James Bay August 2008 - A journey to asphalt's end (and beyond) writeup

[Vlad]

I know of gravel pits and such that we could all practice in as well. And I have LOTS of off road experience that I would be willing to share with anyone who wants some tips. Never fired a gun in my life though. Done backcountry camping, but not for a whole week. I already want to sell my Busa and get a dual purpose.

I have limited off road experience and I'm willing to get a lot more, but my main hurdle is the bike. Getting my own dual sport is not an option at this time and rental offers are severely limited . I just have to practice gravel/dirt on the Bandit for now, whenever it's sufficiently filthy already .

I can offer a basic gun safety course, but only unofficial and theoretical (don't have a gun to demonstrate on). It's not rocket science - just a matter of strictly following well practiced procedures. My drill officers used to say that even an empty gun fires once a year - you just don't want it to be pointed at someone when it does

[de Jager]

Well, there is certainly a lot to talk about for sure. Riding to Radisson is a huge trip and had some challenges for sure. Now we are talking about a week long trip (easily) where we will have to carry everything to support not only being able to mechanically make the trip but also everything we physically and personally need to survive it (weather, terrain, wildlife, etc).

You should see the amount of stuff I have packed on my bike right now to sustain two people for four nights of camping. I guess you could look at it as sustaining one person for about 6-7 nights. There is a certainly a lot of stuff I am taking now that I would not take up to the Trans-Tiaga.

This tread has seriously turned into one serving a different purpose. Since we don't have a proper forum to have these discussions, lets take it offline. I've already setup a place for us to continue at http://www.newbieriders.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52

[zooropa_chris]

Does anyone else think that bringing a gun on a trip like this is a bad idea?

I'm not anti-gun, particularly in the wilderness, I'm just anti-noob-with-gun.

haha I have never shot a gun, and don't really want to do this. I am however profient in building and using blow darts. Now I just need to find Black Mumba venom to fill the darts with.

In all seriousness, a gun would be for self defence against a bear in a time of need. I am more than willing to hide behind the guy shooting the gun....and I'll just shoot the pictures instead.

[de Jager]

Hey Chris, good comments on the other forum...check for a reply.

[zooropa_chris]

I just have to practice gravel/dirt on the Bandit for now .

You can't really use the Bandit for this. It would be like doing a trip to Radisson with all your gear on a dirt bike. I had a dual purpose Yamaha XT600 for a while, and I could go down a gravel road with potholes and lots of loose gravel at 160 km/hr comfortably. Sport bike.....60 km/hr tops on a gravel road that is in much better condition than I described for the dual purpose.

[Vlad]

Since I couldn't find any bumper stickers, T-shirts or mouse pads to commemorate this trip, I decided to make some myself. Everyone is welcome to order:

https://www.zazzle.com/vcepesh

[WoBblyCaT]

Since my name is James Bai, I had to get something I bought a T-shirt from Hydro Quebec after the dam tour and a baseball cap from the gas station on the James Bay Road (Relais 381).

[Vlad]

Since my name is James Bai, I had to get something I bought a T-shirt from Hydro Quebec after the dam tour and a baseball cap from the gas station on the James Bay Road (Relais 381).

BTW, the Guy fella wasn't on duty the day we did the dam tour but I asked his colleagues to pass your greetings to him. Needless to say, I had to repeat your name twice and explain I'm not joking, but I'm sure they remembered it .

[sadrik]

If there's one lesson I learned from this trip is that one needs to be very careful in estimating their fuel consumption. I tested my range twice before the trip, fully loaded and riding at a quite brisk pace. Got 5.5L/100Km both times.

Well, a 5L can would have left me out of gas 30-50Km before the gas station because my consumption went from 5.5L to 7L.

Amazingly, I managed to make the trip from the gas to Matagami on one tank, without even touching my jerry can. I can thank my throttlemeister for that. Since I couldn't sport, I just locked the throttle around 90km/h and relaxed almost the entire distance, save for an opened throttle for the last 50km or so. I think I still had another 30km in the tank at Matagami.

[Vlad]

Amazingly, I managed to make the trip from the gas to Matagami on one tank, without even touching my jerry can. I can thank my throttlemeister for that. Since I couldn't sport, I just locked the throttle around 90km/h and relaxed almost the entire distance, save for an opened throttle for the last 50km or so. I think I still had another 30km in the tank at Matagami.

Keeping constant and relatively low speed definitely saves gas big time, and I think 90-100Km/h is the sweet spot regardless of the bike.

I'm not complaining about my mileage and I wasn't trying to save gas at any point of the trip - I rode as fast and as hard as I felt comfortable. I'm just happy I brought 10 extra liters instead of just 5 that my estimates were telling me was more than enough. The conditions I was riding at were practically impossible to emulate, so my pre-ride tests proved more or less useless. I tested by riding hard, long, fast and fully loaded. However, you can't ride with sustained speeds of 130-whatever for hours on end anywhere else but on James Bay Road .

My conclusion is that it's not the revs, the weight, or even the specific bike's aerodynamic properties that make the biggest difference in fuel consumption (let's face it: fully faired or naked, we are all riding aerodynamic bricks). Once we pass 90Km/h or so those bricks need to burn exponentially more fuel to propel us forward and that makes most of the difference.

[Argi]

Are you planning another trip this summer Vlad?

[Vlad]

Are you planning another trip this summer Vlad?

Assuming you are thinking about James Bay, I haven't really thought about it seriously, but who knows? I have a few tricks up my sleeve that might make it even better this time around. On the other hand, maybe it's better if I give it a few years before I go again - there's just too many places I haven't rode to yet .

On the other hand, I'll be happy to provide help to those that want to go with or without me. It's a magnificent ride, and as Dave said everyone should do it once.

[gwelfmike]

I am thinking about heading up there on around the long weekend in August

[Vlad]

I am thinking about heading up there on around the long weekend in August

Let me know if you need any pointers, info, advice, warning, rave...

[gwelfmike]

Let me know if you need any pointers, info, advice, warning, rave...

Let me know when you are headed up to the fiery grill, we can talk then.

[Vlad]

Let me know when you are headed up to the fiery grill, we can talk then.

Fiery grill?

[gwelfmike]

What, you have never been to the Fiery Grill in Dorset....

http://www.fierygrill.com/index.php

you do have to get out more Vlad...

[Vlad]

What, you have never been to the Fiery Grill in Dorset....

Oh I've been there before and plan on going again, just the name didn't ring a bell immediately . It's my favorite lunch stop for every ride in the area, so I'll definitely let you know when the road leads me there.

[gwelfmike]

Yes, I am up in Gravenhrust now, made it to fiery grill on my bike the third week of Novemeber, hoping to get there as soon as the roads allow. I have been there a couple of time in the car this winter.

[Vlad]

Yes, I am up in Gravenhrust now, made it to fiery grill on my bike the third week of Novemeber, hoping to get there as soon as the roads allow. I have been there a couple of time in the car this winter.

Cool, we may even meet in Gravenhurst then. I'll definitely let you know when I'm riding that way.

In the mean time, order the free info package from James Bay Municipality. You'll get all you need to plan the trip, and more. I'll fill you in on what cannot be found in the brochures .