10éréRider
Active Member
On Saturday I did a big loop leaving from Pembroke Ontario and went up north to Quebec's ZEC St Patrice and Rapides des Joachims. Day permits are needed to ride in the ZECs. I bought mine from a gas station in Fort Coulonge and then headed north on Chemin du Bois Franc.
I was on this gravel road for about 80kms. It had some rough spots but was a very nice scenic ride with the some light rain and mist. True adventure riding!! Keep a watch for some road wash outs as seen in one of the pictures. I then turned left into ZEC St Patrice where the road/trail narrows and becomes more suited to atvs etc. This is where it gets very interesting. I had no idea what I was in for on the next 56 kms but that's we ride adventure bikes! See the screen shot of my gps track showing just the ZEC St Patrice section. I would be happy to email the gpx file to anyone that wants an adventure.
I did not get any pictures of all the hard stuff as I was just concentrating on getting through it. Besides I wouldn't want to ruin the surprises in case anyone else wishes to have an awesome ride. All you need to know is the Super Tenere was exactly that...SUPER!! There were certainly many easy stretches passed many ponds, lakes beaver dams etc. I got off the bike on a couple of descents so I could pick a line and make sure I could get through and up some steep climbs.
I always had to ask myself in case there was something further up ahead that I couldn't get through, can I do what I'm about to do in reverse to get out of here. In all cases I felt good about going the other way if I had too. In fact I did turn around after seeing a big red sign in french that read "Pointe Barre" which I thought meant closed or something like that. I saw some campers and asked them what it meant. They said it was because the bridges were just boards and they didn't want to take any responsibility for people using them. Once I new that I didn't hesitate to keep going through when I saw those signs.
It was perhaps a little early in the year for a ride like this as there was a lot of puddles across the road, some deep but all not much trouble. The trail was very muddy with washouts and loose gravel. Anyone that says the Tenere is no good because you cant turn off the abs doesn't know how good it works. The drops were a challenge but the Mitas E07s gave me the traction and confidence to do it all and never once felt the need to turn off the abs.
I really feel I earned my Adventure Badge with this ride. This bike did exactly what I wanted it to do. Holding the lines I picked regardless of the conditions.
I ended up heading south on the road that goes to Rapides des Joachims. I've heard it called Swisha road but didn't see a sign calling it this. They used lots of sand to do the repair the roads from winters damage so use caution. I would start getting some speed up and then hit some deeper sand and the bike would wander a little unexpectedly. Slow down...enjoy the scenery!
What a ride! I LOVE this bike!!
10éréRider
I was on this gravel road for about 80kms. It had some rough spots but was a very nice scenic ride with the some light rain and mist. True adventure riding!! Keep a watch for some road wash outs as seen in one of the pictures. I then turned left into ZEC St Patrice where the road/trail narrows and becomes more suited to atvs etc. This is where it gets very interesting. I had no idea what I was in for on the next 56 kms but that's we ride adventure bikes! See the screen shot of my gps track showing just the ZEC St Patrice section. I would be happy to email the gpx file to anyone that wants an adventure.
I did not get any pictures of all the hard stuff as I was just concentrating on getting through it. Besides I wouldn't want to ruin the surprises in case anyone else wishes to have an awesome ride. All you need to know is the Super Tenere was exactly that...SUPER!! There were certainly many easy stretches passed many ponds, lakes beaver dams etc. I got off the bike on a couple of descents so I could pick a line and make sure I could get through and up some steep climbs.
I always had to ask myself in case there was something further up ahead that I couldn't get through, can I do what I'm about to do in reverse to get out of here. In all cases I felt good about going the other way if I had too. In fact I did turn around after seeing a big red sign in french that read "Pointe Barre" which I thought meant closed or something like that. I saw some campers and asked them what it meant. They said it was because the bridges were just boards and they didn't want to take any responsibility for people using them. Once I new that I didn't hesitate to keep going through when I saw those signs.
It was perhaps a little early in the year for a ride like this as there was a lot of puddles across the road, some deep but all not much trouble. The trail was very muddy with washouts and loose gravel. Anyone that says the Tenere is no good because you cant turn off the abs doesn't know how good it works. The drops were a challenge but the Mitas E07s gave me the traction and confidence to do it all and never once felt the need to turn off the abs.
I really feel I earned my Adventure Badge with this ride. This bike did exactly what I wanted it to do. Holding the lines I picked regardless of the conditions.
I ended up heading south on the road that goes to Rapides des Joachims. I've heard it called Swisha road but didn't see a sign calling it this. They used lots of sand to do the repair the roads from winters damage so use caution. I would start getting some speed up and then hit some deeper sand and the bike would wander a little unexpectedly. Slow down...enjoy the scenery!
What a ride! I LOVE this bike!!
10éréRider
