Warrior’s Day Ride one for the Books!

Where to start?  41 motorcycles registered for the ride at the Gravenhurst Legion.  A combination of our club members, our friends from Base Borden and our honorary community member Helen Barnes as well as other local riders who support the Legion came out.  We also appreciate the donations that were made by those who were unable to attend the ride.

We had to postpone the start of the ride by a few minutes so as not to interfere with another ride and stay as safe as possible.  Our road captains led by Brian Shelly guided us through Muskoka starting by heading down Veteran’s Way, riding along the busy main street of Gravenhurst out to Muskoka Road 169 to our first stop at the Bala Legion, where those who wanted to participated in the first draw for the best poker hand.

Gearing up we headed to Muskoka Road 38 – always a smooth ride, out to the Hwy 400 to High Street and hit our second rest stop at the MacTier Legion and 2nd card pull. It is cool to see all the kids waving at the bikes.

Heading along 169 to 118 we stopped at the Port Carling Legion.  The bikes looked like poetry in motion heading up and down the hills leading through town. Elizabeth Colbeck, myself, Debbie Wood and Sue Linn were in a truck following the ride and it is a thing of beauty to watch the bikes travel the roads in staggered formation around the corners, up and down the hills.

Heading to the Bracebridge Legion via Hwy 118 to Hewlitt Rd and Falkenburg Rd is one of my favourite routes where the roads are smaller and it feels more personal as we see the farmlands and country side surrounding Bracebridge then switching it up to go down the busy Bracebridge main street with 3 stop lights. It was well orchestrated and flowed with precision to the Bracebridge Legion.

Charity Ride for our Veterans and their families

Starting at the Legion

Warrior’s Day Riders!

Warrior’s Day Riders

Our Spyder Rider

Saucey Dave

Getting lined up

Checking out the biks

Made it!

Corners

Port Carling

Port Carling

Card 3 in hand we continued via Cedar Lane, to Hwy 118 to Windemere Rd, to Bethune Dr and back to the Gravenhurst Legion.  Words don’t adequately describe the beauty of the country side we rode through, so I have added a few pictures to help out.

The road captains shared the blocking of the route, to keep travel seamless (stitch is good at that) in spite of a busy day in Gravenhurst with Dockside Art Festival happening.  Every weekend has something going on in Muskoka.

Did I mention the heat and humidity, whew!  37 or 38 with the humidity, we had lots of liquids on board in the truck to hand out at each of the rest stops.

In total we raised $3164.00 for the Gravenhurst Legion to support our veterans and their families in our community.  The Legion members opened their hall and provided the riders with a great BBQ lunch with salads to refuel after what turned out to be a 3 hour ride.

The Gravenhurst Legion Branch 302 is an important part of our community.  It reaches out to our veterans, their families, in ways we don’t always see.  This was an opportunity for our club to give back and help the Legion continue to be a voice for our veterans and their families.

Wheelin’ForHealin’ Charity Ride July 19th, 2015

Muskoka Thunder is proud to partner with The Meeting Place – Centre for Growth and Healing to ride and raise funds at the 8th Annual Charity Ride.  Registration is at the Gravenhurst Legion 290 Veterans Way starting at 8:30am and the ride departs at 9:30 am.  Donation of $25.00 per bike or car.  Lunch follows a great ride through Muskoka’s backroads at the Huntsville Royal Canadian Legion.  Music by Big East.  For more information contact Sue Linn 705-801-2044 or susanlinn1@yahoo.ca.

“Proceeds provide financial  help to support the healing of individuals living in Muskoka who have limited means and who are experiencing mental health challenges. An educational program for senior high school students is also offered for those who are suffering from trauma related mental health issues.

The Meeting Place also tries to raise awareness of the effects of trauma. Trauma can include physical, sexual or emotional abuse or bullying;  domestic violence; accident illness or loss; abandonment or neglect.” (website).

8th Annual Charity Ride

Colour Ride 2014

We are planning a colour ride for September 28th.  Vic Wood our President will be the road Captain for the ride.  We will start out at the Giant Tiger parking lot in Gravenhurst meeting at 10:30 and riding the roads of Muskoka up to Whitney for lunch and returning to Gravenhurst.  So probably a 5 hour ride in all.  If you want to join us fill out the form below.

https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=I4R2ufmwmabx6snzSETFpg

Ride Safe!!

October 20th Meet and Greet

Breakfast was awesome at the Washago Village Inn. It felt like forever since the last ride, or Wednesday Night Bike Night. I was very impressed with those that braved the cold and rain to come out and socialize. A couple of new faces which is always nice to see. Our group is all inclusive of bike types, age and gender.  Now the sun did come out by the time we finished breakfast -but a ride was not in the cards today.  Living in Muskoka in October brings about other priorities – hunting, getting the wood stacked, raking the leaves, to name a few and time is running out.  My partner and I went for a Sunday Afternoon car ride instead, and all the rain we have had in the last few days has brought the local water levels right back up.  Next up – General Membership meeting and the preparing the float for the Santa Claus Parade -the theme – around the world – hmm, maybe red helmets? Do they wear wooden boots in Holland?  Was that a bad joke??

Successful “Wheelin for Healin'” Ride!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The weather was perfect-all the way to the finish, and then a few rain drops stopped in. Riders came out for a good cause – The Meeting Place Centre for Growth and Healing in Huntsville, Ontario which serves a wide area in Muskoka. We raised $2700.00. Thanks to generous donations of food and prizes all the proceeds go directly towards helping those in need. We had 28 – 30 bikes – they kept arriving, some with passengers. The centre coordinated coffee and muffins to start the ride, along with an awesome meal and entertainment to finish off the ride in style.  I took some of the pictures mostly those on the road, and Roberta Appleton gave me permission to post her pictures.

6th Annual Wheelin’ for Healin’ Charity Ride

Ride for The Meeting Place

Riding motorcycles is a way of life for some.  They got on a dirt bike as a kid, and just carried on from there.  Some, like me, didn’t learn to ride until in their 40’s.  There is no age barrier with riding a motorcycle, and the rewards are many.  For me it introduced me to a new group of friends, or maybe even friends that I had…but I didn’t know they rode a motorcycle.  Of course, I met my partner through this group.  We are a community minded bunch of riders, and with that in mind, our Charity Ride this month is for the Centre for Growth and Healing WheelinForHealing 2013based out of Huntsville Ontario.  This will be our 6th year supporting The Meeting Place.  Our road captains will assist with blocking and guiding a ride from Gravenhurst on some non highway roads through Muskoka and stopping in Huntsville for lunch.  Riding a motorcycle, feeling close to nature and the open road is a healing journey all on its own.

The following is an excerpt from the brochure.

The Meeting Place Centre for Growth and Healing is a registered non-profit charitable organization that has been in existence since 2002.  Funds are raised primarily through community supported events and activities generated by the volunteer Board of Directors in partnership with individuals businesses and religious and service organizations.

Proceeds provide financial  help to support the healing of individuals with limited means who with mental health challenges.  There is an educational program for senior high school students who suffer from trauma related mental health issues.  They also try to raise awareness of the effects of trauma.  Trauma can include physical, sexual or emotional abuse or bullying;  domestic violence; accident illness or loss; abandonment or neglect.

If we can help raise awareness with our ride, and help provide assistance with those who need a hand healing, will be a wonderful thing.  When we break bones, the pain is physical, and we get a cast and crutches and physical therapy to heal.  Mental health is just as important and we need to pay attention to it just as much as our physical health.

Fore more information you can email themeetingplacecentre@gmailcom, or go to http://www.themeetingplace-muskoka.ca

Our Music on the Barge Charity Ride Postponed

A Wed night

We decided to postpone the Music on the Barge Charity Ride-to Sunday July 28th. It was just too hot, and a risk of thunderstorms is not a good combo, so we postponed the ride. We did get out for a shorter ride around Lake Muskoka – following part of the Frank Miller Memorial Trail, a stop at Turtle Jack’s in Port Carling on the water for a cool down, and of course a delicious ice cream at Tastebud’s in Gravenhurst. I followed in my Miata MX5, with cool water just in case! We had 13 bikes, a nice number with two road captains on board.