A very excited Jake after saying hello to his riding buddies on Saturday.

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It’s finally happened. After weeks of watching bikes go by our house, we’re finally back on the road.

For those of you who don’t know our little family circle outside this blog, we’ve been renovating our kitchen. We’ve put it off for years, but finally decided in January that the time had come, so after about a month of planning and three months of demolition and construction, our project is nearing completion.

The idea was that we would get the reno done before riding season. We all know things never go quite the way we plan and our project was no exception. It took a little longer than we expected to finalize our cabinet design, then it took an extra week to get the electrical finished, and so on. And the weather, which has been great for everyone else, didn’t co-operate with our plan. Did anyone else notice that it got warm really early this year?

Jake has not been happy with our reno. First of all, you have to remember that our boy is all about his tummy. He was less than excited when we started to demolish the room that is his source of food and even less happy when “the magic counter” disappeared. We called it that because our dear doggie learned very quickly that all good things came from that one tiny countertop in our house so as soon as I went anywhere near it he was right there. You can imagine his disgust when it went out the door.

Our boy has also been less than thrilled with the amount of time we’ve devoted to our reno. Jake has always wanted to be wherever we are, being “helpful” in his own way by licking our faces if we’re low to the floor and picking up whatever we might leave behind to take it off somewhere for a chew. But within a very short time, as we spent more hours and more days in the kitchen, we saw less and less of Jake. If we wanted to see him, we had to go upstairs to the bedroom where he could be found either asleep or just, dare I say, sulking.

We had a very happy boy on Saturday morning when we told him we were all going for a ride. As our chaps and boots and jackets began emerging from the closet, Jake’s tail began to wag (actually it’s more like a twitch).  When I fastened his yellow club bandana around his neck and told him he was going to see “his people,” he headed towards the door ready to roll. And when we arrived in Mahone Bay, he was incredibly excited as he ran around and said hello, doing his happy dance for all the members of the MMTA.

The annual pet food run was very successful. Despite the questionable weather, we had 65 bikes. Riders donated a variety of food and pet supplies and the event raised nearly $1,550 for SHAID. It was a great day for bikers and their four-legged friends.

The MMTA’s annual memorial run to remember bikers who passed away in the past year also had a good turnout on Sunday. Nearly 70 bikes made the run this year and we travelled from Blockhouse to New Germany, through Barss Corner and stopped in Cornwall for a brief service. We lost 28 riders in this province in the past year, 18 of them in motorcycle collisions. More than half of those were cut off by drivers making left-hand turns.

Please watch out for motorcycles on the road. We’re watching out for you.

Jake is ready to ride at the start of last year’s Pet Food Run.

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Jake loves other dogs. Next to people, other dogs run second among his favourites.

Having no idea about his size (don’t forget he’s a big dog with short legs), Jake is quick to greet his fellow canines when we go to the park or when we’re out walking when we travel. From the smallest to the largest, as long as they’re friendly, he’s happy to make friends.

That’s one reason why Steve and I take Jake on our motorcycle club’s annual pet food run to benefit SHAID. Since Jake likes other dogs, it just seems fitting that he should participate in an event to help less fortunate canines. He may not be aware of it, but Steve and I realize and appreciate that Jake is one of the lucky ones. By fate we all ended up together, but hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, of dogs are not so lucky. They end up in shelters just like SHAID waiting for good homes and those shelters are always strapped for cash. Without support, they can be forced to close and then the animals have no hope at all.

So this Saturday at 1 p.m. Jake will be joining his fellow riders in the parking lot across from Mahone Bay’s three churches to participate in this year’s pet food run sponsored by the Maritime Motorcycle Touring Association’s South Shore Chapter III. Last year’s event attracted bikers from around the province and raised much needed cash and supplies for SHAID.

The ride travels through Mahone Bay to Lunenburg, then on through Bridgewater before ending up at the animal shelter in Whynotts Settlement. If you want to cheer on riders, including Jake, who are out there to support the animals, feel free to wave and shout as we ride by. Better yet, if you’d like to help the cause, MMTA members (you’ll recognize us by our bright yellow club jackets) will be happy to accept donations at the three churches before the run or you can take them directly to SHAID on Saturday.

Most riders give money since it’s easier to carry on the bikes, but the shelter is always in need of pet food and other supplies. We’re told they could really use unscented, scoopable kitty litter. Although Jake isn’t so fond of cats, since it’s for such a good cause he’s in favour of helping out the felines too.

So join the ride or give to support the cause. RoadDog and his fellow four-legged friends will thank you.

Our RoadDog makes friends with another dog at SHAID following the run.

Jake and Steve enjoy the canal at St. Peter’s.

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One of the greatest things about riding around on a motorcycle is that we go places just for the sake of going.

For many people, the days of going for a drive have fallen by the wayside. Hectic lives and high gas prices may well be to blame, but when you want to spend your spare time with the wind in your face and you can fill your gas tank for $15, you still go just to go. It helps to have a dog who wants to go along for the ride, particularly if it involves a stop for a treat at some point along the way.

I’ve already told you that Steve and I (and sort of Jake) belong to the South Shore chapter of the Maritime Motorcycle Touring Association or MMTA. One of the many fun things the club does each year is a grand tour.

At the beginning of the riding season, a couple of club members come up with a list of places for members to visit. Most are in Nova Scotia, but there are usually a few in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick or further afield added to the mix. The idea is to photograph your motorcycle in each location. In the fall, we submit the photos and get one point for each picture. Patches are given out at the annual Christmas party based on how many points are earned.

We’ve participated for the last few years. In fact, last year we dubbed it “Jake’s Grand Tour with Steve and Lisa.” Steve and I received the patches, however, since there isn’t much space on Jake’s yellow club bandana.

The great thing about the grand tour is that it takes us to places we’d otherwise likely never see. Two years ago, on our way to the Cabot Trail, for instance, we stopped in St. Peter’s to see the canal that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Bras d’Or Lakes. We were anxious to get to our ultimate destination, so if it hadn’t been for the grand tour photo, we wouldn’t have gone to the town. Yet we were so glad we did. St. Peter’s is a lovely little spot and the canal was both beautiful and fascinating. We probably stayed there for more than an hour enjoying the sunshine and watching the boats come and go. The staff were friendly and more than happy to chat with us and visit with Jake.

Last summer, the grand tour took us to Morden on the Bay of Fundy to the French Cross, which is a monument to the Acadians. It’s not a place one would ever stumble across while travelling because of the remote location, but again we were so glad we went. It was a windy day, but we still stopped to sit on a bench and enjoy the view. This province has so much to offer if we just take the time to stop and look.

And Jake, he loves to go along for the ride.

The French Cross at Morden.

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Jake enjoys a spoonful of summertime treat.

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It’s possible we spoil our dog.

I’m not admitting to anything without a fair hearing, but I will say the possibility exists that we treat our dog, well, not exactly like a dog, or at least not the way most people treat their dogs.

Having said that, let me tell you about ice cream. I LOVE ice cream. I absolutely LOVE it. Ice cream and cheesecake are the main vices in my life, well, along with an occasional glass of wine. But I don’t eat ice cream all winter or at least very, very rarely. I’m not sure why — maybe because it makes me feel cold, maybe just so I can enjoy it that much more when the weather grows warmer.

But when summer hits and temperatures climb and we’re riding on the bike on a hot day, you can usually count on it that I’m looking around for one of those ice cream cone signs. You know the ones — just a big cone with a scoop of ice cream on it that makes people who love ice cream like I do absolutely crave it.

Now I’m getting to the point where it’s possible that we spoil our dog.

What exactly is a person to do on a hot day under the bright sun when she has a cool, delicious, drippy ice cream cone in her hand and an adorable, lovable, big dog with short legs (for those of you who remember that he doesn’t like to be called little or small) sitting at her feet staring at her with his tongue sticking out just a little, or maybe a lot.

I don’t think I’ve explained the situation with Jake’s tongue. We suspect it’s slightly longer than normal. When he’s tired, it sometimes pops out. Often when he sleeps, it dries out so much that he wakes up smacking to try to make it moist again. Lovable demon that he is, he’s figured out how to use his tongue to his full advantage. I suspect we’ve acted like it’s adorable once or twice too often since he now sticks his tongue out whenever he wants something or on the (rare) occasion when he gets scolded. It’s actually out so often that Steve and I have a rating system, a scale of one to four.

So when he sits at my feet staring at me with that tongue out, my heart as well as my ice cream melts. The solution, I confess, is a spoon. When Steve or I order ice cream now, we automatically ask for two cones and a spoon.

But we don’t spoil Jake that much. I love my dog, but I’m not letting him lick a spoon and then sticking it back in my ice cream again, so he’s limited to one spoonful. And if his tongue pops out again after that, he only gets the tip of the cone when I’m finished.

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