Call me crazy but....

I'm lining up about a month of vacation... So my mind started running, then my mind got on my WRR and started looping around in my skull... And i got this crazy idea:

Let's ride this WRR from Montreal to somewhere in Utah like Arches National Park or maybe even go west then up north in yukon or something (or any cool(er) destination suggestions welcomed), then ride some there and then back to montreal. I'm likely to do this trip alone.

I'm all over google map / earth at the moment!!

I have to keep it small budget so i'm asking for reality check, forum-mates willing to rent me a piece of backyard to put my tent, or a cozy sofa for a night or 2 while on my way, and maybe some ''i'll show you a good trail near my place'' rides along the way.

I need to ponder this thing over, see if everything lines up. It should take place around second half of august and first half of september.

What do you guys think?

Come to BC!!

You're CRAZY ! Wish I could do the same thing !

Place in Los Angeles here with oil change and cold beer ! Nice ride from here up to the CA border.

Nasty nasty ride X-C TO here in the summer.

check "warm showers"

Medski wrote:

What do you guys think?

Having just spent three months back East, I feel your pain. It will take large tracked vehicles to ever drag me back there again for that long of a time. CTC Gagetown... makes me shudder just to write it.

I think SE BC/NW Montana (aka by National Geographic as "The Crown of The Continent) is pretty damned tough to beat in North America for consistent eyeball popping scenery and dual sport opportunities. If you like mountains, lakes, rivers, and streams, that is. Not a lot of desert to offer up.

If you do end up here, I can certainly host you at our house in the Kootenays or down in the Flathead, or both. I may or may not be around - that's the best time of the year for flyfishing and elk season opens about then. But you can make yourself right at home, and if I'm around we can certainly hit the dirt around here.

This is shaping up nicely!

So far, it looks like i'm heading to BC, then i'll head south to nevada, and come back through utah wyomign and montana and maybe colorado. The specific road plan is subject to change.

I just got a REALLY nice waterproof mount for my iphone on my handle bar wich should let me see my gps as i go. Rotopax Fuel thingy is ordered and on the way. I'm gonna order a pair of dry tank side panniers from Wolfman tomorow. What else.. Oh yeah! I'm gonna carry a Mini Netbook with a webcam, and probably a GoPro Camera.

I'm gonna try to document my trip.

Also, I just fell in love with these tents.

I need a Rear Rack... Sent a PM to Doug at Dual Sport armory a couple weeks ago still havent had any news, I still don't know if they ship to canada.

Also you guys know a good way or point to a how-to kinda thing to rig a power outlet to our bike? I need to supply my iphone with power.

I used a relay and a two pin plug that I can use with whatever I run.

Medski wrote:

I'm lining up about a month of vacation... So my mind started running, then my mind got on my WRR and started looping around in my skull... And i got this crazy idea:

Let's ride this WRR from Montreal to somewhere in Utah like Arches National Park or maybe even go west then up north in yukon or something (or any cool(er) destination suggestions welcomed), then ride some there and then back to montreal. I'm likely to do this trip alone.

I'm all over google map / earth at the moment!!

I have to keep it small budget so i'm asking for reality check, forum-mates willing to rent me a piece of backyard to put my tent, or a cozy sofa for a night or 2 while on my way, and maybe some ''i'll show you a good trail near my place'' rides along the way.

I need to ponder this thing over, see if everything lines up. It should take place around second half of august and first half of september.

What do you guys think?

It's going to be hot, hot, hot in most of these areas, except when you are over 7,000 ft. Arches NP and Moab, especially. You might want to "keep to the high ground" whenever possible or delay a month or so? Sept/Oct are prime time in southern Utah/Nevada/Az/Mojave. If you do go, carry at least 2 L of water, maybe more, in a hydration backpack. The wind will pull water out of you quickly. If you want some *.gpx files visit advrider.com or send me an email. I have ridden most of the areas you mention in the SW at one time or another. Many other riders have as well so there are lots of GPS tracks to consider. It's beautiful... have fun!

Got:
CamelBack System (Only hydratation pocket backpack)
Rotopax 1G Fuel Pack
MSR 1L Fuel Bottle Hooked to the side where the toolpack was
Tent
Mat
Sleeping bag
Rear Givi Side Panniers
Rear Top Dry Bag
iPhone Waterproof HandleBar Mount (It's pretty awesome, pics coming)
Acer Aspire One Netbook so i can let you guys know where I am at
Scala Rider G4 Bluetooth Headset
Small Flash Light

In Shipping somewhere:
Accessory Power Outlet
Zeta XC Hand Guards

Still have to Buy / Order:
DRC Edge Tail light Kit (to repair the one I broke last night)
Riding Pants
Wolfman Tank Side Panniers (Drybags)
Some Sort of Tank bag that I haven't decided wich yet.
A New MX Helmet / DS Helmet

The Plan:
Starting from montreal, my first planned stop is Calgary. Now I don't know yet if I wanna go there passing north or south of those biiiiig lakes. I Hear North Side (Canada's route) is a pretty boring road. So I'm thinking about going around south of them then back north to canada. After Calgary i'll head towards BC. I don't really know where to go or what to do once i'm in BC. After whatever it is I do in BC i'll head down south through Oregon until I reach into Nevada, then will go around and about in Utah north to Montana and Wyoming maybe back down to colorado... Then i'll start heading back home by wichever route I'll wing along the way.

So far this is shaping up nicely!

I'll have to plan somewhere along the way to change my tires... Any ideas? Should I have them shipped somewhere or you know any places they'll have good enough Tires in stock?

Medski wrote:

The Plan:
Starting from montreal, my first planned stop is Calgary.

Dude... what is that bike of yours? A super tanker?

Quote :

Now I don't know yet if I wanna go there passing north or south of those biiiiig lakes. I Hear North Side (Canada's route) is a pretty boring road. So I'm thinking about going around south of them then back north to canada.

Ran into a guy while riding last week who had a pretty interesting plan. His planning included finding transport for him and his bike on a commercial carrier deadheading back west. Made some kind of a side deal, but basically he and his bike had a long nap while going through most of Ontario and all of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. He got back on his bike in Lethbridge, and I met him soon afterwards. He figured he saved himself three extra days for riding in interesting terrain, and the cost was about even to what it would have cost him to ride it. Unless you like lots of flat land where you can watch your dog running away for a week, that's not a bad plan.

Quote :

After Calgary i'll head towards BC. I don't really know where to go or what to do once i'm in BC.

Lots of options the day you leave Calgary.

Head west and either take the more scenic route skirting south along the mountains in the Kananaskis. Or stay a little further east and bomb down 22x - you're still at the foot of the mountains. Once you get to Blairmore, a few minutes will put you in Sparwood. Decision time. A really beautiful ride in the mountains is to head north to Elkford and continue up to where the forestry road ends at Elk Lakes Park. That's where some of the pics I have posted here are from. That will take a full day, especially if you park the bike long enough at the end of the road to take a walk into upper and lower Elk Lake. There is an old road just north of Elkford that goes over into the White Swan area, meaning you wouldn't have to retrace your steps. However, I don't know if that is still open, requires Dick Burleson type skills, or what.

If you've skipped Elkford, or after Elkford, next down the road is Fernie. You can get there by going back east up the highway from Sparwood a few miles and going in on the Coal Creek Colleries road, down to the border above the Flathead and the old border crossing (now closed) at Polebridge, then back up around the China Wall to come out at Morrissy just west of Fernie, which will require a ten minute trip back east to hit Fernie. Lots of stuff and roads and mountains to see back there. That could take anything from four hours to several days, depending on how much you like poking around in the mountains and whether you're a flyfisherman or not. No gas stations back there... a problem for WR riders, and why I use a fuel blivet.

Or, just ride the 20 minutes from Sparwood to Fernie. Decision time again. You can continue West on the highway to Cranbrook, or catch the Hartley Pass route that goes north from Fernie and comes out in the Bull River road. If you do the Hartley, you can then decide at that point to either ride out to Ft Steele (and gas), or continue north on the Bull River road until it links up with the White Swan road and then head out to Canal Flats (and gas). Or... if gas wasn't a problem, you could continue north on the Swan until eventually coming out on Settler's Road in Kootenay National Park.

Gas will be the issue. Which is why I befriend riding buddies who own KLRs and are willing to be the fuel tanker...

Eventually you are going to be in the Kimberley/Cranbrook area - the time to drive the highway from the Alberta border to here is only an hour in a half, it's all the forestry roads and mountains to the north and south that provide such time consuming, great riding. Here you can head north to Wasa and then do the Ram Creek road into the Lussier and then into the Swan if you didn't do the long route. Or you can do a little more slab and go in at Skookumchuck, and then again do the Ram Creek route into the Lussier and then the Swan. Or even a little more slab to Canal Flats, and then catch the main forestry road into White Swan Lake and then poke around back there. Nearby hotsprings are Radium and Fairmont on the Slab, and Lussier Creek along the FSR.

If you end up in Radium, a long detour would be a few minutes on the slab to Brisco, and then head in on the FSRs into the Bugaboos. More stunning mountains, but no through route available.

Back to Kimberley/Cranbrook... You can do a day trip down to Montana. It is about 2.5 hours on the slab to Whitefish, then about another half hour to West Glacier, and from there you can head over the deservedly famous Going To The Sun highway. Spectacular views. In my opinion the east side is relatively boring, so I would consider riding over until you were near St Maries and then retracing your steps. You could do it in a long, long day and be back in Kimberley/Cranbrook. Or, catch it on the way back, and approach it from SW Montana via the Bearpaw. Hit all the cool sites.

Back to Kimberley/Cranbrook. The St Maries Lake Road out of Marysville has three main branches as it runs west and north into spectacular scenery. Bring gas... The North Fork runs up to the foot of the Purcell Wilderness and Dewar Creek Hot Springs is a six hour hike, very isolated and spectacular. The Rose Pass into the Weird Kootenays is up that way as well, we used to do that quite often. Guys have taken bikes through there recently, but they told me it wasn't a whole lot of fun... You can also do the easier and much more civilized Grey Creek Pass which will put you in the Weird.... errrr... West Kootenays on Kootenay Lake. Not quite the same mountain riding there, although the climate is wetter so different

Or you can just ride west out of Cranbrook on the slab until you hit Creston. From there you can head north on the slab to where you would have come out at Grey Creek, or you can head over the Creston-Salmo, over Kootenay Pass, and again find yourself in the Weird Kootenays.

All to the North of this area are the neat little old gold and silver mining towns like Sandon, Silverton, Kaslo, etc spread up and down and nearby Kootenay Lake. Some tremendous twisties on some of the slab along the lake, but it is equally popular with the land yacht folks who are also gawking and enjoying the view. Go to Dual Sport BC and you can hook up with some local guys who do a lot of dual sporting over there and know the area much better than I do.

Then it is decision time again. Through to the Okanagan and then to the Lower Mainland, or turn south into the US. With all due respect to Shewolf, if you're in love with mountains the rest of the trip in southern BC is kinda blah. If you have the scratch to afford the ferry fees, it is well worth it to spend a few days riding the Gulf Islands, and the highway through to Euclulet/Tofino and all the FSRs that run back into the ocean is pretty cool and beats anything I have seen in Oregon. If you do that, I'd suggest finishing your Kootenay Lake time by continuing north until you hit the Trans Canada, and then book it through Revelstoke, Canada's Glacier Park, and over the Coq to Vancouver.

Or... head back east a few hours to Cranbrook (or ignore the Weird Kootenays altogether). Go south to Coeur d'Alene (nice lake if you like lakes) and take one of the two mountain routes going west to Sedro Wooly. From there you can either head to Seattle and then the Lower Mainland, or turn down towards Oregon. Or you can head a few hours more east to Whitefish again, and then do the highway through the national forests that goes through Libby before coming out at Coeur d'Alene and then heading east.

Anyways, when you're in that SE corner of BC/NW corner of Montana area, drop me a line and we'll see what we can do. If nothing else, I think I've stored some GPS tracks for this part of the world. Mostly I don't because I know the area, but I think I have some of them.

Quote :

I'll have to plan somewhere along the way to change my tires... Any ideas? Should I have them shipped somewhere or you know any places they'll have good enough Tires in stock?

Figure out where you're likely to need tires and ship them there ahead of time. Or purchase from one of the online stores like Motorcycle Superstore and have them ship to a point a few days ahead of you so they're there when you get there. Or... buy them ahead of time and have somebody sitting at home just waiting for you to tell them where to address them to and hand them over to the shipper. Or... ship them to somebody here who you're going to bump into along the way.

Lots of alternatives for you.

Oh sweet! Thanks a lot Yager, I'll have to take a look around these areas...

For the Areas you mention fuel would be an issue. I'm gonna have a 1gal Rotopax of Fuel along side the bigger MSR Fuel Bottle with me. Wich is gonna be more than a Fully loaded Safari Tank. Think I should pack more or should that be fine?

Medski wrote:

Oh sweet! Thanks a lot Yager, I'll have to take a look around these areas...

For the Areas you mention fuel would be an issue. I'm gonna have a 1gal Rotopax of Fuel along side the bigger MSR Fuel Bottle with me. Wich is gonna be more than a Fully loaded Safari Tank. Think I should pack more or should that be fine?

Well... it's over 150 miles up to Elk Lakes Park and back, for example. That's if you ride straight up and straight back without exploring any sideroads.

If you were to try and do the entire long way from Fernie up to Kootenay National Park... Well over 200 miles - It's about 150 miles by the slab which is much, much shorter. You can easily be deep into the St Maries for 150 miles before turning back unless you pick one fork at the end, go up, and turn around.

Most of the time your Rotopax will do it. But on some of those routes, just one extra gallon will get a bit sketchy. And in some of these areas, you ride back there and then there's an inviting network of roads going into various mountainous drainages. If you want to camp a day or two and explore a bunch of them, an extra gallon and change won't do it. And a lot of the riding in this area deserves more than a glance as you motor by at 45 miles an hour.

The good news is that with Google Earth, Mapsource for your Garmin, you can get a pretty good idea of the distances involved with a bit of planning. These are mostly major Forest Service Roads that have been around for decades, so they're on the NRCAN maps and thus in your Garmin Mapsource maps.

This is why I like the collapsible fuel blivets around here. If you're not using it, they roll up into nothing. If you only partially fill them, they don't take up a lot of space because unlike a gas tank, they aren't rigid. And if you do fill it to the nuts, once you empty it, they once again roll up into nothing.

Rollin Rubber is here in Vernon. Best prices on tires in the interior. If you decide to come thru this way, let me know what you want and I can have Ed order them in for you if he doesn't have them in stock already.

SheWolf wrote:

Rollin Rubber is here in Vernon. Best prices on tires in the interior. If you decide to come thru this way, let me know what you want and I can have Ed order them in for you if he doesn't have them in stock already.

I'll do that! I was thinking of putting the 18/21 version of Distanzias on it since i'm doing so much road... Ideas?

Now Dates are set! I'm gonna be leaving Montreal on Monday the Sept 30th. And I have to be back in Montreal the Friday 24th of Sept. (giving me a 2 day buffer to unpack before getting back to work.)

I should be in Calgary around Sept. 2-3. Then Heading through Banff to Vernon. Then gonna go south To Vegas and then checking out the parks around the great canyon, Then Maybe south till Ensenada in Mexico... or somewhere else... I'll see on the way... Utah Definatly, either before or on the way back from Mexico .. I know not yet!

One things for sure though is i'll be passing through pretty close to your place Yager I think.

stay out of mexico,do you watch the news ?

dtx wrote:

stay out of mexico,do you watch the news ?

Not lately.... what happenned?

Hi Medski:

Just got back from Boston two weeks ago and have the Western Segment to go beginning on the 23rd or 24th. From the Chicago area, I am headed across the plains, up to the Beartooths in MT, down into Yellowstone, hit the West coast at Newport, OR, head up to Portland, then Seattle and then back down to LA.

Itinerary and map.For low cost camping locations, Free Campsites is about the best there is. While not really free, a location with a warm shower for < $20 at least every other day is a god send when on the road.

Regarding the Scala Rider G4, I would recommend leaving the Bluetooth deactivated and just listen to the FM radio while on the road. With Bluetooth, I drained a unit in under 4 hours. Fortunately I have a set and swapping is a 15-second ordeal. While just listening to FM, the second unit allowed well over 10 hours of on/off again use and still has some charge left in it from my last charge in Pittsburgh, PA.

Helmet wise, I use an Aria XD-3 and love it! The Shoei Hornet DS is slightly more comfortable but falls behind the superb aero of the XD.

Tank bags? I cannot tell you how pleased I am with the Giant Loop Fandango. Zip a portion down and flop it over to fill the tank. Zip it back on and you are ready to go. Want to go inside for a bite, zip it off and carry it with the incorporated handle like a lunch box. 15 seconds on or off and Waterproof to the nth degree plus it can hold a ton of stuff as well!

For the Northern reaches of MT, ID and CO in early morning, late evening or night, a set of Gerbing's Heated Gear would be highly recommended. I have to wire up the Dual Digital controller with the included harness from the T5's, jacket liner and pants liner this week in fact.

What kind of tent, pad, sleeping bag and other related gear are you taking? In my case, it includes a very inexpensive Coleman Sundome 2 (a number of better yet still inexpensive tents include the Eureka Backcountry 2, Apex 2 or 2XT, Kelty Grand Mesa 2 (another great deal at Campmore) or Teton 2 are available but not for the $40 I picked this up at), Big Agnes Insulated Air Core, SlumberJack 30 degree Mummy and a BassPro pillow. A Giant Loop Great Basin, the aforementioned Giant Loop Fandango tank bag and a 30L Sealline to carry everything as well.

Good Luck w/ the Ride!

Wayne

That Hennessy Hammock looks real cool but remember that out west there are lots of places with out trees to set it up.

they kidnap people,hold them for money ! That country is nothing but a ZOO !

Oh thanks Wayne! Thats a very helpful website!

I'm leaving montreal on the 31rst of august in the morning!!

Medski wrote:

I should be in Calgary around Sept. 2-3. Then Heading through Banff to Vernon. Then gonna go south To Vegas and then checking out the parks around the great canyon... One things for sure though is i'll be passing through pretty close to your place Yager I think.

Not if you go from Banff to that shithole called Vernon (sorry, I was an unwilling inmate teaching at the Battle School there back in the 80's. Hate that place, even if it is a nice lake) you won't. You'll pass by a couple of hundred kms to the north. But, if you don't...

That Saturday one of my troops is getting married in Cranbrook, so I am doing the Honour Guard commander thing so he can have a fancy sendoff. Sunday I may or may not be in any condition to ride in Cranbrook. You can get to the top of Grey Creek Pass from there in about an hour and a half. Yeah, probably will be okay to ride - I'm too old to drink to the point of stupidity anymore. Unless the bar has some very fine scotch, of course...

The 6 - 8 I will probably be down in Whitefish MT. So if you want to do Going To The Sun and the weather is nice, that is probably doeable. If the weather is crappy, I ain't going but you can crash at our place. If the weather is crappy, if you're smart you aren't going either...

The 9th to 12th, I am running a range exercise so will be down at CFB Chilliwack. The next week... ummm... it's hunting season and the best part of the year for flyfishing. Maybe I'll ride, maybe I'll fish. The 16 to 19th... back out to the range again for more shooting and blasting (thank you taxpayer).

When you get a better idea when you'll be in the Kimberley-Cranbrook area/Whitefish MT area - if you do indeed get this far south - drop me an email and we'll see what we can do. If nothing else, you'll get a room for the night, a hot shower, and use of the garage if required.

I'm taking the Labor Day weekend off. I figure I've worked lots this summer so this one is mine. The IPE is on in Armstrong during that time; huge agricultural fair and some really neat stuff.

Medski...

... never got above about 8 C. today. Snow half way down the Rockies, trees changing color overnight. If we'd have been back on the Hurley or up the Elk Lakes, we'd be riding through a foot of snow and half a foot of mud...

Ya just might have left it a bit too late for this particular area this year... we'll see.

Yeah weather and forecast are never really reliable... We'll see when i get there! Although i Will pack some more clothes for colder weather.