The Ride ...
Well, about 10 miles into it, I swear I wanted to turn back. It was bloody cold! I stopped and put on my rain pants, over top of the million other layers of clothes I had on, and it was better. The ride up to the lake shore was nice, the long straight roads with little traffic was lined side to side with trees of different colours. It was gorgeous.
Once I got to the Sutton area, and headed east on Hwy 48, I got pissed off at the morons in cars flying past me at ridiculous speeds nearly hitting me. North bound after port Bolster was a nice trip until Beaverton, where I had to head back on to Hwy 12 not having a map or clue where to go. As I rode up 12, my ass started to hurt, and I literally wanted to stop, get picked up and forget it. Then I finally got to the bridge near Couchiching, at that point I was reminded why I wanted to take this trip. The photo doesn't do it justice; I should have taken a picture of the Locks near there, which were great to see in action.
I stopped for a while at Couchiching Point, took some pics, and marveled again at how big this body of water is. I was admittedly worried until I got to Orillia whether the PC50 would hold up for this trip, but once I got there, I sort of forgot about it, and enjoyed the rest of the trip.
BIG mistake ... leaving Orillia, I saw a sign that said ... Hwy 12 to Hwy 11. Now Hwy 11, that’s Yonge street right? I nice normal street, moped friendly etc. WELL, I start driving, turning down some ramp, not really paying attention. Suddenly, I was face to face with a sign that indicated the speed limit was 100 ... Not wanting to U turn and go back I figured, go to the next exit and get the hell off there! That thought ... MISTAKE #2! Next exit ... dirt road going ... no idea where ... second, same thing. So at this point I am traveling on the shoulder of this super speed highway hoping a cop doesn't show up. Well, one did. He went flying past me full speed, I suddenly see red lights, then the cherries blinking away. Panic ... The exit for another road was right in front of me. I quickly got off, headed to the bridge over passing the highway, and saw to my relief, the cop had stopped all the traffic, to let someone grab a big piece of tire off the middle of the road, afterwards he moved and let them go. And the whole time i was making up excuses about how I was lost and didn't know, and I know mopeds are not allowed on highways etc ... I kept following that road, which ended up at Ridge Road. That was an excellent find. A long winding road which cut through forests along the lake shore. Just heaven for a moped. Some of the views of the lake from Ridge road were stunning. Check out the pics below. By the sizes of the houses, I guess these people paid for that view ...
Once in Barrie, I stopped at the bay, taking another short break. Two guys approached me, and started talking about the PC50, one of them also owned one. We talked for quite some time before I left again and headed to Yonge street, and followed Yonge back down. Some nice views again of rolling countryside near Bradford, and at Newmarket, I started heading back east again. I had decided not to follow the lakes south side as the concept of getting back was starting to look more than appealing after so many hours on the moped.
I made it back in one piece some 8 hours after starting, and all in all, it was an excellent ride. It's one of those you have to see it rides. Next year, earlier in the season, it would be great to do it all over again with some of the RCMP members... Was it worth it? 8 hours of riding … a really sore ass … and a couple of dollars of gas? You bet! Looking forward to doing it again!
Once I got to the Sutton area, and headed east on Hwy 48, I got pissed off at the morons in cars flying past me at ridiculous speeds nearly hitting me. North bound after port Bolster was a nice trip until Beaverton, where I had to head back on to Hwy 12 not having a map or clue where to go. As I rode up 12, my ass started to hurt, and I literally wanted to stop, get picked up and forget it. Then I finally got to the bridge near Couchiching, at that point I was reminded why I wanted to take this trip. The photo doesn't do it justice; I should have taken a picture of the Locks near there, which were great to see in action.
I stopped for a while at Couchiching Point, took some pics, and marveled again at how big this body of water is. I was admittedly worried until I got to Orillia whether the PC50 would hold up for this trip, but once I got there, I sort of forgot about it, and enjoyed the rest of the trip.
BIG mistake ... leaving Orillia, I saw a sign that said ... Hwy 12 to Hwy 11. Now Hwy 11, that’s Yonge street right? I nice normal street, moped friendly etc. WELL, I start driving, turning down some ramp, not really paying attention. Suddenly, I was face to face with a sign that indicated the speed limit was 100 ... Not wanting to U turn and go back I figured, go to the next exit and get the hell off there! That thought ... MISTAKE #2! Next exit ... dirt road going ... no idea where ... second, same thing. So at this point I am traveling on the shoulder of this super speed highway hoping a cop doesn't show up. Well, one did. He went flying past me full speed, I suddenly see red lights, then the cherries blinking away. Panic ... The exit for another road was right in front of me. I quickly got off, headed to the bridge over passing the highway, and saw to my relief, the cop had stopped all the traffic, to let someone grab a big piece of tire off the middle of the road, afterwards he moved and let them go. And the whole time i was making up excuses about how I was lost and didn't know, and I know mopeds are not allowed on highways etc ... I kept following that road, which ended up at Ridge Road. That was an excellent find. A long winding road which cut through forests along the lake shore. Just heaven for a moped. Some of the views of the lake from Ridge road were stunning. Check out the pics below. By the sizes of the houses, I guess these people paid for that view ...
Once in Barrie, I stopped at the bay, taking another short break. Two guys approached me, and started talking about the PC50, one of them also owned one. We talked for quite some time before I left again and headed to Yonge street, and followed Yonge back down. Some nice views again of rolling countryside near Bradford, and at Newmarket, I started heading back east again. I had decided not to follow the lakes south side as the concept of getting back was starting to look more than appealing after so many hours on the moped.
I made it back in one piece some 8 hours after starting, and all in all, it was an excellent ride. It's one of those you have to see it rides. Next year, earlier in the season, it would be great to do it all over again with some of the RCMP members... Was it worth it? 8 hours of riding … a really sore ass … and a couple of dollars of gas? You bet! Looking forward to doing it again!
posted by ]-[åRdFlóòR at 1:38 PM
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