Picking up from last night, our Faithful Leader Craig got pulled for the credit card game. His nights tab came to $325 + tip. Another successful game played. We are now down to our last player for this round and the lucky recipient tonight will be Action Dan (4 of the other 5 starting contestants has already been dealt their punishment). Lets see how much damage we can do for him! Cheers.
Breakfast was at 8am. We had a nice assortment of choices. I saw waffles with strawberries, omelettes, and french toast (and yes, it was called "french toast" on the menu Vinnie) spread out around the table.
The pack was ready to roll at 9:15am. We are all digging this 9:15 start time. Plenty of time to have fun at night, but yet be up for a reasonable departure time. We weren't really sure of our mileage today, as the mileage/kilometer markers varied greatly during our ride in last night. It was estimated to be between 90 and 140 miles. It wound up being around 130 miles. So, after our quick fueling stop, we were back on the trail.
It was a bit overcast for our departure and a comfortable 28 degrees. The temps have been pretty steady, and in that range, for this trip.
The first 30 miles were pretty rough. Washboard conditions and we were only averaging 20 miles an hour. Not a fun ride. We were glad to get to mile marker 30 on our odometers. There was a club warming station on the side of the trail, and a local was in stoking the fire, and warming it up for the day. The first thing he said was the trails are going to get better as soon as we leave! That was welcome news. We all took a few minutes to stretch, warm up and use their homemade bathroom system (an RV toilet with a foot pedal, a 55 gallon barrel cut in half filled with water, and a pitcher with an open handle hooked on the top edge of the cut barrel to put water in the toilet before/after use. You may find this crude; I found it to be better than a 4 star Hyatt at the time).
At the 50 mile mark, we stopped for a quick fuel top off and lunch. Lunch was at the Dixie Lee Restaurant. Basically a Canadian version of KFC. First time I recall us eating at a fast food joint on the trail. In all honesty, we were attempting to eat at a Relaise on the trail, but we apparently missed it. ( NOTE: A Relaise is usually a club sponsored building on the trail that has a kitchen that makes meals for the trail riders, and a good size banquet room that are used for gathering places for different functions and fund raisers the respective club may promote to fund the Relaise and their club).
Back on the trail around 1pm, and around the 80 mile marker we stopped at another club warming building on the trail. We met another group of riders that had stayed at the same place last night, and they also were on their way to Perce', where we are tonight. This warming station had running water, and a real functioning bathroom. Two actually. They came in handy, also.
When we got back on the trail, light fluffy snow flakes were falling, as if we were in a snow globe, shake me up. It was a pretty ride, and the terrain was still mountainous and curvy. It was pretty ride.
We got into Perce around 4:45pm. Talk about a gorgeous and memorable sight when we came out of the woods, and could look down on the town, and see the Perce' Rock in the background. It was dusk, but still a majestic sight.
We are now gathered for happy hour at the Auberge La Table a Roland. Running up Action Dan's tab. Brace yourself Action, we're going to try and make this hurt.
Since we have time today, it's time to introduce you to one of the three new Darkside Riders/Victims that have joined us this year.
Let's introduce you to Chip Lawler. Chip originates from Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He resides now in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Chip grew up on a 20 acre hobby farm in MN, and rode snowmobiles, as most kids do, around the yard. Chip got more into recreational snowmobiling after he bought a cottage in upstate New York, in Watkins Glen, about 10 years ago, as a place to take his 2 boys, Jake & Owen, on weekends and holidays. While there, they take advantage of all the seasons. Jet skiing during the summer months, snowmobiling during the winter. In between, there is a great social network where they gather with the local community for bar-b-ques and pit roasts at the major holidays. Unfortunately, the local winter weather conditions have not been conducive to snowmobiling for Chip & his boys, only logging 400 miles on his 2005 Yamaha Vector in the last 2 years. He began stalking the Darkside Adventures 2 years ago when he found out about us by googling saddlebag snowmobile trips. After following our GPS Tracking and Frostbytes Blog for the last two years, he finally decided to pull the trigger and contact Craig to see how he could sign up for the next ride. Chip has been a welcome addition to the group, and his easy going manner and willingness to take verbal abuse has helped as well! Welcome aboard Chip.
It's time to run up Actions Dan's tab now, so tune in tomorrow to see how this well oiled machine performs.
Cheers,
Stick.