My friend called me Friday morning, and asked if I wanted to head for a ride up north. I figured he meant Minden/Kawartha Lakes region (I do a lot of day rides up there). When we met up outside my building, he suggested Killarney. His extended family own and operate a resort up there, so he suggested we head up and visit for an hour, and then head back. The plan was to be back by 7 or 8ish.
We brimmed the tanks around 10:30 am and headed north. The route was simple, lots of slab. DVP to 401 to 400 to 69 to 637 (Killarney Road). This was my first time heading up that way.
Sorry for the lack of good pictures/the bad quality of pictures, I didn't think to document the trip until trouble arose
My bike. 2008 GS500. I had to get creative with resting against the tank bag so I could do the long stretches of slab with those clip-ons.
We went nonstop to Parry Sound (about 250km). We ate and filled the tanks there, and then started the second leg. Highway 69 is pretty nice as far as scenery goes (for Ontario, that is) and we reached the 637 by about 2 o'clock.
Highway 637 is about 70km long, and links 69 with Killarney. There is pretty much nothing in between. All in all, it is a nice road with some fun twists, and the surface is in pretty good shape considering it's in the middle of nowhere, and goes to the middle of nowhere.
About 20 km into 637, my friend gestures to pull over. As we stop on the shoulder of the road, he gestures to his back tire. It was comedically flat. He rolled his bike forward as I looked at the back tire, and sure enough I noticed a screw head poking out of it. The bad news was it was a tubed tire, because he had spoke wheels, so we were worried the fix wouldn't be that simple. Luckily, he has CAA so he gave them a call. It took them about 1.5 hours to get to us with the flatbed. While we waited, it became evident to us that we weren't heading back to Toronto that evening. Neither of us wanted to spend that much time in the dark even if the bike could be mended.
We got the bike towed to the only mechanic shop in Killarney, and went to the local outfitters to pick up a tent so we could stay the night in a field. While we were there, my friend ran into a relative and we told them the situation. He made a few phone calls, and told us that we had a room at the lodge (Killarney Mountain Lodge) free of charge! Pretty crazy considering the fact that it is a busy time of year for them!
With the bike at the shop, we went for a swim, attended a big BBQ event at the lodge and hit the bar in the evening. I met a lot of great people and had an amazing time.
There are worse places to be stranded
We both bought a pair of flipflops and a bathing suit, the only 2 things you need when roughing it at a resort.
Better than a tent.
This is where the BBQ went down. Great food!
The following day we headed to the shop. Bad news.. the valve had been damaged with the flat tire and the tube was toast.
This is the screw he pulled out of the tire, 3.5 inches! He said he couldn't believe his eyes
Here's my friends bike up on the makeshift stand. A 2003 Vulcan 500
A crappy picture of the shop
The mechanic spent a lot of time on the phone trying to find a tube, and finally pointed us towards Royal Distributing in Sudbury. So we drove the 1.5ish hours into Sudbury in a car, and bought a new rear tire there. Unfortunatley, they didn't have the right size tube (apparently 15 inch rims are uncommon!). The guy at RD was very very helpful, and must've called 10 different shops looking for a tube. On his last try, success. Mid City Motorsports in Sudbury had what we needed. We got the tube, and headed the 1.5 hours back to Killarney.
RD, our savior.
At that point, it was nearing 4 o'clock, and I had to be back in Toronto that evening. I didn't want to be caught out after dark (long story, but there is an issue with my headlight right now) so I had to leave my buddy up there. The mechanic said he wouldn't be able to mount the tire probably until Sunday morning. So my friend's got another free night at the lodge
180km from Killarney to Parry Sound, 5 minute gas up break, and then 250km to Toronto and I got home around 8:30, very tired and sore.
When I stopped for the gas break in Parry Sound, I noticed this on my odo. My bike turned 15!
All in all... quite an experience for us.
We brimmed the tanks around 10:30 am and headed north. The route was simple, lots of slab. DVP to 401 to 400 to 69 to 637 (Killarney Road). This was my first time heading up that way.
Sorry for the lack of good pictures/the bad quality of pictures, I didn't think to document the trip until trouble arose
My bike. 2008 GS500. I had to get creative with resting against the tank bag so I could do the long stretches of slab with those clip-ons.
We went nonstop to Parry Sound (about 250km). We ate and filled the tanks there, and then started the second leg. Highway 69 is pretty nice as far as scenery goes (for Ontario, that is) and we reached the 637 by about 2 o'clock.
Highway 637 is about 70km long, and links 69 with Killarney. There is pretty much nothing in between. All in all, it is a nice road with some fun twists, and the surface is in pretty good shape considering it's in the middle of nowhere, and goes to the middle of nowhere.
About 20 km into 637, my friend gestures to pull over. As we stop on the shoulder of the road, he gestures to his back tire. It was comedically flat. He rolled his bike forward as I looked at the back tire, and sure enough I noticed a screw head poking out of it. The bad news was it was a tubed tire, because he had spoke wheels, so we were worried the fix wouldn't be that simple. Luckily, he has CAA so he gave them a call. It took them about 1.5 hours to get to us with the flatbed. While we waited, it became evident to us that we weren't heading back to Toronto that evening. Neither of us wanted to spend that much time in the dark even if the bike could be mended.
We got the bike towed to the only mechanic shop in Killarney, and went to the local outfitters to pick up a tent so we could stay the night in a field. While we were there, my friend ran into a relative and we told them the situation. He made a few phone calls, and told us that we had a room at the lodge (Killarney Mountain Lodge) free of charge! Pretty crazy considering the fact that it is a busy time of year for them!
With the bike at the shop, we went for a swim, attended a big BBQ event at the lodge and hit the bar in the evening. I met a lot of great people and had an amazing time.
There are worse places to be stranded
We both bought a pair of flipflops and a bathing suit, the only 2 things you need when roughing it at a resort.
Better than a tent.
This is where the BBQ went down. Great food!
The following day we headed to the shop. Bad news.. the valve had been damaged with the flat tire and the tube was toast.
This is the screw he pulled out of the tire, 3.5 inches! He said he couldn't believe his eyes
Here's my friends bike up on the makeshift stand. A 2003 Vulcan 500
A crappy picture of the shop
The mechanic spent a lot of time on the phone trying to find a tube, and finally pointed us towards Royal Distributing in Sudbury. So we drove the 1.5ish hours into Sudbury in a car, and bought a new rear tire there. Unfortunatley, they didn't have the right size tube (apparently 15 inch rims are uncommon!). The guy at RD was very very helpful, and must've called 10 different shops looking for a tube. On his last try, success. Mid City Motorsports in Sudbury had what we needed. We got the tube, and headed the 1.5 hours back to Killarney.
RD, our savior.
At that point, it was nearing 4 o'clock, and I had to be back in Toronto that evening. I didn't want to be caught out after dark (long story, but there is an issue with my headlight right now) so I had to leave my buddy up there. The mechanic said he wouldn't be able to mount the tire probably until Sunday morning. So my friend's got another free night at the lodge
180km from Killarney to Parry Sound, 5 minute gas up break, and then 250km to Toronto and I got home around 8:30, very tired and sore.
When I stopped for the gas break in Parry Sound, I noticed this on my odo. My bike turned 15!
All in all... quite an experience for us.
