tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25204515364364027932024-03-05T23:37:10.251-08:00FASTREDBIKEPhotos, videos and stories from the saddle...Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-35933115332544815072013-05-01T15:08:00.000-07:002013-05-01T03:53:20.701-07:00CONTENTSThe problem with this blog's layout to me is that unless you know which trip happened on what date, you have to check every tab to find a specific trip. I had an idea to deal with that problem - a link page that will sit at the top of the blog. So here are some links<span style="color: red;"><b> (in red)</b> </span>to some highlighted trips:<br />
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<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2012/09/advriders-nb-meetup-ride-september-1st.html"><span style="color: red;">Maritime ADVrider/NBDSC meetup ride, September 2012</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=817143"><span style="color: red;">Newfoundland, the Trans Labrador Highway and Quebec, my ADVrider report, August 2012</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2012/06/cabot-trail-run-june-13th-to-15th-2012.html"><span style="color: red;">Halifax and the Cabot Trail, June 2012</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Calgary to California with my Brother - then solo back to Calgary, May 2010 click the links below:</span><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/05/why-california.html"><span style="color: red;">Why ride to California?</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/05/t-minus-1-day.html"><span style="color: red;">T minus 1 day</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/05/all-packed-i-think.html"><span style="color: red;">The gear prep and packing</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/05/trip-west.html"><span style="color: red;">The trip west (flight)</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/05/first-riding-day-or-escape-from-great.html"><span style="color: red;">Calgary, AB to Spokane, WA - snow, rain and riding</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/05/monday-may-31st-spokane-wa-to.html"><span style="color: red;">Spokane, WA to Prineville, OR</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/06/tuesday-june-01-2010-prineville-or-to.html"><span style="color: red;">Prineville, OR to Eureka, CA</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/06/wednesday-june-02-2010-eureka-ca-to-ft.html"><span style="color: red;">Eureka, CA to Ft. Bragg, CA</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/06/wednesday-june-02-2010-eureka-ca-to-ft.html"><span style="color: red;">Ft. Bragg, CA to San Rafael, CA</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/06/friday-june-4th-2010-san-rafael-ca.html"><span style="color: red;">San Rafael, CA to Livermore and San Francisco CA for tires</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010_06_06_archive.html"><span style="color: red;">San Rafael, CA to Yosemite National Park</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010_06_07_archive.html"><span style="color: red;">Yosemite NP, CA to Susanville, CA - parting ways</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/06/monday-june-07-2010.html"><span style="color: red;">Susanville, CA to Quincy, CA - solo</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/06/tuesday-june-08-2010.html"><span style="color: red;">Quincy, CA to Castle Crags State Park - pics of Mount Shasta!</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/06/wednesday-june-09-2010.html"><span style="color: red;">Castle Crags park to Hermiston, OR </span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/06/wednesday-june-09-2010.html"><span style="color: red;">Hermiston, OR to Kootenay NP, BC via Portland, OR in much rain</span></a><br />
<a href="http://fastredbiker.blogspot.ca/2010/06/friday-june-11-2010-brents-house.html"><span style="color: red;">Kootenay NP, BC to Calgary, AB - cue the credits</span></a><br />
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Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-48899116589858362722013-05-01T02:33:00.000-07:002013-05-05T05:37:35.552-07:00I ride the Fundy Loop, May 1, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">20% gravel / 80% Asphalt</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jordan Memorial Home Sanatorium at The Glades</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Pleasant Vale</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not much green yet</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fixer-upper for sale</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">time for new shoes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">45 Road</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">showstopper</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">45 Bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">under the bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alma, NB</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alma lobster fleet</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Point Wolfe, Fundy NP</td></tr>
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Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-42626799710829895272013-04-28T13:46:00.000-07:002013-05-05T05:38:29.403-07:00I ride to Harley Davidson Dr. April 27, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/Ride-to-Harley-Davidson-Dr/i-J92hc7K/0/XL/20130429-apr%2027%202013%20route-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/Ride-to-Harley-Davidson-Dr/i-J92hc7K/0/XL/20130429-apr%2027%202013%20route-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One day when I was using Garmin Mapsource to think about routes and rides for the upcoming season I noticed there's a road in the Mace's Bay area called Harley Davidson Drive. Mace's Bay is in the Southwestern part of NB past Saint John and although I've spent lots of time in that part of the province, somehow Mace's Bay is a coastal place I've never been.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had the whole weekend to kill and even though the weather forecast wasn't that warm the weatherman was promising sun. I had a new-to-me V-Strom 1000 to try out and I could think of no better use for my Saturday than to discover what a road named after a well-known motorcycle brand looked like.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wanted to travel secondary roads as much as possible on the way there so I set out for Cornhill. It's an easy ride through rolling farmland and although the road is getting very rough and there wasn't much green in the fields I enjoyed the ride.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cornhill, NB area</td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Along the way you pass several farming operations big and small but none are more impressive than this one.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pretty nice dairy barn</td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The owners have an open house most years and I went on a brief tour of the place a couple of years ago. Obviously it's all state of the art and the cows that live and work here must be the luckiest bovine in the region.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just up the road is Cornhill Nursery where lots of people that don't own motorcycles come to get plants and shrubs to spend their summers fooling with. The main building houses a small tea room downstairs and a modest antique museum upstairs. It's a popular spot for the leather and chrome bikers to ride to for a cuppa and a scone, then back home to Moncton for a full day's riding in under 75km. Still, it's a pretty nice spot and worth a stop if your hungry.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">Here's the new(ish) Strom. I've looked at these bikes for years but never owned or even rode one before. I'm pretty impressed! they are great bang for the buck.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2005 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 with 8,000 km</td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sticking to the back roads and getting closer to Sussex you come to the Smith's Creek Bridge, which is in great shape for it's age.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From Sussex I took the old TCH route toward Fredericton for a while. Funny how much is left along this road from the time before the new highways and when it would see a lot more traffic. I doubt the farmer is getting what he used to to rent the side of his barn for advertising space.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My route took me to Cambridge-Narrows and by now I was getting hungry. I decided to give the Holiday Restaurant a try. I think this place mostly exists to serve the seasonal campground across the road in the summer.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">It seemed like they'd just opened for the season but they were eager to please. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was pretty warm there out of the wind so I opted for a takeout meal and my first picnic table lunch of the season.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">The crispy chicken was the recommendation from the kitchen so that's what I had with a large chocolate milk. It tasted a bit better than it looked and everything was fried right there as ordered. Still, for $16.00 I found it lacking and can't really recommend the place. A burger or something covered in gravy might have been a better choice.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crispy Chicken the Holiday Restaurant way</td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I waited for my lunch I had a few minutes to walk around a bit. The most exciting thing going on in Cambridge-Narrows that day appeared to be the fueling up of the fire engine. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fueling old sparky</td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are signs of the usual spring flooding along the edges of Washademoak Lake but there's nothing too extreme this year.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was really nice to be getting back into the riding season rhythm. Ride, stop, look around, eat outside at some roadside place. ahhhh, that was a long winter my friends.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After cleaning up every crumb of lunch I headed down the road toward a place called Scovil and the Gagetown Ferry. In the past there were lots of free ferries crossing the many rivers in this part of the province but gradually with new highways and tighter economics many have ceased operations. The cable-operated Gagetown Ferry still runs. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting on the Gagetown Ferry</td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is a popular route for people from Fredericton, Gagetown and Saint John so when the ferry got to the other side I could hear the roar of several v twins (of the cruiser variety) disembarking. In fact I could hear them as they road all the way to Gagetown. It wasn't long before the ferry came back across and unloaded - and as before, several chrome-y v twin bikes came off and roared past. Nobody waved and they all wore their best "too cool to smile" grimaces. Maybe those bikes aren't fun to ride - everybody looks like they are on the way to the dentist.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was just myself and one farm truck on the ferry so it was a really peaceful crossing.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on board the Gagetown Ferry</td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Scenic Gagetown, NB</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was in need of fuel so I rode into Gagetown and gassed up. Not needing anything else I was quickly on my way for the best part of the ride. Route 102 follows along the water all the way to Grand Bay - Westfield on the outskirts of Saint John. This road is a real gem and one of my favorite paved roads in the province. Click the link to see a video of some of the highlights.</span></div>
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/65493516">Click Here for video highlights of Gagetown to Grand Bay</a></div>
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<br />Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-15290092866687395622013-04-18T04:26:00.001-07:002013-04-18T15:05:36.411-07:00A ride to Dorchester Cape and beyond, April 17th, 2013<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I was at work today I kept noticing what a great day it was outside. Spring has been a kind of drawn-out affair this year and even though technically it's still early in the season I'd like to have done more riding by now.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was still sunny and mild when I got home so I pulled out a bike and started off. I hadn't been down through Memramcook and Dorchester in a while so that's the direction I headed.</span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-mXXJJDn/0/XL/20130418-dorchester%20cape-2-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="560" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-mXXJJDn/0/XL/20130418-dorchester%20cape-2-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just before I got to Dorchester I noticed a farm road that crossed the tracks and went up the hill. You can see it there at about 2 o'clock.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nice view of the area from up there, somewhere along the way the muddy Memramcook River turns into the equally muddy Shepody Bay.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Also a pretty good view of Dorchester Penitentiary.</span></div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-Dtc9JrF/0/XL/20130417-P1010842-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-Dtc9JrF/0/XL/20130417-P1010842-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Up on the hill you can see the semi-famous $2 million wind turbine that was installed in 2009 and has been broken down most of the time since then despite another $60,000 of maintenance and repairs. I think it's safe to say it has not helped the Correctional Services save on operational energy costs. Too bad, though, because I think wind power is probably a pretty good idea and this kind of thing makes it hard for politicians to get behind the next new idea.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Much of the farmland in this valley has been reclaimed from the Bay with an impressive system of dykes. There are several places where you can get up and ride on them. This one takes you out to a place called Dorchester Island.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-d4Gdhqj/0/XL/20130417-P1010856-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-d4Gdhqj/0/XL/20130417-P1010856-XL.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think it was an island before the dykes but now you can drive to it, although i</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">t's possible that the island is cut off from time to time by snow or flooding. T</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">he road is pret</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ty rough in spots and I think there's only one home on Dorchester Island </span></div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-GRX3Hph/0/XL/20130417-P1010854-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-GRX3Hph/0/XL/20130417-P1010854-XL.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is lots of evidence of 4 wheeler activity in the area and if you follow the dyke past the island eventually you come to this rail - trail.</span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-wjd4DzW/0/XL/20130417-P1010855-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-wjd4DzW/0/XL/20130417-P1010855-XL.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Which is the old rail spur built for the next Government boondoggle, the ill-advised government make work industrial park project at Dorchester Cape.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since it's construction in the '60s the "fertilizer plant" was never used and stood completely vacant. There's machinery there now, though, and it appears somebody is dismantling it. I would have poked around inside a bit but the night watchman and his <u>BIG DOG</u> had just shown up and both were giving me dirty looks as it was.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, this is from Wikipedia:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">Premier </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Robichaud" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Louis Robichaud">Louis Robichaud</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">'s government during the 1960s created an industrial park and deepwater loading pier at nearby </span><a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dorchester_Cape,_New_Brunswick&action=edit&redlink=1" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #a55858; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Dorchester Cape, New Brunswick (page does not exist)">Dorchester Cape</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> as part of a regional economic development program. Envisioned to be used by the petro-chemical industry, the government constructed a new road and railway spur along with an electrical substation and the pier as well as a building that was envisioned to be used as a fertilizer plant. The industrial park had no tenants and the pier sitting in the Memramcook River was quickly silted in by mud from the tides of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Fundy" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Bay of Fundy">Bay of Fundy</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">. Today all that remains are the roads and the railbed as well as some broken street lights, a deteriorating sea wall and the empty shell of the abandoned fertilizer plant.</span><sup class="Template-Fact" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (October 2007)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not much left of the deep-water loading pier - also never used.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After you...</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The whole place has a weird zombie-apocolypse vibe.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But there's a pretty nice beach if icy, muddy swimming is your thing. It's at this point that Shepody Bay connects to the Bay of Fundy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can get to all of that without riding on the dyke and I took the easy way back out to the road.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I continued along the shore road, passing the long beach area known for it's migratory shorebird population. There's a statue back in Dorchester dedicated to them and an interpretive centre on the shore. Since nobody was around and all the gates were locked I continued my own migratory travel.</span></div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-n8J9fSj/0/XL/20130417-P1010859-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-n8J9fSj/0/XL/20130417-P1010859-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The freeze, thaw, snow, thaw cycle has been hard on this road. There appear to be a few people that commute on it so there were pretty good tracks to follow which was good. Riding this kind of road when it's just a mass of zig zagging ruts isn't my idea of a great time.</span></div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-tdC4V6k/0/XL/20130417-P1010860-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-tdC4V6k/0/XL/20130417-P1010860-XL.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Eventually I turned across the peninsula and came to a similar road that runs along the other side. This is the Bay of Fundy and that's Joggins over there.</span></div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-5BDXwnt/0/XL/20130417-P1010865-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-ride-to-Dorchester-and/i-5BDXwnt/0/XL/20130417-P1010865-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Heading home now and as I approached Sackville, NB I could see the back side of all those wind turbines outside Amherst. Love 'em or hate 'em you can see them from a long ways off.</span></div>
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<br />Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-54460401161220695152013-04-15T18:10:00.002-07:002013-04-16T09:03:01.649-07:00A cold ride to Hillsborough<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Spring is taking it's good old time unfolding this year and there seem to have been few opportunities to ride in 2013 compared to recent years. Still, with bare roads and sunshine even 10 degrees can make me want to head out.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Coming home from work today the sun was out and the temperature was 12.5 so I quickly suited up and pulled the '01 KLR out of the shed.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNio7Ms28RU39w7wwU9SJY3qYjPCmonXgtgqsC5huawixpvH5TuBHR_0NhF85cUjCSLPIkJf65r4rK9Sads4rZHvxpDb5Y_Rub091BeJkmQmTFK7AJcT1w1NTpdUWssJN_w3GsYnpzeC_/s1600/apr+15+ride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNio7Ms28RU39w7wwU9SJY3qYjPCmonXgtgqsC5huawixpvH5TuBHR_0NhF85cUjCSLPIkJf65r4rK9Sads4rZHvxpDb5Y_Rub091BeJkmQmTFK7AJcT1w1NTpdUWssJN_w3GsYnpzeC_/s640/apr+15+ride.jpg" width="538" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As it was late in the afternoon already I couldn't go very far - before I knew it I was crossing the causeway and so I decided to head down along the Petitcodiac river toward Fundy Park. By the time I got to Hillsborough, though, the sun was getting low and things were cooling off.</span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-cold-ride-to-Hillsborough/i-8dqfpN8/0/XL/20130415-P1010835-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-cold-ride-to-Hillsborough/i-8dqfpN8/0/XL/20130415-P1010835-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I took the side road off toward Gray's Island and followed it around behind the cemetary to the side of the river, stopping there for a couple of pictures.</span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-cold-ride-to-Hillsborough/i-P37ddSM/0/XL/20130415-P1010836-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/A-cold-ride-to-Hillsborough/i-P37ddSM/0/XL/20130415-P1010836-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As clear as the skies were, the water and lowering sun was dropping temps quickly so I decided to head inland taking the Salem Road. I hoped to follow it all the way to Caledonia Mountain, but when I got to the segment that narrows and gets rough I found it in pretty poor condition. This road doesn't get plowed through in the winter and there was a lot of muck and snow - it was even cooler here too, so I turned back.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I followed an alternate route home and was pretty cold again upon arrival. Hopefully we'll get some decent riding weather soon.</span><br />
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<br />Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-91434686092150264442013-04-05T17:48:00.000-07:002013-04-15T18:00:51.846-07:00April 5th Ride<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Due to the crap weather we've been getting this spring it's been quite a few days between rides. We've had very few days over 10 degrees and it seems to snow every few days - it always melts again but jeez!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The 5th was sunny and plus 8 degrees so I decided to take a little ride even though conditions were far from ideal.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12a0xsxWjLQyOeqTJ5ZleSAmiXFLfL0eZ9FBTdq_-TGiU7ydv7B1KSqrkuqKiEkQk69OCf5xyp-iiduOVToc1u72FIF9Ch-0I4Z-bqDNCn_Pk5rDxRS9dGOSVQ2uYHhDg5iNAAo_jIOq0/s1600/apr+5+ride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12a0xsxWjLQyOeqTJ5ZleSAmiXFLfL0eZ9FBTdq_-TGiU7ydv7B1KSqrkuqKiEkQk69OCf5xyp-iiduOVToc1u72FIF9Ch-0I4Z-bqDNCn_Pk5rDxRS9dGOSVQ2uYHhDg5iNAAo_jIOq0/s640/apr+5+ride.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-vwQfnpL/0/XL/20130405-P1010823-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-vwQfnpL/0/XL/20130405-P1010823-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I broke out the '01 KLR as I haven't really had much of a chance to get to know it. This would be the "shakedown" run.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I headed up Mountain Road and eventually followed Homestead Road away from the city. At Salisbury I turned right onto the old Fredericton road and cruised along in the brisk air. Gradually I developed an idea about heading to Coles Island and exploring that area a bit. </span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-bRWJv8X/0/XL/20130405-P1010824-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-bRWJv8X/0/XL/20130405-P1010824-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I stopped at Canaan Forks for some pics, still plenty of snow and ice around. The bike was working well.</span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-c6ZT6JN/0/XL/20130405-P1010826-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-c6ZT6JN/0/XL/20130405-P1010826-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I split off the main road to see if I could get to Cambridge Narrows on the side roads. I passed lots of "summer homes":</span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-hHKQhfF/0/X2/20130405-P1010828-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-hHKQhfF/0/X2/20130405-P1010828-X2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">some were very modest,</span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-gfqdDhS/0/XL/20130405-P1010833-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-gfqdDhS/0/XL/20130405-P1010833-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">some a bit more refined,</span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-ksFXgdN/0/XL/20130405-P1010829-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-ksFXgdN/0/XL/20130405-P1010829-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This one had a full load of gas grilles out front!</span><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-xGTkVkW/0/XL/20130405-P1010830-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/April-5th-ride/i-xGTkVkW/0/XL/20130405-P1010830-XL.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Eventually things got mucky and the road narrowed. About this time I started getting cold so after exploring around Coles Island a bit I headed for home. I was pretty cold by the time I got back.</span><br />
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<br />Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-51790623466321074322013-03-30T08:44:00.000-07:002013-03-31T09:16:31.184-07:00Easter Ride March 30, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>249KM total</b></h2>
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The weather forecast looked reasonable even though it wasn't going to be very warm. We've had very few really mild days in March, though, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a real ride in.<br />
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After giving the matter some thought I settled on a backcountry ride on the KLR. Many back roads in Southeastern NB roads close during the winter and get used by snowmobiles and 4 wheelers - today would be an opportunity to find out what roads are opened up and which ones are still snow packed.<br />
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I left my place at about 11:30 and headed out to Elgin, NB via secondary roads. I filmed some video of the backcountry exploring I did. As you can see in the video there's still plenty of snow and several roads are still closed. I didn't see much sled activity, though, as the snow that remains is getting pretty rotten. This map shows the segment of the ride that's in the video.<br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/First-real-ride-of-2013/i-XkFFh7X/0/XL/20130331-Elgin%20leg-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2013/First-real-ride-of-2013/i-XkFFh7X/0/XL/20130331-Elgin%20leg-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I stopped for a picture or two but didn't take a lot - things are not at their most photogenic this time of year and mostly all I saw was trees anyway.</div>
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If you look closely you can see a "SLOW" sign on the right side of this one. I thought that was funny because with the road in this condition, "SLOW" was basically your only option.</div>
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Some of that riding was a real workout - the worst was the mud because it wasn't deep. When you have basically frozen ground with only the top 2 inches thawed things get pretty slimy. Add to that the fact that when 4 wheeled traffic uses the road they can never seem to follow in each other's tracks so you get all these crazy criss-crossing ruts and slippery mud. I made it without a spill, though came a bit close a time or two. It was fun riding but I'll admit I was happy to get to dry ground.</div>
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I wandered my way over toward Sussex where I stopped for lunch. Then continued on the back roads in a meandering route toward home.</div>
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I got pretty wet and dirty during the backcountry riding but I'd dressed with pretty much the perfect blend of layers and was mostly very comfortable. </div>
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When I pulled in my driveway it was 4:30 and I was just beginning to feel cold and tired. All in all, a great day.</div>
<br />Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-20505185619662004692013-03-16T06:12:00.000-07:002013-03-28T18:22:30.459-07:00Spring is coming... I just know it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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On the drive home from watching my daughter compete in a Tae Kwon Do tournament I was inspired by how the snow has melted in Southwestern NB. Unfortunately there's still plenty of snow in Southeastern NB where I'm located but since the roads were mostly dry, skies were bright and it was still (slightly) above freezing I took the opportunity for a little spin.<br />
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Spring is definitely on the way but not here yet and today it's minus 13 degrees so I won't be riding... instead, I'll go back to making plans for the 2013 riding season.Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-26750803489467119582013-02-16T15:03:00.004-08:002013-03-23T06:01:04.549-07:00First Ride 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I could wait no more. </div>
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I'd been to the Moncton Motorcycle show twice in the last two days. </div>
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I'd met up with some buddies from the NB DualSport Club and ADVrider.com for the annual breakfast and bike show thing today. </div>
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So many bikes, so much talk of riding, trips taken and trips planned that when I got home and saw the streets and my driveway clear of ice it got me thinking...</div>
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I went out and test started all my bikes pulling the '06 KLR out.</div>
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It was 7.5 degrees out and mostly sunny and we have a big winter snow and ice storm moving through here tomorrow so it didn't take much to tempt me out for a quick ride. Not far, not fast but about 40 minutes of RIDING!</div>
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I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever ridden in February.</div>
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Ahhh, that feels a bit better.</div>
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<br />Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-35347836760526596442013-02-15T15:03:00.000-08:002013-03-17T06:30:17.657-07:00will Winter never end?<br />
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My eyes are burning from months of reading ADV ride reports from people lucky or smart enough to be riding in warmer places, my head is spinning from all the Mapsource, GoogleEarth and Backroad Mapbook speculation on what trips to take and when to take them once the ice finally recedes, <br />
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I've re-watched all the videos - Long Way Round & Down, Race to Dakar, Mondo Enduro, the Dakar 2013 coverage and even On any Sunday again. I've refreshed myself again with Neduro's Dualsport Riding Techniques and Helge's adventure touring DVDs. <br />
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Now it's the bike show this weekend and my wallet is about to feel the pain of the annual, pre-season mod-a-thon..., though, there's not much I need to do this year... my XD is past due for replacement so maybe a new lid. <br />
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A couple of weeks ago when the weather turned freaky-warm I shoveled out my bike trailer - just in case I decided to make a break for the south for a winter riding getaway... but life crowded in and the trailer's buried again. <br />
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It's that time of the year I hate, spring seems to feel closer than it really is and I curse every single snowflake as they fall. I feel like it's gonna be another great season, once it gets going... if I can hold out that long....<br />
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Maybe I'll have to give my bikes a big hug today<br />
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Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-21749161187209809792012-09-03T09:21:00.000-07:002013-03-24T13:53:05.779-07:00ADVriders NB meetup ride, September 1st ~ 3rd 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In the spring of 2012 several contributors to the online forum ADVrider.com began talking about organizing a "rally" somewhere in the maritimes. A few of us rode to a meeting near Saint John in May to talk it over and came to the conclusion we should do it, decided on Labour Day weekend for the date and that we'd do some more thinking about where to host it.</div>
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A couple of my rides last season came out of this idea but one of the best was the Labour Day ride to Northern NB.</div>
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<b>Day 1, September 1, 2012</b></div>
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5 Moncton area riders met up with two riders from Nova Scotia for a big send-off breakfast at Mooser's in Dieppe. Pictured below from left to right are Zaner32, C-Stain (NS), (waitress in the background), Brad F, and Kelsow(NS). Not pictured but present were myself, EngineerJohn and Brad M.</div>
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I enjoyed my usual leaving-on-a-bike-trip breakfast of eggs over easy on pancakes, bacon and coffee.</div>
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Once breakfast was finished we checked our gear and got ready to leave. Our first stop would be in Rogersville which would require about 45 minutes of paved riding. This short first leg would allow us to re-check gear and get into a rhythm together.<br />
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It didn't take long to get there and I believe we only stopped once to tighten a loose strap on one of the bikes. We took a quick break as we had plenty of time to reach our day's destination later in the afternoon. The weather was gorgeous!<br />
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At Rogersville, we turned off highway 126 to wind through the back-country on alternating dirt/paved roads. The roads were dry and we were kicking up quite a bit of dust so we tried to keep a bit of distance between the bikes.<br />
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Zaner32 in the lead, Kelsow following:</div>
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Kelsow </div>
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Brad F</div>
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EngineerJohn</div>
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Brad M</div>
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Your's truly (photo courtesy of Dualsport.ca (Kelsow)</div>
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As we rode further northward, the roads become narrower and get a bit rougher. Eventually we came to a section of two-track with several large water holes. When we came through here in June I lost the front end in one of those big waterholes and got pretty wet - today I got through "clean". </div>
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Unfortunately with the transition from hot dry sun to cool damp woods my video camera lens gathered some condensation. I've cleaned it up as well as I can in the lab...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">(photo courtesy of Dualsport.ca (Kelsow)</span></td></tr>
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C-Stain wasn't so fortunate and went down in the middle of a really big, deep hole. He'd gotten pretty much immersed and was soaked and muddy head to foot. The bike was fine, his gear was dry for the most part but unfortunately he'd wrenched his knee badly - this would cause him a lot of discomfort as the riding wore on and eventually force him to cut his trip short.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">C-Stain quaffing some hop juice for medicinal purposes, EngineerJohn providing moral accompaniment.</span></td></tr>
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The good news for C-Stain was that we were only a few minutes from our day's destination, Serpentine Lodge where we would meet up with the rest of the group so he rode out of the woods and on to the lodge.<br />
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We reached Serpentine Lodge about 20 minutes later</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serpentine Lodge, Sep 1, 2012</td></tr>
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And were treated to a warm ADVrider welcome.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FYYFF</td></tr>
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The way this group ride had come together was basically two groups. Southeastern NB and NS riders were on mostly bigger bikes. Zaner had put together a great route that while being "big-bike friendly" would still be challenging and scenic. The Southwestern NB guys had opted for more off-road riding and were generally riding bikes that were a bit smaller and much better suited to their hard-core plans. Their group planned to sleep at the lodge two nights while we had plans to move on to another location for the second night.<br />
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We enjoyed a great stew in Alyre's Serpentine Lodge dining room.</div>
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And eventually rode down to the edge of Serpentine Lake</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serpentine Lake Sep 1, 2012</td></tr>
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to set up camp.</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-ptFvqnt/0/XL/20120901-IMG_1483-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-ptFvqnt/0/XL/20120901-IMG_1483-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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As the sun set,</div>
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the campfire discussions started up and continued late into the night.</div>
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<b>Day 2, September 2, 2012</b></div>
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The next morning was clear except for the lake fog blanketing the water.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning fog, Serpentine Lake Sep 2, 2012</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All quiet in the camp</td></tr>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-Lj9Fd3Q/0/XL/20120901-IMG_1503-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="392" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-Lj9Fd3Q/0/XL/20120901-IMG_1503-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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It had gotten pretty close to zero overnight but was warming up and by the time we were up and loading the bikes the temps had skyrocketed all the way up to 3 degrees.<br />
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We packed up, loaded the bikes and headed back up to the lodge for breakfast as well as fuel for some of the bikes.</div>
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Fueling stop at Serpentine</div>
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C-Stain's knee had gotten worse in the night (he acutally ended up off work and on crutches for a bit) so he had decided to pull the pin on this ride. One of the other Southeastern riders was also heading home so they made plans to ride together as far as Miramichi.<br />
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Two Brads tweaking the load.</div>
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After breakfast the groups split up and a few riders headed home to other commitments. <br />
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The bigger bikes headed across country on some superb tracks to end up at Chalets Restigouche near Kedgwick. <br />
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As soon as we reached Chalets Restigouche and got checked in, the chain-drive guys got right to work with their chores, dusty and muddy conditions make this critical.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;"> One nice thing about riding a shaft drive bike is you can go straight to the beer fridge upon arrival.</span></div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-dLbjH3t/0/XL/20120902-_1020972-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-dLbjH3t/0/XL/20120902-_1020972-XL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Zaner does a great job organizing the details on a ride like this and he had organized a bar-b-que chicken dinner to be delivered right to our cabin when we got there. Camping beside Serpentine lake and chowing down at Alyre's is a lot of fun but these accommodations were much more civilized and a lot of fun too.</div>
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dinner is served<br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-xtbTtCz/0/XL/20120902-_1020961-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-xtbTtCz/0/XL/20120902-_1020961-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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happy faces all around. Yes, very civilized</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dinner in the main cabin Sep 2, 2012</td></tr>
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Just as dinner was wrapping up a couple of New Hampshire riders got in. They'd been in touch through ADVrider and made plans to join us at the Lodge for the night. </div>
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The trusty steeds from Stateside</div>
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We'd left enough supper for them to refuel and it was fun to hear some of the great stories they shared from years of riding together. </div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-GbhtLf7/0/XL/20120902-_1020973-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-GbhtLf7/0/XL/20120902-_1020973-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Once the campfire got going they kept us all entertained with their tales of bushwacking through the interior of Gaspe, the trip they were just returning from.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Kelsow plays with fire...</span></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zpz_SpDV_ZI/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zpz_SpDV_ZI?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zpz_SpDV_ZI?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<b>Day 3, </b><b>September 3, 2012</b></div>
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The next morning we all packed up. The New Hampshire contingent loaded up their rig to head South.</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-MqMjJ4n/0/XL/20120902-_1020969-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/ADVriders-NB-meetup-Sep-2012/i-MqMjJ4n/0/XL/20120902-_1020969-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And after an embarrassing but brief delay while I couldn't find the key to my bike, (which turned up right there in my tank bag) we hit the road. It was another great ride through beautiful country.</div>
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EngineerJohn was enjoying his new 690 but the riding was taking a bit of a toll on him... maybe it was that bald back tire...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3dIS9GKwJqZKB_Jw0bCmaMjy6EaveQgbuNf6CscseMf68_QdYqFLTL6jEiwtCO-890n_AAu-5AuaEVAA0-IeZvQOI6UAR_eQa6IBKH1JR3prxsUFXAxZ8JQSFeS8m3HGqbOGCJxAQ_T3/s1600/EJ+in+repose+(1+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3dIS9GKwJqZKB_Jw0bCmaMjy6EaveQgbuNf6CscseMf68_QdYqFLTL6jEiwtCO-890n_AAu-5AuaEVAA0-IeZvQOI6UAR_eQa6IBKH1JR3prxsUFXAxZ8JQSFeS8m3HGqbOGCJxAQ_T3/s640/EJ+in+repose+(1+of+1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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ride, ride, ride, beautiful, scenic, picturesque... I know, sounds boring right? Well it definitely wasn't</div>
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We stopped at Governor's Lodge for a break and enjoyed the manicured grounds and frosty beverages.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Governor`s Lodge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">(photo courtesy of Dualsport.ca (Kelsow))</span></td></tr>
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Lubed some more chains...</div>
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lingered around a bit enjoying the day...</div>
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Then hit the road home... what a great trip.</div>
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Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-18271494721811790482012-07-29T14:53:00.000-07:002013-03-28T15:00:09.851-07:00Trans Labrador Highway Ride<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of my favourite online bike forums is ADVrider.com. Thousands of riders sharing stories, pictures, videos tips and experiences from all over the world... what's not to like? The "crown jewel" of the site is the Ride Reports section and it's filled with riders documenting trips they have taken and frequently they are posting in real time!<br />
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I've used this blog to chart my travels up until now but decided to post my Newfoundland/Labrador/Quebec ride of 2012 on the other site. Here's a link:<br />
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<a href="http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=817143">Link to my Ride Report over at ADVrider.com</a>Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-60043023325009091702012-06-30T15:15:00.000-07:002013-03-23T08:53:33.269-07:00New Brunswick Big Bike ride, June 30th to July 2nd, 2012<b>10 riders, 3 days 980km</b>
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<b style="text-align: center;">Day one, June 30, 2012</b><br />
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Moncton to Chalets Restigouche, near Kedgwick, NB 390km.<br />
In February, 2012 JP, an avid rider I know in Moncton told me about a "Big Bike" ride he was planning for the spring and asked if I was interested. I said I really, really was so I got on the list. As winter turned to spring occaisional emails would come outlining route plans, roster changes and dates got nailed down - the Canada Day weekend.
Finally the anticipation ended when the long weekend finally arrived and I was really looking forward to the trip as I rode to the meeting/departure point in Moncton.<br />
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The plan was to ride as a group to Rogersville where we would meet up with 2 more riders. We'd had quite a bit of rain leading up to the weekend and the forecast was still allowing for some wet weather, but Saturday morning was sunny and very warm.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey Todd, your shoe`s un-tied</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;"> We travelled up route 126 on pavement and met up with our two riders at the Irving in Rogersville.</span></div>
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We didn't waste much time there and were soon on the road again. Our next stop was in Blackville as some of the bikes in the group had smaller fuel tanks and needed to refill. We ate lunch here, hot dogs and gas-station sandwiches were the order of the day because we still had a long ride ahead and didn't want to delay.
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Not far past Blackville we hit the dirt roads that would take us as far as the Mount Carleton Provincial park later in the afternoon.<br />
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As we traveled toward Serpentine Lake we encountered our first wildlife. In all there were 3 moose, a deer, several partridges and at least one rabbit sighted by the group but they all kept to themselves and posed no threat.</div>
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While we waited for the moose to head back into the woods some riders noticed their bikes needed a bit of attention. There were lots of tools available and it was a simple task to replace a couple of bolts that had vibrated loose on a couple of the bikes. Before the trip I'd only met a couple of these riders - they were a great bunch and we all got to know each other quite well as we traveled.<br />
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Eventually we got underway again and gradually the skies darkened. We rode through a couple of rain squalls but didn't stop to don rain gear as it was easy to see the rain wouldn't last long.<br />
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The road narrowed to two very rough tracks as we got closer to Serpentine Lodge and in one particularly deep water hole I lost traction in the front and tipped over at low speed. (there are no pictures of this :-) ) I got very wet on my right side I wasn't hurt at all. the tip-over did break loose one of my fog lights so that was the first actual casualty of the day<br />
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- it wouldn't be long before there was another, much worse fall for one of the group, though.
We got to Serpentine Lodge and stopped here for gas and a cold drink. It's such a cool, remote spot. The view from the balcony of Serpentine Lodge. this is a shot of the gas depot from my trip last year, trust me, it hasn't changed.<br />
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After a short break we got back on the road. less than a mile from the lodge I rounded a bend to find one of the other big BMWs upside down in the ditch and things didn't look good. Guy had got caught in one of the deep ruts on the curve and lost control. Both he and his bike were pretty banged up but he was in good spirits. We spent about 30 minutes there fastening parts back onto his bike and making sure he was still OK to ride. Nothing appeared broken and he didn't complain much about pain for the rest of the trip but it's fair to say things hurt more than he let on. This was early afternoon of the first day and we did lots of rough riding after this,
Guy's a real trooper for sure.<br />
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After we picked up the pieces from Guy's spill, we rode on to the little town of Kedgwick. As we traveled the clouds were gathering above and you could tell it was going to get very wet. Again, most of us decided not to stop to put on rain gear, opting instead to ride faster and outrun the rain. We almost made it but ran into heavy, wet rain for about the last 10 minutes and didn't get too wet.</div>
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We stopped in Kedgwick for some much-needed supplies:</div>
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Then continued on our way to our stop for the night, the beautiful Chalets Restigouche.</div>
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<b>Day two, July 1, 2012</b></div>
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I got up early and poked around the grounds a bit. Between the morning dew, the fog and the morning light slanting in things were pretty photogenic.</div>
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There`s an excellent buffet breakfast at Chalets Restigouche; we ate until we couldn`t eat more then talked about the route for the day ahead.</div>
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We hit the rail-trail that heads toward Campbellton. It`s some fast riding through some really scenic country. The only thing to watch out for is the odd 4 wheeler parade, usually the dust cloud they kick up gives you ample warning, though.</div>
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There had been a lot of rain in the last few days and some of the lower areas were covered in standing water. With the hard gravel bottom, though, we didn`t have any trouble getting through and nobody got wet above their feet.</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-GWQVqTG/0/XL/20120701-P1010484-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-GWQVqTG/0/XL/20120701-P1010484-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We posed for a team photo on the bridge.</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-rBdQ5Dd/0/XL/20120701-IMG_0293-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-rBdQ5Dd/0/XL/20120701-IMG_0293-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We stopped for lunch in Campbellton</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-X3gzrzR/0/XL/20120701-IMG_0296-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-X3gzrzR/0/XL/20120701-IMG_0296-XL.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After lunch headed out to Island lake. It`s a great ride on back country roads and lots of gravel. Eventually we got to the tiny community of Island Lake. Zaner had organized some cabins for us there, they had a restaurant and beer - a great spot to relax after the day`s ride.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">moon nearly full</td></tr>
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We were told the wings at their restaurant are the best anywhere!! They were good, but I`d have to say I`ve had better, lots of times. The onion rings were great, though.<br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-tHk4PnV/0/XL/20120701-IMG_0300-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-tHk4PnV/0/XL/20120701-IMG_0300-XL.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Day three, July 2, 2012</b></div>
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The next morning we packed up and rode to the wind farm for a look around.</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-j9sSWtn/0/XL/20120701-IMG_1068-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-j9sSWtn/0/XL/20120701-IMG_1068-XL.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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Great, long views from up there.</div>
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Later in the day we passed through Popple Depot with a stop at Governor`s lodge.<br />
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And saw lots more scenery on the way home.</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-hcgDbmF/0/XL/20120702-P1010489-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/NB-Big-Bike-Ride-Canada-Day/i-hcgDbmF/0/XL/20120702-P1010489-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-51737773460286095292012-06-13T16:46:00.000-07:002013-03-24T12:12:56.437-07:00Cabot Trail Run, June 13th to 15th, 2012<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-Pxv82GT/0/S/20120623-Snapshot-161-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-Pxv82GT/0/S/20120623-Snapshot-161-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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First Trip of the year, First trip on the new bike <b>1,450km+/- overall</b><br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-8CTjBb4/0/S/20120623-cabot-trail-june-2012-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="500" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-8CTjBb4/0/S/20120623-cabot-trail-june-2012-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Day one, Wednesday June 13th. </b></div>
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The Cabot Trail is well known as a spectacular and scenic route, especially by motorcyclists. It’s so close and easy to get there I feel like it should be an annual tradition for me. That’s easier said than done, though and the last time I was there was in the June of 2009.<br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2009/2009-a-year-behind-bars/20090606-P6060087/755010417_KSVEu-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2009/2009-a-year-behind-bars/20090606-P6060087/755010417_KSVEu-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I prefer to ride it early in the season before the steep, twisty roads get clogged with RVs and rubbernecking tourists – my rule is if I haven’t gone by the end of June I’ve missed my chance for the year.
I had to attend a business meeting in Halifax the afternoon of June 13th and that would wind up after lunch on Thursday the 14th. The weather forecast looked OK for the region so I decided to ride the bike to Halifax and instead of coming straight home I would head over to Cape Breton, do the Cabot Trail and camp along the way, possibly at Meat Cove again (as in the pic above). I could return home as late as Sunday or come home earlier depending on how things went.
I loaded up the bike with some basic camping gear and the minimum that I’d need for the business meetings (which were to be very informal). It always takes longer than you think but by 9:20 on Wednesday morning I was all ready to go.<br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-ffzQnbV/0/S/20120613-P1010447-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-ffzQnbV/0/S/20120613-P1010447-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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As you can see I was travelling light as always ;-) The ride to Halifax was uneventful but chilly going over the Cobequid pass and I arrived at the hotel on time. I took advantage of the luxurious underground parking and went off to my meetings.<br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-rqpDcZ3/0/S/20120614-IMG0209-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-rqpDcZ3/0/S/20120614-IMG0209-S.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<b>Day Two - Thursday, June 14th, 2012 320km+/- overall</b></div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-hr8rp6d/0/S/20120623-cabot-trail-day-2-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-hr8rp6d/0/S/20120623-cabot-trail-day-2-S.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Thursday morning I had my traditional bike trip eggs & pancakes breakfast across the street at Smitty’s then went back downtown to more meetings.</div>
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The meetings were done by 2:00 so I gathered up my stuff and headed out through Dartmouth to take scenic Route 7 along the Eastern Shore. The weather was fantastic, maybe even a little hot at around 27 degrees and I had lots of time to cover not much territory so I was content to travel the slow roads, taking in the sights. Approximately 85km down Rte 7 is the village of Tangier, the home of Willy Krauch & Sons. </div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-h4PHWfQ/0/S/20120614-IMG0219-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-h4PHWfQ/0/S/20120614-IMG0219-S.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Where they produce some of the best smoked salmon I’ve ever had. It’s been years since I was there so I bought a big piece to take with me. With no cooler on board I knew I’d have to eat this up that day, or the next morning at the latest - which I did and it was fantastic! I enjoyed every bite. They smoke other fish too, including mackerel and eel and can ship all over the world, you should check them out at www.willykrauch.com</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-zTDFnD7/0/S/20120614-IMG0225-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-zTDFnD7/0/S/20120614-IMG0225-S.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-ZcGVGvt/0/S/20120614-IMG0226-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-ZcGVGvt/0/S/20120614-IMG0226-S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here’s a picture of part of the Willy Krauch woodpile where all that delicious smoke flavor comes from.</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-bttwRQf/0/S/20120614-P1010449-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-bttwRQf/0/S/20120614-P1010449-S.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Continuing along the coast I enjoyed the weather and the scenery, it’s really a picturesque part of Atlantic Canada. </div>
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And so it went for most of the afternoon. I decided I’d like to see Guysborough, NS again. It’s kind of out of the way so unless you had a special reason or time to kill you’d likely never go there, I had time. I though I’d find a campground near there and park for the night. As I approached the Guysborough area I hit a sudden, shocking change in the weather. In the space of 5 km I passed under a huge bank of high fog, the temps dropped from 27 to 17 degrees and an insane wind started blowing. I figured weather this violent could only be temporary so I pressed on. Here’s a picture of the fog/cloud bank I rode under and the clear weather I was leaving behind.</div>
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When I got to Guysborough I wasn’t really able to appreciate the town, I could see it was a very nice place but the wind, clouds and cool temps were a big distraction even though it cleared up for a few minutes while I was there. There didn’t seem to be a campground or motel anywhere nearby so I snapped a couple of quick pictures and decided to keep going toward Cape Breton.</div>
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The suddenly crappy weather persisted and I promised myself I'd stop at the first motel or campground I came to, which turned out to be a place called the HyClass Ocean Campground at Havre Boucher. Even though I’m leery of places called Hyclass or Klassy etc.(because they often are neither) it was about 8:00pm - time to stop & set up camp</div>
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I finished the day with a delicious dinner of smoked salmon, re-hydrated shepherd’s pie and some 12 year old MacAllan scotch at the campsite then crawled into the tent for a very comfy and peaceful sleep.</div>
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<b style="text-align: center;">Day Three- Friday, June 15th, 2012 855km+/- overall</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I hadn’t brought much for breakfast supplies other than to make coffee. Starting the day with a decent cup of joe is important to me and I’ll go to fairly elaborate lengths to ensure I can do that when I’m travelling by bike. My Jetboil and a camping-style French press yielded the big mug of Italian roast I needed. Once that was done, I looked around the campground a bit as it had been near-dark by the time I got settled the night before. It was a nice enough place and due to a combination of the uninviting weather and the early-season date the place was mostly vacant.</span><a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-MCbTMjx/0/S/20120615-P1010456-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-MCbTMjx/0/S/20120615-P1010456-S.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The forecast called for continued 15 to 18 degree weather but clearing off and mostly sunny in the afternoon. I decided to continue my trip and to make the campground at Meat Cove my destination for the night – an easy drive with a planned arrival in the early afternoon. I packed up fairly quickly and was soon ready to get on the road again – it was still cool enough for my bike’s exhaust to form big plumes of condensation.</div>
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I rode to Port Hawkesbury where I bought fuel and had a big eggs & pancakes breakfast with juice and more coffee. Then it was back on the road. Usually I’ve traveled in a clockwise direction around the Cabot Trail, primarily out of habit. This time I wanted to try counter-clockwise so the ocean would more often be on my side of the road. This meant the next point of interest was Baddeck Although I had no plans to tour the Alexander Graham Bell museum I thought a photo would be a good idea.</div>
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It had actually cooled off a bit more by the time I got here so I went up into the parking lot to put another layer on under my jacket. While I was putting on some warmer gear two riders came out of the museum. The young couple on a motorcycle vacation from Niagara Falls stopped to chat a bit. They’d been planning this trip for a while and were thrilled to be here. We talked for a while about our bikes, the Cabot Trail and some bike shops we all had used in the past then went off on our separate way. I didn’t think to take their picture but I did see them later on and they made it into one of the video segments I shot. Here’s a frame capture of each of them taken from the video.</div>
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-nBd3S8B/0/S/20120617-Snapshot-9-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-vkSmD2H/0/S/20120617-Snapshot-11-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-nBd3S8B/0/S/20120617-Snapshot-9-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-nBd3S8B/0/S/20120617-Snapshot-9-S.jpg" width="320" /></a><img border="0" height="225" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/June-2012-Cabot-Trail-Run/i-vkSmD2H/0/S/20120617-Snapshot-11-S.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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The Cabot Trail proper begins about 20km from Baddeck and it was nice to get on the twisty roads. Here’s a short helmet-cam clip of the steep ride at Cape Smokey - so much fun I had to do it more than once. You rise 35 metres in a distance of 2.5km via a few hairpin turns. Fun and great views on a nice day!!</div>
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You can see that persistent high fog I’ve mentioned cutting across that mountain in the background of this next shot.</div>
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Another beauty shot of the new bike.</div>
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After this brief stop I headed out for Meat Cove. Here’s some video of the drive to Meat Cove.</div>
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It’s about 33km outside the park and takes almost an hour to drive to. The last 8km are a fairly rough, steep, winding dirt road and you can’t go very fast. Along the way I stopped in at Cabot Landing Provincial Park. It’s believed Cabot landed here in 1497 – there’s even a memorial cairn and a bust of him in the park so it must be true!! More impressive to me is that the Micmac used to leave from here to paddle to Newfoundland – that would be a real adventure. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Cabot's Cairn</span></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">When I got to the campground I was disappointed to see tents at both of my favoured spots.</span></div>
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The temperature was expected to go down to 9 degrees overnight and I’d just felt a few sprinkles of rain. Feeling a bit discouraged with the dark, cold weather which was forecast to have cleared by now it seemed like it could easily continue for days like this. It was still early in the day so I made the decision not to stay here after all but to continue on instead. So I backtracked to the Cabot Trail proper and kept going. There were lots of twisty roads ahead and not much traffic so I had fun riding the trail. </div>
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As I rode along and the day got later I began to think about just heading home. I’d seen everything I came to see and there really wasn’t anyplace I felt like camping – plus the weather was bugging me. I started thinking it would be good to see the kids and so the decision formed to just keep going.</div>
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After Cheticamp I didn’t go far before I was retracing my tracks from the morning. At Whycogomah I rejoined the same road I’d come in on and since it was all so familiar I didn’t stop to take any pics. The ride home was long but uneventful – I wasn’t really hungry even though I hadn’t stopped for lunch so I didn’t stop to eat, grabbing a snack as I refueled instead. I got home around 9:00pm, tired enough that I did something I never do… I just parked the bike in the yard and went inside, except for the coffee cream I didn’t even unload the bike. It was a great trip, though, especially since it really was just an extension of some business travel.</div>
<br />Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-50677028978551519112012-06-10T18:18:00.000-07:002013-03-23T09:01:00.728-07:00Exploring in my "back yard" June 10, 2012I love travelling and taking the long trips, even when I only have a day to spare my custom is usually to travel as far as I can in a day, often making a huge loop and returning.
Lately, though, I've been trying to do a bit more exploring in the area surrounding Moncton and I've been amazed how much dual-sport riding is possible just a short ride away.<br />
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It had been raining for days and finally the weather cleared a bit so I rolled the 650 out and headed over the hills.
I followed some back roads toward Kent County and it wasn't long before I found a trail off to the right.<br />
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The trail was a bit muddy and rough in places but there were some scenic spots<br />
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Eventually things opened up and leveled out<br />
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Why is it so often the case in New Brunswick that you follow some trail off through the woods only to end up at a pile of trash someone has illegally dumped? Ugh!<br />
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<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-9Cxr97v/0/S/20120610-P1010425-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-9Cxr97v/0/S/20120610-P1010425-S.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
I backtracked and stayed pretty much on roads after that, although most of the roads were not paved. Even though it was wet and soupy in spots I found some great back-country roads to poke around on.
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-gPLvbNw/0/S/20120610-P1010442-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-gPLvbNw/0/S/20120610-P1010442-S.jpg" width="225" /></a>
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-9f88GBv/0/S/20120610-P1010431-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-9f88GBv/0/S/20120610-P1010431-S.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
I was following the GPS and trying to find roads that would lead me home without backtracking - some of them turned out to be dead-ends and some had impassable obstacles (at least when riding solo on a heavy bike in the woods).<br />
<br />
it`s deeper in the middle than shows in this pic.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-pcjhx58/0/S/20120610-P1010440-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-pcjhx58/0/S/20120610-P1010440-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
It was a lot of fun but I had to make a stop at the car wash on the way home to clean the bike.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-Mstf7H7/0/S/20120610-P1010443-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-Mstf7H7/0/S/20120610-P1010443-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
I thought about turning the hose on myself
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-xMwWGTt/0/S/20120610-P1010445-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-xMwWGTt/0/S/20120610-P1010445-S.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
and eventually got home safe, clean and sound.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-LDD2C76/0/S/20120610-P1010446-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Exploring-Kent-County/i-LDD2C76/0/S/20120610-P1010446-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
I'll do that again for sure!Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-27708517516968544272012-06-03T08:55:00.000-07:002013-03-17T09:05:26.060-07:00ADV Rider meet-up June 3rd, 2012In the course of laying the groundwork for an Atlantic Canada ADVRider rally on Labour Day, it was determined some pre-running of proposed routes would be needed. Fundy Rider from St. Stephen, NB and BKMLWR from Maine organized a day-ride in western NB for June 3rd.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-VhqKjZj/0/S/20120606-june-3rd-ride-track-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-VhqKjZj/0/S/20120606-june-3rd-ride-track-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
I seemed to be the only guy from Moncton able to make it but there were several from Saint John, Fredericton, St. Stephen and a crew from Northeastern Maine that were planning to go. The weather was calling for showers and cool so I buttoned up all the Gore-Tex, loaded up the GSA and left Moncton around 7:00am to make it to a staging area near Mactaquac Park for 9:00am.
But first, let me dispel the myth that BMW riders only stop at Starbucks when travelling:
Breakfast in Ronald McDonald's parking lot:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-v2DJNnm/0/S/20120603-P1010412-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-dVhwW27/0/M/20120603-P1010411-M.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-dVhwW27/0/M/20120603-P1010411-M.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<br />
I made my way westward and as there was ZERO traffic made good time. I saw a deer on the side of the road but she was on the right side of the wildlife fence so no worries there.
I stopped to buy fuel and get something to eat later for lunch at the big Irving east of Fredericton<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-pqK7vT2/0/S/20120603-P1010413-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-pqK7vT2/0/S/20120603-P1010413-S.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
and continued on to meet up with the group from the Fredericton region.
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-fjsxwZR/0/S/20120603-P1010414-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-fjsxwZR/0/S/20120603-P1010414-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
We got on the road to our next staging area, Andersonville, NB where we would be meeting the rest of the group and start the real fun.<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="240" scrolling="no" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/1887872353_w3XxVsw?width=425&height=240" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
Now we had the full group together:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-jStgMWW/0/S/20120603-P1010416-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-jStgMWW/0/S/20120603-P1010416-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-sqJhshv/0/S/20120603-P1010417-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-sqJhshv/0/S/20120603-P1010417-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
We got to some cool places:
the train station in McAdam<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-nfZMc3h/0/S/20120603-P1010419-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-nfZMc3h/0/S/20120603-P1010419-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
And Forest City, a tiny hamlet right on the border with Maine (that's a customs shack on the left in the<br />
background.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-5h5Mpxc/0/S/20120603-P1010423-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-5h5Mpxc/0/S/20120603-P1010423-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Some of the riding got a little rough but nothing really gnarly<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-cmcb99g/0/S/20120603-GOPR0658-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-cmcb99g/0/S/20120603-GOPR0658-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
And very few repairs or other mechanical issues slowed us down<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-GKS5d7b/0/S/20120603-P1010421-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-GKS5d7b/0/S/20120603-P1010421-S.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
a 6 minute video of some of the dirt road sections:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="240" scrolling="no" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/1887486108_cZqFZpG?width=425&height=240" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
We rode all over the region getting down to a tiny spot called Forest City that is tucked in behind Spednic Lake and right on the border with Maine. It's a really nice part of the province that I'd never even heard of before - I'm planning to go back for more exploration, though, thanks Fundy Rider!
Eventually it was time to head back so I made for Canterbury and Route 2, then on home. There was a surprising amount of traffic on the highway but everything was uneventful.
I stopped once to stretch my legs then got back on the road getting home around 6:00PM.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-4b7tmWS/0/S/20120603-P1010424-S.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2012/Fundy-Riders-June-3-2012-ride/i-4b7tmWS/0/S/20120603-P1010424-S.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
It was a lot of fun and for the most part the rain held off, though I never took my fleece liner out of my jacket all day - the temps only got as high as 17 and were mostly in the 10~14 degree range all day.Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-89978938410697192192011-11-01T13:46:00.000-07:002012-05-29T08:07:51.914-07:00ReactivationI've been away from the blog for quite a while and lots of stuff has been going on since the summer of 2010. I'm experimenting with some ways to bring things up to date.Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-8463146000737149062011-08-30T17:33:00.000-07:002013-03-24T17:34:33.874-07:00Muskoka Run August 20 to 26, 2012<br />
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Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-47949618071657513142011-07-16T17:15:00.000-07:002012-06-06T18:13:25.666-07:00Northern NB Run July 2011 Day 4The next morning I had breakfast again, packed up the camping gear and headed out.
Before I got out of the park I saw a bit more wildlife.
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I had a long drive ahead of me and decided to take dirt roads most of the way.
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I stopped at Serpentine Lodge to see Alyre. He thawed out a hamburger and sold me one of his last beers.
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I needed fuel so I was happy to get to the funky fuel depot at Serpentine Lodge - as it's the only fuel for miles and miles.
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then it was the long drive on gravel - 180 KMs to Miramichi = what an awesome ride, lots of great gravel and dirt roads.
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Once I came to the end of the gravel at Miramichi it was a couple of hours of slab for the rest of the trip. I was tired when I got home but it had been a great trip!Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-88846106423497557642011-07-15T12:53:00.000-07:002013-03-24T16:37:53.061-07:00Northern NB Run July 2011 Day 3It was a very nice night in the tent, not cold at all and very peaceful. When I woke up I had breakfast and coffee, then decided to take a drive over to my father's place outside Florenceville for a visit.<br />
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It was a nice ride through the country and I saw several deer along the way.<br />
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including this little one that got temporarily separated from her mom<br />
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This is a tiny village called Riley Brook, quite scenic and although I didn't get any on the video there were even deer standing around in the village.<br />
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After a lunch and a quick visit at my father's I headed back to the campsite and of course, saw deer along the way.<br />
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and arrived back in the late afternoon<br />
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After making supper I went out to explore a bit and shoot some evening photos.<br />
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I made my way back to camp, had a nice campfire and hit the sleeping bag.Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-36500503586827223412011-07-13T16:34:00.000-07:002013-03-24T16:39:24.905-07:00Northern NB Run July 2011 Day 1 and 2I needed to travel North to Campbellton on business and I decided to mix in some pleasure by taking the bike. I loaded my business clothes, laptop and supplies for a short camping trip and left Moncton. It was my first chance to try out the new luggage setup for the F800.<br />
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My GPS batteries quite on me early on so there are no tracks for the trip north. It was an uneventful trip up the Acadian shore and apart from a detour through Bathurst for fuel it all went smoothly. I got to Campbellton around supper time.<br />
<a fastredbike.smugmug.com="" href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=" http:="" i="1387252607&k=np64Htw&lb=1&s=A" orthern-nb-run="" otorcycles="" title="the bridge over the Restigouche River to Quebec" tptg=""><img alt="the bridge over the Restigouche River to Quebec" src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2011/Northern-NB-Run/i-np64Htw/0/S/20110713-IMG4891-S.jpg" title="the bridge over the Restigouche River to Quebec" /></a>
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I checked into my room at Howard Johnson - my business appointment wasn't until the next morning and it was a beautiful evening so I explored the area a bit.<br />
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I did not cross this water as I was on my own, far from home and it was getting dark - next time, though.<br />
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There's a big ski hill at Sugarloaf Mountain - skiing in the winter and downhill mountain bike riding in summer, really cool.<br />
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It's a really nice place with a lot of outdoor activities vibe. As the sun was setting, I made my way back to HoJo's for dinner and to turn in for the night.<br />
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day 2<br />
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The next morning I had breakfast at the hotel and headed down the road a few km to my meeting. The Advisor I was meeting with has bikes too and was interested to know I'd ridden to the meeting. We talked business for a while and I accomplished my mission. Getting back to the hotel around noon I checked out, loaded the bike and was on my way. Here's a shot of the bike pointed across the Restigouche toward Quebec.<br />
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more views of the Quebec side taken from Campbellton<br />
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I was headed for Mount Carleton Provincial Park, and eventually came to the scenic St. Quentin area.<br />
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I got to the park and scored a most excellent lakeside campsite. with a nice lakeside view:<br />
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looking at the campsite from the lake:</div>
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and lots of trees:</div>
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I took the opportunity to put the bike up on the tent platform which was nice and flat and clean so I could lube the chain.</div>
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Then went to get some dry wood for a camp fire.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;"> Mount Carleton Park really is a beautiful spot</span></div>
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Then it was off to sleep.</div>
Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-85923041300251035732011-04-10T15:28:00.000-07:002012-05-29T15:38:34.562-07:00Time to Thaw out the bike for another year<a href="http://<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2011/2011-Riding-Photos/16741378_mMStDv#!i=1323222939&k=2JrJj7W&lb=1&s=A" title="Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug"><img src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2011/2011-Riding-Photos/i-2JrJj7W/0/S/20110102-IMG2103-S.jpg" title="Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug" alt="Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug"></a></a>
I'd kept the bike over the winter at Manland - the only problem was the driveway snow had been blown up against the door and had turned to solid ice. It took a few days longer to get to the bike but on a nice warm day in April I freed it from it's wintery prison.
<a href="http://<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2011/2011-Riding-Photos/16741378_mMStDv#!i=1282047687&k=NMkWdcM&lb=1&s=A" title="April 10, 2011 brought the bike from storage to the house."><img src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2011/2011-Riding-Photos/i-NMkWdcM/3/S/20110410-IMG3407-S.jpg" title="April 10, 2011 brought the bike from storage to the house." alt="April 10, 2011 brought the bike from storage to the house."></a></a>
Brown grass all around and only 9 degrees out but I did get the bike back to my place.
<a href="http://<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2011/2011-Riding-Photos/16741378_mMStDv#!i=1262810700&k=JffkxDr&lb=1&s=A" title=""><img src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2011/2011-Riding-Photos/i-JffkxDr/0/S/20110422-IMG2440-S.jpg" title="" alt=""></a></a>Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-82409786910383834982010-09-19T14:07:00.000-07:002012-05-29T19:02:52.574-07:00Found the "Cool Road" September 2010<a href="<a href="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2010/The-Irving-Road/23240681_TDgBnQ#!i=1874699490&k=pzNVgNF&lb=1&s=A" title=""><img src="http://fastredbike.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2010/The-Irving-Road/i-pzNVgNF/0/S/sept-19-2010-S.jpg" title="" alt="</a>"></a>
For a long time there was this road I'd see that I wanted to ride my bike on. Each time I traveled between Moncton and Fredericton the highway passed over a straight dirt road through the woods. I marked it once on my GPS with a waypoint calling it "Cool Road" then one day when I wanted to take a ride I asked the GPS to navigate to that waypoint. I basically had to leave the four-lane highway, cross the ditch and skirt a barrier but I finally got to the road.
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I followed it to one end and to my surprise it came out onto the old Coles Island Road - a route I'd taken many times. Now it was easy for me to get to and ride on that road any time I wanted to.
Due to family developments I'd been doing quite a bit less riding since August and this ended up being one of the last rides in 2010.Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-35548228526542864002010-08-02T18:09:00.000-07:002013-03-28T19:56:42.592-07:00Gaspe Run Day 3, August 2nd, 2010It was really cold in the night again, about 10 degrees but I could have sworn it was zero - I was really missing my warmer sleeping bag.<br />
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I crawled out of the tent around 6:00 to a perfectly clear morning and the sun was just coming over the mountain - spectacular. There was an incredibly heavy dew and the tent was dripping wet. I spread it out over the surrounding picnic tables and got down to the business of breakfast and coffee. Luckily I'd bought a big bottle of water in St. Quentin the night before because there was a boil order in place on the well and I didn't want to have to boil water for 10 minutes just for coffee and oatmeal.<br />
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Around the time I was finishing up with my breakfast the blackflies woke up and came around for their own breakfast. I might have seen more biting insects in one spot before but I don't know when... I must have arrived after their bedtime the night before but they were ravenous in the morning. The tent was still soaked but I knew I'd better get going. I had some good bug spray with me but they were arriving in clouds and before I was packed I'd managed to breathe in one and swallow another there were so many. I rolled up the soaking tent and got out of Dodge.<br />
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Once in motion the problem was solved so I took the opportunity to explore the park a bit on my bike. I followed lots of old roads and discovered lakes (all posted for catch & release fly fishing only) and hiking trailheads. It really is a very nice wilderness-style park and gets a lot of use by the look of it.<br />
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Lake I-don't-remember-the-name-but-very-pretty<br />
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<a href="http://smalld.smugmug.com/Travel/Gaspe-run/13176774_qibAY#956185881_D5gu3-A-LB" title="20100802-IMG_1203-3"><img alt="20100802-IMG_1203-3" src="http://smalld.smugmug.com/photos/956185881_D5gu3-S.jpg" title="20100802-IMG_1203-3" /></a><br />
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the bike loaded with all I needed for 3 days, two nights travelling and camping on the road.<br />
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Dirty BMW bike<br />
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After an hour or so of exploring I hit the road for home. I needed fuel and had to backtrack 30km to St. Quentin to be sure I'd make it across the wilderness that is central NB. While I was gassing up I met a couple on a FJR1300 Yamaha from Connecticut that were headed to Gaspe. He'd been there 6 TIMES and loved the trip, it was his passenger's first time but she was having a lot of fun so far. We chit-chatted a bit about the roads, the weather and the bikes then parted company.<br />
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From St. Quentin I crossed the desolate road over to Bathurst and eventually down route 126. It was very hot and very sunny and I didn't stop for any pics once I got going.<br />
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I made it home around 4:00pm plenty frazzled from the trip, the heat, camping in the cold etc. Still, I'd love to do it again.<br />
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Just over 1,800km between Friday at 11:00 and Sunday at 4:00 with camping, greasy chicken and lots of curvy roads and scenery along the way... my kind of trip!!<br />
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<a href="http://smalld.smugmug.com/Travel/Gaspe-run/13176774_qibAY#956550941_qKZEL-A-LB" title="20100802-6080-1"><img alt="20100802-6080-1" src="http://smalld.smugmug.com/photos/956550941_qKZEL-S.jpg" title="20100802-6080-1" /></a>Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2520451536436402793.post-28832769664423324742010-08-02T15:33:00.000-07:002013-03-28T19:57:12.227-07:00Gaspe Run Day 2 Contd. Aug 1st, 2010I continued on my way along the coastline riding a ribbon of pavement cut between mountainous high country on the left and the St. Lawrence on the right.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14221291" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/14221291">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4094632">Doug Smalley</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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I decided to follow the coast all the way to Matane then cut inland. I stopped along the way for lunch at Dixie Lee and had fried chicken. Dixie Lee seems very popular in Quebec and there's one in almost every little town, many more than in NB.<br />
As the day grew later I didn't stop for pictures and everything had begun to look the same anyway. <br />
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I turned inland toward Amqui and the Terrain changed instantly. I followed a valley through farmland and small villages as the afternoon passed.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14205307" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/14205307">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4094632">Doug Smalley</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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I fueled up in Amqui and followed the Restigouche river back toward NB. It's a very nice ride along the river, the road is in tip-top shape and the scenery is very nice. There are lots of fishing spots along the way but it's all serious Salmon country.<br />
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I began to think about the route home. After crossing back to NB I could retrace my route back to Moncton or head more Southwesterly for different roads. I've never been to Mount Carleton (tallest Mountain in NB)and although it was out of the way I had another day to get home so I set up the GPS to take me there.<br />
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Eventually I crossed back into New Brunswick and headed for Mount Carleton Provincial Park via St. Quentin. <br />
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If you've read my blogs you know it's now become my (careless) habit to just show up at a campground and hope there's room for me. The Provincial Park is quite far off the beaten track but it's a holiday weekend. After several km of dusty dirt road I pulled up to the campground gates and went inside. They were completely full.<br />
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I was obviously tired and dusty, the sun was going down and I was in the middle of nowhere. The kind park lady took pity on me and said I could camp in the "overflow" area if I wanted to but there was no running water and no flush facilities. Score! Because it was late in the day and I was leaving early in the morning she only charged me $7.00 for park pass and camping. Score again!<br />
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When I got to my campsite I was even happier, it was out in the open but very clean and somebody had even left behind enough firewood for a fire. I set up, made supper and wrote some blog notes.<br />
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<a href="http://smalld.smugmug.com/Travel/Gaspe-run/13176774_qibAY#956184815_TKSWT-A-LB" title="20100802-IMG_1202-2"><img alt="20100802-IMG_1202-2" src="http://smalld.smugmug.com/photos/956184815_TKSWT-S.jpg" title="20100802-IMG_1202-2" /></a><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14225460" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/14225460">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4094632">Doug Smalley</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14225510" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/14225510">Campground scene, Mount Carleton PP, Aug, 2010</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4094632">Doug Smalley</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14225578" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/14225578">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4094632">Doug Smalley</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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It's a beautiful park and one of the cleanest campgrounds I've EVER stayed at. There's some interpretive stuff:<br />
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<a href="http://smalld.smugmug.com/Travel/Gaspe-run/13176774_qibAY#956183354_WRc9G-A-LB" title="20100802-IMG_1197-1"><img alt="20100802-IMG_1197-1" src="http://smalld.smugmug.com/photos/956183354_WRc9G-S.jpg" title="20100802-IMG_1197-1" /></a><br />
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Nictau Lake<br />
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<a href="http://smalld.smugmug.com/Travel/Gaspe-run/13176774_qibAY#956182661_o2Ggu-A-LB" title="20100801-IMG_1642-2"><img alt="20100801-IMG_1642-2" src="http://smalld.smugmug.com/photos/956182661_o2Ggu-S.jpg" title="20100801-IMG_1642-2" /></a><br />
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and Mount Carleton<br />
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<a href="http://smalld.smugmug.com/Travel/Gaspe-run/13176774_qibAY#956184273_88LS4-A-LB" title="20100801-IMG_1643-3"><img alt="20100801-IMG_1643-3" src="http://smalld.smugmug.com/photos/956184273_88LS4-S.jpg" title="20100801-IMG_1643-3" /></a><br />
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I stayed up late and it got really dark. There's no lights in this area of the park except a couple of campfires. It was a beautiful, clear night and the starfield was amazing. I spent quite a while just laying on my back looking at the Milky Way... fantastic!<br />
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more to come!<br />
I'll keep you posted.Doug Smalleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14498459669686194964noreply@blogger.com0