Rising Gas Prices are Contributing Factor To Tour Cancellation
Courtesy Wawa-News.com
It’s a sign of the times – gas prices rising, rising, and rising. Yesterday morning, The first gas station as you enter Wawa, the SP & G was offering gas at the price of 1.529 per litre. Yes, they do have a loyalty card, but for tourists that are unfamiliar with that, they pay full price.
The increasing cost of gas, because that translates to $5.79 a gallon for our US travellers – has been cited as the two reasons that the Wolf’s Head Circle Tour will not be held this year. The Wolf’s Head was unusual in two respects: it puts riding first and rallying second, and it is family-oriented. Its impressive 1,500-mile Lake Superior Circle Tour runs five days around the largest, by area, fresh water lake in the world, with vistas that are nothing less than magnificent. Since it’s beginning in 1998, 1187 registered riders participated in the tour, and received a numbered belt buckle to commemorate their achievement.
In 2009, the tour was cancelled as well, organizers citing the economic difficulties in the midwest US, passport laws, and the rise in gas prices. In 2010, they tried the tour again with a mere 32 riders participating – but although the riders had a great time, the organizers were feeling the costs of providing guides, insurance and a support vehicle who followed the tour to provide mechanical help and a trailer should anyone break down. As a matter of fact, there is no motorcycle dealerships or mechanics to repair a motorcycle between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie. So having a flat tire can really ruin your day, if not your trip. With the reassurement of a chase vehicle and guides, the tour was becoming popular for those who wanted to venture into the wilds of Canada.
However, on April 27th of this year, Sheldon Aubut, Organizer wrote on the Wolf’s Head website “It seems like the price of gas ($6/gal in Canada right now, and $4/gal here) has killed us. We only have 9 registrations and that’s not anywhere even close to my break-even point so I’ve decided to cancel this year. But, I believe some, if not most, of the other riders who were going have decided to go anyway. I’ve held off for some time hoping that something would change but I’m now resigned to the fact that I have to cancel this year’s tour.
I’ll be sending out refunds in the next couple of days. I feel absolutely terrible that I have to cancel, but there is no way I can absorb the thousands of dollars that it takes to put this on. In November, December and January I was getting maybe a dozen inquiries a week, which is more than we’ve ever gotten that early in the season. Then in February, when the gas prices started to rise, it was like someone turning off the faucet and I only got a few a month. Since the beginning of February I’ve only gotten three registrations.”
For Wawa, it is a sad day. The Wolf’s Head had been hosted by motorcyclists throughout the years, beginning with Shayne Wardrop, who hosted them at Twin Lakes. Then the Grundt Family became hosts, hosting at Twin Lakes as well, and then at the Wawa RV Campground. At it’s peak, the tour had 220 riders travelling around the lake in two days, 110 each day. What an adventure in preparing food. Originally the menu was simple, sausages on a bun and potato salad. That evolved to the famous Wolf’s Head Minestrone Soup, bbq pulled pork shoulder on a bun with a signature bbq sauce, potato salad and coleslaw, all prepared by hand! A lot of work, but the riders appreciated the effort, and alway remembered their night in Wawa as the best! In fact, Marcus and Brenda took the tour themselves in 2001, and then took theiir daughter Katherine around several years later so she would have a buckle as well.
The Grundt family and their friends who have helped throughout the year will miss the riders who have become friends, and hope that economic times will change, so that they can come back!
