Tales from the O.C.: Anniversary Ride

Before anything else, Heather and I would like to congratulate my brother Greg and his fiancee Tina on their engagement Friday night. And that was just a week after they moved in to their new house. Very exciting.

Now, onto today's events. It was this Saturday one year ago that Heather and I, with the help of Heather's parents, picked up our new motorcycles in Newmarket and rode them for the very first time. We decided to revisit Newmarket and make the same ride again. However, the Suzuki dealership wasn't on our list of places to visit, as last year's experience wasn't the best. Today was all about riding.

It was mostly an overcast day, although we did encounter very short periods of sun, but also rain. The ride to Newmarket wasn't very exciting until we reached Orangeville. Coming down a hill on a side road just outside of town, I spotted a police cruiser behind us. Not long after, its lights were flashing and we were both on the shoulder looking for our documents. According to the officer that I was talking to, they caught us going 80 km/h in a 60 zone. I argued that maybe it was because we picked up some speed going downhill. He replied that we reached that speed even before then. While the two 30-something officers retreated to their cruiser to check our records, Heather and I huddled on the side of the road and tried to make sense of the situation. 15 minutes later the officers came back with a warning and a series of questions related to our vests and specifically to the meaning of various patches and to the clubs we belong to. Heather and I found those questions somewhat strange as they didn't relate in any way to our alleged excessive speed. Regardless of that, we thanked the officers and continued on our way.

From Orangeville, we went down Hockley Road to the Hockley General Store and enjoyed one of their signature giant cookies. We finally arrived in Newmarket at about 11:30 and once there we filled up on gas before proceeding to the Leon's parking lot which is across from the Suzuki dealership. The parking lot is where last year both Heather and I spent an hour or two practicing before heading out on the road for the first time on our new motorcycles. Of course, this year's experience wouldn't have been completed without doing a lap on the loop behind the Leon's warehouse.

Once we were done with Newmarket, we continued East to Uxbridge. We went to Uxbridge to find a quiet place to have lunch and to start our MOAZ (Motorcycling Ontario A to Z) quest. The place where we ended up was a sports bar called Jerseys. We each had a sandwich with fries and then proceeded to finally make our way home. Of course, I made sure that our route included Bradford. That is the place where last year Heather dropped her bike at a red light on an uphill. Given her experience, she deserved a second chance. Coincidentally, we encountered a red light at the same spot, but this time Heather got the best of the hill and got through it without a problem. Bradford 1, Heather 1. After Bradford we headed towards Highway 9 and then went through Orangeville (this time without incidents), Fergus and Conestogo before arriving home shortly before 5.

Ten minutes later, we were on the road again (this time in a car) to Greg and Tina's housewarming with a detour at the local The Bay where we picked up a little housewarming gift. The rest of the night was spent relaxing with my family. Overall, it was another long day but also another great day.