A Ride up North - James Bay | Page 22 | GTAMotorcycle.com

A Ride up North - James Bay

If you're looking for extras on the JBR are you OK with gravel? The side trips to East Main and Wemindji are interesting. My buddies 5X great father is buried in East Main. He was born 17XX and ran the HBC trading post. His grave is meticulously maintained.
Wemindji is supposed to be on a beautiful site but was fogged in when we were there. (same place where the hotel had no running water for us "Here's a 5 gallon pail and a dolly. The firemen have a tank set up by the river."
Again if you're good with gravel taking the Route Nord to the JBR is good too.
 
Thanks all. Chatted with my riding friends who I'm planning with and I think heading east, across at Ottawa and then backroads here and there up to and around Lac St Jean (155 does look pretty awesome when viewed on Google Streetview) before heading NW back towards Matagami and the JBR portion of the trip does work out pretty well to add the extra days we wanted, while still giving us some reasonably decent riding days without insane miles. I'm all for "insane miles" sometimes when I'm riding alone, but I know now all my riding friends feel the same lol.

We are talking about options now for camping and such, as well as bear/wildlife protections/precaution options once we got well off the beaten path in the north. One friend has his PAL (I let my FAC expire long, long ago) so we may opt to bring a rifle...just in case.

There will also be a SPOT satellite communicator in the mix as well - expensive for a 1 month subscription by the time you pay all the activation fees and such, but worth every cent if **** happens. If I had one of the newer iPhones with the satellite emergency option I'd be comfortable with just that, but not yet equipped.
 
Hwy 381 is supposed to be amazing, but I haven't been on it. Maybe this summer... Actually I'd like to finally ride the JBR, but I'm not super keen on joining a group where everyone else are already old friends and I'm the only newcomer. But if a bunch of GTAMers want to organize a ride I'd be up for it...
 
danp said:
Hwy 381 is supposed to be amazing, but I haven't been on it. Maybe this summer... Actually I'd like to finally ride the JBR, but I'm not super keen on joining a group where everyone else are already old friends and I'm the only newcomer. But if a bunch of GTAMers want to organize a ride I'd be up for it...
Click to expand...

Dammit, now I need to choose between 381 and 175 lol.

I did some quick Google Streetview drops on 175 earlier and it looked awesome, but just looking again it seems like a good segment of the lower section is plain old divided highway. 381 however looks like pretty back country the whole way.

Ok, leaning towards 381 now instead.
 
PrivatePilot said:
We are talking about options now for camping and such, as well as bear/wildlife protections/precaution options once we got well off the beaten path in the north. One friend has his PAL (I let my FAC expire long, long ago) so we may opt to bring a rifle...just in case.
Click to expand...
Both trips up we roughed camped pretty much the whole way with exception of a room in Raddison (and a room w/o running water in Wemindji). One spot was an old quarry. After finding bear scat and .303 shells "YOU KNOW WHAT THEY HUNT WITH THESE?!!"
We decided to quaff beer and not worry. Never had an issue.
 
timtune said:
We decided to quaff beer and not worry. Never had an issue.
Click to expand...

I know the odds are unlikely, especially if one takes basic bear precautions like not having food in your tents, no food waste on the campsite, cooking stuff washed and away, etc (we're bear savvy), but still, having an angry bear (worse yet one with cubs, the real concern here) wander into camp in the middle of the night, well, noise makers and bear spray are the first lines of attack for sure, but I'd sleep a lot better knowing one of us has a .30-06 besides their sleeping bag.
 
PrivatePilot said:
especially if one takes basic bear precautions like not having food in your tents, no food waste on the campsite, cooking stuff washed and away, etc (we're bear savvy),
Click to expand...
We are pretty lax. Food in the bikes, food waste in camp. At least we don't keep food in the tents though.
 
MacDoc said:
Bear spray easier to aim and no risk of killing your pals. ....just sayin'
Click to expand...

A firearm is always an absolute last resort. Like car insurance, it's something you carry but hope you never need.

I always have bear spray in my tent at night when camping anywhere in a tent, And often, noisemakers.

But the areas we'll be camping in on this trip are a bit next level, and potentially hundreds of kilometers either side of nowhere. Having a SPOT with us is great and all, but even pushing the SOS button it could still be tens of hours before anyone shows up.

I'm a big believer in the old Scouts saying...."Be prepared".
 
First time up we abandoned my buddies bike at the rest stop 1/2 way up the JBR.
No amount of planning could have prevented that. We just rolled with it and continued north. 2 bikes and 3 guys with camping gear. After 1600km of riding pillion he bought a used bike in Quebec.
 
timtune said:
First time up we abandoned my buddies bike at the rest stop 1/2 way up the JBR.
No amount of planning could have prevented that. We just rolled with it and continued north. 2 bikes and 3 guys with camping gear. After 1600km of riding pillion he bought a used bike in Quebec.
Click to expand...
So what happens with the abandoned bike by the side of the road? Does it get towed and buddy gets charged for it later?

Or just leave it be?
 
If you are just going up the JBR it's not that remote - sure there is a gap to for fuel but it's not like the trans Taiga for remote. Even 10 years ago it did not feel that remote tho the caribou trotting along the road maybe was a clue.
Pickle Lake also felt remote.
Screen Shot 2023-03-09 at Mar, 9 2023 6.37.41 AM.jpg
 
MacDoc said:
If you are just going up the JBR it's not that remote - sure there is a gap to for fuel but it's not like the trans Taiga for remote. Even 10 years ago it did not feel that remote tho the caribou trotting along the road maybe was a clue.
Pickle Lake also felt remote.
View attachment 59754
Click to expand...
What's involved in riding to Pickle Lake? Got some details you can share.
 
Stick it in the GPS and go ...neither is a stretch as long as you watch your fuel. It's pavement the whole way on both and apparently JBR has been fixed up ....the frost heaves were brutal.
Accommodation in Radisson and Pickle Lake might be tight this year.....I'd not stay over in Chisasabi due to bike security.
Fuel management really is your only issue.
 
MacDoc said:
Stick it in the GPS and go ...neither is a stretch as long as you watch your fuel. It's pavement the whole way on both and apparently JBR has been fixed up ....the frost heaves were brutal.
Accommodation in Radisson and Pickle Lake might be tight this year.....I'd not stay over in Chisasabi due to bike security.
Fuel management really is your only issue.
Click to expand...
You mentioned before about Chisasibi not being safe, curious about that? I stayed there without issue. Actually it was quite nice. The hotel was brand new, video serveleance etc. guy at front desk said he would keep an eye on the bike etc and told me the best place to park for them to watch it. Also the hotel was across the street from the OPP station. Seemed good to me.
Radisson I'm pretty sure is filled with contractors working on the Hydro dam. Had that vibe.

When I went up the JBR there was road work being done. Lots of traffic never felt alone there was always someone coming or going.
 
The police chief told us we would have to park the bikes in the gymnasium to prevent parts going missing- there was no hotel and certainly no OPP station. Neither of us felt comfortable. This was 10 years ago.
This looks really nice now...
www.tripadvisor.com

HOTEL WAASTOOSKUUN - Prices & Specialty B&B Reviews (Chisasibi, Quebec)

Book Hotel Waastooskuun, Chisasibi on Tripadvisor: See 12 traveler reviews, 17 candid photos, and great deals for Hotel Waastooskuun, ranked #1 of 1 specialty lodging in Chisasibi and rated 5 of 5 at Tripadvisor.
www.tripadvisor.com www.tripadvisor.com

You might even get luckly
if-you-are-lucky-you.jpg

We opted for a WOT ride to Radisson racing a setting sun behind us ...was much fun. Was light at 3 am in June.
 
MacDoc said:
The police chief told us we would have to park the bikes in the gymnasium to prevent parts going missing- there was no hotel and certainly no OPP station. Neither of us felt comfortable. This was 10 years ago.
This looks really nice now...
www.tripadvisor.com

HOTEL WAASTOOSKUUN - Prices & Specialty B&B Reviews (Chisasibi, Quebec)

Book Hotel Waastooskuun, Chisasibi on Tripadvisor: See 12 traveler reviews, 17 candid photos, and great deals for Hotel Waastooskuun, ranked #1 of 1 specialty lodging in Chisasibi and rated 5 of 5 at Tripadvisor.
www.tripadvisor.com www.tripadvisor.com

You might even get luckly
if-you-are-lucky-you.jpg

We opted for a WOT ride to Radisson racing a setting sun behind us ...was much fun. Was light at 3 am in June.
Click to expand...
Ah yes if you went that long ago that would of made sense. That's that exact hotel I stay at. Was perfect and my oasis after travelling so long and dealing with gravel, construction, heaves the whole lot of it. That overhang at the front door is where I parked. That whole end of the city was all new. The added benefit was they all spoke English. Not that I have a problem with French speakers, but it was impossible to reach anyone in Radisson, and well lets say the Quebecer's can be a little prickly at times. On the other hand the indigenous were great and friendly both on the phone and in person. Could not have expected any thing more.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom