Coverage for BR&K by John Brain. Photos by Brain, Chubb, Michelle, Mr.Hyde, Scott & UFO
Wasaga Beach Meet 2008
Thursday, June 08: I made my way up to Scott and Michelle's place for a pre-Wasaga get-together near Barrie, Ontario. I drove up using back roads all the way; and went through many sleepy little towns and villages. The ride up was comfortable in my borrowed Mercury. I was hauling everything from my purple chopper to a set of black lights; along with a well- endowed mannequin that I brought for some added ambiance in my rental cottage.
Scott is the head of the Ontario chapter of the Chopaderos, and I don't get to see him or the rest of the members of the club too often. Geography is a curse in this regard. The weekend at Wasaga was shaping up to be quite an international gathering of kustom bike fanatics. Word came down that we had people coming in from the Netherlands, England, Germany and the United States. Plus a number of other heavy hitters were driving in from Quebec and other parts of Ontario. I was stoked to meet everyone.
I eventually found the street that Scott and Michelle live on, and started looking for their address, which wasn't too hard to find as his garage was open and filled to the brim with kustom bikes. I parked and made my way down to the back of their house, there were a number of people gathered on a wooden bridge that spanned a small stream in their back yard. A lot of new faces were there, along with a lot of familiar faces too. Svente from Germany came with his girlfriend Nisi, Boris was there too; I hadn't seen him in over a year. We all greeted each other warmly and talked bikes and jobs.
We had a smorgasbord of food and beer to keep our bellies full, Scott entertained by showing everyone the great stuff in his garage, not mention his cool "Hot Wheels" collection. We got the news that UFO had ventured down to New York to hook up with Sic Nick for a wild night on the town. They would be meeting us in Wasaga the following day. As expected, a full night of relaxation and partying was enjoyed by all. I rolled out the cigars and kept them coming. I had to remember to save a few of them for Chubb and Popey who were coming by in the morning; I knew they would be interested in grabbing some.
Friday: I had slept in one of the kid's rooms surrounded by stuffed animals. It was quiet and I rested well. Everyone survived the night and rolled out of bed to the smell of coffee and toast. A group of the Wasaga weekenders were set to gather at Scott's, and head up to the cottages around noon. Chubb and Popey arrived in the big SUV they rented, sporting flags and telling tales of wild abandon during their time spent in Toronto. Rhalf and Kitty soon arrived as well. I asked everyone what they thought of the price of gas and they said it was fantastic. Popey said it was a real bargain compared to what it cost on the British Isles. Svente also said the Canadian price of gas was a real bargain compared to Germany.
After another coffee we all headed out en masse in our kustom convoy. Scott took the lead, and we drove up to Wasaga over some of the quieter back highways. The trip was pleasant, warm and fairly short. After about an hour we all stopped at a gas station just outside of Wasaga to load up on beer and slices of warm pizza. Scott said it would be a good idea to get provisions at the station as other places in town might not be open; as the tourist season was still a week or two away.
We were off again, and headed towards the McFaddens Cottages in Wasaga; where the club made arrangements to hire their entire cottage court. When we arrived at McFaddens we were greeted by "Bev" (the owner). Bev was one hell of a nice lady; she gave the club a real deal on the cottages too, only $50 a night per person (A great deal). I was expecting to have Sick Nic as my roommate that weekend, and was waiting for him to arrive at any time with UFO.
I unloaded my junk into the cottage and then went to task getting my bike put together. Everyone else was doing more or less the same thing I was. The scene was very relaxed. Throughout the day more guests arrived. "Fonda" the president of the Chopaderos eventually cruised in with his partner "Doll Face"; it was my first meeting with them and it was a real pleasure. They were there, along with "Mr. Hyde" another well known California Chopadero member. "Tom The Bomb" eventually got to the scene after a busy day of welding at his shop, his wife Rennie was also there, clad in her club vest and ready to party.
The sun was going down as Tom began organizing the first event of the weekend, a trip to the local Go-Kart track. Going to a go-kart track is like a trip down memory lane for most of the older participants. At one time back in the 1960's and 70's you could find go-kart tracks in almost every town and city. But now (in the new millennium) there weren't too many left. Wasaga Beach in general is like a trip back in time. It doesn't seem to age very quickly, and it looks the same every time you go there. At least it did - until half of the waterfront arcades burned down the previous winter.
About half way to the go kart track it got dark, my headlights were on but they didn't seem to help much. We rode up and down a few hills across some of the back streets. Riding along one more road, we came out at the edge of town, where the last of the street lights were. Ahead of us was the highway out of town - a long stretch of dark road with our destination lit up brightly in the near distance. There were no bike paths here, and we had to be careful about the cars blasting up and down the highway.
When things looked fairly safe the group took off down the dark highway. The only thing you could see ahead was the lighted go-kart track. At one point a big motor home passed us going in the opposite direction. Someone yelled out "I think that's Hannan" everyone agreed. As we pulled into the go- kart track everyone looked to see if Hannan and his motor home had turned around to meet us. But they didn't , we knew we would see him and the Quebec crew later on, we knew they were in town.. And so here we all were, in an oasis of light in the middle of a dark Canadian night, at the "Wasaga 500" 1-mile go-kart track.
Tom the Bomb had arranged for some get-acquainted tickets for all the riders that night. One free ride led to a lot more interest, and a lot of track time was bought up by people who didn't want the fun to end. Bob, the owner of the track, was there to check out the action. Tom convinced Bob that he should allow the bikers to have a race around the track that night. Bob had never allowed such a thing to happen in the track's history, but this night would be different, "What the hell" he said "go for it"!
There were too many bikes to have a starting line on the track, so it was decided that all the participants would park their bikes at the edge of the parking lot so they could have a LeMans-style beginning of the race. With a loud yell of "Go!!" about 30 riders ran across the lot and hopped onto their machines. Leaders entered through a small opening on the track, and they were off. One mile of competition turned out to be a lot of riding. But, in the end, Chubb was the winner, followed by Svente and Rhalf.
After a good rest the pack left the track and headed out for the main drag of Wasaga. It's a very cool adventure doing a late night tour of the quiet streets, and passing under the old neon lights of the downtown shops. A few tourists were still walking around as we passed. What an unusual sight it must have been, because they all stopped to get a better look at our late-night procession under the stars.
The group made it back to McFadden's around midnight, to find Hannan's motor home parked out in the back of the court. Eric Hannan and the crew from Quebec were well partied up by the time we got there, it made the reunion all that much better. Many riders spent the next few hours throwing logs on the bonfire, and talking about the important matters of the day - things like "where the hell were UFO and Sic Nick?"
Saturday morning was lazy, and everyone slept in. However there was still the question of Sick Nick and UFO, and where they were? News began to trickle in slowly. We found out that they tried to make it to Wasaga but were detained at the Canadian border. UFO eventually made it into Canada, but Sic Nick was turned back for some unknown reason. UFO was left to fend for himself and had a couple of weird experiences. But eventually he contacted a neighbor of Scott's, who was kind enough to help UFO get up to speed and to Wasaga. People had been getting a little worried, but it all turned out fine. Sick Nick wasn't happy though, as he had to drive back to Long Beach NY, a 7-hour trip. We missed you Nick.
We headed down to the beach en-masse, to check out the hot rod show. We had arrangements for parking and security of the bikes, and were able to get a good look around. Lots of hot rods and muscle cars were there, lots of bikinis too. Hannan was again deluged with tourists asking questions about his bikes. But it was pleasantly warm, and the company was fantastic.
After a couple of hours people wanted to get their blood pumping again, so off we went. The group travelled along the beach side roads, and through the old neighborhoods of town. I saw the abandoned mini golf course that I saw the year before, still looking the same, and still intriguing. We rode through a conservation area and finally wound up at a secluded picnic area. The Chopadero party van joined us eventually and we all loaded up on refreshments. There were a lot of new faces to meet, and a lot of bikes to check out. We were all feeling pretty damned good.
John Brain
Michelle
Nisi and Svente
Rhalf and Kitty
Watching Go-Kart Action
Scott planning a dirty move.
Speed-crazed Popey!
Wasaga Cottage Breakfast.
Back at the Cottages after dinner came the pixie-bike toss, which was held across the road at McFadden's sand lot. The ladies really worked it up, with Trish winning first place followed by Michelle and Nisi. In the men's finals it was a German victory with Svente taking first place, 2nd place was won by UFO and 3rd place Stephane. Everyone headed back to the bonfire at McFadden's after the mosquitoes started biting.
The highlight of the late-night party was a fire dancing demonstration by a young lady named Devaki. It reminded me of some exotic ritual that you might see in Hawaii or Fiji, and was a very beautiful to see in the darkness. The group eventually got restless, and headed out to a local bar for some late night drinks and fun. It turned out they had a karaoke machine, and some of the more vocally gifted members of the ride tried their luck at belting out a few tunes. Popey's singing was especially rousing. This was a late night for many, and some of the night owls went the distance 'til nearly dawn; they fed the fire at McFadden's 'til sleep finally overtook them.
Ace Pixie-Tosser, Svente
Devaki the fire dancer
Sunday was the round-up. Mike Jones and I were hustling up some grub at the different cottages, and were handing out beer from my dwindling stash. The group worked it up for the next part of the weekend events, the drag racing competition. We headed over to the race lanes which were situated behind a strip mall, and everyone got down to making it happen. The Women's event ended with one final race, 5 lady participants were side by side at the starting line, a
Ladies' Drag-Racing Finals
blazing start and furious pedaling decided the winners. Doll Face of California came in first, with Trish making a close second, and then Kitty from Holland clinching the third-place honour.
The men's drag races were also fast and furious. But in the end Chubb from Britain won the 1st-place title, followed by Boris for 2nd and "Mr. Hyde" from California coming in 3rd.
Men's Drags Winner, Chubb
Some of the weekend honours' were announced a little later at the Cottages. The 2008 Wasaga "Cruiser of The Year" award went to Chubb from England. Rennie and Popey tied for second place. The winning ticket for the "Firebike" was won by UFO of Holland. The "Firebike" was raffled off by the Chopaderos and $400 was raised to help out the "Great Ride for Cancer" fund. Much thanks goes to Sam McKay for the donation of the bike. The draw for the chopper handlebars was also won by UFO, and the draw for the Gehirn Springer Kit was won by Neil of Ontario.
Chubb and his "Wasaga
Cruiser Of The Year"
Firebikes Cancer Raffle Bike -
Won by UFO
Many thanks go to the following individuals for their donations and help:
Boris and Scott
Rhalf VanHeusden of the Chopperdome, Amsterdam
Svente of Allridestyle bikes, Germany.
Spade from Hammer Custom cycles, California
Scotty, Jeff, Mike, Heather
Prez Fonda
Bev at McFadden's
Bob from the Wasaga 500 track.
Scott, Michelle, Tom, Rennie.
Stephane from Quebec
Wasaga'08 Album: People and Bikes
Wasaga Meet '08 Awards Ceremony
on Sunday
Mr.Hyde, Trish, Nisi
Karaoke Night: Popey, Chubb, Svente rock.
Boris from Ontario
Chopaderos Prez Fonda, California.
The Quebec Crew
Tom The Bomb and Rennie-
Leading the pack.
Left: Scott, Right: Mike Jones
Downtown Wasaga
Some of the Bikes at Wasaga '08:
Left, Right: Eric Hannan's new electric bike.
Following Wasaga Beach '08:
Niagara Falls Cruise
On the Wednesday after Wasaga many of the participants and few other bike freaks headed down to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls for a kustom bike cruise. Sort of a summer bonus. I had been in contact with Tony Bellus who organizes the Hamilton Freak Bike Militia cruise, I told him I would meet him in front of a certain Casino on Falls Avenue, and we would connect with the others from there.
I took off from my home in London, Ontario, and blasted down the highway towards the "Falls". The old Mercury I was driving had a broken air conditioner, but the heat wasn't too excessive outside, so I managed to survive. I arrived in good time, and drove the car up and down Falls Avenue a couple of times. I eventually spotted Tony and his Canada chopper at the Casino, so I headed out to find some cheap parking. I headed up and around the Wax Museum, past Ripley's "Believe it or not" building and then went back over Falls Avenue again. Then, just around the corner from "Planet Hollywood" I spotted a little out of the way parking lot next to a restaurant. I paid $5, backed my car into a secluded area, and began to assemble my bike. It only took about 5 minutes to get the springer and handlebars put on, and another couple of minutes to set up the shifter. It wasn't so bad being a little ways off the beaten track, as it would only take a couple of minutes to ride by chopper over to the rendezvous point at the Casino.
I pulled out of the parking lot in first gear and quickly got up some major speed by going through my seven gears down the hill, I was really blasting it out. My bike can really get motivated when it needs to, and I made it over to the Casino in only a few minutes. I slammed on my brakes in front of where Tony was and the bike made a hellish screeching noise (not enough grease in the Shimano hub) I'd been meaning to take care of that, but hadn't got around to it.
I had only been there with Tony for about 4 minutes when the rest of the pack arrived from the direction of the Falls. We eyeballed the group and quickly joined them by crossing the street. After an informal introduction Scott said that everyone was heading over to the "Peace Bridge" for a cruise to the American side to Niagara Falls New York.
I wasn't sure how this would play out; the American border was a real tight ship and their customs agents were suspicious of anything out of the ordinary. We headed across the bridge without needing to pay for some unknown reason? Traffic was marginal that day, and we basically had the bridge to ourselves. We crossed the painted line on the bridge that welcomed us into the U.S.A. and headed towards the border check. I was in the middle of the pack keeping an eye on the situation. A few of the U.S. customs agents came out to see what this odd looking group of bike riders was up to. Scott was up front trying to get things rolling, but, unfortunately the U.S. border guards had something different in mind. Word was passed that all the Europeans in the group had to pull off to the side. The U.S. border agents wanted to"check them out" a bit more thoroughly. So off they went, in their Chopadero finery; their bikes being taken to a fence on the perimeter to sit. I could see one agent walking around outside with a German Shepherd dog on a leash. After a short grilling - the Americans and Canadians were let though, and we headed up to a nearby building to wait for the European's release.
Big old building that looked
like a grand mausoleum.
Waiting for the Euros' release.
One and a half hours later, the U.S. border agents decided to give the European riders the option to either head back to Canada immediately, or, sit and wait at immigration for four more hours 'til they were cleared. The choice was clear, and back over the bridge the entire pack of riders went, the view from the Canadian side was better anyways.
The group went straight up Falls Avenue, which was packed, even for a weekday. A cop yelled out to us "single file, single file!" as we rode by. This is what he hoped we would do; but we riders had to make some strategic maneuvers', in order to keep up with one another. We did what we needed to get ahead of the traffic. Rhalf and Kitty of the Chopperdome were making great time, as well as Mr. Hyde, Svente and Nisi. I rode alongside Fonda for a while and we talked about Ontario Canada in the old days, we shared a lot of common memories.
We eventually made it to a quiet park near the top of the falls; over by the water was gigantic Victorian structure that looked like the worlds biggest mausoleum (above). There at the park everyone rested and ate a wonderful picnic lunch supplied by Tom, Rennie, Scott, Michelle and Trish. Following the picnic were some bike games, that the more agile of the riders did best at.
Scott, in the Slow Racing Event.
Watching the Slow Racing.
The group quickly got back into the sight-seeing frame of mind, and we soon headed down the path next to the river. Niagara Falls really is the most amazing sight, and one of the coolest places on earth to have a bike meet. Rounding out the trip was a ride on the "Maid of the Mist" for some of the group. But others (like UFO and me) were after the other main attraction: "cold Canadian beer" and we found it.
Everyone eventually said goodbye to each other, with the hope that we would all be together again very soon. And a few of us would be, as "Amsterdam" and the July 2008 "FBI" were just around the corner. One great bike event was over, and another one was soon to begin. 2008 was going to be a very good year for kustom biking.
