Issue #271 So That is Where I am!
This month, Nancy Irwin preaches to you from the good book. No, she’s not worried about your moral compass, though she does highly recommend an invaluable backroad mapbook if you need to find your way this summer.
There’s been a book on my kitchen table for weeks now. In my home, that’s a place of honour. The Cottage Country Ontario Backroad Mapbook has held my attention for so long I’m starting to think my fascination will last indefinitely. I found it at the Toronto Motorcycle Show this winter.
It’s a detailed map book that’s a dream to a new breed of riders. Are you an adventure rider? Sales in that class have rocketed in recent years. My 1980s-era BMW enduro became a dualsport that transformed into an adventure bike. Talk about ageing well! Does that sound like fun? Adventure bike? Doesn’t everyone need one?
To take advantage of all that adventuring, one needs a decent map—and to leave the tarmac.
That’s not for everyone. Many people who buy bikes with long shocks and knobby tires don’t want to get them dirty. The first words out of my mouth when I meet people on such machines is, do you ride off-road? Inevitably, the answer leaves me disappointed. The only ones I see that are battered and joyfully used have saddlebags on them with labels from a multitude of continents and are just passing through, as mine once was.
But this year is going to be different. I’ve finally met someone local to ride with—and I have that new map book. It’s much better than the map I was using to find back roads. Not only does it accurately cover cottage roads, it shows logging roads and snowmobile trails that are often ATV and dirt bike trails. It shows electric tower service roads and cottage roads. It has it all. And it has a section describing various parks and trail systems. I’m excited and I feel prepared.
Before buying the book I spent time at the booth, hunting one specific road. Anyone who read the 2008 story about how my riding club, the Amazons, celebrated its 30th anniversary with a group ride to Ox Narrows, west of Haliburton, might recall I got lost on a logging road when it got sketchy in one direction and the side road that was supposed to loop south disappeared into a narrow trail. My map did not match the reality I found.
So I hunted that particular road in this book as a way of verifying that it was at least more detailed than the one I had. I found it: Pine Springs Road. I saw that the road in fact continued, had I risked the rutted route alone. And the trail would have eventually taken me south to the highway. Voila! I bought the book.
Morning tea and the map book has been a great way to start each day. Before long I picked out three areas to order special maps. The company will enlarge any page of their book into a tank bag-sized map. There are three backroads that have intrigued me, including one that defeated me. I simply must return to Pine Springs Road, with company this time. That’s page 36, which includes Dorset.
Back in the mid-1980s, I led my uncle astray. Cliff Gordon rode a 1982 Gold Wing and I was on my 1968 Triumph Tiger 500. There was a road that led into the north side of Algonquin Park, to a place called Brent. That would have been an outpost back in the heavy logging days, when men took to the woods to pillage and then drag their bounty back to “civilization.” Those of us who canoe trip know Algonquin Park. (Canoe and hiking routes are also covered in this book.)
I thought that entering at the northern access would be fun, and a few extra hours of riding pleasure would get us more remote, faster. Which is what canoeists always want. So we rode to North Bay and turned east, then headed down the road to Brent, to find the canoe I had reserved. Everything was fine until we hit Brent Road.
Clearly, I’ve had a thing for back roads for longer than I’ve known what kind of bike I need. I recall the road was 50 miles (but in fact is 40 k) and took us three hours to travel, with breaks, because it was like no road I’ve ever been on. I was terrified but excited. I knew my uncle could pull me out of any fix. He could even pull his Gold Wing out of the sand, which he had to do once. I don’t remember falling but will never forget when the Wing got stuck. Those bikes are massive, and not meant for dirt riding. The road in was a mix of sand, gravel, rocks, boulders and dirt. I loved it. When we arrived at the canoe rental building I asked how many motorcycles they usually get in a year. We were the first, ever.
By the time we found Hwy. 17 again, my muffler was broken at the weld and Cliff’s windshield had split in two. I ordered the map of just that page, which shows the road to Brent and a number of side roads. I’ve got my adventure riding buddy lined up. I’m going back for more!
Imagine a time when explorers didn’t have maps. I think of centuries past, when all most people knew was where they could walk to, unless they had a horse. I have a passion for maps and consider them prized possessions. I’m thrilled to have found these backroad map books that cover most of Canada. They were created by the Mussio brothers from Trail, BC, who found various outdoor adventures with multiple maps, road, topographic, forestry and more, yet none of them gave all the information they needed.
So Russell (who has a degree in leisure and sports administration) and Wesley (a registered professional forester and lawyer) began creating Backroad Mapbooks in 1993. Now published in Coquitlam, BC one map covers everything from paddling routes and wilderness campsites, logging and industrial roads, fishing, hunting, hiking, horse, dirt bike or ATV trails, secondary roads, dirt roads and more.
And there’s the Garmin compatible GPS version of the same product. Can you imagine a GPS system that can locate you on detailed trail systems? You’ll be using that while I’m fumbling with one map.
Visit www.backroadmapbooks.com for the best inclusive road and off-road riding maps of Canada that I’ve ever found. If you’re into adventure riding, these mapbooks will have you covered.
