Stargazer's Garage @ istargazer.ca

“Hog Wild” About Reading

6^th Annual Motorcycle Ride for Literacy

September 25, 2005

The Meeting Place – Moody Middle School

This motorcycle ride is an annual even in support of literacy in School District 43. The ride starts in Port Moody and ends at Harrison Hot Springs (about a 2 hour ride). The money raised goes to public school libraries. The weather could not have been better. A lot of riders had Harley Davidsons, but there were a number of motorcycles (and trikes) including Honda Goldwings, BMWs, and a few sport bikes. There was a big turnout.

The trip to Harrison was really fun. Imagine me with my bright red scooter and Power Ranger helmet amidst a hundred-plus leather-clad bikers on their cruisers rumbling down the street! I thought I was the only person with a Burgman, but I discovered another rider after I arrived at Harrison Lake.

The total ride roundtrip was about 160 km (100 miles) and on this ride I achieved my best ever fuel economy: 3.5L/100km (66.8 mpg)!

Nice looking motorcycles It’s dreamy!	Bikes parked all the way down to the intersection The police car (can you spot it?) blocked traffic for us when the ride started.	Sport bike, cruiser, scooter
Hey, look at the scooter!	Parking at Harrison Lake They had reserved parking for all the motorcycles. I think I surprised a few people when they saw how capable the Burgman was.	Yaa! Another Burgman! I was filming all the bikes parked in the lot and didn’t even realize it was there. I just happened to stop taping at that moment and the owner greeted me very warmly. I captured this picture off the tape.
	View of part of the lake (Harrison Lake is HUGE)
Charlie’s on the Lake This is the restaurant most people ate at. It was very nice. They reserved the two balconies for the riders. For everyone who ordered the lunch special, the restaurant donated $2 to support the cause.	Sand Castle Display Half of the beach was filled with a sand castle display. They charged admission if you wanted to get a close look, but there was a lookout point where you can get an overview for free.	Close up of a sand creation
The view to the left	The view to the right	Hmm, that’s pretty big
	I got a new picture editor You may have already noticed from some of the pictures above that I’ve been playing with filters.
Photo Shoot I thought this was a picturesque place and always wanted to get some shots. Today was the day.	Picture	Picture
Sparkly Paint After the ride, the Burgman (and my helmet) were covered with bug splats which I tried to avoid shooting. In these shots I tried to capture the depth and sparkle of the paint on the Burgman.	Close-up Most pictures don’t do justice to what the red actually looks like in real life. With these close-ups you can see the flecks in the paint that really make it shine.	Even closer
Rear spoiler	Self-portrait See if you can spot the owner.	Bungee Hooks This is probably the best angle to see them. Does it remind you of something?
	Honey, I’m home! I drove up to my house and saw these two beauties parking out front. I had to rub my eyes because I thought I was dreaming. I wonder if I could fit them all in my garage. Anyway, it was a really great ending to a great day of riding.