Three Dirt Noobs Attack TLab! (TLab, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia)

[Just_Peekn]

Well I'm happy to report that after 5123 miles my Father, good friend Aaron, and I survived our Translabrador adventure . Between August 13th-27th we traveled and the weather could not have been better. I was a truly amazing experience. GIven that none of us had any dirt experience we felt it prudent to orderer up a pile of TKC80s to give us the best chance of coming home in one piece. My 4 month old tiger800 now has 13,000 miles on it and I love it!

Riders and the steeds
Aaron (the Buddy) - Vstrom 650
Dominick (Meee) - Tiger800
Mike (The Dad) - Tiger 800



Most definitely prepared for a flat, or a wheelie :evil.


My initial pack job, I lost the extra tire after a test drive.


We also must thank ADVRider for the vauable information that made this trip possible. To see our extensive planning document follow this link (Requires a google account).


Day 1, Aug 13th (468 Miles)
Day 2 Aug 14th (435 Miles)
In the interest in getting to the good stuff asap lets cram hump day 1 and 2 together.



Aaron made it over the evening of the 12th and we spooned on his Knobbies late in the evening. We then took off around 8am. While riding through Michigan the fear hit me! I had forgot my heated vest!!! Well by the trusty Triumph dealer we go to look for a replacment as we can't loose any time. After calling my GF via the Sena/iPhone it turns out crazy me had packed the vest. Being that we were near the dealer we stopped in to show off our pack mules and to get the Dads tps monitors enabled. This ate into the day as they had an issue programing the monitors but did present us a nice surprise.



The dealer sent us to a ferry that I had never heard of. We sipped from Triumph Detroit and caught the ferry from Marine city. I might never use the bridge again! The ferry cost $4 each and there was only a 5 minute wait. Best of all we had already hit the first ferry.

Oh yes the father and I had added sheepskin pads to our seats. They would prove to be a nice addition to an already good seat.




I'm on a boat..


We found a hotel in Kingston and promptly hit the local Italian joint for happy hour. The entertainment for the evening was provided local harley enthusiast informing us that he could hot wire our bikes :huh.



On to day two!!!

Eastward bound we were, early. We headed up 40 to Riviere Malbaie, yep they don't speak the english too well here. We ended up booking our room through the travel information center and having some amazing local brews.

The can fended off the crazy tailgaters








The wait staff at http://www.grilladelaboheme.com/ spoke good english and was very friendly. Yes the beer was amazing as well.


Alright hump days over, good stuff to start soon! :wave

[duceduceexplorer]

looking good thus far

[Gart]

Great story.

Greater memories.

[DredheadV2.0]

Oh, hell yes.

 

[sammyseaman]

  Curious on how the knobbies held up.

[County Tar]

Me too.  

Good trip.  

[Cablebandit]

Off to a good start....

[Rincewind]

Looking good, JP.  I can't wait for more pics.  

[servicerifle]

More please...

[Head]

Yes, I want to hear more.  This is one I'd like to do with the wife in a couple of years.  She's got some family along the first parts of your trek that I've never met.

Carry on, PLEASE!!!

[scottzilla]

 

[birdrunner]

Waiting. ......  

[Just_Peekn]

Sorry for the delay guys, being a lazy bum over here. Well that and life was a bit bust post trip.


Day 3, Aug 15th (367 Miles)
Riviere Malbaie to Just outside of Relais-Gabriel



On Monday morning the 15th we woke up to wonderful weather. Being that this was hotel night #2 we attacked the continental breakfast and set course for Tadoussac, our first planned ferry crossing. It was neat to start to push into regions that were more desolate and we all were becoming very excited for what was to come later in the day and week.



Approaching the ferry crossing in Tadoussac Aaron and I remained on our bikes while my father got off his and best I can recall started doing his yoga stretches in line. Well turns out when they open the ferry up you rush on is as fast as possible. Well that being said quite a few cars passed my Dad in the handful of seconds it took him to get back on his bike and going.















Pre being super nasty


If Aaron brought his good camera mayby I'd get some good closeups! Eh, you prob dont want that anyways :rofl.


After Baie-Comeau we headed north towards Manic5 and might I tell you that parts of this road were fantastically twisty. Short of what we would later discover in Vermont this was nearly the most fun riding (paved) we had. That being said make sure your suspension is up to the task as Aaron was killing his vstrom stock suspenders on the rough sections.



Aaron Goofing Off



Your host on this adventure can be spotted here


Passing what I believe to be Manic 2


A typical construction stop complete with count down clock. No more yoga incidents with the dad .




The Dad! I was very impressed as this was our first long ride together and I had no idea how hard we could push.



144 seconds never felt so long!

:rofl


Once at Manic5 we took a load off and went on the 3pm tour. They provided us with an english intro and english guide to the rest of the tour. They were friendly and it was a fun experience. On a side note Hydro Quebec apparently picks the most attractive tour guides from Quebec as our tour guide could have easily been Ms. Quebec.

View from the top


Construction Traffic was heading down this 18% slope at speeds that were resulting in drifts. Yes that is the same road you get to climb leaving Manic 5. This was where we would hit dirt for the first time.


View of the reservoir that took something like 13 years to fill.


After concurring the hill we headed towards Relais-Gabriel.

One of the more more scenic pullouts


The camps spot just outside of Relais-Gabriel was nice and we met some locals that said it would be just fine to camp. This was my first time ever "Stealth Camping". GPS coordinates are available in our planning document at the beginning of this RR.













Coming soon, abandoned airfields and flipped over trucks!!!!

[Just_Peekn]

Day 4, Aug 16th (278 Miles)
Just outside of Relais-Gabriel to Gabbro Lake (1-2 hours outside Churchill Falls)



After packing up after a light evening shower we headed off for a day for challenging TransLab action!. The day would be the day where we really got a feel for what TransLab had to offer. The road surface varied wildly and the scenery was wonderful.

Lets kick it off with a salute! I shot many of these pictures with a circular polarizer which really helps with the skies.


Every warning you have heard about the shoulders being very soft is very true.


After dodging some trucks I have to admit to a little grin when we came across this :evil. He still had his fourways on when we rolled up but was not at the scene. Right before this while approaching a bridge another truck got on the hooks after what we guess was spotting us waiting for him on the other side. Given that he was traveling at far too high a rate for this road his trailer drifted out. It was quite a scene to see. He recovered and passed at a comfortable rate.





Into Gagnon




Still holding up swimmingly. Have I mentioned yet that this bike kicks ass?!?!?!? :clap


So here is where it gets good.... We were riding around Gagnon and got on a side road down by the lake that was quickly detonating. Rather push back out to the main paved road we farted around and imagine my surprise when it spit us out onto the end of this.....







Now you may be thinking to yourself "is that an abandoned 1 mile long airstrip?", why yes it was. Being that we are responsible motorcyclists we certainly did not partake in any of the following....
-Drag races
-LeeParks Drills
-Wheelies
-Jumping random objects

In all seriousness we left no trace but had an amazing time!!!:clap




Before Labrador City we dropped into Fermont to check out the big huge truck as well as the design of the town. Very neat but only really worth a drive through from what we saw.



Like Father Like Son


Rare photo of your author






Fermont


Famous TLab Dust


Hiiiiii


Whohooo! They skpeadaenglish here!


Blooper..


And got it!


Random TLab PitStop






Weather could not have been better. Yes there is pavement into and out of LabCity, better ride this road soon.


Now I'm normally the one to get excited about things but for one it was my dad going crazy. About 2h after LabCity we spotted this camping spot off the road. Naturally "Approved Access" had to be approved for us right? After riding in here my dad yelled out "I know where fairies come from!". Yes this cam spot was that beautiful.

Located @ N53 24.659 W65 01.849









We then rode back on the power line access road to discover yet another amazing secluded lake.








Finally we built a fire, had a nice camp meal, and slept with only some fear from all of the tracks we found.


The ground was a site to see






















More Soon!

[County Tar]

Thanks.  Looks good so far.  

[1000lbs]

Great seeing those Tigers out in the wild . Very cool trip and thats awsome you got to share it with your dad.

[Just_Peekn]

Day 5, Aug 17th (245 Miles)
Gabbro Lake (1-2 hours outside Churchill Falls) to Happy Valley/GooseBay



We awoke to a somewhat chilly and damp morning but the constant wind off the lake meant no packing of wet gear, always nice. Per my best recollection this was the first morning heated gear was worn. We got a bit of a late start as a grader passed by a few times before we packed up camp and hit the road. Throughout the day we would be challenged by the graded sections and would have to "jump the hump" from the grader several times. I became significantly more confident on Day 5 as I had lowered my tire pressures to 26/30 from 36/42. Aaron and my dad did the same. Being that we got light sprits of drizzle the dust was slightly better then the day before, I stress slightly.

I didn't over photo as most of my concentration went to not crashing although I'd tip over by the end of the day.



Getting Dirrrtay




No dam here yet


Aaron's dad had provided us some hi-vis for the harrier sections.


We ran into a survey crew here and for some reason they looked at me strange when I snapped a pic:rofl.


On the way into town we did drop by the falls and I dropped my bike in a sand pit, that was #2 so far .




Half Way!


YMCA?


Serious Face, really just making up for a lack of photos of me :wink:


End of the day rump shot


Finally we settled into Hotel North 2 and had dinner at nothing less than Jungle Jims!



Coming soon a VStrom breaks and Phase III!

[Just_Peekn]

Day 6, Aug 18th (253 Miles)
Happy Valley/GooseBay to Port Hope Simpson



Aaron had been complaining the day prior that his bike was feeling jerky. He decided to tear into it in the parking lot to check and possibly clean the air filter. Well it was chock full of dirt so we ran it over to the dealership across the street and they were more than willing to blow it out for him.



Overall Phase III was well maintained and not overly challenging. As the next photo will show you do need to be careful in the blind sweepers as trucks will gladly round them in your lane at 80kmh. I didn't go photo crazy one again as it was another day of pounding the road, great riding it was.



Minor dust compared to the rigs






At this pull off we met a prospector looking for rare earth. He made for good conversation and told us a bit about the area. Hopefully Aaron can fill in here.


Bug dance!




Didn't get a shot of the fuel sign until the way out. By this time I had become quite comfortable between 90-110kmh was a few minutes ahead of the group. Not all of the road was perfect but vast sections were extremely well maintained.




When we got to the famious gas station my dad promptly walked in and in a loud voice said "are you the prettiest girl in the north?". Thats my dad for ya!:rofl



Unpacking we came across this GS


It was GSAPilot, our new friend and riding buddy


I offered to toss myself in th ebay for a ride, no takers....




The waitress mentioned beer made from icebergs and we had to have it. When she discovered they were out she ran down to the store to get us a case. This is when we met GSAPilot, he had startled the waitress by consuming 13 of 14 slices of his large pizza. Her reaction was rather funny to his apology for eating so much.

[sammyseaman]

 

[wibornz]

You always write some of the best ride reports.  It is making me thing that a GS could be in my future if I can get one around 150 hp.