Dual Sport Riding - Ice and Snow

I sent an article on riding in the Arctic to Cycle Canada and they printed it in the Dec/03 issue in their first person column. Unfortunately it has to fit on 1 page so a lot was taken out. Here's the director's cut.

Most Nunavumiuut have the same reaction when they see a WR 400 scootin' across the frozen tundra of Baffin Island on a crisp -30 January night ~ ko-razy. Well, the way I see it, it's simple mathematics. Take 1 Road racer ~ divided by the love of Cape Breton over the lack of jobs there ~ add the number of times you chose fresh rubber over groceries to make the next regional at Shubenacadie ~ multiply by -30C to the power of Arctic $$$ ~ and the answer is clear. 2 tickets to Iqaluit, Nunavut please. A window seat for me and an aisle for my new friend in blue over yonder.

Swinging a hammer in Nova Scotia just wasn't keeping the toy box full so I swapped my slicks for knobbies and headed North.

I bought the WR specifically for boredom relief when I moved and initially had no plans of riding year round. Unfortunately the land is absolutely peppered with nice big, round boulders left behind by melting glaciers and I had to drop down 2 teeth on the front sprocket just to get out of 2nd gear.

A quick hop from a semi-low roof into a snowdrift changed everything. Instantly I understood why the igloos I built in my parents backyard didn't look like the ones in the magazines. That drift was like concrete; I barely left a footprint in it. That was my first experience with the dry, wind packed snow of the Arctic. I decided to top up the anti-freeze in my bike and try a little free-style mogul riding after work. Sa-weeet, the bike sailed over the drifts with the knobbies breaking the surface just enough to get some decent traction.

As I got braver and picked up the pace a bit I got my 2nd Arctic snow lesson; it is not all created equal. Early soft-spot-recognition became an important ingredient of 2 wheel tundra travel. After a few weeks of experimenting I was averaging only 1 trip over the bars per day. Now that may sound like one-a-day too many, but you can pretty much get used to anything, so I bought a nice soft crossbar pad and started racking up the frequent flyer miles.

For the most part winter riding up here is exactly the same as summer riding down south with a few minor exceptions. The bike is always squirming and sinking and never really settles down to where you feel safe, and if you get a flat, break down, or crash hard and can't make it back to town - you freeze to death, but aside from that it's exactly the same. As long as you look waayyyy down the road it's a blast and you can pretty much avoid the snow angels (Arctic result of a perfect flying W).

I made one of my most memorable impressions in the snow in April/2001 during the first half of a 320 km return trip to a neighboring community. It began with an incorrect trail obstacle ID at near top speed. Just before contact I realized that the little dark spot in the middle of the trail (misdiagnosed as a pinched Husky loaf) was actually the tip of a large boulder that had melted through the snow. No time to stop or change direction - lean back, pull hard on the bars and stretch that throttle cable. Oh well, it wasn't a total waste of effort; at least the front wheel cleared.

A couple of good ol' fashioned loop-the-loops and then my 3rd Arctic snow lesson: with enough height and velocity you can leave a pretty good dent. The bike was dinged up a bit but a few quick repairs made on the spot thanks to my Emergency Arctic Wilderness tool kit which consisted of a pair of vice grips and a.....place to put them, and we were back on track.

At one point I had to drag the bike into a small emergency shelter and used engine heat to delay the human popsicle process, but aside from that it was a great ride! Clear blue sky, sun splitting the icebergs, a brisk -25C, and best of all - no bugs! It also went into the books as the first time the trip has ever been made by motorcycle. I'd like to thank my 2-snowmobile support crew, Ken and Leo, who actually let me rest in Kimirut long enough to eat lunch before heading back to Iqaluit. We had our picture taken outside of the hamlet office to prove we had made it and then it was back on the trail.

The return trip was a much tougher ride since I was beat from the 4-hour first leg of the run, and now I had to avoid the 160 km long rut in the trail that my tire dug on the way over. If you're wondering what the trail is like, check out this website http://nsc2003.eastlink.ca/ posted by Nunavut Productions. They organize an annual snowmobile race between the two communities. I even managed to get the bike on the grid this year, just me and 49 sleds, sounds like fun.

During my 4 years of riding in the snow I've experimented with various tire/stud combinations,

synthetic engine and fork "fluids" that look more like jello than liquid in February, polypropylene underwear, and duct tape brands that barely remove skin when you peel it from your face yet still reduce frostbite. A modular helmet dramatically increased my top speed, which was limited by low visibility and frostbite.

The most drastic improvement was the installation of my Moto-Ski designed by a biker in Alaska, (who no doubt also belonged to the frequent flyer club). I haven't made one trip over the bars since installation, that I didn't deserve. For a little summer fun I toss on a paddle tire and a PFD and beat everyone to the cottage by taking that seldom used shortcut across the lake.

At 41 I'm no spring ptarmigan, but I still ride whenever possible. -20 beautiful, -30 padded shorts help soften that factory brick of a seat, -40 if the cable's out I'm gone. I even managed to snap my rear shock and pro-link this summer so at least I think I'm still going fast. I am forced to drive my snowmobile on occasion though, since 2 up bike riding doesn't work well in snow, and "the" girl in town does like to get out of the igloo once in awhile.

I've had lots of adventures riding in Nunavut, both good and bad. The worst landed my scooter and me on the Discovery Channel after spending a frosty January night in a snow bank due to "inclement" weather and a less than average sense of direction.

I can't thank those Iqaluit Search and Rescue guys enough, Jimmy Noble in particular. (Even though he insisted that the bike was not going to be rescued, just me.) He was the one who actually found me and set me on defrost. I later learned that it was actually the bike that led to my rescue. There are hundreds of snowmobile tracks heading off in all directions around Iqaluit and Nunavut Emergency Services had no idea where to start looking. Eric Doig, (Manager of NES), simply said, "There's only one motorcycle tire track out there. Find it, follow it, and Tim will be at the other end" And Jimmy did and I was.

This prompted the purchase of my most valuable piece of Arctic riding equipment from one of my new favorite companies, Garmin. Thomas Wolfe wrote, "You Can't Go Home Again". Maybe not, but with a heated, handlebar mounted GPS, at least you know you're heading in the right direction.

Peace Out

Tim

p.s. For the record, I haven't forgotten my southern roots. In fact I spent all summer last year, yes both days, doin' it in the dirt.

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Are the pic links working? I see 'em but sometimes other folks say they can't.

Cool story frostbite. I have read Jack London books on the north; makes me think about your section of earth. Like I mentioned earlier, I have colleagues up in your neck of the woods; I havent made the powertrain trip yet, though I imagine within the next couple of years I'll make it. One guy took his ice auger with 3-foot extension and ice fished for walleye out of his test vehilce on the lake with 3-foot of ice! I'll bet you summers are beautiful up there, with 20 hours of daylight to ride in! Great story, keep them coming!

Mike - Michigan

Did the pic links work for you?

WOW great story, keep it comming, Good Luck on the race.

Post some pics of you and the machine..

The link worked for me.

Funny thing i'm hear in my room, probly 70 something and im thinking im cold hear LOL, Mabee I got cold from reading your story.... Really puts things in perspective. ? :D

Great stuff. Most of the pics worked for me.

If your ever in NS again, look up our club.

Better yet, sign up and say hello. ?

very cool story frostbite! ? You have bear bangers? That's awesome. Is your bike hard to start after it sits outside over night in -30 degree temps?

The bike's not hard to start, but it takes a few minutes. I squirt lots with the AC pump and then kick it and it'll run for 2 or 3 seconds. Then more squirts and more kicks. Gradually it runs longer and longer until it'll stay going.

I always set it to TDC after a ride too. A few mornings when I kicked it over it felt like the spark plug was out. I took it into a heated garage to check it out and the compression came back by itself. I think that condensation froze on open valve stems and wouldn't let them close. Since I started leaving it at TDC I haven't had the problem.

The bear banger kit is about the size of a sunglass case. There's a row of flares in case you get lost and a row of bear bangers in case you're look like lunch. You just screw either onto the zip pen, pull back the spring loaded end and let it snap. The bear bangers shoot out about 100 feet and then explode so you have'ta be careful not to shoot it past the bear and scare'em towards you.

You da man.

? Amazing story. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Now THAT is hardcore. ?

This is not what you want to see when you open your eyes after a hard get-off.

Most of the pics will open if you right click and the click "show picture".

That a little to hard core bud, Time to move south for the winter.

I was in about 2' of powder Sunday. I was able to plow through it ok until the trail pointed up hill.

It was a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to spend the night there.

Bear Bangers?

Bear Bangers?

they are like crazy fireworks that scare away bears... look on the previous page, he explained them in more detail ?

Fixed Pics

Wow awsome story bud ...people tell me Ice racing here in sask was crazy, Thats nothing compared to your story thanks for sharing it! ?

Gotta ask how well and how far can you cross water with your ski/paddle tire combo

I've only done the water run the day the pics were taken. Had been thinking about it for a while but it was hard to get up the nerve. I sunk my sled a few weeks before and that is a proven sport up here. There's not much info on bike watercross. The takeoff ramp was super rough and short so I couldn't get much speed, tapped out in 3rd. The front wheel stayed up fine but the rear was sinking to the axle. The spot I was crossing was 275 feet long and 40 deep in the middle. The rear tire was getting enough traction that the engine was bogging when I reached the other side. I think if I could hit it at top speed the rear may get up on plane and I could go a lot farther. I made 25 or 30 runs across that spot no problem. The tricky part is that the next stretch of the lake with a decent landing area is over twice as far across. I had planned to take a pick and shovel to my takeoff ramp the following weekend so I could get up more speed, but I had to leave town for work and by the time I got back, I could walk across the lake. I had also bought a helmet cam specifically to film the run but I'll have to wait until it melts in August.

The bike feels more stable in the water than my sled, I guess the gyro effect of the wheels help. A couple of times I was a bit out of shape when I hit the water and entered with a slight lean but it was easy to straighten up, so I tried leaning a bit on the way across. I don't know if I was turning much but I could lean. It would be a lot easier if you have a spot where you can take small bites at top speed instead of do or die long crossings.

Here's a short clip of an average ride for me these days. it's 13 meg and you must download to view. http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4287716725

Nice!!

40 ft deep yeah I can see the Nerve problem, I've done it over the edges of some a lakes with regular knobs front and rear on a XR650R and a CRF 450 at full blast on both the run up and exit is packed sand so it couldn't be better we noticed we were only sinking about 3-4 inches at the entrance because you can see were the tracks disappear off the sand under the water, but ran out of steam and speed at around the 500ft mark, defiantly a very cool feeling!!! The XR needed higher speed to plane, which makes sense. Need to find a CR 500 and a 140lb person and I’m sure you would be unstoppable. ?

Frostbike you are insane ? :D

And the people around here think my winter escapades are out there.... Dang!