River Crossings & Riding In The Empty Quarter

I've been building a map of local green lanes and interesting back roads to use the KLX250 on.  If you know where to look, there are some surprisingly tricky off-road bits around where I live.   As I build up the map I'll have a list of go-tos that mean I don't have to go far to get off road.  If anyone lives in Wellington County or nearby and has any suggestions, I'd be happy to add them.



I headed down a back road suggested by Jeff the motorcycle Jedi this time.  It ended at the Connestogo River where there was a water crossing.  It was obvious that Jeff wanted me to try it, so I did!  What happens next is all on him:

Success!  The first was tentative.  I did what ABR Magazine suggested and scoped out the bottom first, looking for any deep holes I might fall in to.  The river was never more than two feet deep and fairly even, so I figured I'd give it a go.  ABR said to proceed slowly so you aren't swamped by your own wake.  I might have been a bit tentative on the first pass, but the second was a test to see if I could proceed with a bit more throttle.  Like all things off road, the real trick seems to be don't fight the handle bars, they'll find their own way, even over slippery river rocks.

Some of the back roads in my area aren't maintained, which makes them much more interesting from a dual sport perspective.  The farm trails I took to get to the river were remote and varied from groomed gravel to deep mud holes and larger rocks.  In a couple of places I couldn't have gotten by with a car, which was what I was looking for.  You have a moment where you think, "if I drop it here and can't get it going, I've got a walk to get out."  Calling for a pickup wouldn't have been an easy exit.  I was never more than a short walk from help though, farmers waved from a wide variety of vehicles while they tended fields throughout the ride.

In one mud hole I was in a rut which led me right into the deepest part of it - it was the only time I had to come to a stop to keep my balance.  Once I had my feet down the big knobbies on the KLX chucked up clods of mud and I easily powered out of six inch deep sludge (which smelled a bit cow-ish).

One of the nicest parts of dual sporting is getting lost in the world without traffic.  I put over 60kms on the KLX on this ride, the vast majority of it without another vehicle in sight.  At one point I was connecting trails and doing about 100km/hr on a back road and I was reminded why the empty quarters are better.  A guy on a sport bike blew past me and then slowed to look back over his shoulder with a shrug.  I waved at him to follow me down the next dirt track.  He didn't.

The next day I'm still feeling it in various muscles.  Working your way though challenging trails on an off-road bike is a full body workout.  Austin Vince must be made of iron!

Another benefit of dual sport riding?  If you're into photography, it'll take you places worthy of it:

Green Laning

Public by-ways: It's a thing in the
UK, not so much here.

Green laning is a big thing where I'm from, but in Canada in 2015 most of the crown land around here has been sold off to pay off the debts of investment bankers.  With all the land hereabouts private it's not easy to take an off-road bike on a trail.

"As a military training area, Salisbury Plain is a unique
environment that has to be shared by both military and
civilians alike" - ha! Can you imagine that in Canada?

I got the KLX to trail ride.  I'm not interested in 'catching air' or riding like an MX loonie.  If I'm getting to places most people don't and practising my bike balance, I'm happy.  The point of the exercise is learning better bike control, being off road lets me do that.  If I have any interest beyond trail riding it's in trials, which is also hyper-focused on bike control and balance.

Today I took the KLX out for an hour or so, looking for trails.  Dirt roads start less than a kilometre from our sub-division, so I went there first.  I went south on Sideroad 6 North for about 5kms before hanging a right, crossing back over the regional road and then cutting off onto Sideroad 14.  From there I found a nice cut along a hydro line.  Another five minute stint on pavement found me at another off road trail which took me back north of Elora.  I ended the trip following the Grand River looking for off-road opportunities (there weren't any), though Pilkington Overlook was pretty.

Riding off road is an interesting process.  The massive suspension travel and knobbies on the KLX makes it amazingly sure-footed.  On the gravel roads I made a point of crossing back and forth over the centre line through the deep stuff, letting the bike wobble and find a track.  Even when I got onto the rougher stuff I still found the bike remarkably composed and had no trouble navigating ruts, mud puddles and deep grass.

I'm looking forward to getting deeper into the brush!

Just outside of Ponsonby

North off Side Road 14, a lovely little trail.

North of Sideroad 10 it's blocked off due to an electrical transfer station

2 Line East leads to the Elora Gorge Park entrance - it's a nice little bit of gravel

Pilkington Lookout
 

If anyone else lives north of Guelph and knows of any good spots to trail ride, please let me know!

A Good Kijiji Week

Last week a pair of Alpinestar boots popped up on Kijiji that happened to be just my size.  The Alpinestars I have are totally next level, so the chance to own a second pair for the price of tax on a new pair was impossible to ignore.

A ride over to Kitchener on an idyllic Sunday morning and I'm the proud owner of my second pair of Alpinestars, this time for twenty five bucks.  Only used for a season, and in fantastic shape, they're waterproof and much better for wet/cold weather than the summer boots I currently have.

***  Kijiji Part 2

I love riding with a purpose.  Today I went to Guelph and then Orangeville to check out two dual sport bikes.  I'm looking for something as different as possible from the Concours, so a light-weight off-road focused enduro machine fits the bill.

The first bike is a 2007 Kawasaki KLX-250.  250ccs is on the small side, but this is a very light bike.  At 298lbs, it's 374(!)lbs lighter than the Concours.  It barely makes any noise, felt spritely and has a radically different riding position.  No windscreens, very open and a tall riding stance.  It's been immaculately cared for by the original owner and comes with all the right farkles.  You couldn't ask for a nicer machine and it's much newer than I thought I could afford.  If I'm worried about the power, there are always options to buff up the bike.

It's a bonus when you hit it off with the owner and end up having a good chat.  He is an experienced trails rider who offered up all sorts of good advice about where and how to do it.  As he said, this is the ideal bike to learn on.  I may eventually want a more powerful bike, but as a starter this one is as good as it gets.

After a ride over to the Forks of the Credit, and a quality coffee at Higher Ground, I rode the Forks for the first time on the Concours (which always feels lighter than it is in a Millennium Falcon kind of way), and then headed up to Orangeville.


The XT350 looked like the ideal bike.  Air cooled, super light weight, with a medium displacement, but this one was a poor example.  It looked like it had led a life that alternated between abuse and neglect.  Not only was it filthy, but it looked like it was going to rust through in some expensive places.  It didn't start and after a dozen or so kicks, when it finally did fire up it sounded like a tractor.  It couldn't have been more different to the only marginally more expensive, lower kilometer, six year newer, much loved, whisper quiet KLX.  I'll trade a few cc's for a bike that won't strand me deep in the woods any day.

I emailed the owner of the KLX standing on the street as the XT owner tried to get it started again and told him I'm all in.  It's nice when the right thing falls into your lap just when you need it, and in my case that always seems to be a Kawasaki.  The KLX will be my third Kawi (though my first green one).  I can't wait to get to know it.