Checking Off A Bucket List Item In A New 2017 Ford Escape Titanium

Usually, the bucket list is something people don’t really think about until later in life. But, we live in a different time now, where experiences are king. We don’t rely on the material goods as much as what the material goods will lead us to. What they might be used for to make the experience better.

The experience has to have a baseline expectation.

It has to have a beginning, middle and end, even papered loosely. Then what’s filled in between those jotted down notes are where the real experience lies. It’s both where you are going, how you get there, what you are going to do while you are there, who you are going with and how satisfyingly exhausted you are going to be when you get back.

We started off with an idea. A bucket list item that you could do in Ontario that would make for a satisfying day. That idea would be mountain biking…but on a real mountain. Not just trails with flatter ground than the prairies. Not paved paths and streets. I wanted to put back the purpose in the type of bike I was riding.

The journey started early in the morning in Toronto.  Before everyone else’s morning began.

Then we picked up vlogger Brigitte Truong to ride a long with us on this journey. After a trip to the Onroute we spent a comfortable 1.45 hour drive up north to Collingwood to pick out the perfect mountain for this bucket list item.

Blue Mountain was the perfect spot. I have been up there many times for skiing but in my lifetime, I have never been up there for any other season. Collingwood was never my first spot for the warmer weather, so I wanted to break that stigma.

We made it into the Town of Collingwood, which was very active with people buzzing all around. People with pets, pets with people. Pets with more fashionable coats than the people, etc.

Blue Mountains hovered on the horizon like a painting. But it was a version I haven’t seen before. A grass and tree filled mountain. Not this white cloud that I see when I go skiing. Looked like a golf course was pushed up hundreds of feet from the center.

We walked through the beautiful Blue Mountain Village and into the military-like registration. Register, line up and go on your mission. Ours…hit the big top.

We rented our bikes, our protective gear and were lifted up on the same lines as the ski lift, retro-fitted for bikes.

The views were getting more expansive as the lift went further along the track. The feeling was setting in that mountain biking was a lot more intensive than was originally thought.

We got to the top and immediately were intimated from the padded warriors, ready to head straight down.

We geared up and hit the trails. They were a workout, to say the least. But the trip was well worth it at the top. We wanted to go on more trails, even the one that followed all along the mountain. The journey left us with no choice but to go to Scandinave Spa to recap how much fun we had. Bucket list item checked off.

The car was definitely one of the highlights of the trip as well. Noticeably, the pep straight from the line. The 2.0L Twin-Scroll EcoBoost^® engine really was responsive and made the trip a lot more fun when any red light appeared along our path.

One thing is for sure, we really put the  Sony^® Audio System with 10 speakers to work, because what is a road trip without a soundtrack?

The Hands-Free Power Liftgate at the back was surprisingly convenient while picking up and dropping off our equipment. Just like the fully-loaded Lincoln MKZ that we had a 1,000 km road trip in, the 2017 Ford Escape Titanium brought the technology front and center for the driver.

Let’s break down what technology we used for the trip:

• Used the FordPass app to unlock the car safely from the iPhone app
• Used the SYNC system for music, calling and mapping our bucket list destination
• Used Enhanced Active Park…because why not!
• Used the BLIS blindspot checker to see other cars trying to be aggressive beside us on Highway 400
• Adaptive cruise control was great on the highway on the way up
• Used the Lane-Keeping system to keep us reading between the lines

So, we found each of the techs in the car useful for the driving experience. Which is important because if it’s not, why junk your car up with it?

All in all, I miss the 2017 Ford Escape Titanium because of the tech and just the fact that it’s a very fun car to ride in and drive for a good amount of time in the mountains. Next stop…an even bigger mountain.

Click for more information about the 2017 Ford Escape Titanium and go on, check off something off that bucket list in style.