Friday the 13 September 2013 Souvenir Edition Port Dover Maple Leaf

2 Friday the 13th in Port Dover September 2013

By Donna McMillan

Ray Barrette, a resident of Port Dover and also a member of the 1300 Hour Club, is

a young 70-year-old who has been riding for the past 45 years.

He’s been from Newfoundland to Van-couver and down south to Florida. He rides

Ray Barrette of Port Dover on his 2010 Honda Goldwing

a 2010 Honda Goldwing and said it was the perfect bike for his latest long distance ride.

Ray rode to the west coast of California with a friend in May of this year where they joined a large contingent of motor-cyclists to ride the “Run for the Wall”, an American pilgrimage for veterans and family members of POWs and MIAs of the Viet Nam War.

Leaving Los Angeles May 12, they arrived in Washington DC for the 25th An-niversary of “Rolling Thunder”, an annual Memorial Day event.

They encountered every kind of weather on their 12,000 km journey from east to west and then back. Ray, who was a member of the Canadian Airborne Battalion, said there were about 250,000 participants in this year’s “Rolling Thunder” event.

Ray, along with nine fellow 1300 Hour Club members, also did the “Run to the North Wall” this year. There is a Viet Nam Memorial in Assumption Park, Riverside Drive, Windsor, Ontario to commemorate Canadians Killed in Action or Missing in Action in the Viet Nam War.

“Run for the Wall” is American pilgrimage for vets, POWs, MIAs

10,000 km a yearLes Greenlaw lives on the east side of Port Dover. An electrician by trade, he has a custom built Harley that he has owned for the past 13 years. He doesn’t like to drive in rainy weather if he can help it. He chalks up 8 to 10,000 kms per year. Since 1988 Les has been attending Friday the 13th events to meet with friends and like-minded people.

By Bob Miles

Friday the 13th in Port Dover September 2013 3

Doug TaylorDoug Taylor from Scotland joined Marie

Lacoste for a ride to Port Dover on his 1995 FLH Harley-Davidson. Taylor has been rid-ing for 32 years.

When asked where he enjoys to go for motorcycle rides he said, “Ontario. Wher-

ever the wind blows us. It all depends on the weather and roads.” Taylor’s all time favourite trip was “Ranger Lake. North of Sault Ste. Marie. It’s nice through there, just nice country.

All up along Lake Superior is nice, all still ancient.”

By Joceylnn Blacker

Marie LocosteMarie Lacoste from Scotland, On-

tario recently rode to Port Dover on her 1999 Softail with unique customization. Lacoste has been riding for more than 18 years.

“The freedom, the fresh air. I love it. It’s

totally my life.” She quickly added “other than Doug” -- see at right.

“Like it says on the helmet, ‘ride to live, live to ride.’ Every woman needs a bike, needs to ride. That peace of mind, it’s changed my world. I just get on and forget about the world.”

By Joceylnn Blacker

RIDE TO LIVE, LIVE TO RIDE... BIKERS SHARE THEIR STORIES


Sean SchlatmanSean Schlatman of Brantford visited

on the long weekend with his 2007 Yamaha Road Star 1700.

“I enjoy the comfort, and the speed,” said Schlatman about what he liked the best about his model of motorcycle.

Schlatman is planning on coming Port Dover Friday the 13th, 2013.

By Joceylnn Blacker

Port Dover’s Friday the 13th had its beginning in 1981. It began innocent enough in November, 32 years ago.

The story goes that Chris Simons sug-gested to a few motorcycle buddies that they meet for a few beers at the Commer-

cial Hotel (today known as Angelo’s of Dover). Word spread about the get-togeth-er so that Friday evening on November 13, 1981 about 25 guys showed up. They had a great time and someone suggested “let’s meet every month when there is a Friday the 13th.” More came to party in Port Dover on the next Friday the 13th. And, as they say, the rest is history.

This event in September 2013 marks the 55th event over a span of 32 years since that first casual and friendly meet-ing in November 1981.

It was in 1971 when George Simons gave his son Chris a Rupp minibike that he could never have imagined that gift would be the beginning of a life-long pas-sion for bikes.

Since that Rupp machine, Chris Simons has owned many motorcycles. He knows bikes inside out and front to back. At one time he operated a well-known bikeshop in Port Dover called “Bikers’ Delight”.

This September, Friday the 13th is the 55th Biker Day in Port Dover. It is fol-lowed by the 56th event in December of this year and the 57th event in June 2014.

The legend of Friday the 13thstarted on November 13, 1981

Chris Simons looks at bikes during Friday the 13th in December 2002.


September 21 , 2013st

st1 Prize: Harley-Davidson® CVO™ Ultra Classic®

Electra Glide®

Proceeds to:Lions Foundation of Canada

Alzheimer Society Niagara FoundationLions Community Projects

People come to Port Dover’s Friday the 13th to meet friends, look at bikes, have a cold beer and be entertained. A number of beer tents are set up just for the day and all the bars and restaurants in town stock up and bring in extra staff.

Port Dover Board of Trade and Port Do-ver Minor Hockey partner to stage the giant beer garden with live entertainment at the Budweiser Main Stage located on the park-ing lot at the corner of Main and Walker Streets. Details of entertainment in the ad on this page.

Port Dover branch Royal Canadian Le-gion welcomes everyone to visit their loca-tion at 212 Market Street East all day for delicious Peameal Bacon on a Bun; Pickerel and Chips; entertainment by “Hog Wild” and a place to relax. See details on page 23.

Port Dover Kinsmen Club have two beer gardens. Their Main Stage and beer garden

will be beside Port Dover Harbour Museum with a Kinsmen Park Stage also operating. Hot food will be available in the park cooked by Port Dover Scouts. Kinsmen also provide camping at Kinsmen Park with a courtesy shuttle to downtown Port Dover.

Port Dover Lions Club has its entertain-ment stage and beer garden set up on Mar-ket Street west beside Lighthouse Festival Theatre. The service club also has camping at Silver Lake Park (St. Patrick Street) on Thursday and Friday nights.

Restaurants and bars throughout town prepared for the large number of visitors with full staffs and full coolers. Some also expanded outdoors to serve more patrons with tents and entertainment.

Fenwick Lions Club is selling raffle tick-ets on a Harley-Davidson CVO Ultra Classic Electra Glide in support of their commu-nity projects. Details in ad below.

A view of some of the crowd last July along the main street of Port Dover.

Entertainment everywhere!


A short dedication service and a mo-ment of silence were held on Novem-ber 18, 2012 at Kinsmen Park in Port Dover.

In 2010 a stone memorial was erected and a silver maple tree was planted in hon-our of fallen motorcycle riders as a remind-er to all that share the roads to practice safe riding and safe driving.

Holly Ralph, Director of the Canadian Motorcycle Association stated that the as-sociation has been in existence for 66 years now. They are actively involved with all fac-ets of motorcycling (racing, touring, train-ing) while heavily promoting safety and ac-cident prevention.

Dave Stewart, spokesperson for the event, said the event came about in 2010

working with Transport Canada in a na-tionwide awareness program for road safety. It was decided that a “focal point for riders” would be impactful, a specific place where riders from across the country could stop, reflect and re-new their intention to ride responsibly and safely.

Port Dover was an obvious first choice due to the Friday 13th event that attracts

Moment of Silence observed for fallen riders

Many members of the Christian Motorcycle Association attended a moment of silence at the monument honouring motor-cyclists killed on the highway. This is a national event held the third Sunday of November.

so many riders each year. Contributions to the cost of the stone memorial with its in-scriptions and the planting of a silver ma-ple beside it were made by Norfolk County and Sleeman Breweries of Guelph.

In 2011 the first Dedication Service was attended by the Christian Motorcycle Asso-ciation, many of whom returned this year for the event. This is a national event held the third Sunday of November each year.

Dave Stewart said that while road safety education is constant and ongoing, statis-tics still show that most motorcyclists are killed by cars turning into their pathway that simply didn’t see them.

Mark Chapman, Woodstock, Bryan Fer-werda, Woodstock, Brian Seeley, Port Rowan, Mahlon Gingerich, Baden, and Harry Schut (kneeling) participated in the Memorial Service for Fallen Riders.


UpcomingFriday the 13ths

find us at www.facebook.com/Fridaythe13thPortDover

Hello, and welcome to the first of two Fri-day the 13th events here in Port Dover in this year of 13. We don’t know what December 13th will bring, but there are sure to be diehards here.

The next and only one for 2014 is in June. That should be a great Biker Day too.

Many service clubs such as the Port Dover Lions, Port Dover Kinsmen, Port Dover Board of Trade, Port Dover Legion come together to make this day run smoothly and safely for you. Please give generously at the PD13 “By Donation” booth on Main Street. It helps pay for things like washrooms, set-up and clean-up as well as the helpful Rotary Club volunteers assisting with parking.

If you have any comments or suggestions please visit and ‘like’ us at www.facebook.com/Fridaythe13thPortDover. You can also find a link there for a live-streaming camera where you can view Main Street during the day or look at the videos after the day; maybe you’ll see yourself or friends.

Have a great day and we will see you in December 2013 for the 56th consecutive Friday the 13th.

Lynn SonnenbergPublication Co-ordinator

live streaming at www.ustream.tv/channel/Main-Street-Port-Dover

This is the 55thFriday the 13th

The Ontario Provincial Police, Norfolk County Detachment Crime Unit contin-ues to investigate a fail to remain, fatal motor vehicle collision that occurred on Cockshutt Road just outside of downtown Port Dover following a Friday the 13th event in May 2011.

On Saturday, May 14, 2011 at approxi-mately 5:17 a.m., 20-year-old Chad Everets, of Port Hope, Ontario, was struck by an unknown vehicle on Cockshutt Road. The unknown vehicle never stopped and left the scene.

The Norfolk County OPP Crime Unit is reminding the public of this investigation and if anyone has any information to con-

tact the Ontario Provincial Police at 1-888-310-1122 or their nearest police authority.

“The OPP are currently following up on information provided by the public, howev-er someone in the community has knowl-edge of this collision and we need them to have the courage to come forward.” com-ments Inspector Zvonko Horvat, Norfolk County OPP Detachment Commander.

Anyone with information regarding this incident should immediately contact the Ontario Provincial Police at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or leave an anonymous online message at www.helpsolvecrime.com

Police seek public’s help solvingfatal 2011 motor vehicle collision

Even from the air, it is hard to visualize the number of people and bikes that come to Port Dover on Friday the 13th. This photo looks north with Main Street to the right. The main beach area is seen in the lower left.


James Abbott on his Honda CBR 965RR

Three friends James Abbott of Woodstock, Dee Graves of London and Connor Beachan of Ingersoll had visited Port Dover on the long weekend Sunday as a test run for the upcoming Friday the 13th.

James Abbott on a 2003 Honda CBR 954 RR has been a riding for the last two years but has been into motorcycles since he was younger. Abbott was first attracted to motor-cycling because of the look and speed of the bikes.

“I like that you can go anywhere. Being on the road and feeling free. It’s a good turn on and it’s nice to ride

with a good group.”Dee Graves on a Yamaha R6 has been riding motor-

cycles for one and a half years. This year will be his first Port Dover Friday the 13th.

“I’m just interested in seeing other rides. Get some cross reference, see what they’re riding. What they like better, and why. Hear some stories,” said Graves.

Graves wishes to make a ride from one end of route 66 to the other, having been inspired by the lore and music surrounding the highway.

Connor Beacham rode his 2010 Kawasaki 2K 14. He has been riding for two years. “I saw them on the road and wanted to try it. My dad was into it too. He still rides.”

Beacham is planning on attending Friday the 13th. “I’m hoping on meeting new people and going for a good ride. I’m going to see what it’s like and I hope that they have a good turn out.”

By Joceylnn Blacker

Friends get together for early September ride to Port Dover

Dee Graves on his Yamaha R6

Connor Beacham on his 2010 Kawasaki 2K 14


“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” Henry David Thoreau

By KimberleeAnna Taplay

(aka KAT) of Brantford

I don’t know if I ever really believed that the day would actually arrive. So much planning and so much prepa-ration! And now that I have her, I’m

more than just a little bit intimidated at the thought of how much we have to learn about each other. Full circle. I’ve got my wings.

For those who don’t ride a motorcycle, talking about one as if it were an actual person must seem rather odd. Those who do ride? They understand.

Although ‘Ruby’ (a 2007 Yamaha VStar 650 Custom) has only been with me since the end of May, her presence has changed my life significantly. She represents a

dream articulated, hard work and dedica-tion undertaken, and a goal achieved. She is a visual reminder – a glorious, ruby-red and chrome reminder – that no dream is too silly, too strange, or too unattainable.

The bottom line is that I’m a curvy and ample, shy, blonde single mom of two who doesn’t think of herself in the most adventurous or flattering of terms. Did I honestly think at the beginning of this journey I began in earnest in 2011 would find me possessing a motorcycle licence and owning my very own motorcycle? No.

I have had more than a few strange looks and a lot of questions from people (especially the ones who know me) along the way.

I’ve even questioned myself when it came to whether or not this was an honest-to-goodness fulfillment of an un-spoken bucket-list wish or simply a desire to find a way to fill my time now that I am an almost empty-nester. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s actually a little bit of both. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

I’m no stranger to Friday the Thir-teenth celebrations, but today marks the very first time I am riding to the event. Ex-cited beyond reason and scared beyond be-lief; yep, that just about sums it up as far as today goes. And, if I am to be complete-ly honest, I’d have to admit that I’m also feeling more than just a little bit thankful and in awe of the men and women in this ‘world’ who have (for the most part) been so welcoming, patient, kind, helpful and inclusive. From encouraging me along to educating me about everything from ‘The Code’ to how to make Ruby even more my own, this newly adopted family of mine has been the greatest gift and surprise out of this whole process.

There’s an old saying that says your universe expands exponentially with every brave new world you conquer. Yes, there may be the occasional dragon to slay, but there are also kingdoms (and back roads) to explore, chances to take and road trips to plan. It’s the stuff of which fairy tales are made, actually. I’m reading one now. It begins: Once upon a time, there was a KAT with wings…

KimberleeAnna Taplay (aka KAT) is a new rider and someone who isn’t too em-barrassed to admit that she sneaks out to her garden shed to whisper ‘goodnight’ to a sleeping ‘Ruby’ on occasion. You can reach Kimberlee at [email protected]

If you have a personal story to share in a future publication, please send it to [email protected]

A PERSONAL STORY OF FRIDAY THE 13th

Today marks the first time I am riding to the event


By Donna McMillan

With custom designed Friday 13th t-shirts, unique blinging on everything from chaps to jackets, hot new knee chaps and state-of-the-art cordura vests that are

very popular in the U.S. right now, On the Fringe and Destination 13 owner/designer Elaina Pring is ready for the huge crowds she is predicting will be in Port Dover for September’s special day.

Early in September at the 225 Main

Street store, staff were busy stocking shelves with Elaina’s custom designed Fri-day 13th t-shirts, all nine of them.

Artwork focuses on everything from the Port Dover Lighthouse and Ghost Rider to Destination 13 and the Eagle. Two new de-

On The Fringe shop on Main Street in Port Dover is a “must see” for many visitors to Friday the 13th.

On the Fringe/Destination 13 ready for huge crowdssigns this year will highlight “The Tradi-tion Continues” and “In the Wind”, show-ing the wind turbines that now stand at Port Dover’s Highway 6 entranceway.

Elaina also has some designs in sweat-

Jacqui Plonka of Port Dover is pictured here with a cordura motorcycle jacket.

> Continued on next page


shirts and of course, the ever popular sig-nature patches will be out front and centre for the Friday 13th event.

Elaina has lots of vests and jackets in cordura fabric, which she noted is very big at her Daytona store in the States right now.

The twill and denim material, known for its durability and resistance to abra-sions, also serves as a great canvas for Elai-na’s sequin and rhinestone bling artwork.

Leather chaps, bustiers, jackets, hats and purses are also being blinged up for the many Friday 13th visitors. All the blinging is done at the Port Dover shop by Elaina. “I sit for hours and hours doing designs”, she told The Maple Leaf newspaper. “I also had some help from my sister this year”.

Leather knee high chaps, which can be combined with jeans or leather shorts, are also popular this year, Elaina told the Maple Leaf.

For crotch rocket riders, On the Fringe/Destination 13 also carries a colourful ar-ray of mesh woven Doc’s Motorcycle jack-ets in orange, green, blue and red.

The store, which will be a destination stop for visitors from all over Canada and the U.S., will be open Thursday, September

12 from 9 a.m. – 10 or 11 p.m., Friday, Sep-tember 13 from 8 a.m. – 10 or 11 p.m. and Saturday, September 14 from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Elaina Pring, owner of On the Fringe and Destination 13, is pictured here with a vest and signature leather chaps which has been decorated with bling by the designer.

Jacqui Plonka of Port Dover works at On the Fringe/Destination 13 pictured here with leather shorts and hot new knee chaps that are available in the 225 Main St. store.

> From previous page

‘On the Fringe” is a destination shopfor visitors from all over North America


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Ryan DemoorRyan Demoor from Delhi, Ontario stated that his

favourite place to ride is on the race track. He has been racing for three years at the Toronto Motors-ports Park and Grand Bend Motorplex.

Demoor plans on attending this year’s Friday the 13th on his bike, a 2004 ZX-6R Kawasaki from London Ontario. Last year Demoor competed at the Dunlop Cup and placed 5th. By Joceylnn Blacker

Claude Maurice has created this beautiful hand-carved wooden piece of art. It was on display at last year’s Friday the 13th and attracted large crowds of admirers. Claude plans to be in the Tim Horton’s parking lot this year to show the new additions to the piece since last year and explain his style and technique.


By Eric Nixon,Hayter-Walden Publications

When you have a passion for some-thing, you might as well just go for it. That’s definitely the case with Mike Koricina and Teresa Burns,

Harley-Davidson lovers and owners of Hog-town, a shop in Lucan that specializes in pre-owned Harleys, along with chrome parts, ac-cessories, clothing, and just about anything else you might need for your dream bike.

Koricina was running a heavy truck/

auto repair business for the past eight years and selling bikes as a sideline. Burns worked full-time in hospital administra-tion. But those “day jobs” just couldn’t com-pete with their love of Harleys. Eventually, they both decided that opening a storefront location was the best solution. And, so far, it’s paying off very nicely.

They’re overwhelmed by the response they’ve received since opening. Customers have come from as far north as Owen Sound and from all over Southwestern Ontario, too. Last Christmas, before the store even

opened, Koricina had already arranged to ship a bike all the way to Cochrane.

Burns says they’re located in a perfect location geographically and the feedback they’ve been getting so far has been phe-nomenal.

Since they’re avid riders themselves, Koricina and Burns designed the store to reflect their own interests – and those of fel-low bikers.

As Koricina says, “We tried to design it like a bike shop we would want to stop at when we’re on our travels. Burns added, “we have the leather couches and we’ve got the bar stools. Just a little more comfort-able.”

About 95% of the pre-owned bikes that Hogtown stocks are Harleys and they try to keep about 25-30 in stock, although they’re adding more inventory all the time.

In addition to sales, Hogtown also takes care of all their customers’ service and parts needs, even for non-Harley bikes.

“Plus, we have our own t-shirts, which is pretty big in the biker world,” adds Burns. “A lot of bikers will come by and they want a t-shirt from the dealership.”

Their Main Street location in Lucan is also part of what makes Hogtown unique. As Burns notes: “One thing about the build-ing. It’s kind of a unique story coming in here. All the pegboards were already up because it was an old hardware store – for

Hogtown Cycles in Lucan specializes in pre-owned Harleys46 years it was a fam-ily-owned hardware store. It’s got charac-ter. It’s a landmark.”

Working with the Lucan Area Heritage and Donnelly Mu-seum, they’re hoping to acquire 25-30 pho-tos of the building from the old era and put them up around the store, helping to preserve the build-ing’s history.

If you’re a bike lover, you’ll defi-nitely want to make the trip to Hogtown. With their commit-ment to customer service and prom-ise to always exceed your expectation. It’s the perfect excuse to check them out.

As they say, we love motorcycles, the people who ride them and the places we see on these ma-chines. “Put something powerful between your legs.” Come see us at Hogtown today.

Mike Koriciana

Teresa Burns


This panoramic photo by Earl Hartlen (www.earlhartlen.com) shows a portion of the crowd moving along lower Main Street at last July’s Friday the 13th event.

Simcoe 1/2 Mileraces today at Norfolk County fairgrounds

Friday the 13th brings thousands of bikers to Port Dover and the “Simcoe Half Mile” motorcycle races to the Norfolk County fairgrounds -- just a short ride from Port Dover.

This is a new event sponsored by Flat Track Canada. The goal of Flat Track Can-ada is to promote the sport of flat track mo-torcycle racing in Canada. As is frequently noted, flat track is the oldest form of motor-cycle competition.

Flat Track racing was very popular in Canada in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s. It subsequently suffered a slight decline in popularity. Flat Track’s ultimate objective is to reclaim the former glory of the sport.

Below is a detailed schedule of events. on Friday, Sept. 13. There is camping avail-able through the weekend.

All youths will be racing on the big track.

8:00 AM Registration Open11:30 AM Riders Meeting11:45 AM Practice1:15 PM Youth Heats1:40 PM Track Prep2:00 PM Round 1 Heat Races ATV Open Heat 1Open Amateur Heat 1Open Expert Heat 1D2 SpeedwayD1 SpeedwayVet250cc3:45 PM Track Prep4:00 PM Opening Ceremonies4:15 PM Round 2 Heat Races -- ATV Open

Heat 1; Open Amateur Heat 1; Open Expert Heat 1; D2 Speedway; D1 Speedway; Vet; 250cc

5:00 PM Track Prep5:10 PM Youth Finals -- ATV Youth Final;

50 Chain Final; 50cc Shaft Final; 65cc Final; 85cc Final

5:50 PM LCQ6:10 PM FINALS Vet; 250cc; ATV Open;

Open Amateur; D2 Speedway; D1 Speed-way; Open Expert

For more information on the races and Flat Track Canada, visit their website at www.flattrackcanada.com


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Joan BowleyJoan Bowley from Fort Erie rode in on

her 2009 Victory Vision to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Port Dover downtown. Bowley has been riding for over 20 years.

“When I was younger I lived in an area that was conductive to great motorcycle rides.”

In 1996 Bowley joined the Motor Maids, one of North America’s oldest and longest

run women’s motorcycle associations. The Motor Maids have over 1,200 members and hold annual conventions. Bowley is look-ing forward to attending the special 2015, 75th anniversary convention being held in Moncton, New Brunswick.

“I love the sense of independence, free-dom, and empowerment. It’s like flying with all the sensation of being on the plan-et. The experience in a car, it’s totally dif-ferent. You’re in a cage, with a car.”

By Joceylnn Blacker

All roads lead to Doverevery Friday the 13thPort Dover has become the “go to” place every Friday the 13th for bikers and everyone who enjoys looking at bikes. To say the event attracts people from everywhere is no exag-geration. The bike at left was seen at the last Friday the 13th event with a message for everyone to read “Victoria BC to Port Dover 4480 km”. Bikes come from all over Ontario and border states of the USA to every event.


By Jocelynn Blacker

Port Dover is very popular with visiting motorcycle enthusiasts, and home to many. Port Dover is known for its welcoming na-ture toward motorcyclists and for support-ing the pastime with various events and venues. The tradition of hospitality and support continues with the addition of a new motorcycle-minded coffee club.

The club started as a small number of close friends meeting for coffee with their motorcycles. Over the last three years the number of attendees has grown signifi-cantly as friends of friends were welcomed in and also people who just showed an in-terest. The club now consisting of a small group of regular core members, calls itself the 1300 Club named after the 1:00 p.m. time they meet for coffee. Members meet every-day to discuss motorcycles, local goings on, and most importantly share motorcycle stories.

Here are some of the members of the 1300 Club and a few of their stories.

Paul Boulanger of Port Dover is well-known in the 1300 Club and Port Dover mo-torcycle community for having travelled to the four corners of America, and as Rick No stated “probably has more miles than all of us put together.”

Every year Paul Boulanger travels the

The 1300 Club and friends are Tony Finelli, Mary Finelli, Randy Fleming, Jim Kidd, Joe May, Joyce Dechandt, Rick No, Paul Boulanger, Scott Carr, Ed Squires, Corey Kemp, Sonnie Rose, Mary Lu MacLauglin, Virginia Carr, Marty Forsyth and Roy Purdy. The motorcycles are Jim Kidd’s 2010 Harley-Davidson Wide Glide, Joe May’s Harley-Davidson Street Glide 2006, Corey Kemp’s 2009 V Rod Muscle Harley-Davidson.

Adventures of the 1300 Club

7668 mile journey from Los Angeles, Cali-fornia to Washington, D.C in the veteran’s memorial ride “Run for the Wall.” Bou-

langer had served in the Canadian Armed Forces, and has many Vietnam veteran friends from the United States. Boulanger

records his journey with receipts from ev-ery fuel and rest stop he makes along the > Continued on next page


way. “Run for the Wall,” takes place in the USA welcomes all.

“A lot of guys do it for the adventure. A lot of Americans and Canadians do that trip. I have even met people from other countries.”

In addition to “Run for the Wall,” Bou-

langer has made some other remarkable journeys, including his personal favourite.

“Riding my motorcycle along the Arc-tic Circle,” said Boulanger. “We went and saw Dawson City, Alaska and went along the coast of the Bering Sea.” The ride took three years to plan. “It was just different. A lot of people see it as the last frontier that you can do on bikes. It was nice. Reward-ing. It was raining a lot in September there. The sun was out until 12 midnight and nev-er really went down. It was just like dusk for an hour and a half then it was up again. In the winter it’s dark all the time.”

Another one of Boulanger’s more exten-sive rides took place in Australia.

“It was my first big ride. Sydney, Austra-lia, right back to Sydney again. 7000 miles up through the centre of the Outback then down the Barrier Reef coast.”

o o o

Marty Forsyth of Port Dover has been riding motorcycles for almost his entire life, and currently rides a 1985 Harley-Da-vidson Classic that he bought from a friend in Port Dover.

Every year Forsyth makes a trip to To-bermory with a friend along Highway 21.

This year they were unable to make the trip but Forsyth hopes to make it next year. When he was 18-years-old Forsyth went on a motorcycle ride from Hamilton to New

Mexico.In addition to being an avid motor-

cycle enthusiast, Forsyth has been a Port Dover Lions Club member for 20 years. “I enjoy the comradery. I like the whole atmo-sphere,” said Forsyth.

Forsyth will be working at this year’s Friday the 13th events.

o o o

Rick No was originally from Toronto and now is a Port Dover resident.

“I’ve been coming down here for years. So I sold the business, the house, and moved. Haven’t looked back since. There are great people here.”

Rick No doesn’t have a favourite route.“Everyday is my favourite ride. Doesn’t

matter where you go. I love to ride. I’ll get on my bike and go to Windsor for coffee.”

Rick No has been riding since he was 16-years-old, first having started on old dirt bikes.

He currently rides a 2013 Heritage Softail Classic Harley-Davidson. For No the appeal of the motorcycle is the driving experience.

“The Freedom. To be able to go where I want, do what I want. I don’t have to an-swer to anybody. When I go, I just go. There is no place anywhere I can’t go. In a group or alone, it’s the freedom of the road.”

No looks forward to this year’s Friday the 13th, and plans to attend. For him the best part of Friday the 13th is “looking at motorcycles, meeting people from all over, plus having fun.”

No’s dream ride is to rent a motorcycle and tour Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Eng-land.

o o o

Paul Boulanger with his 1980 Harley-Davidson

Marty Forsyth

> More on the 1300 Club on page 19

“We went and saw Dawson City, Alaska and went along the coast of the Bering Sea.”


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John K. SmithJohn rides a 2008 Anniversary Edi-

tion Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic. The 52-year-old has been riding since the age of 20 and particularly enjoys travelling the lakeshore both to the east and to the west of Port Dover.

“I love this area”, he said when talking about his favourite rides.

He also enjoys having Niagara-on-the-Lake as a destination, travelling west to Lake Huron, running the shores of Geor-gian Bay and exploring such towns in the Muskokas as Huntsville.

“A four or five hour drive on highways can turn into nine hours if you are doing back roads by bike”, he explained, enthu-siastically enjoying every moment of the exploratory adventure.

John K. Smith of Port Dover on his 2008 Harley-DavidsonUltra Classic.

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Roy PurdyRoy started riding motorcycles 54 years

ago in Northern Ireland. The 69-year-old immigrated to Canada

in 1960, first living in Hamilton and then moving to nearby Waterford six years ago. Riding a 2000 Harley-Davidson Road King,

he is also a regular attendee of the 1300 Hour Club.

His favourite riding areas are along the Great Lakes, enjoying local rides to Turkey Point or to see the submarine at Port Bur-well or to riding the shores of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

He has also enjoyed rides to Washington, Milwaukee and other great destinations.

Roy Purdy of Waterford on his 2000 Harley-Davidson Road King.

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Scott and Virginia Carr are two of the founding mem-bers of the 1300 Club.

Scott Carr has been a long-time motorcyclist and his first bike was a 1951 AGS Single Cylinder Thumper. His favourite road trip was up to the Tobermory area. He will be at Friday the 13th and looks forward to “checking out the bikes.”

Virginia Carr is credited to having had the original idea of combining coffee and motorcycles. Virginia Carr started taking motorcycling lessons in 2005 and her fa-vourite route is to Port Stanley. She plans on joining her husband at this year’s Friday the 13th.

“I like the bikes and the atmosphere. It’s really fun.”The 1300 Club meets at 1:00 p.m. near the Port Dover

Tim Horton’s. Newcomers are welcome as long they have a motorcycle and a few good stories to share.

Scott Carr, Roy Purdy, Virginia Carr, Ed Squires

Combining coffeeand motorcycles

Loves special needs children and bikesMeet Liane Troyer, a biker for the past three years. For the past 20 years Liane has worked with special needs children. A friend of Liane’s got her interested in motorcycles and it was not long after that she pur-chased her own bike, a 1994 Honda Shadow 600CC. After work, and on weekends, she just enjoys hopping on her bike, weather permitting of course, and head-ing out for a relaxing and enjoyable ride.

By Bob Miles


Last year, Lori Russell brought her 5-week-old son, Luke Peters, for Friday the 13th. On their way out, they were approached by The Canadian Press, who wanted to take pictures of the baby boy.

Lori says they will be here again with their son because they always have a fabulous time.

Lori says “Luke is an absolute sweetheart! He has a biker vest (see picture) that he will be wear-ing again!

The proud mother writes “he’s got a whole head full of blonde curls now and the blu-est eyes, gonna be one of those heart breaker bikers I suspect!”

Luke’s dad, Mike Pe-ters, is shown with Lori and Luke in the photo above.

The bike is a 1997 Su-zuki Intruder.

By Carmen Rose Davis

Traditionally, Friday the 13th is believed to be the unluckiest day of the year.

This predominantly Western supersti-tion is linked to numerology, where the number twelve is considered the number of completeness: the twelve months of the year, twelve Greek gods of Olympus, twelve disciples of Jesus, twelve hours on the clock, and so forth.

In grave comparison, the number thirteen symbolizes irregularity, a trans-gressor of sorts against its neighbour number twelve.

This, combined with the belief that Friday is an unlucky day (mostly due to the crucifixion of Christ) makes Friday the 13th one of the most highlighted dates on the calendar.

That being said, not everyone cringes when the thirteenth day of the month lands on a Friday – especially if you are a true Doverite.

It has been a long-standing tradition in Port Dover to celebrate this day of unrest by hosting one of North Ameri-ca’s largest congregations of motorcycle enthusiasts. Local schools are closed and vendors from all over pile into our small town as thousands of motorcycles and tourists make their way through the streets of Port Dover. It’s an eye-popping event, which my family has enjoyed for years.

Last year however, while the steady stream of engines roared by my house, I was in the delivery room witnessing one of the most extraordinary events of my life – the birth of my niece, Renee.

Weighing in at 9 lbs, Renee Rose was born at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, April 13th. That day, I felt like one of the luckiest women alive, not only to be at the other end of the stirrups but also to have wit-nessed such a miracle.

One year later and it was time to celebrate Renee’s first birthday.

Unlike most one-year-olds whose par-

ties revolve around zoo animals or cute cartoon characters, my niece’s birthday theme was motorcycles. Dressed in our Friday the 13th t-shirts with matching helmets, we decided to captivate this momentous event by taking a family photo. Even our bichons Lucy and Bijoux came dressed in orange and black biker dog wear.

Renee will never remember her first birthday party. She won’t remember me yelling at the dog to look at the camera or telling my son to stop fidgeting.

She’ll forget how her mother jumped up and down like a frantic cheerleader trying to get her attention as she played with the buttons on her Papa’s motor-cycle. Someday, she may even wonder how her Nana found a shirt small enough with the exact date of her birthday stamped across it.

But one thing is for certain, she will never associate Friday the 13th with mis-fortune because that was the day she was lucky enough to be born into my family.

PERSONAL STORIES OF FRIDAY THE 13th

Born on “lucky” Friday the 13th last year, Renee’s first birthday party featured motorcycles


The Canadian landscape is built for mo-torcycles. Think of freedom and explora-tion. Think of where the road meets expan-sive prairies, jagged mountains and dense boreal forests. Think of riding into the ho-rizon without a windshield coming between you and each new vista.

In turn, Canadians have built motor-cycles for the landscape. A total of 21 differ-ent brands have traveled with riders, car-ried competitors across finish lines, served alongside police officers and supported sol-diers overseas.

The first motorcycles, like the Light-weight Motor Cycle built by the Canadian Cycle and Motor Company (CCM), drew in-spiration from the freedom afforded by early automobiles. Among the few motorcycles CCM produced, the 1908 model featured on the stamp sported a Swiss-designed engine that could be installed on any conventional bike frame.

Four years later, the Indian, represented here by the 1914 model, met with widespread commercial success. Massachusetts-based Hendee Manufacturing Co. – later known as the Indian Motorcycle Company – built the bikes at a factory on Toronto’s Mercer Street. The Indian became the bike of choice

for Canadian racer “Wild Joe” Baribeau, winning him provincial and national racing championships. Impressed by the abilities of the Indian, Canadian police departments began ordering the bike for their own motor-cycle corps.

Matt Warburton of Emdoubleyu Design drew on his personal passion for motorcy-cles to design these stamps. “I’ve been a mo-torcyclist all my life,” explains Warburton. “My Dad got me into motorbikes. It was my Dad’s love of motorcycles that got me inter-ested in them as a young boy. He was incred-ibly excited and proud about these stamps.”

Warburton chose to keep the design simple, focusing on the motorcycle itself. “I wanted to capture the structural beauty of a motorcycle, the design of the bikes, the beauty of the shapes of the engines, body and tanks.”

The result is a stamp that highlights two views of the bike. The most prominent is the top view of the rider, the other is of the bike’s profile. The Official First Day Cover shows off even more of the profile, while the background gets up close to the engines.

And, as a nod to Port Dover’s place in the Canadian motorcycle history, Canada Post decided The Official First Day Covers would

Port Dover Post Office staff members Jenn and Sharon are seen with some of the motorcycle stamp items. Canada Post Official First Day Covers for these motor-cycle stamps were cancelled in Port Dover for collectors across the country. The stamps showcase two motorcycles with a Canadian connection.

Canada Post issuestwo motorcycle stamps

be cancelled in Port Dover.There’s more to Warburton’s design than

just the beauty of the motorcycle. He ex-plains that motorcycles represent a broad range of interests including sports, trans-portation, recreation and pastime – and he wanted the design to appeal to all of them. “Motorcycles mean different things to differ-

ent people, but the basic elements of an en-gine and two wheels are what connect every enthusiast,” he says.

Canada Post says this issue featuring the 1908 Lightweight Motor Cycle and the 1914 Indian is the first in a series dedicated to Canadian motorcycle manufacturing and design.


As a lakeside community, Port Dover has always been a welcoming place for visitors. As shown in this flashback photo, Port Dover was already a popular tourist destination in the summr of 1914 when Ford automobile owners journeyed to Port Dover for an organized picnic near the beach. The cars were lined on both sides of St. George Street which meant they likely travelled from a wide area to come to Port Dover … just as two-wheel vehicles do on Friday the 13th, 2013 … 99 years after this photograph was taken.

Sporting his favourite bike -- a 2009 Yamaha 950 Tourer -- Garry Foster of Brantford plans to attend Friday the 13th. What Foster looks forward to the most this Friday the 13th is “being with all my biker friends.”Foster has been riding motorcycles for 31 years and his favourite aspect of being a motorcyclist is “the fellowship.”

Tim Hantz of Delhi has been riding mo-torcycles for 20 years and has been attending Port Dover’s Friday the 13th for the last 15 years. Hantz a fan of sports bikes competes at the Grand Bend Motorplex. Last year he placed 3rd in the Dunlop Cup. Hantz is planning to attend this year’s Port Dover Friday the 13th with his 2008 GSXR 1000.


Norfolk CountyFair grandstandshows spectacularthis October 8-14

Norfolk County Fair & Horse Show has three spectacular concert performances for the Grandstand at this year’s fair.

On Friday, October 11th at 8:00 pm, the Eastlink Concert Series presents “Big & Rich Party Like Cowboyz Tour with spe-cial guest Cowboy Troy”.

General Manager Karen Matthews re-ports “we couldn’t be more thrilled that ‘Big & Rich’s Party Like Cowboyz Tour with Special Guest Cowboy Troy’ will be in our Grandstand.”

Tickets are also on sale for Sail Rock featuring five iconic acts from the 70’s in-cluding Christopher Cross, Orleans, John Ford Coley, Player and Gary Wright (one incredible night of all of those favourite hits from the 70’s). They will be at the grandstand on Tuesday, October 8th at 8 p.m.

Also, the Eastlink Concert Series’ pres-ents sensation Carly Rae Jepsen on Satur-day, October 12 at the grandstand.

For more information and to purchase tickets visit norfolkcountyfair.com

It seems arriving by ‘chopper’ can mean different things to different people. Michelle Whiting and Mark Dougherty live just east of Port Dover and at last year’s July 2012 Friday the 13th event their friend Bruce arrived at their place with his version of ‘chopper’ -- a helicopter -- to take in all the events of Friday the 13th in Port Dover.

THAT’S A ‘CHOPPER’ TOO

Dale VanAcker from Tillsonburg is a fan of sports bikes, and has been riding since he was 18 years old. His current motorcycle a 2006 Suzuki GSX R 750 is his personal favourie.

“I like the handling and the ride.”VanAcker says his favourite road trip was to Deals Gap, North Caro-

lina to attend the Tail of the Dragon.He came to Port Dover for a trip on the long weekend with some

friends, and plans to be at the 2013 Port Dover Friday the 13th. When asked what he is looking forward to VanAcker said “just to come down and see everything. Just to be here.” --by Jocelynn Blacker


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Chuck Snively, 47, rides a 1999 Suzuki Intruder VL1500LC. He and spouse Su-zanne usually go to Port Dover every other weekend. For the past six to seven years Chuck has asked for, and received, time off from work to go to Friday the 13th. They get up early; leave their home in Kitchener and after breakfast head for Port Dover for a full day of enjoyable chatter with bikers, and for Suzanne a little shopping adds to the fun of the day.

Murray Crozier rides a Triumph Rocket 3 with 2300CC. According to Mur-ray it’s the largest water-cooled production engine built in the world. He started off at the age of 16 with a small 39CC Moped. It had chrome rattrap pedals with a pair of genuine Indian saddlebags. Living in Ham-ilton, Murray is able to drive to Port Dover every Sunday when the weather is right, and he has been attending every Friday the 13th since 2001. Asked why he attends every Friday the 13th, he thought about it as he puffed on a fat stogie, then said with deep conviction … “it’s the ambience”.

Ernie Gellert, 50, with his spouse Sabrina rides a Custom Ultima he built by hand from the ground up two years ago. He’s had seven motorcycles over the years, both Harley’s and Customs. Sabrina has her own bike, a Harley Sportster that she’s had for the past two years -- her third bike. When coming to Port Dover she prefers to ride with her husband on his bike. They like to arrive the day before the 13th so they can relax and enjoy everything.

-- By Bob Miles

RIDE TO LIVE, LIVE TO RIDE...


Alex and Mary SinkovitsAlex and Mary Sinkovits from Ayr

came to Port Dover for the long weekend Sunday on their 1997 Honda Gold Wing. Alex has been riding for 40 years.

“We like coming to Dover and Turkey Point. It’s a cool ride. We come down here and have a burger, a coffee, get together with the guys and chat. We are regular customers” said Alex Sinkovits. “We go all over this area. Port Burwell, and along the shore side.”

By Joceylnn Blackero o o

Share your story and photo about the best or most unusual ride you’ve taken. Send to [email protected]

Jeff Barnes has been biking for five years and owns a 1999 Electra Glide Classic 1550CC. He’s married to April and they live in Dun-nville. Jeff works as a sewer and water spe-cialist. They have been coming to Fridays the 13th for five years and enjoy the atmosphere of Port Dover on these occasions.

Biker interviews by Bob Miles

Fraser Card rides a 2013 Victory Classic, 1738CC motorcycle. At age 16, Fraser was racing Yamaha DTs until 1974 when he got married. For the next 22 years he raised a family. In 1996 Fraser purchased his first Royal Star Heavy Cruiser. He’s gone on several trips and has been to Sturgis, South Dakota a few times. At 63, Fraser is a barber in Tillsonburg, enjoys his bike and likes to travel at night. The different smells at night, the air seems to be calmer, and for him it’s a wonderful time for downloading, saying, “Life is good”.

Teresa Van der Werf lives and works in London. She owns a 2004 Standard Soft Tail 1450CC. However, she started out with a Virago Yamaha and an assortment of bikes over the years. As a child, Teresa, said she enjoyed horseback riding as it helped clear her mind. Now, she rides her motorcycle to many areas of Ontario and enjoys that same feeling of satisfaction. She comes to Friday the 13th to meet old friends and the joy of getting together with them.

o o o


By Kerstein Mallon

Airbrush artist Robert Lukasiewicz (Wooki) brings his unique and innovative painting style to customizing bikes. Rob has been creating amazing custom artistry since 1995.

It all began when Rob was studying ar-chitecture at Humber College. His professor, who was aware of his originality, suggested he attend art school.

Due to his inquisitive nature, he wel-comed the idea to try something new and when a taxidermist friend gave him an old airbrush, Rob quickly developed his niche in freehand airbrushing. He is self-taught and attributes some of his artistic develop-ment to the admiration of other artists such

as Fitto Buchard, Jack Fraser and Dru Blair. Although influenced by these great art-

ists, he is adamant about being authentic. His work is completely his own. Mind you when a client calls, he quickly pulls out the sketch book and designs a bull’s eye illustra-tion of what they want.

His business began when a friend who worked at ‘McBrides Motorcycle’ store, asked Rob to paint his helmet. He welcomed the opportunity and from there ‘Just Imag-ine Studios’ was born. The helmet sat at the desk at the bike store and the phone began

to ring. Rob specializes in unique one-of-a-kind

designs. His focus is mostly on motorcycles and helmets, but he also can airbrush any type of vehicle, object or wall mural. When he is finessing the most miniscule of details — pores, bones, lines, whatever — he is in a world of his own. “It’s all in how you see things,” Wooki says.

Using different shades of the same co-lour, Rob’s talent enables him to give the bike depth. “There are varying levels to the paint,” Rob says adding, “the details are never-ending, and you find new things every time you look at your work. As an artist you are constantly reviewing and as time goes by you always develop a new approach”.

Rob mentioned that using colour cor-rected lights in the studio is beneficial to

creating real effects. The challenge is always “making something look real.”

He has won “best paint” at many shows in the U.S. Rob is currently building a new studio at his home in Toronto. His motto is simply “Be true to yourself ”. He enjoys his artistic journey completely and although he currently has a waiting list, he invites you to visit him online. His web site is www.wookipaints.com

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Documents

Friday the 13 September 2013 Souvenir Edition Port Dover Maple Leaf