ADVENTURE CANADA Always up for an adventure, KR man Racing Dave and mate Dave Jackson flew to Canada recently to ride British Columbia’s 14 remaining fresh-water ferries. WORDS & PICS: Racing Dave AWAY WITH THE FERRIES enjamin Franklin summed it up: seen the “closed” ferry signs. The Shelter Bay ferry crosses Three may keep a secret, he The ferry captain had taken pity on the Upper Arrow Lake (top) and Dave said, if two of them are dead. rider and agreed to transport him and his B Jackson on a typical logging road. Confidentiality requested, normally my lips KTM 690 in the normally passenger-only would be sealed, but not in this case. cage. On arriving at our side of the river, With my mate Dave Jackson, I was the bike could not be wheeled from the on an adventure ride in British Columbia, platform, and the pair was in the process Canada, and we’d arrived at the Big Bar of using a block and tackle to lower it to the reaction ferry on the Fraser River. The ground. With our assistance, the bike was vehicle ferry wasn’t sailing, due to flooding, soon safely rescued. but there’s an aerial ferry there too – a small cage on a wire – and we’d hoped to THE PLAN ride that. The reason we were there at all In the rain and fog, the 65km clay and was simple – a lap record was to be sand road was awful. My KLR650 was established. Dave had been brought up in on Metzeler Tourance tyres and I found it British Columbia, and he has a 2006 model treacherous. We slithered our way to the Kawasaki KLR650 stored near Vancouver. remote crossing, where we found a fellow He had devised a plan to take in all the adventurer had arrived at the opposite bank inland fresh water ferries that make up part by such an obscure route that he hadn’t of the roading system. Canada’s west is KIWI RIDER 103 The route the two Daves took. Dave Jackson leaving the McLure Ferry (below left) and RD riding in drizzle on the clay road to Big Bar. CANADA ADVENTURE Signs warns that not all locals are friendly… very rugged, with towering snow-topped to reach the start, and we allowed a further tree-covered mountains, deep valleys, and 10 days to complete our circuit back to mighty rivers. Vancouver. In their heyday, there were 140 ferries A 15-HOUR TRIP crossing the various lakes and rivers, but due to improvements with roading and the One of these ocean-capable ferries is used construction of bridges, only 14 remain. for the 15-hour scenic trip from Port Hardy at the top of Vancouver Island through THE BIKE the Inland Passage to the frontier town of Those 14 are free and well scattered, so Prince Rupert, near the southern border of Dave planned a route, including gravel and Alaska. forestry roads, to link them up. When I This ship contrasts positively with heard of this adventure, I quickly invited the miserable conditions that Kiwi myself to accompany him, and made motorcyclists are forced to tolerate on our enquiries to rent a bike in Vancouver. This Cook Strait ferries – surly deck staff, the exploration of this isolated town (an led me to contact Cycle BC, whose rental dirty and wet bike tying down areas, their interesting mix of derelict houses, rusting policy doesn’t generally allow off-road use inability to run on time, and the exposed of their fleet. However, after discussion waiting areas. vehicles, and new construction), a re- crossing of the swift Skeena River and we and some negotiating, we reached a Compare this with BC Ferries: pleasant were back on the road to the next ferry, mutually satisfactory position, and the staff, a proper waiting room for riders at the hundreds of kilometres away at Francois record attempt was on. point of embarking, and spotless decks. Lake. The fresh water ferries are of three Best of all, priority boarding – motorcyclists types; reaction ferries that are propelled by load and unload first, and are signalled We overnighted at Smithers (hilariously, the river’s current; cable ferries that winch through to the front of all queues. the town of Burns Lake is nearby!), themselves, and free-running vessels. The and then chose a ‘back roads’ way to scale of our undertaking became clear READY, STEADY, GO! Southbank. This logging road through when we realised it would take us three The reaction ferry at Usk was first. the forest was wide, but for nearly 50km days’ riding and four salt-water ferries just Five minutes on the ferry, a half-hour was of bare clay with dust kept down ➤ 104 KIWI RIDER CANADA ADVENTURE Lighthouse Station viewed from the Inland Passage ferry (top). KTM 690 being unloaded from the Big Bar aerial ferry (middle). Meet one of these coming the other way and you better be on the ‘correct’ side of the road. by a coating of oil. This was slippery another reaction ferry, with the sealed road was spotlessly clean and tidy, had a lovely enough, but the ruts left by the trucks in leading to it ending in a 1000m descent in landscaped lakeside garden walk, and a wet weather made the bikes constantly just 10 km, and a consequent increase in sandy beach on which teenagers were wander, giving a very nervous ride. The temperature and humidity. carrying out teenage activity – throwing next 30km were on shingle, and very dusty The 4WD twin-track from the ferry led Frisbees, playing volleyball, digging sand from the many overloaded trucks we met us in second and third gear through a very castles – and all at nine at night in the head on. pretty forest. We picked up a more open warm sunshine. Then we rode a perfect adventure bike logging road for an hour that was dry and Another long day loomed; not in twin-track, mostly third and fourth gear, fast, and that brought us to yet another distance, but in time, as most of the next winding and rising and falling for an hour, reaction ferry, this time at McLure. Initially few ferries led to isolated towns, so return and with nothing oncoming. Just great. sealed, the road from this ferry ‘improved’ trips had to be taken. Not a problem on the The Francois Lake ferry, a conventional into another hard and open gravel logging Harrop, Glade, or Arrow Park cable ferries, vessel, took 15 minutes to cross and road to the Adams Lake cable ferry. as each trip was only a few minutes this was followed by an hour on another There’s no way out from the far side, and the ferry operates on demand, but perfect shingle road. so after our exploring the available two the 35-minute (each way) crossing of The third day was ferry-less, as we kms of road, and smiling at the irony of Kootenay Lake from Balfour on the large closed in on the tightly clustered group in million-dollar homes having a view over conventional ferry runs to a timetable, and BC’s southeast. This night was spent in the lake to a dilapidated wood mill, we was full on each sailing. 100 Mile House, to which we arrived in a continued on main roads to Shelter Bay, The sealed roads joining these ferries thunderstorm, with the temperature falling and the 20-minute conventional ferry were some of the quietest we rode, and from 32°C to 18°C in just 10 minutes. across Upper Arrow Lake to Galena Bay. some of the most winding and scenic. The local deer must have thought so, too, as FOUR X FOUR CHARMING we encountered several grazing alongside On the fourth day, we travelled on four Our day ended in Nakusp, the most the road, only to bound away into the ferries and used remote gravel roads charming town we found. Small and old- forest on our approach. to link them. The first, at Little Fort, is fashioned (no malls or fast food outlets!), it The next day was the one with which 106 KIWI RIDER ADVENTURE CANADA The Big Bar Ferry (top) was closed due to high water levels. Racing Dave RACING DAVE’S BIKE DEAL (left) has fun on one of the many forestry trails he and Dave Jackson I rented a Kawasaki KLR650 from Cycle RIDING GEAR discovered en route. BC (catch the underground from the I decided to wear my Triumph adventure airport, then a 15-minute walk). riding gear and Shoei adventure helmet. I opened this story – cold and windy, with occasional showers. Even the early sealed The 22-litre tank, with which I This proved versatile; fully vented for riding was nothing special, but it was the averaged 22 km/litre (‘regular’ petrol, the 30+ degrees we had on 13 of our wet, muddy and slippery road to the Big 87 Octane, is $NZ1.60/litre), gave 14 days, and fully waterproof and warm Bar ferry that sticks in my memory. an excellent touring range of more for the one wet day. The Shoei’s pinlock than 450km. Even in the appallingly visor insert remained fog free, even ONLY TWO TO GO congested city traffic in Vancouver during a thunderstorm and in the drizzle. Two ferries to go. The reaction ferry across this didn’t change, although to be fair Navigation was easy. We used a the Fraser River at Lytton was first up, and I did once have the engine off for five large format map of BC to overview had only just resumed sailing after being minutes while I debated with two of each day and then my Strike Genius closed by high water levels.