Exotic Eastern Canada-Northern Latitudes 2010. Trans-Taiga, Trans- Labrador & beyond.

[GB]

Great report and ride!! The bike looks good too .. Thanks for the detailed updates

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by Gadget Boy

Great report and ride!! The bike looks good too .. Thanks for the detailed updates

thanks, another chapter soon.

[ArthDuro]

that there sir is one well thought out motorcycle
great writing too

keep it coming

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by ArthDuro

that there sir is one well thought out motorcycle
great writing too

keep it coming

thanks, the bike ran really well across some poor road conditions.

more on the way.


trouble ahead...

[yamalama]

Great stuff.
Thank you.

[Serge LeMay]

Very nice !!!! Tempting, right now !!!!

Keep it coming, like the writing , good stuff

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by Serge LeMay

Very nice !!!! Tempting, right now !!!!

really enjoyed my ride through Quebec, both north and south...people trying to teach me some French, but i'm hopeless.

[jdrocks]

Day 7: Friday 8/27/10-Mirage to Rupert River (Baie-James), QC, 410 miles

Up early and raring to ride. I was feelin’ fresh and thought I was getting into the rhythm of the long days in the saddle. It didn’t sound like it was raining hard, and I found just mist and light drizzle as I looked out the window. Looks like I’ll ride this whole road without seeing the sun. I planned an early start, was fuelled and packed, and had told Christophe that I would see him early to check out.

Mirage had just switched their beer vendor, and their entire inventory of beer was down to a dozen bottles when I gave up my spot in front of the cooler last night. They might have done some arm wrasslin’ for those last few beers and I don’t think I could have beaten any of those guys. Hell, I couldn’t have beaten most of those women either. It was a rough and tumble north country crowd on the verge of a rock and roll riot. A truck load of beer was due in this morning.

I wanted an early start because I planned on camping at the Rupert River and didn’t want to set up in the dark. Only around 400 miles, but I had over 200 miles of the Trans Taiga to go before the Baie-James intersection and pavement. My other concern for today was the distance back down to Relais 381 for fuel, around 325 miles. I should be fine if I didn’t get crazy with the speed once I reached a hard surface. I was at the office door at 7am, no Christophe, everything was locked up tight. My early launch strategy fizzled right there.

The only other people around were some guests I had met last night, and they came over to talk. They had helicoptered into Mirage and were servicing all the remote communication towers in the area. These towers seem like they are on just about every high point in the terrain. They were doing this work for one of the big Canadian telecom companies under a complicated layer of contracts, subcontracts, and equipment leases. These young people were doing this work coast-to-coast, “We’re a big country, so the people have to go where needed”. Kind of a pioneering spirit I’d say, and it happened to be a young woman who was speaking.

I see the Mirage owner come into the office after 8, and she unlocks the door, finds Christophe, and I’m able to settle the bill and check out. If the Mirage was an unfriendly place in the past, it’s not the case now with Christophe running the show.

Now I need to make some time, and without knowing anything about the road conditions, I can’t guess if it’s possible. No graders were working ahead of me as I ride west on a road still wet from two days of rain. Now I’m seeing some blue to the west and the light rain has stopped. I might finally ride out from under the cloud cover. I make it to the Cree outfitter and pull into the pumps, mainly just to take a break. The pumps were still closed, but this time there’s a pickup at the buildings across the road and a guys jumps in to drive over. A smiling Cree fella, I tell him I just need to top off, no problem, and I think he welcomes the opportunity to talk to someone. I have my camera out and he says “Let me take your picture at our pumps so you remember us”. I think what he meant was to remember that this land belonged to the Cree people. Thanks, my friend, count on me to remember.



I hadn’t seen any vehicles yet, but as I continued west, graders had worked the road yesterday and I could see some tire tracks. I had adopted the practice of using the banking in the corners just like everyone else when I had a sight line through the curve. This kept me out of the deep gravel on top and usually there was a well worn line down low, sometimes two.

I was riding comfortably at 50 and downshifted to 5^th for a little compression braking as I rapidly approached a sweeping left hand curve. There was moderate banking here with deep gravel thrown up the banking and covering the whole west bound lane. I dropped down and picked a line on the upper track in the east bound side, ran over a patch of marbles, drifted a little lower, and rode right into a deep sand hole saturated by the recent rain.

The front wheel dropped into the hole and the bars were nearly ripped from my hands. I was on the gas instantly, the front end lifted, the rear end came around left, and I roared up out of that sand like I was attached to a bungie cord. Now I’m crossed up right, shooting up the banking at a shallow angle, and in real trouble. My entire world was inside a little circle centered on the bike where the action was going by in high def clarity. Everything outside that circle was a complete blur.

Off the gas a fraction of a second, the bike straightened up, but I’m in the marbles on top of the banking and about to run off the road. Stab the shifter into 4^th without the clutch, lean left, and now the rear is coming around right in a spray of loose gravel. I can’t believe I’m up. Still at 40 going down the banking at an angle, now I’m going to run off into the trees at the inside of the curve, not in control yet. I muscled the bike back around right, stabbed the shifter again, and on the gas in 3^rd when I find another sand hole down low. The bike snapped upright and instead of another lowside, I almost highside. I wanted to be going right and ended up coming around left, still on the gas, that engine was howling. I was moving too fast to catch the upper east bound track, but landed in the hard lower track, upright, straight, and coasting. My heart had stopped beating. I had forgotten how to breathe. My throat felt like sandpaper, I know I was yelling something on that roller coaster, don’t ask me exactly what. It was all over in some very long seconds.

I never stopped. If I hadn’t been dazed, I might have. At a quarter mile I was fidgeting around in the seat trying to get comfortable again, and at the half mile mark I was back in 6^th and rollin’ west at 50. There was nothing else to do. I had been riding at a deliberate pace, not slow, but not nutso fast either. I couldn’t think of anything to change. Being in 5^th sure helped me power out of that first hole, and not for the first time, but 4^th gear was the one that saved my ass. From that curve forward, I thought of 4^th as my “get me the fuck outta here” gear, and would need it again on the gravel ahead.

West of the Sakami intersection the road was showing even more use. A Hydro Quebec service truck went flying by, these people are maniacs on this road. Graders are back working the road in both directions, but the windrowers weren’t doing a good job of moving the rocks back over to the shoulder. It was tough riding even when dry.



A few miles farther, the west bound grader operator had stuck the blade down in the ditch and pulled all the big rocks back into the road. That’s where I find the same Hydro Quebec service truck, left rear tire shredded. Now I’m out to the Baie-James and off the bike for the first time since fuel this morning. The Trans Taiga had proven the toughest of all them all so far, mainly due to wet roads and lack of traffic. I’d love to ride in there again, just not today. You need faith to ride into these roads, the faith that somehow and in some way, you will come back out again.




I had a few flashbacks to that earlier incident, but didn’t dwell on it. My focus had turned south to the Rupert, the sun was shining, and that net I was hoping would be there when I jumped had caught me after all. I was in good shape fuel wise and knew I could make Relais 381, no reason to go slow, so I didn’t. Run it up to 80 and go, it felt real different after the last three days. I dump in a can when I get a fuel light, I was expecting to see it, and then I’m back at the 381 fuel pumps again. No French speaking gasboy, no tutoring request this time. Man, I needed a break, and have a nice long lunch late in the afternoon. Two pieces of pie for dessert, I had worked hard for them.

It was only 80 miles south to the Riviere Rupert, I had slowed down to an easy cruise, just enjoying the day with plenty to look at. A dozen shades of green on the trees, a dozen shades of brown on the rock. The Route du Nord intersection is on the left, I’ll see you tomorrow. The Rupert is just ten miles farther south. I suppose the wayside there is not for camping, but I wanted to camp at this particular spot. This is the site of the old 1200m Cree portage around a small falls and a long series of rapids, and had been used for centuries, maybe thousands of years. At this same time last season I had been on the Albany River across James Bay to the west, mapping the traditional Cree portages found there along the established trade routes. With most of the water diverted now, you might wonder what all the fuss was about. Before the diversion this section was considered unrunnable even with modern river craft, forget anything with a hull made from bark or skin. Many had tried, many had died trying.

Two men were sitting on top of a picnic table towards the front, so I went over to ask them if they thought it would be ok to camp. The older of the two was a bulky hard muscled 5’10”, and covered with elaborate black tats, including neck and shaved head. My impression was that this is one dangerous dude, nothing fake about him, and he had that smile that only a real deal tough guy can achieve. If he hadn’t shaved you might not notice that thin scar that ran from ear to chin along his jaw bone. If whatever had cut him had been a half inch lower, he wouldn’t be sittin’ in the sun on that table. They spoke little English, but understood what I was asking. In halting English the tat man finally said “In Quebec we are free, we do what we want. You can stay.” In the time that guy sat at the table up front, a number of cars pulled in. Nobody got out, nobody lingered.

I ran the bike down the footpath and set up camp at the back near the river. The ground was solid rock and I had to find some boulders to hold the tent down, no chance to drive a stake. So there I was as the sun went down, ready to sleep on the same rocks where the ancients had walked for so many years. I had visions.



Just a week into this trip, and I had already seen and done some things I would remember always. Back on the gravel tomorrow, round three….

(To be continued…)

[Vikingtazz]

Hey JD,

I took a day trip down to the Adirondacks today.
It was a bit chilly and a couple of wet patches, but I thought of you and declined to complain even a little.
Even when my nice paved side road became a snowmobile path.

Make hay tomorrow, the weatherman says 56 and partly cloudy.
The next few days starting Tuesday is forecast as rain.

Cheers

[atadloco]

Enjoying the report. Have fun!!!

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by Vikingtazz

I took a day trip down to the Adirondacks today.

unless you had 5.25" of rain like i did when i went through, you probably had a great ride.

[Throttlemeister]

Interesting you had trouble witht the Hydro Quebec workers up there, they all seemed very nice about slowing and moving over along the TT road. I'd just give them a little friendly wave or nod of the head.

I wonder if this was the guy you saw in the middle of nowhere along the TT road. He's a Frenchman who lives out in the bush in a primitvie camp for most of the year and studies the wolves of the Tiaga-http://www.peupleloup.info/



He works at Nouchimi Camp on occasion to help finance his wolf studies, totally funded by himself, very intersting character. Said he could live something like 6 months off nothing more than beans and rice Oh and you can get gas, you just have to pay extra if you are late Pay phone across the street to call for service.



Hope yougot to take LG2 Dam Tour, its free for driving all the way up there!

As you learned you got to watch out for the drunk Indians up at Jo's & Mike's Restaurant up at Radisson, I know what you dealt with

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by Throttlemeister

Interesting you had trouble witht the Hydro Quebec workers up there, they all seemed very nice about slowing and moving over along the TT road. I'd just give them a little friendly wave or nod of the head.

I wonder if this was the guy you saw in the middle of nowhere along the TT road. He's a Frenchman who lives out in the bush in a primitvie camp for most of the year and studies the wolves of the Tiaga-http://www.peupleloup.info/



He works at Nouchimi Camp on occasion to help finance his wolf studies, totally funded by himself, very intersting character. Said he could live something like 6 months off nothing more than beans and rice Oh and you can get gas, you just have to pay extra if you are late Pay phone across the street to call for service.



Hope yougot to take LG2 Dam Tour, its free for driving all the way up there!

As you learned you got to watch out for the drunk Indians up at Jo's & Mike's Restaurant up at Radisson, I know what you dealt with

thanks for the reply. the total vehicle count for my ride on the TT was 20, and most were Hydro Quebec. they were driving that road very aggressivly, and i think that was normal for them. too fast, no chance to wave in either direction.

the guy i saw on the road is the guy in your photo. what a coincidence!

i didn't need fuel at Nouchimi either direction, i could have made Mirage or 381 with the fuel i had on board.

no tours for me this time. i've done the dam tour thing previously.

the Cree at the cafe was the only drunk native i saw in Radisson, a low incident rate compared to other places i've been in the north. there were a lot of people hanging around that deck, and i could have run over his sorry ass, but he had fallen backwards over the steps when i made my escape. i would have felt bad about the whole thing, but the locals were enjoying the show.

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by jdrocks

thanks for the reply. the total vehicle count for my ride on the TT was 20, and most were Hydro Quebec.

Things are getting a little crowded up North on the TT I don't think I saw near that amount last year. Did see lots of graders thou.

Very detail rr, thanks for sharing

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by Throttlemeister

Things are getting a little crowded up North on the TT

plenty of Hydro people working along that road, they must not get out much.

compared to similar length roads like the dalton and dempster, the TT has just a small fraction of the traffic.