

1/4 Cycle Decay after a setpoint error

So the spring rebounds full stroke as seen in the diagram above, then the next rebound is 1/4 of the stroke, then 1/4 of the 1/4 and so on until the suspension returns to the setpoint. Basically it looks like she needs to adjust the sag on her rear shocks and adjust the rebound and dampening if possible to rid the rear end of the "pogoing" when going over the rough stuff.

ADVRider salute! FYYFF!
Photo Credit: CLine

We had a grand time, and made it up the road to the East Branch Apple River where we pulled over to get a few more pictures of the river and other things.

Want some help? A push perhaps?
Photo Credit: CLine

East Branch Apple River, Apple River  NS
Photo Credit: CLine

Photo Credit: CLine

This isn't working quite as well as I had hoped. 

Photo Credit: CLine

The new bridge was laid right on top of the old pilings. Remember that when you drive your transport truck down this road.
Photo Credit: CLine

That last stop led us up to the stop sign in Apple River NS where the 309 heads right and on through New Salem and down to Chignecto Bay, where there is a T-Junction that will take you out to Chignecto Bay Provincial Park on West Advocate Road. While on that road, I began to think about how much CLine and I enjoyed each other's company, and what would I do if one or the other were to become injured? I found myself chatting on the intercom with her, mimicking the voice of a high pitched insurance salesman as I warned her that "Motorcycling is dangerous, and perhaps we should take up a nice safe sport, such as Monopoly board games?" when she replied "Don't get soft on me, Ron." and all I could respond with was gales of laughter. :D


We made it out the park at last where we parked the bikes, while Chris went on ahead of us to the gas station in town. Time for some gratuitous photos!

Photo Credit: CLine

 It's such a beautiful area, and still quite popular on this September weekend.

Photo Credit: CLine

Photo Credit: CLine

Photo Credit: CLine

 It was time to get moving as it was well past lunch time and I still had a couple of spots I wanted to show CLine before we headed to the Wild Caraway Restaurant  in Advocate Harbour.

Photo Credit: CLine

The Harbour is on a lee shore, and as such, the waves roll right on up the beach, so a stone breakwater was repaired and improved in the past couple of years, which leads to huge amounts of driftwood being washed up along the shoreline.

Photo Credit: CLine

We didn't see a single straw, but we did find lots of this stuff.
Photo Credit: CLine

Photo Credit: CLine

Can you read the sign Ron?
Photo Credit: CLine

Wild Roses abound along the shoreline.
Photo Credit: CLine

Photo Credit: CLine

 We headed over to the Irving where we found Chris, Don and Michele waiting for us, so CLine topped off her tank and we headed down the road to the restaurant to sit down on the patio and order our meals. The last time I was through here, I stopped in the parking lot briefly and chatted with one of the kitchen staff,
who just happened to ride a Suzuki DR250e and had been parked near a Yamaha XT 250 and I asked the wait staff who had ridden in the Yamaha XT parked out there solo this afternoon, and while relating the story to my friends at table, the lady at the table behind me said "Hi, That was me and my bike you were talking about." We had a laugh over that, and got back to the serious matter of ordering our food.

Turn your head or your monitor sideways ;)
Photo Credit: CLine

 Cline ordered the fish cakes with salad, while I favoured the roast beef sandwich on fresh baked rolls. They serve their own signature rolls with butter as appetizers, which have caraway and dulse baked into them. Such a wonderful flavour, that I could have happily dined on their rolls and butter! My Aunt Sue was right when she recommended I stop here for a meal next time I was out this way. CLine shared a fish cake with me in return for a part of my sandwich, and I can't tell you which I preferred, but those fish cakes were simply delicious as was the sandwich.

Fish Cakes
Photo Credit: CLine

Photo Credit: CLine

Don and Michele are enjoying the afternoon
Photo Credit: CLine

Sarah's Yamaha XT250

It turns out that Sarah was the pilot of the Yamaha, and was working the cash on our way out, and we chatted about riding the beach where I'd met Allen on his KLR a couple of years ago, a fellow motorcycle and dog lover, computer geek and photographer. Sarah claimed his friendship as well, and smiled as she shook my hand. I was happy to match another rider to dual sport bike, and look forward to coming back again next season to say hello again.

 Someone at the gas station had warned our party that there was a load of gravel strewn across the corner coming into town, and as I knew there was a tight 30kph corner up ahead, I warned CLine to slow down for it and take it easy until I saw nothing in the corner up ahead but a few scattered bits of stones here and there. I silently scoffed myself for being such a worry wart, and got on the throttle myself once into the corner.

This was CLine's first time riding this area, and only her second off the island, so I gave her some pointers on how to handle downhill reducing radius corners and the like. That is,

SLLuR

• SLOW the bike down in a straight line (brakes and downshift into the correct gear)
• LOOK through the corner to your exit
• LEAN the bike using counter steering
• ROLL on the throttle smoothly and gradually once past the apex

The key I find is to downshift while heading downhill so the engine retards your progress, not clutch in with brakes, as you will have a lot of problems turning the bike when you do that, and free wheeling with the clutch in can be disastrous if you ever do need to get off those brakes again at some point. 

Anyhow, she was doing well, and was clearly enjoying herself, to the point where we had to pull over and wait again up near the blueberry fields of Kirkhill NS, at the junction of 209 and 2, where we would be turning North on 2 and head that way back up towards Amherst and our return leg home to the Island.  But we managed a bit of a kerfuffle, and Don and Michele missed us while waiting so far away from the road, and rode right past and TOOK THE WRONG TURN for Parrsboro! I was waving and pointing the other way, and thankfully Michele spotted us, and began beating on poor Don until he found a place to pull a U-Turn and head back that-a-way where we dutifully pulled in behind him and headed North on 2, the Glooscap Trail.

If you look at the map, the 302 branches off to the left and heads up towards Amherst, but in a lazy cozy fashion, and incidentally, avoiding a detour that would put Chris and his lovely BMW on a kilometer of gravel, so taking that turn to the left off of 2 puts us in good shape to enjoy the scenery and retrace our steps for a short while.

It was about four in the afternoon when we pulled into the shopping mall in Amherst to have a Timmie's and decide that the ride was almost over, they had the option of taking the highway home, or following CLine and I as we retraced our route back through Baie Verte and out to Murray Corner again. I was having such a wonderful time riding with her, that I didn't want to see the day end. 

Finally, a photo of Chris!
Amherst NS

We waved farewell as they headed out to hit the highway, then enjoyed ourselves as we headed through downtown Amherst, North up 366 to Tidnish Bridge NS, then along the 970 into Baie Verte and on into Port Elgin where we turned East on 15 until Hardy Road where we headed North through Little Shemogue and onto Blacklock Road out to 955 that would take us through Murray Corner and back out to 15, but much closer to the bridge this time. As we were making our way out, I found myself asking CLine to take it easier and ride carefully, as in my experience, the end of a long day is when I am most likely to get caught out by a mistake or wildlife. "Don't get soft on me, Ron." was all I heard, that and the sound of her pipes as the engine roared.

Seriously though, we both brought our speed down as it was now that time of night for the wildlife to make an appearance, and if you did a search for "Bambi vs Bandit" you would understand why I have a healthy bit o deer fear.

Cows at pasture looking out over McKay's Creek NB

CLine waits patiently for me to take the picture above. "We have cows on the island too, you know?"

"But CLine, it's the golden hour!"

 Once we hit the on ramp back onto the 15, CLine accelerated down it, while my chain decided this was the opportune time to grind away threatening to pop off the sprocket! That JT chain was now so loose that I needed to stop roadside to tighten it right away, a first for me!

This is what happens when you go cheapo on parts for your bike!
Photo Credit: CLine

 While I was tightening the chain, CLine asked me about her rear tire, and why some it looked so scrubbed and sandpapery and I proudly told her "Because you got a good heat cycle going on the rubber, and the pressure make it want to spall and roll off the surface." I had to then explain tire warmers, sport bikes and "Chicken Strips" etc to her, after giving her a big roadside hug. ;)

The floor boards prevent you from truly using all of the traction available.
Photo Credit: CLine

Photo Credit: CLine

Hair by Arai and CKX

We crossed the bridge and headed into the Borden-Carleton Esso where there was a classic car that I'm sure my Dad would be able to name in a second...

I love this shot. 

And after filling our tanks, we headed up the Trans Canada 1 then turned off onto 10 to shoot across over through Tryon PE and head back in to Charlottetown where we put away the bikes. 

I hope you enjoyed tagging along half as much as I did riding it.

Cheers!

2018 The O’Leary Fail Ride

There was no plan. So this isn’t really about a failure at all, as I had promised myself that I would do grownup things on Sunday, like dishes, laundry and cleaning, but when my riding partner of the Fundy FunDay ride offered free tea in O’Leary Prince Edward Island, all I could think about was Medium or Large and how quickly I could tighten my loose chain that morning before meeting up with Caroline?

Near Abrams Village PE on Route 11

She lured me under false pretences to meet up with her in Charlottetown, with a cuppa tea and a ride on the Island as the bait. I can’t place all the blame on her though, as I enjoyed the thought of riding with her again and was quick to take her up on the offer. I'd just finished tightening the chain as she rolled up into the parking lot of the Grafton Street Tim Horton's in Charlottetown, and listened to her lies about our destination, and how we would get there. Oh, she made it sound soooo good, and when I innocently asked her if she wouldn't mind stopping in at my sisters place so I could spoil my four footed friend Zippy, she quickly agreed, and we were off winding our way through Charlottetown traffic with me in the lead, just as she had planned.

Day Tripping - Charlottetown PE to Nowhere near O'Leary PE - 235 km

Nope, not even close to O'Leary

Hindsight leads me to believe that she wanted to lull me into a false sense of security by letting me have my way as long as it had no bearing on her scheme. And I admit to falling for the bait, hook line and sinker, thinking that there could be nothing better than introducing my friend Zippy, the Jerk Russell Terrorist to my new friend Caroline, and getting to meet the newest addition to my sister's family, Mosby, a four month old mutt that was mostly Jack Russell with a bit of Blue Healer, and tons of sass in him.

The Zipper, the Zipperooni, El Zipporo!
The Old Man

As we were rolling through Summerside, that 30 percent chance of showers in the forecast seemed to mean that if we turned back and rode the way we came post haste, we might have a 70 percent chance of staying dry, but it was not to be, for even the immanent threat of rain would not deter this girl, and I found myself riding through Miscouche until she turned south on Lady Slipper Drive, then north onto Route 11, all while we got 100 percent wet.

The good news is that underneath that gray sky there was a line of blue, and after only a few minutes the rain tapered off, and the road started to dry out as did my visor.

Prince Edward Island is the home to a rather large Acadian population, fiercely proud of their heritage, with the yellow start bedecked blue, white, and red flags seen everywhere as we rode further north along the coast. Caroline pulled over in front of Église catholique de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel, a landmark that is impossible to miss on this side of the island.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Parish Church/ Église catholique de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel

 For the first time I examined one of the crosses that stand atop each fence post to find that they are all individual, and placed there in memoriam of an individual or family.

Parents freres a soeurs defunts D' Albeni Gallant.

 "Deceased parents, brothers and sisters of Albeni Gallant"

the graveyard is well cared for and immaculate

Photo credit: C-Line

 We headed further north along 11, until I I simply had to take a couple of shots, and Caroline pulled a U-turn to come back and get a couple of her own while I captured the "Truck on the front lawn" version of rural Atlantic Canada.

It's a fixer upper! We can have it in the water for you next week!

The view of the Haldmand River where it meets the atlantic Photo credit: C-Line

 I thought Caroline was going to turn north onto 11 at Abrams Village, but we continued our merry way on 124 through Urbainville, and I'm glad she did, as when she realized her mistake and pulled into a vacant parking lot to explain, I said I'd be just up the road taking a couple of shots of the hay bales and dark rain clouds in the distance.

The hay fields near Urbainville PE

100 percent chance people are getting wet under those rain streamers

 We managed to make the corner onto 11 north, and had just passed a pond off to the right when Caroline pulls over in a church parking lot and asked me if I wanted to go back and check it out. "Sure! Let's go!", when clearly I should have responded "Bien sûr, allons-y!".  And so we were introduced to Arsenault Pond in Egmont Bay PE, a cozy little place that was simply bright with sunlight, bees collecting pollen, and the odd duck or three.

I was duped. Completely oblivious to the fact that she had lured me to this remote oasis of beauty in the middle of nowhere where her the final phase of her plan could be put into action...

Photo Credit: C-Line

Arsenault Pond, Egmont Bay PE

The bees are hard at work.

Photo credit: C-Line

Photo credit: C-Line

Did I mention that it was a brisk 16 degrees celsius? But not at the pond. The sun was overhead and it was warming up quite a bit, and after walking around for a while we stripped off to take advantage of the warm sun... Or rather I tried to, for the of my jacket's zipper refused to release, and Caroline wandered over to help me with it , but in the end I had to pull the jacket over my head and wrestle with it for a few minutes before it finally let go, and this is the replacement zipper I had put in a few years ago. *sigh* I can just imagine the next text message... 

"Hi Caroline, how is your ride with Ron going?"

"Sorry, can't talk now, I'm helping him with his zipper."

I need help with this... Vise Grips might work.

Why did I entitle this the O'Leary ride fail? We found ourselves talking, then holding hands.

"Brace yourself, I'm going to kiss you." 

Swellegant, ain't I? Suave, sophisticated and debonair are characteristics that I can never be accused of, but I can pop a decent wheelie and get my knee down in the corner. I can tell you where this is going, one parking spot for the bikes at work. Extra input in the planning stages for the rides, and someone to share the pain of PMS - Parked Motorcycle Syndrome this winter. :D

"I think there is an ant crawling into my ear!" Shhhh! you'll spoil the moment!

The plan? To find out if I wanted to keep adventuring with her until the cold drove us in doors and the bikes had to be put on battery tenders for the end of the season, and it turns out I'm totally down with that. I envision two batteries hooked up in parallel waiting for the spring, isn't that romantic? :D

It was getting on in the day, and time to admit that we were never destined to reach O'Leary today, so Caroline took the lead and we headed into Tyne Valley for supper.

Back into Miscouche, watching the setting sun illuminate the beautiful yellow canola growing in the area and through Summerside and on into Charlottetown, but not the direct way, oh no! We were doing fine until she let me take the lead and I took us onto Blueshank and a few back roads that led us right back into the loose gravel construction site I'd managed to avoid earlier during the daylight! Then to add insult to injury, I took her down my favourite road in the area only to find that I'd forgotten the last kilometer of it was a dirt road, so I slowed down, keeping my pace to what I thought would work for a Shadow, but she passed me! Game on, girl!

For revenge she turned south off of Kinkora road onto Route 13, or "Snake road" and waved me ahead of her. I wicked up, turned on my high beam and really enjoyed the first couple of corners, but soon realized that as much as I loved this road in the daytime, I simply couldn't see the exit and was in danger of looking for firewood the hard way, that is with a mitt full of front brake hurtling off into the woods snapping branches and saplings until I hit something that snapped me. Nope, not going to happen so I slowed down and admitted to myself that I'd much rather get home in one piece. That was the warmest part of the ride for me, after that the cool air seemed to get colder and colder. The heated grips got turned up and up until I could feel the heat on my palms and had to turn it down again. This the first decent test of the new aftermarket stator, and it passed with flying colours.

Women take forever to get ready!

We stopped in Cornwall as the Shadow goes to reserve around the 200km mark whereas the Versys hits it near 300km. (Shhh! Don't tell her that I plugged in my heated jacket! She'll think I'm a wuss!), and later on at a convenient Tim Horton's to warm up and chat some more.

Kinda neat to be holding hands with your riding buddy, don'tcha think? Try it out sometime, but not with my girl, she's taken. ;)

Look for the two of us off island next weekend, perhaps St. Martins or Advocate Harbour again. Cheers!

P.S. I felt so guilty about plugging in, that I'm loaning her my heated vest for the next ride so I can ride in comfort and not pretend to shiver with cold at the next stop. I'm not that good an actor.