I’ve read stories of people travelling the world on their motorcycles. I’ve always been impressed by the places they visit and the people they meet. I would love to one day travel and explore other parts of the world but for now, I want to explore my own country starting right here at home in British Columbia. One of the wonderful things about BC is the incredible number of backroads and Forest Service roads. The one thing these two types of roads have in common is….. dirt. Some backroads are paved… but many are not. This, for me, poses a challenge.
In all of my 50+ years, I’ve never ridden a motorcycle off road! Years of riding cruisers, I never rode so much as a dirt road. I took the time to get a little advice from a dirt biking buddy at work and decided to give it a go. I knew enough to know I’d have to take it slow and easy but, hey, what’s the worst that could happen?
I headed out towards Abbotsford, BC and topped up the tank at the Whatcom Road Petro Canada gas station. From there I headed east about 2 kilometers along N. Parallel Road and made a left on Sumas Mountain Road. This is a quiet little twisty that is a blast to ride. About 9 kilometers up this paved road, the asphalt ends, and the fun began.
One of the things my buddy told me was to shut off my ABS when I get off road. Every bike is different so, in the case of my 2009 F650GS, I simply came to a stop, held down the ABS button and waited for the brake light on the instrument cluster to come on… TADA no more ABS! Dirt road… Here I come!
Now, I realize I’m no Sam Manicom or Ted Simon crossing the vast deserts of Africa but, to me, THIS is an adventure! I click into gear and start down the hard pack gravel road getting a feel for the unpaved surface. I pull in the clutch and lock the back tire, just to see how it feels. What an odd sensation being able to slide the butt end around!! I continue down this road, quickly becoming more and more confident and even carrying a little more speed. My face started to hurt a little from the silly smile stretching across it. In just over 3 Kms this road turned back into pavement and I arrived triumphantly at the base of Sumas Mountain!
A quick hop over the Mission-Abbotsford Bridge landed me in Mission, BC , Home to Mission Towing (Highway Thru Hell), Old Car Sunday in the Park (one of BC’s largest outdoor car shows) and the Mission Candlelight Parade (Western Canada’s LARGEST nighttime parade). Just north of town is a local four wheeling mecca known as Stave lake. Stave lake is accessed by way of the Florence Lake Forest Service Rd or just Burma Rd.
I’d been up this road many times in my earlier years but back then, I had four wheels under me. It was a interesting feeling being back on this road after so many years. Being an FSR, the surface here was rougher than the last road and the potholes and corrugations were everywhere! The first section is usually maintained as there is a boat launch for Stave Lake but I guess the crews hadn’t visited in awhile. There is a speed limit on this road of 50 KM/h (30 Mph) and there was no risk of this guy getting a ticket. As I bumped and splashed along, I started to get a better understanding of how my GS responds to certain things and being able to practice a few “emergency stops” was a hoot. I was disappointed to see a large number of access points to the lake blocked by large boulders but, sadly not that surprised. Years ago I remember hauling burned out cars and trucks out of those areas and it was only a matter of time before someone said “enough!”.
I was keeping one eye on the clouds as they were getting darker and darker as I putted along. About 10.5 Kms along the road there is a fork, the main road goes left, I went to the right and rode until I came to a locked gate. I was able to sneak down a short offshoot to get a picture next to Stave Lake just as the rain started. I decided to start heading back as I had to start getting ready for work and still had well over an hour of travel time to get home. I couldn’t resist splashing in some of the bigger puddle on the way down!
No jumps, no wheelies and no crashes… just me taking my bike onto the dirt for the first time and, it was a hoot! I’m already planning my next 50 trips on dirt roads but, we’ll see how many I can get to.
Get out there and have some fun
SeeNickRide 