Looking for some Ottawa area riders (BMW or otherwise)

Bring whiskey!

I'm in the Elmvale acres part of town and I would love to join you in a nice ride on the Quebec side.
I have maps!

Here is a great map book site.

http://www.backroadmapbooks.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=region_search&region=quebec
I found these at the Rideau Centre in a small gift shop. Should be some in St-Laurent and Bayshore.

It's incredible to see the difference between Ontario and Quebec on a map. Quebec is all squigly (squigly=fun) and Ontario looks like a game of tic-tac-toe.
Just the round trip to Vals-des-Bois is a fun ride. About 3 hours.

By the way. How the hell did you pull off a r12000gsa for Christmas?!?!

Those map books looks great! Good reason to use the map pocket on my tank bag. I also have a handheld GPS with street and topo maps. Will be anxious to mount it to the bike as well.

I can guarantee I will never have a surprise like that again. There are a lot of women in the house and my wife understood the hormonal balance and the dream.

D

I know at least you got your ass handed back to your group in kinmount



Here in Metcalfe, +1 on keeping this thread going +1 on weekend bombing missions

Is there an Ottawa area/West Quebec site for posting/planning rides? Will this thread suffice? I know ott.motorcycle does it but it seems mostly sportbikes.

D

At my house, the hormonal balance and the dream only exist after a good match. Too many females under one roof.

Understood. My young girls are under 10. I know what is to come and it scares me but I try not to think about it.

D

I figure we can this thread. Perhaps a winter meet up over some malted beverages is in order.

I'm in.

anyone interested in riding this, this summer?

Looks good!
Lots of dirt?

I'm in.

does anyone know when those ferries are open? maybe we should organize a ride the weekend after???

Hey Dialdn,

Congrats on the new bike. I've ridden with Deadly99 and others here on some of the Sunday runs. I can tell you from my perspective, not only is it an absolute blast, even the little bit of off-road I've done made me a better, more confident on-road rider. Highly recommend you spend some time "in the dirt".

Jlsa.

Thanks. I am actually quite eager to hit some dirt. However, I need to be smart about getting back into riding in amongst the cagers before lugging my big old butt on the back on 500 lbs of machine through the dirt I have no problem launching of rocks on a mountain bike or cycling up hills that would be even hard to hike.

And to be honest, it's all shiny and new and I need some novelty time before laying it down somewhere. Not worried about the dirt as she was meant to be dirty.

I would be interested in trying some trail riding with a smaller group so as not to hold anyone up too much. But also get a sense of the kind of riding that occurs.

I just finished buying all my equipment and now working on some farkles and toolkit. I will be chomping at the bit when the season hits and you can bet I will be hitting the dirt often and running the bike as a dual sport.

Thank you all for keeping this thread alive. Only a few weeks to go.

D

I think the Masson/Cumberland ferry is year round

Cumberland ferry is open all year. For guys coming from the east there's also a new ferry near Rockland that said they would be open all year but I haven't tried it yet.

Straight north of there is Papineau-Labelle Nature Reserve.


http://www.sepaq.com/resources/pdfs/en/pallocalisationang_2008.pdf


http://www.sepaq.com/resources/pdfs/fr/pal_carte_generale.pdf

I did a couple of exploratory rides in there last year and there is a ton of dirt riding to be done in there. I hear something like a thousand miles of trails from easy gravel raods to really knarly looking stuff. I got cold feet being on the big GS and trying some of the smaller trails so I'm looking for something smaller this year. ATV's are not allowed in there, not like the Larose Forest so it's hunters, fishermen and loggers.

Keep the thread going and I'll join you guys for some of those Saturday rides

I was planing to explore that park too(Papineau-Labelle).
No ATVs, that's great.
Fishing, camping, trail riding... now that sounds like fun.
I hope my bike can handle some of those trails. It's a gs400 with 50/50 tires. I put it in the same category as a bmw gs. Well weight and handling wise. My only issue is ground clearance. I need a good coal shovel (minus the handle) to protect the engine, preferably an aluminum one.
I know it's not the real thing, but "you gotta ride what you got".

Here's a pic of "my precious".



I'm really looking forward to this summer and riding with you guys.

That's an awesome ride. It's just cool to be out riding and have the ability to dabble in the dirt.

I have been up camping in the papineau-labelle a few times. Lake Earhart is awesome just on the edge of the park. Bass are huge and the water is clear and warm like the Bahamas. Seriously, we did some diving there and visibility was incredible.

Did some exploring with a Subaru about 20 years ago in there and came upon a bull moose on a grassy trail. Pissed and crapped my pants at the same time when we turned the corner.

If you go to Val-des-bois, take the route through Cantley, way more interesting at least in one direction. Albeit some sand on the road as you near Val-des-bois.

D

I've got a 80 or 81 GS400 sitting in the garage waiting for the GF to get inspired and learn on. I'll have to get some knobbies for it too.