GPS Tour of Niagara 2003

This years Tour of Niagara hosted by the Niagara Timberline Riders M.C. and coordinated by RallyConnex was the fourth round of the Kawasaki "GPS" Dual Sport Series and it proved to be a challenging but pleasurable experience. The start finish location for the event was the Welland County Motorcycle Club, home of "Niagara Motorcycle Raceway".

A torrential downpour the day before the event had many wondering if the ride would even be held as the infamous clay roads of the area are known to be quite treacherous when wet. Many an old enduro rider will remember hours spent stuck in some mud hole in the Niagara area during the Massassauga or Sunstroke enduro's in days gone by. This is not the goal of the series, the rides are setup so that all will find them enjoyable and if there are tougher sections you can take an EZ route to save you difficulty or time.

The organizers of the event had spent considerable time in setting up the course for the event organizing an "A" and a "B" routes, the "B" in case of rain! A reconnoiter ride the morning of the event out to the worst of the clay roads showed that the ground had begun to dry and as the sun was shining it was decided to use the "A" route.
Sign in and uploading of the GPS receivers went quickly and after the prize draws a riders meeting was held where riders were told to be cautious of ruts on the clay roads and fearful of tourists while driving on the Niagara Parkway through Niagara Falls.
At 09:30 the riders began to head out for a day of adventure with two RallyConnex riders roving amongst the group and two more providing sweep services at the back of the pack. The ride used many of the service roads (used and abandoned) along the Welland Canal, many right of ways and clay roads and the Niagara Parkway where the Dual Sporters were treated to views of majestic Niagara Falls. As one rider pointed out, "we were on a dirt road and as we turned left there was Niagara Falls right in front of us".

Everyone stopped for a wonderful hot roast beef lunch at Niagara Race Crafters in Virgil. Thanks to Larry and his Kawasaki staff for putting on such a wonderful spread!

The ride continued after lunch with some gravel roads through the vineyards of the lower Niagara Peninsula and then more Welland Canal services roads leading out to the hills of Effingham. Further west the riders rode a couple of abandoned rail beds and then near Dunnville they rode along the carriage roads of the old feeder canal returning to the Welland County clubhouse at approx 05:00 p.m. Approx 300 km was covered during the day!!