Here are some photos from route 389, which runs from Baie Comeau through Manic 5 all the way to Labrador City. We stayed at the Manic 5 motel on the evening of 9/5, and tried to get an early start on 9/6 for our first stretch of the dirt. As an aside, we read in an old ride report elsewhere that the Manic Cinq hotel had turned away some bikers some time ago even though they had space, just because whoever was in charge has a problem with bikers. However, we were treated very well there so I think this is no longer a problem.
It was really chilly and foggy this morning...
Here's the big dam.
These trees look so impressive until you walk up to one, which is when you will find they are about 6' tall and skinny little things.
I like this shot.
Kenny went down somewhere past Relais Gabriel going at a good clip. It broke off one of the foglight clamps, marred the windscreen, broke a signal cover, and added a few new scratches to the bike. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt.
It wasn't long after this that Kristy high-sided going somewhere around 40 or 50 mph. She was unhurt, but the bike was somewhat more damaged. The right handlebar was bent down to the tank, that brake line was leaking a little, the mirror and handguard came off completely, and there are some scratches in the right side of the tank and deep gouges in the engine guard on that side, also a cracked PIAA lens. Miraculously, all turn signal parts were unharmed. Kenny got the handlebar bent back up enough to be operable and tightened the brakeline fitting. Kristy rode this bike the remaining several thousand miles of the trip this way without issues beyond a sore wrist :P
There was some decent scenery here, too bad the road demands so much attention that it's easy to miss a lot! With the exception of the last several miles into Goose Bay, I think this is the most difficult stretch of the road. 389 has a lot of 18-wheeler volume, and there was a lot of gravel-dumping and grading going on. Some stretches of road were pretty good, being mainly hard-packed dirt, but then there were areas such as behind the mine that's 40 or 50 miles south of Labrador City that have a lot of loose, pebbly gravel and/or slippery sand on top of a hard substrate of packed earth.
The funny thing about posting photos of road conditions is that you don't get photos of the bad stretches, as you're too busy staying upright, so I have not one single image of a grader :lol3
We stopped early in Labrador City so we (ok, mostly Kristy) could rest and recover.
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