The Squamidian Report – Aug. 16 / 14
Issue #638
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All, sorry, this is a long one.
As indicated last week, we had our Cache Creek motorcycle club weekend
and it was great, a total success. Sending out the Squid from a motel
room using Webmail is do-able and it got done but its a bit of a pain
and I can't really do much formatting. However, I assume most of
you got your copy because I didn't get any complaints, at least none
worth mentioning.
'The Wife' and I hooked up with the riders from my chapter when they
stopped for fuel on their way up from the city. We had been having some
pretty hot weather but it was still early so riding was quite
comfortable. We had wanted an early start because the Squamish music
festival was on and that can generate an incredible amount of traffic.
Last year that traffic was backed up and stopped all the way back past
Britannia because of poor organizing, this year they did much better
but we still wanted to be out of the area before it got too crazy.
Anyway, we tooted on up to Pemberton where we stopped for a break, you
can't sit for hours on a bike like you can in a car. Then it was up and
over the Duffy and down into Lillooet where we had lunch. By then it
was getting hot so we all switched to our hot weather riding gear and
did the final leg on in to CC. That takes you across the Fraser River,
along the upper Fraser Canyon, often a thousand feet above the river as
you wind along, and then through the Marble Canyon area and the Hat
Creek Ranch up to highway 97. The short 10k or so from the 99
intersection into CC used to be so rough and bumpy that you'd shake
your teeth loose. Its been re-paved and is now nice and smooth, and,
the speed limit has been raised to 100 so you can just scoot right
along.
There was one disappointment, the motel we stayed at, which is the one
all the bikers have stayed at over the last several years, has been let
get a bit run-down. The rooms were still clean but the building and the
parking lot were pretty shabby looking. They had lost the reservations
of several members from the Island and the pool had not been attended
to for who knows how long. It is under 'new' ownership and while the
old owners would bend over backward for us, the new ones didn't seem to
care about anything. They didn't seem to have any idea of what they
were doing or how to do it. So, next year will probably be somewhere
else, perhaps in a totally different town just to mix things up a bit.
Anyway, there was already a half dozen riders there ahead of us and as
the afternoon wore on another dozen rolled in, in groups of 2 to 6 or
so. We all spent the evening renewing old friendships and making new
friends. That is after all what biking is really about. Its a very
social activity which I'm not the best at but thats how it goes.
There are many incredible roads to ride in the CC / Kamloops area and
various groups wanted to do various rides. Anyone was welcome to tag
along with any group. So, Saturday was our day for riding the highways
and I led my group east to the lookout above Kamloops Lake. From there
we dropped down into Savona and found the entrance to the Tunkwa Park
road. This is a paved, single lane trail that goes up-and-over and
comes out at Logan Lake. It looks more like a farm lane than a real
road. There are cattle guards all along it, those metal grates set into
the road that cattle won't cross. Many of these areas are open range
with no fences along the roads. The grates keep the cows from wandering
onto someone else's property. You have to hit them straight on when on
a bike or they can throw you but that was never a problem. We dropped
down into Logan Lake for lunch and then continued south toward Merritt
where we cut back west on #8. All of these are great roads to ride. 8
takes you along the Nicola River as it winds through everything from
ranch land to steep deep desert canyons. Fascinating geology, a lot of
metamorphic volcanic rock and ice age sedimentary rock and gravels and
debris. The river and the highway both come out at Spences Bridge on
the Thompson River. We had encountered everything from deer to cattle
to horses to wild goats to chipmunks on the road, as we rode along.
That makes it interesting but you need to stay alert. We also
encountered extreme heat, this area is always the hottest in the
country and the heat is almost like an entity unto itself. People in
cars just roll up the windows and crank up the AC, on bikes you
experience it, its part of the adventure.
There is a biker pub in Spences Bridge, between the highway and the
river, that supposedly servers the best cheeseburgers in the world. I
personally think the ones I make here on the BBQ are way better, but
those from the Log Cabin Pub are definitely the biggest I've ever seen,
or tried to eat. I should have cut mine into quarters and handed them
out. What was really good there was the ice water, we all needed to
hydrate and cool down a bit. From there its was an easy ¾ hr toot back
up #1 to CC. Our day ride was just under 300km and it was the kind of
back road relaxed riding that we had all wanted. The evening was spent
sitting out with all the other bikers, exchanging the details of
everyone's ride and just having a good time.
Sunday was everyone's 'head home' day. Our group had decided on an 8am
kickstand up time but we were all ready and eager to hit the road by
7:30 so away we went. Many of the riders intended to head south through
the Fraser Canyon and in to Hope and then up through the Lower
Mainland. We preferred to backtrack down through Whistler etc to avoid
the city traffic. We had almost no traffic all the way to Whistler.
From there it got heavier but there was no problems at all. Through
Marble Canyon and that section there was almost no traffic but we did
see a grizzly bear cub at the side of the road buy the lake. That gave
us some concern because we did not see the momma and when you can't see
the mother bear, you can't know where she is. Not at all a good thing
when it comes to bears. We stopped in Lillooet and then climbed up and
over the Duffy. Again, we were ahead of the traffic and that made for
one of the easiest, most enjoyable crossings I've done. It was a tad
chilly through the high country but the ride was great. It was hot from
Pemberton on down and the tar snakes were getting slippery but
otherwise we just tooted right along. 'The Wife' and I dropped out in
Squamish, another rider took over as RC and they worked their way
through the music festival traffic and got home safe, sound and happy.
It had been an almost perfect weekend of riding. Would you believe that
including rest stops, from the time we pulled out of the motel parking
lot until we pulled into our garage was just 4 hours and 14 minutes.
And we weren't even in a hurry, we just had the road to ourselves for
most of the way and the riding was as good as it gets.
*
You know how there are things you'd really like,
perhaps you've wanted all your life but could simply never justify
owning? Like a really high end, high performance sports car that can do
0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. No one needs that kind of power, heck,
a good old Ford or Toyota or whatever is all that is needed for our
streets and roads. Yet, there is something about those cars that you
don't need and can't justify that calls to you. It doesn't matter that
they cost way too much and the insurance is ridiculous and they get
pathetic fuel economy, machines like that do something for your soul.
Well, don't worry, I didn't go out and buy a high end sports car. In
fact, while I fully understand the lure of cars like that to the
driver's who own them, they don't actually appeal to me at all.
Besides, I'm usually in enough trouble as it is. However, what has
called to me for decades and what I have always wanted was a very high
end guitar. I got a taste of one last February when I was back in
Ontario and had rented that Taylor guitar, the one that was so nice I
was afraid to touch it. Yes, I've always wanted a guitar that was too
nice and too high quality for someone like me to own, and way too
expensive for someone like me to justify. I know full well that a
guitar like that would not make me a better player, but it would
probably make me play more often which could lead to becoming a better
player.
So, one day a while back, the subject of someday owning a very high
quality guitar came up. Perhaps it had something to do with a song I
had just written for Kyra that turned out quite well, or perhaps not,
but there was an acceptance for the idea of justifying the
unjustifiable. I started researching guitars that us normal people
rarely own and seldom get to touch let alone play. I spent some time,
on a couple of occasions, at the North Van Long & McQuade music
store, trying the sound and feel of a bunch of expensive instruments. I
had spent most of my life thinking the high end guitar of my choice
would be a Gibson. That belief held until I actually played the Gibson
models beside the Taylor and Martin models. I found with the Gibson
acoustic guitars that you are paying more for visible fanciness and
bling than you are for sound quality. Don't get me wrong, the sound
quality of the high end Gibson is very, very nice, but to my surprise
its not the guitar for me. That left the Taylor 714 and 816 series, and
the Martin D-28 through HD-35s. In order to pursue this rather silly
and selfish endeavor I would need to try all the possibilities. I could
never permit myself to indulge in my 'dream guitar' without being very
sure it was the right one. And L&McQ had everything hanging on the
wall of their sound room except for the Martin HD-35. Its a hard guitar
to get and none of their western stores had one. I was able to narrow
down my search but could not complete it without playing the 35, a
guitar must feel right and sound right, to the person playing it. It
does not matter what it sounds like to anyone else, its a very
personal, intimate relationship. L&McQ offered to bring in a brand
new 35, right from their distributor who would have to get it right
from the factory. I'd need to put down 10% for them to hold it
exclusively for me which sounded very fair. If I didn't want the guitar
I'd simply get my deposit back which they hoped I'd apply to one of
their other units. So, in late June I ordered a Martin HD-35 and it
came in this week.
Ouch, that meant put up or shut up. So, 'The Wife' and I popped down to
the city and in to the music store to check out the guitar. It was
still in the shipping box which had been sealed at the factory. One of
the store guys opened the cardboard box and we pulled out the hardshell
guitar case with the guitar inside. It was left to me to open the case,
'The Wife' and I were the first persons to view this 'never been
touched, never been played' guitar. The Martin HD-35 is fancy but on a
subtle level, not showy at all, very pleasing. I sat in a room and
played it, listening to the tone, the ring and the sustain. It had been
my intention to play several other instruments at the time to do a
final comparison but that was no long necessary. To do so would have
simply confused the issue, the HD-35 was the guitar I was looking for.
So, we handed over the credit card and the deed to the land and
ownership of our first born and left with a brand new Martin guitar.
Needless to say I've been playing it whenever I can. Conveniently, it
seems to know all the same material my old guitar knows which is handy
because it would be the pits to have to teach it everything the old one
knew all over again. An interesting thing about 'high end' guitars,
they are quite delicate and very sensitive to humidity and temperature
changes, easily damaged and susceptible to damage from things that
would not even make a cheap guitar notice. A $129 Walmart special is
made from plywood and two by fours and could fall off a bridge without
sustaining any damage. However, those things are heavy and sound pretty
bad. High end units are made from very thin slices of tone woods,
special glues, bone instead of plastic, light bracing and easily marked
open-pore finishes. But thats the price for the sound they produce. So,
needless to say, this guitar will live in its case when not in use. It
will not be left leaning against a chair or laying on the couch
although thats not what I do with my Ovation so I guess this last
sentence was a bit of a waste.
doug
****
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Just when we were starting to enjoy a nice sunny summer, the darned
weather has turned fallish! I know that’s not a real word but I’m sure
if you live in the Waterloo Region you’ll know exactly what it means!
Not only the nights have cooled off but the days are down right frigid
as well. Today’s high was 16c but it felt more like 6c to me. The sun
actually came out for a few minutes at midday and everyone in my
neighbourhood was out on the street looking skyward trying to see if
the there was a flaming meteorite heading toward earth. I guess the
shock of this overcast and cold weather is a bit too much for most of
us in mid August. I’m even thinking of calling the Chrysler dealer in
Waterloo to see if they can put my snows on the Jeep for me if this
crap keeps up. LOL! I sure as heck hope we’re in for a few months of
nicer warm weather yet before the snow sets in! I remember back in the
spring when the Farmer’s Almanac said we were in for one of the hottest
summers we’ve had in 20 years. Boy is it time for their forecasters to
hang up their overalls and head in from the barn. They don’t seem to be
able to predict anything with accuracy lately. When it comes to
forecasting our weather, we might as well bring Dave MacDonald back to
CTV. At least he gave us the reports with a chuckle and never promised
that we could travel with the top down on our cars unless there wasn’t
a cloud in the sky when we looked up! Oh well, let’s just blame it on
el-Niño or whatever the hell it’s called these days. Weather is just
that, something that changes as quickly as the weather and there’s no
controlling it from our end of things. From now on I’ll consider the
weather report to be just another commercial that interrupts the person
reading the news, and the news report is just a break in normal
programming that gives us a chance to go take a shit and grab a beer!
I think that’s about all I have in me for this week!
Sorry but I’ll see if I can’t dig something more interesting and lengthy and informative up for next week!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
Gold is the only metal that doesn’t rust, even if it’s buried in the ground for thousands of years!
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.
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