Hi ScrabbleBiker,
Our trip up the tracks proved that article to be far less than accurate. Notice the date on the article June 15th. We rode up dry, not flooded tracks on June 13th and 14th. Also there are not 24 washouts in the damaged area. Matter of fact the damage is all in the middle 50 miles of the track between Silcox and McClintock and there are only 14 washouts. They total less than 1000 feet for all of them combined. Its very frustrating for me to see and hear the fake news out there. I can only imagine what its like for those in Churchill and Gillam and other towns who are directly affected by the RR closure. I have seen that there is a lot more to this story than simply fixing the tracks. There are different groups out there who are acting in their best interests and that does not mean fixing the tracks.
Steve

Are you the first to ride there?
 

I have done a google search and your name is the only one that comes up as one that has done this adventure on a motorcycle. Another Gentlemen just did it on his snow cycle but that's a different story.

Questions questions I have so many questions. My wife and I are avid motorcycle riders and would love to ride to Churchill as this is where her Parents met.

If I could kindly bother you with a few questions that would be great. Like what was the last town you left before going totally off road?

How many Km/miles was it to Churchill from there?

How many days was there threat of Polar bears on this trip?

What did you do for gas?

so much more i would love to ask but i will wait and see if you reply to this old post.

Thank you
Greg

Hi Greg,
I know its been months but I only just saw your post. You can call me if you like and I will answer what I can. three oh three nine nine 3 seven six seven oh
Steve

Its been 5 years since I stopped by here and over 6 years since I did the ride to Churchill. When I think back the ride still thrills me and glad I did it. The world and Canada has changed vastly since I did this ride in 2017. Still looks like nobody else has made the motorcycle ride up the tracks. We got lucky with our timing and the events of 2017 made it possible. If anybody wants to contact me I updated my email address which had changed a few years back. All the best,
Steve

Thanks for the thread!

Not exactly on topic however we considered taking the train from Thompson to Churchill this year while en route Vancouver-St John's (and back). Travelling on four wheels so no bike option (excuses...).

A number of factors led us to leave Churchill until another trip.

PS: I am reminded of riding in Botswana along a water pipeline construction track and finding (in mid-air) that one of the bridges was no longer there...

train ride to James Bay
 

Alanymarce ,
If you are interested in train rides into the tundra and muskeg then the Polar Bear Express might be for you . It takes yo up to Moosonee from Cochrane , Ontario which lies on the north route of the Trans Canada Highway .

It is not so far out of the way as is the ride to Churchill. Train or plane are the only ways to get there from the south .

https://www.ontarionorthland.ca/en/t...assenger-train
'
I did it before the covid interlude AND thought it was a good side trip . The train ride there takes five hours ,then you get to walk around for a few hours then another 5 hour ride back . You can leave the car , or a bike , parked safely at the Cochrane railway station

Thanks for the suggestion - another one for the future. We do plan to get to Churchill before long, and also to a few places which are accessible only by air or sea (Pangnirtung for example). We did think about Cochrane and left it for the moment.

We have now sold our vehicle in Canada and have no plans to do more than short trips (less than a month) for the next while, mostly at home in Colombia. The next big trip will be South Asia, next year.

I've been to Churchill numerous times, and to Pangnirtung numerous times, as well as to Qikiqtarjuaq, which is on the other side of Baffin Island from Pang.

In all cases, was there because I was delivering new Twin Otter aircraft from Victoria, BC to somewhere in Europe or Africa and Churchill and Pang were good night stops along the way. Pangnirtung was my alternate in case the weather went down at Qikiqtarjuaq.

Although all three towns were "interesting", I don't think that visiting any of them would justify the significant cost involved in getting there. Churchill is a lot like a small town on the Prairies: pretty much one long main street with everything on one side of it or another. There are polar bears present at certain times of the year, and they generate a lot of tourist visits.

Pangnirtung is, uh, "not impressive" other than the big cliffs beside the town. There are very limited services for visitors, just one place to stay and one place to eat, and neither one of them is very good, but both are very expensive. Both Pang and Qikiqtarjuaq are dry communities, meaning that possession or sale of alcohol is prohibited. Despite that, there are significant problems with addiction to various substances, including alcohol, in Pang.

There are a lot more interesting places in the world that you could go to for the same amount of money it would cost you to go to Churchill or Pang.

Michael