rarepartbuilder's random ride journal

Hi Folks

Just making a spot to park random rides from my area. In summer they are day long drives..in winter.. i'll take whatever biking fix i can get..
On most of these posts i'll paste in the music that feeds the energy.... today is no exception.....so lets get this thing rolling...


My ride energy today... after a week long biking fast... just take what you need....





Dec 26th 2014 woods ride off Walker Road Fairfield NB Canada

I knew the back roads and goat paths were still muddy from the previous +12c on Christmas day..didn't matter thats why i bought the wr250

20141226_160101 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


it was easy to just scoot up over the banks and ditches ..this {at least for me} would have been next to impossible on the klr... especially riding solo

20141226_160253 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


goosed that little 250 powerplant from the ruts to the bank edge... i'm loving this bike and less than a month into "it"

20141226_160643 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

will be getting the garden hose out from winter storage for the third time this year{this time last year there was enough snow to ski}

20141226_162418 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

almost home.. view of Dorchester Cape..lol the low fuel light has been on a "risky" long time..

20141226_162628 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

Dec 29th 2014

Since the area is being blessed with not only no snow but warm{er}than normal  days... i was lucky to get out for 5 1/2 hours of back roads and goat paths...

Energy to complement the endeavour..... enjoy...




Hit the road at 1:00 PM.. the weather was mostly sunny with a high of 0 c .
one day "after" the ride it is hitting a high of -13c and low of -21c tonight...  


20141229_125904 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

I trekked through some Fairfield back roads to get launched into the local history behind this RR.
the washouts from the Dec 11th flooding ...evidence everywhere...

20141229_130651 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

The trail spit me out at the base of  Fort Folly First Nation reserve.. its approx 130 acres in size and came into existence in 1840.. This is/was the entertainment center which is "no longer" in use   .... I still remember bingo advertisements on TV beckoning folks for the big jackpots....

20141229_131745 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

In Dorchester Cape area i turned off into the remnants of a 1960 vintage defunct industrial park.. where 10 million {1964 $$} were spent..
as recorded ->HERE<-

light standards are in amongst the bushes

20141229_132650 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


20141229_132825 by freewillieklr, on Flickr



heading into the abyss...

20141229_132913 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


20141229_133129 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

the road to the warehouse site was adjacent to the railway bed gravel..

20141229_133422 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

When the ice covered water got too deep .. i scooted over onto the railbed gravel

20141229_133426 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

all thats left of the warehouse ..slab

20141229_133623 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

20141229_133634 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

as of maybe two years ago the building was still standing... google earth shows it along with railway bed routes lined with bushes...

google earth view
->HERE<-

on the opp side of the warehouse slab some conveyor supports are still in place to move chemical fertilizer to ships/barges..

20141229_133829 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


20141229_133849 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

The wharf area is being reclaimed by mother nature... albeit.. a great spot to fish bass from

the steel beams protruding from the ground {left}supported the conveyor system.
Tipped over on far left is a winch type derrick set up..

20141229_134037 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


20141229_134357 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

another derrick view..

20141229_134203 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


since the tide was out... i walked around the wharf..

20141229_134218 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


20141229_134250 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

Over by the bike company arrived,,, at first i thought .."oh here to fish" then duh,,, low tide,, it was a couple taking a walk along the sea shore..

20141229_134425 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

i've heard that the final straw for the wharf terminal was a loaded ship got grounded leaving... umm who knows... but the picture kind of supports the theory.

20141229_134439 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

view to the south west ... and more open water of the bay of fundy

20141229_134104 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

to the north east a view of an  Dorchester Island

20141229_134053 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


before heading to the island which is actually connected by marshy dyke land... i investigated a barge remains.. I was going to walk down as i am accustomed to driving a heavier bike than the WR...

i had to find a stone to put under the kick stand... the beach sand layer was soft..

20141229_134809 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

a few barge shots..

20141229_134825 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

it seemed more of the hull was exposed since the last time i was here...


20141229_134848 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


20141229_134929 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

20141229_134935 by freewillieklr, on Flickr



20141229_135046 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


20141229_135317 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


to the right on the hill is Dorchester Penitentiary built in 1880 and still running

info -> HERE <-

20141229_135219 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


The heartache that goes along with a prison stay  is pretty much encased by Matt Minglewood's version of "Dorchester"





Drove the dyke over to Dorchester Island...It has much historical background as a tallship shipbuilding spot.... some history ->HERE <-

view looking back at the wharf where i had been earlier..

20141229_140407 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

in the warmer weather a fishing boat would be tied off here.. every thing either removed or pulled back from the ice that will eventually be here...

20141229_140414 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

chain hinged tidal gates that keep the ocean out..

20141229_140534 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


some tides are as high as 50 'as evident on the banks of the picture...  some good reading on the highest tides in the world -> HERE <-

20141229_140621 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


another view of the Penitentiary from Dorchester Island ...home for me is on the other side of the hille from where the windmill to the right is ... heh... what is wrong with this "Dec 29th"  picture??? Seems there is no farm anywhere near this group....

20141229_140853 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

The next set of photos from this ride will be from near-by Johnson's mills to capture  the whole purpose of this day trip for me ... stay tuned.

Hi Rarepart.

We met at FAR at Adairs. I always enjoy the way you present local history from your rides. Good job! Big difference from your KLR to the new bike, eh?

We will have to meet up for a tea some cold winter day to talks bikes, and trips. I will be organizing the annual breakfast for NBDSC on Saturday of the bike show in Moncton. Hope you can join us.

Now, back to your ride report .........!

saddletramp wrote:

Hi Rarepart.  

We met at FAR at Adairs.  I always enjoy the way you present local history from your rides.  Good job!  Big difference from your KLR to the new bike, eh?

We will have to meet up for a tea some cold winter day to talks bikes, and trips.  I will be organizing the annual breakfast for NBDSC on Saturday of the bike show in Moncton.  Hope you can join us.

Now, back to your ride report .........!

Hi Rory

Yesss the WR is so light and nimble.. i haven't got my head wrapped around having two bikes yet but with such vast differences it seems both will find their niches...
I am looking forward to the NBDSC breakfast again this year .. I will be signing up as soon as i chat with the Miss's to confirm that she will be tagging along. For me the breakfast meeting before the bike show is also a great chance to meet everyone... and some of the hard core off road gang that is not out on the slab "between" trails.

I am in Moncton every weekend... so yess a hot beverage is in order.... there is some rumblings that meklr is planning a fall 2015 NS tour vs something out west"ward" for you.

talk soon

Bill

Dec 29th cont'd


Leaving the Dorchester  area i chuckled about a conversation i had awhile back with a hang glider pilot at the Festival of flight in a place called Parrsboro Nova Scotia .. His recollection of Dorchester Cape area was... great up draft air currents adjacent to the bay for hang gliding "but" rejoicing about any new flying area was short lived. Apparently while drifting around the hood on the kite..."unbeknownst to him"  there was a local who fed the appetite  for nude sunbathing in her backyard and promptly called the police when this thing circling overhead invaded her privacy..
who saw exactly what is still a bit foggy.. but when i drive by the area  i still think about how harmless both acts were... as "each" were doing what would be deemed "o natural".

a Info link is -> HERE <- in case anyone is touring the Parrsboro Nova Scotia  area on the long weekend in May and has a chance to attend the Festival of flight .

Ok back to the  RR

I hope to always find some kind of balance between biking and the people around me... hopefully i can somehow continue to bridge the two...







In  Johnson Mills i played around and investigated some back trails .. I tried to stay "somewhat" near roads that a cage can access in case i had an unplanned off and needed to leave the bike for whatever reason and hike out. With the sun dropping lower in the sky ...time needed to hike was getting shorter and shorter until i just stuck to the main gravel road which was a mess... it had been road graded when frozen and was partially starting to thaw because of the sun warming open area's

20141229_152149 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

along some parts of this route the road has been "moved" inland at least a couple of times due to erosion... the post holding the guard rail gone over board.. you can still see a disappearing strip of the old road next to the bushes

20141229_143924 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

my youngest daughter {a biker} text  messaged me asking about my day ...this was my  simple response...

20141229_142912 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

The sign behind me in the above  picture is reminding folks of the sand piper bird environment in the summer..Quote from web "need to double their weight in order to complete their 4,300 km non-stop flight over the ocean that will take them an average of 2-3 days" . -> HERE <- is a link to the info.


Shepody Mountain in the distance.. tide still low { out past the mud flat}..but is on its way in...

20141229_142431 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

This trail led to a place called Pink rock.. about here i decided to turn back to the graded road.. the picture blows... but you get the idea.. I fully understand my KLR limitations...i'm still unsure about the lines the wr needs to follow... especially solo... but i will...

[/url]20141229_150830 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

T in the road...left is home... but still time to play in Lower Rockport

20141229_152110 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

across the bay is Joggins fossil cliffs I've done ride reports in that area before... the place is worth checking out if time permits forum members

20141229_152123 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


Rockport

20141229_152418 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

20141229_152444 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


a mile or so from the church

20141229_153341 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

very quiet..

20141229_153418 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

Everything still trimmed up... so far from most year round homes...


20141229_153912 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


paid my respect while getting a handle on the history

20141229_154207 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

thought about how hard times must have been to pour a cement tombstone...

20141229_153941 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


Slacks Cover Lower Rockport... Google map location... -> HERE <-

20141229_154856 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

20141229_154913 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

The tide was just coming into the Cove when i arrived...

20141229_155026 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

Over in Nova Scotia there is an area where salt water clam digging is popular. It was not unheard of for someone unfamiliar to  drive out onto a sand flat "island" and be surrounded by incoming tide water...  requiring the car owner to abandon the car. To give you and idea of tide speed this is about 4 minutes apart..

20141229_155316 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


20141229_155312 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

The whole purpose of this ride was to photo what i thought was a old steel harp body in the woods leaning against this tree last year... all i found this time...what was left from the rusted off strings..

20141229_161935 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


I learned later that it may have been  an old piano soundboard... anyway... screwed around too long and it was  gone... no picture no item..

tide is in...


20141229_155834 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

it was 5 PM time to get almost home b4 dark

20141229_160046 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

grabbed a odometer shot later that evening..{after i warmed up}

20141229_212946 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


92 kms later... a good day... thanks for stopping by the thread..

Lookin' good Bill. Glad you've been out. Happy NY.

Mar 1st 2015

I was out in the yard trying to tidy things up after the last snow storm... i noticed the snow was getting close to the height of one of the out buildings so i thought i'd take a measurement..

20150301_130520 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

20150301_130537 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

oh.. only 7 feet deep

20150301_130613 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

as they say... it is what it is... and most doorways are 6' 8" high... i thought i would make a doorway to spring... since it will be that @#$%ing long before all this melts...

20150301_131513 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

might as well take the bike out... let it run ..charge the battery a bit...

20150301_131800 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

spun around the yard a bit.... then thought after all its been almost 2 months to the day since a biking fix...

20150301_135351 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

20150301_135404 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

Grind stone island off in the distance

20150301_135532 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

Shepody mountain over the right mirror

20150301_135654 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

from the same vantage point Nova Scotia is on the horizon

20150301_135705 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

i chuckled... this intersection won't be open for awhile.

20150301_135944 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

decided to head home...  

20150301_140556 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

It was only a half hour fix but a great winter infusion..

Nice pics. I really enjoyed the second song have to back and listen to the rest.

Thanks MC D! Hope you get a chance to post some U P area... i hear there is some beautiful places out that way.

Doorway to spring - I like that !

Love the U.P. looks like you have us well beat in snow though. Think were around 140 inches for the year. You must be well over 200

March 6th/15

Was not much of a Wr250 day but i did take it out long enough to let it warm up and charge the battery... etc.. in the previous post the doorway to spring was created on March 1st

This is the same place the doorway was.... snow melted at least 12 " not much..but at least in the right direction  

20150412_175115 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

Roasted a path through to the road... i swore to the mother of Mary that i wouldn't snow blow  another path to the bike stable... LOL.. thank goodness it was a small drift..

20150412_175125 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


May 3rd /15

OMF!! all of April was wasted in below freezing nights and cold rain /drizzle days...  so much so that i did this May 3 run to see what the condition of the back roads were in...

not only long days but long nights... enjoy...




Started out pretty normal due to the open Tantramar marsh area... This is about 10 kms from my home

Wheaton covered bridge built in 1916 a few facts HERE


20150503_173723 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

I use the covered bridge road for not just the solitude... but as a way to avoid the TCH chaos {trans-canada highway}

I stopped to get a few pics...

old horse drawn hay rake... i can't imagine anything  built today and left outside... 'being functional" 50years later

20150503_174213 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


20150503_174327 by freewillieklr, on Flickr



not exactly hypoid gearing but hey.... no swing arms being eaten by chains

20150503_174231 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

20150503_174238 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

At one time the marsh..which is the second largest in the world was spotted with these hay storage barns ... between grass fires... old age .. only a handful remain. I  stopped at two enroute...

{snow gettting a bit more evident}...

20150503_175144 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


nearing the other marsh edge..im thinking that this road was kept open during the winter... good thing "eh"


20150503_180153 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


just past the drift... the entrance doors on the opp side of the barn wont open as the road is now a couple feed higher than the door bottoms..

20150503_180600 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

The brook beside the barn was babbling away... man am i thankful for this day

20150503_180801 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


looking back..... barn # 1 beside the road sign pole right side.. roof is sticking above the dark ridge of trees 2/3 the way up the pole... to the left of the sign there is a road cut in the ridge line on the horizon... thats home for me .

20150503_181323 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

barn #2 is over the throttle side mirror....

20150503_181342 by freewillieklr, on Flickr


That was the open spaces,,now for what most of the back roads looked like... this for me.. was the discouraging part... maybe with a more agressive knobby i could have paddled through more slush "on" the bike.

20150503_181923 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

ahead the slush was even deeper and too much to even push the bike through...  

20150503_181944 by freewillieklr, on Flickr

I ended up taking the field... but i wasnt too proud of the deep ruts i left in it due to the frost still melting in the soil..

Since the back roads were pretty much all like this... i rode the WR home and did a slab ride the next day on the klr... never found any off road conditions i was hoping for.... but that's another story .. on a different pack horse

20150504_135006 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

20150504_173113 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


thanks for stopping by the thread.

Good update Rarepartbuilder. The last of the snow melted in my front yard here yesterday May 10. It'll be June before some of our woods roads are opened up and fairly dry.

May 15th 2015

Checked the weather forecast ... Friday was looking like a great escape day.. 20 c sunny.... thank goodness for flex-time

I had been to this area before but the snow packed roads made exploring some of the more forgotten places  impossible to bike... but a couple weeks  of warmth opened everything up

a simple WR day ... enjoy....



Left around noon..... later than i planned but wanted to check the chain and chain slider condition at the 4279 km  mark...so far so good..wear was light/normal.

HPIM3232 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


made a quick stop in the neighboring town of Amherst NS to fill the pie hole... I'm digging having the soft bags on the WR for odds and ends ..chain lube... back road map.. a few tools etc...




rode to West Leicester area location HERE

discovered a huge beaver dam... thought it was pretty cool to leave such a mark on google earth

HPIM3233 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


HPIM3235 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


HPIM3234 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


future trip with the fishing rod


HPIM3236 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


headed for some abandoned farming area's...  
spot called Big Lake looked inviting...stopped in.. i needed to get the map out to stay away from the beaten path as much as possible...
location HERE

wr version of the truth...

HPIM3239 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

HPIM3237 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

Entered into some abandoned farm area's in Victoria the place is a maze of back roads.. many unmarked so a GPS would be more prudent,but for me staying in a Northeast heading would eventually take me to the ocean ... many places had been swallowed up by larger operations... others just too far gone ... employment just too far a commute

farm # 1

HPIM3246 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

HPIM3240 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


the entire back foundation had fell in.. was thinking of how many modern homes made of press wood would bridge that gap?

HPIM3243 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


outside electrical entrance... must of been a older electrical code "eh"

HPIM3241 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

quick snap through the kitchen window... kinda eerie,,,, other than the fallen ceiling plaster ..everything the same as when that door closed for the last time...

HPIM3251 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

The barn was further gone...

HPIM3244 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

The  little room to the left in the previous picture housed a water pump i didn't see since i was a kid... a neighbor used to cock the pump handle back  to drain the water so that the cast body wouldn't freeze and crack over night,,, the handle was missing from this one..

HPIM3250 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

with handle...


picture pump by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

HPIM3248 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


wood funnel to the 1st floor... I chuckled.. i meant to get a picture of the cow crap at the top of the stairs... must of been a calf up there as the steps would not hold more weight than mine.

HPIM3249 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

the smaller end must have been used to fill feed bags?

HPIM3247 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

I'll finish the ride report up in a day or two ..in the meantime ..ride safe

May 15th cont'd

I thought about the last time the home owners shut the house door .. moving on to what was thought to be better places..maybe better times..but as we all know some doors only have re-entry through the deepest places in our minds..

i am thankful for memories .....this fits.. enjoy...



about  2 miles down the road....

HPIM3256 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

HPIM3252 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

even though the outside was still pretty straight the entire first floor had collapsed into the basement.

HPIM3254 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

the other side of the house had a old coupe of some sort..  it was a oldsmobile in its other life
.. i had to look at the insignia on the dash... my gas guzzling era  but still unfamiliar....
HPIM3255 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


... same stretch..

HPIM3258 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


....

HPIM3261 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

This project's been done for awhile...

HPIM3262 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr



HPIM3264 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


got the back roads map out.... wanted to head to the ocean

HPIM3266 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


got spit out on the water front in Wallace NS ...


HPIM3269 by Freewillie KLR, on Flick

thought this was interesting.. the park namesake co-invented the eye of the digital camera..

HPIM3268 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

the salt was thick in the air...

HPIM3271 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

HPIM3272 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

Wallace harbour opening to the Northumberland strait map ->HERE<-

HPIM3273 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

HPIM3275 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

..
time to fill the pie hole again... so drove down the coast to ...
HPIM3279 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


picked up some rabbit food at the market. I contemplated a sit down seafood meal but i wanted to be "home before dark"

HPIM3276 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


Pugwash Harbour.... opening to the Strait..
HPIM3280 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

...

HPIM3282 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


had the salad earlier... so that cancels this out ..right? lol some will call Bull$%it ..eh

HPIM3278 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

I left the village looking for a dirt road that would make a loop back to the road home..i'm driving along and see smoke ahead... all of a sudden a guy pops up out of the ditch to flag me down.. i thought OMG someone went off the road and a car was on fire...

HPIM3287 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


seems the owner of this noticed my bike coming and wanted to sell some left over biking things.. man was i relieved,,, i ended up buying the windshield to use the mounts for a future project...

HPIM3288 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

Port Howe last stop to dig out the map.... wanted to get back on the dirt....

HPIM3289 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


241 km of Dual Sport goodness...... thanks for stopping in

HPIM3291 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

great write ups. I sure wish we had dual sporting like that in our area!

June 15th 2015

I'd been pussy footing around on the WR ...riding far short of its capability.
.i'm pretty satisfied that treatment all ended on today's trip...... best part.... this adventure  opened up about 40 square miles of area all new to me.....

... enjoy..





HPIM3336 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

I slabbed the 2 lane highway to the sleepy town of Oxford N.S. The first mission was to get off road... i hopped onto the abandoned railway line and rode to Hansford siding road location HERE

It seems railroads work great until the bridges and roadbed need upgraded... then they are abandoned...

HPIM3337 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


lots of options for just the  xrail-trail alone but that's not in today's plan....

HPIM3338 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

I was paying extra attention to the mossy water holes next to the old rail bed,,, it wreaked of the things moose like to munch on...

HPIM3340 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


...
HPIM3339 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


i dont have a gps mounted on the WR yet but i do have OSMOND loaded on the S3 phone for data"less" navigation. i used the phone app and the backroad map book to make sure i was turning from the trail at the right spot..


HPIM3341 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


dirt...slab then more dirt... finally in the zone...

HPIM3342 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

.... any road called this on google maps needs to be explored... I was surprised to even see a road sign when i got there to be honest...

This was the first destination of my day plan....

HPIM3343 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


i checked on the net ..this was the only reference to the factory HISTORY

quote from the article:

"The Maritime Handle Factory was operated by Wm. SWAN and Sons. This factory was originally located at Collingwood but it was moved to Wentworth about 1917. It was twice burnt out. After the first fire, the plant was rebuilt, but it ceased operation in the early twenties when it was again destroyed by fire."
LOL..sounds like they had fire lighting fetishes in those days "eh"

the tree tunnel looked inviting...

HPIM3344 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


the right road fork headed instantly to "hill" ...and was not beat down enough to make any time ... downed trees etc..

The camera is pointed straight ahead lol... easy terrain for this little powerplant

HPIM3347 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

After the fallen tree blockage i turned back and talked to one of the locals repairing a small trailer dolly for hauling a vehicle with... he suggested going to the left fork and then following a local /unmarked logging road...

left branch of the  trail "y" ..umm...better....


HPIM3345 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


the trail spit me out on a gravel road

The opp side of the adjacent hill  is the rear of the local ski slope... its elevation is around 900' link HERE


HPIM3349 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


HPIM3348 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


crested the hill.. in the distance would be the 8 mile long  confederation bridge to PEI... free to visit.. you only pay to "leave "the Island .. sounds like politics "eh"

some interesting facts HERE

HPIM3352 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


the road turned to this after about 10 kms... wr heaven.. ...

HPIM3354 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

This was the second destination... again..originally spied on google maps.. link HERE

HPIM3355 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

The first few kms was cottage country


Byer's lake

HPIM3356 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


Byer's Pond

HPIM3358 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


... the road turning to trail...



HPIM3361 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

 quickly turned to wash outs rock shelves and water holes that had pretty firm bottoms... i took a picture of this as an example of what i call a bit of a rock garden... WR meeting the challenge big time... I am glad i did not lower the suspension...had to look hard for some of the riding lines...

HPIM3363 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

love these... especially with no GPS spewing info steady... had to "decide"

HPIM3362 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

HPIM3369 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

HPIM3368 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


another lake.. i think its called little Snare lake..

HPIM3366 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


Half way around this ride.,, stay tuned...

June 15th cont'd

Been riding about 5 hours at this point... i was only 1/2 way to the Belmont end of the Old Debert road... If i continued on it would be a 100 km slab ride home .. i detoured to Folly lake....

was a bit more at ease after exercising the wr mule..... enjoy...




.... The off road trail spit me out onto a road that accesses Trout lake...

HPIM3365 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

Folly lake

The old rte 4  trans canada highway is at the far side of the mammoth gravel pit... This has been operating adjacent to the lake for as long as i can remember..then some....

HPIM3371 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


Wentworth falls

I found a quad trail off the slab that intercepts the falls hiking trail... I'm not sure of the falls History .. as the water comes out of a mine shaft type hole that goes under the main line  railway track that follows the hill side .. I can only imagine what this looked like from the pre train track days .. mucho higher..

HPIM3373 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

HPIM3375 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr



supper time ...
set a brookside table...

HPIM3382 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

lol.. while i ate... someone else was hammering away for his lunch... his determination to "get the food" not so different from the old fart trying to flog a nimble wr250 into submission... ...

HPIM3380 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

at least the leftovers  will compost

HPIM3379 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

Slab back to Oxford coffee shop ,,, i sat thinking about returning to Old Debert road... but next time a small group maybe..its just too far off road to solo.. cause things do happen...

20150615_195832 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


70 kms to home from here.. grabbed the hoody out of the bike bag its dipping to single digits tonight.. ... caught this....

HPIM3385 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


281 km ride... i cant wait to go backkkkk....

20150620_094903 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

thanks for tagging along

I am just over an hour from that area, anytime you are headed back there just give me a head up if you need company.

Nov 22nd 2017

The forecast was wayyy off ...for "when" the rain was supposed to start up here in the Atlantic provinces.... everything was pointing in the right direction.... i had made a salad for lunch.. and tossed that in the hydration pack...for later.

with the biking day "fixes"  farther apart between deep freezes..this sure fits...







20171122_123341 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

did 150km of DS and  exploritory riding in the Canaan moutain/ Parrsboro area in Northern Nova Scotia

After a -11c evening two nights ago.. i was expecting more ice in the water holes..... this was the worst of the ice ...

20171122_143445 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

beavers been busy since the last time  i was through... doable enough though..
.....
20171122_135405 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

3 PM... still hazy... toasty    so much better than the white alternative...

20171122_140445 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

lot of dead end trail exploring.. but some of the views were worth it..

20171122_144406 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr


20171122_141355 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr




this picture .. a bit out of focus... but I  had passed the snow mo trail marker many times in the past..today was the day...

20171122_145647 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

ended up being a nice surprise... as an addition to the riding options...will be big bike doable in the summer {not today with the skim of frost that had come out ...mixed with ...steep   } sure had the right tool for the job...

20171122_150144 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

20171122_150355 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

oh yeah... and that salad....  Kirk hill look out @ quarter to "dark"

20171122_163003 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

fishing boat rolling into Parrsboro Harbor  with the spot lights on in the distance....supper entertainment.. got  packed up for the 70 km trip home ..

20171122_163055 by Freewillie KLR, on Flickr

Hopefully some good riding days left yet folks