First trip south on McLean Creek road this season. Second time since owning the Buell. this is fun! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Looks like a great time to ride. I wish there were more roads closer to Calgary to explore, B.C really has us beat with that, but I guess that gives us destinations to make trips with! If you haven't already, there are some great roads your Buel would have no problems with south of Cobin and east of Fernie. Grey Creek is another good one. For the most part if you are a bit adventurous with the bike you could do Lost Creek too but there are a few sections that can be a bit rocky but after that it's a pretty fun ride. There are some more but I can't really give directions. I'd hate for somebody to get lost and not make there way out or run out of gas! I hope to get some more exploring this summer/fall when I get my bike back =(
Took the small bike out for a ride tonight. Rode about half way down the Trans Alta road. it was a beautiful night and there wasn't a soul around. Here are a few pics from my iPhone.
Shibby, I've checked out Grey Creek on google maps before. Definitely want to do a loop through there from Redwood Meadows where I live. And I crossed a couple rocky creek beds with the Buell last summer- had to creep along on the trail and take it easy but on clearer spots its no problem opening the beast up and letting the dirt fly! So no bike in your garage at the moment? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Where is the Transalta road? Where does it start if you don't mind me asking... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Trans Alta Road is just north of Waiprous on the Trunk road. Where the pavement ends and the gravel takes a 90 degree right. As soon as the gravel goes right, it is on the north (left) side of the road. You will cross a cattle gate and see a information board on the right. That's it. It goes west to the Valley that feeds Minnawanka lake. Nice ride. about a kilometer and a half you will cross a narrow wooden bridge over a stream and get to a muddy spot (sometimes), stay right and go up the hill. There is a riding lodge out a ways and plenty of spots to camp with great views. If you go doiwn the hill at the end of the road into the valley there is another camp area along the river bed on the left. The hill is usually badly rutted and full of loose rock so be careful if your tires are marginal. You can also follow the valley (when the water is low) all the way to Devil's Gap, the boundry to Banff Park. Note: You can not take a motorized vehicle beyond that point and the signs clearly state this.
I was backpacking there a few years ago on a long weekend and the park wardens and RCMP had a trap set just inside the park boundary with a bunch of 4x4's pulled over. DO NOT go past that sign or you face a huge fine (and its a DB thing to do, anyway, since they'll end up closing the road if people keep doing it).
They use wildlife cameras to catch the bad apples as well as patrols in the air and on land. As you can see by the pictures there are quad tracks into the park, since some don't take it seriously. Best not to screw with National Parks land, as you say the fines are big. No reason to go further anyway as the ride to the boundry is great! The valley is usually deserted and very scenic. It is supposed to be a great this weekend, if anyone wants to check Trans Alta out, I'm game for Saturday or Sunday. We could meet at Tim's in Cochrane for 10:00.......
I'm out of town Fri-Sat, not that I want to change any plans, but I would be in if you go out Sunday. I still have the stock Tourance tires on the Sertao, so I would need to avoid really greasy sections.
Since nobody else has piped up I have no problem with Sunday, leaving from the Tim Horton's in Cochrane, meet at 10:00 am. Maybe Beema Killa will go for Sunday, which I know that is a better day for him. Most of the road is good (sometimes rough) gravel, with one short (possibly) greasy section that is doable.Maybe Ryder Patrol can shed some light on this.
^^^ Great, if anything prevents me from being there I'll PM ya, otherwise, I'll be at the Cochrane Tim's at 10am - I've got a white BMW Sertao - I'm guessing you'll have your KTM?
At the beginning, just after the bridge over the creek, the road was a little wet but it was not slick and posed no problem. I continued on past the cabins/lodge and up the hill then turned around. The hill was a bit rough from corrosion but if you stay on the well travelled line it's not a problem. I would like to join you on Sunday. I'll meet you at Tim's at 10:00 and I will be riding a white F800GS.
Yep, the KTM. Great looking bike, I sat on one at the show and really liked it. Looks like it would be easy to throw around (or pick up). Sounds great guys, we will see you there, I suspect the number will grow yet, Beema ??, Hoctuoran??, Snooze??
Sunday Sunday someday! Mothers day race. Wife runs while I watch kids...thanks again for the invite - always good to be requested for something other than snotty noses... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Anybody interested in doing Saturday? Sunday is Mother's day and I have to fly to the Big Smoke in the afternoon .
The water is almost always diverted to the lake now. No problems going across to that boundary sign. The only issue is going further north, over the diverter, you run into the river again. I think at that river it becomes a snowmobile only trail... I think. Check the map for verification. Grey Creek will be a walk in the park for you then. Just have to watch out for snow in the pass which hung around till late July last year. We were some of the first to cross having backed out Canada day after we pushed the bikes for about a KM through deep sections of snow. I would avoid the powerline trail because of washouts. If water is low it's do-able. Not sure if you want to attempt on a buel though. The sections we did was dug up to prevent use, although the dips created a lot of fun jumping. The road from Fernie up over the pass to the river where you can either go north to the lake (can't think of the name) or west towards Cranbrook is good too (Bring gas). A little boring on the ride out, but the little road west of Fernie is great. Swimming locations along this road too. Lakes, rivers, etc. They all look very inviting once you get past the sulfur area. Buel and GS friendly dirt roads. South of Corbin and East of Fernie is a good exploration area. You can cross to Castle there but I've only done it on a snowmobile. North of Elkford to park boundary is a great section of road thats GS friendly. Along this road is a fire lookout that is a must if you haven't been and on this road. From there there are multiple passes to go east, and one that I know of that goes west. West isn't an easy trek and probably should only be attempted by MX/Light dual sport (and even then some probably won't make it up). East varies from moderate to difficult. Spits you out on the 40. I'll see if I can find my GPS track for the Lone or lost Creek we did. It was, hit or miss pretty good. Adventure comes with the GPS doesn't tell everything. The views are pretty good, but the riding is excellent. We did another pass just east of the Cranbrook to Invermere highway that was stellar, but it's not big bike friendly. MX or light dual sport. Ending up doing half of it at night but it was a ride to remember. (I love my 8" HID light) My buddy and I have a bit of a thing going. I find trails, he agrees to ride them knowing we have no idea what we're getting into. We camp where ever, pack a bottle of spiced rum to accent camp fire discussions and help with the pains if there are any. For a slightly more difficult trail, but I think still GS friendly (with maybe some sweat and pushing) is starting in Kook and riding to Yahk area. Worst section is just prior to the lookout if I remember correctly. It goes down to a tame quad trail. Yup, bikes in Phoenix. My riding buddy and I will be riding our XRR's back on the CDT starting July 5th for 2-3 weeks. Going to the White Rim Trail in Moab and some Colorado passes while we're in the area.
I am visiting Calgary this weekend for my daughters syncronize swim meet, in my spare time i was hoping to look for some riding gear, thinking i might find a couple of good shops in a bigger city. Anyone have suggestions ? I can see the mountains while commuting around town, you guys must have some awsome riding here, im jealous.
Blackfoot Motorsports has a pretty large selection of gear in stock. GW Cycle world is another shop that keeps lots of stock.
GWCycleworld is kinda my go to place. They have always offered me a good percentage off pretty well everything I"ve purchased there - tires, pressure suit, pants... and i'm not really a regular.
Blackfoot Motosports (no R) is your best option, not the best prices around, but definitely the best selection. Its fairly central - google maps is your friend. For a big city Calgary doesnt have any mega stores like the US, just a number of smaller shops (aside form Blackfoot).
