The Docks

Oshawa

While on the highway, my face shield felt a little funny, and when I went to adjust it, it came apart somehow. I held on tight with my left hand while trying to tell Dad what was wrong (although I couldn't really tell anyway). He pulled into the next service station five or ten minutes later, and we discovered that the hinging pieces flew off, probably from getting too loose. We had no choice but to take the shield off, but I knew my already sensitive eyes

Mackie Harley Davidson: Oshawa, Ontario

weren't going to take the wind. Luckily, Dad wasn't wearing his goggles, so I got them. It's a shame I had to do the rest of the ride blind since I could no longer wear my glasses, but I knew my eyes were thanking me for it.

We apparently blasted to Oshawa, passing many fellow bikers on the way. Our speed was never above 130 km/h, and usually just 120 km/h. While I was happy to be shielded from the wind with the goggles, Dad was happy he had switched his windshield to the larger, less cool looking, standard one.

All arrivals to Oshawa were greeted with a costumed set of traffic directors, some of whom gave an enthusiastic sports stadium wave to the incoming. We parked at the back of the lot and Dad got his registration Subway lunch and I got a charity hot dog (by that I mean we paid for it). As we finished to the sweet sounds of bagpipes, we checked the parts counter of the store to see if they could replace my helmet's parts. No such luck. I would have to continue blind.

We took a quick washroom break only to discover that the men's washroom had a huge line-up and the women's didn't.

Bikes fill the back lot of Mackie.

Talk about role reversal! So many men, Dad included, just used the women's washroom anyway. It's not like it was stalls, so it wasn't a big deal.

Back at the bike, we found that metal plates had been put under each kick stand in an effort to save the parking lot's asphalt. While pondering this, we met Ron and his wife, from the Freedom Chapter, just as they rolled in. They were planning on staying in the hotel beside the dealership. We did meet another guy heading for Toronto and were going to follow him (he seemed to know the way to The Docks), but we took too long, and I guess he figured that we were no longer interested, so he left.

We ended up following someone else, but we decided to go slower, and so we lost him. There was heavy traffic on the Don Valley Parkway - stop and go. But then again, I guess that's why they call it a PARKway. We caught up again to the other guy, and follow again in hopes that he will lead us to The Docks. Naturally, he gets lost. But in the end, we all got there safe and sound, so there aren't any hard feelings.