ATV action at high level
BUSY SUMMER RIDERS HEAD INTO FALL
DAYS ARE SHORTER and cooler as I head into wonderful fall and the hunting and trapping seasons , so it ’ s a time to look back on all of the rides I took road over summer roads .
It seems only yesterday when almost 360 riders were
DAVE BAKER out Sept . 17 in an echo of Ompah ’ s Spring Ride on a different route through North Frontenac ’ s beautiful scenery . It was possibly the first ride of the year that didn ’ t churn up clouds of dust !
Those looking for historic sites can check out the Ottawa Valley ATV Club ’ s rides . I joined them near Calabogie where we saw an abandoned mine along the K & P ( Kingston and Pembroke ) Rail Trail . It was a hole in the side of a hill , framed by rough-cut timber with a tunnel extending back about 60 metres , and two short spurs off it . A geologist relative of one club member studied pictures of the mine and rock samples , and concluded it was a mica mine . The operators had followed a vein of mica , and quit when it ran out . We could envision it in its active days during the 1960s .
Nation Valley ATV Club has been working to expand their trails into the City of Ottawa ’ s Osgoode Ward , and on August 14 carried out its inaugural run into the city , starting from Winchester . Hungry riders met at the Country Kitchen Restaurant for a breakfast buffet , before everyone met across the road at the Pioneer Gas station to start the ride . They followed new trails to the Village of Osgoode for a bite to eat at the Red Dot Café or fuel at the Drummond ’ s gas station . Official Ottawa has been on board with this project , installing proper OFATV directional signs leading ATVers from one trail to the other along the route . This is a big leap for our sport in Ontario .
The Thousand Islands ATV Club held its annual “ Lunch by the Lake ” ride . Riders met on Kidd Road South , and ended up in the village of Charleston Lake for a barbeque lunch on the lake shore . One portion of the club ’ s trail system goes through active cow pastures , so the club built three bridges up and over the fence . There are no gates to open , and no risk of the cattle escaping . Then there was an unopened road allowance from Bullfrog Bay Road passing along the edge of a marsh with a hard bottom and a bit of water in it ( half way up your tires in a regular year , but this year bone dry ) as you travel along between cattails and rushes .
The club routed us through Athens , Ont . so I could sample a “ Super Hero ” cone , a combination of cotton candy , public school dental fluoride and bubble gum . No matter – my worst ice cream cone is still better than my best anything else !
18 | FISH , HUNT RIDE www . fishhuntandride . ca