With the weekend winding down we headed back to the headquarters. Those that were still there went around and gave their "See you laters" to everyone! All in all "Wasaga" was the perfect bike weekend! It had a great place to party, a cool place to cruise to, and all of it happened in a setting with a lot of great atmosphere. It was the perfect place and event to get away to! . A big vote of thanks goes to Tom, Rennie, Scott, Michelle, Boris and Angie. And to Ducky, Mike and all the other volunteers! Thanks to you guys this was one hell of a great time! . And also a special Thanks to the Prize Donators: Milo, Rhalf-Chopperdome, Tony Bellus, Scott Fraser, Scott Wilson, Sam(Firebikes) . It really was my pleasure to be a participant at this incredible event! Thanks everyone! . |
FRIDAY MORNING I woke up early on June 15th; well, early for me that is, at about 9 a.m.! This was it; I dragged my ass out of bed, took a quick shower, and then started to take inventory of what we needed for our journey. I persuaded my old friend Jason (actually quite young compared to me) to come along for this trip to "Wasaga Beach", which is north of Toronto in Ontario Canada. I had already filled Jason in on the details: kustom bikes, partying, riding, and more partying! This convinced Jay that the trip would be a wholesome learning experience, especially when he heard the news that liberal-minded people from Amsterdam were going to attend! . It was my intention to leave town by 12:30p.m. However, Jay was having trouble with his VW, and couldn't leave until it was working well enough for his girlfriend to use. We spent an hour looking for a replacement hose fitting in an auto graveyard. After some greasy hunting on our part a "fitting" miraculously appeared, in a "Jetta" with a bees nest inside it! After a lot of waving and swatting we bagged our prey, and headed back to my place to finish the job! . While Jay worked on his car I packed my old Honda Civic with two chopper bicycles and our luggage! I wasn't sure if everything was going to fit either. Even though I had taken my new bike completely apart, it seemed like the car was just about to run out of interior space! Luckily, when the last item of luggage was squeezed into the trunk (a bottle of Jack Daniels!) I knew that nothing important was going to be left behind! . Jason finished repairing his car's cooling system with loads of gasket sealer and red silicone! This fix, along with securing a large jug of water in the backseat (just in case), and Miranda (his girlfriend) was ready to take to the road! We were now free to check out of London and head North for Wasaga! It was now 3:15p.m. . I decided to avoid the main highways going east, and headed north out of town towards our destination. I figured this would be the more interesting route, as we would be going through towns that probably hadn't changed much since the Canadian centennial back in 1967. It was warm inside the car; in fact it was hot as hell, despite our going 110km an hour with the windows down! . The small towns on the way did not disappoint, some had many buildings made of stone, others had main streets right off a 1940s postcard! One old town had so many railway tracks running through it that they constructed a series of elevated iron walkways overtop, so pedestrians could pass safely. It was the damndest thing you ever saw! Stuck in time, the town was strangely quiet; with the iron rails and walkways rusting away. All the trains are gone now, except for one old locomotive, overrun with weeds, sitting at the edge of a little park. It was a reminder of days gone by, for the dwindling number of people who could still recall. I want to go back and look around someday, that is if I can remember the town's name and how to get there! . We continued, heading northeast now. I was telling Jason that I had been to the Collingwood/Wasaga Beach area as a boy, back in the early 70s before he was born. I also tried to amuse Jason by telling him that Wasaga Beach was also Canada's longest freshwater topless beach! "Topless eh!" barked Jason, with a look of skepticism! Jason then asked me where I heard that tidbit of B.S.! I told him that by law (in Ontario) both women and men have the freedom to go shirtless in any public place; so in theory "Wasaga Beach" which is our longest freshwater beach, would also have to be considered the longest freshwater "topless" beach! Jason shook his head and laughed, telling me that I was "so full of it"! Laughing back, I said to him "well, that is the theory anyways, as I see it"! Jason did find the story amusing though, so, mission accomplished! . After a number of hours we approached the hills of Collingwood, the final sign that our destination was not very far away! We gained altitude as we approached, climbing ever nearer to the peak. Then, at the summit, and all at once, a flood of memories filled me, as I looked down beyond the town of Collingwood, and saw the great basin of blue water that was Wasaga Beach, just off in the near distance! . It was still low season for the area's cottagers, and it would still be a few weeks till all the kids were out of school for the summer! This meant that "we" (the riders) would be free and clear of the pandemonium that was coming in less than a month! Passing through Collingwood was a trip! It's the kind of place that revels in staying the same year after year! We passed nautical shops with their windows full of brass and memories. Taverns had names like "The Blue Whale" and the streets were only mildly busy. We continued driving till we reached the shore, and then turned right. Continuing, we passed out of Collingwood until we finally reached the left turn that would take us into "Wasaga", and to our cabin in the woods! . The damned maps I brought weren't very helpful! But, I managed to reorganize after driving out past some cornfields. I reset my inner compass, got my bearings in order, and took the road near the water. The sundown was peeking low through the trees, telling me I had better get to my destination, and fast! Then, we rounded a corner, and immediately turned at the Grunting Frog restaurant; 50 feet more along this road and we had arrived at our destination! The "Woodland Cedars" family cottages. Our official crash pad for the three day event, stared us in the face! . I settled up with the landlady, then we checked out our cabin's interior. It looked like the 70s, smelled like the 70s, and it felt like the 70s. I knew I was going to like it! Jason took the room that you could close the door on; I took the one next to the bathroom and kitchen. After unloading the bedding we put the liquid groceries into the freezer, and then set off to get our choppers assembled. We didn't have a lot of time. We were losing the light, and the sun was going down fast! Jason grabbed some money and went up to the Grunting Frog for some burgers. He came back in a flash, saying our order was in, but, that it was going to take about 15 minutes to cook! I said "cool" knowing that it was just enough time for us to assemble and test ride our machines. . We wrenched the bikes together in record time, which allowed Jason to run back up to the beanery for our food. My ride for this cruise was a purple bike that I had fabricated over the previous 10 days. It's "spray bomb" paint job was so fresh you could smell it hardening! I hadn't even ridden the thing yet, except for once, during an early driveline check. While Jason was down the street retrieving our grub, I took my new bike out for its maiden run! The 9 foot chopper felt good and rode fine! It passed the initial test with no mechanical issues, so, I turned it around and headed back to the cabin for my combo dinner. |
FRIDAY EVENING: THE NIGHT OF BLOOD AND MANGLED SPOKES! With full bellies and an itching to ride, we took off by chopper down the road. Even without a map we had a pretty good idea of where we had to go. We could hear the destination, and it was just around the next corner! The neighborhood was a green jungle of foliage, with many of its cottages still shuttered tight. As we approached the headquarters we started to see people and bikes, everywhere. Some riders started to assemble on the street. I recognized some familiar faces, and they recognized me; hands waiving! I leaned my bike up against a tree and headed to the backyard. . The first person I came across was Sam McKay of "Firebikes"; I walked up behind him and swatted his arm, saying "Dammit Sam, it's about time you bloody well showed up!" Sam turned and laughed, then shook my hand, asking me what took us so long! "Explanations are never adequate" I said. Sam said I had to be introduced to a couple of people before we went for the night cruise; he escorted me past the barbecue and approached a guy wearing a brown Chopaderos vest, a cowboy hat, and drinking a bottle of Budweiser! Sam said "John, this is Rhalf from the Chopperdome" Rhalf immediately greeted me with a handshake saying "at last we meet John!" I smiled and said "damned right man, it's very cool we finally got to meet each other!"! . Immediately joining the group was a young guy sporting a beard and sunglasses, as soon as he talked I recognized his voice from my phone conversations with him! I laughed and said "Dammit Nick, you truly are a sick individual"! This was the first time I had the privilege to meet "Sic Nick" of "Sickustoms" in the flesh! Nick burst out with "Holy shit Brain, we were wondering when you'd get here!" After some small talk with the group Sic Nic yelled out to nearby Eric Hannan with some humorous profanity! Hannan greeted us with a smile and handshakes, kidding Nick and asking when the hell the cruise was going to begin! Someone yelled out to our host Tom "da Bomb" about the evening ride, to which he replied "It's happening now I think, yeah, it's happening now man, lets cruise!" . That was the cue needed; it sent everyone off furiously to mount their rides! I wrestled my own bike into the general direction of the pack, and lit a cigar! There was no official start but a number of the more anxious riders decided to immediately blast off into the approaching darkness! Everyone WHO was left looked at each other and agreed that we had better get the action started, and we did! The air was warm as we rode, the only light on the majority of backstreets was an occasional porch light, and the headlights some of the bikes had! I was way back in the pack. On one of the longer streets we passed down I could see the long line of bikes ahead of me, illuminated by an occasional street light. We were moving right along too, freaking out a few pedestrians and dogs as they stopped to check out the procession. . The group approached the Wasaga tourist core, which was eerily quiet! The souvenir shops were closed and dark. The lake ahead was a large black expanse; edged with the dimmest of purple light on the horizon. The street lights lining the main drag near the water were dim and scattered. For me it was like time traveling, you could just taste it! A cool breeze was coming off the water, as some of the riders stopped to take in the quiet surroundings. Patches of sand were scattered on the roadway ahead of us. We were the only ones there! No one else was around to disturb our thoughts! . Moving off the beach, we headed towards another section of town and a local bar. Traffic was minimal and the hassles were non-existent! There were a few police scattered around the vacant streets. They were parked in their cars at the core intersections, but they seemed content, and distant. . The bar was lightly attended and there was plenty of room out front to relax and check out the other machines! Mike of "Mike Bikes" was showing everyone the wild lighting installed on his green chopper, it was like neon ground effects, and it also had a killer head and tail light set up! People were enjoying themselves quite well, and everyone kept a close eye on one young drunkard, who seemed more brain damaged than hammered! Dave AKA "One legged rider" had a select choice of flavoured cigars that took my fancy; we talked tobacco, smoked, and mused on some technical questions for a while! My buddy Jay was inside checking out the action, Sam McKay was playing pool and sticking "Firebikes" stickers on everything that didn't move, and sometimes on things that did! . After about an hour (with everyone tightened up and fueled) we mounted our bikes and hit the road! I would say that the majority of people were feeling extremely relaxed! Luckily our gracious hosts were leading the way, or we would have been hopelessly lost. About half way back is when the evenings refreshments really started to kick in! Things were starting to resemble the beginnings of a grand prix race, with people making wild zigzagging maneuvers. Everyone was being especially talkative as well, which kept the pack very close together, maybe too close! . Someone bumped Hannan's rear tire at one point, jarring him! Hannan found it amusing that someone would try and tangle with his 300mm tire that way, in return Eric gently nudged the rear tire of the offending bike, getting the attention of its practical-joking owner! Then it seemed like everyone was getting into the bumping action. I got nudged from behind by someone's front tire, but it wasn't enough to put me off balance. . At that point I retreated to the rear of the pack, sensing the possibility that things could get out of hand at any moment. Suddenly, in the next instant, I could see two riders colliding in a fury of grinding metal! Bikes and owners crashing to the ground! It was Sam McKay and Boris! Both riders were laid out on the asphalt, tangled under their machines! The calamity happened beneath a streetlight and I could see that Sam's legs and one arm were bleeding quite profusely! Boris got himself off the ground, and tried to separate the two bikes, but they were locked together tight, like two dogs in heat! Then, with help from the other riders, the bikes were pried apart from one another. Sam's bike managed to remain ridable, but Boris' machine had a completely mangled front wheel! Once a few phone calls were made (to take care of the situation) the pack took off again for Tom's and Scott's place. Sam and Boris both survived, to tell the tale another day! . Friday night ended around a campfire in Toms and Scott's backyard. Smoke from various sources kept the mosquitoes away, while much of the conversation centred around the evenings events. It was "get acquainted" time, and that's just what everyone did till about three in the morning, when Jay and I rode back to our crash pad for some needed rest! |
SATURDAY MORNING I woke up with a minor headache, but otherwise okay. It was looking like another beautiful day! I jumped on my chopper and rode down to the corner store to get some Twinkies and a coffee. When I got back, Jay was just about finished getting ready, and I suggested we hit the grunting frog for breakfast. We locked up and headed down the street. Like the night before we had to wait an unbelievably long time for our food to arrive! I almost fell asleep at our table. One of the other weekenders saw us, and rode by to say the group was anxious to start cruising! We agreed, and said we would get there as soon as possible. The food was passable (when it finally arrived) and we made quick work of it. The food experience was interspersed with our checking out the local talent; seated at the next picnic table. Great scenery! . Back at Tom and Scotts we encountered a lot more people than the night before! I could see that Mike Jones and Tony DeBellis had arrived. Along with a lot of people that I didn't recognize, yes, things were shaping up quite nicely! I started milling around, introducing myself to people, and talked about bike things. I approached one individual who was sitting on his bike and said "Hi, I'm John Brain, how are you", he smiled and said "I'm Awesome!. awesome Dave!" I said yeah that I remembered his name! I told Dave ("Awesome") that I was glad he could make it to the cruise! . Everyone was anxious to move out and get cruising, so it didn't take long to get all the bikes over and onto the street. Our hosts Tom & Rennie, and Scott & Michelle had everything well planned out. A bike ambulance would be on call if anyone broke down, and people would be there at the beach to keep an eye on our rides. . We headed out again, this time with a much larger number of riders! People stopped what they were doing to check out the pack as it went by. One guy got so excited at the sight of the kustom bikes that he jumped up and down and slapped his knees in excitement! The neighborhoods we went through were old, and had a timeless feel to them. I saw something really cool on one street we passed down; it was an ancient "mini golf" whose course had obviously not been used in about 20 years! The concrete garden gnomes behind its fence were so weathered that you could hardly make out the faces on them. I wish I had got a picture of the place! . Wasaga's core was busier now; obviously more people had showed up that morning to open their cottages. The beach was packed with cars and people. Our cruise coincided with an annual hot rod show taking place in the Wasaga tourist area. We staggered with our bikes through the crowd, and found a vacant area to park our machines. Everyone soon scattered to check out the Rods and the $5 souvenir shops. A group of us wandered into a second floor patio bar to get a vantage point above the action! We could see Hannan down below, with about 15 people checking out his bike, he was obviously answering a lot of questions. We relaxed and downed a few cold ones under the shade. The service was slow but adequate, we survived! . We made out OK amongst the crowd, but eventually everyone got anxious to hit the road again. The trip back was leisurely, through parks and trails, down one way streets the wrong way, holding up traffic at intersections etc. All part of the day's excitement! |
SATURDAY EVENING Saturday evening's base camp consisted of burgers, steaks and cocktails. And at one point Sam McKay inducted Tom"Da Bomb", Rennie, and myself into the Ontario Canada chapter of the Chopaderos bicycle club, presenting each of us with the club's insignia! A very cool thing to be part of, especially since it's international and full of dedicated bike enthusiasts! The base had bikes everywhere, I think every tree must have had a bike leaning against it. I settled down for some Doritos and J.D on the rocks, while my friend Jay was busy entertaining "Ducky" and talking to some of the new arrivals! After a long bout of partying someone announced that the bike toss event was about to commence down at the beach. I joined the main group and headed over on my bike, Jason followed on the yellow bike, double riding with "Ducky", which ended with their wiping out in the sand! It was interesting to see how the ingestion of alcohol and smoke affected some participants' ability to throw a bike! One toss ended up in the lake, another participant swung and swung, and eventually just fell over! The Dutch team (Rhalf) ended up on top for this event, making it seem like a piece of cake! With the beach toss over, everyone headed back to the party! I don't know what time I got back to our cabin later that night, but it was late. My memory fails to recall the details! |
SUNDAY MORNING I rolled out of bed, desperately searching for the Tylenol bottle! I had a Twinkie and some Doritos in an attempt to fill the void. Then I checked on Jason and found him still in bed, semi-comatose, but doing okay. The morning's plan was to go out for breakfast with the group, and then move on to the drag races. We assembled at Tom and Scott's, checking out the living dead as they rose from their graves. I felt at one with them! Sic Nick's trike was hanging from a pole 20 feet in the air, so I took a photo of it. Everyone was in surprisingly good shape considering how little sleep they all got! At one point Sic-Nick had to use a "Wasaga Beach 07"cruise sign to cover up when his clothes went missing! . When all was finally in order we mounted our bikes, and moved out onto the street. Everyone was taking things a little slower this time around. Our breakfast destination was "Donna's Place" the sign outside said "all day" and "breakfast"! Little did we know that the "all day" part referred to the length of time it would take to get our food! We had nothing to do but wait around on the deck for what seemed an eternity! . I told "OneleggedRider" Dave that I was just about hungry enough to eat one of his chocolate-flavoured cigars! Then, I made the mistake of leaving my camera unattended on the picnic table; when I came back I found that someone had used it to photograph the waitresses' ass about 10 times (I laughed)! We finally left after sitting around for an hour and a half, some had received their food order, and others had not! A chocolate flavoured cigar would have been better after all! |
The last event was the drag races. Timed and clocked with precision. Everybody participated, even me! I was actually surprised at how well the event went off. The kustom bikes on hand could actually get up to some pretty good speed! Boris won the overall men's title and Angie won the ladies round! Some weekend awards were handed out at this time too. The "public's favorite cruiser" award went to Sic Nick for his air-ride trike, with Hannan's machine coming in for a tight second. "Bike toss" award went to Rhalf from Amsterdam. Best "Wipe out" went to Sam Mckay from Saskatchewan. Boris took a special award for "team spirit", after having his wild crash on Friday night. The "long distance" award went to Rhalf from the Netherlands! The "BBQ King" award went to Sic Nick from New York State. The "100% ride 50% leg" award went to Dave, AKA: "OneLeggedRider" from Ontario. And the "Chopfather" award??? went to me, John Brain. (I'm still trying to figure out what it means?). I got a big kick out of the honour though, and I appreciated it! |
With the weekend winding down we headed back to the headquarters. Those that were still there went around and gave their "See you laters" to everyone! All in all "Wasaga" was the perfect bike weekend! It had a great place to party, a cool place to cruise to, and all of it happened in a setting with a lot of great atmosphere. It was the perfect place and event to get away to! . A big vote of thanks goes to Tom, Rennie, Scott, Michelle, Boris and Angie. And to Ducky, Mike and all the other volunteers! Thanks to you guys this was one hell of a great time! . And also a special Thanks to the Prize Donators: Milo, Rhalf-Chopperdome, Tony Bellus, Scott Fraser, Scott Wilson, Sam(Firebikes) . It really was my pleasure to be a participant at this incredible event! Thanks everyone! . |
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