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
s 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.
"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
Dan and myself finally hit the road at 1:30 pm. The forecast showed rain behind us but blue skies where we were headed.
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.
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.
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
s 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
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
s 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hybrid Mode
