Friday the 13th January 2006

Who would have thought that we would have a chance to ride in January???
For the unitiated, Friday the 13th is a major event for motorcyclists in
Southern Ontario. Back in 1981 Chris Simmons and a few friends gathered in
a small town on the shores of Lake Erie; Port Dover and made a plan to get
together whenever there was a Friday the 13th. That initial event has grown
as two friends told two friends, who told two friends and on and on it went.
Now Friday the 13th is a big event in the warmer months as motorcyclists
converge on Port Dover in the tens of thousands, and a smaller event when
the 13th happens to fall in those cooler months we call winter!!!

January 2006 dawned a different day however with temps forecasted to be
around 10° or 50° for our American friends. My rule is my bike(s) stay
parked once the salt is used to get rid of the snow and ice. Fortunately I
will break this rule, if we have enough rain to wash away the corrosive
residue, and just such an occurrence had happened over the previous week
or so. So next thing you know I'm digging out all my gear, for a cool and
possibly wet ride. Oh yea I hadn't mentioned that part yet, have I?
Never fear as little rain is not an issue for those that like to ride. Besides
its January in Canada remember and our motorcycles should be in
hibernation for at least another 3 months. I dug out my ballistic insulated
pants, heated jacket liner & gloves, ballistic jacket & flip up helmet and
headed to the underground parking garage to start my Wee Strom. When
I put her away two months ago I topped up the fuel & added stabilizer &
little else!

Luckily as soon as I turned the key the Wee Strom fired up and I was out
the door. Quick trip to the 407 and the next thing you know I'm on the
403 headed to Hamilton, enroute to 6 South and Port Dover. I've felt a
few rain drops and the fellow from the Southern Cruisers, whom I
picked up in Hamilton, is as happy as me that the rain holds off.
He's riding a Honda Ace Tourer, but is in denim pants and the rain
would mean a stop to put on rain gear to stay dry. As we continue south
there are plenty of bikes heading out of town. They have completed their
pilgrimage and are headed home before the rain hits I assume. As we enter
town a few locals and some school children are waving. Not all are
happy that this event occurs, but for the most part it brings many tourist
dollars to an otherwise small town and plenty of the locals do enjoy
our presence.

I turn into the & right behind me is TooTall on his Grand
Strom. We circle the lot looking for a place to park and decide to head up
the main drag. John pulls a u-turn and I figure we are parking, but he
decides to head back down and park on a side street. The first person
I see when I get off the bike isChris Simmons. I say hello and head off to
search for John. Since I didn't have breakfast, I decide a sandwich
and coffee would make a good lunch. As I'm searching for a place to park
my butt on a curb and eat, I see my buddy Grizzly. As Grizzly and I are
chatting, John has found the two of us and joins in. We get out of the
quick rain shower and talk about good times waiting for it to clear.
Time for a stroll up the main drag to take in the sights. There are more
bikes and people than I expected. Grizzly stops to chat with the creator of
an Indian Larry tribute Bike and I snap a couple of pictures. As I’m
scanning the crowds a PYT is approaching and she seems to be very proud
of her chest. It may be January but the warm temps have convinced her to
bare herself to the appreciative crowds. John and I both snap pictures
but his is blurry. Good thing one of us has a steady hand eh John?

As we continue our stroll uptown we again see Chris at his converted
bus/camper. He shows us the conversion so far and then we step
outside to shoot the shit. Chris estimates aproximately 2000
motorcycles and 8000 people have decended upon his sleepy town.
A few of Grizzly’s friends find him and he gets to chatting with them.
One thing about Port Dover and Friday the 13th is you will see friends
whom you haven’t seen in awhile. It’s approaching 3:00pm and
my designated departure time. I want to be headed home before it
really starts raining and the temperature drops too much to make it
comfortable. We say goodbye to Chris and head to our bikes. I am
getting suited up and a fellow Wee Strom rider approaches and
introduces himself as Peter. He’s from the Niagara area and we know
of each other through a message forum for the DL650. Down to the
and I see John getting ready at his bike. I say my goodbye
to Grizzly and head out of town. Good thing John has the 1000cc
version of the Strom as he soon catches me and we head north and home.
Plenty of bikes heading out of town now and as we pass a turning truck
the rear end of my bike starts to fishtail. Stay on the throttle gently and
everything is fine. Apparently John didn’t have the same issue as me
and I’m guessing I must have ridden through some greasy stuff on the
road. We run into a bit of rain as we head home, but nothing steady and not
too bad. The Strom is just about perfect for me and if it’s not raining my
visor is up. John is so tall that he’s right in the wind stream and the older
versions of the DL1000 didn’t come with an adjustable shield. John waves
goodbye at Derry Road and I continue on my way stopping to fill up my tank
with fuel and stabilizer a couple blocks from home. The bike is parked and
I’m home for a little after 5:00pm, not too bad for a January day.

Chris Simmons
Wee Strom		Grand Strom
Grizzly		NW Chris Grizzly
TooTall & Chris		Nice Bike
Indian Larry Tribute		Indian Larry Tribute
January Flasher		Better Shot :o)
PD 13		PD 13
PD 13		PD 13
Tim's Parking Lot		Tim's Parking Lot
PD 13		Scorp's Old 1400???
Leaving		KLR w Sidecar
Kick Starter		Little Rain

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