TLH Tour

Canadian East Coast and Trans-Labrador Highway Tour.

Travel the magnificent Cabot Trail and then across many of Newfoundland's craziest trails to the Loneliest Highway on Earth the TLH

 

As your tour leader it is my main task to make this an enjoyable experience and one that you will remember forever as it will challenge each rider to learn new motorcycle skills far beyond what you may have thought was possible. I did setup this ride in such a way that both novice and rookie rider can gain more skills as our trip progresses.

 

For more info send e-mail to:

rtwc2c@gmail.com

 

After spending a few months of planning and taking into account all the possible options of which trails and or roads we could ride, it was finally time to head out to great my fellow co riders, Joe Enberg and Michael Fritz for the inaugural ride on July 4, 2015.

 

You can read Joe’s excellent trip report here:

http://advjoe.ca/epic/epic-east-coast-trans-labrador-adventure/

 

And Mike’s excellent trip report here: http://vstromamericas.com/author/freetobeme7777/

 

 

Trails on Newfoundland

Back Home

Day 182, Dec 31, 2013

Made it safe and sound to Kingston, Ontario after some 25hrs of traveling with 12.5hrs of flying time, I was able to celebrated New Years eve with family.

I will be staying here for the next while sorting out some business matters and then back to Rockland/Ottawa to finish the books.

Its icy cold here and a real system shock for sure, after the hot 40c of Buenos Aires to minus 30c here, ouch.

I would like to wish everyone that followed along a very Happy New Year and may your dreams come true as it did for me, because without your support I would not have made it this far.

As I have said before an adventure like this will let you see nature and it's unbelievable beauty and will push your mental and physical ability to extremes that will go deep into your soul and after you think you have seen and felt it all it goes even further than that when meeting some of the most incredible people ever. I do believe that you have to live life to it's fullest so that you can feel what I have felt and so that you too will never have a regret.

A special heart felt thanks to all the ADVriders that opened there homes to me during this trip:

Sherpaguy in North Bay, Ontario

Albertabob in  Pincher Creek, Alberta
GISdood, in Prince George, BC
Yukon Jon in  Carmacks, Yukon
XB12R in Colombia Island, WA
dentedvw in Salt Lake City, Utah
HeadShrinker in  Kayenta, AZ
Cmnthead in  Las Tablas, Panama

And to those that I did meet and gave from there heart.

David Jeffrey in Eagle Plains, North West Territory

Steve & Wendy in Nanaimo, BC
Mark Kraft in  Pasco, WA
Steve & Sylvia Scholte, Mountain Home, Idaho
Dave & Julie, in Moab Utah
Tim & Kari Page in San Diego, California
Dan & Nancy in Playa del Coco, Costa Rica.
Oscar & Family in Rio Grande, Argentina

I cannot thank all of you enough, because you helped make this ride possible.

 

Victoria, British Columbia

Day 24, July 26, 2013, 274km

 

Came across the Island over Highway 18 towards Port Renfrew and then West Coast Highway on to Victoria. This road is great, being an old logging route made into Highway it twists and turns the whole way and has lots of beautiful scenery.

Victoria's Butchart gardens are amazing and the town is thriving with tourist looking around and or  going for the Whale watching tours.

I did notice all along the way that the State Park Camping's sings said that they were full and so I would have to look elsewhere.

Asking at the Information booth in town for camping's I also fond out that you can go from Victoria to Port Angeles with the ferry for $38, and as seeing that my feet were soar from all the walking around a nice ferry ride sounded pretty good at this point and I could just make the last one going out for the day, well shiver me timbers mates IMIN.

Made it to Port Angeles, but by now it is dark and with no idea where to go I ask at the gas station for camping places, I ended up at Camping Elwha Dam for $21.

Tomorrow down Highway 101 towards Portland, Oregon and then make my way towards Mountain Home, Idaho for a visit with my sister.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victoria Harbor

 

 

Nanaimo, British Columbia

Day 23, July 25, 2015, 148km

 

Whistler is a very cool place to visit with lots of things to do and see, but a bit  pricy also and too much for my blood.

After checking out the local camping’s and at $55 decided to head back to town for a look around and then take off further for a better deal. As I was heading down the road I checked out the state camping grounds but finding them full, and that’s when I finally fond camping Paradise some 45 minutes away for $30, still not the greatest but hey it's BC.

In the early morning I headed toward Horseshoe Bay for the ferry ride to Nanaimo. The ferry cost $41 and takes an hour and a half to cross.

Called Steve and Wendy for a stay over that was arranged by my buddy Brian as they are his good friends. This was an absolute nice getaway from the camping’s and when I arrived a warm welcome was had with some great food and some good riding tips on where to go next was discussed. Tomorrow I will head off to Victoria taking a more scenic road along the West Coast.

Thank you so very much Steve and Wendy for your spontaneous hospitality, it was greatly appreciated.

 

Whistler, British Columbia

Day 22, July 24, 2013, 449km

 

Did drive the first part of the Sea to Air Highway 99 to Whistler and that is one beautiful stretch of highway with lots of super scenery, twisties and switchbacks. I would say a must do. Did make some video and will have to see how that turned out.

 

Tonight I will stay at a camping here I hope and check this funky town out.

Tomorrow head off to the ferry and make it to Vancouver Island.

100 Mile House, British Columbia

Day 21, July 23, 2013, 398km

 

Had a great nights rest thanks to ADV inmate GISdood's hospitality.

Thanks once again Kelly, your a fantastic host.

Early this morning I started to look for the oil that I wanted and after several shops I could not find any Amsoil so I had to go with the Kawasaki synthetic instead. Will see how that holds up, and also checked several other things on the bike and all looks good.

 

Did leave around noon on a route that GISdood had given me the night before, and it goes along the Blackwater Rd/Trail for some change of pace and scenery. It sure has that and a welcome relief from the super highways, but just one word of caution when taking this road it has a 40 km section in the middle that is very narrow so for the logging truck drivers that drive this road at the speed of light and don't a give shit, it's move over or be like a bug on the windshield. I moved over when one of these trucks came strait at me needles to say, but only problem is that you end up off the side of the road for some real fun or heart pounding moments.

Made it to 100 Mile House and stayed at the towns camping for $10.

Prince George 3

Day 20, July 22, 2013, 685km

 

Had perfect riding weather today and this made me enjoy the Stewart Cassiar Hwy even more.

The grandeur of the surroundings and the smell of the Purple Hearts along the Hwy together with sweet Clover is intoxicating and uplifting, giving you a spiritual sense of awareness and content if you will.

Made it back to Prince George and staying with ADV inmate GISdood.

It's always nice when you can come back to someplace where you have been before and see a familiar face.

Tomorrow will see if I should do some maintenance now or wait till I get to Vancouver, my last oil change was some 16 thousand km's ago, luckily I always use Amsoil so that should be no problem.

 

Stewart, British Columbia

Day 19, July 21, 2013, 553km

 

Was up early and did go some 150 km down The Telegraph Creek Road, and beyond the scoop of being very scenic at spots it is a very twisty hard packed Gravel and Sand road  with just enough loose stuff to make this a real challenge.

Then throw in some 20% grades on this stuff plus a single lane death portion, and all in all it makes this road a good one to do.

Being up that early and with still lots of daylight left I decided to head towards Stewart and see the Salmon Glacier where I then camped out at the towns Rainey Camping. 

 

Dease Lake, British Columbia

Day 18, July 20, 2013, 705km

 

On my way to Dease Lake it did rain most of the day, and so I decide to stop at Watson Lake and see the park of signs and wow this is humungous, spent about half an hour looking but you would need a couple of hours to get through.

 

Camped at the Lake View Camping with no showers or facilities plus bad Internet made for early to bed.

 

Whithorse, Yukon

Day 17, July 19, 2013, 395km

 

Made it to Hi Country RV/Camping just outside of Whitehorse and have a good Internet connection, so it’s time for a upload. And then off to Dease Lake and will attempt the Telegraph Creek road again.

 

One of the things I wanted to share and was not able to do was  upload this video that I made of the old steam Paddle Wheel in Dawson City that still to this day goes down the Yukon River.

The echo's that were coming back from the old steam horn gave me goose bumps as I was walking along the board walks and reminded me of a era long past.

Things like this is what makes this trip so worth doing and I hope you can enjoy this too.

Video of steam Paddle Wheel:

http://youtu.be/703WAfTh5-A


Yukon Morning

 

Eagle Plains, Yukon

Day 15, July 17, 2013

 

Currently back at the Camping in Dawson soaking wet, muddy and tired. Started drying things out because I did ride the last 370km of the Dempster from Eagle plains in the poring rain, or should I say I slid my way back. Fond out last night from the RCMP that two other riders went down on the Dempster yesterday wrecking there bikes but both riders were luckily not seriously hurt and pulled out in time. He went on to say that the bears hide along the side of the road for cooling and also to wait for a thump that the Caribou make when jumping down from the road so when a biker goes down it makes that same thump and you know what that means yummy meal time, oh, oh, also fond out that John did puncture a tire and he decided only to go to the Arctic Circle and back after putting his spare on, maybe I will see him again.

 

 

Video of the ride back in the rain: http://youtu.be/ceeMGHtsJbQ

 

Tomorrow over the Top of the World Hwy to Whitehorse.

 

Inuvik, Northwest Territories

Day 13/14, July 15/16, 2013, 1564km

 

Started the Dempster to Inuvik and passed the Arctic Circle. This road throws everything at you from hard to soft to lose gravel, shale, sand, you name it, it has it, dusty as hell when dry, and don't be driving fast when a transport comes by because you won't see anything for 10 seconds or more, then as it gets wetter the dust becomes slip and slide crap and I mean crap, if you can get past all this road can throw at you and start looking at your surroundings it’s absolute stunning to say the least and worth every moment.

 

While camping in Dawson another motorcycle rider (John Harris on a V-strom) came in late that night and was looking for a spot to camp, I told him that he could share my spot, and so he did. Latter on I fond out that he is also going to Inuvik but taking it much slower than me so we parted our ways in the morning. I made the trip up to Inuvik in 12 hrs and that includes lunch and scenic stops, so it is very doable if you have dry roads. Set-up camp at the Happy Valley town run camping for only $15 and with free showers, not a bad deal. Early this morning I headed to the Arctic information Centre to see if I should stay another day or just take off. This place is great if you want to go hiking into the mosquito invested woods/tundra to scout for wild life, and as much as I like that I didn’t feel much for it. The other day I did hear some other campers had been looking for days with no success so I decide to go back to Dawson. On my way back I stopped for lunch in Eagle Plains, and just as I'm walking out a man (David Jeffrey on a BMW GS) comes at me and starts talking about my Super Tenere and if I like it (well yes). A bit later on he is wondering where I'm heading to and offers the use of his satellite phone to confirm the tent space back in Dawson, needless to say no tent space, so when he hears that he offers to share his room, isn’t karma great.

Here are just a few of the shots taken.

 

Dawson City, Yukon

Day 12, July 14, 2013, 358km

 
There was a thick blanket of smoke hanging around for the next 200km on the Klondike Hwy because of all the huge forest fires around.

Luckily it did clear up eventually to make for some perfect  riding in temperatures in the mid 20c.

Made it to Dawson City and setup camp. Will hang around here for the day before I head out to Inuvik tomorrow

 

 

 

Carmacks, Yukon

Day 11, July 13, 2013, 933km

 

Raining again today and snow on the mountain passes makes for not that great riding conditions. The Telegraph Creek Road will have to wait until I come back on the return trip. It wasn’t until 2pm on the Alaskan Hwy that things really cleared up. While riding in the rain I could not see much of the surroundings but when the rain stopped I had a chance to make a video that was suppose to show you the grandeur of this place, but that turned out all wrong. The camera was pointing to far down, so hope to get it better next time.

 

When I got to Whitehorse I called ADV inmate Yukon Jon because he had offered a place to stay. On the phone he said I hope you don't mind but I have just moved to Carmacks and that's another 180km past Whitehorse, and by the way everything is still in boxes so we will see what we can do. Yukon Jon is with the RCMP and was reassigned to a new place and true to form even though he had just moved there he turned out to be a real trouper (no pun intended). Thanks a million Jon for your great hospitality, and giving me a warm place to stay. I have no picture because he said he would have to kill me (just kidding).

Stewart-Cassiar Hwy.

 

 

 

Stewart-Cassiar Hwy, British Columbia

Day 10, July 12,2013, 859km

 

The day started with showers on and off again all day, and then finally around 4pm it did stop.

Lots of little towns along the way and I fond it a bit to early to start looking for a camping so I decided to continue down the Stewart Cassiar Hwy. And man is that a beautiful road to take, long sweeping curves and absolutely  beautiful scenery.

 

Thinking and hoping I could make it to Dease Lake because I was told if you can drive down the Telegraph Creek Road you will not regret it. It's a hard packed gravel road that takes you through some of natures best, and it starts in Deasse Lake so hoping I could be there before night fall proved to be a bit to much, the rain started back and the temps dropped. Shivering cold and wet I pulled over at a hunting camp/camping, and asked if they had any place warm that I could use to crash for the night, of course says this lady at the desk , we have a log cabin on the lake, no power, water or anything but it has a wood stove to get you warm. That sounded very good at that point, show me the way. Made a fire and pulled out my bed roll, very tired I fell immediately to sleep, only to wake up in the middle of the night sweating and I could hardly breath because it was so hot. Of course I overloaded the wood stove, and wow just poke me I'm well done. The good part is that all my stuff was dry.

 

Prince George 2

Day 9, July 11, 2013,

 

Decided to stay one more night with GSIdood (Kelly) in Prince George, BC and get some much needed rest.

Have also added an extra Kolpin fuel pack that was on sale here at Canadian Tire, this just in case I come to some spots that may need a little more gas. Most of the time I can get over 400 km on a tank full of fuel but this will depending on wind and speed of course. The worst was 360 km and the best so far was 480 km with speeds of mostly around 110km (GPS) per hour.

Tomorrow I will start on the Stewart Cassiar Hwy 37 towards White Horse that is some1620 km away, and most likely a 3 day trip. Wish me luck that the weather holds.

Don't know how the Internet will continue to work from here on up, but will post when I can.

 

 

Had a great stay with GISdood and was invited to a fantastic dinner from another ADVrider (Randy) that I think is known as Alphajory on ADV but not sure about that.
Anyway great times and made some new friends. I can't thank you guys enough.

In the photo: Randy, Me, Kelly

 

 

 

 

Hwy 16.

Prince George, British Columbia

Day 8, July 10, 2013, 644km

 

Last night I stayed at the Mosquito lake camping.

Today I headed over the Glacier Icefields Parkway toward Jasper and the Columbia Icefield Glacier, everywhere you look it's one beautiful spot after another, you really need a head on a swivel or so.

Tonight staying at inmate GISdood, in Prince George and tomorrow I well see if I can find some nice route to follow towards Whitehorse.

 

 

Lake Louise, Alberta

Day 7, July 9, 2013, 619km

 

Had a great stay with Albertabob, super good host, and he made a good breakfast too, you can't ask for better. Thanks Robert.

Had this whole route planned out, starting on the Cowboy Trail 22 and then across towards the Forest Trunk Road 40, for some great back road country riding. This is also a nice back door track into Canmore, BC. The only thing is it turned out to be more of a challenging then I had bargained for, and mostly because of some bridges and roads being washed out. At one point there was a crew fixing the road and signage saying road closed, but I thought not for me though so I crossed around over a field and all the crew guys waving, so I waived back and thought what a friendly bunch, only to find out some 30 km further there is no more bridge to cross, oops. Then of coarse on my way back the same guys again waving and laughing, I waived and laughed back, I finally did make it, just way later and not exactly on the route I had planned.

The scenery has really improved a lot, and some of the places that I wanted to see were Banff and Lake Louise of course and they were not far away anymore.

Banff is one beautiful town with so many little shops and things to do you could stay there for a couple of weeks easy, and Lake Louise is stunning to say the least, if it wasn’t for this weird guy steeling the shot you could have seen more of it, well now you will have to go and see for yourself.

 

Pincher Creek, Alberta

Day 6, July 8, 2013, 433km

 

More riding through the prairies, so not much to see or do, plus some very strong head winds all day. I know something is a brewing and sure enough around 3pm the weather turned real nasty near Fort MacLeod.

I was lucky to make it into a Tim Horton’s because a torrential downpour with hail came down with some wind gust that would have blown me off the road.

When I pulled into Timmies another couple of bikers that I did meet at Gull Lake came in and together we waited for the storm to pass, and with all of us trying to get some weather updates one of the ladies was getting mad at her new I-pad, she says I'm on the Internet but nothing works.

Lucky I'm a bit of a tech guy and explain that she has to open a browser first and agree to the terms before it will work, so I guess that's why or paths did cross again, she probably would have figured it out at some point in time, but just the same.

 

Made it to Pincher Creek, Alberta today and I am staying with inmate Albertabob, he has offered a spare room for the night and I won't say no to that.

 

Albertabob and me.

 

Next stop somewhere along the Rocky Mountains towards Prince George, BC.

Gull Lake, Saskatchewan

Day 5, July 7, 2013, 812km

 

Last night while being tied up between two large trees with my hammock I had a freaky thunder storm with light show and some real heavy downpours that did make me wonder what if one of these trees did get hit what would happen to me. Luckily nothing happened but I did keep an eye out for any weird shit because you never know on the prairie. Everything stayed dry under the tarp and this morning the sun is out, so back to riding.

Had I stayed on the road for another 50km I would have made it to a rest stop and another just 25km further, so what’s up with this, two in all of Manitoba and both beside each other, go figure.

I thought Manitoba was bad with rest spots but then Saskatchewan has that beat hands down, they have these way off the road spots and you can stay there for a fee, I did stop to look at a few and some you would have had to pay me to stay there, finally fond one after riding until it was dark in Gull Lake, it is run by the city and for only $10, very clean and used by a lot of bikers.

Not much to see out here, just battling strong head winds all day, and that's not very good for the gas mileage, so the reporting on the budget will have to be done some other way, because when you ride some long distances the gas used will throw things off. The budget is for 250 km per day or about $18 worth of gas and the rest $32 for food and lodging, most likely I will do a quarterly (50 days) update or so.

 

The one nice thing about riding on the prairie is you can see what kind of weather is coming so you can wait for it to pass by, or gun for it and hope you pass.

Next stop Lethbridge, Alberta and a stay with inmate albertabob.