Heather's Bridal Shower

With just under two months before our wedding, today was Heather's bridal shower. A few of us spent yesterday preparing for the event which was held at my parents' house. Even though it's not the biggest place, it was just enough to fit 32 guests plus the wedding party.

The day before.

In the meantime, Jim and I went to Inverhaugh to visit with his friend, Eric. We stayed at his house for a while before heading to a pub in Fergus for some lunch. On the way we drove by a vintage car show that was being held somewhere between Elora and Fergus. We planned to go back after our lunch but a line of vintage cars going through Fergus as we were leaving the pub, told us that the show was over.

After dropping Eric off, we arrived back just after 5. While some guests were still present, the party was pretty much over. We snacked on some leftovers from the shower, while people continued to leave. Heather and I were the last to leave at about 8. From what she told me, the event was a success highlighted by the variety of generous gifts she received. The best part was, after asking for one pizza stone on our gift registry, Heather left the shower with three different pizza stones. I guess it's better than receiving three toasters.

Heather's main prize - three pizza stones.

An unwelcome neighbour

For the past couple weeks we've been dealing with a neighbour. Turns out a groundhog decided to dig up a hole for itself right underneath the stairs leading out to the back of our building. Pretty much every day since we noticed the groundhog, we've found it out of its hole, sometimes inches from our window, just exploring the new territory.

While we both agreed that the groundhog was harmless, it still had to go. After making a couple of requests to our landlord, the groundhog was gone and the holes neatly covered sometime today as we were both working. It's funny what kind of things you can see in the city not far away from home.

Our neighbour peeking out from its hole.

Happy Birthday, Agnes!

We planned to ride today but instead Heather stayed home while I went to the office to catch up on some work. I got home just before we were to leave for Elmira where my sister-in-law was celebrating her birthday with a BBQ at 5 pm. Unfortunately, the weather didn't co-operate and the BBQ turned into an evening with family filled with fun and games. Heather and I charaded, sketched and hummed our way to victory in the game of Cranium by beating three other couples. That game never gets tired as it's always a blast.

Wojtek and Agnes with little Adrian.

A Hot Ride And a BBQ

Despite the hot weather, Heather and I set off on another ride today. The plan was to again ride around southwestern Ontario for most of the day. However, the plan had to be slightly changed when my friend Remi called late last night to invite us for a BBQ at his parents' house. Remi and Lisa were in town housesitting. We agreed and told them we'd be there sometime late afternoon.

We left this morning at 9:30 and immediately spotted someone on a horse trotting through suburban Waterloo. A very rare sight. Anywyas, we took the back roads around Stratford to Exeter where we stopped for a quick bite to eat at Tim Hortons. The place was very busy and the GPS confirmed that the next closest Tim Hortons was some 40 km away.

From Exeter, I told Heather to put on her smile and we rode south Highway 4 looking for water towers. We quickly found them in Centralia as well as Lucan. The ride from Lucan was a bit bumpy as the GPS took us through a short stretch that was all gravel. Around noon we arrived in Strathroy where we would have lunch. We found a nice sports bar called Johnny Bucks where we both enjoyed our food. Heather made a comment that we seem to have good luck with sports bars after previously eating at Jerseys in Uxbridge.

In front of Johnny Bucks in Strathroy.

On the way out of town, we also filled up the tanks and rode continously, stopping only for pictures, to just outside of Brantford, where we had to pull over because Heather was getting very uncomfortable in the unbearable heat. She took a sip of iced tea and took of her Joe Rocket jacket, deciding to ride without the rest of the way to Cambridge which at this point was only 30 minutes away. During that stretch from Strathroy to Brantford we passed by an ice cream stand just outside of Tillsonburg that caught our eye. We will have to go there on our next ride.

We finally arrived in Cambridge at 4:15. Remi took us to the backyard where it was shaded from the sun. A nice change from our ride so far.

Remi flipping some burgers.

The food consisted of burgers, sausages and some vegetables. And of course the company of Lisa, Remi and their daughter Ava was great as always.

Enjoying the food.

All the fun had to stop as night approached and riding in the dark, Heather and I made it home at 10 pm. Aside from the scorching heat, the day turned out to be pretty much perfect.

SEASON STATS
Today's trip: 392 km - 244 miles
2009 to date: 7,242km - 4,500 miles (85.2%)
2009 goal: 8,500 km - 5,282 miles
To obtain goal: 1,258 km - 782 miles


View Larger Map

WATER TOWERS

Soccer Season Wrap-up

After 3+ months of practices, scrimmages and warm-up games, the season ending tournament finally arrived for my Under-17 team. Due to a combination of factors, such as injuries, family vacation and a lack of interest, I had to resort to asking for call-ups from the U-15 team. The coach of the Navy team (same colours as ours), Kendall, promised as many as five players but only his daughter, Shay, appeared for any games. I still thank him for trying.

We played our first game on Thursday but lost 4-1. In the process, we also lost one of our key players, Amy, to injury after she suffered a bruised ankle. She would not play in any more games this weekend.

On Friday, only eight players managed to show up but the girls fought hard and eventually came up short in a 3-1 loss. Even though we lost the first two games, I was still optimistic that we would turn it around and be one of the four teams to play on Sunday for the championship.

In an amazing turn of events, 13 players showed up for an 8:30 game on Saturday morning. After a slow start, the girls picked up the pace in the second half and scored twice to win 2-0. We still had a chance for semifinals but we needed help.

The team again played an amazing game at 11:30 that ended up 3-1 in our favour. In the end, we finished tied for third place with two other teams but didn't make it to Sunday's play on a tie-breaker. Our 8 goals allowed were more than the other two teams who had 6 & 7 goals allowed. We missed the semifinals by one goal. A very tough end to the season. However, on a positive note, we would end up, along with the eventual champion, as the only two teams out of eight to finish with a two-game winning streak.

Special thanks to Hailey, Amy, Rebecca, Alyssa, Olivia, Stephanie, Yasmin, Kristen, Nicky, Kaylyn, Isabel and Jill for participating in the tourmanent and making my first season very special. Also thanks to Shay, Jenna and Katie for helping us this weekend. And of course thanks to Heather for helping me during the season.

Home from the Freedom Rally

It was another gloomy morning in Sudbury. It was overcast and the rain was quickly approaching. Despite that, we decided not to wear our rain suits. The breakfast was identical to yesterday's and after saying our goodbyes, we were on the road at 9:20 am. Just as we were leaving, a light rain started to fall. Light rain continued to fall for about 25-30 miles to French River. After French River, the road condition gradually improved from wet to completely dry by the time we reached Parry Sound. And wherever we could, we tried to go at a very fast pace.

We stopped in Parry Sound to get fuel only and continued riding home. As we've done in the past, we exited Highway 400 at Vasey Road and continued through Elmvale. At one point for a couple of miles the road turned from pavement to gravel which caught us by surprise. Hopefully it won't be there next time.

At 12:30 we made our mandatory stop at the Midhurst Coffee Shop in Midhurst. We both had scrambled eggs with french toast and I also helped the shop turn its lights off as they closed at 1 pm on this holiday Monday.

We left Midhurst and rode through some back roads taking one detour thanks to constructions before reaching Highway 89 somewhere between Alliston and Airport Road. At 89, the traffic picked up and stayed that way as we continued on Highway 10. From Highway 10, we took a side road in order to avoid Orangeville and rode through some empty back roads until we reached Fergus. At one point we even saw three deer cross the road just as we were turning left off the road they crossed. Also, the stretch from Parry Sound to Fergus was probably the longest documented between fuel stops at just a hair under 250 km.

We filled up one last time in Fergus and arrived home minutes before 4 pm, both very tired after a long ride and a very awesome weekend.

Finally home.

SEASON STATS
Today's trip: 446 km - 277 miles
2009 to date: 6,850 km - 4,257 miles (80.6%)
2009 goal: 8,500 km - 5,282 miles
To obtain goal: 1,650 km - 1,025 miles


View Larger Map

WATER TOWERS

Freedom Rally '09 - Day 3

Today's morning was very nice. There were only a few clouds in the sky and the sun was shining bright. That, of course, was going to change later in the afternoon. We were lucky enough to avoid rain during yesterday's ride although we noticed a change from clear to overcast sky as we rode through French River.

Heather and I went to the hall around 8 am for some breakfast. The choices consisted of toast, muffins, fruit cups, Timbits and so on. I especially enjoyed the strawberry-rhubarb fruit cup. We decided to go for a short ride in the morning to look for some towers. The ride lasted about 2 hours and we also stopped at Chapters in Sudbury to pick up a couple of magazines, and Canadian Tire to fuel up for the ride home. While at the gas station, we pulled up pretty much at the same time as Fred, who a couple of years taught Heather to ride, who was also at the rally. We were back at the campground just after noon. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing while the bike games were taking place in the background.

Resting after Sunday's ride.

At 5, we started making our way around the hall in anticipation of tonight's banquet which was happening in a big tent just outside the hall. The event was catered by a local company and the food selections included mashed potatoes, chicken, roast beef, perogies, caesar salad and cake for dessert.

The catering crew getting ready to serve the hungry bikers.

An award ceremony followed the delicious dinner. The ceremony was hosted by lovely Dorothy and included awards for winners of bike games, youngest and oldest riders, biggest club and others. Heather managed to win the youngest rider award while Fred, mentioned earlier, won the oldest rider award. Our table also swept the poker run award. Doug's wife Carol won $100 for a straight while I won $50 for getting the worst hand (a 9-high nothing). Having the worst luck finally paid off.

Dorothy with one of the many lucky winners.

The evening ended around a fire where most rally participants gathered after the banquet.

The fire.

SEASON STATS
Today's trip: 92 km - 57 miles
2009 to date: 6,404 km - 3,980 miles (75.3%)
2009 goal: 8,500 km - 5,282 miles
To obtain goal: 2,096 km - 1,302 miles


View Larger Map

WATER TOWERS

Freedom Rally '09 - Day 2

With another long trip ahead of us, we woke up early and were ready to leave at 7:30 am. Just for good measure, we idled for about 10 minutes before leaving to see if our unruly neighbours would wake up but we didn't wait to find out.

Saturday morning at Oro Family Campground.

Instead of going back to 400 and heading straight up to Sudbury, we chose to continue north-east on Highway 11. When we left, we encountered more cottage traffic which was very frustrating for an early weekend morning. Nonetheless, we forged our way to Gravenhurst, where we exited on Route 169. The ride along 169 was very scenic and the road was almost empty as we travelled through such towns as Torrance, Bala, and Foot's Bay.

Our first stop of the day was in Parry Sound where we would have breakfast. We also decided to get fuel there as we would have to make one stop during today's ride. As we walked into the Visitors Centre off exit 214, the line-up to Tim Hortons was no less than 67 persons long. We quickly decided to get breakfast at the adjacent Lick's with a drink from Orange Julius. We both had waffles and I also got a breakfast wrap with veggies and eggs.

The ride the rest of the way varied between awfully slow and well-above-the-limit normal. With heavy traffic, we took advantage of a lot of passing opportunities. We pulled over a short distance from our destination to make sure our belongings were securely strapped in. We finally arrived at the Mine Mill Campground shortly before noon.

We unpacked, set up our tent, took care of registering and took it easy the rest of the day. Heather and Sandy even found some time to take care of some more wedding shopping with Heather's grandma. At 5 pm we joined the line for the poker run card draw but weren't very successful.

Our home for the weekend.

In the evening, along with Jim & Sandy and Doug & Carol, we went to Gloria's Restaurant to take advantage of a discount coupon which came in our welcome goodie bag. We went back to enjoy some entertaiment before turning in early.

SEASON STATS
Today's trip: 293 km - 182 miles
2009 to date: 6,312 km - 3,922 miles (74.3%)
2009 goal: 8,500 km - 5,282 miles
To obtain goal: 2,188 km - 1,360 miles


View Larger Map

WATER TOWERS