Sunday, 17 December 2017

The Motorcycle Industry is in Real Trouble

Google 'biker' and you get a lot of pictures of old white guys.
Good luck selling them bikes in 20 years.
The other day a fellow rider on twitter shared a link to this article on how the motorcycle industry is in real trouble.  Among the litany of problems was the hyper conservative nature of the industry and its habitual focus on old white guys.  The biker image is a bastion of pre-Twenty First Century prejudices; women (unless they're pillions and dressed like dolls) and non-white riders need not apply.  Groups like Bikers for Trump continue to find a comfortable place to operate within these old-school prejudices.  I'd suggest that an industry that wants to cling to this dying sense of privilege deserves to be in big trouble.

Of a less cut and dried nature (unless you're clinging to colonial, white guy privilege) was the piece about how young people aren't riding motorcycles or even driving cars as much any more.  I'd argue this is a larger and more difficult problem to solve.  I struggle daily with getting young people to engage with and master real world technical problems (it's my day job).  I wasn't at all surprised to see this as a conclusion from the research:

"...many millennial consumers were “bubble-wrapped for safety in their youth” or raised by overprotective parents who discouraged risk-taking"


A few years ago I suggested we start a motorcycle club at our school.  Some of our students go out and get their licenses and begin to ride and others dirt bike, so there would be interest.  We could use the experience and expertise of our teacher-riders to help students more safely and effectively take to two wheels.  The skills learned in maintaining and repairing motorcycles in our shop would mean safer vehicles for our students to use and an increase in technical skill.  They all sounds like good ideas, right?  It was nixed immediately: a hard no.  We run rugby teams and downhill ski race teams and go camping in bear country, but riding a motorcycle?  Way too dangerous.  I suggested that was exactly why we should do it, but still a hard no.

There is, no doubt, a danger halo around motorcycling that is a big part of its mystique, but the operation of a motorcycle isn't dangerous in and of itself.  Many riders like to play to this mystique, making it seem more edgy because that's the image they want to convey, but it isn't helping the sport.  That focus is also used to hyper masculinize the image of a motorcycle rider and plays to the conservatism that plagues the industry.  

It's always a relief when someone subverts that tired, old stereotype...


Enjoy having your assumptions subverted, it's good for you.

Apart from the prejudices and mythology around motorcycling, we also have a new generation of people who aren't taking up the sport, but then they aren't taking up vehicle operation in general.

"For 16- through 44-year-olds, there was a continuous decrease in the percentage of persons with a driver’s license for the years examined. For example, the percentages for 20- to 24-year-olds in 1983, 2008, 2011, and 2014 were 91.8%, 82.0%, 79.7%, and 76.7%, respectively."

There are a lot of social reasons for this to be happening.  More of us live in cities than ever before and driving in cities is misery.  Many jurisdictions don't acknowledge the advantages of riding a bike in an urban environment either, making riding an even dimmer proposition than driving.  The independence afforded by vehicle operation that used to define coming of age as a teen has become increasingly expensive even as wealth has been concentrated in a smaller and smaller class of people; fewer rich get richer while more poor get poorer.  With money slipping out of the hands of a vanishing middle class, the idea of buying into the independence of operating your own vehicle becomes increasingly impossible for many youngsters, especially with systemic economic discrimination like insurance forcing them off the road.

There is a final piece to this perfect storm diminishing the motorcycle industry that I haven't seen as much about.  Last night I watched Kingsmen: The Golden Circle, and like every other film I've seen in the past few years, it's a few moments of acting tied together by ludicrous computer generated imaging.  When I was young I stumbled upon a Bruce Lee marathon late one night and got really fired up about it.  Watching Bruce do his thing was inspiring.  I'd make the argument that a generation brought up on fake, computer generated action wouldn't feel that kind of inspiration to get out in the world and do things like kung fu or ride a motorbike.

Marketing is happy to pick up this idea of showing you cars doing things they can't actually do because you're buying an idea.  How the car makes you feel is what makes it valuable, not what you can actually do with it.  Whether it's Nissan pretending their cars are in Star Wars or Chevy pretending their cars are skateboards, the marketing and special effects departments are more than happy to sell you on an idea rather than engineering.  I won't even get into Kia selling you on a car that will drive for you because you'd rather be daydreaming.

In this digital dream-time we're all immersed in, you can you see why something as unforgiving and physically challenging as motorcycling might be one of the first casualties.  It's going to be a long time if ever before we see accident avoidance on something as elemental as a motorbike.  For all those young drivers who expect their car to drive for them when they can't be bothered to pay attention, this moves motorcycles even further away from the realm of possibility.  Coupled with the danger mythology many riders are guilty of promoting, it's little wonder that motorcycles increasingly seem like something from another time and place.


We need to bring back the kind of inclusive advertising
that worked for Honda so well over forty years ago.
Forgetting the old white guy thing for a minute (it's going to go away on its own anyway), how can the industry get people back on motorcycles again?  The obvious first step is to make your advertising plausible and inclusive.  Don't digitally animate anything.  Show riders of all types enjoying the elemental freedom of riding.  This doesn't need to include jumping canyons or putting knees down; the joy of riding is a simple, accessible pleasure.  Show people commuting, going out on a date and otherwise living their lives.  Minimize the costuming, especially the pirate thing, emphasize how effective modern safety gear is.  

Honda had this figured out decades ago and it prompted a renaissance in riding.  There is no reason why we couldn't do it again.

Build bikes that appeal to all sorts of riders.  Smaller, easier to handle bikes for beginners that push technology to create something so efficient that it makes snooty hybrid car drivers look like diesel pigs.  A 100mpg bike is an immediate possibility.  A hybrid touring bike that gets mega mileage but can still move two up easily?  An all electric bike?  Self leveling suspension, anti-lock brakes, fuel injection and the myriad of over things that make modern bikes dependable and safe?  These things should be what define modern motorcycling and should be moved on aggressively in marketing them.  The safety and dependability of a modern motorcycle is a marvelous thing.

When coupled with a campaign to emphasize how efficient bikes can be at moving people around, especially in cities, it would play to the urbanization of our population instead of against it.  Motorized bikes are capable of moving people more effectively and efficiently
Governments ignore a lot of research that clearly
demonstrates how efficient motorcycling can be,
especially in an urban environment.
than just about any other form of transportation, if we let it.  Pressuring governments to recognize this and encourage two wheeling instead of vilifying it would be a great step forward.  Can you imagine how many people would flock to a motorcycle industry couched in marketing around environmentalism, dependability, modern safety technology and the elemental thrill of riding as an escape from the digital miasma?  Escape the Matrix indeed.


Ontario offers thousands in incentives for people driving environmentally questionable hybrids.  What would happen if you got thousands back in incentives for buying a motorcycle that gets better mileage than a Prius?  There are a lot of them - my fourteen year old 955cc Tiger gets better mileage than the Toyota green flag waving hybrid and was way less damaging to manufacture.  Can you imagine how many more people would ride these environmentally minimalist machines in cities if they could lane split and move quickly to where they needed to be, reducing traffic and improving the flow for everyone?

Why not do one better and apply those incentives to emphasizing the power and importance of the rider?  Instead of advertising about how your car will drive for you because you're too much of a drip to do it yourself, maybe motorcycling could emphasize the importance of the rider and include them in any upgrade.  How about training being automatically included when you buy a bike?  This would immediately result in lower accident rates and better insurance costs.  If you're a beginner you get the training as a part of the purchase because you are immediately recognized as a vital part of the riding equation.  If you're already experienced then an advanced riding course in the area of your choice (off-road, track, road) is included to continue your advancement in pursuit of mastery.  Motorcycle training courses blossom and grow and sales are encouraged.  How about industry and government formerly recognize the importance of the rider and collaborating to make riding the life-long learning opportunity that it should be; motorcycles become paradigms of skill, self-discovery and mastery.


Shows like Ride with Norman Reedus are gender and race
inclusive and celebratory of motorcycle culture in its many
forms.  We should be encouraging more shows like it.
De-snootying motorcycle culture, especially where it's at its snootiest (North America) isn't something to wonder about, it's a marketing imperative.  Anyone out in the wind, even if they aren't on a cruiser, is a part of the culture.  Scooters and three wheelers aren't for losers, they're a part of the sport that needs to be embraced and included.  Three wheels mean older riders and those less physically able can still enjoy being out in the wind, how is that a bad thing?  Next time someone gives you a wave from a trike, don't be a jerk, wave back.

If the current motorcycling industry is unwilling to embrace the Twenty-First Century maybe they should be in real trouble.  There are always smaller concerns in the shadows waiting to step in and make changes where the established, conservative powers are not.  Business as usual is clearly not working.  Hopefully the industry that feeds our hobby will realize that and stop coddling Twentieth Century prejudices.  A brave new world of opportunities awaits them if they do.



LINKS

No easy ride: Motorcycle industry is in deep trouble and needs help fast, panel agrees
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-motorcycle-summit-20171214-story.html

The Decline of the Driver's License
Fewer people of all ages are getting them, and it’s not quite clear why.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/the-decline-of-the-drivers-license/425169/

Riding the Roman Empire

Across the top of the Mediterranean over two weeks.
This time of year always feels like about as far from a ride as I'll get.  It's in the minus twenties outside and it's been snowing for days straight.  Time for some cost-no-object daydreaming...

If I jumped on a plane late in the evening on Friday, December 22nd at the beginning of our holiday break, it's a long slog because there is no direct flight to Athens, but I would eventually get there on Saturday afternoon. A night in Athens and then I could begin a long ride in a warm climate across the north coast of the Mediterranean on Christmas Eve, passing through the heart of the Roman Empire on my way west to Lisbon for a flight in time to go back to work.

I have to be back at it on Monday, January 8th. There is a direct flight from Lisbon, Portugal back to Toronto on the Saturday before.  Could I get from Athens to Lisbon in thirteen days? 

It's about four thousand kilometers through Greece, Italy, France and Spain to Portugal.  That works out to an average of just over three hundred kilometres per day which means plenty of time to stop and see things or a big day of riding followed by a day off.  Because it's Europe there are always autostradas to make up time if needed.  It appears Athens to Lisbon is a very doable two week ride.  

Here's a possible day by day breakdown with a couple of days off.  All the maps are highway averse, looking for local roads and the time it takes to ride them.  Should things get backed up, big highway miles could happen to make up lost time:


Here's a link to the spreadsheet with working links to maps.
There are a couple of longer days in there, but there are also two days off completely and some short, half days of riding.  There is plenty of time to stop and soak things in en-route to our western return point.

My weapon of choice for this trip would be the new Triumph Tiger Explorer I'm crushing on, in matt cobalt blue.  Tall Tigers fit me well and this one is perhaps the best one ever made.  As a cross countries mover there is little that can beat it, and that new blue is a lovely thing.  I think I'd do a burnt orange on the engine guards and pannier logos.  I'd also redo the badges in matching orange.

The new Tiger Explorer is 24 pounds lighter than the old one, gets better mileage and has a host of advanced features that make an already good long distance bike better.  The big three that powers it would comfortably carry a passenger if I could convince anyone to do this with me.  If we're touring two up I'd luggage it up and make sure we could carry everything with us, but if I was solo I think I could just get by with the panniers and leave the back end looking less luggage-y.

Outfitting it with luggage and a few odds and ends from the extensive options catalogue is always fun.  I only got myself into four thousand dollars of trouble there:


The solo, lighter Tiger looks a treat.
  • Expedition Aluminium Panniers - Waterproof Inner Bags Pair $160.00
  • Engine Bars - Black $364.99
  • High Rider Comfort Seat $340.00
  • Heated Passenger Seat $535.02
  • Quick Release Tank bag $131.57
  • LED Fog Lights $555.00
  • Adventure Tail Bag $295.00
  • Aluminium Radiator Guard $84.99
  • Expedition Pannier Mounting Kit $450.00
  • Expedition Panniers - Black $1,265.00

In a perfect world I'd get my Tiger shipped from my garage in my England house to the Triumph Dealer in Athens where I'd pick it up on December 23rd.  I'd drop it off at the Triumph dealer in Lisbon on January 6th and either convince my cousin to ride it back to the UK or get it shipped back.


I've got the kit needed to do this now, but having a look at the latest European gear, I think I'd spring for a new helmet to do this ride with.  The Roof Carbon is a piece of industrial art that gives me the benefits of a closed face when I need it and an open face when I'm in need of some wind.  The iridium face shield would make this thing look like something out of battle of the planets.

Since it's a daydream, it ain't cheap.  I'd fly business there and back, so flights are north of seven grand.  Getting the bike delivered wouldn't be cheap, assuming it was waiting for me in Europe to begin with.  But hey, if you can't daydream big, why daydream at all?

NOTES:

Sat Dec 23 to Sat Jan 6
13 full days + 1/2 a day on each end

~4000kms - 307kms / day

https://goo.gl/maps/gpAyY4uiTEx
https://goo.gl/maps/GT54qKTDxjv











Saturday, 25 November 2017

The 2017 MotoGP rider of the year?


With the 2017 MotoGP season behind us I've been thinking about who I'd vote for rider of the year.  I tend to steer clear of the factory riders because when you have truckloads of people getting you around the track as quickly as humanly possible you should be at the sharp end of the championship.  There are exceptions to that, like Marc Marquez in 2014, when a rider seems to be in a class of one, but this year that didn't happen.

It was a scrappy season with many leaders in the championship.  What first looked like a runaway by Yamaha's new rider Maverick Viñales turned into a season long fight between Marquez on an ever improving Honda that only he seemed able to ride and Andrea Dovizioso on a Ducati he has stuck with and helped develop into a race winning weapon.  At various points in the season Yamaha, Honda and Ducati all led the championship.

As exciting as all that was the rider of the year for me was Johann Zarco.  In his first MotoGP race he leapt into the lead and although he didn't last there very long it made a huge splash.  While the top riders are making big bucks and have dozens of support people, Zarco, a rookie in a small, private team using last year's bike and making a fraction of the money ended up being the only Yamaha rider fighting for wins by the end of the season.  Marquez' mum wasn't begging anyone else to not do to her son what he does to everyone else.

That's another reason why I like Zarco, he's an odd duck.  He doesn't play the whining in the media game many of the top riders do, he just gets on with the job without the retinues, fancy sunglasses and stylists.  He's known for spending his time in the pits with his crew and sleeping in the truck.  At each race he sorted out the bike and then got into the mix.  While riders like Marquez (with a long history of crashing and general nonsense) whined about Zarco's 'aggressive riding style', Zarco just shrugged and did the business, on a year old bike, for a fraction of the money, with a fraction of the support.  That's why he's my rider of 2017.  I look forward to him giving the big money riders some more grief in 2018.  Hopefully they won't whine about it quite so much, but I wouldn't count on it.

I went looking for some TechTrois / Zarco kit, but it's sadly lacking.  There is a photo of Johann at full lean on the Tech3 bike - I've pulled the colours out of it so it could go on any coloured shirt as an outline.  Between that and his logo, you'd have a nice bit of custom shirtery that celebrates the warrior monk of MotoGP.  

Here's the link to it on Zazzle.  Below is the image and the graphic I pulled out of it if you want to DIY up something.



The photo simplified into a coloured graphic...




Wednesday, 22 November 2017

A North American distributed motorcycling network

It's the time of year again.  My next chance to go for a ride is months away.  As the dark descends I need to get my head out of the idea that I'm stuck in a box for the next four months.  I wonder what it would cost to set up a series of self-storage nodes across the southern US to enable year round riding.  With some clever placement I'd be able to fly in and access a wide variety of riding opportunities all year 'round.

Looking at companies that provide self storage I like the look of Cubesmart.  They get great reviews, offer good sized storage units with electricity and lighting and look to be well maintained.  They also offer parking and other services that would make picking up and dropping off a bike easy.  Storage with the same company means I'll also get looked after better.  Setting up all three nodes in the south near airports means I could fly in and be on two wheels in no time.

WEST COAST NODE: a storage unit in San Francisco

The Cubesmart I'd aim for is in Freemont, about 40 minutes from the Airport.  $140US a month gets you a 90 square foot storage area that could easily swallow a bike or two and some gear.  

There are dozens of best rides around the city, so this makes for a target rich centre for motorbiking. A winter ride doing the PCH north of SanFran and through the mountains back to the city would be a lovely idea...

If San Francisco were my West Coast base I'd have access too all of California and could still reach out to the South West even in the winter months.  That'd be the nicest time to ride the deserts anyway.

EAST COAST NODE: a storage unit near Knoxville, TN

Cubesmart has a 10x10 foot storage unit just north of Knoxville for under ninety bucks US a month (about half what San Francisco is?).   It's about an eleven hour drive from where I am now out of the snow and into the Smokey Mountains, or a couple of hours by plane.

I could proceed south to the Tail of the Dragon and further on into Georgia, the Atlantic coast and Florida or west towards New Orleans.

The run south into the Smokey Mountains is a quick one:


Austin, Texas and the lone MotoGP appearance left in North America is only a couple of long days west.  Then again, Austin would make another good network node...

Central/South West Node: a storage unit near Austin, TX

There'a another Cubesmart less than 20 minutes away from the Austin airport.  Like the Knoxville one it's less than a hundred bucks a month for secure, lit and electrified storage (which will be handy for getting the bikes ready to go).  

Circuit of the Americas where North America's last MotoGP race is held is only twenty minutes awayThe Twisted Sisters, one of the best roads to ride in North America, are only an hour away...



Outfitting Each Node

I'd build up a package to keep with the bikes in each storage depot.  A duffel bag with basic tools, fluids, an extension cord and a battery jumper just in case I have to give things a spark to get them going.  I'd make a point of putting the bikes away well, but you never know how long it might be until someone is back to exercise them, so having the kit on hand would be helpful, especially if I'm getting there at 4am after a red-eye for some much-needed two wheeled therapy. 


Licensing bikes in Ontario for riding elsewhere would be a stupid idea as Ontario is one of the worst places to own a motorcycle.  If I could find a reasonable place to make a residence (like BC or Alberta), I could license a number of bikes and leave them scattered around North America.  If I hadn't been there in a while all I'd need to bring along is maybe a new plate sticker if needed.

Off hand, my 3 remote stables would look like this:

West Coast
Kawasaki Z1000R:  my favourite super naked motorbike.  With a look like something out of Pacific Rim it would keep up with the image conscious West Coast.  As a canyon carver little comes close.   It's a bit extreme, but isn't that what riding the West Coast calls for?

I'd have an SW-Mototech EVO cargo bag that would let me turn the big Zed (and the Suzuki below) into a tourer for those longer trips.

East Coast
With the Tail of the Dragon right around the corner, Knoxville calls for a bike that can handle the corners but can also cover distances if I wanted to ride to the Florida Keys or New Orleans.  Most sports bikes look small under me, but not the mighty Hayabusa.  It isn't as skinny and dynamic as a sports bike, but it's still more than able to handle twisties while also being a surprisingly capable distance muncher.  BIKE Magazine just took one across the USA.

Central
For long distance reach and also the chance to ride into the desert when needed, I'd go for the new Triumph Tiger for the Austin depot.  A good two up machine that'll do everything well, it also has good cool weather capabilities for riding in mountains in the winter.

That's three very different machines for each storage point down south.  Swapping machines between depots would also be a cool idea, so riding the Triumph to San Francisco and then riding the big Zed back to Austin if I felt like changing up the options.  Setting up each bike drop would also make for a good end of season ride down south.

***

California Dreaming

The snow is blowing sideways in the dark, only visible as it passes through the dull orange of the sodium parking lot lights.  The car crunches to a stop in knee deep drifts.  I shut it off and the cold immediately begins to creep in through the cracks.  Grabbing the duffel bag on the seat next to me I make a mad dash for the monorail entrance at the end of the long term parking lot, the car is already being buried in snow.  A big Boeing thunders overhead, lights invisible in the swirling darkness.

Image result for snow at night airport
The monorail slips silently through the night into the terminal.  The airport is dead, barely a soul in sight.  With a printed e-ticket I walk straight to security and US customs and pass through quickly.  Two hours later the Airbus is thundering down the runway and I'm watching snow vortex off the wings as we slip into the night.  Its a five hour and forty minute red-eye flight ahead of the coming dawn; we land in San Francisco at 4am local time.

With no luggage to wait on I'm out of the airport in minutes and in one of many waiting cabs heading to Freemont.  It's a foggy nine degree night as the cab quickly makes its way down empty streets to the storage lockup.  Sunrise is beginning to hint in the east as I unlock the roll up door to reveal a covered motorbike in the shadows.  The bike underneath gleams black and green in the predawn light as I pull the blanket off.  If I was tired before, I'm less so now.


I transfer a few clothes from the duffel to the hangover soft panniers and belt them to the bike.  I give it the once over and make sure everything is ready to fly.  With the key in the ignition I turn it and watch LEDs play across the dash.  The breeze outside smells of sea salt and the fog is beginning to lift; I feel like I've landed on another planet.

Image result for pacific coast highway north of san franciscoThe big Zed fires up on the touch of the starter so I roll it forward out of the container and let it settle down into an idle.  I check everything again and make sure the panniers are secure on the back.

While the bike warms up I change out of travel clothes and leave them in the duffel hanging on the wall.  A few minutes later I'm in boots, riding pants and leather jacket and feeling warm in the cool morning air.  It's mid-winter here too, but a Northern Californian mid-winter is a very different thing from Ontario.  The forecast is calling for fifteen degree days, no nights under five and mostly crisp, sunny weather.  This would be ideal fall riding weather back home and this Canadian riding gear is built for cool days like these.

 The PCH is calling so I throw on my helmet and saddle up as the sky brightens.  The 880 is still quiet as Oakland is just beginning to wake up around me.  I'm through Oakland and over the Bay Bridge before rush hour builds.  Traffic is just beginning to build in town as I roll through San Francisco and out through The Presidio and onto the Golden Gate Bridge.

I pull into the Shoreline Coffee Shop in Mill Valley just north of the bridge for a big plate of eggs and bacon and some good coffee; it's just past 7am.  I've got six days ahead of me to explore the coast and mountain roads around here before I've got to go back to the land of ice and snow.

Image result for pacific coast highway north of san francisco

Sunday, 19 November 2017

Snow Garage

The snow's flying.  I like watching Waiting out the Winter for some inspiration at this time of year:



WAITING OUT WINTER from Andrew David Watson on Vimeo.

I did my own less cool and moody version of it here:


I'm beginning to see why I'm sore after doing a few hours in the garage.  I'm all over the place!  The Tiger has new oil and filter and has been cleaned and coated and is now living under a blanket until the weather comes back to us.  The battery's in the basement on a smart charger.



In the process of cleaning up I noticed a missing rubber on the bottom of the seat.  Gotta figure out how to get that, the cracked rubbers on the mirrors and the rubber thing that covers the rear brake wiring.  



The Tiger's going on fourteen years old.  Fourteen years in Canada means wild swings in temperature.  The rubbers need renewing.  There's a winter project.



Monday, 13 November 2017

Roof Helmets: enjoying the cultural dissonance

I'm a big fan of Roof Helmets.  It's the best lid I've ever owned, and one of the only ones that offers me full face protection when I want it and the freedom to easily go open.  I'll often start a ride open faced, flip it down to handle the wind when I'm out on the road at speed and then flip it open again when I slow down, even if it's just riding through a town.

I saw my first Roof Helmet when Jo Sinnott wore one on her Wild Camping series through Europe.  It took some maneuvering to get one to Canada, but it's been my go-to helmet since I landed one a couple of seasons ago.


I keep a close eye on Roof these days.  Their newly redesigned Desmo hemlets are on my wish list, and the new Carbon Boxxer is a work of industrial art.


Roof is selling that new Carbon hard, but if you think it's your typical helmet commercial you've forgotten how French they are.  See if you can keep up with the cultural dissonance, make sure to hang in to the end:




I'm wincing at the hooliganism at the beginning, but you start to have faith in the rider and end up letting them ride well outside of sensible because of your increasing faith in their skill.  Then they suddenly get into tiff with a couple at a cafe, and things go from there.  The reveal at the end?  Brilliant!


I don't think many Bikers for Trump alt-right Harley types will enjoy it, but I suspect that doesn't bother Roof too much.  It worked on me.



Sunday, 5 November 2017

Stealing One From The Icy Teeth of Winter

The days are getting darker, damper and distinctly not rider friendly.  One day this week was into the double digits Celsius, so we jumped at the chance to do a big Max & Dad ride, maybe our last one of 2017.

That night it was going to bucket down with a cold, pre-winter rain storm, but the day promised sun and clouds and a chance to ride, so we took it.  We waited until the numbers got well above zero and then got the Tiger out of the garage and put on leathers and layers of fleece; this was going to be a cold one.

There is nothing more ragged and beautiful than a pre-winter sky over Georgian Bay.  We pushed north across the barren farm tundra that we live in.  Miles upon miles of mechanically tilled and industrially fertilized fields rolled by as we headed toward a first warm-up stop at Highland Grounds in Flesherton on the edge of the Niagara Escarpment.

We staggered into the coffee shop just past eleven.  The weather wasn't anywhere near where the Weather Network promised it would be.  Our low teens, sunny morning had turned into a six degree, overcast slog north along your typical, boring, straight Southern Ontario roads.  Fortunately, nothing cheers us up more than warming up in an independent coffee shop and then heading onto Escarpment twisties.  Highland Grounds was as good as I remembered and we left with warm grins after a vanilla milkshake, a cookie the size of a pizza and a big, piping hot coffee in a ceramic mug.  It was a lot of calories, but we'd shivered those off on the way up.

North past Lake Eugenia where I spend a lot of summers at a friend's cottage, we wound our way into Beaver Valley and the twisties and views we'd been looking for - so much so that we stopped at the scenic look out on our way into the valley.


    


Of course, as soon as we stopped an elderly couple pulled in behind us and the driver immediately wandered up to find out who made our Triumph.

"Triumph?" I replied, somewhat confused by his question.
"Where are they made then?" he asked.  He has (of course) owned old Meriden Triumphs from the pre-80's collapse of the Motor Company and had assumed they were long gone.  He had no idea John Bloor had saved the brand in the early 90s and it was now one of the biggest European motorcycle manufacturers.  He'd assumed it was an Asian built Triumph branded thing.  When I told him it was built in the UK at a state of the art factory in Hinckley he was gobsmacked.  I always enjoy telling the story of Triumph's phoenix like rise from the ashes.  We left him thinking about dropping by the factory next time he's back in the old country.

We hopped back on the trusty Tiger and headed on through Beaver Valley and out to the choppy shores of Georgian Bay where the sky looked torn and the waves smashed against the rocks, splashing us with spray.







We hung out on the lonely shore for a little while, watching the hyperthermic fisherman standing in the mouth of the Beaver River amidst the surf, casting into the grey water over and over.  Georgian Bay skies always look like they are about to shatter, even in the summer, but with a Canadian winter imminent they looked positively daunting.  Time for another warm up.

We rode back up the hill onto the main street of Thornbury and got ourselves another warm drink.  The goal was to strike south east across the Escarpment toward Creemore for lunch.  The sporadic sun had managed to get it up to about ten degrees, but it was only better compared to the frozen morning.  We headed south behind Blue Mountain and through the glacial remains of Singhampton before turning onto the positively serpentine Glen Huron road for a ride down the hill into Creemore.  Shaggy highland cattle watched us ride by, much to my passenger's delight.


A hot lunch of philly steak and poutine refueled us at The Old Mill House Pub in Creemore.  When we came back out mid afternoon the temperature was as good as it was going to get, eleven degrees.  With warm stomachs we saddled up for the ride home through the wind fields of Dufferin County, but not before walking down the street to the ever popular Creemore brewery for a photo op and some brown ale.

When it comes to the end of October in Ontario, Canada, you take what you can get, and I'm glad we did.  Soon enough the snow will fall, the roads will salt up and the Tiger will have to hibernate, dreaming of the far off spring.


All on bike photos courtesy of the very easy to operate Ricoh Theta 360 camera - with simple physical controls and an ergonomic shape that is easy to grip, it's my go-to 360 camera.  No worries about framing a shot or focusing, it takes a photo of everything!

Georgian Bay 2017 end of season ride #triumph #roofhelmet #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA


Our last big ride of the year?  Perhaps - it was hot baths and fireplaces when we got home.

Leather, fleece and armoured trousers, and it was still a cold one.