Ride North

“Near the Chacamp Bridge at kilometer marker 31, the temperature had warmed up; the sun was shining mid-afternoon when the support truck startled a flock of Ptarmigan sunning themselves by the road. As I trailed by about 160 feet / 50 meters in a tighter section of road, the flock settled down and flew right with me. At first, I panicked and envisioned myself swatting them away while I bounced between the drifts, but to my amazement, the lead bird flew dead-even two feet above my head. Soon to be overtaken by 25 plus birds tip-to-tip coasting along. With the clutch pulled in, all to be heard was the wind whistling and to truly absorb the adventure we had embarked upon.” recounts Mike Haberoth.

During Canada’s harsh winter, trucks pour water over the frozen muskeg to create six inche thick ice roads that pave the way for vehicles heading north. This winter three friends decided it was time to tackle one of these roads. The Ride North riders are Mike on his KTM1190R, Matt Short on his KTM500exc and Bill Buckley on his BMW R1200G/S Adventure. Mike hatched the original plan to ride the ice road with longtime friend Dustin Vaillancourt. “Matt, Bill, and I rode the event. Dustin was unable to since he had prior commitments but was a key part of helping plan the trip starting back in September.”

The riders live in and around Fort McMurray, an urban service area that was formerly a small town in Northeastern Alberta, Canada. The area is surrounded by lush boreal forest, and is just on the verge of a subarctic climate; there are only three months of the year where temperatures are higher than 50 Fahrenheit / 10 Celcius. “We started the Wood Buffalo Enduro Riders page to try and streamline the riders up here. A lot of guys ride and race but hectic work schedules and the isolation of Fort McMurray, unfortunately, spreads us all thin.”

“Matt sent me a message on Facebook to meet up, and I suggested the idea of tackling the ice road. Most laugh it off but just so happened it had been on Matt’s radar for nearly the same amount of time as myself.” They planned the route to leave from Fort McMurray and head through to Fort Smith via the winter ice road. Since the bikes would be studded, they had to trailer them for the first 84 miles / 118 kilometers to the start of the ice. From there the support vehicles followed the riders and helped out where required.

“The 1190R made its way to me through family and friends getting delivered over 1118 miles / 1800 kilometers from Brandon, Manitoba to Fort McMurray, Alberta. I found the bike as a KTM Demo from the Rider Rally in Colorado.” It came with upgraded fork springs, a radiator guard, tire pressure sensors removed and heavy duty tubes installed. “My cousin picked it up between high school classes. A few days later his father delivered it to Calgary atop his sled deck. The next day Dustin Vaillancourt loaded it up and headed north to Fort McMurray.” It was the bike Mike knew he always wanted. “For me, there wasn’t any other option for an adventure bike. The dash says it all as soon as you turn the key ‘READY TO RACE.’ Having ridden a few other dual sports and comparing them for what I wanted to do the 1190R it was the obvious choice. As it was now in its 4th production year with a wide range of aftermarket support, I already had a list of upgrades all ready to go.” Mikes KTM1190R sports an extensive assortment of dedicated adventure parts to bring it up to the spec for what an ice riding adventure machine typically gets thrown at it.

Black Dog Cycle Works skid plate with side stand relocation was fitted for protection along with a side stand plate to make parking on tricky terrain more reliable. For a higher grade of shielding a set of Touratech upper crash bars was installed. The Rigid Industries Dually lights are mounted to the KTM factory crash bars with Black Dog Cycle Works light mounts. FASST Impact Adventure pegs provide a broad platform for stand up riding while out on the ice. The cockpit sees a set of Zeta 30mm risers run into a FASST FLEXX handlebar. The Pro Grip Rally 714 grips are fitted with a set of Tusk Racing grip warmers while a set of Powermadd Handlebar muffs keeps the wind chill factor at bay. Cycra Probend handguards and handlebar clamps protect the hands and steering from any impacts. A pair of Giant Loop Bushwackers tops it all off. Mike runs a Garmin Montana 650 GPS on the bars, and a set of Double Take Adventure Mirrors keeps everything within eyeshot.

The power-plant of the 1190R has been treated to a Rotweiller intake system along with a Stage 3 Secondary Air System (SAS) and Canister removal kit. Also fitted from the southern Californian company are the off-road, ABS and lousy fuel dongle. This allowed Mike to save the preferred settings without having to reset them every time the bike got restarted. Cushioning for the long haul is supplied by Seat Concepts with their Rally Supergrip seat. A Giant Loop Fandango tank bag and a duo of Pannier Pockets takes care of packing up front. Riding pillion is a set of limited edition MEDIC Mojavi saddle bags supplied by the Oregon based outfitters as part of their Medical Volunteer Support Initiative.

For grip, a set of GT723 Goldentyre tires running heavy duty tubes were fitted. The front got treated to 1740 Grip Studs with the rear getting 1800 studs. Greg Tetz, the owner of M7Designs, took the bike in October and committed close to 80 hours testing and fitting the layout of the decals. What’s left to do on the big twin? Mike surmises, “Bikes or toys are never really finished.” His new wishlist included upgrades to the suspension, aftermarket exhaust and some HAAN Wheels from Blackfoot Direct.”

“On day two traveling through Wood Buffalo National Park from Fort Chipewyan to Fort Smith the excitement was building. Pushing each other and goofing around our speeds increased while Matt and I got too comfortable with our bike setups on the snow-covered ice. Grip Studs transfer a significant amount of heat into the rubber and can cause studs to work their way through the carcass and puncture a tube. So when the news came across the radio that the 500EXC was down for a rear tire, we assumed we’d pushed our boundary a bit too far, about 95 mph / 152 kmh too far! Extra hands made short order of the tube change, and away we went. However arriving at Fort Smith, NWT a few hours later the rear tire gave up the ghost half a mile / 800 meters shy of the Pelican Inn, our final destination. The rear tire bead was gone, cords showing and rubber missing, it would be impossible for Matt to complete the entire trip.”

“Our main goal is working towards a stronger bike community in the province and for me looking at volunteering as a medic sweep rider for local events.” This upcoming season sees the calendar filling up in short order. At the end of the March, Mike will be traveling south to Moab for the first time. In July he’s planning to map out a “Rally” into the Richardson Backcountry area using the Rally Navigator program, and if the stars align Dustin Vaillancourt and himself will be running the Alberta Forestry Trunk Road late summer and meeting up with another group traveling north on the Continental Divide route. “The people I have met and the companies that have helped support our journey are nothing short of incredible. A true testament to how much our paths overlap when like-minded individuals share common goals.”

Images by Matt Short.