Historic Port la Joye...

Knock knock... nobody home!

OTHERWISE known as Fort Amherst, is a Parks Canada historic site.  Many years ago it hosted a National scouts jamboree with 15,000 participants.  I once convinced the powers that be, to allow us to block off the short, multiple turn, then newly paved access road for a couple of hours while CBC Charlottetown and my shop filmed several television commercials.  Back in those days we could produce a 30 second spot for a couple of hundred dollars and the air time was also very reasonable.  In those days, shortly after the Spanish Inquisition ended, CBC through the air broadcasting could reach every household on PEI.  We made many commercials, funny ones too, one of which won a National award for best locally produced commercial!  That brought accolades to the local station.

Today, as I pulled off onto the park access road, it was cracked up, the pavement missing sections, and as I closed the building I thought it looked deserted.  Odd... after all it is summer, there are tourists on the Island.

The building that once had locals in period costume, a very informative interpretive center, and happy smiling shining faces, was now bleak, dark and dingy.  The door was locked, peeking through the dirt stained windows, to a hollow space, the odd box on the floor and a decrepit counter, saddened me.  How come, history takes a back seat to bean counters, why do we waste billions on garbage job creation strategies that often serve to line the wealthiest pockets further, scandalous campaigning, and government ineptitude.  You sometimes have got to wonder, why we don't revolt at climbing taxation, consumer prices, bribery and outright thievery...

Run down historic site

Climbing off the soapbox once again... I mount up and gingerly exit on a road that was once billiard smooth and 30kph became 130 for 30 seconds.  By the way, I rode and featured the Maxim 700 and X (5 valve 750) as well as the then new FZ 750 Genesis.

Because I was only a kilometer away from the road blockage I decided to have a lookey see.  After all, this is why I travel by motorcycle, to see and experience things.

Boy, they're not kidding with this closed down business

They weren't kidding when they said "Bridge Out"  It was indeed!  Maybe I could have skirted across with my XT 600, certainly I could have picked a spot with my 225, but there weren't no way, a 500 lb VX 800 was getting close to that.

I backtracked to highway 19, dodging Playboy, umm... I mean playful bunnies by the dozen.

Bridges were built with wooden pilings

At Cornwall I headed west on the TC 1 again to Crapaud and highway 13.  This road bisects PEI South to North.  It's also the highest point on the Island, just by Brookvale Provincial ski park, nearly 500' elevation.  No danger of oxygen deprivation here, but certainly some pretty woodland and mixed farming views.

The Kelly's Cross junction has an interesting feel, the old village store, takes me back to a simpler time when I may have been here on a BSA twin, old aviator goggles on my pudding bowl helmet. More history.

Wish I could have taken this home in my saddlebag

By the time I reached Hunter River after a stop at the 225 junction where I met former Burlington Amusement park owner, Gerald Profitt and a couple of his cruiser cronies, the sky had clouded over and the sunshine receded farther in my rear view mirrors.  They say in very small print, "Objects are closer than they appear"  Well to me, the blue sky was getting farther and farther away!

I hooked up with route 6 along the North shore, passed through first Rustico, then Rusticoville, and finally North Rustico, all picturesque little quaint villages.  A quick stop behind Cavendish Pizza Delight, and a short visit with Chris Smith, part owner and manager, before heading for home.

Kelly's Cross community store.

As timing would have it, I arrived at the highway entrance just as 20 V Twins, Hell's Angels (wannabe's) rode by in perfect(?) staggered formation.  You had to give them credit for working so hard at maintaining formation like a gaggle of WWII B-17 Flying Forts, sounding for all the world like a bunch of Pratt and Whitney air cooled radials, with those bellowing open exhausts.  The line moved snake like along the narrow coastal highway, taking up easily a half kilometer with a very tight 1-2 seconds gap between riders.

Now gang, I don't mind riding in small groups and I have often admitted I hate doing Aspencades, Americades, and Atlanticade type gatherings with a passion, only matched by my distaste for insurance companies, banks and ludicrous government laws... but here we have twenty "BAD BOYS" tossing cigarette butts, feet on "highway" pegs, rumbling along between 55 to 70, to 45 to 85 to 63 to 95 slowing and accelerating like a slinky toy, leaving no gaps for which regular traffic can effect a pass.  Nope... these "individuals" (cause they all want to be that) had no clue of proper road etiquette, where by large groups should break into slightly smaller ones (3-4 riders) leaving sufficient gaps for a potential passing motorist to pull into safely.  Duh!!  It ain't rocket science boys! I have read news reports over the decades where a passing motorist had no choice but to bunt some riders off the road because they left no gaps.

Off my soapbox once again...

That's for 1`gallon!!!

I arrived home from my Sunday morning ride just before noon, having covered 245 km in 4 and a half hours, taking 87 photographs (love them digital camera's) and averaging 48.9 mpg on the Suzuki.  I found out that my head bearings were a wee bit loose, anytime I took hand off the bar, a very nervous oscillation emerged.  A half turn of pre-load in my garage cured that right away.

I did the "TON" once as I often do, just for fun, but spent most of my ride under 100kph and enjoyed every minute (except for the 15 I had to follow those 'real bikers'!)

1767, nuff said.