The Canadian URal/Dnepr Riders Group
(CURD)
 PROUDLY PRESENTS

THE 2009 TUNDRA RUN

BAIE COMEAU, QUEBEC TO HAPPY VALLEY/GOOSE BAY, LABRADOR

JUNE 6th-13th, 2009

Welcome to the information page for the CURD 2009 Tundra Run, scheduled for June 6th through the 13th, 2009.  This 8 day event will consist of CURDites converging on Baie-Comeau, Quebec and then travelling to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador and back along highways 389 and the TransLabrador Highway, also known as the Labrador 500.  If you ride a Ural or Dnepr sidecar rig and are interested in participating in this event, then this is the site for you.

NOTICE

The trip was a success, ride report with pictures can be found here.

 

MEETING POINT

Now that we're getting close to the start of this thing (it's May 4th, 2009 as I type this) it would probably be a good idea to pick a point for everyone to meet on the morning of Saturday, June 6th.  Since this is a Canadian Event, it only seems fitting that we meet at a Tim Horton's, and it just so happens that there's a Tim Horton's in Baie Comeau (was there ever any doubt).

Tim Horton's

665 Boul LaFleche, Baie-Comeau, QC

Boulevard LeFleche is also numbered road 138 and the store is located east of the ferry landing if you're coming from Matane.  Google maps will locate it easily enough for you, or follow this link:

http://tinyurl.com/cjheuj

As for a meeting time.  Our first stop is about 300kms away, and from my understanding a great deal of that is paved road, so there's no hurry to bust our ass on the first day, I'd say 11:00am is when I plan on pulling into Tim's, and I plan on pulling out at about 11:30am.  Again, take the title Rally Master with a grain of salt, I just happen to be travelling in the same direction as the rest of you.  Feel free to set your own schedule, especially if you don't like traveling in packs and just want to hook up after a day of riding.

If you do plan on catching the ferry from Matane to Baie Comeau, it leaves on Friday at 2:00pm.  I plan on catching this ferry so I'll end up staying in Baie Comeau on Friday night at the Comfort Inn (already booked) on the same street as the Tim Horton's, there's also an Econo Lodge on that street that's a little cheaper.  Ferry info

If you miss that ferry then catch the one in the morning to Godbout, and head east.  This is another reason for the 11:30 departure time.  Hopefully it will allow any stragglers who miss Friday's ferry to catch the 8:00am one to Godbout and still meet the group at Tim's.

 

The Route

Day 1 of this intrepid adventure will begin in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, where the riders will follow Highway 389 up into the wilderness and towards Manicouagan Reservoir, where we're hoping to find a suitable place to camp for the evening.  It is approximately 588KMs between Baie-Comeau and Labrador City, without much in the way of amenities in between, so camping will be a must.  Hopefully the group will be able to get about 300 KMs behind them before stopping for the night. A majority of this section of Highway 389 is paved, so it should be easy going.

Click picture for larger image

Day 2, and fresh from a night of fending off bears and bugs, will have the group packing up and finishing the second half of Highway 389, arriving in Labrador City where actual beds will await, and hopefully some cold beverages. This leg will be the remainder of the 588KM run from Baie-Comeau to Labrador City.

Click picture for larger image

Day 3 will begin the Labrador 500 leg of the trip.  Heading out of Labrador City we will travel east for approximately 250KMs to Churchill Falls. Keep in mind, there are no gas stations between Labrador City and Churchchill Falls, well beyond the limits of a Ural's stock gas tank.  It's also mostly gravel, as well as the 389 previous to this.  We should be able to get accomidations here, complete with an onsite pub of some sort.

Click picture for larger image

Day 4 marks the push to our final destination, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador.  It's roughly 280KMs from Churchill Falls to Goose Bay, with more gravel roads and limited amenities. In total it will have been 4 days and 1120KMs, of which about 3/4 of those KMs will be on gravel roads in a very remote part of the country. The daily mileage is quite doable under normal riding conditions, but keep in mind that these will be anything but normal riding conditions.

Click picture for larger image

 

Days 5, 6, 7 and 8 will be a reverse of the trip, heading out of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and returning to Baie-Comeau.  This trip is not for the faint of heart, this part of the country is a remote area and the roads are not what most of us are used to.  Please read up on the area and get used to the capabilities of your bike as well as yourself. Lots of information can be found on the internet regarding this area, but start here for some good pictures and info on the routes we'll be taking.  Another interesting link is one from the East Coast Rovers, found here. I'll be updating this site with more information and getting some details on places to stay. One thing to keep in mind, this is roughly a 2500km round trip, that's an entire service interval for these bikes, so take that into consideration if you're riding 500KMS just to get to the start.

NOTICE:  An alternate route is available for those that don't have to get back to Baie Comeau in a hurry.  A group of at least 1 (me) will be continuing on past Goose Bay and into Newfoundland.  More info can be found HERE.

Things to Bring

This list will grow as people add more feedback so please feel free to mention something on the CURD list or e-mail me directly and tud333@hotmail.com. You've all got a couple Christmas's and birthday's coming before the trip, plenty of time to get what you need.

Satellite Phone - I'll try to arrange a sat phone for the trip for emergency use.
Bug Spray - Copious amounts.
Extra Gas - Jerry can or an auxiliary gas tank, you'll need something to get you from one station to the next.
First Aid Kit - This alone will require some input and discussion
Tools - Whatever you think you might need.  Don't count on a neighbor, 'cause they may have been counting on you.
Spare Tires - We'll be traveling close to 2500KMs, how much do you get out of a pusher on GOOD roads.  You may want more than 1 spare.
Water and food - You won't run into a 7-11 or McDonald's halfway along the 389.
Tent - Make it a good one, it's got to keep you warm and dry at night and keep the bugs out.
Sleeping bag - Again, get one rated for cold weather. I've never been up that way and I hear it can be 30C in the summer, but you never know.
Flashlight - The spotlight on the GearUP would be great for setting up tents in the dark, but it won't fit in your tent if you loose something in there.
Camera, film, batteries, memory card - It's a pretty safe bet that one of us will do something embarrassing, don't miss the chance to capture it on film for all to enjoy.
Rain Gear - And I mean GOOD rain gear, something that will not only keep you dry but also warm, or that will fit over your warm clothes and keep you dry. If we're camping overnight and it starts to rain in the morning, we're not waiting it out, we're pushing on.
Come Along - We don't all need one but we should make sure there's one or two on the trip.
Lighter/Matches - If someone hits a moose then we'll need some way to start a fire so we can eat it.
Windsheild or full face helmet - I don't normally preach about full face helmets, but these are gravel roads and a rock to the face, while making for an interesting story afterwards, won't be much fun during the trip.
Oil - Cause you never know.
Toilet Paper - I hope this doesn't require an explanation.
Money/Credit Card - When it comes to your time to buy the next round you had best not turn out empty pockets. It's a vast wilderness up there and they'll never find the body.

Accommodations

As the trip gets closer we'll determine where we will stay in each stop, but for a list of what's available in each town/city you can check the following links.

Baie Comeau
Gagnon, or the side of the road: LOL, we'll have to camp here, no amenities.
Labrador City/Wabush
Churchill Falls
Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Attendees

Are you in?   Help remove the questions of "Will I be the only one going?" and let us know if you're thinking of making the trip so others feel more confident about stepping up.  Don't worry, we won't get you to sign your name in blood....yet. Also, if you're a CURD member and would like to join, but are too old and decrepid to make the trip on your rig, then feel free to join us on whatever it is you'd rather take, be it a BMW or perhaps even a chase truck. I'm sure the other CURDites won't mock you. ;-) 

Tony - Rally Master: Nova Scotia

Derek (Berger): Ontario

Frederick Palica: Quebec

Rick Stamp: Ontario
Steve Krug: Ontario
Berlin56: Ontario
Sprint ST Rider: Wisconsin
Chris: New York
Ken Ulrich: Wisconsin
Oldguy:  Maine
Tom Firlotte: Ontario
Dave Wilson: Ontario
Peter Rae: Ontario

Jazzpatrol: Ontario

TonyT: Ontario

Richard "Mack" McNamara: Maine

We are also looking for someone capable of hauling a number of bikes to Baie-Comeau from various parts of Ontario, and possibly serve as a chase truck during the event.  If this interests you and you have a vehicle capable of hauling several bikes and their owners, please contact Tony at the e-mail address above.
 

Additional Information

Distances to Baie-Comeau, Quebec.  The starting point of this rally.

    Halifax: 720KMs
    Charlottetown: 597KMs
    Ottawa:  861KMs
    Toronto: 1213KMs
    Bangor:  575KMs

CURDite Jordan has this to add:

    Someone mentioned Skeeters and Black flies, and on this subject I feel I am an authority, having spent three years in the Canadian High Arctic. There is nothing normal about flying insects on the tundra, if it truely is tundra in the area you are travelling be warned.

    Tundra skeeters a nothing like southern skeeters, they almost seem to ba a remenant from before the last ice age. Be warned they're size will worry you, but their numbers will horrify you. Seriously nothing short of a full bug shirt and hat will do. No bug dope will work, I know this to be a fact. I don't think I know the right words to explain the bugs that live on the Tundra. It really is Biblical.

Hmmmm, perhaps we should be looking at when bug season is in Labrador and plan around it.

Additional Links

We're not the first to make this trip.  Check out Gary Smith's travels at Burro Has 3 Wheels:

http://burrohas3wheels.com/prudhoebaylog.htm

And Paul Mondor's report on an insane winter trip to Goose Bay:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthre ... paulmondor

Also:

Labrador West site with some info on the 389 and 500.