I’ve been fighting a cold all week and haven’t been out on two wheels since the rally. On top of that and with the build up to school I’ve been putting together a computer lab all day every day. Teaching is a good gig, but there are no down days once it starts and the change in pace from summer to fall is a big step. Going from off to 100% all the time takes a good clutch.
I woke up Saturday morning to crisp 10°C air and a flawless blue sky. For the first time in days I hadn’t woken up with a crushing sinus headache so I did the one thing that always makes me happy even when not feeling that well and stressing over work (teaching anxiety dreams are always a good time), I went for a ride.
| The hills of Erin, just outside of Hillsburgh |
Max wasn’t up yet or I would have asked my trusty pillion to come along. I threw a single pannier on the Tiger and disappeared into the morning mist. The temperature was cool, but I like it like that. No wind, empty roads and a happy Tiger.
The ride over to Belfountain took me through Erin and Cataract and onto the Niagara Escarpment, where the roads get bendy. It isn’t much, but it got me loosened up for the post-coffee ride.
I pulled in to Higher Ground Coffee Co on a Saturday of the Labour Day long weekend at about 8:30 in the morning. In a couple of hours this place would be a hive of activity, but now it had a couple of early risers drinking a hot beverage and quietly reading; it was mercifully empty of loud talking spandexies going on about how hard what they just did was.
After a hot cup of very well made coffee that warmed me up and getting the Holtom’s bakery order from the family just waking up back in Elora, I got back on the Tiger and went for a philosophical ride up and down The Forks of the Credit. It’s only 7kms of bendy elevation changes, but beggars can’t be choosy in Southern Ontario.
Sometimes I feel like really attacking the corners, but this quiet Saturday morning I was in a contemplative mood and was going for smoothness. Strangely, this made me faster than when attacking. There is a real sense of Zen when you sort out corners properly on a motorbike.
Back in Belfountain I turned off the video on the phone and headed over to Erin. Holtom’s was in full swing, having opened half an hour before. The lone pannier was filled with fresh bread and bakery treats and I rode back to Elora, feeling at one with the world.
I didn’t have any fancy media devices with me, only my phone, so I hung it over the windshield and got this!