Night Marzen

A wet and cold ride out to Vankleek Hill struck gold at Beau's Brewery. I was able to pick up a couple jugs of their seasonal beer Night Marzen, a traditional Oktoberfest lager. Also able to fit into my saddle bags were one jug of Happy Pils and Sneaky, a dark wheat beer from their Wild Oats series. You can only get these at the brewery or if you're lucky on tap at a bar. Feeling very pleased with myself, I ignored my soaked hands and feet, and concentrated on riding safely back to Ottawa.

After a warm bath, getting dinner made and my girl to and from ballet, my man and I were able to cozy up on the couch and enjoy a glass. So much to celebrate: my longest solo ride yet, the long Thanksgiving weekend, and the kids being in bed!

Should you be local to Eastern Ontario and perhaps a beer drinker, I highly recommend Beau's. It's a family-run brewery that uses local spring water, 100% organic malts and hops, and the leftover mash is provided to a local farm for their organically raised pigs. You can enjoy excellent beer and feel good about how it's brewed. If a trip to Vankleek Hill is not in the books, their flagship brew, Lug Tread lagered ale, is available at the LCBO.

PS. The first time my man and I went to the Brewery, we were introduced to Night Marzen and told it's nick name was Night Mare - fits with the whole Hallowe'en theme :)

Friday the 13th - Port Dover

bikes backed up on the road into Port Dover

I made it:

• in the car with the kids and the dog
• pulling a trailer with my bike for the first time
• through construction and heavy traffic in the Toronto area
• following my man on his bike and six friends on theirs - and not following them

We left Stittsville Thurs. morning at ~9:30am with the other bikes and I pulled into Peter and Shauna's driveway in Waterdown ~5:30pm that Afternoon. Shauna, dear friend that she is, had a beer poured for me waiting in the fridge. My man arrived about 45 mins later.

meeting up

Friday morning, the four of us got on our bikes to meet up with the others on Highway 6. A nice fast bit of highway and so many other bikes on the road! You start to feel that motorcycles are taking over. The ride into Dover slowed considerably with the congestion of regular traffic compounded by bikes.

bikes and riders everywhere

Port Dover is a beautiful little town on Lake Erie with charming little shops and a population of 6,000. It exploded to more than 150,000 people -- about a third of them on motorcycles! This was the 50th anniversary and the busiest ever. My 5th time there, it was even more special because I rode my own instead of sitting on the back of my man's.

We walked the town, eyed the bikes and the crowd, took pictures and tried to stay cool. Thankfully, I had lots of sunscreen and water. And then the ride back to Waterdown to rescue Peter's mom who was looking after our and their kids, 4 in all. Peter led us through some twisty, empty back roads - a really enjoyable ride. Dinner, more visiting and then bed. We needed sleep before the long road home.

Friday the 13th - here we come!

Doesn't it look sad, all tied down? Sort of like when we put our dog in her crate and shut the door...

We're all packed and ready to go to Port Dover tomorrow. I'll be hauling the trailer while my man rides his Drifter. Still, it beats being on the back. We're staying with best friends in Waterdown and from there I'll ride. Should be fun!

Motorcycle Ride for Dad

Yesterday was the 10 anniversary of the Ottawa Motorcycle Ride for Dad. The event raises money and awareness for prostate cancer. My man has been an enthusiastic participant since 2004 and I have often taken the kids to watch. With well over a thousand bikes doing the ride, it is an awesome sound and sight!

ready to ride

This year is the first time I've been able to participate as a rider. I was a little anxious and very excited. There were just over 1700 bikes. The parade took us from the Aviation Museum down the Eastern Parkway, in front of Parliament Hill, down the Western Parkway, Carling Ave. and out to Mitel. And all the way, roads were blocked for us and people cheered. Too much fun!

happy, with serious helmet head

After the parade came the ride itself: Mitel to Almonte, Almonte to Calabogie on the 508, Calabogie to Almonte on the 511. Great winding roads with beautiful scenery. The ride was well organized with food, entertainment and comfort stations at each stop and all the bikers so friendly and having a good time. It's wonderful that you can support an important cause while doing something you love. Thanks to my ride mates for making my first MRFD so successful. I can't wait for next year. Now I just have to make child care arrangements so that I can ride my own to Dover this August!

Worth the ride

This morning was a gorgeous day to be out on my bike so I had to pick a destination. So why not check out the bead store in Kemptville? Sounded like a plan to me so I gassed up and away I went. Nice winding roads took me there: Prince of Wales to route 44; and the distance was reasonable for a short jaunt: about an hour and a half there and back not counting time spent at the store.

Rideau Art and Beads store is in a beautiful old brick building with lots of natural light. They specialize in Art Clay and have a great space for classes. Very tempting but let me get the lampwork under my belt first! I came away with some fun howlite stars, turquoise rounds and sterling ear hooks. All in all, a very enjoyable day.