Now that I have both of my new toys in hand, it was time for my first trip where I could use both of them. I was going to Lac la Biche where I could use the folding kayak on the lake, and the Grom motorcycle on the quiet country backroads. This was a perfect end of summer trip over the last long summer weekend in Canada!
My first task at upon arriving at Lac la Biche was to help setup a Starlink system at the lake cabin. You would be correct in assuming this was not my expected arrival task, but I did not mind – I really wanted to see how Starlink works in person. The setup was easy. The only help required really was fishing the cable through the wall for the temporary dish setup on the deck. Starlink’s sky search tool has changed too. It now looks for way less sky before it says your location is good. I am guessing with more satellites out now, less visible sky can be gotten away with. I would say where the dish is sitting in the picture, about 1/3rd of the sky is visible, and this is still more than enough for service. Once connected, the speeds were not blowing me away, we were getting about 2-5mbps, which could vary based on multiple tests over the next few days. It is still faster than rural internet up there though. I speculate the lack of sky visibility may have been affecting speed.
Upper lot view with the fading light
I am staying with my friends again who are fortunate enough to have a lake lot and an upper lot with more room for stuff. I have my RV parked there, and go down to the lake lot to visit. The upper lot may not have a lake view, but it is quiet. I even have a power plug in, at the new garage up there. It is luxury boondocking for me!
The Grom motorcycle was unloaded and admired by all. I’m not one to buy things on looks much, but I do really like the red of the 2023 Grom more than any of the other previous choices. Some of the previous wraps are too busy for me – it’s a small bike – give it big splotches of color where you can. My friend even took it out for a spin having had previous experience with dirt bikes. They agree, the Grom needs more aggressive tires for off-pavement stuff. But those had to be ordered and will hopefully be there when I’m back from this trip north.
Church in Plamondon
Churchill park beach beach
I did get out and ride the back roads a bit. I definitely don’t like riding on gravel, but it is something I’ll have to get use to as most backroads I’ll be exploring will not be paved. Once I was a bit more comfortable with the bike, I took it into Plamondon, and into the town of Lac la Biche proper. I can’t say I’m comfortable riding this thing in traffic yet, but I am starting to settle into it a bit. My longest ride was to Sir Winston Churchill Park on Lac la Biche. I found the wind pushing me back riding at 90kph unsettling, another thing I’ll have to get used to. But the park was nice, and all slow speed cruising along exploring the roads and the campground. The bike is fulfilling its purpose of allowing me to get out further and explore while keeping the RV parked at camp.
The fishing was not great this time, perhaps in part due to the die off of Whitefish going on at the time. It was not just Lac la Biche either, a visit for a bit of fishing at Elinor Lake showed the same problem. But some pike were caught at any rate, so it was not a total skunked visit for fishing. In general, the fishing is better in the spring, although I have had some good results at some of the smaller lakes around there later in the season. There are no hard and fast rules in fishing.
Seagulls come from far and wide to feast on the dead fish
The Seagulls were happy though – all the dead fish on the beach were a major feast for them, and certainly was appreciated by all to at least cut down on the rotting fish smell. I’m sure any bird that ate fish as part of its diet was stuffed to the gills for the next while. Hey, my puns don’t stink as bad as that fish did!
The weather was pretty good other than a bit more wind keeping my folding kayak off the lake more than I’d like. But right after we got the docks out there was one unsettled evening where a sudden strong wind squall came up. I didn’t think of it much at the time, being at the upper lot I just saw the trees shake around a lot. But down at the lake, it managed to flip over one of the docks we had just pulled up a few days previously. These things are not light – we were surprised the wind managed to pick one up and toss it. It must have been a really good wind gust! But there was no real damage done fortunately.
Two toys
But my time up there was drawing to a close. Summer in Canada ends after Labor day as far as I’m concerned. Frost can happen any time after that, and the air definitely starts to cool down. It was time to pack up my toys and start working south. But the weather was still nice and sunny, just not 30C degree heat anymore.
Ramp for the ramp
I discovered when loading the motorcycle that I need to think about where I park for loading and unloading. My ramp can only attach on the one side, so I need to pay attention to where it meets the ground. In this case, it met right on the driveway curb, leaving me with a nice ten cm bump before I even start pushing the bike up the ramp. I had to improvise a ramp to that with some re-purposed lumber, or else I’d have had to move the RV over when it was not yet ready to move. New toys, new issues to deal with.
Weight 4380kg, 4600kg is my maximum
There was one thing to check on the way out, now that I am loaded down with all my toys. Is my weight still within the load limit? I’m happy to report, yes, I still have a couple of hundred kilo to spare, which will give a bit of leeway for all tanks full situations. I’m off to Calgary, for errands (like motorcycle adventure tires!) and a little sight seeing before enjoying the fall in the eastern slopes of the Rockies. Read on next time for those adventures.
