The Busted Down Barn Tour

[PaulG]

Less than $100 in the bank before payday.  Haven't had the girl out for a real stretch since the season started.  What better than to chuck my responsibilities and piss off for the day to get me out of the dumps?     It's a sunny Wednesday with a cool breeze from the NW at 25degC.  Near perfect.  Now where to go and what to do?  There's that expensive Nikon DSLR in the corner that I bought the wife for XMas that she rarely uses...  Now to hit my go-to-escape-the-metropolis-route-while-avoiding-slab. I zig-zag my way out north-east of Toronto and within 2hrs I am in the Kawartha Lakes District.  My intention is to do a loop through the Haliburton Region and get back in time to pick up the wife at the subway.




I was pondering what I would take pictures of when I literally drove by it less than 100km later just outside of Little Britain (The Sports Capital of Kawartha Lakes?)  .




A busted down barn!  Hence the title.  Okay so now the goal is to take pics of decrepit old barns on their last legs.  Criteria?  Well it must be a barn (or barn-like), old, lots of bits missing, and maybe some of nature growing within-on top-or around it.  Oh yeah, and a good lean would help too.




Looking through the viewfinder I saw this guy perched on the silo. A  Turkey Vulture awaiting the next road kill.  I hope that wasn't an omen - not that I believe in that sort of thing... 




On an aside, one of my best friends was almost killed when one of these smashed into his windshield - losing control - and going head-on into a tree.  The roof line literally scalped him, and the drivers compartment collapsed and drove his leg up so hard it ripped his hip out of his pelvis. Airlifted to hospital, they sewed his scalp back on, and managed to re-insert/repair his hip/pelvis. Unfortunately he is now slated for hip replacement 5 yrs later.

The only thing to worry about is the traffic.  There are usually ample shoulders nearly a car width wide on these country roads, but you have to keep an eye out for the ones that target fixate.  Happens to bicyclists, cops, and tow truck drivers all the time.

So onward with the quest.

About 15 min north of Little Britain on Kawartha Co. Rd 6, I spot another off in the distance.  You know it's really old when the silo is made from stone.




I make my way up through Kirkfield, another small town on the Trent-Severn canal/waterway.  Unique in that it has a lifting lock, where the boat is actually cradled in a container and lifted/lowered.



I head east then north on Hwy 35 - a main route to cottage country - and divert onto Deep Bay Rd.  Almost the entire road is included in my video from the 2015 Fall Ride in the pissing rain, but this time around I did find something unique.  It's not quite a barn (but it is barn-like), and I liked how nature is reclaiming it's own.




Directly accross the road was a small quarry.  This granite rock formation of the  Canadain Shield caught my eye. Unfortunately it was gated and locked so I couldn't get a better pic.  If there's a geologist out there maybe they could explain it.  I have an idea, but I'll save it for a Trivial Pursuit game.



Deep Bay Rd. ends in Minden.  Last fall I looped north west on  Bobcaygeon Rd., a still used northern portion of the original colonization road.  This time I am going east to Haliburton in the middle of cottage country. Here they even have their own weather forcasts. 

I have now reached the turn-around point and need to start making my way back to The Big Smoke.  The major roads in this area are fantastick.  The problem is there is enough traffic to get in the way of the enjoyment.  Even on a weekday in the summer there is enough city folk (i.e. city-its as they call "them") up this way to swell the local populations.  Makes you want to get away from getting away from it all.  But hit the secondary roads which are somewhat bumpier but a lot twistier, then things become more to my liking.  The traffic dies down quite a bit but you still have to be wary as there are commercial rigs that still use them.

Case in point Haliburton Co. Rd 3 or Glamorgan Rd. as it is known.  Just a few minutes east of Haliburton, it heads south for 20km of some nice hilly twisties.  Now I said these roads are a little bumpier, and unfortuneately it starts causing my #1 carb float to stick, and gas starts to dribble out and vapourize over my riding pants and saddlebags.  I thought I had this problem cured!!!  At the moment more than an annoyance.  I then proceed to try and hit every bump I can to see if that will free it up.  But now it seems my new Avon Storms are so good at soaking them up, and the road less bumpy, it does no good. 



After a quick dog-leg through Gooderham , I continue south on Haliburton/Peteborough Co. Rd 507 or Buckhorn Rd.



Almost all of this road is on last year's video from the 2015 Day 3 of the Easten Ontario Camp'n'Ride.  With the new Avons I enjoyed it a lot more as the bike was much more stable over the ripples and cold patches.  Once I passed into Peteborough Co. the quality of the road improved slightly.  And I spotted these guys:



I don't know anything about horses.  The last time I sat on one I wasn't even 5 yrs old I think.  Got so scared I cried, but I think next to dogs, they are man's (and woman's) 2nd best friend. Maybe there's a horse guy out there that knows what breed they are.  They seemed very curious towards me and would trot back and forth stopping to look at me.






Their barn  has seen better days, but it met the criteria.




Once stopped, the carb stopped leaking after a couple of minutes.  So off I went and within a few minutes it starts to leak again.  Oh well. I've got nothing to give it a whack anyhow, so I'll just bear with it. I make my way to Bobcaygeon to stop for gas, and the last leg home.  The gas is still dripping but still stopping also.  Now it's basically time to burn it home as I am only 90min or so out.    As I pass through Fenlon Falls I try the curb jump cure for the stuck float.  Awesome!  Now my #2 carb is dripping too! Fucking Great!    After several kilometres I finally get some more bumps and the #2 carb stops leaking.  The #1 is still dripping, but it seems to have lessened.




But then I find the find of the day as I double back through Little Britain from the east side.











I catch a glimpse of some kind of moving ball of rug.  As I get closer I see this with the little'un fresh out of the oven it appears.  She didn't seem too happy to see me. MMMmmmmmm ..... tasty....   




So that was the end of the day.  By the time I got home the carb had unstuck itself and stopped leaking, but not before stinking up my left boot and leg of my Joe Rocket pants.  I posted links to some of the places I went thorugh, 'cuz I usuallay just go through them.  I've never really spent any time in these small towns, so if you get the chance then maybe you can.

If you come across any old barns or such that suit the criteria, please feel free to add them to this thread.  Why barns?  I don't know really.  Maybe because they are the only building that authorities won't condemn, and owners refuse to tear down.  Maybe a reminder of a simpler time when work really meant something.  Maybe I'm just Pining For The Fjords

[FJmonkey]

Priceless, simply priceless... Thanks...

[Pat Conlon]

Thank you Paul, I throughly enjoyed your write up. Your writing is clear yet, descriptive and concise.

I was right there with you.

Kudos!  Please post some more.   Pat

[Charlie-brm]

You're making Ontario look pretty good. Those are basically my go-to areas to ride but I missed the spots last fall where the trees were turning colour. Timing and location are key.

[Sabre093]

Save some of those routes for a ride this Summer!Were coming up for a ride July 2