First 2012 adventure ride: part 4

Overdose

Adventure riding is quite satisfying when everything rolls, but when it gets bad…

[Hells way] This path, which looks somewhat easy, got my attention before arriving to the little creek (see part 3).  As I had to turn around, I decided to take a peak at it when I passed back in front.

Sooooo bad idea.

 

[#$&* MUD!] Oh well, not that bad, I thought – slope is going down.  I can do it!

Effectively, up to then everything went relatively well…

 

[Lake Doré] Hey! Really…it was a good idea to follow this trail.  A sign indicating Lake Doré (the lake was on the left side) - I am probably closer to civilization than I thought.

 

Unexpected workout

[Strike 1]  Crap!, I’m in deep sh..trouble.  What seemed to be an easy trail suddenly transformed into a painful process!  Mud all around the place.  I tried to avoid it by riding on the side, but that made it even worse.     

Going down a muddy trail is not too hard, gravity helps.  But going upward is another story.  With a heavy bike – if you are hesitant on gas, something like this is bound to happen…

The last thing I expected on this sunny day was a bonus workout.  Push forward…pull back…push forward…all I achieved doing this was to sink further.

How the heck I will get out of that?  Finally, the solution was to spin the bike again (see part 3).  I put a big rock under the kickstand…but it was not enough, this rock was sinking under the pressure.  I had to pile another one over.  Then I was able to spin the bike enough to go into the opposite direction – downwards.

So turning back again…but it was not over yet, I still had to go up against the other slope.  Unfortunately, my fears were founded.

[Strike 2] Yet again.  I swear…if I get out of this darn hole…I’ll go back home and SELL THIS #$#%# BIKE RIGHT NOW!

I really need a lighter bike.

The bike was so deeply stuck that it stood on its own.  Unable to spin this time, the kickstand was out of reach and there was a big rock that blocked the front wheel.

The fatigue started to take over and I was out of resources.

[Light at the end of the tunnel]  Of course not! I’m not dead yet.

I got out of trouble by laying the bike on its side and putting 2 logs under the rear wheel so it wouldn’t go back into the hole when I lifted the bike back up.

Fortunately, the front wheel placed itself on the big rock on the side (and not back into the hole), which allowed me to get the bike out of this hole and continue my journey.

Phew!  That was a close one!

 

I learned my lesson – without the right bike and the right tires, mud is a no go.  There’s no way I’m going back there with my bike…

…well, unless I install a K60 on the back wheel too…

be right back

To be continued…part 5

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First 2012 adventure ride: part 3

Plan B: Sioui path

After turning around at the Chenail du Moine path (see part 2), I took the Sioui path that also leads to Labelle, but the road is longer.

[Fire roads]  Beaches Lake (Lac des Plages) is an area where logging is still active.  The happy consequence for adventure motorcycle amateurs is a maze of trails of different difficulty levels (0, 1, 2 and sometimes even more difficult).

The first time I ventured in that area, I followed the indications I found on the Internet to the letter  – I was quite afraid to get lost, run out of gas and get stuck in the woods.

But after a couple of rides in the area, I developed a good sense of orientation, previous fears disappeared and  now the need to explore new trails prevails.

All this just to say that I could not resist following this unknown fire road on the left picture.

 

[Quiet place]  I had to stop after a few miles.  The road was separated by a small stream a bit too risky to cross with the bike due to the deepness of the river bed.

This video on the right shows the peacefulness of this place.

I went for a walk on the other side of the stream and there were many other interesting trails to explore…but that will be for another ride. 

[Before the storm]  While cruising in this little paradise, I took some more shots of nature.

The path was easy to follow until I got to the next fork in the road…

 

To be continued…part 4

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First 2012 adventure ride: part 2

Chenail du Moine path, Beaches Lake (Lac des Plages)

[Chenail du Moine path] After riding the rest of Scotch road (see part 1)… the Huntington path… the Maskinongé path, here I am at Beaches Lake.  Up to now the ride is under control.  Everything is going as planned and I should be in Mont Tremblant shortly…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Unknown trail]  …so darn wrong.  Whut?!  How did a rocky trail get here?  I don’t recall that path when I came here last year (see Beaches Lake Ride  ).  Yup, that’s me too anxious to leave, missed some map “details” and ended up God knows where.

(Back home I noted that I should have followed the “Lac à la Carpe” path instead of “Chenail du Moine”).

Might as well go see what's at the end of this trail…

 

[Dead end]  After a too rocky start to my taste, the trail conditions improved, until I reached this flooded section. 

There is no way I can get throught this: the trail is made of soil and if I attempt to cross it, I will get into trouble.

 

[Turn around]  It is not always easy to U turn with a 450 pounder.  A good trick is to spin the bike on the kickstand.

I uploaded a video on Youtube last year to show how to get out of trouble in a closed area as seen on the picture.  I included the video below. 

If you ever need to do this in the woods, just put a big rock or a piece of wood under the kickstand.

A little trick that saved my ass more than once!

 

Spinning on the kickstand

 

To be continued…part 3

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Ride Report: Riding Beaches Lake Take 2: 3 of 3

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Part 1  Part 2 Part 3

Nice section of the path

I ended my previous post writing about the difficult section on the rocky path.  Very fortunately, this section of the trail was only about a quarter mile long and the last stretch of the ride in Beach Lake area was gorgeous!

After leaving the rocky section, the following pictures speak for themselves. Many beautiful sections of trail for several miles. I can say without hesitation that this tour was by far the most complete, most beautiful, most difficult, too, but I would do it again tomorrow morning!

Pictures of the last stretch

Nothing compares to riding in a forest 

Easy ride in a quad trail

Lake Hulot

Then I arrived at Lake Hulot.  I met a hunter there who knew this area very well. We talked for a while about the benefits of being in the wilderness to replenish with fresh air and enjoy the exceptional November weather.  He said that there are a multitude of beautiful trails in the area that could even make it to Saguenay (350 miles of trails)!

Ponies and sheep on Boileau road

The trail to Beaches Lake from this point was  perfect in every way.  Since all good things must come to an end, I went back onto plain paved roads. But despite spending 4-5 hours on the trails of the Beaches Lake area, I decided not to follow my initial plan of returning home by provincial roads.  These roads are boring. I returned to the same route from which I came to Beaches Lake, much of which is unpaved.  I took some other pictures, such as those ponies and sheep on Boileau road.

6th concession flooded

When I reached Grenville on the Red, I went back to Scotch road and took the 6th Concession road from the other end (one of the greatest roads I had the pleasure to ride). I have never been able to ride this path in one stretch because of permanent flooding in the mid section.

Next picture was taken from the end of 6th Concession, showing Black Lake.

Black Lake, 6th concession road

Unique view on Black Lake and 6th Concession road

My favorite photo of the ride is the last one: the way to the 6th Concession alongside Black Lake. Riding on that road is really something. The experience is unique.  Even though this path lead to a dead end, it was definitely worth checking out! 


This 8-hour ride seemed very short. I traveled almost 250 miles (400 kilometers) and a lot more off-road than all previous rides. It was the mother of all rides!, the synthesis of all the other rides I made this year with many unexpected discoveries.  It was a great conclusion to my first adventure motorcycling season!


See you soon
dsaventurequebec

The wall

Taking a break @ beaver dam

Cross on Maskinongé road

Maskinongé River

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Ride Report: Beaches Lake (Lac Des Plages) Take 2: 1 of 3

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Part 1 Part 2  Part 3

Beaches Lake

That's the kind of ride I like! Many unpaved roads in the wilderness, challenges and trails ridden for the first time.

Wednesday, November 9th was a perfect day  for exploring Beaches Lake area in Quebec. The forecast was around 60F and sunny.

Brookdale Road Bridge

To avoid falling into the same trap as my previous attempt to explore Beaches Lake area (I followed all unpaved roads seen on my way), I sticked to the plan closely... or so. I have been deviated from the original plan when I saw this bridge on  Brookdale road. Seeing what was on the other side of this bridge suddenly became a priority. Maybe I'll find some interesting trails? Indeed the trails weren't that bad at all, but I had to turn back, a barrier giving access to the rest of the trail prevented me from continuing.  

Trail across the bridge

Near the path of Sioui

Once in Lake Beach area, the road loses its pavement as soon as taking the fork to Sioui road but it is still fairly easy to ride. You still have to watch out for big trucks loaded with logs that you may encounter coming from the other side.  I came across 2 of those trucks in narrow parts of the road and it was quite impressive.

Beaver dam

As usual, I like to take a break in a quiet place where the chances of seeing wildlife are good. I stopped when I saw this beaver dam on my way. I watched this dam for a while (eating my breakfast), but only saw the beaver living there at the moment of firing the engine to continue this trail (sorry no beaver picture).

Sand Pit at Duhamel junction

After a few miles, I reached this sand pit (see picture) at the Duhamel junction. The first time I went to this area in August I didn't dare to venture myself in the pit, but this time I decided to give it a try. I was surprised again by the Kawasaki Versys - it did quite well in these conditions. I had fun for a good 20-25 minutes in the sand dunes, and I look forward to  return next spring .      

Way towards Duhamel

The next photo shows the kind of road that leads to Duhamel. Unfortunately trees in the middle of November have lost all their leaves, colors are less vivid for photography. In this picture you can see, looking closely, footsteps of a deer.

Duhamel path blocked

Everything was going well towards Duhamel and the adventure ride seemed under control and no surprises until I had to turn around because of construction.  Most likely they were installing a pipe under the road living no places to go across. You can see the pipe in the mirror of the motorcycle in the picture. Hmm, what do I do? Retrace my steps to the Beach Lake or take the other road at the Duhamel junction (sand pit) which leads to other paths that I never rode before?

To be continued (Part 2).

dsaventurequebec 

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