There are very few things I hate about motorcycling and having to put my bike into storage for the winter months ranks #1 on the list. I try to hang on as late in the year as possible in order to get the most out of the season, but the first or second week of November always seems to be the time to do the dirty deed. We always do a "last ride" down one of our favourite routes before dropping the bikes off at Motosport Plus in Kingston for their winter rest. This year we decided to take our "Free The Llamas" route, as it was long enough to get a decent ride in but not too long that we'd freeze our butts off. The forecasted high was a sunny 10C but there was a strong, chilly wind coming from the south off the St Lawrence River that necessitated a route that was well inland. We usually took this particular route whenever we ventured out into the wineries of Prince Edward County and, as it is one of our favourites, it seemed the best choice to end our riding year on a happy note.

We had already dropped off Angie's car at Motosport Plus earlier in the morning and by 10am we were ready to roll out on the bikes. The iced over puddles in the alleyway had melted by the time we left, but the first few km's of the route still had icy patches in the shady spots that the sun hadn't reached yet, so we rode very cautiously towards our first stop.

Brekkie was the first order of the day and we ate at the Husky Restaurant just off the 401HWY between Kingston and Gananoque. Although we had only ridden a little over 20km Angie's fingers were already starting to get cold, so a hot cup of coffee with some peameal bacon and eggs was what she needed. I had my usual "Trucker's Big Breakfast" and about 40 minutes later we were on the road again.

It had warmed up a bit by now and although the brisk wind was still cutting across our path from the south, our electric vests and cold weather riding gear kept us reasonably warm as we puttered down the back roads. There were still many suspiciously slick looking spots in the shaded parts of the road, so we kept the speed down and enjoyed the ride as best we could. Things were actually going pretty good until we rode past a farmer's field and I witnessed a big old cow lift her tail and let loose a torrent of urine in our direction as we rumbled past. Great, just what we needed, some burger factory p*ssing on our ride. A few klicks later I went to downshift for a stop sign and discovered that my shifter peg had bailed out somewhere along the road. I stopped and waited for Angie, when she rolled up she asked "Did you lose something back there?". "Um, yeah..." I said and she told me she'd seen something roll out from under my bike and come to rest on the side of the road about 1/2km back. So, I u-turned and went back to get it while she waited. Found it, screwed it back on and away we went. Ok, so, all you Harley haters out there - go ahead, get your laughs in. B*stards.

A little while later we reached our second stop - the Llama farm! Blackie was there to greet us as usual but this time he had a nice surprise for us...

...his baby boy! Blackie Junior was the cutest thing we'd seen in awhile, but he was too shy to come up to the fence and meet us despite all of Angie's efforts to coax him closer for a picture.

We had time for the usual "Mike and the Animal" mugshot...

...followed by a Llama family photo op, then we were on our way again.

Mommy Llama had been kind enough to take a massive dump in front of us while we were oohing and aahing over her newborn son, so now that two animals had crapped on our ride I decided that it was time we begin to head back. It wasn't getting any warmer and the constant crosswind was beginning to numb the left side of our bodies, so it was time to quit while we were ahead. The rest of the ride was fortunately without incident; for once all the cagers were well behaved and the traffic was light enough that we could rubberneck a bit as we rode into Kingston on HWY2.

We stopped at the Sunoco station just down the road from Motosport Plus and I treated Red Oktober to a tank of the good stuff - 94 octane. Knowing the end was near, I was beginning to feel a bit unhappy and it was an emotional moment for me as I realised this would be the last fillup of '05 for my new Harley.

The staff at Motosport Plus were very helpful and sensitive to my state of misery and were very quick and efficient with getting my bike into the warmth of their shop. After filling out the storage paperwork, we wandered out into the showroom and ran into our First Officer from our Southern Cruisers chapter. We spent a few minutes chatting and then Angie gently led me away out into her waiting car for the ride home.

Naturally, I was not the best of company on the return trip. Let the record show that I FRICKIN' HATE WINTER!!!

When we got home I did the only thing I could think of to take my mind off the fact that my Harley was now in storage - I grabbed the Ural and headed down the Pretty River Parkway to the LCBO outlet to restock my supply of Keith's beer...

...and then explored some new gravel roads with it on the way back. Y'know, I'm actually beginning to look forward to the winter months for the first time ever because of the Ural. It handles the soft gravel routes with ease, so the snow covered roads of January should be a hoot to ride on. Stay tuned to this website for some interesting ride reports during the off-season.

Looking back, it's been a pretty eventful riding season. I restored and sold an old Dnepr, bought a new Ural, got a new dream Harley, met lots of new friends, ignored my car for several months, took another motorcycle vacation and finally realised my dream of having the dog come along with us on some of our weekend rides. All total, I put 29,220km on my bikes this year; not my best season but definitely not my worst. As the Ural will be in use year round, I might even break last year's total of 31,890km before January arrives.