Pg. 4 - What’s Shakin’ A New Year with New Events. Pg. 6 - Cruising with Critter Critter’s Looking Forward to 2016 Pg. 11 - On The Road JR Goes to PD13 and finds No Boobs ! Pg. 12 - Port Dover Friday 13th November Jonathan Attends the Party. Pg. 14 - East Coast Rambler Jeff Hits The Wharf Rat Rally in Style Pg. 17 - Pacific Ponderings Broken Angel Tells A Shameful Story. Pg. 19 - Fighting for your rights Remember Freedom Isn’t Free. Pg. 21- Dangerous Donnie From Durham Donnie and the Crew Ride for Angie Pg. 25 - Joke Page New Year...New Jokes Pg. 28 - Choppers Custom Works Calendar Feature Shop of the Month Pg. 32 - The Bike Lawyer Tim answers a Helmet Question. Pg. 34 - We’re Going to Fly So High... More of Europe with Donny Peterson Pg. 38 - From the far East……Ontario that is. Beau Recalls 2015 Fondly. Pg. 42 - Feature Bike Iron Hearted Sporty Pg. 45 - Bikers Church It’s Never Too Late! Pg. 46 - StickerStoies Sharon’s Fall Get Togethers. Pg. 50 - Whispers of a Neoteric Nomad Northern Guy Thanks to All for 2015 Pg. 51 - One for the Road. Lil’ Red Gets an Early Christmas Present.
Every Wednesday Night All Winter Long It’s Bike Night at Suck Bang Blow
Live Bands, Drink Specials and No Cover Charge. Come on out to Stoney Creek, 443 Highway 20 East at the end of Tapleytown Road. Tell Chelsey that The Mag sent you.
January
Jan 1st- HAPPY NEW YEAR
Jan. 8th-10th- North American International Motorcycle Supershow
The Big One at the Airport, International Centre on Airport Rd. Friday- Noon- 10pm, Saturday- 10am – 9pm, Sunday- 10am – 5pm. For more information see www.motorcyclesupershow.ca or call 1-888661-7469.
Jan. 8th-10th - The Motorcycle Show Calgary
At the BMO Centre, Stampede Park, 20 Roundup Way S.E. Calgary, AB.Friday Noon – 9pm, Saturday 10am – 8pm and Sunday 10am – 5pm. For more information check out www.calgarymotorcycleshow.ca .
Jan. 15th–17th - The Motorcycle& ATV Show Edmonton
At the Edmonton Expo Centre, Northlands, 7300-116 Ave. Edmonton, AB.Friday Noon – 9pm, Saturday 10am – 8pm and Sunday 10am – 5pm. For more information check out www.edmontonmotorcycleshow.com
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Jan. 16th – Rangers MC Annual Party
The draw of this event is always the knowledge that for your ticket you will feed on massive plates of the very best food and be entertained with great live music, chances at great prizes, always the who’s who of the clubs will be there. Don’t miss this year’s event!!! You can get tix from any Ranger.
Jan 16th - Jacox Harley-Davidson® complimentary Lunch & Learn LED Lighting
To Register, please contact our Marketing Manager Julie Martin at 905-858-6763 or at jmartin@ jacoxharley.com by Friday January 15th.
Jan 22nd–24th – The Motorcycle Show Vancouver
At the Tradex – Trade & Exhibition Centre, 1190 Cornell Street, Abbotsford, B.C. Friday 10am – 9pm, Saturday 10am – 8pm and Sunday 10am – 5pm. For more information check out www.vancouvermotorcycleshow.com .
Jan. 30th – Hip’s Cycle’s 28th Annual Open House
10am – 3pm at the shop, 900 Colborne St. East, in Brantford.
Jan. 30th - Jacox Harley-Davidson® complimentary Lunch & Learn on ESP
To Register, contact our Marketing Manager Julie Martin at 905-858-6763 or at jmartin@jacoxharley.com by Friday
Jan 31st – Support the Troops Swap Meet
At the Beachville Legion, 39 Zorra Line in Beachville (corner of Zorra line and Queen St). 10am – 3pm Admission is only $5 and kids under 12 are free. For more info contact Hutch at 226-3395184.
February
Feb. 7th – Motorcycle Swap Meet London
At the I.B.E.W. Union Hall at 6688 Tempo Road, in London. At Col. Talbot Road and the 401. 10am – 4 pm, Admission $10 with lots of free parking. Park & Sell your Bike $25, Booths $50. For more information call 705-340-2130
Feb. 7th – Greely Motorcycle Swap Meet
Greely Legion, 8021 Mitch Owens Dr., Ottawa Ont. Vendors wanted More Info Call (613) 295 6934, or (613) 724 8140 or even (613) 822 2480
Feb. 12th–14th – The Motorcycle and ATV Show Moncton
At The Moncton Coliseum Complex, 377 Killam Drive, in Moncton, Friday Noon – 9pm, Saturday 10am – 8pm and Sunday 10am – 5pm. For more information check out www.monctonmotorcycleshow.ca .
Feb 28th – The Annual Big Al’s Swap Meet
At the Dundas Community Center, 10 Market St. in Dundas. 10am – 3pm, $5 Admission, Kids under 12 free. For table information call 905-746-7077.
April
Apr. 9th–10th – 26th Annual Spring Motorcycle Show At the International Centre on Airport Rd. in Toronto, Saturday 10am – 9pm and Sunday 10am – 5pm. For more Information www.motorcyclespringshow.com
May
May 1st - Fort Erie Motorcycle Swap Meet
West End Arena, Ridge Road, Fort Erie. 10am-4pm For more info: Contact Sean 289-686-6797 or 905-246-1282 or email shawnmccooey@yahoo.com
June
June 11th – Big Daddy’s Cowpaddy’s 5th Annual Poker Run
Registration 9 – 10:30 at the Kempville Restaurant where breakfast will be available. For More information call Greg or Susie at 613-926-0799 or check out www.BigDaddysCowpaddy.ca
July
July 8th – 10th – 2nd Annual Bancroft Wheels, Water & Wings
A whole weekend of events , Concerts, Midway, Beer Tent and More! Classic cars on Friday Night, Hot Rods & Rat Rods on Saturday Night and Motorcycle Show N Shine on Sunday. Downtown Bancroft for more information visit www.beautifulbancroft.ca .
August
Aug. 5th-7th - Big Daddy’s Cowpaddy’s 5th Annual Rodeo & Roast
The Big Bash of the Summer in the Eastern Ontario area, 11101 County Rd. 15, North Augusta, Ontario. Gates open at 12pm, Tickets $25 in advance or $30 at the Gate. For More information call Greg or Susie at 613-926-0799 or check out www.BigDaddysCowpaddy.ca
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Well if you’ve got the Mag in your hand right now you will already have seen some of the changes that we’ve been working on have come to be. Yes we’ve dressed up our little Mag a little but more and taken her further on down the road and have now stretched our reach from one coast to the other in print and are exploring the infinite reach of the internet with our online version. I for one am happy! We have gradually added more content to the printed version to try and include areas from all across Canada and in some cases the United States as our readership continues to grow and we’ve also caught the attention of many new advertisers. We have been for quite some time the best read motorcycle publication in Canada and we expect the numbers to rise substantially as we continue to expand across the Country and begin filling in gaps where it isn’t currently available. You will notice that the cover is no longer just the man’s feature bike as we need the cover to represent The Mag and our readers and the covers will be created to depict seasonal themes and traditions or whatever is current. We continue to get tremendous support from our advertisers as they are what sustains The Rider’s Mag and makes it all possible. We encourage you to support our advertisers and tell them that you found them by reading The Rider’s Mag either in print or online. The very fact that we are now being able to go to gloss paper for the cover and calendar and to make other changes, was made possible by the advertisers that you see on those pages. It demonstrates the faith that they have in us and the confidence that The Riders Mag is the right vehicle to reach the demographic that they are seeking. As for us here at the Mag, it has been a very hectic time as we make ready for the Motorcycle Shows like the Motorcycle Supershow in January and get the newest edition of The Rider’s Mag out and distributed amidst the turmoil that the Christmas Season brings with it. I’m getting the Trike ready as well. The bugs have been worked out and she is running great. The rear fenders and the lowers that went on as plain black last year just to get her on the road are now in the trusted and extremely talented Jabber from Jabber’s Airbrush Studios in Kirkfeild to add a little more flair in time for the Show season. I have got the reverse installed and will send her off to be detailed at Outspoken in Uxbridge and gussied up for the show. I like to do my own detailing and have plenty of
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Wizards Cleaning and detailing products to accomplish it but the time factor is always standing between what I’d like to do and what I realistically can do. Besides it gives me an excuse to visit Brian and Olga who always do an awesome job and gives me an opportunity to brag about them. Petoonia is just waiting for her parts to come back from the painter and then I will make her road ready for next season with the help of my buddy Bronson. As for me my new knee has been giving me some grief and will buckle on me now and then without warning. This can be somewhat disconcerting and troublesome at times and has resulted plates of food destined for the table to occasionally been dumped on the floor as I struggled to regain my balance. The Wonder Dogs, while trying to show some concern for my well-being, get distracted by their clean-up duties and subsequent extra meals and are secretly hoping that I never get it fixed. Anyhow I’ve had x-rays and ultrasound and the Surgeon now has me doing physiotherapy and an exercise program as they say the installation was OK and I just have to give it time and conditioning. So I’m back wearing a brace and the cane may once again be back in action. I do try to get out to all the events and occasions that I can but sometimes it is just impossible. My usual response to invitations is “I can’t give you an actual answer until I see my calendar but I will try!” So to those that that I didn’t make please accept my apologies. Dave Neals I hope you had a very Happy Birthday. We have a few more Shows, Swap meets and other
events happening around the Province and across the Country in the coming months so keep an eye on The Mag for details. We all need distractions to get us through the long winter and we will try to let you know about them. The Peterborough Swap Meet 2015 My Buddy Panhead Doug and I headed across to Peterborough on an absolutely gorgeous day to take in this year’s Swap Meet that really seems to be gaining traction since its inception 3 years ago. Every year it gets bigger and better and has now become a must attend event and people are travelling some distance to get here. We parked and made our way into the building armed with bundles of The Mag dropping them off at several locations and of course stopping to gab a bit at various spots along the way. I spotted Larry Pooler and his lovely bride Nancy who seems to be recovering just fine from her challenges of the past several years. Her radiant smile just lights up the room and they are always a pleasure to talk to. There were lots of deals to be had and lots of people to snap them up judging from the armloads of parts that I saw changing hands. There were plenty of smiling faces as all parties benefit from deals at these events as the customer has access to hard to find or rare parts with which start, finish or continue a project and the vendor an opportunity to move a part that he no longer has use for and make some money to boot. Plus they are a great social experience where bikers meet old friends and make new acquaintances who share the same interests.
This is better than the internet as a place to buy parts, particularly old parts as you can pick them up and inspect them and ask about them directly to the owner. You can better gauge the condition and the worth without having to do it through a keyboard, monitor and deal with shipping and handling fees and other issues that comes with computer shopping. It is “Old School” shopping and has stood the test of time and is coming back into vogue. It isn’t all about old parts as many other vendors take advantage of the crowds these events attract and there is a little of everything on display here. Fred Hale and The Hale Clan were there once again as they have been a supporter and participant of the event from the outset and brought with them their large usual assortment of parts, accessories and just plain interesting stuff that is just a hint of what is available at their shop in Pefferlaw. I stopped by to talk to Frenchie and his lovely lady Donna as they arranged a fantastic sampling of their wares from their great store, Black Gold Leather in Belleville before moving over to visit with Harold from “Make it Roar” in Trenton. Then onto a multitude of people like Bryan from Malicious Cycle in Scarborough, Bob from Eagle Eye in Whitby, Bob and the ever magnificent Melanie from Full Throttle and Tubes who seems to turn up everywhere and anywhere. My buddy and painter extraordinaire Jabber along his
have happened! All in all it was a great day at a great event that continues to grow and is destined to be a mainstay!
brother had set up a table and he had brought Petoonia’s body parts along so he could show me the progress he had made and how good my artwork looked. They looked spectacular but he wanted to keep them longer to make them perfect. When your painter says that he wants to make your stuff that you’re already happy with even better you leave him alone! I ran into Bob and Carolyn Neveu of The National Motorcycle Show together and wondered aloud if the rumours I’d heard of them bringing the Show back on a date just prior to another show were indeed true! They assured me that they were not doing any such thing and the absence of a clipboard, sort of made me file those rumours as unfounded. But then again they were doing it a long time and it can get in your blood and you just never know when the urge will draw you back in. Stranger things
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Choppers Custom Works I wanted to check out this great new store that I’d been hearing so much about so I picked up my much appreciated sidekick and bodyguard, Burlington Bad Bob and we continued on to beautiful Town of Dunnville and pulled up in front of the large shop. The huge parking lot was already full of trucks a couple motorcycles and a large throng of people. There were some really familiar faces in the crowd as our man Greg, who hails from Haggersville and Jonathan, the pride of Selkirk, had also decided to come out and see what was going on. So the Riders Mag was well represented here today. Since they both live nearby, and were both familiar with the place, having gone there when the previous owner ran it as a motorcycle shop and RV dealership, so the improvements and renovations that had been done were very obvious to them. To myself and Bob the place just looked great, with a bright and airy feel to it and there were some great prices as well. In fact, Bob left with a great deal on a much needed new rear tire for his decker. I wandered in to find both Tom O’Marra and his brother Mike busy with customers. I spotted an attractive young woman standing behind the counter next to Tom and as she had just broken free from a task and I figured that I would introduce myself. She turned out to be Mike’s wife, Teresa whom I had never met before but had many conversations with over the phone and in e-mails and it was nice to put a face to the voice and humanize the electronic messages. I wandered a r o u n d checking out the place until Tom broke free and gave me a grand tour of the new digs that would now not only supplement a n d compliment the Selkirk store but would be a very valuable asset on its own merit. I was really impressed with the work that had gone into it and hearing about the future plans and intensions. He pointed out areas that had been cleared out and earmarked as machine shop, paint booths and spray chrome areas and so on, and I could tell from his body language, tone and the twinkle in his eyes
that he was really excited and just itching to get at it. He walked me through all the various rooms and enthusiastically explained the functions of each be they showroom parts areas and the spacious, well-lit and functional shop or the secure storage areas. C h o p p e r ’s Custom Works had been our Calendar feature back in May of 2014 and Tom and Mike figured that since they got so much reaction to that feature last time that with the expansion of their business and services they can now offer, that this would be a good time to do it again. I still had a lot of unused shots from the previous shoot in downtown Selkirk with the Amazing Ashley and with the shots that I had taken here today we would have plenty to fill out the pages. The whole feature thing changed the complexion of how we would deal with the excellent write up that Jonathan had already submitted but now required some changes to put it into the new perspective but between the two of us we got it done. When I drove in and parked that there was a real funky golf cart parked out front that immediately caught my eye and I just knew that the creative mind and extraordinary mechanical skills of Mike O’Marra and crew had once again come into play. Mike was the mastermind behind the whimsical lawnmower chopper that had intrigued me when I saw it at the Selkirk store a couple of years ago. He had built it on a modest budget as an eye catcher and attention grabber for the store to put in the local Santa Clause Parade and it was an immediate hit with everybody and garnered much interest and many offers to purchase from all over. I too had expressed interest in buying it but my modest budget wasn’t up to the task. When I asked about the mower I was told that someone came in and fell head over heels in love with it and then made them an offer of cash that they just couldn’t refuse. Now Mike had turned his attention to the golf cart and produced another fantastic creation and it too was attracting attention and offers of money and I once again made a bid but came up far short of the irresistible offer mark. I hear that such a bid did happen just after I left and I will now have to save up my coin and bolster my meager budget for my next
visit to see what wild creation the somewhat twisted minds of Mike and Tom O’Marra come up with next. It was an incredible day and just getting out and about and spending some time with a great friend like Bad Bob just makes it better. R.I.P. – G.B.N.F. – L&R Paul, Lawrence (Larry) ShawHawk – Wild Ones MC – April 16/1949 – Oct. 25/2015 Bad Bob and I stopped at the Legion in Grimsby to pay our respects to a long time and very popular member of The Wild Ones MC. Larry (Hawk) Shaw who had recently lost his battle with Cancer. Parking spots were at a premium but it was still fairly early and we managed to find a spot. Being that it was a Legion we left our hats behind and wandered in to find the room absolutely jammed with people and we were given a ticket that was to be cashed in at the bar for our beverage of choice (You probably have no idea which brand of beer I chose.) and it was explained that Hawk had anticipated his demise and arranged to buy farewell drinks for his family and friends. He was a class act right to the end. We only stayed a short time as I had a previously scheduled meeting for later in the afternoon that I had to attend but Bob went back on his bike to meet with another long-time friend Grump, only to find that parking in the lot with anything other than a motorcycle, was no longer an option. The many side streets surrounding the Legion took up the overflow and late comers would have a lengthy walk to the Legion. The place was absolutely packed THE RIDERS MAG -----PAGE 9
and remained that way long into the night and the attendees enjoyed some great music provided by a really good band and shared many memories and stories of a man who won’t be forgotten. I’m sure Hawk would have loved it. This attendance spoke volumes about how loved and respected a man Hawk was. He was a good and loyal friend who really cared. He was always surrounded with friends in all that he did be it hunting, fishing or whatever. He lived a full life and touched many people who now mourned his passing but cherished the memories of him that they will keep with them until it is their time to go. Hawk’s true passion was motorcycles and no one could recall a time when he didn’t have a bike. His failing health prevented him from riding his last motorcycle which was built for him by Ted from Task and he absolutely loved it. That was a fact he really regretted. He will be missed but will live on in the hearts of those who knew him. L&R Dave Green Custom Cycles - Open House We got a call from Kim at Dave Green’s wanting to advertise this event but it was too late to make it into The Mag for the Nov./Dec issue as we had already gone to press. Managing Editor, Al put it in our online
sending Mags there every month for years. I had that Saturday fairly free, other than a meeting that afternoon that took me fairly close to Aylmer so I figured a visit would be in order. I once again called my sidekick and bodyguard Bad Bob to see how his schedule was looking as it is always good to have company and we were on our way. Having never been here before, I stubbornly ignored the instructions of my know it all GPS and made a couple of wrong turns and the trip was longer than necessary but it was a good day for a drive and we eventually made it and found that it was really worth the effort. It was a great shop with lots of interesting stuff to see and tables full of parts and chrome goodies. We scoured the tables rummaging through the treasures and trinkets and managed to get through it all with some really great finds and with our budgets pretty much intact. The crowds kept coming and all the time we were there in a constant flow. They had snacks and refreshments laid out on a table as you walked through the door and the unique barbecue was turning out hotdogs that made our mouths water just from the aroma. I would have liked to stay longer but I had a meeting version and on our Facebook page and it received scheduled with Hankster from Boothill Hearse down tremendous response (Al can track that stuff and said in Brantford later that afternoon and had to get on the that there were something like 3000 views.) as while road. I will have to come back here again. we would have loved to have run their ad we wanted As you’ve probably seen in his ads recently Boothill to do something for them. Hearse is up for sale as Hank is planning on spending I was of course familiar with some of Dave’s work more time down in Arizona where he has been spending as he had built some fantastic bikes that have won the winters for years now. He is starting a new venture top awards at all the major shows over the years. We doing Motorcycle Tours down there for those of us had met briefly on a couple of occasions but I knew trying to escape winter’s icy grasp and do some riding. little about him or his shop, although we have been He will be able to offer shipping of your motorcycle, accommodation and take you on tours of all the great spots and great riding that Arizona has to offer. He was scheduled to leave in a couple of days so if a meeting was to happen it would have to be today, as by the time I peck this out of my keyboard and you read it, he will already be down in the sunny southwest starting construction on his new enterprise. He plans to have everything up and running soon as he has done the groundwork and made preliminary contacts on previous trips down there. I will keep you posted. THE RIDERS MAG -----PAGE 10
Well I failed, I went to this Novembers Friday the 13th in Dover and I didn’t find a single lady to show me her tits. Yes it’s an amazing thing, admittedly I didn’t put a lot of effort into it as the weather was really crappy and I did not expect the thousands of bikes that showed up despite the cold overcast day that actually sleeted for a while when the temps dropped changing that rain to sleet. I went into town Thursday night and found only locals and I did canvas both hotels on the main drag but found no takers for my shirts but then I wasn’t too worried as I was confident that I would find loads of opportunities on Friday. I drove into town Friday morning and was astounded by the number of bikes that showed up. So many in fact that parking was a challenge although for the cold weather events the town does not close down the main drag and you can drive anywhere you choose with or without a permit. It was cold, raining, cloudy and to get anywhere required parking along ways away from anywhere and hike. Well generally that not a problem for me and I do more walking than most but I had been suffering for a time with sinus and nasal issues, senior had picked up a nasty cold that he shared with me before it turned into walking pneumonia and not expecting the mob that showed up I expected to park outside the hotel and just stroll in but that was not gonna happen. I retreated from Dover back to our cottage just outside of town to grab some lunch, exercise and catch the close of the markets as my job these days is trading. At the end of the day the events in Paris unfolded and I was enthralled through dinner and beyond. I returned to Dover later that evening to find as you would expect that all the bikes had retreated as we all know how much colder it feels riding when the sun goes down whether the actual temp drops or not. So with that epic failure under my belt I apologize to all the titty lovers and say that I will be out there at the next Friday the 13th May of 2016 parked in my usual spot in front of the bank next to Powel park with my saddle bags full of ladies titty shirts and taking full advantage of the warmer weather to move all of this year’s shirts next year. I had the opportunity to finally catch up with Critter and I found out that beyond the visible changes that the mag has undergone in the past year further changes are coming. I will unfortunately be phased out of my usefulness as the feature shoot guy as Critter expands beyond the borders of Ontario so we agreed that I would supply the feature articles and pictures until the end of this calendar year and then I would be finished with that. I think the point is that I will not be able to shoot some of the bikes that are currently on my list. I will be getting all those I need to finish out my commitment and I will pass your names and contact info along to Critter and he will take care of those in whatever fashion the future of the mag holds for local feature shoots. Just so you all know the mag is Critter’s. It handed it over to him with the hopes that a fresh set of eyes and attitude would refresh the mag. I was tired and needed more time to spend with my aging and ailing parents and my other commitments. I hope that in some way I can continue to be involved with the mag through events and deliveries as long as he and you will have me but the reality is the baton has been passed and it is being carried by the new management and I hope they do well. A hearty Merry Christmas to all of you out there, I have plans to bring Senior to the Supershow for a few hours one day so I will be hanging around with him and whoever else is doing the work at the mag these days. I hope to see yall out there, on the road.
PD13 November 2015. I’ve been writing for the mag since 2003, been to many more PD13s than that, and never have I been called on to write the story. So now folks, if you don’t mind, I’m going to stretch my fingers, crack my knuckles, lay my fingertips on the keys, here in Selkirk, and start my very first ever PD13 story of my own, but how to start? Although I’m only 20 minutes away from Port Dover. In November, layering is important… 3 On the Fringe long sleeve t-shirts, 2 pairs of thermal underpants, all the black tanned leather that a two hundred seventy pound steer can lay down its life for, specially imported tinfoil coated battery operated socks, and highly valued Tibetan gloves made by Buddhist monks from the fleecy down of alpacas sheered by celestial virgins at just the perfect moment during mating season. This is the preferred choice of apparel for the biker who ventures out at this time of the year. Or alternatively, skidoo gear, heated seat, and grips. The trip from Selkirk isn’t long, it has the choice of being a bit twisty, or pretty straight. One can do it leisurely, taking in the scenery, or at speed, perhaps high speed, since the cops tend to be IN Port Dover not ON THE WAY to Port Dover. Any speed you take it at this time of year, your eyes water up, nose dribbles, and forehead aches from move-
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ment and frigid temperature. You just want to get there. I expect there were between five hundred and a thousand bikes went through Port Dover this cold, overcast, windy day in November. Everyone, who went there, took the weatherman on as a challenge! They had forecast rain, snow, sleet, ice, cold (a high in the mid 30’s), strong winds, but real riders don’t let the weatherman says stop them. There was of course the usual police presence; there was one particularly enthusiastic couple in blue, who were getting their quota in here, pulling over a group of 3 that were just two stop lights away from a warm Tim Hortons, having ridden in from London through the frost and cold. Seems they didn’t come to a full stop, put their feet down, and give the cop a regal wave before proceeding through the stop sign, clearly they had to get tickets. Another fellow was cited for not having an approved DOT helmet, he needed the full Christmas tree treatment in the Norfolk Tavern parking lot, and then there were speeding infractions, muffler decibel violations (pretty much all the crap that never gets looked at in any of the warmer summer PD13). Maybe this team was just being super officious, any way you slice it, this kind of shit doesn’t happen in the summer. The Moto Bou-Tik big tent in the Port Dover Pioneer parking lot came in from Granby Quebec the day before; however, due to the high winds, they didn’t get the sides on the tent until 3 in the morning. It cost them $526 to get the
merchandise license for the day. In November? Ouch. They were selling everything motorcycle; helmets, jackets, shades, shirts, boots, gloves, chains, patches, vests, dew rags, neoprene face masks, it was a one stop shop, and at reasonable prices for everything. Behind the Norfolk Tavern, Len’s Automotive out of Jarvis had their car transporter up the high street, showing off two futuristic looking 3 wheeler “Rewaco” bikes off the back. Of course Leathermaster was easily found, beside the Sears (across from the park), where 5 chapters of Hells Angels had set up tents in competition with one another. Well maybe it’s not competition if it’s all the same club, it’s got to be more like a congruence of diversely spread city chapters, providing their customers with an opportunity to purchase all 5 similar looking red and white product lines at the same time. Harley Canada had set up a “non-pin stop”, giving away free pins that weren’t event pins, just free Harley pins that would have usually cost you– and you didn’t even have to show them the HOG membership to get pin (I hope they’re back in the summer with more of a selection of free Harley pins, maybe throw in a few free t-shirts, and a free motorcycle or twelve). Of course, long time destination spot in Port Dover, “On The Fringe” was doing standing room only masses of business – elbow your way in, shuffle through, get the excellently priced item you needed, and get out having paid something akin to almost a 5 finger discount (but don’t
you dare try getting past Elaina with something stuffed under your jacket – her scream will melt your backbone ‘till you’re nothin’ but a puddle of leather). I have to tell you, since this IS newsworthy, you’ll have noticed that Clare’s Harley Davidson vanished from a place that now sells ice-cream along the river. Well, (strictly hush, hush you know) - between you and me, don’t tell anyone, but it might possibly be that Clare’s will be setting up their shop in Port Dover (under their own management, not someone else’s), on the main street – but again, you didn’t hear anything from me, and there’s no certainty it’s definitely going to happen; but, you know. So having stayed in Port Dover from 10:30 until noon, I bundled back up again, got on the bike, and headed to Selkirk. About Nanticoke, I had to stop to let the coffee out, and as I got back on the bike again, a stinging impenetrable white shower of ice pellets blasted through, melting on contact with the road. At that time a couple on a bike with ape hangers road past. I wasn’t going to be left there by the side of the road, so I caught up to them, and we hit a bit more pellets before Selkirk. It was amazing how riders just kept coming from out of the dark gloom ahead, in little packs of threes, and fours, heading to Port Dover. Such is the attraction of PD13. Once you spend a season on your own bike, you will feel the calling of Port Dover – this is just the beginning of the “itch”. Jonathan Musson (www.petflightinc.com)
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JANUARY REPORT THE WHARF RAT RALLY
It’s hard to believe but by the time this article goes to print the white bearded dude (wearing red & white) would have been come & gone! I hope everyone got their share of chrome, lights and leather that they have been wishing for, if not, the International Motorcycle show at the International Center in T.O. is the first week of Jan. We here in the east will have to wait for the Moncton show in Feb. Today the snow is blowing here but it promised (according to the weather station) won’t last. I hope they’re right ’cause I (being ever hopeful) have to get the new
snow blower out of the bike trailer and put the “white couch” to bed for the winter. Having stated that, I have to speak of the greatest event of the season that happened the first week of September in Digby Nova Scotia the now famous “Wharf Rat Rally” celebrating their eleventh year. Thanks to the Wharf Rat Rally organizers and The Rider’s Mag, the boss and I had the opportunity to spend a
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fantastic five days covering the event. We set out on Tues. and made our way down to St. John for an overnight stay at a very biker friendly Travelodge as we had to catch the ferry to Digby, which was leaving at 7:00 AM Wed. morning (just a ridiculous time for an old saddle tramp). As we arrived to the loading dock in St. John, we had the opportunity to meet up with several other riders, some first timers and some old veterans waiting to be loaded onto the new Fundy Rose to take us across the Bay of Fundy to Digby. After a two beer ride enjoying the ocean view, worrying if I tied down the bike 2 floors below well enough, we landed in Digby. Getting down to our rides the sound of metal thunder entered as the ship doors opened and we throttled out & up the ramp to dry land in Digby. (I have to admit following a very slow 18 wheeler I managed to do many side slip takeoffs from the stop & go up the ramp). Having made it to dry pavement (undershorts unsoiled) we made the 10 minute ride to the Wharf Rat Rally H.Q. at the far end of the main drag. From there we got directions to our home base, the Annapolis Basin Convention Center, just outside of town. This was a great stay, not only because it was convenient but also a historical site in Cornwallis, which switched from a private summer retreat to a training base for our military in 1942. Upon entry we looked at a picture depicting the basic training group of 43 and low & behold I saw my father’s picture amongst the graduating ranks.
a liquid refreshment (15 by my count) and end up at the HQ of the WWR, about three quarters of a mile only to load up with as many Mags as we could carry & head back to our location. The boss actually offered some copies of the Mag to the
Being a restored barracks the place was very comfortable and the employees were not only pleasant, but biker friendly providing us respect, helpful information, clean & respectable rooms & service, along with breakfast, nightly entertainment & even a bike wash for all of us. I cannot say enough about the stay and will recommend it and patronize it next year (by the way they are proud sponsors of the W.R.R.). Meanwhile back to the task at hand, room secured (courtesy of the WRR), we headed back to the H.Q. Wed afternoon. Helpful volunteers showed me where to park, load up a pile of mags into the trailer and headed down to the wharf to where more helpful staff designated me the Rider’s Mag’s location. Wednesday was a fairly docile day (maybe 75 bikes) but vendors and display booths were very busy setting up. We were located in the middle of displays from many of the east coast bike builders and right on the bay.
The next four days were basically a blur, getting down to the location, handing out 60% of the Mags, then loading ourselves up with as many Mags as we could carry and head down the venue. I would not hesitate to say that there were 1000 venders of food, bling, parts, T shirts not to mention several places to grab
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local men in blue (and they accepted) far from the Gestapo in Ont. All I can say is that the WWR is something every biker in North America should attend I did see bikes with plates from Newfoundland, P.E.I., New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta In total about 30,000 bikes travelled through the area in those five days (conservatively). After 4 days of meeting new friends and fellow bikers, not to mention the super bike games & races @ the airport, the amazing water show in front of
thousands & a finally of fireworks on Sunday night, which I caught from our room across the shoreline. Hope to see you there next year. In closing I have to mention Laura Simmons, the hub of the wheel that made all of this possible. I’ve never witnessed anyone (man or woman) that exerted as much and spent so many hours to organize this event. She should be presented a metal of honor award for her endless work in organizing and deploying the necessities to make this happening. Along with Laura there were hundreds of volunteers to help carry the weight; much appreciation goes out to each and every one of you! I should also mention the major financial contributors to this project, Parks Canada, the Fundy Complex and Honda Motor Company. Without their help, along many other organizations & private donations make this event a reality. On a personal note I would like to Thank: Lora & WRR for making our stay possible and also Vicious Cycle MC, Wounded Warriors.ca MC, Canadian Veterans MC, Bikers Down Society, Road Dowgs (CH1) NS, Red Knights MC Nova Scotia for helping me get the mag to S. Shore N.S., Cape Breton, P.E.I. and Newfoundland. Also I would like to thank the entire bar staffs (especially for providing a multitude of great scallops), the volunteers, and all of the residents of Digby for allowing us to disrupt this beautiful part of the Maritimes with open arms and hospitality. Hope to see you all next year!
For now preparing to winter in and enjoy this great piece of the country with the boss. Atlantic Jeff signing off. Be safe & Ride free. (The Boss says so too!)
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“They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old, age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun...and in the morning we will remember them. Lest We Forget. “ There is a Canadian band of Brothers that are also members of the Veterans Motorcycle Club out of Ladysmith on Vancouver Island that Have been told that they are not welcome to parade or lay a wreath on the towns cenotaph or participate in this year’s remembrance day activities. The veterans motorcycle club’s members are made up of brothers from every branch of the Armed Forces, both active and Ex-military that ride together in solidarity with their brothers in arms. The Veterans Motorcycle Club participates in the toy runs, fundraising events for the community of Ladysmith and they also raise money for the Legion branch 171 Ladysmith, the very Legion branch that has so disrespectfully excluded them this years events... but strangely enough welcomed them with open arms in previous years, and had absolutely no problem taking money that was raised for them by this Club. This year however, the MC was informed by the Ladysmith branch that they could not participate if they were wearing their cuts. (A three-piece back patch) because...”it is too much like the outlaw biker gangs” These men are Canadian heroes! People that have fought for our country, our rights and freedoms only to have the Royal Canadian Legion turn around and slap them in the face and does not afford our Vets the freedom that they so rightly deserve. Club member Shawn Pertl so poignantly said,” this is the one day of the year, as veterans we should be allowed to March!” Pertl also added...,”that it is the opinion of some of the RCMP that the veterans MC has ties to outlaw biker clubs ... and therefore they do not want us to have a positive image in this community ... because we are a Motorcycle Club.” Gary Phillip, President of the Ladysmith branch 171 has declined comment on this subject referring me to contact the BC/Yukon headquarters. It was here that I was told that the Canadian Legion has no policy against MC’s or back patches. As
a matter of fact the group called the “legion riders” wear back patches all the time and are known partners to the Royal Canadian Legion. It is this reporters humble opinion that this is bigotry
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freedom and their right to wear what they believed is a religious symbol. What is so deplorable about this situation is that assumptions have been made and it is because of these assumptions that everyone loses!! The Veterans MC has decided to parade in the neighboring a town of Chemainus as several of the people of Ladysmith have also chosen to boycott the ceremonies in their hometown.
at its worst by this particular Legion. They have taken away the opportunity for our veterans to pay respects and tribute to their own fallen men and women... Their own brothers and sisters, this is their right... that they fought for and it is appalling!! Our Canadian government that is so worried about “not offending” immigrants and illegals but yet are so ready to throw our own True heroes under the proverbial bus. This is supposed to be a day that Honors our military men and women and acknowledges the sacrifices they have made for the freedoms that we are all supposed to enjoy. We Canadians are supposed to be living in this country, proud of our diversity and tolerance...and we may grumble a bit about it... But we know that there is room for everyone... Yet we have some talking head telling us that we are all expected to change our beliefs and traditions, stop saying certain greetings, or celebrate our own way of life...in the name of political correctness. Not wanting to offend anyone!! So we concede. It wasn’t that long ago that the Royal Canadian Legion Whalley Branch, set a precedent and changed their policy of “Absolutely no head coverings inside the Legion Hall” (a policy that was steeped in tradition and it was out of respect to the vets... To remove and head coverings, but the Legion caved in to accommodate a certain group of people that fought for their religious
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The veterans MC are not a bunch of derelicts, anarchists, or outlaw bikers... they are motorcycle enthusiasts that are fathers, grandfathers, husbands, friends and and more importantly ... brothers. They are productive members of society and actively involved in their community, and it is in my humble opinion that the Legion Branch 171 Ladysmith should be ashamed of themselves. I know it is The opinion of only a small percentage of narrow minded individuals that has spoiled it for the rest... even Shawn Pertl himself has been quoted as saying “I believe that most members of the Ladysmith Legion had no idea that this was happening, so I hold no bad feelings of them is the few that did this on their own that I have lost all respect for” I know that I can speak for my colleagues at the Riders Mag...our contributors... our advertisers and our readers, “ We take our hats off to you (Veterans MC) we support you, we thank you, we respect you, and we are honored to stand with you we will never forget!” I would also like to offer my congratulations on your 14th Anniversary Shadow Club Surrey you are my friends... ..My brothers, my sisters ... And It honours me to be a part of your family!! I love you all. A special mention to our “Wee Man” congrats on receiving your patch... And as for your recent health concern...we wish you a very steady recovery!! Congrats to the Horsemen New West, on their anniversary. My next article will feature and honour AIM (Association for Injured Motorcyclists) for honouring all of our Old Timers ... And being an important part of the motorcycle community. Special mention Reagan Johnson helps me, takes photos... And is a valued sister... I couldn’t do this without you!!! If any individual, club or organization would like to feature an event in my pacific ponderings... Please contact me via email: brokenangel@theridersmag.com Broken Angel
Not quite sure what is the most relevant threat to our existence? Today…..who the fuck knows??? Is it the possibility that you could fall victim to the latest (and very real) method of human disposal – murder by cop? Or the other very real (and deadly) mode of destruction - murder by an ISIS sleeper cell that breezed into Canada via the refugee pipeline? Remorse, responsibility, regret, . . . all of these qualities were absent from the testimony of Constable James Forcillo as he gave his excuses for ending the life of the drug fuelled and mentally disturbed youth, Sammy Yatim. Murder by cop . . . the cold delivery of the facts in this case seemed to underline the perception, at least by this officer, that it was his ordained privilege whether the man would live or die. A wave of nausea swept over me as the officer spoke about the friends he had lost since the shooting. Mmmmm, this was his selfish rendition of remorse or regret? It’s a fair assumption that the Yatim family found little solace in the downgrade of Constable Forcillo’s popularity, Eh Ollie? Upon reading through the newspaper reports, one thought looms large – how can law enforcement refer to patch holders as gangsters or thugs when it is obvious that those monikers are a better fit when referring to their own? Murder by zealots . . . how can it be acceptable to mass murder innocent people under the guise of a holy war? WAR . . . conflict can only be described as war when all parties are armed and all parties are prepared to die for their respective causes. The two freaks who murdered their associates in San Bernardino were citizens and an integral part of the community. They interacted, prior to the carnage, with their victims in a neighborly fashion and then they snapped. They were outfitted to the nines, locked and loaded, until they got the go-ahead. Shades of the Manchurian Candidate, Eh Ollie? And now the bleeding hearts have sanctioned the insertion of 25,000 Syrian refugees into our society. It takes a certain level of imbecilic reasoning (or an overinflated ego bloated by arrogance) to assume that an influx of people in large numbers, from that region, could not or would not harbor a possible terrorist or three. The threat is real but the spin is vital to calm the populace and maintain order . . . We know best - you can trust our screening process. We are infallible – we are Liberals! What is a certainty, you ask? The times are changing – no longer are you able to fly on a plane or attend a concert or simply walk the mall without wondering if today could be the day that some zealot has visions of martyrdom and paradise. None of this has any real bearing on biker’s rights but it does bear scrutiny as these (and other similar incidents) further erode our expectations of basic security. This month’s feature club is Bikers Rights Organization Ontario Inc. which was founded in 1979. The organization, B.R.O., includes members from across Canada and the United States of America. The club’s motto is “Let Those Who Ride Decide” which reflects the organization’s attitude towards the many issue that affect motorcycle riders. B.R.O.’s philosophy is that everyone should enjoy “Freedom of Choice” regardless of mode of transportation or demeanor. B.R.O. has many aims and objectives pertaining to the motorcycle lifestyle. Paramount to those objectives is the fostering and developing of improved community relations regarding bikers - via actively supporting local charities by instigating motorcycle safety through public awareness programs. Also high on the club’s priority list is to promote legislation affecting motorcyclists and to oppose, or
support, any contemplated legislation by Federal, Provincial, Municipal, or other authorities which may affect the motorcycling community. B.R.O. Ontario’s accomplishments include assisting in the creation of the accessible parking sticker for those motorcyclists who qualify for the already available accessible laminated parking card and helping to collect many petitions against Bill 117 - the private members bill that attempted to ban motorcycle passengers under the age of 14. B.R.O. Ontario also holds the annual Fallen Riders Memorial Awareness Rally at Queens Park, Toronto, Ontario, on the last Saturday in May. Everyone is encouraged to attend and participate. All chapters are open to visitors who will potentially become new members. B.R.O. encourages riders to attend one of their events and experience the club’s hospitality. All information regarding Bikers Rights Organization Ontario can be found by visiting its website www.bikersrightsorganization.ca Regardless of the current turmoil and troubles, the Ontario Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs & Independents has realized some successes to bolster our morale. Currently, the Ontario Biker Black List, a Facebook Group initiated by the Ontario Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs & Independents, has reported over 1300 members. The interest generated in the concept is a statement of agreement and further demonstrates support for the preservation of our lifestyle. For the past seven years,
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the OCC has pushed the Ontario government to ‘Allow Single Rider Access’ to the HOV lanes located throughout the Provincial operated highways. It appears we have achieved that goal but it was not the level of success we were seeking. The Ontario Liberal’s have announced that they will be changing the current HOV (High Occupancy Vehicles) designation to HOT (High Occupancy Toll) lanes. Single riders (and drivers) will be allowed to use the lanes providing they pay a toll. The amount being bandied about is $65.00 per month. It is, with some reservation, a success. Our Political Action Committee has received some encouraging communication regarding our push to change the current definition regarding handlebar height restriction to a more easily understood definition of what constitutes a legal handlebar height. The OCC/PAC is recommending that the Ontario definition should mirror the current British Columbian definition. Freedom isn’t free. The dogs of the establishment never rest nor should we. Slowly and steadily, our rights are eroded by special interest groups who pander to a political system pushing for a complete dictatorial governorship fueled by greed and personal gain. The pressures of discrimination are rampant as LE pushes to eradicate patches from mainstream society. However, our
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confederation is the pebble in their combat boots. Notice to those that seek to besmirch our lifestyle . . . we are growing - we are not going away - we will be respected we will resist every attempt to trample on our freedom. OCC - ONE COMMON CAUSE ! Rooster aka Dubble L OCC Treasurer Treasurer@occ4u.orgwww.occ4u.org RoosterRider
@roostahrider
Notice to those that seek to belittle our lifestyle - we are growing - we are not going away - we will be respected - we will resist every attempt to trample on our freedom.Notice to those that seek to belittle our lifestyle - we are growing - we are not going away - we will be respected - we will resist every attempt to trample on our freedom.Notice to those that seek to belittle our lifestyle - we are growing - we are not going away - we will be respected - we will resist every attempt to trample on our freedom.
Ok I ducked out on the last issue and have to do some catching up. Which is tough as I have forgotten what I had for breakfast today . I need to fire up the grey cells. I fear Mr. Critter may fire my ass for my sparse coverage of the Durham territory/ part of east Scarberia. So let’s start cranking out the amateur verbage...... RIDE FOR ANGIE Thinking back a few months... There was the ‘Ride for Angie”....attended by many mc’s and friends, if I recall it was Red Devils, Aces and Eights, Rangers, Longhorns, Redline and members of the Downtown/East/Oshawa chapters.
Good guy all around ‘Smilin’ Bryan’ from Malicious Cycle and Clothing plus his crew were the organizers of this ride. Angie for those that have not met her, has been one of the pretty faces behind the counter of the clothing store of malicious. She has had some serious health issues, which basically have curtailed her ability to ride her sportster. So Bryan went to work and converted Angie’s XL into a Trike...a very slick job and great paint work. Anyhow the ride started out at Malicious with a roar out on to St. Clair and a short ride up Kennedy Rd.to the Rangers East for a pop stop.....we then screamed (and I mean screamed) down the 401 to the dirty Schwa. At one point the pack had spread out into 4 lanes deftly weaving thru the cages, seems like minutes later we arrived at the Oshawa chapters CH. They had all their support gear out for sale and cooked up a complimentary BBQ (thx guys). After all of the lads and ladies were fed and had their parched thirsts quenched we motor’d up the back roads to the Aces and Eights CH. We sat in the sunshine and made a toast to the end of very good turnout for Angie...I saw lots of old friends and new, too many to mention. It does touch you when the community comes out to support their friends and loved ones, Hard core, Hard assed people with Big Hearts... the very best. LIVING VICARIOUSLY..(And yes I had to look this word up in the Webster’s) The above means experiencing something as if it happened to yourself...there will always be those that do it and those that don’t.
Many of us have a bucket list of shit that we plan to do, hopefully while you are looking down at the grass as opposed to looking up at it, for me it was always the Big Ride, heading out on your own, motoring across Canada with a swing down the west coast of the states to the U.S./Mex border. Then head east till you hit the Atlantic and mosey on home to Canukia. I once fantasized about riding thru Europe. Back in the mid-seventies on a 6 month backpack hippie trip in Southern Europe I met some hard assed Auzzie Riders on beat up BMW’s and wished I could have been one of them. We hooked up on the ferry crossing from Spain to Morroco, shared a doob and some vino, they had road dirt from almost all of Europe covering their bikes and leathers. They were real Scooter Trash Gypsies..... Those of you that read the mag follow the travels of Donny P. Where you can almost feel the breeze with his descriptive story-telling, I recall reading his stories of South Africa and lately his trip starting in frigid Northern Europe down thru several countries ending up at his clubs world party in Corfu Greece....we all look forward to his next tale.. Well I would like add a short account of another do it rather than think about it guy and that is Carlos N. (aka Prince). He is a member of the Longhorns MC out of Mississauga. This club hands down puts more miles and burns more rubber collectively than any MC that I know of.. So Carlos on his trusty Softail CVO decided to take it to the limit, in 40 days he chalked up almost 23,000km. Some time back in the middle of September rolled out of Toronto, headed north over Superior and then due west,
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blasted out on to our prairie flats till he hit the Rockies. Then scrambled thru the pass and down into BC, ending up in Vancouver. Next he hugged the Pacific Coastal Road which is a spectacular ride where you constantly have your head turned at right angle gazing out at the ocean (I have done this from Monterrey down to Santa Barbara...frking awesome). Anyhow he motored down thru Washington/Oregon and Cali. Made it to the Mexico border and decided to find out what a real tacos tasted like, so he bought some Mexican bike insurance, crossed the border and went south again along the coast about 300kms. Luckily no hassles or close calls, riding solo on a nearly new Harley CVO with CDN plates on makes you kind of a target for those who may see you as an easy
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score.. So he boots back into the states heads east thru Cali/Arz and kind of a loop into Nevada, swings by the Grand Canyon, then over into NM, texas, Mississippi, Bama and then books north west, going thru several states. Hits Tenn/ Kentucky and at the point where most of us would want to head home, he thinks the east coast of Canada might end this trip with some down home east coast hospitality. I can in no way in a few words describe what he experienced, encountered and saw. So many great days on the road, a set of tires, couple of oil changes, weather, rain, snow, blazing heat. Carlos has hit every state except for Hawaii and Alaska, many of us followed his more detailed journey on facebook. I have just borrowed from his stories, thanks my friend for sharing. So will next season be your season to hit the pavement for the long ride? ACES AND EIGHTS ANNIVERSARY BASH. I guess I have visited this CH a dozen or so times, so I wouldn’t miss their 8th Anniversary. I note I am not the only one, they had a massive turnout. Sundance and the boys all welcomed us, So hi to Rusty, Birdman, Dole, Hoss, Hippie, Tony and sorry if I forgot a few. CHOSEN FEW MC XMAS PARTY Our friends in North Pickering invited our club up to enjoy some early Christmas cheer. I figured I should go early to find a place to park. Our ranger striker Mikey D was doing the D.D. that nite and squeezed his truck into the back 40. We made our way thru the dark into the house. The joint was jumpin’ by 8:15. Anyhow Big Bad Bill W. welcomed us and all members made a point of greeting us . Saw boys from several clubs, Oshawa chapter, Redneck Rebels, Brothers of the Blade, etc, and likely missed some that later showed up. The Chosen Few’s-chosen few (their lovely ladies) had quite spread of eats which we par-took in, with people to see and places go we fled the scene around 10pm. Thanks for the hospitality CFMC, btw congrats on the new digs. Next summer be warned there is going to be a huge event held there which you will not want to miss! RANGERS MC ANNUAL PARTY JANUARY 16TH Anyone in the MC community knows by far this is the largest indoor party of the year, I have to think it’s the biggest in Canada for our breed of humanity. The draw of this event is always the knowledge that for your ticket you will feed on massive plates of the very best food and be entertained with great live music, chances at great prizes, always the who’s who of the clubs will be there. Don’t miss this year’s event!!! You can get tix from any Ranger. We are hoping Critter and others that contribute to The Mag will be able to make it this year. I will be there as member of the Rangers East Chapter. You can reach out to me for tix and info, All are Welcome of course, from far and wide. So trusty readers of The Mag, All the Best in 2016 and a Merry Merry Christmas ! Support your friends and your local MC’s, visit a clubhouse, Buy a T-shirt, Ride as much as you can when you can. See you at the show in January most likely drinking 10$ ale in the beer garden or near Critter’s Rider’s Mag booth (once the money runs out). For Dangerous Out!
It’s 7:30 a.m. and the wife and I are in the truck on our way to the Lucan Baconfest. It was started by Mike and Teresa from Hogtown Cycles in Lucan with proceeds going to the Sunshine Make a Wish Foundation. If you’ve never been to Lucan there is no way of getting there without travelling on some nice countryroads through some beautiful countryside, no matter where you are coming from. We rolled into town around 9 a.m. and things were already hectic at Hogtown Cycles with people getting ready for the event. After setting up our display it was time for some grub and the wife and I ended up at the Pork Producers stand for the most amazing Peameal on a bun we’ve ever tasted. It prompted the wife to buy a jar of the amazing sauce that was on the bacon. Teresa of Hogtown Cycles was running around like crazy, so I spoke with her briefly to let her know I wanted to write an article for the “Rider’s Mag”, and we arranged to meet up later. I stopped by some of the vendors and talked to Zac and John from Parts Canada, Joe and Greg from Midwest Supply and Brett from Deal-
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er Plan. Brett was there to provide instant financing on bikes for sale at Hogtown Cycle. Mike and Teresa try to have at least 40 used bikes for sale at any given time, and believe me, they had some beauties. Next stop was the showroom, which is large and extremely well organized for any after-market bling you need. The place was already packed and the girls at the counter were hopping to say the least. Up on the roof of the building was “DJ Dave” and the “Geoff Masse” Band. Both did an amazing job entertaining the crowds, and the music was terrific all day. The bikes kept coming into town in a steady stream and they were parked as far as you could see. When talking to Teresa and Mike later in the day, Teresa was hoping to double the attendance fromlast year’s tally of approximately 1500 people. My best guess would be 3 to 4 thousand people this year, with the potential of growing into something big. Needless to say, Teresa was exceptionally happy with the turnout and the weather. She has a lot more ideas for next year and is working with the town to make this happen. With the terrific weather, it was a great day and well attended. Be sure to mark this event on your calender for next year. You won’t be disappointed. Hankster
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“You know you’re a redneck when...... 1. You take your dog for a walk and you both use the same tree. 2. You can entertain yourself for more than 15 minutes with a fly swatter. 3. Your boat has not left the driveway in 15 years. 4. You burn your yard rather than mow it. 5. You think “The Nutcracker” is something you do off the high dive. 6. The Salvation Army declines your furniture. 7. You offer to give someone the shirt off your back and they don’t want it. 8. You have the local taxidermist on speed dial. 9. You come back from the dump with more than you took. 10. You keep a can of Raid on the kitchen table. 11. Your wife can climb a tree faster than your cat. 12. Your grandmother has “ammo” on her Christmas list. 13. You keep flea and tick soap in the shower. 14. You’ve been involved in a custody fight over a hunting dog. 15. You go to the stock car races and don’t need a program. 16. You know how many bales of hay your car will hold. 17. You have a rag for a gas cap. 18. Your house doesn’t have curtains, but your truck does. 19. You wonder how service stations keep their restroom’s so clean. 20. You can spit without opening your mouth. 21. You consider your license plate personalized, because your father made it. 22. Your lifetime goal is to own a fireworks stand. 23. You have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say “Cool Whip” on the side. 24. The biggest city you’ve ever been to is Walmart. 25. Your working TV sits on top of your non-working TV. 26. You’ve used your ironing board as a buffet table. 27. A tornado hits your neighborhood and does $100,000 worth of improvements. 28. You’ve used a toilet brush to scratch your back. 29. You missed your 5th grade graduation because you were on jury duty. 30. You think fast food is hitting a deer at 65. Newfie Stanley died in a fire, and his body was burned pretty badly. The morgue needed someone to identify the body, so they sent for his two best deer hunting friends, Cooter and Gomer. The three men had always hunted and fished together and were long-time members of a hunting camp. Cooter arrived first, and when the mortician pulled back the sheet, Cooter said: “Yup, his face is burned up pretty bad. You better roll him over.” The mortician rolled him over and Cooter said: “Nope, ain’t Stanley .” The mortician thought, this was rather strange, so he brought Gomer in to confirm the identity of the body. Gomer looked at the body and said: “Yup, he’s pretty well burnt up. Roll him over.” The mortician rolled him over and Gomer said: “No, it ain’t Stanley .” The mortician asked: “How can you tell ?” Gomer said, “Well, Stanley had two ass-holes.” “What! He had two ass-holes?” asked the mortician.
“Yup, we never seen ‘em, but everybody used to say: There’s Stanley with them two ass-holes.” (Cooter and Gomer are both now employed in the Federal administration. Cooter was appointed by Harper as a Senator and Gomer works in Prime Minister Harper’s Office.) Jane and Arlene are outside their nursing home, having a drink and a smoke, when it starts to rain. Jane pulls out a condom, cuts off the end, puts it over her cigarette, and continues smoking. Arlene: What in the hell is that? Jane: A condom. This way my cigarette doesn’t get wet.
Come see us at the Motorcycle Supershow in Hall 5. Get your Riders Mag Support Gear. We will have Donny Peterson and Larry Pooler in the booth on Saturday afternoon signing 2016 81 Support calendars. All of our Ontario contributors will be there as well as this month’s Cover and Calendar model Ashley! THE RIDERS MAG ---- PAGE 25
A r l e n e : Where did you get it? Jane: You can get them at any pharmacy. The next day, Arlene hobbles herself into the local pharmacy and announces to the pharmacist that she wants a box of condoms. The pharmacist, obviously embarrassed, looks at her kind of strangely (she is, after all, over 90 years of age), but very delicately asks what size, texture, brand of condom she prefers. ‘Doesn’t matter Sonny, as long as it fits on a Camel .’ Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests itself: I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs to be washed. As I head towards the garage, I notice the mail on the porch table that I picked up from the postman earlier. I decide to go through it before I wash the car. I put my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the recycling box under the table, and notice that the recycling box is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the recycling first. But then I think, since I’m going to be near the postbox when I take out the recycling paper anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my cheque book off the table and notice that there is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are in the desk in my study, so I go into the house to my desk where I find the cup of coffee I’d been drinking. I’m going to look for my cheques but first I need to push the coffee aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over. The coffee is getting cold, and I decide to make another cup. As I head towards the kitchen with the cold coffee, a
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vase of flowers on the worktop catches my eye - the flowers need water. I put the coffee on the countertop and discover my reading glasses that I’ve been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I’m going to water the flowers. I put the glasses back down on the countertop, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote control. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realise that tonight when we go to watch TV I’ll be looking for the remote, but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I put the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: The car isn’t washed, The bills aren’t paid, There’s a cold cup of coffee on the kitchen countertop, The flowers don’t have enough water, There is still only 1 cheque in my cheque book, I can’t find the remote, I can’t find my glasses, And I don’t remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all day and I’m really tired. I realise this is a serious problem, and I’ll try to get some help for it, but first I’ll check my e-mails..... Don’t laugh - if this isn’t you yet, your day is coming!! Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Canadians; If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, You may live in Canada . If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don’t work there, You may live in Canada .. If you’ve worn shorts and a parka at the same time, You may live in Canada . If you’ve had a lengthy telephone conversation With someone who dialed a wrong number, You may live in Canada . If ‘Vacation’ means going anywhere South of Detroit for the weekend, You may live in Canada . If you measure distance in hours, You may live in Canada . If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, You may live in Canada . If you have switched from ‘heat’ to ‘A/C’ in the same day and back again, You may live in Canada . If you can drive 90 km/hr through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, You may live in Canada . If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, You may live in Canada . If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them, You may live in Canada . If you design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, You may live in Canada . If the speed limit on the highway is 80 km -- you’re going 95 and everybody is passing you, You may live in Canada . If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, You may live in Canada . If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter,
Continued on Page 53
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Choppers Custom Works is proof positive that dreams can and do come true when you have all the right people who are all willing and able to work like Hell, treat customers properly, and provide good honest service at reasonable prices. Then the dreams just get bigger and better! The very popular and successful, “Choppers Custom Works” store that opened around three years ago at the four corners in Selkirk is, still there, still going strong and still maintains the charm and character that it always had and they still do amazing work on motorcycles. The word is out on them and customers now come from far and wide for that special “Custom Chopper Works” experience. However their reputation for fast friendly service and their ability to get the job done properly has led to not only their success and rapid growth was now causing some serious growing pains. It seems that last year, the shop in Selkirk, the garage out back of Tom’s home, and the one across the road at his brother Mike’s place simply weren’t large enough to accommodate the huge volume of work and the number of motorcycles left with them to store throughout the winter. Rather than turn business away and disappoint (a word that evidently doesn’t exist in the O’Marra vocabulary.) customers, they had to rent additional space to store them all. It worked, but it was painfully obvious to them that these were just Band-Aid solutions and what they truly needed was more space, permanent space
and lots of it. Expansion was not just a dream anymore it was a necessity! The solution presented itself in the form of a great store and garage that had previously been a motorcycle shop in nearby, Dunnville that had become available. They jumped at it and got it. So this year, they are not only all set for whatever challenges come their way but can bring in new services that would not have been possible with just the Selkirk store. While this shop was brand new to them, it was far from being brand new! A lot of hard work, material and time, along with the usual prerequisite, blood, sweat and tears went into the transformation from what was to what is. As mentioned, this had been a very successful, busy shop and the building provided many years of reliable service and took all the normal wear and tear and hard use that a busy motorcycle shop must endure under the previous owner and you can’t ask or expect much more than that of a building. But those years had taken their toll and the place was definitely showing its age and it needed some attention to rejuvenate it again so as to meet the needs and demands of the new owners in the years ahead. It was certainly due for a face lift and some upgrades along with some TLC. This was the crew that could make it happen. Fifty five gallons of white paint went into making the place shine, inside and out, and they
have done an excellent job. The three bay garage has been opened up inside, cleaned out, painted, and is now, a clean, bright work place once again and ready for action. The painting and cleaning of the garage is just the start of the changes that have been made. Security has been ramped up and they have done a remarkable job of restoration, renovation and transformation. The building retains its original character but it is now brighter inside and out, new floors, and a clean remodeled bathroom. They are far from being done yet, as they now have a blank canvas and have many options and plans that were on hold until a proper location became available are now being put into effect and this new space allows them explore even more possibilities. They’ll be now be able to not only offer their usual great service at either location but will also be able to offer in house custom painting, and spray chroming (the whole works) and be better able to meet their customers’ needs and expectations without having to make excuses for third party delays. No waiting a month for the painter to come back with parts, or for a box of chrome to get back to them. They have mapped out where the various work stations would be along with, where the new specialty services like paint and spray chrome will be done, but they are still left with many more options and possibilities and it is always nice to have lots of options and space as both can disappear real quick after you open the doors and the business
starts to flow through and given their solid reputation, it will flow and flow steady. The big, bright, center show room is already starting to fill up with used and refurbished motorcycles of different makes and models and there are even a couple of quads. The back wall has a fine assortment of helmets, chrome front ends, wheels, MidUSA parts, Kuryakin parts, grips and a rack of new bike and quad tires. There are coffee mugs galore, t-shirts, and some great gift ideas. So far we’ve mainly spoken of
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real estate, locations and buildings. Buildings are just buildings! Bricks and mortar, wood, paint, glass and other various other materials that just house whatever you want to put in them. You can fix them up, light them up, pretty them up and put up signs and call them a Motorcycle shop or whatever you like. It is the people who run it that will truly determine what it is and how it is perceived and the customers who will evaluate it and them and determine if it is good or not and worthy of being called a Motorcycle Shop. These are great people and
the real reason that the business needed to expand was due entirely to the efforts of this seemingly tireless bunch who have pooled their time, talents and imagination and boundless energy to grow this business and have won the trust of an ever-expanding loyal customer base. The determination, and creativity that they put into it show in everything they do. They have earned their reputation of reliability, honesty and the ability to treat people properly. At Choppers Custom Works, at either location, you will find not only a great spot with a warm, friendly atmosphere but a crew of qualified, interested and motivated people ready willing and able to look after your motorcycling needs be they buying a bike, servicing your old one or custom building that one of a kind bike that only exists in your dreams. They are open all week, Monday to Saturday, and they are fully equipped to come and get you and your bike if the need arises. They have had to add to their crew that was and still is made up mainly of family, Tom and Mike O’Marra along with their wives Audrey and Teresa, Tom’s son Joe and mechanic Nick and new parts guy Mike Ellis. They are a formidable team that will do you proud. Do yourselves a favour and drop by and see them at either location or both. At the very least you will get to meet some really great people. Jonathan Musson (www.petflightinc.com) / Critter
Hello fellow riders and Riders Mag readers. My name is Tim Leigh-Bell. I am sure I have met a lot of you at the January bike shows at my bikelawyer.ca booth. I have been a lawyer almost as long as I have been riding, and that is a long time. In this column I am going to try to provide a little insight into legal issues that affect us as riders. My legal practice is focussed on injury and insurance claims so this column will lean toward those areas more than things like Highway Traffic Act and Criminal Code infractions. But one thing that will help to keep this column interesting is questions from you, the readers. So ask anything and even if the question is outside my comfort zone, I will do my best to come up with an answer for you. And to start things off, I do have a question submitted to Al at Riders’ Mag. The question is whether a police officer has authority to confiscate a helmet that does not meet regulations.Under the Highway Traffic Act and regulations, a police officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that your helmet does not comply with the Highway Traffic Act and Regulation regarding helmet standards has the right to stop you and inspect your helmet to make sure that it complies. If it does not comply you can be charged and prevented from riding with that helmet. However there is no express right to seize the helmet granted under the legislation, unless there is a search warrant or warrant for arrest, which is unlikely to happen. Just for reference, the prohibition against wearing a non-compliant helmet is set out in s. 104 of The Highway Traffic Act and the specifications are set out in Ontario Regulation R.R.O. 1990, regulation 610. You can find these just by googling Highway Traffic Act Ontario, or by going to www.e-laws.on.ca. Because the legislation is not clear I checked with a criminal lawyer friend, Joe Ciraco. Joe advises me that under common law the police officer does have the right to retain the non-compliant helmet to prevent commission of an offence by using the unsafe equipment. So the simple answer is yes, a police officer does have authority to seize a non-compliant helmet. But seriously folks, why would you wear a helmet that is not compliant? Those who are old enough might remember a helmet advertisement that said “if you have a $10.00 head, wear a $10.00 helmet”. A decent helmet doesn’t have to cost a lot, and in
fact, higher purchase price does not necessarily equal a safer helmet. Helmet safety is a pretty big topic. I’ll take a stab at it in a later column. Meanwhile, please send your questions to me at tim@timleighbell.com
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We are Going to Fly so High; One of us is Going to Die
the length of Denmark where we hook up with some of the Stavanger, Norway guys and some more of the boys from Bergen. We will all catch an overnight ferry first to (Born to be Wild-Steppenwolf) Egil and I are returning from the Big Party (Greece) Stavanger and then continue onto Bergen, Norway. But to Norway with the boys from Coastland (Flemsburg, before all of this…. We decide to stay until Tuesday morning following the Germany) by sailing up the Adriatic Sea from Corfu, Greece weekend’s Big Party. I lazily sit on a patio overlooking the to Venice, Italy. main street and the Adriatic Sea. The boys are leaving town. For 36 hours, pack after pack blasts by heading home to every country in Europe and beyond. The noise of performance and straight pipes create an ongoing and constant brapping as groups of three bikes to fifty bikes ride past us and out into the mountains. Many of US will be leaving on the various ferrys to different parts of Italy.
Our ferry to Venice is huge, it docks at dawn to pick us up for the overnight trip up the Adriatic Sea to Big Man Shane at the run site sitting on Boz’s Victory Venice. Cross Country. Boz is the high tech guru of Great Britain. Boz operates out of Powerglides (Powerglides. co.uk) in Kent, England. He rode this bike many thousands of miles from London to the party and back. We will then ride the top of Italy into Austria. In Vienna, Austria we decide to load our bikes onto a train for an overnight trip through Germany to Hamburg. Why?...because I have never done that before. There is no similar train program that I am aware of with rail cars specifically designed for motorcycles in North America. Then we will head north. We leave the boys from Coastland near the Danish border. We will then ride
Waiting at dawn near Corfu, Greece for the Venice Ferry. The pack grows into many hundred. We will take the ferry up the Adriatic Sea from the party site. We line up at 5am in the dark. Some say there are 500 of US. It is hard to say just how many. The ship’s bars are filled all day and night long with US. If you want to watch a cool video of the pack I am in when leaving on You Tube; Google Hells Angels at the port of Igoumenitsa - Greece.
We all have a constant companion… Death!
The news trickles in constantly. There are the usual non fatal accidents to and from the run. Kev breaks his leg a few minutes from home, north of London after riding many thousands of miles; his bike
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argues with a lorry (truck) almost within sight of his clubhouse in England. I almost bought it four times returning to Norway. I was sick and kept passing out on my bike at speed. More on this in a bit. We get the saddening news that Rudy 81 dies on his motorcycle riding home to Poland from the run. We are sad. He leaves US and his baby boy he was riding home to be with. We fly so high one of us is always gonna die. Death is all around when on the Edge for those that dare... One side of the Edge is life at its fullest; always skirting death. It is the life we live. Rudy is the first of three to die on their bikes riding home.
Sailing the Adriatic. To the west is the coast of Italy. Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzogvina, and Croatia are to the east. Our destination is Venezia (Venice). From there we will ride through the Italian flatlands to the Italian Alps, Austrian Alps, Vienna Austria, across Germany, up Denmark and over to Norway.
We ride off the ferry. The hundreds of bikes head off in every direction, heading home to their respective countries. We ride through the Italian flatlands north of Venice, heading to the Italian Alps in the distance. We must cross them into the Austrian Alps and into Austria.
Shitty side of Venice. This is not the sight one normally sees. Venice is an extraordinary city built into the sea. The roads are mostly water; a myriad of canals. The Adriatic Sea’s daily tides are supposed to flush the canals clean. However, the shit builds up. The city, as beautiful as it is, often floods and stinks. If you took history lessons in school about the explorer Marco Polo travelling to the Orient, this is the place he called home. His house is still here. If one travels across the Adriatic, the Croatians will show you the island he was born on. Both countries claim him as their own. THE RIDERS MAG ---- PAGE 35
Austrian Alps. I am not sure where they begin as the Italian Alps and the Austrian ones are the same mountain range. Austrian housing design abounds in northern Italy. Each country influences the other in the mountains.
Loading the train with bikes in Vienna. They have
special rail cars that secure the bikes easily and safely. When we unloaded in Hamburg, they cordoned off a pathway for us to ride through a shopping mall to access the highway. Now that I have done this; it is efficient and easy. I guess it is okay if in a hurry but I prefer to ride next time. We slept in cramped sleepers but there was no bar car. Forty of US and no place to congregate!
We have already bought our tickets when I get an angry call. It is from one of my good friend’s in Vorarlberg. He like others we have passed by on this trip are insulted that we have not stopped by. Bikers are very sensitive. He is an old friend. I saw him at the Big Party. WE have hundreds of spots in Europe. It is just not possible to visit all on one trip. He just assumed we would stop for a day or three to visit and receive their wonderful hospitality. I apologized and said I was planning on going to their big anniversary party for all the Austrian Napping on my bike in Vicharters later in the year in enna, Austria. We are waitNovember. They held it in ing for the overnight train Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt on to Hamburg, Germany. This the Red Sea. I was really is a common mode of travlooking forward to this trip el in Europe. I need to try for scuba diving, walking everything at least once. the exquisite beaches, and socializing with the the Austrians. I got hit with a double whammy. Terrorists bombed a Russian passenger jet out of the sky as it was leaving Sharm el Sheikh. Some world airlines suspended flights over Egypt. Then, Lufthansa who I was flying with went on strike in Germany backing up 100,000 passengers (me included) a day. So, I am still in trouble. I will make every effort to return to Austria and other countries that I passed ASAP. However, it may not be until early next summer when I ride to the next Big Party. We leave our German riding partners in Flemsberg near the border. They want to feed us and to stay at the clubhouse. We press on as the ferrys are on a strict schedule. Egil wants to visit our guys in Aarhus, Denmark. So do I but I am learning. If we stop, then the guys in Esbjerg, Odense, Randers, and Horsens might be pissed if we do not stop there also.
Something is very wrong
As we ride into Denmark, I start to feel really weird. I begin to think someone has given me drugs. I cannot stay awake on the bike. Egil scoffs at the thought that someone has drugged me. I cannot explain this but I never uncontrollably pass out on the bike. I begin to pass out at speed. I suddenly come to just before a bad crash that will kill me for sure. Three days before I left Canada, I felt sick. I lost my appetie, which NEVER happens with my insatiable eating. I had no time for the
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doctor. I always heal and get better on my own. I only go for medical treatment when it hurts more to stay out of a hospital than going to one. Thank God for ABS brakes….oh yeah, I forgot, there is no god. I make my own luck. Many seasoned riders don’t like ABS brake systems. These riders feel they can control the bike more efficiently in a braking situation. However, rider reaction times may take a second or two. This may allow the bike to start sliding out of control or even flip as I am about to relate. ABS brakes make automatic and precise reactions in milliseconds.
Riding thru Denmark; we head north from Hamburg, Germany.
The road test for ABS braking is a panic stop with no warning. I kept fighting the sleepiness but couldn’t control its effects. I have also lost my depth perception. I passed out four times that I remember at around 85 mph (137kph). Each time before an impending accident, I snapped to and barely avoided the imminent high-speed collisions. Each time, the Road Glide’s ABS brakes saved me. If the bike had regular brakes, I would’ve been killed. In one of the incidents, I snapped to from passing out; the bike was angled slightly perpendicularly while heading straight into a truck’s rear end. I jammed on the brakes! The Road Glide braked efficiently while holding course, but it was unsettling not being straight up. Of course, that was my rider-error that the bike ably managed. A rearender was barely avoided. Another time was even worse. The brakes had no time to save me as I swerved around a flat bed truck’s rear end at very high speed. I braked hard as I began my swerve. I felt the bike was about to flip at an angle from straight ahead as the front tire grabbed the pavement. Everything was happening too fast for my riding skills to help. It was a weird feeling knowing I was going to flip sideways and forward at high speed. Suddenly, the ABS released the front brake, saving the bike from flipping as I barely missed the truck. The new frame and rear fork introduced five years ago and the tightness of the new Road Glide assisted mightily. The passing out lasted only a few hours and then it stopped for whatever reason I do not know. It turns out that I had this spreading internal infection throughout the bike ride. I toughed it out for 5 weeks. Who has time for a doctor when riding from morning until night?
later it was hurting more than seeing the doc. I could tell that whatever was wrong was getting bad as the malady spread into all my joints with much ongoing pain. It hurt to stay still, to move, to sleep...in fact, I couldn’t sleep because of the pain. I headed to my doctor, hobbled in and said that there was something wrong. He took me right away because he knew this was so out of character for big, tough Don. He wasn’t sure what the problem was but loaded me up on a series of antibiotics and other pills to kill off some of the possibilites. The lab took successive vial after vial of blood and urine many times for analysis. Off I went for ultra sounds to look for organ issues. Then came heart tests, eye tests, eyeball MRI’s, a brain scan...even a dermatologist looking for a skin cancer. This went on for a few months. They suspected everything from bladder cancer to advanced diseases. A few weeks later, I was feeling fine; boxing, weightlifting, riding, and boating. I tell all the doctors there is no longer a problem. They are not convinced. I tell them they worry too much. Finally they figured it out. My body was going septic after leaving the infection for so long. I had contracted E-Coli from someone not washing their hands or a hundred other possibilities. Stubborn Don could have died from the diagnosed infectious poisoning. I am a strong person, which gets me into trouble all the time but it also helps me in the end. A weaker person would have suffered dire consequences. Of course, a weaker person would have sought treatment sooner. Back to the return ride… Egil and I rode into Hirtshals, at the top of Denmark for the overnight ferry back to Bergen. We are getting closer to Norway. The sun leaves as the cold rain begins. The wind is cold off the North Sea. Some of the Bergen guys are there already as are the boys from Stavanger, Norway. The ferry will get to Stavanger after about 12 hours and then we have another 6 hours to Bergen. Next issue will be the final installment of my ride across Europe. It is titled, “The Boys are back in Town” (Thin Lizzy).
Donny Petersen Donny’s tech books are available on Amazon My website www.donnypetersen. com has not been working properly. It will be soon with more content and stories and stuff.
Back in Toronto
When I finally arrived back in Toronto, I thought I might be getting better. I am the eternal oiptimist. Three days
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So here we go again doing that thing where we are welcoming in the New Year seeing the Old Year out and I feel like I have to look in my rear view mirrors and comment on some of what happened in 2015. First I want to wish all of good people in the motorcycle community who read and support The Riders Mag a very Happy Freaking New Year and may the best of the year behind us be the worst of the year ahead. I know this may sound a bit confusing but when your beard gets as long and as grey as mine has, you truly appreciate the chance to celebrate another year of doing what you do best. Around this time last year the weather was being a monster in some areas of Ontario and on our returning from the International Motorcycle Supershow in Toronto what should have been a 4 or 5 hour trip turned into a 9 hour one which included seeing Hwy 407 shut down and yet with a van filled with some of my Brothers from TCB the trip was a truly fun time. It never ceases to amaze how you can start out on a journey with a bunch of tattooed, bearded men in a van and arrived filled with teenagers who have covered just about every bad joke they know and everybody’s faces ache from all the laughter during the trip. Which is good reason to remind everyone that great times are made so don’t just sit there and bitch while waiting for things to happen. The first event locally I took part in 2015 was the Greely
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Swap Meet, which is held at the Greely Legion Hall on Mitch Owen Drive and while eastern Ontario doesn’t have a strong tradition of successful swap meets in the past, this one will be going into its 3rd year and has been very well received by the Ottawa area motorcycle riders who are thrilled at having the opportunity to either purchase new stuff or sell off some of their own treasures while at the same time having the chance to socialize with other riders. Outside the weather was bitter cold and deep with snow but inside the legion hall it was warm and inviting and you got a sense of how things were going to be by the long line of people offering to help others bring in their stuff and once again I am reminded of one more reason that bikers are a special breed of person. The 2016 Greely Swap Meet will take place on Feb 7th so if you need some new parts or just want to be with your own kind be sure to attend and as always, stop by the Mag/TCB table and say hi! Back in February we participated in the Ottawa International Motorcycle Show at the E-Y Center and we had a great time regardless of the weather outside. The show had made a number of improvements and the new layout really was a success. The show provided for many a first time close up of the new line of Indian Motorcycles along with a number of custom motorcycles that took part in the Show & Shine. There may not be a show for 2016 and that would be a shame. It took a while for this show to develop and it was getting better, it is sad that a city the size of Ottawa doesn’t have a successful motorcycle show taking place annually because there are lots of riders and there is a need for events like this one so let’s keep our fingers crossed. While the show was taking place someone far beyond being just a friend to us was undergoing a double-lung transplant in Toronto and because some caring person bothered to register to be an organ donor and although we will never know the sex, the age or the name of the individual who saved the “lovely” Shirley’s life I am pleased to tell you she is doing incredibly well and enjoying life once again. Shirley makes the 3rd person close to me including my “brother” Doc whose life was saved because some stranger gave a damn and registered so please join
The Celtic Brotherhood & The Riders Mag in asking all motorcycle riders and our supporters to take the time to go to www.beadonor.ca and register. We all understand that while we cannot live forever we can make a real difference by making it possible for others to live on through us donating our organs! This was also a pretty amazing time in our local community because two of our own, Shawn Dawson, owner of Fatboys Smokehouse and Dan Allaston, owner of New Moon Tattoo Studios were involved in the Dream Mountain charity which was founded by Shawn and for months along with about 20 other individuals representing various other charities trained so they could fly to Nepal and the plan was for them to climb to the base camp on Mount Everest which is situated about 17,000 feet above sea level. Now Shawn is an experienced mountain climber but for Dan this was a first time thing and while he along with the others trained constantly in order to get prepared, that base camp is taller than Canada’s highest peak. A day or so before they were to begin their climb, Nepal was hit with a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that was responsible for the death of thousands of people and luckily none of the climbing team were hurt but they had to cancel their climb. I think the 2016 climb is one of the Andes mountains in Chile and I will be sure to let you know and see if the guys can take a pic on top holding a copy of The Riders Mag. This was a year for new beginnings with the Ottawa area seeing the group B.A.C.A. (Bikers Against Child Abuse) being formed and aside from their taking over the Ride for Hope they have worked hard at having members attend and show support for other charity events. That support included Thor aka Tom Alain, and a
few of the BACA riders dropping by the 3rd Annual Ride for Autism a bit late because they had previously attended an event in the east end supporting the family of a local rider who had been seriously injured so after leaving that event they crossed Ottawa to support the Autism event where they paid for taking part even though they had to leave for another event somewhere else. Some of them purchased 50/50 tickets and left them behind with instructions that if they won the prize it would be donated to the Autism ride itself. I said it then and I say it now, that’s being a class act. A n o t h e r worthy event I went to was hosted by the Ruffians MC Local 1855 Roof Top Patio Party that was held at the East Side Mario’s in Bells Corners where they were raising funds in memory of Jamie Hubley, a 15yr old boy who tragically took his own life after years of being bullied. Since that time Jamie’s parents Allan, who is also an Ottawa City Councillor and his wife Wendy have worked steadily to see to it that other teenagers do not become so desperate they turn to suicide and this fund raiser is towards developing the 6th floor ward at CHEO
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(Childrens Hospital of E. Ontario) for young people suffering from severe depression. With the Ruffians MC hosting they were joined by members of The Celtic Brotherhood, the Biker Church, the Burn Out Boys, Black Pistons MC, Soldiers for Jesus, the Outlaws and the Simple Men MC. One of their members won that big shiny BBQ that was up for grabs. The Hubley’s were kind enough to attend and graciously thanked all the riders that participated. I might add the rooftop was not only ideal for the event but also gave the riders the opportunity to watch a police officer in a marked squad car cruise through the parking lot running the plates of the motorcycles but at no time did he stop and check any of the automobiles in the same lot. What a shame to see Bikers doing good and a police officer acting badly. This was a tough summer all over for riders killed in accidents or lost to our community for other reasons and a large number of them were friends of mine. Bill Blake, a childhood friend died in a single vehicle accident on his way back from Felix’s (Cycle Salvage) and no one is sure what exactly happened but it seemed so bizarre when I remember him and I bunking rides on passing railway cars to get across town over a half a century ago and we never got a scratch. Another horrific loss to our motorcycle community was the accident that claimed the lives of both Karen & Bruce Molyneaux, near Perth. Karen was the sister of Don Flinn, one of the most respected and well known bikers in eastern Ontario and founder of the Pike Falls Classic and of this past years Rev & Roll Dice Run. I have personally know Karen & Don for decades and the news of the accident left Bette and I devastated. Two other area riders who passed away were Charly Lawrence, a member of the
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Back Woods Touring Group and who along with his wife Glenna had a popular restaurant for area bikers called “Charly’s Place and also lost another well known and long time brother to me, Billy White who many of you would remember from his days at the old Freedom Harley. Billy was one of the nicest people you could ever know and his passing was felt by many in the Harley community especially Peri Poirer, from B.A. Performance Cycle who worked with Billy for years. Another accident that claimed the life of a well known rider and character in our local biker community was the untimely death of Peter North aka Sinister Chopper and while I found myself often scolding Peter for his trademark exits from events or worse, my house. I guess like him I believed he lived a charmed life but we forget that saying never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly anyhow Peter crashed and succumbed to serious injuries. This past year also saw The Celtic Brotherhood receive strong support from Pace Law Motorcycle Division’s Ray Bonner and James Taylor by helping the Brothers acquire a commercial griddle making it possible for the TCB to provide free breakfasts at some events they participate in while at the same time allowing them the opportunity to
inform motorcycle riders about head injury and giving them information needed about brain injury itself through the Ontario Brain Injury Association or important information about acquiring legal protection from a firm such as Pace Law Motorcycle Division. I also want to express my thanks to area business like Marcel and Linda Moncion, of Moncion’s Independent
Grocer who are not only serious riders themselves but who have kindly donated food to charity events over the years and have hosted, The Ride for Her in support for a cure for ovarian cancer. I need to also give a special thanks to Peri and Tim, at B.A. Machine Performance Cycles for all the contributions and support they have given to area riders and motorcycle events in this past year. One of the road trips I enjoyed this past summer was going down to Belleville to help the Denny’s Restaurant develop a Spring/ Fall motorcycle classic event and this provided us with the chance to get together with Harold Gagnon who is the owner of ‘Make It Roar Motorcycle Shop’ in Trenton. Everyone had a good time and I had the opportunity to meet even more riders from the Belleville/Quinte area and I look forward to spending more time down there in 2016 including perhaps participating in the Ride for Paws which I learned more about while getting to know Derek Andrews. As I have said in the past, I try to get to as many show & shines as I possibly can but I must admit it was an extra special pleasure to head down with Chucky and Bozz to Newmarket and participate in the Annual Riders Mag Show & Shine in August as there are so few times that many of us who are part of the Mag family actually have an opportunity to get together. Sometimes getting to events can seem like a merry-go-round with one Saturday my having to cover the Ride for Hope east of Ottawa in Embrum in the morning then head home and get dressed to attend the memorial for Peter North aka Sinister Chopper in the early afternoon and then later on we attended the wedding of Matrix, the youngest member of the TCB to his lovely bride, Emily. As in past years on the Labor Day weekend we attended the Snake River Rodeo hosted by the Simple Men MC up in the Cobden area and as in past years they put on a great party and as in past rodeos they had a number of their members from Nova Scotia come up to take part and show us how to party. Even with the extreme heat people participated in the rodeo and as I have said before, they have one of the finest suppers you could hope to get at an outdoor event. On a sad note, the Denny’s restaurant in the South Keys Plaza have closed their doors after 18 years and I want to thank them for being so very supportive of Ottawa’s motorcycle community with having the Spring/Fall Motorcycle Classic and in past years the Forever 2 Wheels Cruise Nights as well as their support of the Mag. We wish Jeff and Mike the very best in whatever future endeavors they get into and look forward to Jeff coming to more events in the new year on some of those radical choppers and bobbers he has. I also hope that more area businesses will step up
and help support the biker community in the future, in the way the Denny’s has over the years. I have one last item to mention because it happened just a couple of days before I finished this column. Ron “Clipper” Whitlock, one of the original members of The Celtic Brotherhood has sadly passed away and headed out to Valhalla to wait for the rest of us. Ron was like many ‘old school bikers’ who came from dark beginnings, lived a life made up of saddlebag full of bad choices and yet somehow arrived at the end of his ride, someone that I was absolutely thrilled to have had the honor and pleasure of calling my Brother. I know that when you do a year’s summation there is a lot of mention of riders passing but it is just part of our culture because we are people who value true friendship & understand the meaning of brotherhood. As always I want to remind all of you that if you have an event or ride coming up or if you are a business that deals with either motorcycles or the people who ride them, you might like to advertise or be a distributor for “The Riders Mag” .. Please contact me either by email or phone Email: theridersmag. beau@gmail.com
Twitter: Rider Mag East .. http://twitter. com/Motorcyco_Beau Read The Riders Mag Online: http://
theridersmag.com/ online/
And as always I want to leave you with this reminder for all of you to follow... We Make Our Motorcycle Communities Stronger!... By Making Them Better!...Ride Safe! Ride Proud! ... Brotherhood! Motorcyco Beau
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Iron Hearted Sporty
This month’s feature guy is Shawn from Fisherville and although this is his first Harley he has a long history of riding saying that his uncles are all riders some with Harleys and he started out on a Japanese bike back in the day just cause he wanted to ride with his uncles. His story is that he picked up the bike at an auction and it was a barn find without a key and they couldn’t get a bid so he offered then a hundred bucks and they said sold.
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Well he was riding saying that once he cleaned up the carbs the bike ran and he rode it for a few years getting all he could out of it. after some riding he decided that the crotch rocket style of bike was not his thing and he traded up to an even older Japanese v-twin. Shawn says it ran but had some valve issues with it and he pulled the motor out and fixed the problem only to end up with some significant
oil leaks. He pulled the motor out again and regasketed the leaky areas and in the process found that he was pretty good at fixing up bikes. Eventually he established a heated shop out back on his family farm and started buying and selling bikes to make a few extra bucks. He also works on other items around the farm including their 6 wheel gator which he says wife Alicia likes to run around the property from time to time and it’s also great fun with their three young kids. So besides having a full time job with the county of Haldimand and also being a volunteer firefighter for the county as well he found success as a hobbyist motorcycle repairer as well as a committed rider. He got this first Harley last fall finding it on Kijiji in the southwestern Ontario area and says that it was in real rough shape saying it looked like a true barn find with many parts missing. Shawn says he never really set out specifically to own a Harley although his uncles ride older models but you can tell he sure is proud to own his own Harley now. Shawn did all the work himself with what he describes as a lot of help and insight from local shop owner Tom in Selkirk Ontario,
whom Shawn often stopped and visited with on trips between work and home. Like many older bikes solving one problem generally leads to finding the next problem and he says that getting the electrical problems of this bike resolved was the biggest challenge he faced saying that initially he had points and condenser problems as the ignition system had not been switched over so once he got that out of the way, he had generator problems, which he found was the regulator. It was also live and learn saying that once he got past the ignition problems it was starter problems and he says that there was also a challenge finding some parts for the bike. Shawn’s bike was the last year for the right hand gear shift, first year for electric start and first year for front disc brakes as well and many of the linkages for the gear shifter and rear drum brake were either missing altogether or damaged beyond repair so some of the items he needed had to be fabricated in his shop. He says that once he got the starter issues dealt with and the points condenser, and regulator all in place and the bike actually not only ran but ran pretty decent he in-
advertently left the ignition key in the on position burning out the ignition coil in the process, live and learn right. Because Shawn and Alicia are both quite young and have 3 young children at home Shawn says he has no short term plans for upgrading saying that he would like to get out to a few show and shines and some local poker runs and really ride the wheels off this bike. He has promised that he is finished with the tinkering with motorcycles saying that this past fall winter when he picked up this Ironhead sporty he had a total of 7 bikes in his shop and that besides getting his Harley up and running he has sold 5 of the 7 bikes that were in the shop saying he has not quite made as much money off these bikes as he has invested in total in the Harley but he has a Harley and is gonna ride the wheels off it although I would expect if I ran into him sometime this winter that he probably has a number of projects in the shop again this winter. On the longer term front he says that he would definitely like to get to a bigger bike when he is a decade or two older and the kids are grown up and through school etcetera and that he would love to take a ride out west to Sturgis and also to Daytona Florida for bike week but as young as he and she are they have lots of time to realize their dreams. She really digs that gator but is not so keen on his bikes but she did say she’d like it a lot more if he had a couch, we all know the ladies love the couch.
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It’s Too Late for Me, I’ve Been a Lost, Black Sheep for Too Long... Is this really true? No! I’ll give you three solid reasons why. We’ve been hearing things like this from far too many men and women across Ontario for years and it’s time for a new perspective. I’m not buying the, “There’s no hope for me” cop out. Here are the facts: 1. When Jesus was hanging on the cross between two convicted criminals, one began to taunt Him and told Him to save Himself. The other criminal told the first one to shut up! “This man has done nothing wrong; we deserve what we’re getting now.” Then He turned to Jesus and asked Him to remember Him in the kingdom to come. Jesus told him that he would be in Heaven with Him today! The man stepped up for Jesus’ defence in his dying hour and spoke of his faith in God and it was more than good enough for Jesus! Luke 23:39-43. 2. There is the illustration of a shepherd with 100 sheep and if just one is lost, the shepherd would go out and find him. Jesus said that there is more rejoicing in Heaven over that one lost soul who is found than all the ones who never strayed from God. Matthew 18:12. It is the will of God that nobody is permanently cut off from Him. 3. Then in the story of the Lost Son, we have the clear image of a sad father whose son has taken his inheritance and gone away for a couple years to live the wild life. We know that dad would go out and watch the horizon to see if his boy was coming back. One day he sees him returning and runs to meet him, then he throws a huge party. Luke 15:11-32. This is really about God’s attitude toward us. You can’t always use your own human logic to describe God, His love, and His time limits! If you’ve been quietly or loudly walking away from God most or all of your life, it’s still not too late for you! As long as you have breath and one tiny little spark of believing in God, why not be like the man in Mark 9:24 who says to Christ, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” God loves us so much that He gave us His only Son so that whoever would believe in Him would have life and peace with God forever, starting right when you believe. (John 3:16) Pray this prayer with me right now...or when you’re ready. “Father, God, I do believe a little bit. Please accept me even though I’ve walked my own way without you for so long. Please give me your peace and let me be part of your family. In Jesus’ name, thank you”. God bless you, your family, and your friends this New Year! Pastor Ken hamiltonbikerschurch. com 905 870 8584
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This summer was the best 6 month long summer a Canadian biker could possibly wish for! Even in Grey/Bruce we were riding into November without bundling up in snowmobile suits, very rare indeed! With hot summer nights turning to cool summer nights, I started staying closer to home in Sept/Oct and even managed to attend some events in my area. With fewer events and bashes, I was also able to get out for a ride with a few friends instead of the pack. It was a fantastic late summer/fall and here’s how it transpired . . . West Coast Bikes and Blues Fest Labor Day Weekend was hot, sweet, and sticky; the perfect weather for more biker adventures so I headed to the Goderich Square to attend the West Coast Bikes and Blues Fest. I was a bit hot and thirsty on arrival so after finding a parking spot and grabbing an armload of mags, I headed to the bar. I took me three tries to walk one block as I kept running out of mags and running into old friends! As I finally approached the licensed patio area spitting dust I suddenly heard an angelic voice say “Hey Chicky, wanna beer?”(which I accepted with a big grin)! It was just terrific to see “Frank with No Beard” back from living out west for a while. It really great to run into Gary Ronalds and his Snortin Norton. Gary is the guy to see about those backwards British machines, he’s a bit of a legend in the Molesworth area. The Royal City Riders MC and friends
were there, some of the LHSHRs, and of course Smiley and Company. Even though Smiley was there for pleasure only, he still dropped everything and whipped out his tool kit to help someone get their bike running, that’s the Smiley way!
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The music rocked, the beer was cold, the bikes were plenty, and the only thing missing from this event was the dancing. Not sure if it was too early, too hot, or we were just too sober but it wasn’t the music, the music was constant and terrific! There were some very clean bikes present, really nice paint jobs, rims, and bling, but for me the standouts are often the older, less obvious bikes. I spent some time listening to the owner of the Ural with the sidecar talk to folks about the machine. I was also intrigued by an old Panhead and spoke to the owner who rides it often. Thanks Bob and staff for organizing a wonderful event, and a special thank you for conveniently closing the portion of the square right in front of the patio bar for motorcycles only (and our safety), and thank you to everyone for the beers and cheers! Riding with Tracey Labor Day weekend continued with more friends, parties, and riding. I have only one friend from my teen/high school years and although we have not maintained contact throughout the years we have reconnected twice now since high school. Neither of us talked motorcycles in high school yet it is motorcycles that keeps us together. We had tried most of the summer to get together but to no avail as our busy schedules kept getting in the way but this weekend we made time. After a great supper by the campfire on Sunday night with Tracey’s family and friends, we were ready to ride holiday Monday. We decided on Lion’s Head for lunch but Lion’s Head was pretty much closed. We circled the wagons with a few other tourists, stopped at an open store and were finally directed to an open restaurant! It rained a bit and by the time we finished lunch it was
wet but it was apparent that the showers were spotty so we chased the sunny spots until we found one! I didn’t get far from home this Labor Day weekend but it doesn’t seem to matter, home or away, bikers always make me feel at home! Thank you Tracey that was a very enjoyable weekend! Smiley’s Movie Marathon The next adventure was Smiley & Company’s All Day Movie Day just outside the thriving metropolis of Ripley, ON. On the way I bumped into Dave Smiley riding the skinny red head (Sportster), making it look like a bicycle. Slowed down a bit so Dave and I could ride to the shop together (Teehee, gonna be in trouble now!). Pulling into the shop I was immediately thrilled to see Hellcat, Sherri, Spanky, and a few more from the Huron-Perth ABATE who I had not expected to run into that day. There were many of the regular friendly faces present including Tim and Kim, Brenn and Jen, Smiley and his other brother Smiley, and of course Mia the shop dog! Someone (name withheld to protect us all) had their bike fully loaded bagger, bar style, so all we needed was cups. Luckily Mike and Linda had Christmas cups handy so we were able to wish one another a Merry Christmas in September! It was such a fantastic day for riding that I didn’t stay for any movies, just fun times at the shop and riding! Ted’s Range Road Diner It was a few weeks until the next adventure as the husband (Road King) went to Smiley’s for a wee checkup. My friend Giant was nice enough to bitch me down to Ripley, believe it or not, and on a beautiful Saturday afternoon which led to another rip with a buddy! I had heard all kinds of great things about Ted’s Range Road Diner so we headed to the diner for a real treat. The diner itself is an old Quonset hut, nothing fancy from either the inside or the outside but Ted’s menu is like no other in this area. When you dine at Ted’s, surf and turf is lobster and venison, fish and chips is sea bass, and the strip loin is bison. Giant knew Ted so I was even introduced to the owner! If you are in the area and are looking for an exotic meal, try Ted’s, it’s affordable and biker friendly too! As an added treat, be sure to go past Ted’s and up to Irish Mountain Lookout just north of the diner for a few pictures, the view is stunning! Thank you Giant for another great day spent riding motorcycles and enjoying life! The King and I were having such a great weekend we spend all day Sunday together, just the two of us. We visited family and the new Baby Jack in Kitchener then off to Milton for a beer. I can zip in and out of Kitchener on back roads but I decided to take the freeway over to Milton as I do not miss the city traffic or the 401 at all, nope, not even a little bit! The day was wonderful after I escaped the traffic, but the ride home that night under the light of the lunar eclipse was beyond stellar and approaching magical!
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their ride to the edge of town. Although it may be considered cheating by some, at least they rode to the show! I gathered up an armload of mags, dispersed them immediately, gathered up another armload and joined the crowd! This area is well known for builders and fabricators and sometimes very unique machines are built from “leftovers”. I believe this may be how the yellow, three-wheeler came to be. It’s not really a trike or a bike . . . not sure if it’s a sidecar or just a side motor mount but it works! There
Sometimes those nights when you are the only headlight in sight are the best nights of all. Add a lunar eclipse and you get the idea. Pumpkinfest With September gone and the leaves starting to change it was almost time for the largest fall celebration in this area . . . Pumpkinfest in Port Elgin. The weather forecast was chilly with chance of cold, a bit too cold for me but when the Thursty’s Cycle crowd said they were on their way from Collingwood I certainly wasn’t going to be shown up so I rode over to Port Elgin. If I was one of those rich bikers, I would tell you all about my plug in gear but that’s not how it is. I had layered so heavily I looked much like the Goodyear Blimp, walked like the Michelin Man in a snowsuit a few sizes too small. But hey, the bike was happy and if the hubby is happy, well I’m happy too! Pumpkinfest has its own bike show so I headed there first. The bike show folks allowed motorcycle parking in the area even if you were not entering your bike, so that put me right downtown with free parking! As soon as I parked there were familiar faces and motorcycles everywhere. It looked like many had rode in but the truth came out when some admitted to trailering
were also some old classics including an old flathead, some older triumphs, and even the Honda CB750 that won at this summer’s Freedom Machine Motorcycle Show raffle. Apparently it runs like a well-oiled sewing machine and the new owner has done nothing to it! Bet you didn’t know you could buy a certifiable motorcycle for $25! Well, you likely can’t, but you can win one for that price! After shooting the breeze with a few at the bike show I found the Thursty’s Cycle bunch inside a warm bar with cold beer and great food, could it get any better? It was great to break bread with them once again, I even had the pleasure of meeting Rockin’ Rod, the infamous DJ from 97.7 The Beach.
After some food and beverages it was time to ride home before the cold turned to very cold. As I was about to leave I noticed the man with the “Don’t Mess With Texas” cap all happy and excited. Well, no wonder, he had one the 50/50 draw to the tune of $45 in small, unmarked bills! He said he had never won anything before in his life. It makes me grin all over when somebody appreciates the little things and warms my heart. So with a warm heart I headed towards home riding partway with the great people from Thursty’s Cycle. Thanksgiving Weekend Thanksgiving weekend was anoth-
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er biker forecast with pure sun and unusually high temperatures. By now the leaves were finally beginning to turn so it seemed appropriate to ride some of the best biker in the area. I met with my friend Tracey and her husband and
toured the Beaver Valley. The ride was spectacular! Without a passenger it is tough to get pictures so you may just have to imagine descending into a valley of various shades of gold and amber, releasing the throttle as you “fall” down the steep incline. Then you cruise easily through the beauty of the valley with the escarpment on one side and the lush hills on the other. The ascent is just as stunning as you cut up the west side and the valley falls away to the right. Although I can’t get enough of the Beaver Valley anytime of the year, it was likely at its best on this day. The following day was another day riding with a friend, enjoying the best biker roads around here. My friend Giant was up to nothing so we decided riding was the answer (before anyone even asked the question). The fall was quite late in coming so it was Thanksgiving before the leaves were at their best. We stopped for gas to give us an even playing field, and when I came out from paying Giant was playing squeegee man on my bug thickened windshield, the man has talents far beyond the obvious! So with a clear view, we headed out to conquer the escarpment. There are quite a few beautiful roads that go up, down, and around the escarpment and we rode many of them! The “Escarpment Tour” included Pretty River Rd, the Beaver Valley, that funky road north of Collingwood (19 or 119?), and quite a few more. Every area has its “neat things” and I must mention “The Little Tree that Could” at the Beaver Valley Lookout (south end of the valley). This tree exists and continue s to thrive (the top half at least) despite being cut down, chopped off, and bent over! “The Little Tree that Could” should be an inspiration to all of us. We also stopped at the Barrhead to visit the swans that were in the perfect mood to pose for pictures along the old hydro dam, built in Oct. 1923. The swans will usually swim over to people but do take care if there are babies. Sammy swan can be very, very protective of the babies and although he
is beautiful in the water, Sammy can be a bit intimidating on land! Again, I am going to save a few adventures for the next issue. Nobody wants to read about my winter of ill repute so I am saving the Halloween Party with Grey Bruce ABATE, a November rip around Big Bay, and a 50th Birthday bash for the next issue to ensure there are motorcycle stories in this column! See you at the Motorcycle Supershow Jan. 8-10th, Toronto Int’l Centre. Until then, Ride On! I’m not sure if I met Dudley but we sure shared a lot of mutual friends and they all spoke highly of him. Dudley was one of the founding members of the Saddle Tramps MC and he was very well known and highly respected amongst many bikers from all over. Dudley lost his battle with leukemia in mid-October. Our local newspaper, the Owen Sound Times, did a story on Dudley that can be read here. http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/2015/10/14/ mcmillan-loved-motorcycles-helping-others RIP Dudley.’
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Well there you have it, another year begins as I complete my first year as the Northern Guy for this great publication The Riders Mag. It has been interesting as well as exciting with all the possibilities and doors that this opportunity has brought forward. Much love and respect goes out to Critter, Al, JR and the rest of the Riders Mag crew for being able to work alongside them in this amazing experience. The many new friends that I’ve met throughout my travels in this past year as well as the great biker events, have demonstrated what a great community we have here in Northern Ontario. It is alive and well! I’m looking forward with anticipation to the 2016 biking season. One can only be full of excitment when we see this weather forecast that doesn’t predict any freezing temperature until almost the new year compared to the previous couple of years that had given us an abundance of snow and cold. Everyday that goes by without the frigid temperatures, brings us one day closer to the 2016 riding season that seems like its going to make an early appearance here in Northern Ontario. Having said that, I’m curious to see if anyone has any winter project on the go. Should you want to share stories and compare opinions, feel free to give me a call so
we can get together. As far as myself, I thrive to have a bike on the hoist at all times during winter. This year, a 2003 Softail Standard is center stage after having been unassembled in a less than delicate procedure to get the damaged front end turning a simple repair job to a complete rebuild. A lesson learned in regards to workmanship as well as trust is that no one can love and care for your scoot as much as you do personally. I would also take this opportunity to thank again two great guys that have been helping us bring the Riders Mag to Northern Ontario. That would be Roger Vilkarsis of Ride Manitoulin as well as Mark Hutchinson of the Elliot Lake Motorcycle Rally who just recently made a career change. Congrats on that Mark! Both these individuals are a great asset to the biker community in Northern Ontario as this is such a vast region that without any help, I couldn’t possibly get out everywhere. So if you come across these fine individuals, please thank them for the time and effort they put in to provide you with your monthy copy of the Mag. Keeping in mind that we are still looking for some likeminded individuals for the regions of North Bay, New Liskeard, Timmins and Sault Ste-Marie to help with the distribution as well as event reporting. If this is something that might be of interest to you, feel free to give me a call or text to 705-662-1526 so we can discuss the possibilities. The winter motorcycle shows season is upon us once again and like the previous years, I will be in attendance to gaze over all the great exhibitions put forth by members of this great community. It is always a pleasure to meet up with old friends as well as meeting new ones while admiring the work and dedication put into these pieces of artwork produced over the years from bike shops and individuals. I will be looking out for you there but if you see me first, come and say hi. I leave you this month with one of my favorite quotes: “ Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave in a well preserved body, but to skid in sideways totaly worn out shouting Holy Shit... what a ride! “ Be good out there! ;)
One for the road …..with Lil Red January is coming!!! Can you wait?? ’ll be honest, I am more excited about the parties at New Years and the North American International Motorcycle Supershow than I am for any Christmas festivities. The week prior to the Motorcycle Supershow, I hardly get any work done. I always have a lot of fun at these things, and we meet a lot of people. With the fashion show, the food, and good friends, plus the multitude of halls consisting of new, used and vintage bikes, it’s hard to contain my excitement. This year will feature someone new for us to get up close and personal with, as they bring in Paul Teutul Jr. My love for bikes was seriously nurtured by a show called Orange County Choppers many years ago, and this guy and his Dad, Paul Sr., starred in the OCC. Paul Jr. is now on a show called Paul Jr. Designs. They’ve made some pretty mean choppers, and although I do not have the courage or expertise to attempt to ride a badass, modified chopper, seeing the creations that they have come up with has been mind-bending. It’ll be cool to meet up with him, trade some stories (although albeit, his stories are far more cooler than mine at the present time) This year, for me, the show is all the more exciting because I got a Harley in October!! We got wind of a motorcycle auction being held in Lakefield, and Mike was looking at buying an Indian or a Road King. So we ventured up on the Friday before the big day, to view all the bikes that were being auctioned off. All 115 of them! We eagerly ventured into the place, and met up with Josh, one of the sales guys we’ve come to know. As we searched the place for ‘The One’, I saw it. Well, we both saw it at the same time. However, not a bike for Mike, but one perfect for me. A heritage softail deluxe, all black with a red alligator seat to match my firey (L’il Red) personality! Lots of new chrome and beautiful new whitewalls. Trying not to jump and look overly eager, I slowly slithered away and perused the other entries, while keeping a mindful eye on my ‘gator. There was a fatboy that I entertained the thought of, but I kept going back to the ‘gator. That night, go ahead, get some sleep. Good luck! Auction time, front row, coffee in hand (after all, our bike is number 90-something, it’ll be awhile.) At these things, there’s always surprises. Steals even. But alas, there she was, the ‘gator. As soon as she planted her rubber for the world to view, Mike looked at me and said ‘What do ya think?” And I didn’t have to say a word. Not long after, I sat stunned. Holy shit!!! I own a Harley! What??? For the next couple of hours, I was literally numb. I don’t think it registered that we now owned a Harley. I went through some serious emotional shit storm because we really were looking at an Indian motorcycle for Mike, or even a nice Road King. But now I’m going home with one. I had a few weeks to start to get used to it, but as we all know, November is not always the best riding weather. Now, as some of you may know, we recently moved to the 705. We have a fair amount of space but as are children have grown, it’s just us (except for a recent grandchild) and having a small family room that was only being used for storage… and at ground level…. With a good sized window…. Well, you guessed it! Last Friday night, out came the window and in went a door! Perfect size for a set of handlebars and saddlebags! Concrete floors for the jacks and we’re all set for winter dreaming. (and cleaning) So as I write this, my new Harley is parked in its bedroom in the house, And I go in to look at it, start it up, just waiting for the next day of 10 degrees to take it out, which I just saw that will be this weekend!! YA!! Or for now, waiting until the Motorcycle Show cause now I need bitching leather and knee-high boots to match that alligator seat! This past summer afforded many a riding days, and with those, pre-
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sented unique riding events. It’s hard to include the various photos from the incredible travels that we’ve experienced. One such event was the Distinguished Gentlemen Ride for Prostate Cancer. This great group of guys show up on their rides and ditch their leathers to show off their dapper threads. They show up in suits and ties that harken back to the distinguished days of the 20’s and 30’s. It’s quite the sight to see. They say that nothing looks better than a man in a suit, so ladies let’s line up! I spoke to Shawn, one of the guys at the event, about how this all started. This was his first year, but the ride itself originated in Sydney Australia in 2012 and has raised over 1.5 million for prostate research in 2014 alone. This all began because of a photo of Mad Men’s Don Draper straddling a classy bike while wearing a dapper suit. To kill two birds with one stone (so to speak), they tried to change the negative stereotype of male riders while also bringing larger riding communities together. And voila, the Distinguished Gentlemens Ride. Dan Lim from Dan Lim Photography took some pics of the event. Gotta keep this guy in mind for future rides. He took a good one with Shawn and Tiago Kunzendorff and Philip Roge. I can’t think of anything better than a fundraiser Photo Courtesy of Dan Lim featuring men all suited up! danlimphoto.com
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THOG Relaxing on the pier Photo Courtesy of Dan Lim danlimphoto.com The only thing I can think of that would be as visually distracting, is riders in their Halloween costumes. I’ve included for your visual pleasure, a penguin (riding a Harley), and a bee! Now I thought with my brightly coloured animal helmet, I would be the centre of attention, but after seeing these brave souls, I have to step back and give them the prize.
One other thing you fine folks need to experience, is the Peterborough Swap Meet. We went for the first time, (as I needed some saddlebags to affectionately caress my new red beauty), so we trekked to Peterborough to meet and greet with other eager deal-seekers. While there, I used the opportunity to haggle with a guy for some saddlebags, and whilst in the middle of it, who do I see but our very own Critter. Not wanting to be rude, I quickly eased myself away from the sales guy who appeared to know little about the bags he tried to sell me, and turned to meet with Critter and he was gone. Poof, not a big place but he was somewhere probably getting a really great deal on something for his Trike I’m sure. We did catch up with Bear from The Renegades, but not wanting to waste too much of his time as he looked quite busy, we noted that Pastor Dave was there too. I won’t go into too much detail here as when I spotted Critter, he was sporting his camera so I’m sure he will have his far more entertaining story outlining the event. We found a great deal on a pair of leather saddlebags, so I encourage anyone looking to upgrade your ride or if you simply need a part, this is the place to be. Now, what they didn’t have was my red leather halter top and kneehigh boots to go with my red alligator seat. For that, I’m holding hopes for the Motorcycle Supershow. After all, it’s in Toronto, the vendors are plentiful and they serve beer!
still winter, and road construction, You may live in Canada . If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, You may live in Canada . If you find -2 degrees ‘a little chilly’, you may live in Canada . If you actually understand these jokes, you definitely are Canadian and proud to be. The older we get the wiser we become ... We’ve disconnected our home alarm system and quit our candy-ass Neighborhood Watch. Bought two Pakistani flags on eBay and raised them in the front yard ... One at each corner, plus a black flag of ISIS in the center. Now, the local police, O.P.P. RCMP, CSIS and other agencies are all watching the house 24/7. I never felt safer and we’re saving $49.95 a month. John Cleese’s take on world affairs. The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Syria and have therefore raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved.” Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross.” The English have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to “A Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada. The Scots have raised their threat level from “Pissed Off” to “Let’s get the Bastards.” They don’t have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years. The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide.” to “Collaborate” The only other higher level in France is “Surrender.” The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability. Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout Loudly and Excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels remain: “Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides.” The Germans have increased their alert state from “Disdainful Arrogance” to “Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.” They also have two higher levels: “Invade a Neighbour” and “Lose.” Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels. The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy. Australia , meanwhile, has raised its security level from “No worries” to “She’ll be right, Mate.” Two more escalation levels remain: “Crikey! I think we’ll need to cancel the barbie this weekend!” and “The barbie is cancelled.” So far no situation has ever warranted use of the last final escalation level. Regards, John Cleese , British writer, actor and tall person
Chief, asked the significance of the varied number of feathers in Indian headdresses. “Feathers show number of sexual partners,” the chief replied. Pointing to a nearby young brave, he continued, “Him ? One woman, one feather. Him?”, pointing to a second, older man, “Three women, three feathers.” The reporter looked at the Chief’s headdress. “But you have so many feathers !” The Chief proudly slapped his chest. “Me Chief. Sleep with all women. Big, small, fat, tall.” Horrified, the female reporter said, “You ought to be hung !” The Chief said, “Damn right. Me hung big like buffalo, long like snake.” The offended reporter said, “You don’t have to be hostile !” The Chief replied, “Hoss-style, dog-style,wolf-style, any style !” The reporter cried, “Oh, dear !” “No deer,”said the Chief. “Ass too high, run too fast.” The Sierra Club and the U. S. Forest Service were presenting an alternative to the Wyoming ranchers for controlling the coyote population. It seems that after years of the ranchers using the tried and true method of shooting or trapping the predators, the Sierra Club had a “more humane” solution to this issue. What they were proposing was for the animals to be captured alive. The males would then be castrated and let loose again. This was ACTUALLY proposed by the Sierra Club and by the U. S. Forest Service.
Ever wonder what the feathers in an Indian’s headdress stood for ? A female reporter, interviewing an American Indian
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All of the ranchers thought about this amazing idea for a couple of minutes. Finally an old fellow wearing a big cowboy hat in the back of the conference room stood up, tipped his hat back and said ... “Son, I don’t think you understand our problem here. These coyotes ain’t fuckin’ our sheep ... they’re eatin’ ‘em!” The meeting never really got back to order. The New Neighbour She’s single... She’s shapely ...She’s beautiful and she lives right across the street. I can see her place from my kitchen window. I watched as she got home from work this evening. I was surprised when she walked across the street, up my driveway and knocked on the door. I opened the door, she looked at me and said, “I just got home, and I have this strong urge to have a good time, dance, get drunk, and have sex tonight. Are you doing anything?” I quickly replied, “Nope, I’m free!” “Great,” she said. “Can you watch my dog?” Being a senior citizen really sucks! The other day I bumped into a young fellow with my shopping cart at Walmart. I apologized and said I wasn’t paying attention as I was looking for my wife and could not find her. He accepted my apology and stated that he also was looking for his wife, had been unable to find her and was getting desperate. I said that we maybe could help each other and asked what did his wife look like. He said that she was tall, thin, blonde, had blue eyes and was wearing white short shorts and a halter top with no bra. He then asked about my wife and I said, “Never mind we’ll look for yours first”. A Lanark school teacher asked her students to make a sentence containing the expression “I presume.” One little girl held up her hand and said, “Yesterday my mother hand-washed the dinner dishes and I presumed that the dishwasher was broken.” “Very good,” said the teacher. Another one said, “This morning, my father drove the Volkswagen out of the garage. I presume that the truck wouldn’t start.” “That’s excellent,” says the teacher. Little Willy at the back of the classroom got up and said,
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“Yesterday I saw grandpa leave the house with a newspaper under his arm and headed for the woods, I presume that “ The teacher interrupted him and said, “I stopped you because you have no idea what your grandfather was going to do, so you can’t presume anything.” Willy said, “Please, Teacher, let me finish my sentence.” The teacher said, “Very well. Continue.” “As I was saying, I saw my grandpa heading for the woods with a newspaper under his arm. I presume he was going for a shit because he can’t read.” A guy gets a call at work from the police telling him that his house had been robbed. The offenders had also consumed all of his beer and had raped his wife. A moment of silence passes, then the guy says, “I can’t believe they screwed my wife after only five beers!” I spent $5,000 on a boob job for the wife. She was delighted. I spent another $2,000 on a nose job for her. She was ecstatic. I spent $2,000 on liposuction for her and she couldn’t thank me enough. But I spend 50 bucks on a blowjob for myself and she goes nuts! Women, I can’t figure them out. Ponderisms: How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered? Why do you have to “put your two cents in”...but it’s only a “penny for your thoughts”? Where’s that extra penny going? Once you’re in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity? Why does a round pizza come in a square box? What disease did cured ham actually have? Why is it that people say they “slept like a baby” when babies wake up like every two hours? If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing? Why are you IN a movie, but you’re ON TV? Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They’re going to see you naked anyway. Why is “bra” singular and “panties” plural? If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him? Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane ? If the professor on Gilligan’s Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can’t he fix a hole in a boat? Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They’re both dogs! If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn’t he just buy dinner? If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from? If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons? Why Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune? Why did you just try singing the