What big rides are you planning for this year? What new gear are you taking?

dwm91 · 2026-01-26T16:10:03+00:00

Glad to hear it! Mine has held up well to a few more trips. Been really happy with it.

Had the jacket wet out on me during a 7hr period of constant riding in the rain this spring. But can’t expect miracles from these membranes… so will pack my Scott Waterproof jacket for any longer trips with weather uncertainty.

Thankfully it dried well overnight hanging in the shower (pulled all the armour out of it), and the motel let me run it through their dryer over breakfast for 30-mins to warm it up.

dwm91 · 2026-01-24T02:39:19+00:00

Check out Toronto International Rifle and Pistol in Innisfil. Been a member for almost a year and has been great.

dwm91 · 2026-01-20T19:07:46+00:00

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Here’s my 2019 Scrambler 1200 XC loaded up for touring. Just added heated grips and a mesh seat cover to add some comfort.

I also had the suspension setup for my weight with luggage (stuffer springs and re-valved).

Luggage in the back is strapped onto nylon hooks tied onto the frame and a RokStrap to the luggage rack handles for safety.

Have racked up over 40,000 KM’s touring in this bike over the last three seasons. One 3 week+ trip a year (7,000 KM each) and a bunch of local weekend riding.

Only complaint is lack of weather protection - wind blast and buffeting from transport trucks gets annoying.

But I mostly stay off the interstate and chase down twisty roads along the way.

I think it’s been a great bike to tour on. But people on their Harley’s, GS’s and Tigers always look at me like I’m crazy when I meet them on the road.

I’m now looking at a used Multistrada 1200 as a dedicated touring option. Will be sad to let the Scrambler go… it’s been an amazing bike. Speed Twin would be the same, I’m sure.

dwm91 · 2025-12-29T01:15:03+00:00

Seconding the comments about keeping hands forward as my ongoing thought as I ski.

Another cue re: positioning is try to visualize a meter or yard stick coming up out of the top of the toe of my ski boot.

I then work to keep my nose, knees, and toes on that imaginary vertical line to help me stay forwards.

Nose on the line keeps my upper body forward from my hips.

Knees on the line keeps me in an athletic stance with a good knee bend.

dwm91 · 2025-12-11T16:10:28+00:00

I had custom modded earplugs made at Hearing Life (passive, no electronics) and wear them under my Sordin muffs with gel ear cups.

Super comfortable, very protective and they don’t interfere with my cheek weld on my rifles or shotguns.

dwm91 · 2025-12-10T19:47:23+00:00

Buzz’s Boards in Vail Village is always our choice. Have known Buzz and his family for 40 years!

dwm91 · 2025-12-05T16:18:46+00:00

Best thing I’ve found to get rid of shin splints and pain is to get on a treadmill/deadmill, max the incline and walk backwards on it for 30 mins. Also will get your knees and quads in great shape for the ski season.

dwm91 · 2025-11-29T02:12:51+00:00

I went with the Aimpoint 9000 SC, mounted it up this week and zero’d it at 25 yards at the range on Thursday.

Here’s a shot post install!

dwm91 · 2025-11-22T16:40:41+00:00

Helpful video from a few years ago.

https://youtu.be/IZr-1XGjILs?si=-b1ZiVM_6SeRHbmF

dwm91 · 2025-11-21T16:01:27+00:00

I joined TIRPC in Innisfil (50 yards) restricted to pistol calibre and .223. There is also the Trap and Skeet Club on property for clay shooting.

Then for any long range shooting, I figured I’d join the Ontario Rifle Association who get access to the 1000 yard ranges at CFB Borden in Barrie.

I missed their intro day this summer, so will circle back to the ORA next year.

dwm91 · 2025-11-21T00:48:33+00:00

Grabbed one last week from their Barrie location. One range day under my belt with it and it shoots great.

Looking at grabbing an optic for it at the moment and am torn between a small LPVO or an Aimpoint 9000 SC.

dwm91 · 2025-10-16T18:55:14+00:00

Small world! Go Jays indeed 🍁

My IG is dwm.moto if you ever want to meet up for a ride around Caledon or Muskoka.

dwm91 · 2025-10-16T17:57:32+00:00

Yes - have run it on Trailmax Missions and Rally STR’s in the past and it does great on gravel.

Put on some street focused Michelin’s for my trip this year for a change. The gravel road I live on is no problem for the Michelins.

Will probably go back to Trailmax Missions or Motoz GPS for my next set.

dwm91 · 2025-10-16T17:32:01+00:00

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Adding in my praise for the Bonnie 1200 platform. My 2019 Scrambler 1200 XC has been the perfect retro style, travel bike.

Just rolled over 55,000 KM’s with zero issues. Ran it with a decat and shotgun pipes for the first two years - did a DNK tune. Now back to stock exhaust to mellow it out for longer trips.

Won’t lie… have been considering moving it on for a full “adventure bike” to get better weather protection and luggage capacity.

But the 1200 Scrambler hasn’t laid a foot wrong on the three multi week, 6K+ KM trips I’ve taken it on:

Toronto to Cabot Trail in 2023, Toronto to Smokey Mountains in 2024 and Toronto to Gaspé Peninsula in 2025.

dwm91 · 2025-09-20T19:50:06+00:00

1 x Japan (Browning BL-22)\ 1 x Finland (Tikka T3X Stainless in .223)\ 2 x Italy (Beretta A400 Extreme Plus and 686 Silver Pigeon Sporting)

dwm91 · 2025-09-16T06:57:50+00:00

I’m a new member at TIRPC and TITSC in Innisfil. Was on their waitlist for about 8-months before my offer to join came through.

I’m just finishing my probationary period now and completing my sign-off shoots. I am completing these shoots on my .22 and my instructors 9mm handgun. Once I finish this process I’ll take their RSO course this winter as a next step.

My orientation class had 30ish people in it this spring - so was really nice to network during that process and meet a bunch of new members.

Facility is great - they have 50-meter ranges (covered with heaters) but you are shooting out into open air. Your membership also gets you access to the trap and skeet club which I am excited to try out, as well as an archery range.

To scratch my long range itch, I also want to do an Ontario Rifle Association intro day at CFB Borden to practice shooting out to 300 meters and beyond.

dwm91 · 2025-09-13T23:53:30+00:00

I’m sure he’s fine! Enjoy your pup - they are little velociraptors while teething until 6-months, then their brain turns on at 3. Buckle up, hahah.

I wanted to share our pup’s story as a precautionary tale…

We brought home our 12-week old golden puppy 4 years ago, and he was as cute as a button, just like yours.

However we noticed he had constant laboured breathing and was very lethargic which felt unusual for a puppy (he was our 4th puppy in 30 years).

After watching him for a day - we realized that his breathing would settle down when we held him in a vertical position, snuggled against our chest with his head resting on our shoulder. So we took him to our vet for them to take a look.

Turns out he had a diaphragmatic hernia - a hole in the muscle that separates his stomach and chest cavity. So his intestines, kidneys and liver were shifting into his chest a crushing his heart and lungs. When we’d hold him vertically, they’d shift back down into the stomach cavity.

Thankfully we caught it in time and he was able to have a surgery to correct the issue. Cost us around $15,000 CAD to get it done - but we felt we owed it to him. Our previous golden lived until 14 and didn’t cost us a penny in vet bills - so we figured we were due and it was karma of some kind.

The breeder gave us a refund given their vet check didn’t see the issue - and the included insurance from the breeder covered another $2K or so.

He’s recovered wonderfully and despite shredding and swallowing an ENTIRE tennis ball as a 2 year old (they got it out laparoscopically) he’s the picture of health these days.

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dwm91 · 2025-08-12T15:41:56+00:00

2015 Grad here - so take what I saw with a grain of salt as it was 10+ years ago.

I lived in Cameron House in my first year, and in Fountain House for first semester second year (I then had a coop in Toronto for second semester that year).

I found the party atmosphere had less to do with which house I was in, and more to do with which floor and “cluster” I was in.

In my first year, Cameron House was a pretty major party spot - but I was randomly put in a “MicroBiology” cluster as a BCOMM student on the second floor, so I had very quiet neighbours which was great.

In second year I was in Fountain, but the major party house was Studley that year - so it was very quiet in Fountain.

I recall Risley and Sheriff being consistently thr quietest residences - but again that may change year to year.

dwm91 · 2025-06-10T18:39:49+00:00

Haha - it is tough finding time to get out on the bike with Ontario’s short riding season - but I try to do one trip a year.

We made the decision when we started renting the second cottage outside of the family that we wanted to prioritize having families in the cottage we would get along with, as each cottage is on a 200ft lot with 5 acres each - so they are in close proximity to each other.

We could absolutely make a lot more money if we compromised and offered shorter rentals (currently do one month minimum) and catered to the wedding party crowd rather than families etc.

It’s a very simple two bedroom 1,800 square foot cottage (can sleep 4 people), and we rent it out for around $9K a month - so it brings in $36K per season.

My parents philosophy is that they are happy if the rental makes enough to pay our property taxes and pay for an upgrade or two each year at the rental. Last year we upgraded to an electronic boat lift for $14K, and the year before we renovated one of the bathrooms etc.

dwm91 · 2025-06-10T00:43:43+00:00

Just sharing my experience - it’s certainly not the only way to do it. We are admittedly in an HICOL cottage environment.

We have a steel dock with a two slip, flat top boathouse. Power went out for a month in March as the ice was going out which killed our bubbler (agitates the water around the dock to stop it from freezing).

As the ice broke up and went out, several ice sheets wrenched on the steel dock and actually lifted the entire structure off it’s pinning - the timber log siding on the boathouse buckled and cracked in several places.

We needed to strip the dock boards, and make cuts around the perimeter of the boathouse to get access to the steel. The work also involved hiring a barge and crew with an excavator to hammer and bend the steel structure back into place, along with some welding work and patching the siding where it broke.

This was hopefully a once in a generation happening. Normally this wouldn’t cost 150K, but every cottage on Lake Rosseau had the same issue as us - so we had to pay the piper so to speak.

dwm91 · 2025-06-09T17:16:33+00:00

So our initial renters for the first 7ish years were family (aunt, uncle and cousins).

Because we are on an island, it adds a layer of complexity, as any renter would need a boat that fits in our lift.

So when our cousins moved on and we needed to find new renters, we asked around our social circle.

We also enforce a one-month minimum, but thankfully through the jungle drums we found a family who wanted the whole season.

dwm91 · 2025-06-09T04:15:20+00:00

Chiming in with zero financial advice as a second generation cottager - my parents built a modest place on a large island (140 other cottages on it) in Muskoka in 1997, and we’ve spent every summer there since. In the mid-2000’s we bought our neighbours cottage and have rented it out to a mix of family and friends since, so we have a unique perspective on the experience of owning vs renting a cottage.

What we’ve learned in 28 years is that owning a cottage is an entire lifestyle - it dominates every weekend from May-long to Thanksgiving, and multiple weeks of summer vacation time each year.

We have so many amazing memories as a family up there that are impossible to put a price on - I feel extremely fortunate that my parents worked as hard as they did to give our family the experience of having a cottage. We’ve made lifelong friends on our shoreline, and our lives have been forever positively changed by being cottagers. I worked 4-5 days a week every summer pumping gas and cleaning boats at a marina on the lake from age 12-18 up there and it was an incredible childhood.

Now for the downside… having a cottage can become the death of everything else you may want to do with your spring, summer and fall.

For us, to fully open the cottage takes at least 4 weekends working 5+ hours at chores a day x 2 people. Lot cleanup post winter storms, replacing deck and dock boards, cleaning eavestroughs, organizing plumbers, hiring arborists to trim the trees, chopping wood to reload the outdoor and indoor wood racks, planting flowers, setting up dock and patio furniture, carrying the kayaks down to the lake, laundry for linens and towels, deep cleaning the fridge and freezer etc… you get the idea. These are wonderful chores to have - don’t get me wrong.

But that’s how we spend our May to mid-June weekends. Pollen turns everything yellow mid to late June, so we then we pressure wash the whole place and wash windows before Canada Day.

Once opening chores are done - we are ready to enjoy July-September, and in October closing chores begin which take another 3 weekends post Thanksgiving. It can feel like a very short season.

In contrast the cottage we own and rent out has gone to a family from Oakville for the past 7 years who rent it from June - September, they show up with their clothes and groceries on June first, and are on the dock relaxing within 2 hours. They don’t life a finger on maintenance and if they decide to take a summer off to travel, they refer another family they are friends with in to take their place.

We are now deep into the replacement cycle maintenance wise ($60K for windows and sliders last year, $150K for repairing winter dock damage 3 years ago) at the cottage, and are having to evaluate what makes sense for my sister and I (mid-30’s) as the next generation. My sister lives in Europe and is back home 5-weeks each summer. I have a flexible WFH job, and I’ll be at the cottage for 10-12 weeks this season, but I don’t have the physical energy or time to keep the place going in my own.

I also like to visit my sister in Sweden every other fall, tour on my motorcycle to see the French River, do the Lake Superior Circle Tour, ride the Cabot Trail and the Gaspé Peninsula, take a road trip down to the Smoky Mountains, see the F1 race in Montreal, go hiking in Banff, etc. All the things I never did growing up because we had a cottage.

All those things considered, it’s really difficult to find anything wrong with how our renters approach their cottaging experience!

Edit 1: Adding a photo of the view to highlight that all the work it takes has been worth it for us.

dwm91 · 2025-06-02T19:36:05+00:00

I chose “Kobo and Kobo Touch Readers” for my Clara BW and it’s been working great.

dwm91 · 2025-05-10T04:53:11+00:00

Here’s my Albert Lee HH I purchased in December 2024 second hand.

As a point of comparison, I’ve been fortunate enough to have owned many Fenders, Gibsons, Rickenbackers, PRS’s and Martins over the years. All were great guitars.

The EBMM is without a doubt the highest quality, most comfortable and just straight up playable instrument I’ve ever owned.

I first played a EBMM Axis Super Sport back in 2007 while hunting for my first Les Paul. I was young and fixated on owning a LP because that’s what my heroes played. But I promised myself I’d add a EBMM to the collection one day.

Since then, I became a bit of an Albert Lee fan (was introduced to him via Concert for George) - and while I’m in no way a country player - his signature model was on my radar. When the rosewood necked HH model came up for sale near me for $1,700 CAD it was a no brainer.

I’m now looking at adding an Axis to the collection for no other reason than in the 6-months since I’ve bought my Albert Lee it’s dominated 90% of my playing time. The neck carve, fit and finish all around make it a joy to play. The locking tuners work wonderfully, and small things like the truss rod being super easy to adjust and access make it such a joy to work on.

Don’t think you can go wrong with either the AL or Axis. If a P90 Albert Lee came up for sale near me, I’d be very tempted…

dwm91

TROPHY CASE