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Creating a Cross Canada Overland Route
A group us started to create a route across the widest country in the world. We've been working hard on it for the last two years and anticipate it's completion in the fall of 2012. It will be distributed as a set of gps files from our web site at no charge.
Gravel Travel :: Home I am cross posting this from other forums as I thought some of the readers here may enjoy the tale and the pictures. Maybe some day you'll come to Canada and ride the route :) |
Ever wished there was a route across Canada? A group of us have decided to do just that. Seems simple, or so we thought. I've started this thread to chronicle the making of a cross country route.
I hope you enjoy reading about our "making of" story as it unfolds. Where to begin? Canada is huge.....9.9 million square kilometers! The population of Canada is only about 31 million and the bulk of that is spread across the southern strip of the country that borders the United States. What does that mean to us? There is a whole lot of wilderness up here and some damn fine riding. Given the scope of this project and the reason I suspect it hasn't already been done is that taking on a project like this is.... well a bit overwhelming. We've decided to take this project on in two phases. Phase one will be the Eastern half of the country. Our goal is to have this half completed by the fall of 2011 (yikes that less than a year and a half away). The other reason to start this thread is as a motivator. It will make it much more embarrassing and shameful to back out now that we've made it public knowledge :) The goal: To make a route across Canada that can be ridden by dual sport bikes that are loaded with gear. The route will primarily be gravel back roads. Some days will have sections of off roading and some will have sections of pavement. Wherever possible we are trying to have as little pavement as possible but it becomes unavoidable at times. http://64.136.20.22/2785995_m.jpg |
Where to begin? We've been working on this route now for the better part of a year. Good progress has been made. I apologize ahead of time as the posts I make will not be in the same order as the route will eventually follow. Also some of the posts and sections of the route will be done heading the wrong direction from the intended route. Just the way things have worked out as we explore new area's.
Lets start with the province of Labrador. Looks like there are about 8 of us who will be riding together for the next week or two. A couple of guys from south of the border that I haven't met yet and are on their way north to meet us Thursday in Ottawa Our plan is fairly loose but riding the Trans Labrador Highway is the first "tick" on the list. The TLH will more than likely be a part of T-Cat . Our thoughts are that having a nice "relaxing" 3-4 days of long gravel with little too no navagation will make for a nice break between Newfoundland and the Quebec/Ontario sections of the route. The TLH works with what we want this route to become, remote wilderness. Aside from a few towns there's not much up there After the TLH we plan to take a ferry over to the island of Newfoundland. There are a few trails that we have researched and look forward to trying out. Newfoundland has a bunch of double track old rail lines on it. From what we can tell a few of these will make up a part of the T-Cat. Skibum69 will ultimately be creating this section of the route but we're hoping to ride as many of the possible sections he plans to add to it. The main rail trail is called the T'Rail and runs for about 900 km's across the middle of the island. We have a few other trails to try out (Burin ATV trail and a couple of other rail trails) while we're over there. Throw in some touristy stuff and some "pubbing" and it looks like a fun 17 day ride Here's our proposed route for the next few weeks. http://64.136.20.22/2804418_l.JPG In typical fashion I'm scrambelling to get the bike and gear ready. While changing my oil the other day the threads to the oil resorvoir came out with the drain plug. I tried a self tapping oil drain screw but couldn't get it to catch. I've now inserted a helicoil in it but it's still leaking (didnt get the hole drilled exactly straight ). Dan's coming over tonight and we'll try adding one or two brass crush washers and maybe some jbweld to try and seal it. New tires need to get spooned on then we're off. I had a bunch of other maintenance task scheduled for the bike (wheel and steering head bearings, wire in a usb charger and an inverter, etc) but it looks they'll have to wait until August when we get back along with the wife's never ending honey do list. Last minute email are flying around in typical fashion. Who's bring what, where and when to meet, which route to take out of the city, etc The weather looks ...well ....not bad. Rain is a part of the scenery on the Atlantic coast and I'm sure we'll get our fair share One of the things I'm looking forward to seeing is how Pelvis (Brian)makes out with his hammock From what I've seen in the north country the tree's are SMALL and we plan on cowboy camping for the most part. How the heck does someone use a hammock in a gravel pit? This could have a few funny stories. Quotes like " no I read on the web you can string it up between two ski poles " just makes me laugh. A 200 lb + guy who likes to sleep on his side, has back pain currently, heading out for 17 days of camping with a hammock. I can almost guarantee this will be good for a few laughs I won't be updating the this report while we're gone (I hate the idea of sitting with a laptop while on "vacation" instead of meeting the locals and being in the moment and just enjoying where I am. Kudo's to those who do update their ride reports while on the road, but it's not for me). I will however do my best to take as many photo's as possible and update this thread when we get back. |
Well here I sit at work in my cubicle instead of hitting the road with the other 7 guys for the two week trip A series of mechanical mishaps have delayed me.
Had surgery two weeks ago which prevented me from working on my bike for a week and half (drugged and flat on my back). Started late last week to work and prep my bike. While doing an oil change I removed the drain bolt from the oil resorvoir and the threads from the resorvoir came out. Tried a few approaches over a few days and finally got it to work 3 days later (keep in mind I was/am still in some considerable discomfort and have a full time job and a crazy honey do list I promised to take care of before leaving on "another damn bike trip" ). A heli coil and a couple of crush washers combined with ALOT of loctite and finally got the drain plug to stop leaking. A quick test ride revealed that the countersprocket bolt was stripped and loose and the washer (with inside teeth?) was bent way out of shape and missing half the teeth. Jerry rigged something and got into town all packed up this morning and dropped by a fastner shop and got a new nut for the counter sprocket, yehaa I'll be good to go after working on the bike during my lunch break at work and ready to leave work early to meet the guys for our pre arranged meeting at 5 pm. But no! Rear tire is flat Okay I can deal with this ........ got the new nut on after bending the washer this way and that to get a couple of the teeth to stick (less than ideal but heck it's only got to work for 9000 km's). Got bike into a local shop to look at the back tire. Whats that weird grinding noise ? Damn I have no front brake pads left and the last bit just wore threw and is now grinding my rotor Callled local dealer and yes they have them in stock, Dan picks me up and we drive across the city where the cute young girl says oh I thought you said rear pads, we don't have front pads in stock, ARG ordered them and "guaranteed" they will be in tomorrow. Emailed the group of guys that I will be a day behind and will catch up on Sunday in Churchill Falls (half way up the Trans Lab). Looks like a couple of long iron butt days for me (and Dan, thanks Dan ). Haven't heard back from them ..... hope they get my emails and don't wait around too long waiting for me My fault? YEP To be honest I had written down and planned on some extensive maintenance on the bike, and was to do it 3 weeks before leaving so I didn't run into this kind of a situation. But being flat out on my back up until a week ago and under some crazy oxy cotton pills for a week and a half kind of phased me out a bit. Sorry ahead of time to the lads, I WILL be catching up and WILL be in Churchill Falls on Sunday at 6pm at the gas with Dan. So a couple of long days in the saddle ahead of me...gonna hurt like hell, still open wound from the surgery (still changing the dressing on it every 4 hours). So...the adventure begins. A case of MANY very COLD beers tonight, a leisurely start tomorrow then ride like hell for a few days. Anyone ever done the Trans Lab rally style Vroom vroom ! Wish me luck |
Back home a week early. Pelvis and myself came back with our bikes in a Uhaul (long story and it'll get told:) ) Martin, Chris and Renauld are on their way back now (scheduled, they were only going to be doing a week), heard from Dan last night by telephone. He's stuck in Corner Brook New Foundland. 6 fuel pumps later and he says he thinks he has the issue resolved. He made the earliest ferry reservation he could get (10 day wait) and is going to head to St Johns for the music festival.
The Trans Labrador Highway did not disappoint. A great ride, lot's of stories to tell and several pictures to show. This road will make a great addition to the route ! Give me a day or two to unpack, tie up some loose ends, upload some pics then I'll post a recap of the trip. Teaser Lost rad cap in engine Lost all electricals on bike Broke key in half unlocking seat to get at tools Fuel pump blows Exhaust pipe brakes in half near rear cyclinder 4 sets of rear brake pads wear threw Crash resulting in no headlight, no more master cyclinder for front brakes, turn signals and a busted up front fairing Another crash resulting in some cracks and scratches A Chain streched beyond useable A few tip overs A case of mild hypothermia Eatin alive by blackflies Several rewarding cold beers Flirting with a gay guy in order to get on a ferry Rain, sun, wind, good people, fun road, great riding ..... |
And another chapter begins in creating this route; a group of us had been planning this trip for some time. Every year a groups of us from Ottawa do an expedition type trip on our bikes. This yearly trip gets organized through our web site advcanada.com. Last year we went up into Northern Quebec and rode the Rue Du Nord and the Trans Taiga Highway. We had a great time and it was kind of decided that this year we would go and ride the Trans Labrador Highway across Quebec/Labrador. We've been waiting a few years for the road to get completed and it looked promising for 2010 to be that year. After committing to creating a route across the country this trip just sort of worked out two fold. One for our yearly trip and two to be a recon trip to see if the Trans Lab would work for the route. I was a bit sceptical due to the long paved sections before, during and after the TLH that would have to become a part of the route.
8 months of emails, a couple of pub meets and the group was finally made up. A handful of folks wanted to come, new job won't let me get away, family commitments and health issues prevented some familiar faces from joining us. Next time guys Half the folks who were coming were going to make a one week trip out of it and three of us intended to spend an extra week riding some trails around Newfoundland. Some guys from a local NFLD dualsport forum ( www.ridetherock.com ) helped us out with some route suggestions for the island. Kudo's to the members of this forum, a very helpful group of people who seem very passionate about sharing their part of the world. A great resource for anyone heading to NFLD. Because we intended to ride lot's of double track this had some impact of how our bikes would get loaded. Fast and light became the buzzword for the three of us as we planned our different packing strategies. Soft luggage for Dan and myself and scrapping a sleeping pad and tent for a hammock for Pelvis. What don't we need or what can we split and share between us became the topic of more than a few emails and pints over the winter months. I choose a Gaint Loop system for my bike. A Great Basin bag and Fandango tank bag. The concept of keeping heavy items low and snug seemed wise. The narrow profile also was a huge draw for me, I've caught panniers on tree's, etc while riding double track and trails before and choose not to do that again. Nothing like having your bike ripped around 180 degree's while you take a header into the ruhbarb. The added bonus of no luggage rack (weight) and their products being waterproof made it a done deal for me. Dan choose a Giant Loop tank bag and a Wolfman setup for his bike. He wanted the luggage racks to help distribute weight off of the subframe of his ktm 950 se, this bike has a known weak subframe. Brian choose to go with hard panniers for his 800 gs but kept his weight down by minimizing his gear. I'll let them speak to how their setups worked out for them as the report gets going. The other three members of our group were all riding 1200 gs's. Chris I know from several local rides as well as from last years trip to Northern Quebec. Renuad I had only just met while planning this trip. Martin hails from Toronto, bought a 12gs adv last Novemeber and had never ridden on gravel before. So there we are, 6 of us with different bikes/setups and varying degrees of riding skills and experience. To say everyone was keen/excited/nervous to get going is probably an understatement. We all have jobs, families, etc and are just working type folk. Getting a week or two off from our lives is not always an easy task as I'm sure most readers of this forum can relate to. Day one had me and Dan driving around town doing last minute preps to our bikes and gear. Sadly after crossing many obstacles to leave on time my brake pads were not going to be in until early afternoon the next day. Bummer! Last minute emails and the result was Dan and myself would leave a day later than the other four guys and we'd catch up along the way. I like to ride fast and so does Dan so this didn't seem like it would be an issue. Fast you say? Ya I know it's not for everyone but it's the way I ride. I love the enjoyment of being "in the zone". Riding gravel roads requires concentration, add speed and it demands more concentration. This is what I find relaxing oddly enough. One thing to focus on, what's in front of you. Your movements become automatic, 4,5,6,5,6,5,4th gear becomes reflex. No thoughts of home, job, kids, etc. Some folks ride bikes as a means to explore and see new places, I ride bikes because I love riding bikes. I enjoy the road as much as the scenery and people. Sounds odd to write but heck it needs explaining I think. When I see something out of my pheripheral vision I stop and enjoy the moment. I don't race to get places, more like I ride fast between breaks. I'd rather sit with my bike off and enjoy the silence that the wilderness has to offer and then giver like crap to the next place that grabs my attention. I don't think one way is better than another, just preference and personality that decides how we ride. So the four guys headed out while Dan and myself enojyed a few cold beers and one more night in town. After all of the stress of trying to get my bike up and running over the last few days, a good nights sleep might be just what the doctor ordered. I got an email that night from Pelvis that they covered a few hundred km's that evening and had setup camp East of Montreal amd that all was good with them Well it was day two of the trip and I'de yet to twist the throttle. I drove my car into the city and meet Dan and we loaded up our bikes, again. http://64.136.20.22/2816756_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816759_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816760_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816761_l.JPG "They'd better have my damned brake pads in or I'm going to freak" kind of mentality going on. Thought I'd get a bomber sleep the night before, instead I lied in bed worrying that I'd get delayed again. A quick call to the dealership ( Wheelsport in Orleans, Ottawa) and they said they were sitting on the counter, yehaa !!! We hauled over to their shop, and changed the pads in their parking lot. Like anytime you have a fully loaded bike in a public place, we answered some questions from folks going and coming to the dealership. "Where to","where from", etc http://64.136.20.22/2816765_l.JPG Dan and myself finally hit the road at 1:30 pm. The forecast showed rain behind us but blue skies where we were headed. http://64.136.20.22/2816767_l.JPG Following the Ottawa river on our left for a while. It felt REAL good to finally be on the road. Bike was running well, we were both smiling and it finally sunk in, we're off ! Cranked the beatles in my mp3 and started to put some miles down. Damn hard not to be cheerful with Paul McCartney singing about yellow submarines. The Fab Four go down for me as the best sing along, happy go lucky road tunes. http://64.136.20.22/2816769_l.JPG A quick stop jusy before crossing the border into Quebec. Of course at a Tim Hortons for a quick shot of the bean. Ask any Canadian, they must put something in there because it IS addictive. http://64.136.20.22/2816775_l.JPG Not much to say about the afternoon. We were flying. Rode past Montreal and Quebec City, dodged some traffic, applied the "any road is twisty, some just need more speed" philosophy. Once past Quebec the scenery improved dramatically. For me Quebec has a very European flare to it, every town seems to have a beauty of an old church in it, streets are narrow and of course everyone is speaking a language I know nothing about except a one liner "many large beers please". This is the same line I know in spanish and both have done me well over the years. More than one fun experience and a good story have been the result of knocking on a door and presenting the person on the other side with a large goofy looking white guy repeating his "line" and smiling. Maybe another time I'll take a trip down memory lane and share one of these experiences, lol http://64.136.20.22/2816785_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816786_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816788_l.JPG About 100 km's short of Tadasoucac we stopped at a campground. It was about 7 pm, we'd made about 650 km's, good start for our first day. The campground was a petting zoo slash campground. All sorts of odd animals, deers of various sorts, lama's and a bunch of ones I have no name for. I have REAL mixed thoughts about caging up a wild animal but I'll spare you my thoughts ;) Got our tents setup, lit a fire, drank some beers and wine and just enjoyed being underway. Spirits were high, it was a warm night, zero bugs and things were going well. A great day on the bikes :) http://64.136.20.22/2816789_l.JPG The Quebec flag "fleurdelisé". Folks from Quebec, for the most part, seem real proud of their heritage. By the time you get out here it's not uncommon for people to speak zero english. Most Canadians speak rudamentary french, if you don't a french/english dictionary may make your stay more pleasant. It's always more enjoyable when you can converse with the locals. http://64.136.20.22/2816790_l.JPG We setup camp in the sunlight and got everything put together just before dark. I always prefer to get off the bike at least an hour before dark. Setting up camp, cooking dinner, getting a fire going, etc just plain sucks for me if it's already dark out. http://64.136.20.22/2816797_l.JPG The tent I am using in the Tenere from Nomad Tents. It's freaking fantastic It weighs in at about 11 pounds so it is certainly a bit more weight than I am used to for a tent. It does pack small though, I store it in the grey dry bag on my rear rack. I'm 6'2 and it's just....well....humane to be able to stand in a tent. The vestibule is big enough for others to hang out in during inclement weather or to work on your bike. Can't say enough good things about this product. If you have a bike with good suspension then a few extra pounds doesn't become noticeable. http://64.136.20.22/2816798_l.JPG A few pints and a bottle of wine later and the day ended. We got an email from Pelvis and the gang. They were camped out at the Manic 2 dam along the Trans Labrador/Quebec Highway. Yehaa, they are within striking distance Maybe we'll catch up tomorrow. http://64.136.20.22/2816800_l.JPG |
Did I mention the nice scenery today? This area of Quebec is called the Charlevoix region. Highway 138 (which these pics are from) follow the north shore of the St Lawrence River. This wasn't the first time I'd been up this road but the scenery doesn't get boring. If you have the time there are a few cool things to do along this road. Some of the towns make for nice stops, there's whale watching trips, tons of art galleries and so on.
http://64.136.20.22/2816835_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816837_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816839_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816838_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816840_l.JPG In the above photo you can see a ferry. It cuts across to the Gaspe Bay area and makes for a different approach to this area. If I'm not mistaken there is also a ferry from Baie Comeaux over to the Gaspe. Depending on which direction you are coming from or heading too these ferries might make sense to take. http://64.136.20.22/2816857_l.JPG Along this road there is a "free" ferry, well I suppose our tax dollars pay for it, you must take. It drops you off in the small town of Tadoussac. This town has a few small restaurants and a gas station. Worth the stop in my opinion, pretty cool little town. http://64.136.20.22/2816855_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816861_l.JPG It was in Tadoussac that I decided to check the level of coolant in my bike. Red lights, etc had been causing the bike's heat to sky rocket. Well this is normally a 2 second procedure. Remove cap from coolant resorvoir, check level and fill if needed. Well it needed but my butter fingers screwed me again. The freaking cap goes flying off my "nub" and into the fairing somewhere with an obvious "ping" sound. Nub? Ya I'm missing a finger and I'm going to use it as an excuse. I don't get a handicap sticker to park or any other perks from it so I'm going to use it now as an excuse. Well there is one added benefit to only having half an index finger, when using a drive through I balance a dollar or two dollar coin (loonie or toonie for those non Canucks) on the nub and put my hand out the window. Each and every employee go for the grab then pull back, then go for the grab again then pull back again. Small things amuse me So we thought the cap was in the upper fairing, took it off and no dice. Behind the gas tank...nope Then Dan spots it, I get a skinny little stick and almost reach it.....then `ping` off it goes and you can here it ricochetting around the inside of the bike. Finally found it in the sump guard. Unneeded BS. Always happens during the hottest part of the day, and ALWAYS with a crowd watching. http://64.136.20.22/2816911_l.JPG I think during this next stretch both Dan and myself hit the wall. I was trying real hard not to fall asleep at the bars. Maybe the build up of the last week, the high speeds yesterday that came to a crawl today with having to go through small towns and red lights Who knows but we made Baie Comeaux and we were both beat. Energy drinks and coffee, that`s what was needed before heading north up the Trans Lab http://64.136.20.22/2816915_l.JPG And finally what we came for. The first 200 km's of the Trans Lab is paved sadly...BUT it is some seriously fun twisty roads. A great ride from the beginning to the Manic 5 dam where the gravel begins http://64.136.20.22/2816939_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816940_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2816941_m.JPG Manic Two dam. This is where the other guys had camped the night before. Our goal was to make Lab City today and potentially catch up to them. The sun was shining and we were making good time, enjoying the scenery and really enjoying leaning the bikes over. Very little traffic and 200 km's of twisty roads. http://64.136.20.22/2816942_l.JPG The land of electricity. The reason for most of these northern roads http://64.136.20.22/2816943_l.JPG Starting to feel like your getting somewhere when you see these signs http://64.136.20.22/2820286_l.jpg Made it to Manic Five dam around 5 pm and decided to call it a day. Rain was just around the corner and the temps began to drop. 300+ km's of gravel just wasn't on the plate for the evening, heck this is supposed to be a vacation. Asked the lady at the pump where the camp ground was and she pointed to a field Then she says for an extra 20 bucks each we could have a room Room it was, hot shower and some good eats. http://64.136.20.22/2820287_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820288_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820289_l.jpg I decided to take the sheepskin of the bike to keep it dry. Well...the key broke in half in the lock My spare key is twisted on a 45 degree angle and barely fits into the ignition and the key is butter soft, no biggy except i need to take it out to open both of the gas tanks every time I'll need fuel. What are the chances of this key not breaking ? Really? ANother dam issue to worry about. Can a locksmith even copy a key that's this bent out of shape..... |
Woke up to rain We knew it was coming and here it is. Ah well, less dust right. Today the gravel starts...finally I've been looking forward to this road for a few years now, seems like every year they were saying that this is the year the road gets completed, well 2010 and it's finished.
Just around the corner from our motel is the Manic 5 dam. It's BIG http://64.136.20.22/2820290_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820303_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820302_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820304_l.jpg It always seems odd to be in the middle of nowhere and then to see something man made. Mines or dams.....the scale of these operations in the north country always blows me away. Hit the road and it wasn't dissapointing. Fast and fun. The rain would come and go. One valley would be dry then the next one would be hammering rain. Every time you'd come over a rise you'd be crossing your fingers. http://64.136.20.22/2820305_l.jpg The shoulders were VERY soft. Almost got caught a few times hugging the inside corners of some turns. Took a while to break the habit. http://64.136.20.22/2820306_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820307_l.jpg About 50 km's in I had a HUGE pucker moment. Coming down into one of the dips (valleys) I just about went down at speed. The sand builds up deep in the dips. The water then turns the sand into very thick concrete like stuff. The bars got yanked left and right a few times before finally getting stuck at the stop on the right side while the bike kept going straight, front wheel plowing through the stuff. I had to stop and let the old ticker slow down. http://64.136.20.22/2820308_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820310_l.jpg Approximately a 100 km's from manic 5 is a middle of nowhere gas station. We stopped to fill up and have a quick coffee. Spirits were high, we'd learned to slow down in the "dips" and Dan had himself a religious moment. He cranked his new to him steering dampner up and was nothing but grins. I NEED to get one of those. He'd just straight track right through the stuff that was trying to rip the bars from my hands, I was very jealous. http://64.136.20.22/2820311_l.jpg Filled up, helmets on and ready to go. Turn my key, everything lights up, hit the start button and hear a whiz, pop, whiz, zap then everything goes dark. WTF !. Turn the key again and nothing. Wave Dan down and explain I'll need his tools as mine are "locked" away under my seat with a broken key stuff in the lock. I take the skidplate off and get access to the battery (please keep in mind this is in the rain, lieing in the mud ). Tighten up the terminal post nuts and a few other odd's and end's. Reach up, turn the key and everything lights up, yehaa, something must of been loose. So we repack the bikes, get geared up, high five and jump on the bikes to leave. Turn the key, everything normal, hit the start button and whiz, pop, whiz, zap again. ARG! take off gear, remove gear, get Dan's tools, remove skid plate, get acess to the battery and sit and stare....hmmmmm.....I'm no electrician and I'm not really sure what to do. My gps is hard wired to the battery, it's the only electrical item not being run through the bikes charging system. Remove the battery leads and gps wires and the bike starts right up. I suspect a wire got rubbed one too many times and was exposed and coming into contact with something metal somewhere. Who cares, bike is back up and running. Bit of a pisser as I was hopeing to make a nice gpx file for the route but that can be done after the fact I suppose. When the weather gets better I'll take a few hours and try to properly find the issue and rewire the gps. Back on the road. The weather was adding a cool factor to this part of thre road. The clouds were hanging down real low. As you'd cross a "mountain" you'd be up in the clouds, coming down the other side you'd either break free from the clouds or have a valley that was pissing rain. http://64.136.20.22/2820312_l.jpg Quick rest stops in area's where it wasn't raining. Drying gloves off One more advantage to an uncorked exhaust. http://64.136.20.22/2820313_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820314_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820315_l.jpg Out in the middle of nowhere we were surprised to find a beauty of a stretch of smooth pavement. Normally I'd be dissappointed but in today's rain it was a nice welcome relief. If memory serves it was about 80+ km's long. The sun even came out at one point, weird weather. http://64.136.20.22/2820316_l.jpg The section after the pavement leading to Labrador City was a fun ride. The road criss crosses the railroad tracks and the road was FUN. Up, down and side to side. http://64.136.20.22/2820317_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820318_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820319_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820320_l.jpg And we made it, finally out of Quebec and into the province of Labrador. A first for me and Dan. There's always something exciting about getting somewhere new. http://64.136.20.22/2820323_l.jpg A classic :victory: http://64.136.20.22/2820322_l.jpg |
Rolled into Lab City and fueled up the bikes and went searching for somewhere to have lunch. Somewhere with real food, you know the type, something hearty and healthy, fuel for the body type of food.
http://64.136.20.22/2820324_l.jpg After a couple of quick cell phone calls to our families and friends we hit the road again. On a side note, only Bell phones work in Labrador, Newfoundland and northern Quebec. Fido, Rogers, etc get zero coverage. The ride from Lab City to Churchill Falls is approximately 300 km's. The 50 km's outside of Lab City are paved and the rest was a nice fast and fun gravel section. We made short work of this section, really flying along, foot out around the corners type of riding. I had a blast The rain was intemittant and the low clouds and fog made the scenery kind of spooky. http://64.136.20.22/2820325_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820326_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820327_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820328_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820329_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820330_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820331_l.jpg We were to meet the rest of the group at the gas station in town at 6 pm. We were half an hour early and went and explored the town. No offence meant but Churchill Falls is ****. Compared to Lab City with it's clean look and facilities Churchill has nothing. One crappy gas station, one over priced hotel, one bar that was empty, etc This town only exists to house people who work on the hydro facility. If you have the choice stay in Lab City or Goose Bay and only use this as a gas stop. Anyways.......we waited and the guys didnt show up, it started raining hard so we checked into the local hotel and looked forward to a warm meal and a couple of cold beers. The restaurant doesn't sell alcohol SO a hot meal and wet ride down to the gas staion for a six pack and we retired to our room. Got an email from the other guys saying they were making real slow progress and had pushed on to Goose Bay. no worries we'll catchup tomorrow sometime. http://64.136.20.22/2820338_l.jpg The gas station runs an accomodation business. 88$ for an apartment, beds for two but you can crowd in and the rate stays the same. Maybe a good option for larger groups? http://64.136.20.22/2820341_l.jpg We drove around in the rain but couldn't find thids place but might be worth looking into if you plan on spending a night here. No campgrounds in town but you can camp out on the church grounds. Didn't look appealing to us in the pouring rain though. http://64.136.20.22/2820340_l.jpg Well that finishes off day four of this ride. Roads were fun and demanded concentration. Scenery was excellent and all in all we had a great day, made good mileage and had a few good laughs and a few moments of frustration as well. |
Woke up early the next morning and eager to hit the roads. The rain was still coming down with moments of only drizzle and fog. Stopped by the gas station and filled up my aux fuel solution. I had a 10 liter Dromedary bag with me. The next stretch was to Goose Bay and was approximately 300 km's. We were hoping to get there by 11, have a Tim's lunch then push on down the new section of road. Plans never work do they
Today we had planned to ride a gravel road up to the top of the Smallwood Resorvoir (280 km return) and see how far north we could get up some atv trails we had heard about. I was a bit bummed the guys hadn't waited for us in Churchill, but on the other hand given the weather, atv trails would probably not of been a good idea in the middle of nowhere with loaded bikes. Dan and I discussed why they wouldn't have stopped. At first I was a bit pissed off, heck we'd just busted our butts to make the meeting time, stood around in the rain for an hour waiting and all that crap. After a warm shower, hot food and a cold beer the frustration had disappeared. Maybe they are really struggelling with the road conditions and or weather. Better safe than sorry I suppose, if they were having a hard time with the main road (TLH) perhaps a day of backroad exploration wouldn't be a wise choice. I tried to put myself into their shoes and came to the understanding that they most have known we would be disappointed but thought it was still the better choice to push on and try to make the ferry in Blanc Sablon. Turns out they did make the good choice. So dan and I headed off down the TLH hoping to make quick work of this section and both mumbeling about the Tim's that is three hours away. Well after about 70 km's I catch up to Dan and he is coasting and hitting the start button on his bike, clutch in. He comes to a stop and I ask what's going on. He shrugs......I can tell he looks pissed off and grumpy...hmmm.... http://64.136.20.22/2820342_l.jpg We try to start his bike but it won't catch, well it does once, idels real low then stalls. I notice dan was driving with his choke part way on. Hmmmm...does this mean it would have flooded or ? Well we decide it's flooded, so what to do? We try the regular approach to a flooded bike, twist throttle hit starter for a few seconds, then release throttle and let it turn over until it catches. Well it doesn't catch. We should pull the plugs to see if they are fowled. Dan has a spark plug wrench (CJ Designs I believe) but we don't have a socket wrench to fit it We try using vise grips and other odd contraptions to get it to work but no go. A few more tries of the start button and the battery fails. Cables? nope So we wait, and wait and wait. A nice drizzle to keep us company. Black flies are out in full force and they seem very pissed off. Not much traffic at this time of the day. We take turns flagging down the vechicles as they pass asking for a boost, no one has cable or won't admit they have cables. One dude in a truck says "ya but they are buried in the back and it would be an inconvience to get them" and burns off leaving us in a spray of gravel I'm not sure how long we sat there for, a couple of hours at least. I spent alot of that time with my jacket pulled up over my head, lieing in the ditch and waiting. I must have left an ear exposed at one point because it got bitten to heck. Swelled right up nice and puffy. Black flies EVERYWHERE, in your ears, nose, etc. I will NEVER live somewhere with blackflies like this.....EVER! Finally an older guy pulls over and says he doesn't have cables but can help us out. Says he will be back in a bit and takes off up the road. About 20 minutes later he shows up, with no cables....BUT says he told his mechanic to come see us with his tool truck The guy must have been a big wig on the road crew to have pulled that off. I forgot his name but cheers to you man The tool guy shows up and we discuss what's been happening. He let's us use his tools and we get the spark plug off and were very surprised to see it was bone dry. WTF not what we were expecting to see. Hmmm....so starved of fuel. We charge the battery and turn the key, hold on I didn't hear the fuel pump pressurizing. Sweet! Dan has a spare fuel pump he got for free from someone on the web just for such an occassion. Hells Bells baby we're back in business http://64.136.20.22/2820344_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820343_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820346_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820345_l.jpg Me...sick of the black flies and tired out and we have barely gotten going. http://64.136.20.22/2820356_l.jpg I had a nice chat with the mechanic. 35 years old and having a tough go of life. He's from Newfoundland and says there isnt much work there. Alot of his buddies went of to work in the oil patches in Alberta and all but one came home broke and with a mean drug habit, he says he'd rather live on welfare than go that route. I can't blame him. Keep in mind this fellow is a master mechanic, licensed and all that other stuff. He works 28 days on, 6 days off. They charge an arm and a leg for him to share a trailer with a bunch of other road crew guys. no tv, no staellite reception, no phones, etc He's married and has a kid and doesn't get to keep in touch for a month at a time. They work 16 hours a day for 6 days a week. Sunday is a rest day, you only work an 8 hour shift. CRAZY His take home pay is just under a 1000 bucks a week. He tell's me his wife told him just before leaving for this "tour of duty" that she is leaving him and taking the kid. Imagine that brewing in your head for 28 days. I guess the fellows that don't work and sit around on welfare scoop up the other guys wives while they are away. My freaking heart was going out to this guy....BIG TIME. Through all that he was happy and chiper. He wasn't complaining just telling me the way it is up there. The guy even gave us a few tools fwe might need from his truck....solid guy indeed. Dan gave him a bit of green backs to have a pint or twenty that night and we bid him bon voyage and hit the road again. http://64.136.20.22/2820358_l.jpg And it started to rain...big time rain..cold rain driving in sheets. It had been raining for some time but not like this. The kind of rain that soaks threw any type of rain gear in seconds. Bummer I don't have alot of photo's from the rest of the day but I'll do my best to tell the tale. The rest of the ride to Goose Bay went by fast, no lolly gagging, just riding hard with next to no visibility at times. It's hard to enjoy yourself when the weather is like this. The road was in decent shape, a bit muddy at times but nothing that really slowed us down. When we got to the pavement stretch near Goose Bay you could feel your spirits rise. We hadn't ate breakfast and left at 6:45 am. We thought we'd be at a Tim's within a few hours and had decided to hold tough. SO when the pavement came I gave her some good throttle, yehaa...warmth and coffee on the horizon The speed limit dropped from 80 km/h to 50 all of a sudden and sure enough there's a police car coming the other way. We make eye contact...damn.....what to do, a quick look shows I'm doing about 130 km/h in a 50 zone.....hmmm.....hmmm...crack the throttle and let him hear the roar from my exhaust. Bold choice, quick decsision. Play dumb and say I didn't see him if he spins her around or he'll just say screw that I'm not chasing this guy. Yehaa he didn't chase........but....Dan is behind me...sorry Dan What was I to do, turn around and pass him to get to you to warn you? No sir. So on I pushed into town and found the Tim's. It was 3 in the afternoon. Instead of three hours it took us over 8 hours to get here, no food, no coffee. Soaking wet and very cold I stripped down and order lunch. Half an hour later dan shows up......again sorry Dan. Yes he got a big ticket, the cop informed him half of it was for "your buddy on the white bike". Dan happy? NOPE |
The obligatory sign coming into Happy Valley
http://64.136.20.22/2820359_l.jpg Rain rain and more rain http://64.136.20.22/2820360_l.jpg SO me and Dan have a serious non fun chat. Our ferry leaves the next day at 3pm, we need to be there by 2pm at the latest. If we stay in Goose Bay for the night there is no way we'll make it tomorrow. Not the end of the world but it means we won't catch up to the other guys and Pelvis was to join us for a week of riding around NFLD. I can't do that to him, we'd both been quite excitied about the trip and we'd had many garage beer nights talking and planning the trip together. So the only we'd make it would be to push on and do at least half of the new section of road in order to have a fighting chance of making the ferry. It was raining VERY hard and it was very cold. Dan wanted to stay in Goose bay and I wanted to push on. a wee bit of tension between friends So we came to an agreement, we'd push on and do the new section of road (about 400 km's) and not stop until we came to a motel. No way did Dan want to camp in the rain in the middle of nowhere and I kind of agreed with him. We'd had a long day already and both wanted a warm shower and a hot meal. So at 4 pm we left Tim's and headed to get fuel. Filled the bikes and my aux fuel bladder and made our way out of town and found the new road. |
The new section.......
It was in great shape, fast and smooth for the most part. There is a bridge that is worth mention ing shortly after beginning. One of those metal grated surfaces that makes the bike a challenge to keep going straight. We came across the section that was still under construction, about 18 km's long. It was in rough shape, very muddy. 1st and 2nd gear type of terrain. After this we started making good time again. A quick stop to fill up my fuel tanks and we were off again. The more it rained the bigger the potholes became. Some were about 6 feet across and the depth varied. Due to the muddy water you couldn't tell if they were 2 inches deep or 18 inches deep. As we were racing along up on the pegs the deeper potholes would rip your legs right off the pegs. A few pucker moments indeed. All in all the new section is in good shape, had it not been so slick from the rain it would have been a nice ride. My fuel light came on.....well we must be almost there. I get about 40 km's out of reserve on my bike, I know I've run it dry before (another story for another time ). After 10 km's of being on reserver I see a sign post that says 94 km's to Port Hope Simpson. I stop and wait for Dan. He asks what's up and I relay the sad info, I'm not going to make it. Dan says his fuel light has been on for the last dozen km's as well. Dan "guesses" that his will go longer due to the shape of gas tanks which are aftermarket and says he has 2 liters of spare fuel on board. With no choice in the matter this becomes the plan. I'll ride until I run out, Dan will continue on and IF he makes it to town and IF the gas station is still open he'll come back and bring me gas. This will mean a couple of hours sitting on the side of the road wondering if he'll come back. Did I mention it was cold? Dan was getting concerned for me. He has a heated vest and grips where as I have notta. I was wet right threw and freezing. My lower lip started to go blue, my teeth were chatterring and I couldn't use my fingers anymore. Dan had to do my zippers up on my coat as I couldn't make a fist anymore. I was using only palms on the grips as I couldn't get my fingers to bend anymore. "**** Dan this isn't looking good". When I run out I'll quickly setup my tent on the road and get my cook stove out and try to warm up the inside. I have one change of dry clothes left and my sleeping bag should be dry. So off we headed, it was starting to get dark. Why did our bikes get such crappy fuel mileage I can only guess. We knew fuel was going to be an issue but our math showed we would have some to spare. Other than the construction zone I had been keeping the bike in the bottom of 6th gear the entire way, low on the revs trying to limit my fuel consumption. This meant riding pretty darned fast around corners in the mud with bad vsisbility. I think maybe all the potholes and loose mud created drag, also the front/side wind that was gusting played a major role as well. I think you can imagine what was going on in my helmet. It wasn't pretty at all I rode, crouched down behind the windsheild staring at my odometer. I saw Dan run out behind me along the way and thought "crap no way is 2 liters going to get him the rest of the way". My bike just kept going and going. Doing the math every 30 seconds in my head trying to keep my frozen brain concentrating on how far I was from town. I saw 85 km's on my odo, 85 km's on reserve ! I may just make it ! Now I am not a religious man, more of a Darwin fellow but I prayed to God. First time in my life outside of funerals. "Come on buddy, I don't ask much, 5 more km's is all I need" kind of a prayer. No sooner had I said amen then I ran out of gas. Lights out, almost dark, hadn't seen a car in a long time and don't suspect I will until morning. Dan is somewhere behind me probably out of gas as well. SON OF A B&TCH, you've got to be kidding me. How far to town? 5-8 km's based on my math. 2 hour hike in mx boots in the dark and freezing cold. Do it or set up camp? By this time it is dark and I am very, very cold. Body going into shivering spasms, will my fingers even work to setup my tent? What if it's longer than 8km's to town? Setting up the tent means doing it right on the road as the ditches are 20 feet deep... The new section.....did I mention it was a bit SLICK http://lh5.ggpht.com/_sXoEJexBHJE/TF...0/P7260059.JPG |
Well I'd decided to setup camp. I was simply to cold and tired to push on. No sooner had I came to this choice when all of a sudden I see headlights coming from the North. Hell I hadn't even see a road back there. This real nice fellow drives up in a truck and says he saw my headlight go out and thought I'd maybe had an accident. I asked if I could siphon a liter of gas from his truck and he says he can do one better, he has a gerry can with 4 liters in it.
Yehaa! I put a liter in my bike and explain that Dan is back behind me somewhere. No worries he says. As he's heading back to give Dan some gas Dan's headlight comes around the bend. Unbelievable ! After getting such crappy gas mileage both our bikes go the distance on the last couple of liters. An honest offer to buy this guy beers at the hotel later that night and we're off. One more turn in the road and voila ! The lights of Port Hope Simpson across the bridge at the bottom of the small hill. I can't believe I was going to camp a 15 minute walk away from town. Damn were we stoked. High fives and loud cheers !!! Got to the hotel and the lady says she is full but to hang tight for a minute. A few minutes and Pelvis comes out of the restaurant. Hells bells baby we're warm and food and beers are only minutes away :) The small hotel was full so I threw my thermarest of Pelvis's floor, spread my gear out to dry, got changed and hit the bar. Damn fun night. Got to meet the guys I had barely met and in Martin's case had never met. Did a bit of bench racing, had some average at best food that went down as if it was fine cuisine. Beers and whiskeys and beers and more whiskeys until only Pelvis and I were left. Eventually they got sick of us and closed the bar. Pelvis is a tequila guy and I'd brought a special bottle just for this occasion. A friend brought the bottle to me from his home town in Mexico. It did not dissappoint ! Thanks Huey ! A bit of background. Pelvis is on a personnel quest...to get drunk in every province and territory in Canada. Seriously. He's even flown into Nunavut with a case of beer for a day. Well, Labrador was the second one left and I feel we didn't disappoint :). Late night doing shots until it was empty and then I passed out with a big warm smile on my face....or something along those lines I think ;) Woke up the next morning and had the first relaxed start of the trip. Breakfast, repack all my gear now that it has dried out, even lounged around drinking coffee. The hotel in Port Hope Simpson is...well.....really....a bunch of portable's strung together. Warm and dry ? Yes Cheap? Nope http://64.136.20.22/2820361_l.jpg I think some of us were feeling a bit groggy this morning Pelvis.... http://64.136.20.22/2820368_l.jpg Chris, eager and keen as always http://64.136.20.22/2820369_l.jpg Martin...if I was a betting man I'd say he was looking forward to the end of the gravel http://64.136.20.22/2820370_l.jpg A look in the daylight at the hotel. It looked like paradise the night before http://64.136.20.22/2820362_l.jpg Had a look at the damage the beemer bike's had occured. Scratched, dented and broken but still rolling along Now....I am not sure how to even approach this subject without offending anyone. The folks of Labrador and Newfoundland (from what little I saw and I hate to generalize but this needs to be said) are some of the kindest and most friendly people I have ever met while travelling. Real salt of the earth type of folks. BUT.......a percentage of them have what I can only describe as "The East Coast Glaze". I sincerely am not trying to be rude or to offend anyone but it seems like a small percentage of folks out this way have a "far away" look in their eye. The staff at this hotel seem to have this unique characteristic. Like when they put a menu in fornt of you then just stare off into outer space for...well forever until you snap your fingers and get their attention. Something in the water? Not enough gene's in the pool ? This seems to only affect a small percentage of the population from what I saw but it seems to come in clusters. Go and have dinner and a night's stay in Port Hope Simpson and you'll see what I mean, it's kind of spooky, like a weird sci fi movie or something Stephen King would better describe in one of his books. On the ferry, on the rock, heck even in Nova Scotia we encountered these clusters of folks. Again, not trying to offend just felt it needed to be said. The majority seemed like real quick, smart everyday folk. Perhaps someone local to the area could add some input here? was it just us who noticed this? Is it a real issue and just never spoken of? Were we dreaming...was it too many miles in the cold rain that messed up our heads and we were the odd ones? __________________ |
We all fueled up and hit the road. First day in a while that it wasn't raining Still damp and misty but not raining.
http://64.136.20.22/2820371_l.jpg It was good to finally be riding with everyone. No more rushing to catch up, no more dakar rally speeds, just cruising and enjoying the vista's. This section of the road was my favourite, I suppose I'm biased based on the weather and whatnot but finally the tree's started to dissappear and the views were what I was hoping for. Very rugged terrain, rocky and windy. Really felt "out there" and "up north". http://64.136.20.22/2820374_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820384_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820385_l.jpg Renaud packing everything but the kitchen sink http://64.136.20.22/2820386_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820388_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820389_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820397_l.jpg The winds REALLy picked up for a stretch. A strong cross wind only added to the feeling of being out there. It was quite strong and from other ride reports I've read of the TLH this wasn't unique for us to encounter. http://64.136.20.22/2820399_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820400_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820401_l.jpg Don't buy whatever gloves Pelvis had http://64.136.20.22/2820403_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820408_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820409_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820411_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820412_l.jpg Yehaa First view of the Atlantic Ocean. Mixed feeling for me, excited to get to the coast but a bit bummed that the gravel was going to be over. http://64.136.20.22/2820414_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2820415_l.jpg |
So we got to the end of the gravel. My bike had been making a heck of a rattle for the last hour or so When we got to the small town where the ashpalt starts I got off to have a look. My exhaust pipe had cracked right through just where it comes out of the rear cyclinder. This was causing the bike to run bad, overheat and casuing a heck of a noise. Renauld had a few o clamps and I was going to get a soda can and rig something up, no worries. Then a local tells us what time it is...**** we forgot about the time change. We now barely have enough time to catch the ferry. Given my bikes condition I take off for the ferry leaving the other fellows changing brake pads on one of the GS's.
The asphalt ride to Blanc Sablon was great. Nice road, fun twists and excellent scenery. The small fishing villages are fantastic, right out of a post card. http://64.136.20.22/2820416_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2825747_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825748_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825749_l.JPG I did not realize that we would be entering Quebec again along this road. Of course I could have guessed a town called Blanc Sablon was french. http://64.136.20.22/2825750_l.JPG Now I also did not realize how small of a town Blanc Sablon was going to be. For some reason I just assumed it was a small city. Ferry and how many times the name had been spoken due to it being the last stop in what we thought would be Labrador. Blanc Sablon is wee, not much there if you were thinking along the same lines as us. http://64.136.20.22/2825751_l.JPG In the backtground is downtown Blanc Sablon in the above photo We got to the ferry, checked in and got in line. Worth noting is that you don't really need reservations for this ferry. The lady at the counter told me they would never leave a bike behind I like that attitude. Driving a truck? make a reservation ! Blanc Sablon doesnt look like the nicest spot to get stuck in, beauty scenery for sure just not much else to do. http://64.136.20.22/2825752_l.JPG So..................... Not exactly sure what took place here. Dan was trying to get his rain pants off, a nice stranger saw him struggeling and offered to help. http://64.136.20.22/2825759_l.JPG So............................ somehow they ended up in this position. As everyone was staring I blurted out (yes I have no control over my tongue)..."Hey Dan, bet you didn't think you'd find love in Labrador". Renaud spit his drink out, Dan's face went red, the stranger looked..well...shocked and embarassed...and me...I had water rolling out of my eye's I was laughing so hard. At this point I hear someone ask how it tasted and this just set me off laughing again. Man if the stranger is watching I am truely sorry to have such a laugh at your expense, but damn was it funny. Dan.....what the hell was going on? http://64.136.20.22/2825753_l.JPG Got on the small ferry (it's about a 1.5 hour ride) and tied down our bikes (they provide straps). http://64.136.20.22/2825756_l.JPG Had a walk about deck as we took off. If I couldnt ride bikes I'd ride boats, I love being out on the water. http://64.136.20.22/2825761_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825760_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825763_l.JPG Met this fellow from the Toronto area (forgot your name, sorry). He was riding a vstrom and had also just finished the TLH. He was two days ahead of us and said he had percet weather, nice and sunny and dusty. He'd said he did the museum and stay in red bay and mentioned it was great. We'd met before at a few riding events in Ontario. Cheers, see ya next time, small world http://64.136.20.22/2825762_l.JPG |
So.....a hard decision was made. I decided on the ferry to end this trip short and head home. This was not an easy choice for me by any means. A few factors lead to me to this choice. The surgery I was recovering from was acting up and the idea of being "out here" and having it kick in again and needing a specialist scared the crap out of me My bike was running like crap and needed work. My budget for the trip was blown to hell because of hotel sleeps instead of camping (no regrets I hate camping in the rain when a hotel in nearby) and bike repairs, I was catching a cold (runny nose and sore throat) and this was not a good thing for a recovery from said surgery, we had done the TLH and that was one of three ticks for the trip and the only tick for most of the fellows, the weather forecast showed one good day then another week of rain on the island, my wife is trying to get her business up and running and I promised I'd have the construction phase done for her but left before completing it (yes she was pissed), I have alot of trips left to come and the extra bucks not spent could go towards this, next year SkiBum69 will have the Newfoundland section done and I'll come back and ride it with him.
So a hard choice was made, not one I was proud to announce but one I felt needed to be made. __________________ After getting off the ferry pelvis and myself headed south to deal with the ferry situation while everyone else headed north to the viking museum. Having a photo of a viking on my bike (ya not a real one but hey) was one of the ticks I wanted on this trip. I'm a geek at heart and love anything to do with swords and medeval times Pelvis had no more rear brakes and was scraping rotot and I believe he felt he'd had a good trip and was willing to join me for the drive home...thanks Pelvis Would have been a long drive home by myself. We had been hearing rumours of how crazy bad the ferry situation was. Four of the guys had made reservations for two days later leaving from Port Aux Basques but we (Dan, Pelvis and myself) hadn't as we figured we would do it once we got to the island and looked at the weather, the calendar and how we were feeling. So we called the ferry terminal and were informed the next opening was 3 weeks away Jeepers this just won't do. We chatted with a few other bikers at some gas stations and they were telling us tales of people waiting in line for 9 days on standby Jeepers this won't do either. The newspapers were telling how the next day the local trucking companies planned on blockading the ferry terminals so no one could get a ferry As I understand it a broken down boat and bad weather had screwed uo the schedule big time. Also a coouple of big trucking companies booked every available commercail spot on every ferry for the summer and then would cancel at the last minute if one of their trucks wasn't going to be on it, this was really screwing the small trucking companies over. In years past it used to be a first come first serve...but the government in all their wisdom implemented this new reservation system and it sure didn't seem to be working out. So without many choices we headed south down the island and figured we would see what we could do. The drive down the highway was absolutely gorgeous. Breaking waves on our right as the sun set over the water horizon, nice granite looking rock faces on our left, very little traffic and a very smooth road with some nice bends. Picture perfect. http://64.136.20.22/2825764_l.JPG We spent the night in a small town called Rocky Harbour which is tucked into the bay on the left of the above photo. I needed to get on the web and see what I could do about the ferry situation. Nice hotel, good food, cold beers (yes this was Pelvis's last province/territory to complete his list, CONGRATS on fullfilling your dreams Pelvis ) and the lady at the concierge let me use her computer. We tried phoning the ferries but a message simply said we are too busy, try another day please...WTF ! I logged into their site and was greeted with all red x's showing every ferry was full except for tomorrow at 6pm...well I quickly picked two people and a motorbike, then i realized that meant they would think two people on one bike, I added this to the shopping cart and went back to add another bike/person but the ferry now showed full. Screw it I went to the shopping cart and hit buy, the price dropped and the bike was removed. Screw it I hit pay and got a reservation for 2 passenegers with no vechicle. Went back to the site and it now showed that ferry as full and no other ferries as having a spot open (even for passenegers for the next 2 weeks). So good/not good news. The plan.......SMILE...it's hard to get mad or deny people with big grins Woke up the next morning and had a great drive down the rest of the island. Have I raved enough yet about how beautiful NFLD is? Heck they even brag about how clean their washrooms are at gas stations http://64.136.20.22/2825765_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825766_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825768_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825769_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825767_l.JPG We stopped off the highway to get gas in this small town. The local kids all showing off doing wheelies, etc The lady at the pumps says "you must be roasting".....I still had the liner for my coat on, windy and about 15 degrees celcius...she informs me it was the warmest day so far this year Coming to NFLD, bring warm clothes, summer is a relative term http://64.136.20.22/2825774_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825773_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825772_l.JPG While driving down the road I spot this guy in the middle of nowhere and spin her around to have a chat. http://64.136.20.22/2825771_l.JPG Meet Joe. Joe has been walking for a year and a half. He left Victoria BC in the fall of 2008. A real cool guy and he had made a real neat rig. Perfectly balanced, nice sun/rain cover etc. Joe only plans one day at a time and if it rains he stays put. Wow what a difference than the last week of my life. I was very envious of him at this point. Real interesting fellow to say the least, if you see Joe, stop and say gidday Of course I had to take his rig for a spin http://64.136.20.22/2825770_l.JPG When we got to Port Aux basques we headed straight for the ferry and got in line to get our tickets. Now.....Pelvis isn't always the most smiley guy I re-enforced to him to just keep grinning. We got to the front of the line and played dumb with the sweet gal. "But I picked two motorbikes on the drop down", "well then I'll just pay the difference", "well no worries we'll wait and get the next boat". Boat full, no way, next one, full no way, etc She says hold on I'll get my manager, this grouch of a lady comes up (yes I understand these people have been yelled at all day everyday by pissed off people but seriously that isn't my issue is it, cheer up my taxes are paying your salary ) and says right out of the gate, no way no chance in fact I don't even want to see those bikes cross this line. ARG..."keep smiling Pelvis". The sweet heart in the ticket booth leans out and says "Just drive, ignore her when she screams and drive right by the food and immgration people, DO NOT stop. There is a building down on the left where people can complain. I'll phone ahead and tell them you are coming." Smiling worked. A quick thanks and vroom. "Hey, stop those bikes" Vroom When we get to the complaints department you can tell people are pissed off and have been waiting a LONG time. "keep smiling Pelvis". This over the top gay fellow seems to be in charge and is telling his employee to keep telling people the boats are full, nothing they can do about it. He looks up and down the line up and spots me and Pelvis smiling like idiots (the only people smiling in the whole place), leans over to the young girl and says something, she replies "Susie from up front called and said these two would be coming here". Well he looks us up and down, winks and rolls his eye's in that gay I'm checking you out manner So without breaking the smile off my face I wink back.....wow shivers up and down my spine, I can hear pelvis freaking out behind his perma grin, lol The fellow tells the yound lady that me and Pelvis will be getting on the next boat and winks as he walks away Hells bells baby, we're on. Not only that but he gives us a cabin with two beds, a tv and a private bathroom |
We had a few hours to kill so we drove back into town and hit up a Canadian Tire to do a "get home job" on my exhaust.
The break http://64.136.20.22/2825777_l.JPG The tools http://64.136.20.22/2825776_l.JPG The after http://64.136.20.22/2825778_l.JPG While doing this Pelvis notices my chain guard is all bent up and inside the spokes of my rear wheel. Well that explains some of the rough running behaviour my bike has been having for the last 20 minutes. I cut out the chain guard and WOW is my chain loose. I had tightened it a few times during this trip and prior to leaving and wasn't having any issues. When they start to go they go fast I could almost remove the chain from the sprocket by hand. We tried getting a longer bolt to replace the tightening bolt, contemplated placing a nut between the bolt and plate but in the end none of these solutions would work for a 2000 kilometer ride back home. Screw it let's have a coldy and some food and just get on the boat, we'll deal with it on the main land. You can see in this photo where the chain was slapping. Rubbing through the mudguard and getting dangerously close to the rear wheel. Also started rubbing on the spring of my rear suspension. http://64.136.20.22/2825799_l.JPG A quick burger and beer in town then off to the ferry. I sincerly felt bad for the guys on bikes who were in the standby lane. They didn't get on this ferry, god knows how long they ended up waiting in that parking lot. Tieing down the bikes (they provide tie downs) http://64.136.20.22/2825780_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825781_l.JPG A great boat, hit the bar up before heading down to crash in the cabin and watch some tube. http://64.136.20.22/2825786_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825790_l.JPG Adios NFLD, I WILL BE BACK http://64.136.20.22/2825787_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825788_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825789_l.JPG Got a last minute room in Nova SCotia as our ferry came in at something like 2am. Luckily it was less than a mile or so from the ferry. Chain was bouncing all over the place. Crashed for the rest of the night and got on the phone first thing in the morning to see what I could do aboout getting some parts. Well, I could get a new chain delivered in 3 days. My back sprocket looked like it would make the ride home but the front was in rough shape. Past point, past hooking, starting to crack from the loose chain jumping I assume. So stay in Nova Scotia and visit a friends friends who was willing to come pick us up, buy a 380 dollar chain and wreck it on the drive home on the worn sprockets OR get Uhaul and get the hell out of here? http://64.136.20.22/2825801_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825802_l.JPG Sure enough the minute we head out it starts pouring rain and winds of up to 90 km/h the radio was saying. I'm not a big cage fan but damn the heat and windsheild wipers were real nice Not much else to say, am 18 hour drive home without anything to write about. It was real nice to get home and start planning the next trip Two more weeks and I head out with some guys to do a section of route we've planned heading to northern Ontario. Time to order some parts and give the beast some serious tlc http://64.136.20.22/2825803_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2825804_l.JPG |
And what happened to the other guys? Dan spent a week in Newfoundland, went through 6 more fuel pumps (jerry rigging snowmobile pumps onto the bike and vapour locking the cyclinfer;s everytime he stopped and forgot to turn of the fule lines), got rained on alot but generally had himself a good time by the sounds of things. The other guys went north up the island to check out the viking museum, spent a night in gros Morne park camping then headed home uneventfully.
All in all it was a great trip. Has the weather of been nicer the Trans Labrador would have been fun and dusty. But this is the way the cards played out...you dont always get to pick the weather when your on a trip. We made the best of it and in the end we all felt a certain sense of accomplishment which was great. So that's the Labraodr section of the route. One lllooonnnggg road. I think it's about 2300 km's long of which about 1700 of it being gravel. A very cool place in the world for overland travelling in my opinion. Lot's of wilderness, some nice scenery, great people to meet along the way, etc I need to get back to work now but I'll post up another province soon beerchug |
Some information about the TCAT (Trans Canadian Adventure Trail).
The main route is designed for larger bikes loaded with gear. It is primarily made up of gravel roads and some easy double track. In total it looks as if it will be somewhere around 15, 000 kilometers long and will cross 7 provinces. Rain forests, mountains, grass lands, prairies, forests, tundra, etc The geography changes and so do the different cultures, languages, etc The GPS files will be distributed at no charge from our web site once the project is completed. In total we have 9 people working on the route. Without their help this project would not be feasible...THANKS! A guidebook, maps, DVD, decals, etc will be sold for a modest price. We hope to make enough money to cover the costs of setting up the website and ongoing costs to maintain it. Along with the TCAT we are also hard at work on a couple of other routes...but this thread is about the TCAT. ALong the route there are several optional tracks. We've labelled them as Technical Sections. A grading scale will be done and each optional section will be given a grade and explaination as to what can be expected. SOme are easy, a few are challenging...but all are "doable" :thumbup1: If you see wtaer crossings, mud holes, etc you can be rest assured they are on one the technical sections. Originally the route was going to be a bit more hardcore, but based on opinions over the last year from various forums we decided to make the technical terrain optional and created the main route to avoid that thype of stuff. Alot of these posts were written prior to making that choice. Currently we are about two years into this project and expect to finished in a year and a half. We have been having a blast creating the route, meeting new people, seeing new places and riding some fun terrain. I hope everyone enjoys the read, your feedback is welcome. The project has morphed over the years based on feedback from the various forums. All for now Cheers Ted |
Here comes the Ontario section or what we have completed of it so far. Grab a beer or three...it's a long read.
The route for Ontario begins at the Quebec/Ontario border in the city of Ottawa. Ottawa is a city of approximately 1 million people. The decision to have the route cross a major city was made soley based on we felt folks may need a break from the boonies and also to get access to parts/tools/mechanics, etc by this point in the route. About 50 km's of ashpalt will bring the route out "into the country" and some gravel roads, eventually bringing them into the town of Merrickville, Ontario. Scotch Line coming into the town of Merrickville, Ontario. http://64.136.20.22/2494792_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2494782_l.JPG The route has intended spots to spend the night. Of course this bases the route on a schedule, some folks will find the schedule much to fast and others way to slow. Nothing we can do about that I suppose. The places to spend the night are being choosen based on things like campgrouns,motels, laundry mats, beer stores :), restuarants, grocery stores and so on. Merrickville is a small touristy town and seems to have most of what is required for a nights stay. This is the first installement where the route splits into the main route and the technical route. I'm not going to differentiate between the two in this thread but if something looks a bit too "serious" for your vechicle or skill lvele, know that the section your looking at "may" be on the technical sections. make sense? |
The route takes some gravel roads and a few short jeep trails before ending up in a town called carelton Place, Ontario. A short section of gravel/jeep roads ...
http://64.136.20.22/2137729_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/1728539_l.JPG leads past the town of Almonte and follows a nice double track through the bush http://64.136.20.22/2293290_l.JPG before ending up on this powerline (NOTE:technical section) http://64.136.20.22/2137733_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2671646_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2293285_l.JPG |
Some water crossing are inevitable. Nice on a hot sunny day not so nice when it's cold.
Depending on rain the water levels can change. Use common sense and walk what you can't see, always a good rule on thumb. The two pictures below are the same water crossing, but taken two days apart from each other. One good day of rain can swell the water levels. http://64.136.20.22/2386506_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2082962_l.JPG Good example of too deep .... http://64.136.20.22/2137585_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2137586_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2293273_l.JPG Please remeber not every photo here will be on the route. Some days we got stumped and deadened, some days the terrain just became unsuitable or trails led us in the wrong direction. http://64.136.20.22/2278407_l.JPG I don't want to give the wrong impression...this is the go around or "main route" past the hydro lines http://64.136.20.22/2839653_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2839654_l.JPG Back to the good stuff http://64.136.20.22/2839644_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2839645_l.JPG Flat tires, like taxes and death are inevitable http://64.136.20.22/2839646_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2839649_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2839651_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2839650_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2839637_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2839638_l.JPG Off the hydro line for a stint around some bogs before getting back onto it http://64.136.20.22/2839639_l.JPG http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/a...3/P8280003.jpg http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/a...3/P8280002.jpg More flats ..... http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/a...3/P8280006.jpg |
After a fun morning of hydro lines the route gets back onto some backroads. Now based on the feedback I get from other forums I guess not everyone has sweet backroads like these where they live :victory: These are roads, with houses on them and school buses that pick up kids in the morning. do NOT be surprised to think you are way out there and feeling very hardcore and the voila, a mini van defeating the odds and driving down these "roads" with the kids in the back watching freaking Dora or some other crap on the dvd players. :bike_rider: Laugh now, if you ride this route you WILL run into this situation. It is a bit humbeling to say the least ....
http://64.136.20.22/2742625_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742626_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742631_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742633_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742638_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742641_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742646_l.JPG One more short "technical optional section" http://64.136.20.22/2742650_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742655_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742652_l.JPG Back onto the main route which leads into a town called Ompah, Ontario http://64.136.20.22/2787055_l.JPG Ompah is a recommend night's stay. This day will have been a challenging onwe for folks who take the technical sections. For folks on bikes...you WILL be wet and muddy. There is no one spot that is really stand out difficult, more just a whole lot of it. Ompah has a gas station, a campground, a burger/fry stand and .....hmmm.....did I mention the gas station ?:D |
Just to be clear, one doesnt just look at a map and find a route like the one posted above. ALOT of work went into creating that section...ALOT of fun work
Here's a few more random pics from the first day in Ontario on the route, again not all of the photo's show terrain that made the "cut" http://64.136.20.22/2293259_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2278877_l.JPG http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/a...3/P8280004.jpg |
Some more random pics from the day one in Ontario
http://64.136.20.22/2094346_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2137731_l.JPG So why so many pics from this section? Well it's my backyard so to speak. I wanted this section to be just about perfect and one of the highlights of the route. I hope we accomplished it. Truely it will be a fun day for folks. The main route will not dissapoint either :bike_rider: Did I mention a stock suv would need AT tires ? Same goes for bigger bikes travelling the main route, you WILL need knobby tires. |
A few more random pics from Day One in Ontario section of the route be fore I jump into Day Two of the route for this province.
http://64.136.20.22/2728559_l.jpg This is the K and P railtrail and is a part of the main route. The technical section doesnt utilize this trail but does cross it once. Wherever possible we are trying to have the Main and the Technical routes criss cross each other and stay somewhat close. http://64.136.20.22/2728561_l.jpg Some pics of the backroads on the Main Route http://64.136.20.22/2728577_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2728578_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2728575_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2728579_l.jpg A few pics of some of the sections along the Technical Route http://64.136.20.22/2728572_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2728573_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2728565_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2728570_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2742632_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2778654_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2671637_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2671696_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2671702_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2671701_l.JPG Early season exploring http://64.136.20.22/2671704_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2671666_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2671639_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2778653_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2778656_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2778655_l.JPG |
Here is a report on one day in particular while exploring for Day One Ontario. Some of the pics may be redundant as up to now I have just been grabbing pics in no particular order for this day of the route. Enjoy the read as we didn't all enjoy this day :cool:
So not all day's go as planned A group of us met at, where else but a Tim Horton's I swear there is something addictive they add to their beans. A gas fill up before heading out http://64.136.20.22/2742623_l.JPG Some slab to catch up to the route http://64.136.20.22/2742624_l.JPG Re run a section of the route just to see how others feel about it http://64.136.20.22/2742625_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742626_l.JPG The backroads in Eastern Ontario are FUN ! Arcol, Hydro Line rd, etc http://64.136.20.22/2742631_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742633_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742634_l.JPG The ADV salute...or he just doesn't like me Oh wait this is early in the day, he doesn't hate me yet.....it must be the adv salute http://64.136.20.22/2742636_l.JPG Richard's first day of off roading on his 800gs, what a first day ... lol http://64.136.20.22/2742638_l.JPG It always surprises me when your riding on one of these roads and you run across a mini van full of happy little soccer kids with Mom driving and she's all smiles. Yes these are roads, not trails. Ontario is fairly liberal in what they call a road around here http://64.136.20.22/2742641_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742646_l.JPG Around this point in the morning we headed over to a snowmobile trail that would push the route further west. A great little trail that went up/down/left/right and I was thinking hells bells baby, this trail will work out fine Then a steep rocky decent that leads into a water crossing with a soft bottom A couple of the fellows indicated that they wouldnt be able to go back up the decent. No worries as the water was low and we all made it through with no issues. BUT this trail would have to get removed from the route. After some serious rain or a typical spring thaw, the water crossing with the muddy bottom and rocks and logs in it just doesn't fit the bill, too bad, we 'll have to re route another day. http://64.136.20.22/2742650_l.JPG On we go http://64.136.20.22/2742652_l.JPG Now keep in mind that we have spent alot of time researching these trails before we go. Paper maps, internet sat maps, locals input, etc. Well the route was GOING TO follow this snowmobile trail and bring us across a big void in the map. Looked great from all the research we did. After finding the trail it had private No Tresspassing signs on it. Bummer, but we figured it's probably only one section of the trail across some famers fields and we should be able to find a go around to catch up to the trail a bit further on. A bit further on and we come to an atv trail climbing up over the bank. Logic suggested that this trail would cut across to the main trail and this is what local's must use to get a round the closed section. WRONG 100 feet into the trail and we came to this http://64.136.20.22/2742672_l.JPG Full of rocks, tree's and VERY slick mud. Seems like everyone wanted to turn around...but me. I now apologize formally to all who were involved. Bad call, big time ! So off I go, get stuck, bury the bike and end up dragging it across the last few feet (not easy with a 500 lb bike). Look back and see faces like this http://64.136.20.22/2742667_l.JPG That's the look of "this is a bad idea". Looking up at the trail, yes that is the trail http://64.136.20.22/2742669_l.JPG Oh before I forget, a local on an atv came up on us and promptly turned around. This should have been a BIG clue. Well I was born stubborn and kept thinking ya but the trail will get better just around the bend, this is still doable WRONG ! What followed was around 2 hours to cover 3km's of trail. The black earth was some of the slickest ground I've ever ridden a bike on. On level ground you would be stuck, tire just spinning away, get a buddy to push type of terrain. Add to the that the fact that I don't think this trail had been ridden in YEARS. How many tree's were across the trail? Dozens. Did I bring my saw? Nope How many bikes tipped over? Every damn one of us. Were the bugs bad? CRAZY bad (and I normally don't complain about bugs). Was it hot? about 36 degrees celcius with 100 % humidity (think sauna temps) And finally how many people liked me at the end of this trail? ZERO As stated above I do formally apologize, this section is now known as the trail from hell and will NEVER be ridden again. After completing this section everyone split up, pissed off and went their seperate ways It was only lunch time and we had a huge day planned, ah well ......it was not too be. I seriously thought I was going to get lynched out there. Lesson learned the hard way but a lesson learned http://64.136.20.22/2742671_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742670_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742676_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742680_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742675_l.JPG Do you see the trail? It's there... http://64.136.20.22/2742687_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2742686_l.JPG |
A few more pics from "The Trail From Hell"
http://64.136.20.22/2786065_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2786063_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2786061_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2786062_l.JPG Do you think me taking pictures during this fiascal made things any better http://64.136.20.22/2786064_l.JPG Heat stroke, check Piss off buddies, check Add more to the route, negative I have yet to see a couple of these lads again......this is NOT how all days of exploring go and yes I am becoming less stubborn everyday......but sincerly I believe it's that stubborness that is pushing me to finish this route. If I was just after "fun" I'd have given up a long time ago. Days like this one become fun about 3 months later around a campfire and a few cold beers :) |
This report is from back in the spring of 2010. Day one left off in a town called Ompah, Ontario. This report is from a trip to explore and route day two of this province.
Met up with Juames and Dan mid June to push the route further west then north up to a small city called North Bay. This section of the route had been examined in detail, many many times. Originally we were to route through a town called Huntsville. That portion of the route had to be re routed due to the G8 Summit taking place in that town We all knew about the G8 but somehow never put two and two together until 2 days before departure. I was a bit dissapointed as I was lookintg forward to some of the trails north of Huntsville that run along the edge of Algonquin Nation Park. As usual we met up at a Tim's for coffee and to look over the maps again. http://64.136.20.22/2787106_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2787110_l.JPG Bikes loaded up for a few days http://64.136.20.22/2787047_l.JPG This will become a reoccuring theme, blasting some slab to catch up to the route. http://64.136.20.22/2787048_l.JPG A bit of gravel thrown in for fun on the way west http://64.136.20.22/2787049_l.JPG Look out for these guys http://64.136.20.22/2787050_l.JPG Some fun twisties http://64.136.20.22/2787051_l.JPG We last left the route ending in the town of Ompah, Ontario. Ompah has a couple of nice campgrounds, a gas station/general store and a few other small businesses. This is a recommended gas stop on the route and would make a likely place to spend a night. http://64.136.20.22/2787053_l.JPG Happy to be back on the route and making progress again http://64.136.20.22/2787052_l.JPG The route takes some slab for about 20 minutes before getting back into some back roads. http://64.136.20.22/2787054_l.JPG These backroads lead onto a long hydro line 44.739296,-77.320662 The hydro line seemed to be in good shape. I had done a trip a couple of weeks back where we rode a long hydro line/back road section that I was sure was this section. It only took about a few minutes to realize that this hydro line wasn't the one I thought we'd be riding. A quick look at the map again just to double check we were in the right place that we'd highlighted for the day's route. Yep this is the one we had pencilled in, ah well it looks long (50+ km's) and so far it seems to be in good shape .......... http://64.136.20.22/2785911_l.JPG A nice gravel base, well travelled, looking good http://64.136.20.22/2787056_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2787057_l.JPG Things started to get wet. Water crossing after water crossing. The good news was that they all seemed to be gravel based and the water level's never got over the front tire. http://64.136.20.22/2787058_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2787060_l.JPG Some of the water crossing got real dark and murky. A red tint to the water from some mineral in the ground I suppose. Looks cool but a bit unnerving when you don't know how deep they were. We did due dilegence and pre walked a few of the more suspect one's just to be on the safe side. Juames takes one for the team Heck once your wet your wet, you can't get more wet http://64.136.20.22/2787062_l.JPG Dan getting a big kick out Juames getting wet......his turn will come http://64.136.20.22/2787063_l.JPG |
And on we go.
http://64.136.20.22/2787064_l.JPG These are the one's that make you nervous. Weeds on the side, trail going off into the bush and turning a corner so you can't see how far the water keeps going. http://64.136.20.22/2787065_l.JPG At this point I starting to think that this is working out pretty damn well. Lot's of water, but this should be close to high water level's and we haven't come across anything that doesn't have a gravel bottom or is too deep. http://64.136.20.22/2787066_l.JPG The water crossing with the large rocks in them require a slow and steady speed. Just enough so you bounce up over the rocks but not soo much that you'll endo. Going to slow will lead to a tip over and you come to a stop and loose momentum. But there are so many of them that we are all in a groove and doing fine. http://64.136.20.22/2787067_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2787069_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2785913_l.JPG My turn to walk one You just have to know that at some point your luck will run out. Better safe than sorry. http://64.136.20.22/2785919_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2785918_l.JPG I don't have a pic but I think this is the one Dan decided to cool off in after a tip over ? Never a camera around when you need one eh Dan Now don't get me wrong, this trail wasn't just water crossings. There were also some very fun dry sections. http://64.136.20.22/2785924_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2787071_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2787070_l.JPG Just as things were going well, we check the gps and maps. Looks like another 6 km's until we pop out onto a road again. yehaa almost there ! Minutes later we come over a rise and are greeted by this view. http://64.136.20.22/2787075_l.JPG A quick conversation is had..... where is the trail? That can't be it ...that long dark watet section....it's got to go out and around in the bush and we just can't see it..... well let's head down and find out .... If it wasn't for the unknown "where does the trail go now feeling" this would have been a nice vista. I love when the trail your riding dissappears from your line of sight in the horizon. http://64.136.20.22/2785932_l.JPG Well down we go. Loose rocks, steep and I can't help but notice that it doesn't seem like many vechicles came down here. Grass growing out of the middle of the track .... hmmm ....... Get to the bottom and are greeted by this view http://64.136.20.22/2787074_l.JPG A quick look around and I can see a fire pit, old spark plugs, old rubber belts from a truck and other signs that some one spent the night here working on a vechicle. Sh1t, damn, arg. Juames goes and checks the inevitable, slick mud bottom and about 20 feet in he sinks to past his knee's Damn we were so close to the end of this trail. Did we go the wrong way somewhere ? A quick check of the map shows that we are on the right track. http://64.136.20.22/2787073_l.JPG Why is that everytime I get stuck it's at the hottest point in the day, humidity jumps, and the bugs come out for a feeding frenzy. I guess being down low here out of the wind and right besdie a swamp explains it, but still .......... Ah crap we're going to have to ride back up that steep hill covered in loose rocks I don't see this working out too well for us. |
Got to the top of the hill looked back and saw this
http://64.136.20.22/2787072_l.JPG What you can't see is Dan in almost the same position further down the hill. Why pictures make hills look lame is beyond me but this one was fairly steep and the rocks were very loose. A bit of pushing and grunting and we all got back under way to retrace our path. http://64.136.20.22/2787077_l.JPG And yes I put the camera down and helped out Riding through all the water was much easier when you have confidence of what's under it. After some debating over the maps we found another trail that lead off the hydro line. This enabled us to keep apart of the hydro line in the route http://64.136.20.22/2787078_l.JPG Check out the BIG bug in the above photo :ylsmoke: http://64.136.20.22/2787079_l.JPG Part way along the side trail (which turned out to be fun and fast) I had a quick chat with a local guy who has a hunt cabin in the area and know's the lay of land fairly well. I mentioned we had come from the hydro line and he laughed and said "you didn't make it did you, that swamp gets deep". Looks like we made a good call on turning around. he did however mention that there is a go around but it involves riding up and over and through a large boulder garden. He laughed when I asked if it was doable on our bikes. "I did see someone do it on a bike but it was a small little dirt bike". Enough said for us, we're here to make a route for bikes packed with gear, not to create the world's hardest enduro course. http://64.136.20.22/2787080_l.JPG After a few miles of the new trail we came across this and I thought ah come on http://64.136.20.22/2787081_l.JPG It appears as if the bridge is just getting some work done to it, yehaa...finally the route is progressing http://64.136.20.22/2787082_l.JPG Came across this little stream which was great to cool off in. http://64.136.20.22/2785933_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2785935_l.JPG Rolled into the small town of Flinton Ontario. Not much here but a small general type store with a sweet lady who makes soup and sandwichs. Great food, I'd highly recommend stopping in when you come through here. real salt of the earth type of folks. Heck she even felt bad about overcooking my grilled cheese and apologized and offered to make me a another one at no charge. This is why I enjoy travelling through these out of the way places, the people are golden. http://64.136.20.22/2787083_l.JPG After lunch we broke out the maps and figured out how to get back on track. It looked like there were some gravel roads heading back to where we wanted to be. Sadly it'll involve a few short paved sections but it's the best we could come up with. Sometimes a bit of slab just to get the wind running through your jacket can be a good thing Off we go....we make it about another 30 km's down a gravel road and stop at a stop sign. I take off and ride another 20 km's and wait at the next intersection...where is everyone? Wait an appropriate amount of time then start retracing back to where I last saw them. You can't help but think one of three things has happened. One: Someone had an accident Two: Someone had a mechanical Three: I went the wrong way and now the epic how do we find each other again begins Well turns out it was option two. Juames bike has had an electrical glitch of some sort and has no power. When I get back to them his bike is stripped of gear, seat, fairing, etc Much poking and prodding and trying this and trying that and we came up with either the battery is toast (he just put a new one in a month or so earlier or he has a short that draining the electrical system). Lucky for us it was the KLR and not one of the KTM's. A KLR doesnt require a battery to run. The ignition runs off the stator A few attempts to get it bump started and away we go...only to see it die again another 100 metres down the road. The petcock had been turned off when we were about to remove the tank A group decision was made, do we camp for the night then find someone with an voltage reader in the morning or do we call it quits and head home. Well we decided to head home. Hard call indeed. The tipping of the scales was that two of us are married and getting a weekend off to go biking isn't something we get to do every week, so it was decided that it would be better to limp home, get the problem sorted out and return in two weeks to finish making this section of the route. (I know your thinking your married and you get to do this much biking? Well Mrs. Deadly either doesn't like me or she understands me and puts up with me taking off many times a year for bike trips....... I think....I hope...it the latter ) A stop for dinner on the way home and a few coldies to drown our sorrows in. http://64.136.20.22/2787085_l.JPG There's something about having a cold one after riding with your buddies and recalling the moments of the day that simply puts a smile on your face. http://64.136.20.22/2787086_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2787088_l.JPG After a retarded session of trying to bump Juames bike and subsequently sweating out the bevies we headed home. Juames must have been cutting it close with his little to no headlight due to no battery before it got dark. http://64.136.20.22/2787089_l.JPG Well another chunk of the route got completed, we had a good time and rode some fun terrain :sombrero: |
And here comes the next attempt at pushes the route west across the province of Onatrio :thumbup1:
Packed up the bike and headed out, sky was sunny and the forecast was looking good http://64.136.20.22/2858230_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858229_l.JPG Met Chris and Jimmy at Timmies in Perth, Ontario. Caught up and went over the day's plan. Everybody seemed in good spirits. I hadn't seen Chris since we parted ways in Newfoundland a month ago. His GS was showing some impressive battle wounds from his high speed endo on the Trans Lab. Jimmy as usual had the maps out and the route highlighted and his gps loaded up with the intended route http://64.136.20.22/2858231_l.JPG Hit the road to catch up to where we last left the route. This was also the spot where Frank would be meeting us. I hadn't met Frank before, I believe he read this thread, got in touch with me and voila...he's coming along. He self admitted his skills may not be what some others are. He rides a Harley ultra glide and just recently picked up a 990 adv and took a 2 day off road course, went and rode the Trans Lab this summer and then came and joined us for a few days of the TCAT ...... http://64.136.20.22/2858232_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858233_l.JPG After meeting Frank we hit the road. The route begins with some asphalt twisties and some gravel roads. http://64.136.20.22/2858234_l.JPG The route then gets on an old rail line and heads north to the town of Bancroft. For the most part the rail trail is fast and smooth, a few sandy sections but nothing to really be concerned about. 80- 100 km's in ;length if memory serves, so a couple of hours depending on your speed. Some nice scenery, blah blah blah I really enjoyed this trail, nothing demanding just a stand on the pegs and enjoy the ride. NOTE: The main route will take a gravel road (it's a good one) that paralell's this trail. Due to legality reasons I don't believe trucks are allowed (still looking into this, some swear it is, some say it isn't. http://64.136.20.22/2858235_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858236_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858237_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858238_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858239_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858240_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858241_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858242_l.JPG Entering the town of Bancroft. I really like the fact that some towns around this area really embrace bikes/quads/sleds as a form of tourism. This particular trail goes right into the middle of town. You can see the trail on the right side of the road, I wish every place on earth had trails like these http://64.136.20.22/2858245_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858243_l.JPG A quick scoot down mainstreet for some gas and beer. Yes in this area of Canada you can only buy beer in one place, The Beer Store. It's government controlled and more times than not it's not open on Sundays and closes at 6 pm on Saturday nights, plan accordingly http://64.136.20.22/2858246_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858244_l.JPG We slabbed for a dozen miles down to a provincial campground called Silent Lake Campground. Like all government run campgrounds, it's clean and whatnot. During peak season the gal at the front informs me a reservation is a must do. http://64.136.20.22/2858247_l.JPG Yep, they also rent yurts by the night. 90 bucks, sleep six. Not bad if it's raining and you don't feel like setting up the tent. Don't quote me on this but I think the gal said they have about 70 of them and plan to build more. http://64.136.20.22/2858257_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858256_l.JPG Setup camp for the night, got a fire going. Drank way too much cheap Inidan whiskey, just kind of happened, all of a sudden I realized I was slurring, ah well, it was a fun night shooting the ****, bench racing and whatnot. The check in office http://64.136.20.22/2858248_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858249_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858250_l.JPG Ate a god aweful dinner. Never again do I eat boil in the bag freeze dried crap. I had a few bags left over from previous trips and as I was on a budget I decided to bring it along. To those who actually enjoy this crap.....:eek: |
http://64.136.20.22/2858251_l.JPG
http://64.136.20.22/2858252_l.JPG Stephen joined us at some point in the evening, he couldnt get the Friday afternoon off work. He rode the "route" from Bancroft to the campground........I'll let him tell his tale http://64.136.20.22/2858253_l.JPG |
NOTE: This next post is written by Stephen and reflects his take on the day
Well, Friday and me being the only person who couldn’t get the day off work I ended up getting a late start to things. I work in Arnprior so I rode my bike so I could leave right away and make my way to Bancroft. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/...d5c188dc75.jpg Taking the nice scenic back roads through Calabogie I came across some wild dinners.. err. I mean wild Turkeys and some beautiful lakes where I just HAD to stop and take some ‘glam’ shots of my bike... http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/...4d869f88e7.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/...2d211dbcf9.jpg Later I rolled through the beautiful town of Bancroft and topped up my fuel for the next day’s ride. After that I thought I’d take some “back trails” to the campground. Well that was a mistake! I got about 2km down the trail and came to a short little water crossing with a culvert near the far end. Little did I know that it got super deep just as you got to the culvert. The next thing I know my front wheel is 3 feet in the air then my back tire hits the culvert and I slam down on my skid plate. I start to tip over but I save it before all my gear gets dunked in the water breaking off my right side mirror in the process. Now my bike is beached on the skid plate with the back tire floating in 2 feet of water. I'm alone, fully loaded, no one knows where I am and I'm about 3Km down this trail. Not good. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/...0063463d72.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/...753973e80d.jpg After much rocking and huge roost of water I finally get enough traction to get up the other side. At this point it’s getting late and my GPS says I’m less than 500 meters from the campground. Only a few more hills and I’m there! I hop back on and come to a gnarly steep climb. I gear down and gun it, dodging rock and sliding in the mud with nary a foot dab to get me to the top and that’s when I see the mud hole. ARG!!!! This thing was big, deep, and cris-crossed with 4-wheeler tracks. It was that thick mud that sticks to everything. The sun was almost down and I was tired so I said “Screw this” and turned around. The culvert water crossing was easier in reverse and I made my way back out to the main road where I eventually found the proper entrance for the campground and met up with the rest of the guys who were enjoying beers around the campfire. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/...ab34e3739a.jpg Yes, that's a marsh-mellow. I busted out my brand new Henessy Hammock and set it up for the first time (I did do a test setup at home but I’ve never slept over night in it). Everything went up well in the dark and joined the team for beers around the fire. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/...161188faeb.jpg I had a little more adventure than I had hoped for on the way in but I had survived. Later on I heard that the other guys were planning on taking that route but they were too tired from the earlier riding and were glad that I “took one for the team” and scouted it out for them. Little did I know that this wasn’t the last one I would “take for the team” before the weekend was out… |
NOTE : Franks take on the day
I got back from the TLH at the end of August so when I heard about this ride, I signed up thinking it would be a nice follow up to the TLH. Just a small ride - 3 days, no big deal. So I headed out from Kitchener at 9:30 intending to make it to Tweed, about 10km south of the meeting point by 1:00. The RDV was at 2:30 but I had to cross Toronto on a Friday so a contingency was in order. Toronto traffic was flowing so I got to Tweed by 1:00, filled up, bought a lighter - didn't think showing at a campground without a lighter would impress my travel mates. That would be almost as bad a planning to eat camp food all weekend and not bring any utensils. I met up with the guys and we left at 2:30 sharp. I was a little apprehensive because these guys were on a mission and I didn't want to slow them down too much. They assured me they were not on a clock. We drove to the Hasting Heritage Trail and I was starting to feel pretty good. The 990 just loved that kind of riding. The ride to Bancroft was only about 75km but it gave me the opportunity to get my sea legs - or so I thought. It was a beautiful day and setting up camp by 5:30 was really nice. A few beers, tales of adventures past and future, and everyone turned in. I was feeling pretty good about my decision to tag along. I didn't take any pics on this ride so I'll be relying on the other mates to provide the colour of the ride. NOTE: Chirs's take on the day Ted's covered most of the first day but I thought I'd throw in a couple of pix- Typical section of the old rail bed.. firm gravel, gentle curves and hills, excellent scenery, a real pleasure to ride! Hardly any soft sand or endless sandy whoops, barely any water splashes, and no loose boulder strewn climbs. A nice way to ease into the weekend. http://lh5.ggpht.com/_sXoEJexBHJE/TJ...0/P9170004.JPG Frank and Ted talking KTM stuff. Jimmy the Map Man figuring out the next section. http://lh5.ggpht.com/_sXoEJexBHJE/TJ...0/P9170001.JPG Ted has not used the tent since the Trans-Lab trip and completely forgets how to assemble it. Not to mention that the elastic cord inside the poles is broken so he has to put together a dozen small sections, carefully thread it through the sleeve just right otherwise it all falls apart. Plus some parts are missing. Or broken. Something about gear falling off his KTM at high speed in the middle of Labrador. Happily we stopped to camp at around 5pm and had a few hours of daylight to get set up, drink some beers, swap stories and get the tent up. Jimmy kept managing to walk into the guy wires. Bets were placed on whether Ted's tent would still be up in the morning Frank, Jimmy and Ted discuss strategies for tent assembly.. http://lh4.ggpht.com/_sXoEJexBHJE/TJ...0/P9170006.JPG |
The plan for today was to ride from Bancroft to Kinmount for lunch then continure on heading north through Haliburton and end of in Hunstville for the night.
The morning's agenda had some gravel roads and one double track road called North pencil Lake Road. I'd ridden this "road" early in the year and remember thinking that it would be great to include on the route. At the time I was chasing a group of primarily smaller bikes and we were travelling with no gear. I recall thinking it would be "doable" albeit a bit of a challenge with loaded bikes The night before I let the guys know about the terrain. I didn't recall any one feature that stood out as being terribly challenging, but rather alot of small features (rocks, water crossing, etc). There was one water crossing that was more than likely going to have to be skipped but there is a bypass atv track up and around it. I was hoping I had over talked it and it would end up being much easier than I had warned them about, usually riding a bike over tough terrain is easier if you havent psyched yourself out, but I didn't want to end up in a situation where everyone looks at you with hatred in their eyes thinking "what an asshat for bringing us here". Better that everyone knew what they would be up against. So we packed up early in the morning after brewing some beans and having a bite to eat. Seriously, people eat that freeze dried crap and enjoy it? I had an egg/ham and other unidentifiable ingredients. omlet. The eggs were brutal but doable, the ham on the other hand just freaked me out. I forced down about a third of it just to get something into the belly as I had a feeling the day would present a few challenges. http://64.136.20.22/2858254_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858255_l.JPG The pace was slow as I had to stop at every intersection to write down info for the roadbook. About 20 kilometers of pavement before we got on a fun twisty gravel road. The roads were wet with puddles....hmmm....last time I road this road it was very dry...a sense of things to come was creeping into my mind. Turning off the gravel road onto Pencil Lake Rd http://64.136.20.22/2858258_l.JPG Looking up the where we were headed. Wet sand and puddle's......they must have recieved some rain lately ....... http://64.136.20.22/2858259_l.JPG Like I was saying, most of the road looks like this, or at least some of it does Nothing crazy but enough washouts, rocks and whatnot to keep you on your toes. http://64.136.20.22/2858260_l.JPG Then the "puddle's" got a bit bigger http://64.136.20.22/2858265_l.JPG Hmmm....I don't recall this many water crossings. The water had a weird algae on it that prevents you from seeing the bottom. Given the nature of the terrain I knew that there were some big rocks in some of them, couldn't help getting that feeling that " it's just a matter of time before I hit one and take a swim". How many of these were in a row? A dozen or so maybe. Chris becomes the first to get wet http://64.136.20.22/2858262_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858263_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858264_l.JPG Not long after we got to the "big one". I was kind of hoping we could just ride threw it and not have to mess around with the bypass. Pulled up and we were greeted with this http://64.136.20.22/2858269_l.JPG |
You can see on the right side of the photo above a big rock, the bypass climbs up and over it. Everyone had a look and a poke to see how deep it was. doable? Maybe but with a loaded bike and on a multiday trip I really wasn't interested in watering out my bike. Go around it would be :ylsmoke:
http://64.136.20.22/2858267_l.JPG I don't want to talk up this go around too much. On a small bike it's not a big deal. On a big bike with the proper amount of clutch it's not a big deal. On a mx bike it wouldn't even be worth talking about. On a big bike with gear and varying degrees of offroad experience....it's a challenge for sure. We all decided that we should walk it first and see what we would be up against........ The trail climbs a hill that is a bit steep in a section or two. It's atv width so it was obvious the panniers would have to come off the bike bikes as width would be an issue. Keep up the momentum and it would be no big deal. A few ill placed tree roots could be dodged and voila, you would be up on top. A couple of us rode up with no issues and waited near the top to see how the others would make out. http://64.136.20.22/2858270_l.JPG Chris coming up on his big gs Almost made it before getting hung up on a root. A little help from the lads and he was on his way. http://64.136.20.22/2858271_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858272_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858273_l.JPG I'm not sure why pictures sometimes make hills look mellow. This one sort of gives an indication of the angle this short section is. http://64.136.20.22/2858274_l.JPG Stephen heading up. http://64.136.20.22/2858275_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858281_l.JPG Chris doing shuttle duty with his panniers. http://64.136.20.22/2858276_l.JPG Once you get up on top there is a funky little section of rock, maybe 200 feet long. Trials riding when it comes to the big bikes http://64.136.20.22/2858278_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858277_l.JPG Frank looking proud http://64.136.20.22/2858282_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858283_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858285_l.JPG Then down a couple of switchbacks on the other side before regaining the trail. http://64.136.20.22/2858280_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858286_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858287_l.JPG One more tip over for Frank...didn't see it happen...exhaustion ? http://64.136.20.22/2858288_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858289_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858290_m.JPG |
The crack you don't hear is Stephen's pannier hitting this tree. He also lost his lock buckle on a tree on the way up. The other two lads with apnniers took them off, I think I would recommend taking them off
http://64.136.20.22/2858291_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858284_l.JPG The rest of the "road" was excellent. Lot's of big "drive on" rock sections, some ledges, lot's more water crossing. 1st and 2nd gear type riding. http://64.136.20.22/2858292_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858295_l.JPG A dozen or more of these, some you go up, some you go down. Fun technical type stuff. http://64.136.20.22/2858296_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858307_l.JPG Riding first has it's disadvantages. We walked and poked alot of the water crossings. One of them looked innocent enough. Slow in first gear then I suddenly feel the front end drop. Quick with the kill switch Look back and wave the lads up to come give me a hand. Chris checked the depth in front of me and looked like it didn't get much deeper and was only deep for another 10 feet or so. atv stuck and dug a trench maybe? This is the only photo I have of it (I believe someone else got a few good ones). You'll notice my engine, foot peg, etc are below water line http://64.136.20.22/2858309_l.JPG |
More water, more rocks, more fun
http://64.136.20.22/2858308_l.JPG Finding the shallow line http://64.136.20.22/2858297_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858298_l.JPG Eventually things dried up and the track became fun and fast again. At one point we came a cross a bridge out and a small water crossing to the side of it. A couple of lads on vstroms were there having a look. They had a video camera going as we rode by. One of the lads said they stopped and chatted with them and they said they were inmates at the asylum (advrider.com).....? http://64.136.20.22/2858316_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858311_l.JPG After finishing this "road", going from memory here but it's about 25 kilometres long and took us about 2 hours I think, we rode some very fun gravel twisties to the town of Kinmount for lunch. Real rollercoaster roads. A few hills with steep drop off's guarantee you will get some airtime Even the big GS left the ground. Have fun (Salmon Lake Road ), if I had my way we would have spent hours riding back and forth on that one road, but we had other promising roads/trails to get to. I'm not a wheelie guy but my front tire certainly didn't get the same mileage as my rear |
NOTE: Franks view on the morning
Let the noob chime in here... Ted did sow the seed of awareness the night before. But as he described each challenge of Pencil Lake Road he always ended with "...but it's doable". I came to understand that to this crowd all trails fell in the binary classification of being either "doable" or "not doable". The obvious qualifier "by whom" was always conveniently omitted. So when we got to this crossing, and it was deemed "not doable" I had to see for myself as I had already seen the bypass. I had heard the "doable" pronouncement on the bypass and was desperately trying to determine that they had jumped the gun on the "not doable" verdict of the crossing. While I was still hoping against hope I heard the sound of Ted's 950 eating up the trail. "I guess we're going around". What was "couple of switchbacks on the other side before regaining the trail" for Ted, Chris, Steve, and Jim was some of the trickiest riding I'd done on the 990 to that point and I kept thinking, "holy **** I can't believe I'm doing that, holy **** I can't believe I'm doing that, holy **** I can't believe I'm doing that." Then as I came to the last 5 feet of the trail, nothing too different from what I'd just done, a sharp turn to the right I looked ahead and thought, "Holy **** I can't believe I just did that", looked up, hit a rock, and went over. So "loss of focus" caused that particular one. Fortunately Jim was there to help pick up the bike...again. NOTE: Jimmies take on the morning I'm pretty much a noob rider myself. Had never ride dirt before last year, and very little at all before that...so I found myself echoing Franks words a few times as I was riding up the 'go around.' I think Frank was seriously contemplating riding the water crossing... after closer inspection it was deemed 'not doable' to cross without a boat. The water was above knee deep in some spots...with a very sketchy bottom of brown goo that was most likely just as deep... http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/q...o/IMG_0203.jpg After all was said and done...we all made it up and around. And I must say the Pencil Lake road is a MUST ride! If you haven't ridden it...do it!!! |
Note: Stephens view of the morning
I woke up after my first night in my hammock rested and ready to hit the trails. I had packed a nice IMP (Individual Meal Packet) of breakfast sausages for myself to enjoy. This isn’t your usual boil in bag. This is genuine Canadian military gourmet cooking. I had sausages, apple sauce, oatmeal, hot chocolate, juice mix, coffee, and a bun with jam all in a neat little package. I did have to warm some of it up but in the end it was a tasty way to start the day and get something warm in my belly. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/...f5b39d695a.jpg For those who are interested, the hammock worked out great. I had to get up and fiddle with the height of the foot end to make it a bit lower. I also was a bit concerned about my stuff. The only place to keep any of it was on the ground under the hammock. If there was a driving rain it might have gotten wet so I might pack a giant garbage bag for next time and just shove everything in that, then put it under the hammock. Not 5 minutes down the highway from the campground we were on the trail, and what a trail it was! All snowmobile trails in the winter they were a good run of hilly twisty double track. Nothing too difficult but just enough puddles and interesting terrain features to not get bored. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/...048fc4e8ee.jpg The trail. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/...6bbe54b938.jpg Frank stopped at an intersection. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/...720d97db92.jpg Chris waiting to find out which direction to go next. Some of the puddles were bigger than others and needed a certain amount of caution when going through. So far nothing was too difficult and we made decent time on our fully loaded bikes. That’s when we came to the big one. WOW. Ted had warned us about the big puddle we were going to have to face but I was confident that it would be no problem because of the “bypass”. Well that bypass is not the easiest option either. A decently steep uphill through the woods to get to a open section of lumpy rocks followed by a steep and twisty downhill back through the woods. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/...d0086a6809.jpg The big water hole We checked it out thoroughly and concluded that it might be possible to do we all decided that pushing bikes across the bypass would be easier and quicker than striping a bike and trying to drain it of water. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/...1c60eebe14.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/...5506b15dee.jpg The decent. It’s hard to see but easy enough if you take it slow. The bigger bikes walked their luggage across and the smaller bikes rode the bypass with no problems. Eventually we were all on the other side, safe and most importantly DRY! Not for long… As I was near the back of the pack we came upon the glorious sight of Ted up to his knees in water standing on his bike. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/...480de1176c.jpg We all parked and proceeded to test the water with sticks to map out what the bottom was like. As it turns out there is a pair of ruts near the left side but the right side is only a foot deep. We would all have no problem getting across but there was still the matter of getting Ted unstuck. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/...6552e149b7.jpg In the end, and with soggy feet, Ted was freed and we all crossed the puddle without any more issues. |
After finishing this "road", going from memory here but it's about 25 kilometres long and took us about 2 hours I think, we rode some very fun gravel twisties to the town of Kinmount for lunch. Real rollercoaster roads. A few hills with steep drop off's guarantee you will get some airtime Even the big GS left the ground. Have fun (Salmon Lake Road ), if I had my way we would have spent hours riding back and forth on that one road, but we had other promising roads/trails to get to. I'm not a wheelie guy but my front tire certainly didn't get the same mileage as my rear
Kinmount for lunch http://64.136.20.22/2858317_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858318_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858319_l.JPG After lunch I think we all felt a bit tired. The late night before, the mornings trail and a hot meal certainly gave me the yawns. Just outside of town we jumped on the next trail. Another rail trail, fast and smooth. I really enjoy the just stand on the pegs, twist the throttle, get into a rythm type of riding. http://64.136.20.22/2858320_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858323_l.JPG About half way down this trail I stopped to look at the signs. WTF atv's allowed but motorcycles are not. Who the feck made that dumbass rule? They must have had an issue with 2 strokes at some point in time. ****ty deal for us as this trail connected two spots on the route. We got the maps out and plotted a new route up to the next destination. It looked promising. As it would turn out the roads we assumed were gravel were paved, the gravel ones dissappeared into nothing. Well this wasnt the way this section is supposed to be. There must be other fun trails or old gravel backroads we could be taking. The decision was made to just hit the highway and bomb up to Huntsville before the rain came. I'll have to spend some time with the maps next week and find an alternate method to connect the towns of Kinmount and Huntsville....maybe one of you out there has a suggestion Shoot me an email if you do, thanks. http://64.136.20.22/2858324_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858323_l.JPG Slabbing http://64.136.20.22/2858325_l.JPG It started raining just as we were pulling into Hunstville around 5 o'clock. Everyone hit the liquor store to get out of the rain and pick up some supplies. After 5 minutes of everyone playing with their iphones and blackberries, it looked like the weather would clear up in a couple of hours. Frank opted to grab a motel while the rest of us heading to a campground just outside of town. Setup camp, ate some dinner, had a bevy or two, dried our gear over the fire and put heads to pillows. http://64.136.20.22/2858326_l.JPG The Nomad Tent's vestibule payed off again. Room inside to standup and change out of my wet gear, hang my gear up to dry, sort stuff out and whatnot. The extra few pounds are well worth it. This isnt the first time this tent has "saved" me from bolting to a motel in inclement weather. http://64.136.20.22/2858328_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858327_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858329_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858330_l.JPG Another fun day indeed Sleep came easy that night. |
http://vimeo.com/15199945
A short vid of a few of the backroads. NOTE: Pencil Lake Road will be one of the optional technical sections. The main route will travel gravel roads north around this section and offer there own excitement. Some great hills and twists for fun along with some great scenery. A short video Stephen threw together of some of the terrain that can be expected for the optional technical sections in Ontario YouTube - Ompah Dirt |
Day three of this ride had us up and at it early in the morning. Frank showed up looking well rested and ready to go. A quick pack up and we were off to the Timmies down the road for a warm cup of coffee....and a plumbed bathroom
The cool night had created a bit of fog for the morning but the sun was doing it's job of burning it off. http://64.136.20.22/2858331_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858332_l.JPG The view from the Tim's. Huntsville is a nice town. If I were to take a break for a day or two while doing this route, I think this town would be a good spot for it. Laundrymat, motels, campgrounds, fast food, grocery stores and whatnot are all available. The town itself is a bit touristy, but hey...we're tourists aren't we ? http://64.136.20.22/2858340_l.JPG The agenda for the day was to get on the Seguin Trail LINK Ride this trail to where it meets the Nippissing Trail LINK A side diversion to see the "Field of Screams" and finish this section of the route of in a small city called North Bay. Then slab back to Ottawa. A long day indeed. We hit the road and got on what we thought was the Seguin Trail http://64.136.20.22/2858342_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858344_l.JPG This trail ended all of a sudden....hmmm...this can't be right. Maps out, gps hard at work.....ahh...it starts over there....off we go to find "the real trail" Well the trail was certainly more of an atv trail than an old rail line (too many twists and hills to be a rail line) but it was fin and went for about a half hour, and it was heading in the right general direction. http://64.136.20.22/2858345_l.JPG The trail ended at a hudro line with no visible exit going forward. We tried heading left on the hydro line, a couple of water crossing later and we ran into a private land sign. We turned around and tried the other direction. What we didn't know.....was that Juames and Frank didnt see us go the other direction down the hydro line, they assumed we had gone back up the atv trail Well the way we went soon ended at another private land sign so we turned around. Where the heck did the rest of the group go? Stuck in the water crossing? nope...hmmm..is there another way out of here, looked around, nope. **** they must be headed back up the atv trail, and probably giving it throttle thinking they are trying to catch up to us. So we were now two groups instead of one. We tried following tracks down the gravel roads, after a few T intersections we stopped, back tracked, left one of us at each intersection...you know all the tricks. Well they must think we are real asses for not waiting for them We sent them both a text message to meet at the beginning of the next trails section and we were off. Passed a car in the ditch (must have happened 30 seconds before we showed up). The guy was busted up, VERY obvious that his hand and wrist were not "normal", the kid and wife seemed fine but were in freak out mode. Turns out they loived 5 km's up the road and their family were coming to get them and bring them to the hospital. Yikes, slowed down for a bit after that. Eventually we found the Seguin Trail. shortly after heading down it we ran into a couple of atv's. They informed us that Juames and Frank were only 15 minutes ahead of us I noticed there quads were dripping wet, they informed us of a water crossing up the trail, "it's 18-24 inches deep with a loose rock base"...... yehaa! I tore off ahead determined to catch up. What a trail, a real beauty. whoops, you either love them or hate them. Well this trail had some real fun sandy whoops and I was tearing it up, feeling like Johnny Cambell But I'm sure I looked nothing like him Froint wheel was bouncing, back wheel skipping over the tops, just a real fun run for me. Made some real good progress, a quick stop at what I assumed was the water crossing, for a picture. http://64.136.20.22/2858346_l.JPG Turned out to be no big deal, just lean back and twist the throttle, duck the wave and try to stay dry The trail began to criss cross the paved road it paralels. I jumped on the pavement with the idea of meeting the lads at the meet spot. Well, one more quick section of trail had to be done as I was just having too much fun. I got to the meet spot and there were Frank and Jimmy 20 minutes later Chris showed up ? Where Stephen? "He says he was going to ride the entire trail in case we missed them or something". Well done Stephen was what I waqs thinking, we'll have a solid gps track of the mornings route A quick look up the trail that we didnt ride.....and....it looked wet, real wet....... Eventually Stephen showed up (bike looks very clean?). Frank informed us he had to get going back to Ottawa right away as he had to pick up his passport and meet some friends. A handshake goodbye and he was off. Great riding with you Frank, we'll have to do it again one of these days We hit the Nippissing Trail/Road and headed north. http://64.136.20.22/2858350_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858351_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858352_l.JPG The further north we got the more the tree's had changed color. http://64.136.20.22/2858355_l.JPG The Nippissing Road is a mix of gravel and paved sections, a nice scenic road, nothing tough about it but the scenery was great. It's termed the ghost road. The link above explains it's history. People take there ghosts very serious in this part Lot's of cool histort to check out if your riding this road, take your time, read the historical plaques and whatnot. http://64.136.20.22/2858353_l.JPG We did a small side diversion, ended up on another short little atv trail....and eventually found the "Field of Screams". It's some retired art teacher, sorry I forget his name, who took up building these ghost creations out of concrete. 2-3 feet thick and up to 30 feet in height. He built ALOT of them. Had to stop for a few pics http://64.136.20.22/2858360_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858359_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858361_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858362_l.JPG The "artists" house was real weird. Tell you what...when I retire I won't be spending my glory days building weird assed ghost creations, but to each his own I suppose. He also runs a conflicting "cheery" little veggy stand on Sundays beside his house. http://64.136.20.22/2858371_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858372_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858374_l.JPG Given the time of day and the distance we were from home, it was decided to pack it and begin the slab ride home. Not a bad choice, it had been an excellent 3 days of riding, camping, drinking and whatnot. The route home was on some fun scenic roads. Through a couple of provincial parks (Algonquin, etc). We did a quick stop for lunch on route but other than that we just made miles. Got home just before it got dark, and I for one kicked back in the hot tub with a nice cold beer and a big smile on my face Jimmy checks the gps one more time http://64.136.20.22/2858363_l.JPG Lunch stop http://64.136.20.22/2858375_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858376_l.JPG l in all I was very pleased with the route. A couple of area's need to be refined but as a whole I think this track will make a great addition to the route as a whole. Eastern and Southern Ontario WILL be a highlight of the route. Some folks could probably blast it in two days but my guess is most folks will take 3-5 days. 3-5 days of almost all double track Challenging in parts but "doable" for sure. This entire section will be done via roadbook. I really look forward to reading about others take on this section over the coming years. Anyone interested I'd really appreciate someone doing a beta run on it next summer just to ensure the roadbook works for them. Anyone interested in a few days trail ride in Ontario next summer shoot me a PM. Well that's all from me for now, time to start planning the two sections left for the eastern half of this route. Northwestern Ontario looks promising with some nice long gravel roads, some fun looking logging roads, maybe a rail trail or two and sadly a couple of long ashpalt sections that seem unavoidable. Quebec had been routed and now just needs to be ridden, depending on the weather this fall I'm hoping to sneek off and complete a chunk of this province. Looks like the majority of Quebec will be gravel back roads with a couple of fun atv style trails just to break it up. Everything is pointing towards us finishing the eastern half by the end of next riding season and then we should have this route up for distribution shortly after. |
Franks version of day four of the TCAT, Ontario
Day three started early - I had to make sure I was showered and checked out in time to meet the guys at the campground by 8:00. When I got to the campground, we decided to backtrack into town for some Timmies. We finally got underway a little after 9. The fog was mostly burned off and the day was turning out to be mostly sunny. Except for the slight diversion up the hydro line and its culvert adorned water crossing that we took in both directions, the riding was relatively fast. It starts with some nice gravel road till we meet up with the Seguin trail. The trail appears to be mostly sand fill on bog. This means that most of the trail consists of what is apparently referred to as "woops" with only a few water crossings. Woops are essentially inverted moguls (depressions instead of mounds). And riding woops is a lot like skiing moguls - well if you were wearing 500lbs skis. It is all about picking the line and letting your legs ride up and down while your head remains steady. In other words, its a lot of fun, but hard work. And the faster you ride, the more work it is. Unless, Ted tells me, you're going fast enough that you just hit the tops and don't even hit every woops. I'll take his word for it. Since we got separated, Jim and I weren't sure if the others were ahead of us or behind us. We finally decided they must be ahead. We eventually got a text to meet in an hour at Seguin Falls. We rode as fast as I could and I was having a blast. The bike was just eating up the trail. I almost lost it trying to ride the side of the woops at one point but the sand was really sloppy and after saving it I just kept in the bumpy but predictable part ofthe trail. After foregoing two or three bail out points where the trail crosses the road, my legs were burning and I finally begged for mercy. Jim took pity on me and agreed we should take the road to the next RDV. By then it was 11:30 and I had a 5:00 commitment in Ottawa, so I thanked the boys and headed back. I learned to ski in a small center in northern Quebec and for the first 10 years I thought that skiing was what we did at Mount Fortin. It wasn't till I got my first job after university and was sent out to Calgary on an installation that I even saw what real skiing was about. This weekend riding with this group I had that same type of epiphany. I discovered that there were more than bunny hills out there. I'm not sure if we were riding blue rectangle or black diamond trails this weekend, but now I know there is a different type of riding to be enjoyed and fully expect to spend more time on this type of riding. I still will take the Harley on nice sedate rides, but I will also be looking for trails to give me that rush of adrenalin. |
Out West
My diesel Jetta finally died, I've always been a "truck guy" . 5 years ago I decided I'd buy something a bit more pratical. Bad mistake, driving around in a wee little car that shakes and rattles like only a diesel car can, underpowered and well just not suited to the gravel roads I drive on a daily basis. So I knew I wanted something that could have a fighting chance of keeping up with my bike, could be used as a support vechicle for bike trips, would let me go on bike rides and have Mrs Deadly or one of my buddies who doesnt ride come along, have decent gas mileage, could be used as a daily driver, etc
Alot of web research and I decided on a pre runner style small truck. I got a hold of the guys at Baja North in BC and gave them my list of wants and a price range. Nicier guys you'll never meet. The customer service and the quality of work they do is outstanding So I flew out to BC with a buddy and picked up the truck last week. I spent a bit of time on the web and chatting with some of the folks involved in the TCAT project and put together a list of roads to ride on the way home as a scouting mission for the route. We got lucky with good weather and some damn fun roads You'll probably be seeing a bit more of this truck in this ride report. Once the salt gets put down on the roads in Canada the bikes typically get put away for the winter. Hopefully this truck will let me keep working on the route during the off season http://64.136.20.22/2898790_l.jpg |
Followed part of the route threw the east Kootenay's. Great gravel roads threw some fairly remote area's.
Bull River, White River, Kootenay River, Settlers Rd, etc Cowboy country...real cowboys http://64.136.20.22/2898760_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898762_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898765_l.jpg Great roads indeed, the scenery is top drawer and other than the occasional logging truck there isn't a whole lot out there. Perfect roads for the TCAT http://64.136.20.22/2898764_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898766_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898775_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898761_l.jpg The intended route for this section comes over a pass near the Crowsnest Pass before grabbing these roads and heading up to Kootenay National Park. It then swings south to the town of Radium Hot Springs. I lived in Radium for a few years and spent alot of time riding back in the Kootenay valley. Although the terrain isn't challenging the feeling of remoteness and the fun gravel roads should offer a fun day to a day and a half of riding. A couple of great camp sites are available as well as some great outdoor natural hotsprings. I don't think this section of the route will disappoint |
Chris is plotting the route threw Alberta and Sask. He sent me some gps files prior to me leaving on this trip with some of his intended route selections Thanks Chris I was blown away by the terrain, scenery, etc
COming out of Canmore Alberta is a road called the Spray Lakes Rd. About an hour or more....bet it takes most folks alot more due to the scenery and constant photo op's.... Heading up out of the Bow Valley http://64.136.20.22/2898792_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898770_l.jpg The road goes up and around this resorvoir before getting into the Spray Lakes Valley. http://64.136.20.22/2898772_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898771_l.jpg A big wide gravel road greets you at the top. High speed nirvana with some spectacular rocky mountain views. A few nice informal camp spots along the way as well. http://64.136.20.22/2898773_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898777_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898796_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898776_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898778_l.jpg |
The roads threw the foothills in Alberta are great. We hauled down some fun ones creating dust trails that lingered for miles behind you. With the rocky mountains in our rear view mirrors life couldn't have gotten much better. I'm not sure if these roads are on the exact route the TCAT will follow but I'm sure the terrain and views and will be very similiar.
http://64.136.20.22/2898797_l.jpg South eastern Alberta and south western Sask offer up some brilliant terrain. Maybe it's just me as I've lived in the mountains, bush and coast but never in the prairies...so for me this was a real treat. I really enjoyed the wide open views and the rolling hills of grass. Chris put me together a route that will be included as a part of the TCAT, thanks ! Freaking fantastic We got to the intended route during the middle of the night. The truck has pretty sweet aux lights mounted on the bumper and we had a blast ripping down the twisty, hilly roads. My buddy IV doing the navagting (maps and gps) and calling out the corners as we approached. A full on rally style run occured for a few hours until we toke a break and boiled up some more bean and watched the sun rise. One of those mornings that will never be forgotten http://64.136.20.22/2898779_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898780_l.jpg After the sun came up we followed the route to the Cypress Hills park. http://64.136.20.22/2898781_l.jpg I wish all parks were like this one in Canada. Double track gravel roads going right threw it, almost as if it was made for big dual sport bikes...maybe it was ? http://64.136.20.22/2898782_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898783_l.jpg This area fits in perfect for the "main route" of the TCAT. The terrain isn't too technical, it's doable by big bikes and 4 wheel vechicles, gives that feeling of remoteness and offers up a good look at Canada...the Canada that isn't over polulated and covered in ashpalt. For many this area will be a highlight of the route, I think. It took us about half a day to get through it (off course we took a wrong turn here and there and also had to do a few "I wonder where this trail goes"). There are a couple of beauty camp sites in the park as well http://64.136.20.22/2898787_l.jpg IV hard at work with the maps. Not sure if this is where we got turned around or not ... I didnt have my bike gps with us (just an old Nuvi) so we couldnt load any routes/tracks. We used some printed out Google maps and a generic map from the gps. Made navagation a bit "fun" in a few spots :) http://64.136.20.22/2898785_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898784_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898788_l.jpg Real fun ripping down this road towards the Montanna border. This was a nice high plateau with some great scenery across the prairies. http://64.136.20.22/2898800_l.jpg |
The fun way to enter Saskatchewan
http://64.136.20.22/2898786_l.jpg The roads went on for a while, the "unpassable when wet" raised an eyebrow as the sun was coming out and the ground was thawing. I guess it gets a bit slick during the wet season ? There weren't any crazy hills or anything so I don't see "unpassable" happening...maybe a wee bit challenging but not unpassable. A couple of hills where I suppose the ground gets slick when wet, lot's of tree's though to assist if needed. http://64.136.20.22/2898789_l.jpg A VERY fun area indeed and a great addition to the route. I really enjoyed the prairie scenery. Sorry I didn't grab any pics but we had some fun blasting some nice long gravel roads. A complete grid of gravel of we termed it. Very fun just to unwind and enjoy the scenery. http://64.136.20.22/2898794_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2898802_l.jpg This view seen from a scenic viewpoint in the Cypress park seems to have left a lasting impression on me........ http://64.136.20.22/2898799_l.jpg |
NOTE: a couple of posts from Chris who is taking on the Sask/Alberta portion of the route. This is being cross posted from another site so please excuse if the timelines, etc don't make sense
A nice road in the southern end of the Nisbet Forest about 10 km north of the town of Duck Lake SK. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030283.jpg Heading south just across Hwy 11. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030310.jpg The road to the St. Laurent Ferry. This road was fast, curvy packed sand and a lot of fun to ride. Too bad it's only about 5 km long! http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030314.jpg Waiting for the ferry. Saskatchewan has many of these river ferrys. You never have to wait long for them since the river isn't exactly very wide. They also run long hours, though the operator does take a half hour lunch break and a half hour supper break. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030316.jpg Riding the ferry. The operator thought it was funny when I asked if I was overloading him. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030322.jpg A view of the South Saskatchewan River near the St. Laurent Ferry. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030328.jpg For those interested in Canadian History, the route will run right by Batoche, which is the site of the final battle of the 1885 Riel Rebellion. Even for those non-history-buffs it's worth a quick stop for a look. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030336.jpg A dirt road on the One Arrow Reserve. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030340.jpg My XR enjoys another view of the South Saskatchewan, this one near the Fish Creek battle site. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030360.jpg A nice gravel road north of the town of Alvena, SK. It's really easy to get across Saskatchewan on only gravel roads, the tough part is finding the ones that are not DFDS (dead flat dead straight). http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030363.jpg The Alvena Co-op. I was on reserve, and Alvena only has about 50 people at the most, so I figured that knowledge that there is a gas station there was important. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030366.jpg Alvena Co-op hours. These are winter hours. In summer they open an hour earlier and close a half hour later. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030364.jpg The road south of Alvena. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/PB030370.jpg It was getting dark and cooling off at this point, so I made a beeline for home. Got some good scouting done though, and have an idea whether my plans will work (they will, for the most part!). |
Some more pictures from folks helping with the route. These are in the province of Saskatchewan. It's one of the praire provinces in the middle/left of the country. Most folks only this province from the main paved highway that crosses the country. What most don't realize is that there are some excellent roads/trails for overland travel.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/attac...1&d=1287685498 http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P6060299.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P6060300.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P6060302.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P6060306.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P6060308.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s-May07076.jpg http://lh6.ggpht.com/_i8fBrKNUlgk/TC...0/IMG_3298.JPG http://lh3.ggpht.com/_i8fBrKNUlgk/TL...0/IMG_3462.JPG http://lh3.ggpht.com/_i8fBrKNUlgk/TL...0/IMG_3468.JPG http://lh6.ggpht.com/_i8fBrKNUlgk/TC...0/IMG_3302.JPG http://lh3.ggpht.com/_i8fBrKNUlgk/TL...0/IMG_3471.JPG I think many Canadians will be very surprised at the scenery and roads/trails in this province. For folks coming from other area's of the world I believe this area of the route will remind them of "the wild west" from old movies. A huge thanks to Chris fro all the hard work he is putting into the route :clap: |
A little information about Quebec for those of you who aren't familiar with this province of Canada. It's located in the eastern/central part of Canada and it's ....well.....it's french. Personally I really enjoy exploring the "belle province", it's almost like heading to Europe, well sort of. There are more gravel roads in Quebec than probably in the entire USA (just a hunch ). In the winter time there are more groomed snowmobile trails than there are paved roads. Recreation is BIG in Quebec. Everything seems big , it's the largest province in Canada and has some real history to it.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/attac...0&d=1286310240 Another fellow has been working on the route in Quebec. Fabrice has been working his way east from the beginning of the Trans Lab Highway. His portion of the route will meet my portion near a town called La Dore. The route from there has been routed but yet to be ridden. With winter closing in this will more than likely have to wait until spring unfortunately. A nice long 400+ km gravel road will lead from there through a town called Parent, Quebec and will lead into the section we just finished. After that the route will be taken over by Flanny and will bring folks into the city of Ottawa. So....yes things are beginning to really take shape |
Woke up to blue skies and frost on the ground. Freaking freezing outside, frost on the ground, couldn't have much above 0 degree's. I had about an hours ride to the meet spot downtown Ottawa. Heck, we're Canadian, we're supposed to be part lumberjack/part igloo dwellers and part seal blubber eaters aren't we? So I won't complain, let's just leave it at I froze my butt off that morning.
Packed up the bike and hit the road. http://64.136.20.22/2870777_l.jpg A beautiful ride down some fun twisty roads early on a Sunday morning. Got to the meet spot (yes a Tim Hortons) and was surprised to see a handful of bikes. I'd thought there was only going to be 3 of us for the day. http://64.136.20.22/2870780_l.jpg A few familiar faces to those who have been following this thread and a few new ones as well. A real mix of bikes, grabbed a coffee and did the small talk/introduce ourselves and whatnot. Probably my favourite part of creating this route so far has been meeting all the like minded folks along the way. A real mix of bikes for the day, a couple of klr's, a big gs, a kawi versys, a 950 se and my adv. I always enjoying checking out others bikes and seeing what gadgets the've added, etc After meeting the lads and slamming back an extra large triple triple we hit the road. The ride up to Mont Laurier is about a 3 hour ride along some great winding twisty roads. The pace was fast and fun and waiting every now and then for the single cyclinder bikes gave me a chance to warm up a bit Some scenery shots from the ride north. The leaves have changed colours and made for a nice background. http://64.136.20.22/2871881_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871882_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871884_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871885_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871886_l.jpg Got to Mont Laurier and everyone gassed up and had a quick bite to eat. Dan highly recommends the "steamies" when visiting Quebec. To me it's a hotdog but to him it's a steamy and the best things since sliced bread Jimmy had a voice mail from his wife who sounds frantic, she'd been in a car accident and he couldn't get ahold of her. Being the good lad that he is he turned around and had to head home.....bummer for him, hope everything was okay? Ah well a nice day for riding regardless of the terrain I suppose. A few looks at the maps we had and we headed north. We had to go off of my memory for the first bit (my memory sucks). 3 years ago I rode this route, well low and behold we found the beginning of the route and headed up some fun sandy/gravel backroads. As the GS Challenege was held a few weeks back and they must have used the same route that I'd previously ridden, we were blessed with little markers at intersections that point the way This made navagation for the afternoon a no brainer. http://64.136.20.22/2871893_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871894_l.jpg The route crosses a handful of small dams. http://64.136.20.22/2871897_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871898_l.jpg In Canada there are unlimited places to camp (cowboy camp). Being as how alot of our land is owned by the government and camping isn't officially allowed I'll refrain from pointing out where the good spots are, but when you come across them you'll know Hey, look at this sweet beach http://64.136.20.22/2871902_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871899_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871900_l.jpg Always fun to spin the wheels in the sand http://64.136.20.22/2871901_l.jpg |
There are about 3 obvious beaches that you'll pass along this section of the route. Good spot to take a break and do some drag racing
More dams (at this point the route will take on two options, one for bikes and one for 4 wheel vechicles, some of the dams are too narrow for a truck) http://64.136.20.22/2871903_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871904_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871906_l.jpg As I mentioned there area kazillion roads/trails up in this area. Getting lost would not be hard. Thanks to Rhino for making the gps route of this section (my gps is broken). We road this section in the reverse direction that the TCAT will take folks down it but I don't believe that will change the difficulty or anything like that. For the most part it's just fun sandy trails, a few spots have an abundance of baby head (round rocks) that need to be ridden. http://64.136.20.22/2871907_l.jpg Dave aka DVD_Scott looking nice and relaxed. http://64.136.20.22/2871908_l.jpg Dan checking out the snowmobile maps. As we have learned you need to be careful when riding in Canada if you plan on using these maps. What's rideable in winter is not always "doable" in the spring. http://64.136.20.22/2871909_l.jpg http://64.136.20.22/2871910_l.jpg Rhino on his big GS. The 21 inch front seems to make a big difference, he rode that bike like a 650. It's always fun to ride with someone who keeps a similar pace. Chasing faster riders (although good for the skill enhancement it offers) can be tiring, waiting for people all the time kind of breaks the rhythm. Kudo's to you Rhino, first time I've ever seen a GS travel at those speeds on this time of terrain http://64.136.20.22/2871911_l.jpg A nice long sprint down a wide logging road brought us back to civilization, dakar speeds always make big wide gravel roads fun I'm sure Ko is still tightening nuts and bolts on his Versys.......(insert Yoda voice) "knobby tires does not a dual sport make"......although he did pretty darned well keeping up to us on the rough bits. The ride home was a hoot. Fast and fun. The 307, 309 and 311 (I think?) roads are a fanatastic set of twisty remote roads. Not much traffic, no cops and great scenery. I got back to Ottawa just as the sun was setting. The last hour from the city back to my place was freezing ! Must have been below freezing, first time my toes started to sting. ANother great day, I enjoyed meeting some new folks, got to ride some fun trails, finished another little section of the route....just about perfect About 800 km round trip, time for new tires. A quick stop for a smoke while riding through Ottawa, sitting back and watching the sun set over the Rideau canal.... http://64.136.20.22/2871913_l.jpg |
Random pic, exploring the mountains (Chic Choc Mtns) on the Gaspe Bay in Quebec. This is what lead me to get a lighter bike :thumbup1:
http://64.136.20.22/2386571_l.JPG |
NOTE: a fellow named Fab has adopted a large chunk of Quebec. This is a cross post of his posts in regards to routing eastern Quebec
TCAT's Saguenay section -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On august 11 2010 I went on a ride with my buddy Erick (530 exc) to ride a part of the proposed TCAT run. The section goes through the Parc des Monts Valin (3.50$ crossing fee)which is a nice provincial reserve with a great view and great hillclimb and twisted trails. Not much pictures since we're too busy enjoying the fast riding . but we have a great vid featuring Erick's brake line (first time mounting a camera to the ktm handlebars ) that I may post later sinc windows movie maker is acting right now... After the parc section it opens up into some ZEC roads. ZEC means zone environementale contrôlée wich means... environementally controled zone... wich means that it's an area controled by a non-profit organization of hunters and fishermen and is protected from the abuses of modern civilisation. Québec is loaded with ZECs. It cost some money (10$ or so) to pass through one of theses zones but in this case we get in higher than the gate so we're saving the fare. http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/02.jpg http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/03.jpg Labrieville (1.50$/Liter gas, hydro plant, logging plant) http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/04.jpg Watch out for these guys as they are not going to pull to the side of the road (too heavy) http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/05.jpg After that, we headed west for an awsome gravel raod trip that may or may not be included in the TCAT depending on further discussions Google earth file of that section: http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/ge01.jpg From Labrieville you head east to Forestville which is about a 100 cliks from Baie-Comeau (BC), the actual start of the trans -Lab run. Strangely my bro in law asked me to join him and some friend for a party in Les Escoumin wich is about 50km from Forestville. I jumped at the chance to 1- get drunk and 2- ride the Forestville - Baie-Comeau proposed part of the TCAT the next day So off I was with Sylvain, another of my riding buddies. Pic off the bike in Les escoumins http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/06.jpg Pics from the party http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/p1.jpg The next morning we split with those fudged up mofos and headed to Forestville to ride and have breakfast Start of the section http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/07.jpg A nice gravel road that turns to this http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/08.jpg And then to this http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/09.jpg and to this http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/10.jpg This was next http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/11.jpg And we finally had to turn around when facing this swamp http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/12.jpg Deadly would've probably tried it but we travel on pig's backs (GS's) so we decided that we would turn around. Than one on the pigs (the samll one) got stuck in the mud http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/13.jpg and after much sweating/swearing we got it out and it was my turn to go on the fat pork but I wisely choosed to fabricate an on-ramp instead of going to the side of the bridge http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/14.jpg And I was quickly out of trouble watching Sylvain catch his breath http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/15.jpg Map of the (aborted) section http://fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/ge02.jpg So we headed back home after trying some alternate route that ended in a dead end also. Now it is getting kind of a challenge to find some gravel or trail between Labrieville and Baie-Comeau since there is like 3-4 big rivers (Berstiamite, Outardes, etc) that only seems to be crossable by riding rd 138 which is paved. I'm waiting for some logger friend to be back this weekend to ask him about an alternate route but any help from anyone knowing the area would be more than welcome. This weekend we're riding another section and will post the results soon after. |
NOTE: This is cross posted and was done by Fab who is creating a large chunk of the route in Quebec
We intended to do the red section on the following map: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/ge04.jpg It's connecting to the section that goes toward Parent and that has been layed by Ted (in blue on the map) and it's going to Dolbeau-Mistassini, a decent town (Fast-food chains, Canadian tire, lodging, etc.) around Lac St-Jean. We had to ride about 275 kms before the real thing and we stopped for lunch at le Margot in Larouche, a nice restaurant with a ton of artwork and collectibles hanging on the wall including the sheep vest worn by Jimmy Hendrix which is worth the visit alone. The crew: Me riding the usual red pig, Sylvain on the yellow 800GS and Erick on his KTM530. http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/35.jpg After the aforementioned 200+kms of pavement, we were finally at the start of the section. http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/36.jpg This part is a logging road and goes on for a while (+/-80kms – I forgot to take note) and is really fast (140+kph) and loose sand/gravel. http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/37.jpg After that we parted from the main road and entered some smaller gravel roads which where fun and offered a nice view: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/38.jpg http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/39.jpg Time to refill the ktm: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/40.jpg Then it got a little rougher. The one thing I don't like about GPS is that it often puts us in the wrong path. The trail was marked by the GPS software as a main trail but we soon found out that it was not the case. Then we ran into some four wheelers and they told us that we should have stayed on the real main trail for a while and we would have been around the nasty section that we went through. Well we where there anyway: At first it was fun: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/41.jpg But then there was a creek to cross: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/42.jpg But it was deep and filled with football sized rocks which made the crossing quite interesting: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/43.jpg I did go through but Sylvain did not have that much luck. Funny thing, I got stuck on the uphill on the other side of the creek with the rear wheel stuck on a fat rock. On of the four wheeler guy offer to winch the pig up the hill but he had to come around me in order to get to the top. He found it appropriate to push himself with his foot resting on my shifter while ascending and what do you know, a broken foot-peg/shifter mount. There is only one on sale on ebay as I write this so there was no way I was going to find one at N49 32 25.1 W73 17 32.7 The winching went all right and my bike was out of the way so Sylvain could try the ascent: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/44.jpg No winch required for a 800: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/45.jpg The 530 went up effortlessly. So I'm stuck with a broken shifter holding bracket and with +/-350kms to go I wasn't excite about Erick's idea to attach a rope to my boot and use it to shift gears. The guy who crushed my bracket had a ½ filtered rod about 10 inches long with a couple of assorted nut so I took everything apart and replaced the usual shifter mounting bolt with it and got myself a bike shifting pretty much like new. All the pics are in Erick's cam so I took one today to show: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/49.jpg I also found a way around this trap on the GPS software and according with input from the four wheeler so this should not be a problem in the future. After this little mishap, we where greeted with some of the nicest trail I ever ridden. The soil was like semi-hard packed sand/yellow earth with absolutely no roots and the trail was a sweeping one car wide with small crests, everything a perfect trail is made off. The it opened uo in some logging roads from a recent forest fire (they harvest burned wood) which was again a blast to ride. I even lost a luggage case, twice :). This pic was taken after the first case-ejecting incident. Notice the road in the background left http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/46.jpg The logging trail widen up as we reached the main forest road at km 46 (they have markers) and we rushed down to Girardville, a really small logging town north of Lake St-Jean. We then rode again an awesome trail sections going through blueberry fields and some wood on our way to Dolbeau-Mistassini: http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/47.jpg http://www.fabricetremblay.ca/perso/TCAT/48.jpg These again were some of the nicest trails I've ran so far! We stopped for lunch in Dolbeau-Mistassini and rode the 200kms separating us from home as the sun was down as was the outside temp (1 Celsius) but we stopped at our local drunk hole for a tall beer (yes, a unique feature of this area; la grosse bière!). Sadly, this is probably one of the last TCAT outing for me until next spring. |
BC Teaser
A few pics from BC
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...r/IMG_0783.jpg http://manxman.smugmug.com/photos/57...8_TZzc6-XL.jpg The BC portion will be approximtaely 8 days, based on an average speed and average ride/drive day. http://manxman.smugmug.com/photos/80...8_HbxF7-XL.jpg More BC and Alberta to come |
Newfoundland teaser
There's more to come from Newfoundland as well....
http://skibum69.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...9_dgCms-XL.jpg http://skibum69.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...8_fXQZH-XL.jpg |
Back to the prairies
NOTE: cross posted from Chris
SK/AB Virtual Tour -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, since it's winter and bloody cold here and I can't ride I figured I'd put together a virtual tour of the SK/AB portion of the route. The photos run from East to West, and of course are all from the portions of the route I've ridden already.... Some of these have already been posted earlier in this thread, but - what the heck - I'll put them in again in case you missed 'em. First, a rough idea of the route through SK/AB. Red is stuff I've ridden, white is "yet to be explored". Note there's a lot of white left... http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...os/BareMap.jpg A few pics from the Nisbet Forest just southwest of Prince Albert SK. Very sandy in here. You can ride a GS through it, but you won't be going 100... http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d02640x480.jpg Roddick Cabin. Nisbet has several of these cabins. They're open to the public and not excellent shelter but better than open air. Snowmobilers use them in winter as warm-up shacks. Could potentially camp in them... http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...t01640x480.jpg South of Roddick Cabin: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...bit640x480.jpg Road to the St. Laurent ferry: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...ent640x480.jpg The St Laurent ferry crossing - South Saskatchewan River: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...rry640x480.jpg A couple of South Sask river views from the route. This one just after the St Laurent ferry crossing... http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...iew640x480.jpg ...and this one a bit further south yet. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...iew640x480.jpg Moving south of Saskatoon, we get to these canal roads near Outlook. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s02640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s01449x335.jpg The route crosses the Gardiner Dam - what used to be the largest earth dam in the world when it was built. I think it's still in the top 5. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s03640x480.jpg |
Now we head to the Cypress Hills region. Here's a couple of shots of the Gap road, heading west out of the Saskatchewan part of the park (called the Centre Block).
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d02640x480.jpg The road through the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, near the SK/AB border: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s01640x480.jpg The view looking east from Eagle Butte, just west of the town of Elkwater, AB: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d02640x480.jpg Another shot of the Eagle Butte Road leading away from Cypress http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d03640x480.jpg Back down on the bald prairie west of Cypress: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x480.jpg Entering the "Hays Maze", a maze of twisty gravel roads near the tiny town of Hays, AB. Even with a map it's a bit tricky to find your way around in here... http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...e02640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...e01640x480.jpg A couple of shots of the canal roads heading West of Vauxhall AB. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d02640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x480.jpg Getting off the main road and onto canal roads near Travers Reservoir: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s01640x480.jpg Backroad near Travers Reservoir: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s02640x480.jpg Cutting across a few miles of pasture near Milo AB: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...o02640x480.jpg Milo backroad: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...o01640x480.jpg Bow River overlook near Carseland: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...and640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d06640x480.jpg Another view of the Bow. The overlook from two pics ago is in the background. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...and640x480.jpg Canal roads near Carseland, AB: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d02640x480.jpg Backroad north of Calgary: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...h01640x480.jpg The town of Water Valley has a small convenience store/gas station. Not sure you can get premium though, if you baby your Beemer... http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...y02640x480.jpg The Harold Creek Road (AB #579) West of the town of Water Valley: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k02640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k03640x480.jpg |
The next 3 shots are views from the Mockingbird Hill fire lookout point. It's a short (~5km) detour off of the forestry trunk road West of Water Valley. It's worth a look!
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d02640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d03640x480.jpg Here's the trail you have to ride to get up to Mockingbird Lookout - another great reason to make the short detour! Of course, if you have a flat it'll take a bit longer... http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...l01640x480.jpg The Trunk Road South of Mockingbird Hill is fast and wide, with sweeping curves. Try to ride it during the week, as weekend offroad traffic to and from the area can be pretty heavy. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x480.jpg Exiting the trunk road, Ghost Creek Road takes you South toward the town of Morley: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d02640x480.jpg Ghost Creek road turns into Richard's Road, which is rugged but passable for a few km before it turns into good gravel again: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d04640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x480.jpg After the Smith-Dorrien road South of Canmore, the trail heads North up several km of slab on Highway 40 to the Sibbald Creek Road (Alberta #68). Specacular views along this highway! http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...001640x480.jpg Powderface Trail heads South off Sibbald Creek, and is about 30 km of twisty narrow gravel with terrific views. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...e01640x480.jpg You may even see bear prints on Powderface. Big Grizz by the looks of it - the print was about 6" wide! http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...e02640x480.jpg A small bridge in the McLean Creek area. This was taken during the flooding of 2005 - normally the water is much lower: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k01640x429.jpg By the way, watch out for wildlife in this area. One day I was blasting down the road about 3 km from where that last pic was taken and just about ran into 3 large elk standing in the middle of the road. They looked at me for a few seconds and lazily wandered away. Gorge Creek Road South of the McLean Creek riding area. The pic doesn't come close to doing the view justice (do they ever?). http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k01640x480.jpg Riding through the town of Turner Valley: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...y01640x480.jpg South of Turner Valley you get some straight gravel with nice views. Watch out for wildlife - saw 4 moose on this road one time. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...y01640x480.jpg |
The view Eastward from the highest point on Alberta 532, sometimes called Windy Peak. Worth a stop and a look - and again, the pics don't do it justice.
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k01640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k02640x480.jpg Down from Windy Peak back on the Forestry Trunk Road. Apparently 911 works here...if you can get cell coverage... http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x429.jpg A couple of shots from Dutch Creek Road - spectacular views here! http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k01640x480.jpg http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k02640x480.jpg Racehorse Pass is one of three dirt passes across the AB/BC border South of Kananaskis Country and North of Highway 3. This one would be do-able on a loaded KLR, but a GS would be a handful. It'll be a technical option for the route. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s01640x480.jpg Hartley Pass Road, North of Fernie BC. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...s01640x480.jpg A view from the Bull River FSR, North of Fernie BC: http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...R01640x480.jpg Ripping up to the Quinn Creek road exit off of the Bull River FSR. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k01640x480.jpg A view from Quinn Creek Road. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k03640x480.jpg Here's what the Quinn Creek looks like - in case you were wondering. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k04640x480.jpg Another view from Quinn Creek. You'll love this ride through here! http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...k05640x480.jpg A shot of Settler's Road - the last bit of gravel before Radium. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...d01640x480.jpg That's my tour of what I've got so far. Hope you enjoyed your "virtual ride" through SK and AB, and hope you get a chance to ride the real thing sometime! __________________ Chris |
Status
There are about 8 of us now working on this project. Some have taken on a section of the route and are creating the GPS tracks, waypoints, etc One fellow is a GIS guru for a living and is creating the maps and making sense of the route and prepping it for distribution, another fellow is a graphic designer and is creating logo's, templates for the guidebook, covers, etc
All in all the project is coming along quite nicely :thumbup1: Here's a random photo of one of the roads that will be included http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ood-aerial.JPG |
Vancouver Island
NOTE: cross posting these photo's from Anthony that he took while on Vancouver Island
Where the route ends http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/...7281b89d_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2510/...13dd04da_b.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3411/...6a60b880_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2776/...7b811a5c_b.jpg Indeed Anthony is a wizard with the camera bier Check out his site http://motojournalism.blogspot.com/[/URL] |
Just a couple of pictures from this last summer that I don't believe got posted (my apologies if they are repeats).
Southern Ontario Optional "Technical Section"...Pencil Lake Road http://64.136.20.22/2858280_l.JPG http://64.136.20.22/2858308_l.JPG Optional "technical Section" near Ompah, Ontario http://64.136.20.22/2728580_l.jpg "Main Route", southern Ontario...Haliburton Heritage Trail http://64.136.20.22/2858320_l.JPG "Main Route", southern Ontario.....Eels Lake Road http://64.136.20.22/2858311_l.JPG "Main Route", southern Ontario....Nippissing Ghost Road http://64.136.20.22/2858352_l.JPG "Main Route", southern Ontario....K&P Rail Trail http://64.136.20.22/2728563_l.jpg |
Juames making sure we don't get lost, again :rofl
http://64.136.20.22/2728582_l.jpg Granite Lake, Ontario...great informal camp spot :deal. Warm water, sandy beach, cliffs to jump from, etc http://64.136.20.22/2728576_l.jpg Young ladies in the mud (yes they are of age..it's just you who is getting older) http://64.136.20.22/2760502_l.JPG |
STATUS and about the project
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You can see how the Technical Sections (5 of them in this section) intertwine with main route. The Main Route is designed to be “doable” by big bikes and by trucks (land rovers, suv’s, jeeps, etc). The bulk of the main route consists of non paved roads. Some are narrow, some are wide gravel highways and in a few spots may be challenging for some folks. As the final route has yet to be completed I can only guess based on what I have seen so far but it looks like approximately 10-15% of the main route is on paved roads (they are called dual sport bikes). From experience some of these paved sections are pretty exceptional (scenic, twisty, hilly, etc). Some of the paved roads are not so glamorous and are used to connect gravel roads, nature of the beast and cannot be avoided. We have all tried to limit the amount of asphalt wherever possible. The Technical Sections offer exactly what the title says, tracks that are more technical than a gravel road. Again I can only guess as the route is not completed but I think there will be approximately 20-30 technical sections on the TCAT. Mud, water crossing, narrow trails, steep hills, etc are what can be expected. They are not crazy enduro type terrain, but rather challenging terrain for a fully loaded travel enduro bike. I will have ridden every one of them on my 500 pound bike loaded with gear and will confidently be able to say that they are “doable”. This is a real grey line, we realize that but we are doing our best to not add anything that WE deem to crazy, for some these sections may be lame (I doubt it) and for others they may be considered crazy. Time will tell, all I can say is that I will have done each of them and I consider myself nothing more than a strong intermediate rider. Antronax has joined the team and is going to be creating the logo’s for the TCAT and some other graphic design type of stuff. This is a huge help to the project Among other things he is contributing is a template for the guidebook. I have just begun to work on the guidebook. The intent is to have a 250+- page book that will be available for sale. It will include a write up for each gpx file (or section of the route) with some history, geography, pictures, a detailed map and more importantly a description of the terrain and what folks can expect over the next few days of riding. There will be a charge for the guidebook with proceeds going to try and keep our web site alive. As I mentioned I have just begun to wrap my head around this part of the project and I am beginning to realize that writing a book is no small thing. My wife has generously volunteered to be the editor, which is huge because my grammar and spelling is...well....not so great. A quick sample (first draft, no template, bad spelling mistakes, etc) just to give you an idea of what I am thinking about. In my experience it is best to just start doing it, putting pen to paper so to speak and begin. Of course this will get revamped, updated and probably won’t even be in the book but starting as they say is the hardest part. |
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In summary I am very excited with how far we got this year. I am simply blown away by the folks who have joined “the team” and are lending their expertise in a field or area of the country to try and make the TCAT something exceptional. The final product is beginning to become visible and to be honest it will be much better than I ever expected. I believe the mix of geography, cultures and terrain this route will offer will be second to none in North America for travel enduro bikes and 4 wheeled overland vechicles. I would never have made that statement 6 months ago, but I feel confident in saying it now because of the all the people helping out I'd like to do a shout out to some of the people who have got in touch with me and suggested roads, trails, scenic spots, etc A HUGE THANK YOU Andy from Alberta has been kind enough to send me some gps tracks in Alberta and BC and answered a kazillion emails with questions about the terrain, access, etc. Help like this is only adding to the overall project and will benefit the route significantly. Having local's help us out along the way is a big plus...THANKS ANDY :thumb Andy http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...img_1312_2.jpg A potential "technical section" in Alberta :evil http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...9/IMGP1201.jpg Potential for the main route through the East Kootenay's http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...9/IMGP1255.jpg Potential: optional "Technical Section" near Invermere BC (East Kootenays) http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...9/IMGP1338.jpg http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...9/IMGP1310.jpg Once again Andy, thanks for the tracks and photo's :thumbup1: A question was asked on another forum of where that rideg photo was taken As for the ridge.....up above Paradise Mines, shoulder of Mt Nelson near Panorama ski resort. The pic (or so I have been told) involves a few hairy moments to get to and from... http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...9/IMGP1281.jpg http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...9/IMGP1284.jpg http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...9/IMGP1321.jpg BUT Andy was also good enough to point oput an alternate route that goes up and over the ridge that may be more suitable for loaded large bikes :deal All of Andy's info has been passed on to Manxman to consider as the majority of BC is his playground and he'll be planning the route through that section of Canada. Have fun Manxman :freaky Looks like some fun terrain you get to try out there in BC. Have I mentioned that I miss living in BC lately ? |
Cross post in reference to the route through the East kootenay valley in BC
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If you don't already know the third and final stage of the trans lab was completed 2010 i completed an across Canada ride in the winter of 2010 from the west coast of Vancouver Island to the East coast of Cartwright Labrador / NFLD,Increadible ride in the winter no electric clothing just proper layering and was toasty warm the whole way.
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Nice ,you should try it in the winter Not 1 Bug the whole way smooth ice road surfaces no potholes or mud, truck traffic is much less busy.Endless miles of beauty,Everyone should try what you folks did great for a skills builder and a whole lot of fun congrats on a safe ride back.
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Winter on a bike in Labrador? Not my cup of tea :biggrin3:
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The terminus for the TCAT has been decided, a small town called Winter Harbour on Vancouver Island. It is the most westerly town accessible by road in canada and makes a fitting end to the route.
David is creating the route across the island and has provided some pictures of what we can expect. http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/IMG_2746.jpg A dip in the ocean at one of the beaches near Winter Harbour would be a good end/beginning to the journey... This picture was taken in December... http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/IMG_0120.jpg |
Cross post from david, aka Gunnerbuck
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Vancouver Island Cont'd
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The Cariboo region in BC is slated to be on the route bier
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMG_1030-1.jpg Lotsa room to camp... http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMG_0957-1.jpg http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMG_0951-1.jpg http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMG_0921-1.jpg Most riding areas you get your scenic bits with miles of ho-hum in between... In the Cariboo you spend the whole day in euphoric splendor, there are not many dull bits to put you to sleep... http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/IMG_2025.jpg |
The routes we are creating are designed for four wheeled overland vechicles as well as bikes.
http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p...r/DSCF5036.jpg http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p...010sept020.jpg http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6320.jpg http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6184.jpg http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p...26ba2c21-1.jpg http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p.../sIMG_4197.jpg http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p.../sIMG_4713.jpg http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture041.jpg http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6401.jpg http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6414.jpg On sunny days I am very glad to have my bike, but on those days where its cold and rainy my mind turns to a vechilce like Rob's nicely setup Landrover and trailor. Guess you can't have everything :mchappy: |
As a whole the poject is coming along nicely. The TCAT is on course to be completed in the fall of 2012. The True North east route should be completed this summer. A handful of folks are working on shorter "weekend" routes across various area's in Canada. Our new website, graveltravel.ca, should be up and running this fall and ready to begin distributing routes.
A very rough overview of Canada showing the TCAT is pink and the TNE in blue. http://64.136.20.22/2975149_l.JPG The logo for the TCAT is complete, thanks to Anthony for his grpahic design expertise. As he posted early the templates for the book are almost completed and I have spent too many hours typing away for it. Spring can't come soon enough, nothing like writing and researching bike/truck routes all winter to get a person twitching :ylsmoke: http://64.136.20.22/2967229_l.png A logo is underway for the TNE and the write up is almost complete for the new website. In May a friend and myself will be riding the sections that are left unridden and will have a finalized gps route in place for the launch of the web site this fall. The TNE looks like a great route, best guess is two weeks from the Maine/New Brunsiwck and return via paved roads. Some pretty diverse and remote country is included. http://64.136.20.22/2967230_l.jpg In May we have approximately 60 or so folks coming up from the states to pre ride a few days of the TCAT. Termed the Roaming Rally, it should be one heck of a fun couple of days. A real diverse crowd from beginners to expert racers, big bikes to little bikes to landrovers. This should give us a good idea as to how the different user groups feel about the terrain. The portion of the TCAT they will be riding/driving has about 6 optional technical sections which are sure to challenge the less experienced folks. Stay tuned as I'm sure some "interesting" stories will come out of this event :smiley_drive: |
Some random pictures from the New Brunswick folks showing some of the roads of the TNE in that province.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...ide2010031.jpg http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...10edit-027.jpg http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...10edit-009.jpg http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/IMG_0703.jpg http://dockingpilot.smugmug.com/Moto...57_ikSWP-M.jpg[/URL] http://dockingpilot.smugmug.com/Moto...71_bXSQz-M.jpg[/URL] http://dockingpilot.smugmug.com/Moto...70_JtJ2p-M.jpg[/URL] http://dockingpilot.smugmug.com/Moto...14_XduNJ-M.jpg[/URL |
A cross post from Anthony
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Here comes a barrage of photo's from the East Kootenay valley. I am cross posting these photo's and most belong to a fellow who goes by Jager on advrider. The east Kootenay Valley is a great place, I lived there for three years and I think alot of people will be impressed when they travel the route this area of BC :ylsmoke:
Enjoy the eye candy :smiley_drive: http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/trip0110.jpg http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/trip0015.jpg http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/trip0016.jpg |
http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/trip0213.jpg
http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/trip0216.jpg http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/1010.jpg http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/img_3510.jpg http://i81.servimg.com/u/f81/14/11/62/01/1310.jpg http://i81.servimg.com/u/f81/14/11/62/01/imgp5612.jpg http://i81.servimg.com/u/f81/14/11/62/01/111.jpg |
Check out the road in the background :drool:
http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/5210.jpg http://i81.servimg.com/u/f81/14/11/62/01/510.jpg http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/5410.jpg http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/imgp6813.jpg http://i31.servimg.com/u/f31/14/11/62/01/img_3810.jpg http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/14/11/62/01/trip0020.jpg The East Kootenay valley seperates the Rocky Mountains and the Purcell Mountains. In the next photo you see the Rockies. The route follows logging roads through the Rockies for a few hundred miles before entering the East Kootenay valley and crossing the Purcell Range into the West Kootenay Valley. http://i81.servimg.com/u/f81/14/11/62/01/imgp3714.jpg http://i81.servimg.com/u/f81/14/11/62/01/810.jpg http://i81.servimg.com/u/f81/14/11/62/01/131-3110.jpg http://i31.servimg.com/u/f31/14/11/62/01/bugice10.jpg http://i31.servimg.com/u/f31/14/11/62/01/glacie10.jpg http://i31.servimg.com/u/f31/14/11/62/01/flower10.jpg A big thanks to Jager for all the tips on the roads in the area and for showing us some amazing photo's :victory: |
Great read guys, hey how can i sign onto you website I tried but need to register but no link. Please complete the trip across Canada as it is my bucket list and I don;t need the trans Canada and want to follow your route. Cheers Booysenjeiger
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Enjoy your travels |
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