Ontario/Atlantic Regional Conference - 08 Jul 06
Sometimes it just isn't enough to correspond with someone via email only. Some people need to meet face to face, if only to confirm their suspicions that the person they've dealt with really is as loony as they suspect. At least I think that's what CURD's own Nic Humblebub (aka: Craig Willson) had in mind when he decided to ride from PEI to Ontario to meet with CURD's Head Cheese. Because of time constraints, he opted to take his trusty BMW solo mount and somehow managed to convince/bribe/threaten two of his best riding buddies, Tom and Dave, to come along. So on 6 Jul 06 they saddled up and left the quiet, laid back lifestyle of the Island for the fast-paced, explosive atmosphere of Gananoque, Ontario.
	They arrived two days later at the trailer park where one of Craig's friends had thoughtfully placed his 5th wheel trailer for their use. The next morning they headed into Gan for our scheduled 10am meet at the local Tim Horton's. In addition to the Head Cheese (yours truly), one other member of the Ontario Division was present for the historic event. Cam wheeled his '05 Patrol into the parking lot a few minutes before I did and it was only natural that the two Urals should be parked together when I showed up.
	As Craig is a dog lover, I had to promise beforehand that Hector The Wonder Dog would make an appearance, so the furry wonder himself (Hector, not Craig) arrived in his usual style in the sidecar. He immediately took a liking to Craig, Tom and Dave... mostly because Tom fed him a Timbit. Hector knew right away that these boys were soft targets. We all chatted for awhile before mounting up to do a guided tour of some of the best roads in the region. From left to right in this photo: Tom (left edge), Cam, Craig, Hector, Dave.
While we were talking in the parking lot, we were approached a couple of times by people who wanted a closer look at Hector. This is a very common occurrence for me, but not for Craig and the boys and they were impressed at the dog's chick magnet capability. That point was underscored when, just before we left, I had to take Hector over to the drive-through window to get a dog biscuit from the lady working there - she literally had yelled at me from across the lot asking if she could give him one.
	As Cam had a prior appointment in Kingston later in the early afternoon, I decided to take the group on the "Free The Llamas" route, as it would take us past Kingston and Cam could peel off when he needed to. It was a beautiful and warm Saturday morning and the roads were traffic-free. We pulled up to the Llama farm and milled about for some photos. As I have made this stop many times before, the animals are used to my presence and from the way they ran up to the fence you'd think they actually recognised me. Craig was quite enamored with them and quickly made friends with one, as shown in this photo.
	Or rather he thought he had made friends. At one point they were literally face to face, with the Llama's nose twitching away as she sniffed him. Apparently, his scent was unsatisfactory because a few seconds later he spit all over him. Actually, "spit" is an understatement - she unloaded on him like a fire hose! Once we recovered our composure, we handed him a rag to clean up - and then voted the Llama into office as the Official CURD Party Animal.
	We carried on with our tour and arrived at our lunch stop in good spirits. Cam had already left the group to attend his appointment, but not without first promising he'd show up at the BBQ to be held at my home later in the day. Jeff's Place is a new restaurant in the village of Deseronto (approx 50 km west of Kingston) and it is a must-see for anyone riding through the area. Jeff is a formally trained chef from Bermuda and his food is absolutely top quality fare at very reasonable prices. We all chowed down with typical CURD enthusiasm and tried to enjoy the usual biker camaraderie as we ate.
Problem was, there was an older lady sitting near the front window who was absolutely amazed by Hector, who was quietly sitting tied up in the shade of the deck out front. From the moment I walked in she pestered me non stop with questions about him and anecdotes about her own dogs. It was making conversation amongst the CURDites almost impossible, as I had to speak loudly to answer her questions because of the distance between us. We were sitting at the first booth clear across the restaurant - we couldn't have been any further away - but that didn't stop her from butting in as we tried to lay out our plans for world domination. We'd had a few UDF and Hector sessions along the route, but this was the most prolonged one of the day. We finally got her to shut up, but only because we had finished our meal and were leaving. We hopped back on the bikes and rode a few km's down the road to a day use park, where we pulled in and parked under the shade of some tall trees to escape the heat of the day. We were on the shore of Lake Ontario and Hector, who knows when he's close to water, was anxious to go for a swim. So we all wandered down to the beach to watch a few rounds of "fetch the stick" before saddling up once again and heading for home, this time with a wet but happy dog in the Ural's chair.
	The traffic gods smiled on us the whole way, because we had very few cagers to deal with and no red lights to slow us down. We pulled into my garage around 4pm, somehow managing to wedge them all in without damage. We talked bikes for a few minutes and then closed up the garage and headed for the back yard.
	My Angie, bless her sweetness, had a honkin' great feast ready to go as we wandered up to the back patio and in short order the air was filled with the smell of grilled burgers and sausages as we munched on nachos and dip. Cam arrived with his lovely wife shortly afterwards; she scored major brownie points by bringing along some cookies and other baked treats for dessert. We recounted the day's events and there was much laughter - especially when we retold the Llama incident to the ladies.
It was one of those days where everything had fallen into place; good weather, good roads, good company and good food. In recognition of Craig's efforts and support towards the CURD cause, not the least of which was his part in bringing the Atlantic and Ontario Divisions together for a meeting, he was promoted to CURD Vice-President, Atlantic Division and presented with the official Final Drive Seal Of Office.
	The boys had a long trip ahead of them the next day, so as the sun began to set we headed out on the last leg of our trip that would take us back to their campsite. Along the way we stopped at the future site of Gummiente's Garage, where I told them of my dream about opening an Ural dealership in the former Escott Public School. All I need is $175k to buy the school and property, another $500k for the necessary shop equipment, plus two Urals and $2,000 in spare parts and I'll be in business. How hard could it be?
We made one last stop at a gas station so they could fill their bikes and be ready for the early morning departure. We had one more UDF session as the pump jockey came over to ogle the Ural and one more Hector session as a young lady pulled up beside me in her car, fawning and gushing all over the "cute dog" in the sidecar. When she finally drove off, I turned to see Craig smiling at me and shaking his head while he filled the Beemer. "Does it ever stop?" he asked. I just smiled and shrugged; such is the life of an Ural owner.
- NO AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOGS, LLAMAS, SMALL FURRY ANIMALS OR PEDESTRIANS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS TRIP REPORT. OKAY, WELL, WE SMUCKED A FEW BUGS ON OUR WINDSHIELDS AND SOMEBODY TRIPPED OVER ONE OF ANGIE'S CATS AT THE BBQ, BUT THAT'S IT. HONEST. FREE THE LLAMAS!!!

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