sburns
Well-known member
I bought this kit, thanks for the suggestion. Seem pretty comprehensive.
Anyone interested in a James Bay Road trip?
- Thread starter PrivatePilot
- Start date
I bought this kit, thanks for the suggestion. Seem pretty comprehensive.
sburns
Well-known member
Wow awesome, you are up there now?
This was the access out past Chisasibai. After the North Road and Eastmain, this was an easy run. Some loose gravel, but mostly packed gravel that's predictable to ride on. I also went out to long point. It's much more squirrelly. Both are beautiful places
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sburns
Well-known member
Nice! Must be interesting at night, able to see stars etc?
I noticed the large extra gas container. Had to use it?
Jealous, enjoy the trip. Doesn't look like I'm going to make it this year, my vacation allotment is gone and it just didn't happen.
Planning for next year. Again.
When you see the pictures from the real camera, you will go for real. Logistically, the highway part is easy. Even the gravel part isn't that hard. It's mostly patience in not going too fast
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Jealous, enjoy the trip. Doesn't look like I'm going to make it this year, my vacation allotment is gone and it just didn't happen.
Planning for next year. Again.
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It's not that I don't want to go...have been trying for 2 years now. It's just that I personally feel it's unwise to do this sort of trip alone given the remoteness.
And further to that, it's proven difficult to find a friend who wants to maintain the sort of schedule (KM per day) I want to do (I don't want it to be a 7-8 day trip and I like riding long days) and the fact that it's more of an adventure trip vs a sights and scenery trip (everything I've read says the scenery is pretty boring) has also meant a few are not interested. Lack of premium fuel availability (for at least 2 friends who would love to go, but have bikes that *require* premium) has been another stumbling block - if it wasn't for this we would have probably did the trip last year. Lastly, the possibility of needing to camp if accommodations don't pan out as planned has scared yet others away - I would actually *choose* to camp myself, but thats proving unpopular with friends as well.
The sun and stars are not aligning, basically.
But eventually.
Much of the scenery isn't spectacular, but there's so much of it! If you're willing to do the last bit of gravel, I would say it's worth it.
I thought octane booster was a thing.
As for remoteness, everyone has to decide that for themselves. The North Road and Eastmain are sketchy for doing alone for sure. JBH does have regular traffic. Sure you could go off the road and no one sees it happen. No cell service for a big stretch; you'd be screwed. I don't often drive off the road into the bush. Odds are I won't here either.
As for camping, I'm not old enough yet to admit that I can't or won't. To each their own
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I thought octane booster was a thing.
As for remoteness, everyone has to decide that for themselves. The North Road and Eastmain are sketchy for doing alone for sure. JBH does have regular traffic. Sure you could go off the road and no one sees it happen. No cell service for a big stretch; you'd be screwed. I don't often drive off the road into the bush. Odds are I won't here either.
As for camping, I'm not old enough yet to admit that I can't or won't. To each their own
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Okay figured it would be finished better by now - they had just dumped loose fist sized gravel when we tried ....obviously a base layer - just not worth the hassle for us.
Go by yourself ...you'll be fine ....just have Caa Premiere and a plug kit. As long as your bike is in good nick you won't have an issue. Time is awasting ..nicest with long daylight.
Look .....the run to Rouyn Noranda is no issue. Fast on slab but I suggest you switch east just a hair to the Quebec route instead of 11.
You can rent a sat phone in North Bay for $80 for the week if you are concerned
https://www.canadasatellite.ca/Thuraya-XT-Lite-Satellite-Phone-Rental-Canada.htm
Then start early, check in at the JBR entrance and do the run to Radisson....I did it on my Burgman 650 which has zilch shocks and little fuel range.
Buddy was with me but he was a VERY new rider.
I'd say the biggest issue is the bugs and camping. Watching him trying to make a cup of coffee in the bush was hilarious ( we didn't camp - he just wanted to try. )
My only caution is I would leery of staying in Chisisabi ...too many teens with too little to do but make mischief...the police constable warned us he'd have to lock our bikes in the school gym to be safe ..Radisson is fine
If the weather turns, just head East at Rouyn Noranda and take a nice loop down the Trans-Canada instead. It's lovely but be careful with fuel there as well. Get out there
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Gravel doesn't concern me the least, and I had indeed planned to ride right to the bay out of Chisasibi.
It is, but it's also a very misleading thing. Warning...long and sorta OT fuel/octane story ahead LOL:
People think buying one of those little 250ml bottles at Canadian Tire and dumping it in their car turns their $50 tank of gas into a $75 tank of premium, but the reality is anything but because of deceptive marketing. If you read those bottles the wording on the front says "one bottle raises octane up to 7 points" or something along those lines - people think that means that a bottle turns their tank of 89 into 96 octane. Cool, right?
It's not until you read the fine print that you discover the definition of a "point" on almost all cheap octane boosters is 1/10th of a standard octane rating...so a full bottle might take your 89 octane to....89.7, best case assuming your fuel tank matches the "treats up to" figure on the bottle -for a pickup truck with a 100L tank for example you may only be raising your octane 0.2RON.
So, If you need 91 for example, you might actually need up to 3 bottles for even an econobox - a pickup truck, maybe 6 or 8 bottles, or more. a full single bottle of the common STP Octane Booster would be just enough to take a 15L tank of fuel from 89 to 91 for example, and nobody wants to carry .
Yes, there are products that actually work better than most of the junk at most car part stores, but they are harder to source (at least the really good ones) and they can cost about up to $35-$40CDN for a 250ML bottle that treats up to 80L, so maybe 5 fillups on a MC.
Since I don't believe 91 octane is available anywhere north of the bottom of the JBR (if I'm wrong, correct me) I figured they will need at least 2000KM worth of fuel, so at a conservative 5L/100KM per bike (times 2 for the friends in question as both their bikes need premium) that totals 200L of gas needs to be boosted, or about 6-8 tank fulls. Needless to say they don't want to have to carry 12 to 16 individual bottles of the STP stuff.
So yes, in the end, it's IS an option and a totally viable solution, but they'd need probably in the range of $100 worth of the high quality octane booster in the end. Probably not a show stopper, indeed, so perhaps I should bring it up again next season.
/off topic rant
Accidents are seldom planned nor expected. A blown rear tire, taking a frost heave the wrong way at speed, or an animal running out across the road could indeed put you out in the bush in a heartbeat, and I'm the poster boy for Murphy's Law, so the second I decided to ride alone on such a remote trip that's the sort of crap that'd happen to me.
I'd like to have a friend there who sees it happen and can assist, or at least go for help. Beats the possible alternatives. Not a risk I'm willing to accept, personally.
I love camping, and I've moto-camped before and thoroughly enjoyed it. I just recognize it's not for everyone, so I did plan the trip around real accommodations and really don't think it's likely to be an issue, but just mention the possibility of needing to camp to some...and they're out. :/
Yeah, if push comes to shove next year I'll consider it. This year is out now, no more vacation and accordingly I can't string more than 3 days together anymore.
But see my post above. It's the Murphy's Law thing that's always dwelling in the back of my head.
It's been 24 years since my first (and thankfully last, knock on wood) MC wreck but the possibility of something like I experienced back then happening again, alone, without help, haunts me. I would not likely be here typing this had it happened somewhere remote, and I have the scars to prove it.
Rent the Sat phone. Next year I'll rent you mine
LOl, thanks.
I’d actually looked into the SPOT service. I even have a riding buddy who has one but no service anymore.
In the USA you can do short term service plans on them now for situations like mine, but in Canada they told me it’s not possible...you need to pay for a whole year even if you’re only needing it for a few days.
You can with the InReach ....one reason I bought it.
https://inreach.roadpost.ca/contract-free-inreach-roadpost-plans/
Cool, had never heard of that one. Will keep it in mind if Spot doesn't get with the program and bring the short term plans to Canada by the time next year... My buddy offered use of his for free, but the lack of affordable service on it was the kicker.
Inreach is 2 way. You can send texts too and leave a breadcrumb trail for people to follow if you wish. Handy little gizmo, there are some old Delorme units around that are cheaper than the new Garmin ones too.
