Canada 2011
  
 

Day 06

July 30

  
     
     
   
  Since I'm such a nut for breakfast, I get up early and head into Saint Georges to find some eatin' options.  
   
  There's a Normadins but it looks like it's closed, so I go a little farther and light upon this location. It looks like some of the guys have beat me here, so I figure this will work out nicely.  
   
  The place does a real nice job for breakfast, and I really enjoy shooting the breeze with Bob and Steve. They're great guys to spend time with and have ridden a lot of miles together.  
   
  But Ray is leading a group ride today and I have volunteered to be the sweep again. As sweep, If you know the roads, you can hang back when a good section is coming up and make a run of it.  
   
  It's a pretty ride out through the country and this morning I'm just chilling and enjoying the scenery.  
   
  This reminds me a bit of the rivers in Montana without the high mountain backdrops.  
   
 

The group has gotten spread out a bit, and Alain is in front of our last group. Since he has a CB radio, we can communicate. He comes in -

"Uncle Phil, if we keep going we will cross over into Maine. And I don't have my passport."

"Well, I reckon a breadcrumb must've moved." I reply. "If you know where Ray was headed, that's probably the way we should go."

Fortunately, he does remember and we do an about-face and make the turn.

  
   
  When we finally do catch up with the group, we find that my assumption was correct. Indeed the breadcrumb did move.  
   
  So in my best fatherly fashion, I explain the consequences to the offender as best I can. She promises faithfully that she will hold her post the next time until death so all is good.  
   
  Soon we're back out on the road again and I fall back a bit to get a shot of the whole train as it stretches out to the horizon.  
   
  It's some lovely roads that Ray has picked and I'm just as happy as pig in slop laying back at the end and enjoying the day. It's seldom that I get to ride sweep on a group ride that I'm involved in, so this is a rare treat for me.  
   
  We make a stop along the Thousand Islands Highway at the Village Quay Marina.  
   
  It's nice area that's obviously very popular with boaters and provides good shelter from the weather.  
   
  The dock area is set up like a really nice park so it's a great place to take a break. We enjoying leaving our beasts of burden to rest for a moment as we stretch our legs and enjoy the view.  
   
  But it's back to business at hand, and I see this lovely old church building as we move on down the road.  
   
  Due to the pretty thick trees, you seldom get a sense of the rise and fall of the land until you crest some of the hills. This reminds me a lot of east Tennessee as you move from the middle toward Crossville or Monteagle where the plateau starts to rise.  
   
  And it still amazes me how much farming goes on up here. I've got to believe that the growing season is pretty short, given the weather descriptions I get from the folks who live in the area.  
   
  Despite our previous hitch in the giddyup, the breadcrumbs hold their position for the rest of the ride and the train just keeps rolling. Drop and Sweep is a simple but effective method for group rides and it proves it's worth again today.  
   
  Now this farm could be anywhere back in the States, from Tennessee to Wisconsin. The more I travel, the more similarities I see in various places on this lovely planet that we have been so blessed to be allowed to live on.  
   
  Soon it's time for fuel stop for the iron horses and de-fuel stop for the not-so-iron riders.  
   
  When we get back out on the road, I see another lovely church perched on a hillside as a welcoming beacon to all that would come.  
   
  And every now and then we get some pretty dandy sweepers thrown into the mix!  
   
  If this ain't a scene from Tennessee, it could sure pass for a kissin' cousin.  
   
  Our lunch destination is 'Le Mont Blanc' in Disraeli, Quebec. It has wonderful burgers and fries and other such artery clogging delights. And we are not reticent to partake of them, if only to elevate our collective cholesterol to such levels that it can be easily measured.  
   
  With our gills full, it's time to test the load bearing abilities of our iron horses once again.  
   
  Ray has routed us through the Thetford Mines area, where there are large deposits of asbestos that has been mined since their discovery in 1876. The huge mound in the picture is built entirely of 'tailings' from the mining effort over the years.  
   
  And there are more than one of these man-made mountains,  
   
  scattered across the landscape. It seems since the use of asbestos has fallen into disfavor in the States and in Canada, the mines now export it to eager overseas users.  
   
  Once we leave the mines behind, we move into more beautiful scenery.  
   
  Bones wants to setup a photo-op for a project he is working on, so I just pull off behind and enjoy the wait.  
   
  Before long, the traffic obliges and he gets the shots that he needs.  
   
  It's a beautiful day as we move along the backroads of this beautiful, peaceful landscape.  
   
  One of the riders needs to make a quick gas stop, so I just pull in and wait on him, With the Drop and Sweep method, it's just not a problem as the breadcrumb will be waiting for us at the next turn - hopefully!  
   
  Bones, quite the photog, wants to get another group shot at a local church, which we gladly oblige.  
   
  With the work done, we saddle up and are off to more exploration.  
   
  I enjoy our runs today especially when they take us alongside the rivers in the area. There's just something peaceful to me about riding along and watching the river run.  
   
  Somehow this sign is a sad reminder that this is indeed the 'fin' of QuebecSToc. We will all be headed our own ways tomorrow, separated by distance but not by heart.  
   
 

Working our way back toward the campground, we cross an old iron beam bridge that reminds me of the many such bridges on the backroads of Tennessee. And for a moment, I get just a little bit homesick for my Holler and my beloved State. Over the years I have had ample opportunity to move to other areas of the world as jobs presented themselves. But I always say -

'I've been a little bit of everywhere, but I'd just as soon be in Tennessee as anywhere!'

  
   
  The sun is started it's slow ride to it's resting place below the horizon as we pass this lovely lake off in the distance.  
   
  And I can't help but laugh when I pass this sign cause I'm almost sure it's a little more than two miles back to Nashville where I live!  
   
  The lovely Miss Patti, the missing crouton, has made excellent preparations for a closing super together at the same place I ate breakfast this morning. We have our own room, so that the motorcycle trash don't scare off the regular customers. The food is good, the conversation is better, and numerous door prizes are handed out. And more than one 'tall tale' is told over the excellent food served to us.  
   
  Since the campground has laundry facilities and I've been on the road six days, I decide I'd catch up on that business before we pull out tomorrow for PEI and Nova Scotia. At least I'll smell a little better with fresh clothes even though it probably won't help my appearance much.  
   
  It's been a good time and I've seen areas of Canada that I've never seen before. But tomorrow is a road day, so once my washing is done and dried, I head back to the cabin to catch my beauty rest - which I am always in great need of. Maybe one of this days it will actually increase my beauty.