B.A.D. Ride 7

A Good Day to be B.A.D.

It was quite cool when we got up Sunday morning, but the forecast called for plenty of sun, and that was something to rejoice about. For weeks there had been precious few days when the rains were not present, and I had prepared myself for spending most, if not all of my time on the BAD Ride in a

I Get Smart.

rain-suit. A couple of weeks earlier I had e-mailed Sid, co-founder of the ride, and asked him to speak to the gods about the horrible weather. He e-mailed me back to say that I should not worry; he was in the process of some heavy-duty negotiations. I don't know if he still has a soul, but what a deal he must have made. The weather couldn't have been more perfect.

Though the registration didn't start until 8 am , I had my bike on its side-stand in a prime location in front of the stage by 7:30 , and coincidentally in the very same spot I had parked two years earlier. In front of me, volunteers were getting their last minute instructions on how to process the quickly-growing throngs of bikers that were already chomping at the bit to hand in their donations and get their 'loot' bags.

Big Bird.	VIPs: Sid the BAD Ride co-chair in hat with Jim Caruck, the Real Renos guy.

Besides a nice looking black T-Shirt proclaiming "7 Years of BAD Attitude" and a black and white BAD bandana that we were asked to tie onto our bikes, there was a collection of things not unexpected for this crowd. This included items like decks of playing cards, pens, note pads, packs of gum, ear plugs, discount coupons for bike shows, and key clips. But oatmeal? Are we, as bikers, really getting that old?

The ride was set to officially begin at 9:45 . But until that time arrived, the organizers made sure we were kept entertained with live music, and our svelte physiques maintained with seemingly endless quantities of donuts, danishes, and croissants. To wash down all those pastries, gallons of coffee, tea, and juice were also made available.

While eating (diet be damned), drinking and making new acquaintances, I spotted Jim Caruk, HGTV's Real Renos guy wandering about, so I took the opportunity to say hello. There were other local celebs out there amongst the crowd, but I never saw anyone else I recognized. I have to admit that I completely forgot about John Williams, a hill climber and Canadian champion who I first met decades ago at a

The ribbon is cut, and bikes stream out for over 20 minutes.

Toronto motorcycle event, the Kawasaki Classic (see York Wings: Wild World of Sports) until the moment of this writing. I know I saw Leafs player Darcy Tucker up on stage later that afternoon, but where were the other special guests? Maybe next year some prominent signs could be posted around the AMC and Bandshell Park to help others, like me, who may have failed to notice some of the important information provided during registration until it was too late.

Unofficial B.A.D. Ride

The route for the BAD Ride this year actually used some of the roads that I had come in on the day before. In fact, I had seen the Ride's highly visible directional signs on several occasions. So rather than join the estimated 1,200 plus bikes on the ride, I chose to witness them leaving instead. After a brief ribbon cutting ceremony, the bikes were sent off by waving and bouncing Hooter Girls for a 130km ride north of the city. It would take exactly twenty-three minutes and seven seconds before the last bike would pass in front of those of us left spectating.

This year, my friend Walter became a BAD participant. He doesn't have much patience for organized motorcycle events, so I was somewhat surprised when he told me that not only would he be coming to the BAD Ride, but that he had raised more than twice what I had in charitable donations. Since the last bike was now racing away from the AMC Entertainment Complex and quickly fading from our view, the three of us headed for our bikes to make our own personalized version of the BAD Ride.

Housing the three largest bells around.

We ended up in Cathedraltown on Woodbine to have a closer look at a recently constructed and still unfinished church that had caught my eye the day before. It had made a striking presence on the high and open ground upon which it stood, and in the distance behind it was the easily recognizable CN Tower framed by high rise office towers in silhouette. Apparently this cathedral makes claim to having a trio of the world's largest bells. There had been a sign with an invitation to the public for an open house, but it was now gone and a service was taking place inside. I would have liked to have a look inside, but we decided that it would have been just a little too bold to have done so.