Classes from a subarctic fats bike expedition
4 riders with a variety of skills rode alongside the coast of James Bay in winter. They discovered concerning the land, the folks and simply what they had been able to.
by: Buck Miller
In early February 2019, Ted King, Eric Batty, Ryan Atkins and I – all former highway and mountain bike racers – took on the James Bay Descent (JBD): an unsupported, 640-km, nine-day winter fats bike expedition from Attawapiskat First Nation to Moosonee alongside the bay’s coast, after which south to Easy Rock Falls, Ont.
One objective was to pedal to Akimiski Island, which lies 20 km from the mainland and is a part of Nunavut. We’d make the primary trip from Ontario to the Nunavut Territory on fats bikes. The general objective was to boost $5,000 for the Moosonee workplace of the Timmins Native Friendship Centre.
Inside the staff, we had a protracted checklist of accomplishments in sport and journey, together with mountaineering, world championships, ultrarunning and even the Tour de France. This expedition, nonetheless, taught every of us one thing new.
In hindsight, we should always have seen a few of these classes coming, however others had been a lot much less apparent. In case you are planning an expedition as powerful on the James Bay Descent and even one thing rather less arduous, and I hope you’re, check out the next bits of knowledge from the path.
Be versatile
We purposely selected to tackle the JBD within the coldest a part of winter. The timing got here with wild challenges that you simply encounter in the true north. We’re not speaking about cottage nation. So many issues hinge on climate. It impacts each facet of dwelling for all the outing. I do know this space very effectively, but I nonetheless managed to overlook one key element: I didn’t seek the advice of native data deeply sufficient earlier than pushing off the Ontario coast for Akimiski Island. There was a protracted sliver of open water near the shore of the island. Attending to that island was the nucleus of the journey and what I had centred all of my planning on. The open water blocking our means left me crushed. That feeling might sound a bit ridiculous as the entire trip was bloody arduous sufficient. Simply to complete it could be outstanding, even with out the crossing. For me, Akimiski was the largest objective of the route. After we made the decision to show round, it was after a quick dialogue, partly due to the -35 C diploma “convention room” we had been chatting in. However the lads had been advantageous with it. Pushing on would have been too harmful. Ryan’s mantra is “let it go.” There comes some extent in races, in addition to expeditions, when you’ll be able to’t actually drive issues.
“We then needed to take a time without work when a snowstorm rolled in,” Ryan stated. “We had been means under our mileage objective for the primary two days, however we simply needed to stay constructive. We needed to do our greatest and preserve doing all of the little issues proper. Management what you’ll be able to management. Put a smile on and preserve shifting.”
Power in numbers
Ted, the retired WorldTour domestique, has sensible phrases for the newbie contemplating a solo expedition. “Earlier than the journey, to name my expertise in both bikepacking or deep-north Canadian winter something past ‘novice’ can be giving me far an excessive amount of credit score,” he stated. “I’d have possible shivered to demise on the primary night time if I didn’t have a superb, cheery staff round me throughout the James Bay Descent. I quickly discovered the ropes, discovered my duties all through the day – block wind throughout the trip, accumulate sticks on arrival to camp, strive to not burn the tent down at night time – and we every divided and conquered collectively. If I wished a horribly boring and harmful journey, I’d have gone solo. If you’d like a enjoyable time, trip with buddies.”
Outline your consolation degree
We known as our expedition “unsupported.” This phrase within the journey sports activities world can lead folks to fist fights. The traditionalists say which means no resupply and completely no outdoors assist. On this journey, I purchased a pair of pants. Properly, Ted purchased me a pair of tremendous cumbersome searching pants for $275 in Attawapiskat’s solely retailer. (No, they weren’t designer threads. They need to have run me $75, and we cleared up the value mixup later.)
I hadn’t introduced my finest camp pants, those I’d placed on as quickly as I obtained off the bike to arrange for the night time. We hit the beginning of the journey in the previous few days of a deep freeze, when the area had daytime highs within the -30 C and -40 C vary for a couple of weeks. I knew we might be using into hotter climate and packed mild, however what I had wasn’t sufficient. After we got here to the one retailer we’d see for an additional 4 days, I took benefit of that luxurious to maintain the chance of hypothermia down. Sir Ernest Shackleton may assume I’m gentle, however my spouse and children had been joyful I returned residence with out having misplaced something to frostbite. Use your judgement. By no means pack ultralight if it means sacrificing an excessive amount of consolation, you probably have the selection.
Rethink the North
For Eric, the JBD was extra than simply an journey with buddies in distant northern Ontario. Like most Canadians, his concepts of tradition within the North got here second-hand. “The journey was about immersing ourselves in an setting the place folks have lived for 1000’s of years and imagining what it was like dwelling and surviving within the harsh northern winters,” Eric stated. “The native tradition was really wonderful: heat and welcoming. Their dwelling situations could be poor and difficult. But, they don’t present that of their smiles and conversations. Their entry to what nearly all of North Individuals take with no consideration on a regular basis is dismal at finest. The winter highway is the one connection for the distant communities up north to the remainder of the world and provides that assist them get via the winter. Whereas using all the highway, with hours upon hours to assume and chat with buddies, that is what I considered essentially the most.”
Eric’s outlook is refreshing. If extra folks took the time to go north and expertise the Cree and Oji-Cree tradition, the phrase reconciliation would include far more worth. Do it on a motorcycle, do it in a canoe or drive a winter highway. What you’ll expertise, you’ll always remember.
Keep in mind your weak point
the previous saying out of your Grade 9 fitness center class: “Your staff is simply as sturdy as your weakest member?” I don’t both, nevertheless it’s true. We forgot about {that a} time or two on this journey. Ryan, Eric and I’ve every spent 1000’s of hours within the bitter chilly of winter doing ridiculous issues. Ted has not. Earlier than relocating to Vermont in his retirement, he was dwelling in Girona, Spain and California for a superb 10 years. On Day 2, we had been someplace on the border of Ontario and Nunavut. Sunny, blue sky, -35 C at 10:30 a.m. We checked out Ted and his nostril was white, like, fishbelly white. His beak was uncovered for not more than quarter-hour and took a critical lick of frostbite. You may’t really feel the chew approaching, so actually, it was our fault, not Ted’s. All of us knew his lack of deep-cold publicity. His nostril turned a tad brown within the following days, however he was fortunate.
From this level on, we checked in on one another typically in mild of the temperature. Then, on Day 3, we divided into two groups based mostly on health for our using formation: Eric and I chillin’ on the again, Ted and Ryan within the wind. Their pace as they pulled on the entrance was nonetheless a bit too quick for Eric and I. We determined to let Ted and Ryan go up the highway so we wouldn’t get soaked in sweat. There’s just one intersection the place the highway goes straight south, or you’ll be able to flip towards the cities of Kashechewan and Fort Albany. The lads thought they might roll into the cities to expertise some native tradition and be again out earlier than we got here via the intersection. Eric and I obtained to the flip and had no thought if Ted and Ryan had been forward of us or within the cities. That they had the tent and range. We had our sleeping gear and using meals. We stored going very slowly because it was the top of the day. We would have liked to arrange camp. We determined to cease. Twenty minutes later, Ted and Ryan rolled in. The staff was again collectively simply in time for dusk. All of us realized the potential dangers of an evening spent aside. After that, we at all times stored one another in sight. So, put your health variations apart within the title of security. Additionally, while you’re chilly and your buddy is sweating, yo-yo off the entrance for some time, utilizing interval-like efforts to maintain heat.
Discover out if tubeless works in -40 C
Earlier than this journey, I had had many rides within the deep chilly, however they had been on a mid-’90s inflexible Kona. For the JBD, we weren’t certain what setup to run – tubes or tubeless? A fast search on-line of “does tubeless sealant work at -40 C?” was no assist. There’s heaps on the market about sealant in cyclocross season the place the temperatures are hardly ever as little as a balmy -5 C and the place wheels are uncovered for an hour or two at most. We had been using the latest 26″ x 85-mm Woven Precision Handbuilts carbon wheels with 45Nrth Dillinger 5 studded tires. We examined our gear within the -15 C vary a couple of weeks previous to the trek and all agreed to keep it up. The thought of getting to vary a flat in 30 under is sufficient to make one ailing. We introduced a couple of ultralight tubes for backup, however we had zero points. No burps or flats. The edges and tires had been a good match. We took air out as the times handed and the sealant stayed fluid. Each certainly one of us began with an excessive amount of stress and the crash counter went up and up. Ted had the fewest, however one actual magnificence.
Every day of this expedition actually was a lesson in its personal means. There have been so many components at play, so many issues to think about and weigh that, ultimately, we simply needed to have belief that we may deal with the unknowns. With expertise, these unknowns develop into much less and fewer, however we’d at all times be at nature’s mercy. On our subsequent expedition, we’ll forgo the four-person tipi tent and range for 2 ultralight winter tents. We’ll use down overalls and jackets to maintain heat round camp and cook dinner totally on multi-fuel stoves as an alternative of a wood-burning range. We’re planning one other journey in late winter on the coast of Hudson Bay. The James Bay Descent left us wanting extra and to journey farther.
Winter bikepacking journeys are powerful. Within the midst of them, you ask, “Why am I doing this?” Ted, Ryan, Eric and I are so lucky to have the time and assets to try such a visit. Whereas we weren’t capable of make our objective of pedalling to Akimiski Island, we did obtain extra vital goals. Giving again, even in a tiny means, to assist reconcile the burden our society has positioned on our Indigenous Canadian buddies whereas nonetheless doing one thing we love was value each minute of the trek. The generosity of parents who adopted our journey and donated to our trigger helped us to boost practically $8,000 for the Moosonee workplace of the Timmins Native Friendship Centre. That determine was virtually $3,000 past our goal. The sudden lesson from our journey is that we realized there are such a lot of wonderful folks on the market that simply need to assist.
In March 2020, Ryan Atkins, Buck Miller and Eric Batty are headed on one other northern journey. They plan to depart from Peawanuck Ont., simply inland from Husdon Bay, and observe the Wapusk Path. They’ll trip via Polar Bear Provincial Park and proceed via Fort Severn and Shamattawa First Nations. It’s a 752-km journey that ends in Gillam, Man. Assist the staff with its fundraising efforts for True North Aid by donating. Additionally, observe the Expeditions Ontario Instagram and Facebook accounts.
