I have had maaaaaybe a dozen Tim Horton’s coffees in the past year since I moved to Vancouver. There are better, more convenient coffee places near me, (and small independent ones, so I am actually profiting the people behind the counter) and I have never been a slavish devotee (is the whole what’s-her-name debacle enough in the past so I can use that word?) to Tim’s, but I got the email this morning.
Roll up the Rim is back.
I drove 6 blocks out of my way (and the six blocks back) to get a damn Tim Horton’s coffee.
More than sympathy… if I knew you were driving in that you would have my prayers! Seriously, what Muffin, Leaffan et al. said. I grew up in Northern Ontario, and spent more time than I like to think about driving in crap conditions. (Once on no sleep, Winnipeg to Thunder Bay during a dirty old March snowstorm. Stupid, I know, but I am no longer young and foolish.) The drive takes as long as it takes. I phoned at 10am to cancel a shift at 7pm shift because the road from Kapuskasing to Thunder Bay was pretty bad. I ended up making it fine by 3 pm but not having the “gotta get there in time” pressure was a good thing.
Just finished a delightfully exhausting day of skiing (can’t stop shaking – time for some food and a hot bath). It occured to me that when it is snowing, I ski faster on the cruisers than I cruise on the highway. There’s something inherently right about that – waves of endorphins rather than adrenaline overload. Whoever invented gravity deserves an award.
More seriously, I hope we never drive in conditions like that again. We like to go to Radium Hot Springs in winter because soaking in the hot pools is so enjoyable in cold weather, but I don’t like winter driving on bad highways.
Hee hee. Just reminded me of a TV program I once saw as a kid where the host actually said that “Sr. Issac Newton invented gravity.” I guess we were all just floating around the planet till then.
Well, just viewed the photo and there’s no way in hell I would consider passing under those conditions: get in line and follow the ruts is my philosophy.
Me neither. I wish we had more options here on the Prairies to let professionals handle our travelling in bad weather, but better bus, train, and air service between communities doesn’t seem to be in the cards.
And the Rhino Party wanted to undo all Sir Isaac’s work!
Not to minimize the challenges of winter driving in northern Ontario (it looks like it has its own unique challenges), but I will say that one of the problems we on the Prairies face is wind-blown snow across the road. There are times when it looks like the road ahead is moving left-to-right, because of snow blowing across it. There are few trees to block the wind; and where there are, the snow builds up into drifts that you may not see until you’re practically upon them. Suddenly, whomp! You’ve hit a drift, and your speed drops by a third.
Regardless, even with the solid wall of trees in your photo, Muffin, I wouldn’t want to drive the road you photographed. Glad to know that after all your winter driving in northern Ontario, you’re still with us.
Yes, that was me driving – just before Christmas 2012 (I visit a satellite office every couple of weeks). The drive took an extra couple of hours that time. Last Monday it took an extra five hours. Sometimes I stop along the way due to the weather, either at a motel for the night, or in my vehicle if I’m between towns. I drive a Jeep with snow tires, four wheel drive and traction control, and carry recovery gear sufficient to get me out of the bush and onto plowed roads (burned out my power steering last week making it to a plowed road, crappity crappity crappity), and bring along bedding and clothing sufficient to keep me comfortable indefinitely in the coldest of weather. Aside from moronic truckers who can’t figure out which side of the road they should be driving on, or who cause the Trans-Canada to close because they drive too fast and crash, it’s a nice quiet drive, given that I slow down until driving is comfortable. When it gets deep, I just turn on an MP3 audio book and turtle my way along. In a suitable vehicle, the only difference between a white-knuckle ride and a relaxed ride is the speed at which one travels.
The rewards are worth it for me. I get to see some truly beautiful country (e.g. last week) , and when the road is closed, if it is daytime, I go for a ski.
Sounds like you’re well-prepared for any eventuality. Good to hear.
It also seems to me that I should make a “business trip” to your location in the winter. I’ve been through northern Ontario many times, as you know, but never in winter. At any rate, hope to catch up with you some summer when I’m passing through.
(Yes, I still do think about returning to Ontario from time to time, though not necessarily to Toronto.)
I might have been once–I used to cross-country ski–but nowadays, I’m more into golf, as you may recall. Still, I guess I could get back into shape for x-c skiing.
I wouldn’t know a good golf course from a bad one, but there is a very scenic golf coursea few mesa’s up from my place.
I tried golfing for a few years a few decades ago, but I found to too dangerous.
Ever hit a birdie or an eagle? I hit a beaver. Coincidentally, the next day a beaver dam on that course broke and cut a path through the highway between Sudbury and Toronto.
You know that vein in the middle of a forehead that pulsates when someone morphs into a monster? You’d be amazed at how much it will bleed when popped open by a golf ball. The first time I did this to my dad, it was a tee-off shot that went diagonally into a tree and ricocheted into his forehead. The second time I did this to my dad, it was a tee-off that top-spinned backwards into his forehead. I got pretty good at driving a golf cart into the hospital emergency department (sensor operated automatic double doors are the shiznitz). Not wanting to risk knocking him out again, I haven’t golfed since, and I think the world is a better place for it.
Golf is golf. If it’s not your game, then it’s not your game. Regardless, Muffin, even though we may do nothing more than have a couple of beers and some sort of meal, I hope to meet you someday when I’m passing through Thunder Bay. I think we’d have a lot to talk about.
