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February , 2012
Monday

What can I say about the Chi-Cheemaun ferry experience? I enjoyed it so ...
Well it was a late start getting on the road. I loaded up my bike ...
The Ride for Sight is just over a week away and we are still far ...
Well, it's coming up on that time of year again. Colder temps and less favourable ...

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

From Victoria BC to the Trans-Labrador Highway – Part 1

Posted by Iceman On January - 1 - 2011 Comments Off

By Paul Mondor
www.paulmondor.com
Dec 15h 2007 – Jan 4th 2008

Flying home. Having completed his winter cross-Canada trek from Victoria to Goose Bay, Labrador via the Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH) and getting as far as Joliette, QC, on the return to Victoria, Paul has decided to fly home. Repairs on “Frosty”, his BMW F650GS Dakar, have taken longer than expected and given Paul some time to consider how long the trip has kept him away from his home. The timing of Frosty’s service was fortuitous in that it coincided with some very nasty weather moving through the area and kept Paul in a warm, dry place while the storms ravaged outside.

Paul’s inspiring story is below…in his own words…

Dec. 15th

Well! As time went by since Frosty (Paul’s trusty BMW F650GS Dakar) and I have come back last year, she has seen some transformation happening to her already beautiful and sexy lines. In her case she has gained some weight. She needed to in order for her to carry the extra weight in gear that she and I will need this year to not only go across Canada but also go across Labrador.

No modifications were made to her engine except a K&N filter. She will be running on 10W40 and a new chain and sprockets were added as well. She got a sprocket job done. She went from 47 teeth to 49. This should be more than enough for her to carry her new appendage.

It is a Sputnik sidecar that I purchased from Dauntless Motors in Enumclaw Washington. It is all metal, weights only 200 lbs and has solid covers that can be lifted just like a trunk or hood and it can be also used as a cargo sidecar once the seat is removed.

The mounting system that they added to Frosty is pretty impressive. It replaces the original sub frame and has all the mounts ready to go. It is a lot sturdier than the stock BMW.
Once configured properly (Toe in and camber) she rides pretty good. The maiden ride with the new sidecar was from Enumclaw to Victoria and this included fighting I-5 at rush hour. It was a good way to learn how to handle Frosty with Snowball attached to her. Snowball is the sidecar name. He has already been christened by friends of mine!

Here she is before she got painted the same metallic blue than the Dakar!

I like orange but even if the sidecar is a necessity I still wanted the whole thing to at least look good!
Ok! It is not a show piece but Dammit! Blue and orange is not exactly a color match made in heaven.
Here is the Cave! Where surgery is performed with high quality tools, warm cup of coffee and the peace and quiet men love to have when working in their metal covered, gear spinning, wheel turning, torque setting, spark producing iron smelling, life creating Oasis! Arrrhhhh! Arrrhhhh HHHRaaa!

Snowball got painted by Curt at Ferny’s auto body in Victoria http://fernysautobody.com. He did a hell of a good job,

 

Okee Dokee! Here is a picture of my Compadre Harry Harding who will join me on the trip to at least Manitoba. From there he will see. here he is on his bike that is all ready to go.
he also has his new North 49 Arctic suit on.

Jan. 2nd

Okee Dokee!

We made it to Grand forks at 6:30. we did 600 kms today. we got here it is about -10 and we did not have any incident.
The last hour or so was ridden in the dark and Harry had to slow down quite a bit in the curves as he could not see the surface. he is getting a hang of it though!

Lots of snow in Manning park lots of slush, sand and crap. the bike are absolutely filthy! I can hear my can of pledge talking to me but I am ignoring it. We got to Osooyos and the view of the valley was great.


All in all we had a great day! I had a few goos pucker moment! i guess I will get back into them as i was last year.

Harry had a few scary moments I am sure because when we stopped and I asked him how he was, his eyes were about to pop out of his head as in “Holy Shit Man! What the hell? This is absolutely nuts!”

But he stuck to it. Quite a trooper. I guess spending 30 years as an RCMP CSI builds you a big set of nuts!
We are hunkered down in Grand forks right now and the bed looks pretty freaking inviting.

We will hit the road around 7:30 AM and head for the Salmo Creston Pass. Could be good, could be bad! Shit i am laughing gso hard right now I can hardly write. I just asked harry if he will have a shower and he said “Nope! I got to wait to give birth to a staff sergeant before I do! (turns out he means taking a dump!) You know the 3 SSS? Shiot shave and shampoo? Well he will not mess the order of things! Let’s just leave it as that!

Jan. 3rd

This was a hell of a day! We got up in Grand Forks at 7:00 and left by 8:00.

The roads in Grand Forks were slicked with packed snow. The start was slow as harry still is learning how to steer in the snow and on ice. He is doing damn well though.
I am having fun on the hack but sometimes a bit too much. I am far from knowing what the hell I am doing but I am giving it my best to learn. I am sliding sideways in corners and having a ball.
By the time the road is really going up around Christina Lake it gets messier.

But the views are unbelievable! I remember last year how I was at awe at the beauty of the scenery in winter. I feel the same again! This so cool!

So far I am only wearing my Aerostich Darien pants with my polar tech Long john’s and my Darien Jacket with my polar tech undershirt, a t shirt. The Aerostich liner and I feel warm and toasty. I have my Sorel boots on and damn! If I could kiss them I would. But I don’t eat salt.

Before we know it the tarmac is gone and the wind picks up!

While we are stopped on a hill an RCMP cruiser stops by and the fellow could not believe his eyes! He said that in the 9 years he has been around these parts he has never seem anything like this! HMMM I wonder why.

By this time Harry is really struggling but he is hanging on! Hats off to him! The guy has determination. While we are going up he loses it and fall downs at about 30 km/h. he is ok though and the only damage his bike has suffered is that his left Touratech bag will need some plastic surgery (Welding) and his rack to be straightened out. But as he gets back up he says “Well! Battle scars!” man! This guy has the spirit!

About 20 minutes later the shit has really hit the fan. My hack can barely move forward,

Harry is down to 10 km/h and we can hardly see where we are going! Hazards on, Harry keeps going but we stop again and he asks me to go ahead of him and wait for him further down the mountain! He says he is too nervous with me behind. Especially as he knows I am filming as we go!

After waiting for him for about 40 minutes I turned around and go back. I meet with him about 10 minutes down the road. Slow as molasses, his eyes pocking out of his skull, his shield open because he breathes to hard and his Schuberth keeps fogging up!

Talking about fogging up! This B2SV Bombardier Helmet is a damn fine piece of hardware! This is by far the best helmet I have ever worn! PERIOD!!!

Anyways, the highest part is behind us and down we are going! Ahead? Castlegar! Looking at the road I already know that Harry has to stop. I know he will be bummed out but this is insane! I make it to the Chevron in Castlegar at the first exit, hoping he will see me from the highway! I hope he will remember the lesson I have been trying to teach him. “Ignore the front brake! From here to Labrador there is no front brake on the bike ok?”
While I am waiting I jack the bike up, get my drill out and my studs and put studs on my rear TKC 80. Shit! This tire is melting away! I guess riding the hack is harder on the rubber.


It takes me about an hour to put them on and Harry safely shows up as I am finishing. I am happy to see him. The conditions are worsening and the locals say that there is a heavy snow warning over the region.
Harry goes straight to the gas pump and fuels up Icicle! Then he walks his bike to where I am! I can see that he is done for. A mix of fatigue, broken nerves and stress! But he is still grinning.

I go to him and tell him point blank. “Harry? This is the end of the road for you! This is ridiculous and you cannot make it another mile. As we are talking a fellow stops, and after the usual “Do they know you escaped and that you are out!” joke, he tells us that there is another 10-20 cm coming in a hurry!
We decide to go to the Tim Horton’s down the road and make a decision!
People are looking at us like we are aliens who crashed from planet Crypton! And looking at Harry wobbling his way in the parking lot on a bike that would be loaded too top heavy in summer I am kind of agreeing with the locals!

After a soups and coffee we agree! This is it for him! At least for today! We go to my usual little motel in Castlegar. The Flamingo motel!

Frank and Deborah know me there! Let’s just say that they keep my bucket and my cleaning rages for my bike.
So we sign in and I decide to take a chance and attack the Salmo Creston Pass!
Holy Crap! Just when I thought that what we went through was bad. I wanted to try it because they do avalanche control at 10 in the morning all over the pass and it is not passable till 12. So Harry and I agree that if I make it across I will phone him and let him know about the conditions. So he might try to make it tomorrow! He has decided that Winnipeg will be his final destination. So now he can jettison his big bag. He will leave it in Castlegar and picked it up in the spring when he goes through on his way back home to Southern Manitoba!

I am climbing the Salmo Creston pass at about 40 to 50 km/h! I am sliding and spinning all over the place! Good thing I put the studs on!
It is taking forever to climb. One thing is for sure! It is nasty because I have the road to myself! It takes about 30 minutes before I can see a rig come down! And as he goes by I am buried in snow! Can’t see crap! Well! That is another butt puckering moment!
I finally make it up the pass.

All in all it takes me almost 6 hours to make 200 kilometres! Frosty is so filthy I am not even sure it is her! But she is holding on! After what seems like an eternity I start making my way down! For those of you who have never done the Salmo Creston pass. It is along way down! I pick up speed quickly and before I know it I am riding like if I am on a snowmobile! Off the seat sliding sideways! I am having a grand ole time! Funny how it is! I am so nervous my guts hurt and at the same time I am having fun. This is exhausting

As I look around I am thinking “Hmm! This is going to be long way to Labrador……………………and back! But I tell myself “Paul! Shut up! No time and no point to think about that! I reach Creston! Damn! Am I ever happy?
I wan to stop for coffee but i am too tensed! I know that if I stop I will plant my ass on that chair and stay there till spring or till they arrest me for vagrancy! So I keep going! It is another 90 clicks to Cranbrook and it feels so freaking far!
The road is still covered with snow but at least it stopped snowing. So I hammer down (Light hammer) at about 60-70 clicks! It is all I can do! The packed snow at this altitude (Lower) Hs turned into sheer ice and the front wheel dances a bit too much when I hit this stuff!
As I get into Cranbrook my reserve light comes on! 236 kms! Not bad considering that she normally comes on at about 300 in the dry with no sidecar.
I sign in at the Econo Lodge where I stopped many times.
I am bagged! Remember last year in Sault St-Marie? Well I feel almost like this..
But you know what? It is good to be alive.

You would think that riding with a sidecar is easier but it is not! Ok it keeps you from sliding off the road, but man making sure the rig turns is no picnic! and some times it does not! So! Out comes the ass. counter steer full strength and push her in or out! It is like fighting a pig through a little door!
I had many high pucker factor moments last year on 2 wheels! But I am having as many now! They are just different! I said before that a sidecar would be too easy! Well! To those who heard me say this I honestly and profusely apologize!

There is nothing easy about it! It is as freaking scary as ever!
Keeping balance is nerve wrecking on 2 wheels! keeping the rig on the road is also nerve wrecking!

Okee! I am starting to have a headache here! too tired!

January 4, 2008
Cranbrook BC

Well! Got up this morning at 7:00 and took off in the dark at 7:45. The morning was nippy but the road was clear and it had stopped snowing. The ride from Cranbrook to Sparwood was cold and slippery but no snow on the ground.

About half an hour (At my speed) after Sparwood the road got covered with packed snow and hard slush. It was a rough ride but kept the speed at about 70 km/h. I can tell you this! Every time I travel to Alberta I am reminded that most of the Alberta drivers are a bunch of fast driving, tailgating, and impatient morons. Well! Kept my lane and let them steam! The only ones I moved over for were my friends the truckers.
From there to Fernie the road was snow covered mostly and not much traffic. From Fernie to Coleman it was still snow covered but by the time I reached the Crowsnest Pass the road were wet!

I stopped at the entrance of the Pass and took this shot of the frozen lake. It was pretty freaking windy but the sky was clear! Nothing to complain about!

When I was stopped at this lake, a snow plough driver that had tooted his horns at me a half hour before, stopped and we chatted a while! He could not believe his eyes. He was a motorcyclist himself and thought this was freaking awesome. He told me to stop at the Cinnamon Bear in Coleman because they had the best coffee and bun in the universe!
Well! I just could not refuse such a good suggestion and I stopped. After eating the most incredible bun in about 2.35678 nano seconds I have to agree with him.
The coffee was incredible. The last time I had drunk coffee this good was in the mountain of Santo Thomas in Guatemala in 2000. Man! That stuff was grown right beside the house of the Quetche people we were staying at.

After a quick but refreshing stop I kept going. The mountains tops whipped by the wind were absolutely breathtaking. We do live in the most beautiful country in the world. I said it before and I will always say it. Any one who rides a bike owes it to himself or herself to go for a winter ride like this. The scenery takes on a whole new personality and the views must be experienced to be believed. The combination of cold fresh air filling your lungs, the cold snapping at your fingers while you are taking pictures, the crisp clear air combined with the realization that you are alone out there today is something that I just cannot get enough. You know that feeling you get on a ride when all is right? The road is perfect, the curves invite you and your machine to perform this sensuous dance that only leaning left and right repeatedly can create. The scenery is exploding in front of your eyes and the you gasp for air as picture perfect shot after picture perfect shot goes by. You tell yourself ‘Man! If I keep stopping like this I will take all day to do that 200 miles.” And then you say! “What the hell!” and just take it in.
Well! Take all this and multiply by 100 in winter.

I cleared the foothills and stopped to take a last picture of the mountains that are always the same to me. They are my biggest challenge and the most pleasing to my eyes and soul at the same time.


By the time I reach that part of the country, the snow has mostly gone and a perfect strong tailwind has come to life. The type of tailwind that makes your bike goes 100 bazillion MPG and that also allows you to hear your engine humming happily!

I really believe it does not get any better than this.
I stopped in Seven Persons Alberta for gas and then mozied on to Medicine Hat where I stopped at the Husky Truck Stop for the best bowl of Tomato cannelloni soup.
After pondering whether or not I would cal is an early day here, I thought of Harry and decided to stay here and let him know. Turns out he left me a message at 10:30 this morning saying he was leaving Castlegar to go east.
I phoned him back and told him I would be at the Motel 6 outside Medicine Hat and that I would take a room with2 queen beds and that if he wanted to scoot along and make a 500 km day, that I would be here, waiting for him.

Click here for Part 2

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Adventure, Featured, Touring, Travel

3200km Camping on my CBR125R-Part 1

Posted by Mike On October - 24 - 2010 Comments Off

Just thought I’d take some time to post a trip report from a recent camping excursion that took me from Thunder Bay, ON to Guelph, ON through August 12th to the 21st. It was an incredible experience – and I hope from this report you’ll be able to gain a real sense of just what the experience was like on the CBR125R. Maybe it will inspire you to do the same.

My goal for the trip was to take what I had learned from my preparatory trip in May 2010 when I traveled from Thunder Bay, ON to Winnipeg, MB on my 2009 CBR125R (see here: http://www.hondacbr125r.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5709) and improve upon it. One addition involved taking along a Camptime Roll-A-Cot (see: http://www.rei.com/product/378067) to improve sleeping comfort and to maximize utility and space inside my new (and so far chipmunk free) tent. The cot sits 15″ above the floor and allows you to store all your gear underneath so you’re not sleeping in it – during the night. Also there is just something about sleeping off the ground that seems to contribute to a much better nights sleep. In selecting my new tent, I wanted one that packed up small, was self-standing, and easy to set up. I also decided to try a single-walled tent this time out so I wouldn’t have to fiddle with a fly. The tent I picked for this adventure was the Nemo Andi (see: http://www.amazon.com/NEMO-Andi-Ultr…/dp/B003F5UNP4)

I’m really liking this tent. It is extremely quick to set up and it fits in one of my saddlebags. I carry the poles (only 2 poles!!) on the back of the bike. One other change from my last trip involved bringing a small pack for clothes and extra items. On my last adventure I didn’t quite have enough room for extra clothes and smaller camping luxuries. This time, I even brought along a tarp just in case I got rained on in the parks. When it rains – a tarp can turn an otherwise claustrophobic “I can’t believe I’ve been trapped in my tiny tent all day” anhedonic nightmare into a “Wow – it’s great to be sipping a cold one with my legs stretched out – enjoying the views while dry under this tarp” blissful euphoria. Well no blissful euphoria for me – I never had a chance to use it on the trip – so it just took up space in my pack. However, when you have a need for it – it really contributes to camping morale in my experience.

 

Here is another photo of the bike packed up. I changed the packing configuration a few times during the trip to ease setup and take-down and to improve aerodynamics. As you can see from the photo, seating was initially rather cramped too and after a few quick stops it felt like I had been hijacked by a rabid mongoose who had mistaken my nutsack for a cobra.

I set off around 10am with a goal to stop every hour for fuel and to take a break. I found that if I stopped every hour, this effectively eliminated any soreness or stiffness throughout the day and really allowed me to enjoy the ride. Even a 5 minute break made a world of difference after 1 hour on the road. The weather was sunny and clear when I left – and it remained so for most of the trip. My first stop occurred in Nipigon, ON for fuel just after around 100kms into the trip. I have traveled the Trans Canada Highway 17 East of Thunder Bay countless times over the past 20 years – through rain, blizzards, severe cold, heat, fog – you name it. It is an incredibly scenic drive – and the views are always breathtaking. However, I had never traveled the route on a motorcycle before so I was eager to re-experience this route from a riding perspective. One great thing I have found personally about riding (as opposed to driving a car) is that it forces me to take my time – and in the end I see so much more and the experience is so much more rewarding. I made a point of stopping at lookouts along the way that I had passed by many times over the years.

The photo below was taken from a highway lookout East of Nipigon, ON on the first of a number of long climbs along the shores of Lake Superior. While most of the climbs involve 500-700 ft gains in elevation above the lake, the CBR125R took these in stride and was able to maintain a minimal speed of 80 km/hr up the longer grades – full loaded – while maintaining a speed of between 100-105 km/hr on the flat stretches. Most traffic slows too when climbing these grades, so it never felt like I was holding up traffic. Actually, I passed a number of tractor trailers and R.V.s up these hills. You can see a bit of the town of Nipigon in the distance. Some people have compared the scenery north of Lake Superior to that seen along the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, N.S.

When taking these photos I met a fellow from Vancouver Island who was traveling with his daughter (and their dog) across Canada. When I told him that I was heading to Guelph, he mentioned that he studied Agriculture there many years ago. He also reflected on a variety of bikes he owned over the years (including an older Triumph) and I mentioned that I had recently picked up a Yamaha WR250R – shipped to me all the way to Thunder Bay from Courtenay, B.C. He said “Wow, that’s a pretty small bike”. And I responded with “But the black CBR that you saw me climb off of in the parking area is only 125cc’s. That’s what I’m heading to Guelph on”. This was the first of many similar exchanges I had with people who had no idea that the CBR was not – in fact – a big bike. It was extremely fun and rewarding in a devious way to witness the look of shock on their faces when I mentioned the bike’s displacement. Though I didn’t realize it at the time – the thought of riding alone for over 3200 kms – in some remote parts of Ontario – would seem like a lonely, isolating experience for many people. Yet every day was filled with such friendly, collegial banter from all kinds of interesting travelers – curious to know where you were riding to, and what you had seen along the way. No – the trip was far from being a lonely and isolating experience.

As we were talking – a train appeared and started to snake its way along the shoreline – so I decided to snap another photo.

I wished my fellow travelers a great trip – and then moved on. A short while later I decided to stop near the bottom of another long climb to take a few photos at a picnic area. I pulled up alongside a cyclist – just one of many I passed who were travelling across Canada. He asked me if I had seen a group of cyclists back my way. I mentioned that there was indeed a group about 10 kms back. He had been riding with them for a bit but they were experiencing some mechanical difficulties that put them behind. He actually recognized my bike as a CBR125 – and said he was hoping to buy one in the near future. As I took a few photos, a car drove by and honked. It was the fellow from the last lookout. I took a few more photos and then continued on my adventure.

It was at this point that I was suddenly confronted with an unforeseen dilemma. “Should I take another photo?….or risk ruining the moment by stopping and spoiling the immediacy of the experience – the Gestalt unraveling before me – as I was riding by. This kind of experience just simply doesn’t captivate you the same way in a car. A motorcycle immerses you – you become a part of the experience – and the experience feels so much richer. I decided to seize the moment – just enjoy it – but promised myself that I would try to re-capture these moments again on my camera on the return trip – hoping that the views would patiently wait for my return.

Riding the CBR125R for lengthy stretches on the highway requires considerable attention, skill, patience, physical endurance, as well as an insatiable appetite for adventure to help you overcome anxious thoughts about how numb your lower back feels. It can be taxing. So you’d think that with all this exertion – time would seem to slow down and the destination would seem to be forever out of reach. Yet – I didn’t find this. The bike is too engaging to ride – to ever get boring. Tucking behind the fairing – changing gears – streamlining my profile to extract a few extra kms of speed. Riding the CBR is like playing a video game. Before I knew it – I had reached my first stop for the night. I was about 430 kms from Thunder Bay and only about 50 kms from Wawa. My highway escapade was coming to an end for the day.

I had passed by Obatanga Provincial Park often on my way East and always wondered what it would be like to camp there. My parents and my two younger sisters stayed there overnight on their way to Expo ’86 in Vancouver. At the time I elected to stay home and relished the prospect of having the house to myself and living each day to the fullest at the beach with my friends. Now at Obatanga, I wondered which site my family stayed at in 1986. On this occasion, the park was virtually empty with a few scattered trailers and tents strewned throughout the park. I was given what is called a “walk-in site”. These are by far my favourite provincial park sites. They are typically on the water – and the privacy really enhances the camping experience. You park near the road – and then walk into your site along a short path. Here is what it looked like.

And here was my view for the evening.

What would the night bring? Stay tuned.

Click here for Part 2…

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Adventure, Featured, Touring, Travel

3200km Camping on my CBR125R-Part 2

Posted by Mike On October - 24 - 2010 Comments Off
A nice thing about camping with a motorcycle is that you can’t take everything with you – so you are forced to adopt a more minimalist camping strategy. One advantage of this is that it doesn’t take very long to setup your camping gear because you have very little of it. I found that it took me about 1 hr to set up camp and about the same amount of time to tear down and load it on the bike. Another nice thing about camping in provincial parks is that you have a picnic table at your disposal to sit and relax at. You can also use the table to roll out your gear.

Here is another view of the site. If you look closely, you can see the CBR parked at the top of the path.

Here is a photo of my tent setup – complete with Camptime Roll-A-Cot (the four legs placed on drink coasters to preserve my tent floor) my sleeping bag (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00…ef=oss_product) my camp pillow, and my air mattress (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00…ef=oss_product). You can see some of my gear stored underneath the cot. I have tried sleeping in mummy bags and I find that they feel too much like what a straight-jacket might feel like – and so I just can’t sleep well in them. And I find the less expensive versions are just too cold, while the pricier versions are warm – but their cost leaves me cold. This is unfortunate, because mummy bags pack up really small – which is a huge plus when space is at a premium on the bike. The sleeping bag I took along for this trip is a 0 celcius rectangular bag with a flannel liner. It is very roomy (I can roll around in my sleep without fear of waking wound-up like a Pillsbury apple turnover in the morning), very warm, thick and comfy, and the flannel is soft to the touch and feels good on the skin. And these bags are much more affordable – I guess in part – because they pack fairly large and are relatively heavy, and are made from less exotic materials. Weight is less important when you are hauling gear on a motorcycle rather than on your back. I can’t say enough good things about the Exped Synmat air mattress. This mattress has synthetic insulation built into it for added warmth (R value of 6!) and pumps up to its 3.5″ thickness via a built in hand pump. You simply press up and down on the mattress to inflate it. Ingenious design. The combination of cot, air mattress, and comfy sleeping bag allows you to sleep like you were at home. I won’t make compromises when it comes to sleeping. You really want to be able to look forward to a good nights sleep. It doesn’t get any more luxurious than this when camping in a tent.

And what would camping be without a fire? Here was another use for my carabiner bungie cords. These things are great for securing a load on the bike and are a permanent part of my touring setup (http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows….jsp?locale=en). The CBR is a good firewood hauler.

Thought I’d take a walk around and snap a few photos of the park before retiring to my site for the evening.

Here is a view of the camper’s beach.

And here is the fire

And if you really want the cozier, more intimate version – here is a video of the fire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbwMLao15Do

Just as I was taking the video, the silence was suddenly broken by someone across the lake cranking out Bad Company’s “Ready For Love”. Good tune. They didn’t crank it for very long – but it made me realize that on my next trip I WILL make room for my mp3 player. There is only so much reflection and soul searching you can do sitting alone and staring at a fire, then staring at the fire longer, and then poking your stick in it, and then staring some more. There really was nothing else left to do. Then again, these are the little things that force you to experience life outside of your comfort zone and to activate retrieval pathways and access nodes in the deeper recesses of your dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that are no longer commonly used. Just before I retired to my tent, a neighboring site decided to conduct an “Obatanga: Live and Unplugged” concert performance complete with acoustic guitars and soft singing complimented by David Crosby-ish vocal harmonies. It is rare to get away with this in provincial parks nowadays. Normally park staff will ask you to put the guitars away and “whisper to each other”. But there were few people in the park this evening. And these people were really talented. Heck – I had half a mind to join them if they had any electronic keyboards lying around. Instead – I just listened and let the sounds lull me to sleep while breathing in the clean, crisp, night air. And what a wonderfully deep sleep I had.

 

Click here for Part 3…

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3200km Camping on my CBR125R-Part 3

Posted by Mike On October - 24 - 2010 Comments Off

Waking up well rested made me wonder about sleeping outdoors in general. You know you’ve had a great sleep in a tent if you simply don’t want to get up. In contrast, there have been times when I just couldn’t wait to get up -irrationally checking my watch every 30 minutes between hazy episodes of sleep to see if the dawn was any closer to arriving. This usually happens when a) the tent has leaked overnight in the rain, b) you are cold and shivering all night and have hardly slept, c) you were kept awake almost all night by a frog whose constant croaking sounded louder than Barney Gumble’s obligatory belching (cue eerie foreshadowing music), d) you are sleeping on the ground, or on a thin air mattress that produces the hip pain equivalent of a jumbo Mr. Freeze ice-cream headache, or e) all the above. So when it comes to tenting, I disagree with Shakira – it really is important to provide a comfortable surface for where your hips do lie. O.K. – I must admit that last line was one of the worst puns ever. I would have included a smiley face, but it would have eaten up my quotient for photos for this segment of my trip report.

The plan for today was to ride into Wawa, ON, fuel up, raid the Subway restaurant (a 12″ sub fits nicely between 2 Powerades inside my Honda Hydro Pack Tankbag) and then make my way inland along Highways 101 and 129 before heading on some backroads towards Elliot Lake and Mississaugi Provincial Park before nightfall. A total of about 450 kms. I was excited about this ride because the last time I’d camped at Mississaugi was with my family in our Starcraft tent trailer when I was around 10 years old. I was curious to see if I might recognize some of the landmarks in the park after more than 30 years. I have fond memories of climbing a trail that led to a pretty spectacular clifftop lookout (and a scary incident that left an impression on me and my siblings) so I was hoping I might be able to retrace those steps again. I seemed to remember there being a log book at the top that I had signed – and though I knew it was a unlikely to still be there – I secretly held out some hope that I might be able to find my entry – written in kid print handwriting. Ah nostalgia.

The ride from Obatanga Park to Wawa was a brief 50 kms or so. I filled up at the Esso and the attendant remarked about how “sweet” my bike was. He seemed particularly impressed when I mentioned that it sips an average of 92 mpg on the highway. From Wawa I made my way along Hwy 101 with my next planned stop at Syd’s Esso in Chapleau, ON. While the speed limit on this section is 80 km/hr, the road is essentially empty so the ride is peaceful and relaxing. And with the CBR125R you can ride sitting straight up at 90 km/hr easily and comfortably.

Near Chapleau I ended up stopping at the Arctic Watershed sign to take a break and re-adjust my seating arrangement. I was really starting to get uncomfortable and something needed to be done. I removed my gear from the back of the bike and decided that I would re-attach the cot and tent poles directly to the tailbag rather than the passenger grab rail. When attached to the grab rail, the poles ate up precious seat space because I couldn’t move the tailbag all the way back to the rear of the passenger seat. This left me with little room to sit on the bike – and to make matters worse – the section that I was sitting on was rather narrow as was well. This change made all the difference – I could actually hear the hallelujah chorus echoing through my head. Although previously my bum had become uncomfortably numb, now there was no pain – it was receding. If you decide to carry gear on your bike, my suggestion is to make sure that you can at least feel the front edge of the passenger seat up against your hind quarters when you sit back as far back as you can, or when you are tucked down into a racing position.

Here is a photo I took after re-arranging my gear. You can see the CBR in the background.

When I made it to Syd’s Esso in Chapleau the attendant there really seemed enamoured with the bike. He looked at me and then the bike and commented “It must really be fun to be riding that out on the open road”. I was actually stunned by how accurate his insight had been and regretted that my reply was a weak “Yep – it sure is”. Not wanting to appear disinterested, I chatted with him about my trip and the bike. Everyone seems surprised at how affordable this bike can be to purchase. I got the sense from him that I was living his dream. Then again – at that age I would have felt the same way….

My next stop would be a supposed gas bar at Aubrey Falls, about 150 kms south of Chapleau on Hwy 129. I was thrilled and relieved to discover that the gas bar did indeed exist. It was situated just before a really twisty portion of the highway. The first time I had driven on the southern portion of Hwy 129 a number of years ago – I actually wondered if I had somehow taken a wrong turn. The road really does change that dramatically. It begins to resemble a paved cart path. And…….there are some small steep hills – one in particular has such a precipitously steep backside that if you are travelling at 80 km/hr – you WILL achieve liftoff and “yump” much like Bullitt in his Mustang on the streets of San Francisco.

I decided that it would be a good time to take a break and eat lunch so I pulled over to the side of the road and blazed a path through some bush so I could eat at a rock that jutted out into the Mississaugi River. With few cars traveling this route – my view was incredibly scenic and my lunch remarkably peaceful. I was also unbearably hot in full riding gear. This was the hottest I felt through the entire trip.

Here is the view from my rocky perch on the Mississaugi River.

I soon turned off Hwy 129 onto Hwy 554, then 546. Hwy 546 was a really interesting experience. Much of the route is very picturesque – meandering along the Little White River. But it is also really bumpy so you really need good suspension to avoid unsettling the bike when riding over mid corner frost heaves. You also need to be extra careful as many of the twists and turns have sand on them – and the road isn’t very wide. On one particularly twisty corner I met a large dumptruck heading towards me that left only about 2 metres of space for me to negotiate the inside of the corner. Not sure if the driver simply didn’t see me – or if they just didn’t care. Maybe they just felt entitled to occupy almost the entire road surface.

I eventually stopped along the road and took a break along the river.

I knew Mississaugi Provincial Park was now getting closer and my day on the road was coming to and end. I managed to pull into the park around 6pm. I was disheartened to find no staff at the main gate and some cryptic note with instructions to register at the Park Office. After riding all day I really wasn’t in the mood to search for the office. However, with a little luck I found it and selected a spot for the night. Once again – I picked a walk-in site situated on the lake. Only – I wasn’t informed that this site was in a swampy area of the lake…..

Here is my bike parked at the short trail leading into my site.

Within a few minutes of arriving at my site for the night – I heard a strange sound coming from the bush across the road from where I parked my bike. The noise the animal was making sounded very guttural – like it was grunting, knawing its teeth, and coughing up a hairball at the same time. It didn’t sound like the kind of grunts that bears normally make – but then again – it didn’t sound like Puss ‘N Boots either. I decided to walk across the road and peer through the bush to investigate but I found nothing. Then just as I took a step back – out of the corner of my eye I saw some shape emerge from the foliage a short distance away. To my surprise – straight from 70′s Sanford & Son T.V. fame -it was Redd Foxx. I needed to get his attention to get a good mug shot so I worked my best vocal impression of one of my cats tossing a major hairball (imagine the sound of plunging a toilet mixed with priming the fuel bulb from the portable tank of an outboard motor mixed with the Ah huh, Ah huh, chorus of KC & The Sunshine Band’s “That’s The Way I Like It” for a sense of the sound I was aiming for). He turned around with a WTF?!? kind of expression on his face and I snapped the shot.

Photo of quizzical WTF look from Redd Foxx

I quickly set up my tent and put away my gear. I knew I only had a couple more hours of daylight but was determined to explore the lookout trail anyway. And I was leaving early the next morning so if I was going to do the trail – it had to be now. A staff member at the office told me that I had probably climbed the Helenbar Lake Lookout Trail based on my description and recollection. My trail map recommended that hikers set aside 4 hours to complete the trail loop but I knew I didn’t have that much time so I decided to walk at a brisk pace and see where it got me. Just before I set out, I attempted to call my dad in Guelph to tell him about my day and reassure him that I was still in one piece. However, I couldn’t get a signal on my Blackberry. I figured I might get a signal at the lookout by taking advantage of the 400 foot gain in elevation above the campground. I made sure to bring my camera, my trailmap, and headlamp just in case things took a turn for the worse.

Click here for Part 4…

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Adventure, Touring, Travel
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