B.A.D. Ride 7

I stood back and looked at the original T-Sport seat I had just bolted back on to my bike. It didn't look bad, I thought, but I knew it wouldn't be as comfortable for me as the gel filled Saddlemen it had temporarily replaced. I was getting the bike ready to attend the 7 th annual running of the BAD Ride (where BAD stands for Bikers Against Despair) in Toronto , and my sidekick (Gail) would certainly appreciate the superior passenger support of the stocker for her backside. I in turn would appreciate the lack of complaining I would have had to otherwise endure from my daughter, custom molded ear plugs or not.

Does this make me look fat?	Sidekick kicked back: this should be mandatory at all rest stops.

This would be my second time supporting this particular event; my introduction had been just two years earlier with BAD Ride V. To be honest, I made the run not because of any real interest for the charity that would benefit from my fundraising, but primarily because I was impressed with the ride's promotional material on the Internet. It also didn't hurt that my family lives in the area either.

BAD Ride V turned out to be just as good as was promised. The organizers did an outstanding job of providing the motorcycling community with not only a well planned scenic ride around areas I had not seen before, despite living in Toronto for nearly a decade, but also with plenty of entertainment in the form of three bands, Hooters girls, local celebrities, silent auctions, and a precision riding exhibition. They even paid for my gas courtesy of one of their sponsors, Sunoco. Yes, I was impressed, and I knew I would be back for more.

The Road to the Centre of the Universe

There were two things I learned on last year's ride to Friday the 13 th in Port Dover. The first was that while making frequent stops will extend the time it takes to get anywhere, the ride itself becomes far less tiring. The other was the discovery of a wonderful route that takes one into the GTA at its northern edge. I found it a much more relaxing alternative to the traffic madness of the 401 - at least when traveling from the East. I'm talking about highway 7a and riding through Port Perry on a road that often had some of the most picturesque countryside scenery found anywhere in Ontario .

Although this area is still relatively new to me, it is obviously no secret to motorcycle enthusiasts in this part of the province. It was early in the afternoon when we rode through, and we encountered so many bikes that at first I thought we had stumbled upon a major rally. Bikes of every make and description, alone and in large groups, zoomed around us in every direction. There were so many bikes that the only time my left hand rested on the bars was when I needed to pull in the clutch.

Gail and her Air Cadet cousin Christopher.	Up up and away.

We arrived at my sister's home around 3:30 pm . After a chance to change and get something to eat, we headed out to Markham Airport to watch my nephew do some practice flying with the Air Cadets. It turned out to be a very lucky day for Gail because she was invited to go up in one of their gliders. She later told me that while we had watched them circle high above the airfield, she had been given full control of the glider by the young pilot for about a minute. I too was asked if I wanted to go up for a ride. I declined explaining that I preferred to fly much closer to the ground with the reassuring rumble of a v-twin beneath me.