Sat, Oct 7 2006 - Caledon Rail Trail Bike (View Original Event Details)
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I love October! Besides the part about it being my birthday, it has the best weather of the year - it was sunny, clear and crisp - the fall colours were in full array. Caledon area is beautiful at any time of year, but everything appears to be enhanced. After a slight delay due to difficulty finding our start spot plus some awful long weekend traffic on the 400, eight of us headed down the trail. Jim was lost but assured me he would catch up to us on his fast red bike. And he did!
Benita was brand new to the club having only been in Ontario for all of two weeks. Coming from the outdoor mecca of North Van, she was feeling resigned to having to give up a lot of her outdoor activities now she was in Ontario for the first time in many years. I think she left feeling much more optimistic, enjoying the fall weather and determined to check out Hardwood Hills and looking forward to many more events with the TOC (we hope!)
Our other new member came out on the insistance of his sister. Veronica has been having a great time with the TOC and Warren had to check it out himself (or maybe just to get her off his back!). He was more than pleasantly surprised and even promised to set up an intro to wine tasting event for the TOC. He promised to come out for more events - although maybe not with his sister. Although there's nothing more fun doing TOC events with your siblings - usually people don't even make the connection!
The rest of the group are all on their way to being club regulars, and I mean that in the best way possible. Prashanth's bike made it through the whole trip, much better than before, and Hanna not only managed to fit her bike on my rack, she also got through the event with no flats or bike related damage. I didn't get much time to chat with Veronica and Perkin, but they appeared to be enjoying themselves. I knew that I'd see both of them at our Orphan's thanksgiving dinner and we'd catch up then. Jim and I discussed his future in politics, and perhaps a change in career for me - can you see me working the back corridors of power? Today the TOC...tomorrow CANADA!! Muahahahaha! Dictator for life indeed! We ended the ride after a few hours there and back, with an ice cream stop on the way home - who can complain about ice cream in October? As we were packing up to leave Daniel explained to me he'd love to volunteer but hates going out in the rain. I said, as I always say, that as a volunteer you can do anything you like, even be a fair weather biker. He told me that he was told rainy days were required, and I knew who told him that untruth! The moral of the story...just because El Rey says so does not make it so!!! Here's hoping that Daniel will join us as a volunteer, even if it's for nice days only!
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.