Foymount Tour—Mike Bernier and Barry Rowsome—22 August, 2024
It was a great day for this epic tour, with great weather and great people. Seventeen Miatas assembled at the Walmart in Carleton Place. Group 1 had 9 cars, Mike Bernier as Lead, Dennis Phillips Sweep, and Dave Pearen as Mid-sweep. Group 2 had 8 cars, Barry Rowsome as Lead, Marlene Futcher Sweep, and Ron Buck as Mid-sweep.
We all left on time working our way to our Bio-break at the Bogie General Store. Tatlock Road and Hwy 511 were the warm-up for the main event that awaited us later in the morning. We had time to chat with our fellow UMN members and some indulged in some fantastic butter tarts.
The main event was starting from our Bio-break. We worked our way up the hilly Opeongo Road and had 7 climbs to a scenic lookout overlooking the Ottawa Valley. From here we visited the decommissioned CFS Foymount Radar Site that was in operation from 1953 to 1974 and was part of the Pine Tree Radar Line.
From here we continued on the Foymount Road to Letterkenny Road, this was the main event and has been referred to as the Highlands Roller Coaster. Everyone had enjoyed the ride so much as they wanted to do it over and over. On this loop, one group went clockwise and the other counterclockwise, we crossed on Quadeville Road. From here we meandered to our lunch stop at Eganville Rio Tap & Grill. We had a fantastic view from the rooftop where lunch was served which everyone enjoyed.
After lunch, we worked our way to our ice cream stop at Scoops in Pakenham. Once everyone had their ice cream fix, we headed to our finish at the McDonalds in Kanata. Overall, the roads were in great shape except for a 2km section of gravel on Kinburn Side Road. This was a tour to remember and I look forward to leading it again in 2026.
Michel (Mike) Bernier