6/17/22
The next stop is Medicine Hat, Alberta. To make up some time, I'm jumping back to the Trans Canada but I need to take some local roads to connect to it. Google Maps gives me a route, SK-614 to 1 (Trans Can), 2hrs 15mins. Looks easy enough.
https://goo.gl/maps/DKaineBh2J31xcAdA
I get to the intersection to make a right onto SK-614 and sees that it's unpaved and gravel. There are lots of gravel roads out here in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I've managed to avoid them so far mostly due to rain and wind and didn't want to risk it. Today was nice and sunny. I made the right turn and thought to myself probably just a couple miles of gravel until it's paved.
I took a BMW offroad class in South Carolina back in March of 2022 to give myself a bit of formal training in offroad riding. We spent a lot of time in various offroad situations. It was a great class and I learned a lot. But there's a big difference between training in a controlled environment and being out here alone and in the wild.
The first couple miles was a mix of light and moderate gravel. I stopped and looked at the directions again - "Stay on SK-614 for 39 miles." 39 more miles...of this....there is an instant churn of internal thoughts: "go slow and you should be fine" and "maybe we should turn back around and retrace ourselves back to a paved road." The initial 2hrs and 15 minutes would take a lot longer. I imagine I'd be on this road for at least an hour. I know I'll have plenty of daylight considering it doesn't get dark until 9:30pm or 10pm up here. I popped the engine into first gear and continued on.
8 miles in and I'm still going. There are some moderate grooves in the road from the previous rain and truck tires. These grooves would push and pull you over to the left or right. Thankfully, this road is pretty remote. Only saw one truck so far. So I'm able to find a smooth lane whether it's in the middle of the road or even on the left side of the road.
The bike would bounce and bob from the grooves and gravel. The front tire would wobble left and right depending on which track or rock it would find. I had to keep reminding myself to not death grip the handlebar and just let it find it's way. I only reigned it in when I felt it going too far left or right.
15 miles in and I'm still upright. 25 mph and second gear feels manageable. Occasionally, the gravel would fade away and the road is just hard packed dirt. During these sections, I kick it up to third and got the bike to 35. When the gravel came back, I quickly dropped it back down to second and 25mph. This seems like a manageable formula.
20 miles in and I've seen a couple more trucks. I see ranches and grazing cattle. The road is mostly straight but it would go uphill and downhill. There was a few turns, thankfully, nothing very tight. There was a couple semis with trailers and they would slow down as they approach me. I would hug the right side of the road as much as I could. Some would wave, I wave back if I didn't feel like I needed both hands on the handlebar.
30 miles and I'm still here. I don't know if the gravel is smoother or I'm getting more comfortable with the road. I felt like I wanted to stay up at 35mph even when the gravel was bumpy but i decided to exercise some caution on my first long stretch off road.
35 miles in. We're almost to the Trans Canada. Maybe the road will be paved as it gets closer to the highway? No such luck, instead the gravel is back and actually deeper then the previous ten miles. I see a sign pointing to the Trans Canada, 5 KM, which is 3 miles. Almost there. I see a set of train tracks ahead and a tractor trailer drives by on a road perpendicular to my road. That's the Trans Canada Highway! I'm here - the junction between SK-614 and the Trans Canada. I just rode 41 miles of dirt and gravel. Accomplished doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now. I know I'll have 800 miles of round trip unpaved road on the Dalton. But this small section is a huge confidence booster for someone who has ridden mostly paved roads in the past ten years.
I make the left turn onto the paved Trans Canada Highway and it feels like the bike is gliding on ice. I kick the bike up to 6th gear and cruise at 70 and it is buttery smooth. I cruise on the Trans Can for the next hour, eventually crossing into the province of Alberta.
I arrive at the motel in Medicine Hat around 9pm. Still daylight but I'm tired. I shower, change and walk next door to get some fish and chips to go along with a can of well deserved beer to bring back to my room. An unexpected but good day. 41 miles of dirt and gravel that was a first in my riding resume.