December 7, 2013 Torbay ATV Run: (2 Photos)

2.   With mild temperatures keeping winter's icy grip at bay Bassan, Mark French, and I took the opportunity to get in a run on the bikes this past weekend. French would leave his house in St. Phillip's on ATV while Bassan and I left from his house in Torbay with plans to meet near the airport fence at 11am. It was a beautiful clear fall day, cool but not cold when we left Bassan's house on our Honda Foreman's and followed an ATV trail to the Torbay Bypass Road.

We made our own trail in the brush along the highway, crossed Bauline Line, and picked up an ATV path which followed alongside the bypass highway. Andrea immediately stuck his bike in the first bog hole of the day, a quick winch out and we were on our way again. We crossed Whiteway Pond Road and had to ride through the shallow eastern end of the pond, and down over a steep embankment to Robin's Pond Hill Road. We crossed over the bridge and picked up another ATV trail through the gravel pit and to a hard looking bog right next to Indian Meal Line. This bog was quite tangly, slick & full of stumps but with a few stucks & winch recoveries we continued on and crossed Indian Meal Line. From here the trail was much easier as it follows a pole line and we made our way to the the airport perimeter fence.

1.   Following around the fence we took a side trail that lead to Portugal Cove Road where we finally met up with Mark French on his new Yamaha Grizzly ATV. After a break & chat we crossed Portugal Cove Road, went around the water treatment plant and headed in BAR road and to a maze of trails leading all the way to Paradise. We crossed through City Sand & Gravel's pit to the Irving station where we stopped to Quizno's for lunch. From here we headed back the way we came, exploring side trails as we went all the way back to Bar Road, where we parted ways with French as he had a dinner commitment.

It was getting late and dark with our short December days, we weren't looking forward to that tangly section of bog north of Indian Meal Line was very very rough, worse in the dark. We decided not to waste time and bypassed the bog following the shoulder of the Torbay Bypass Road as far as the gravel pit on Birchy Nap Hill Road, then out through Whiteway Pond Road eventually coming back to the ATV trail next to the Electrical Sub Station. This left us with just one boggy area to cross where Andrea first got stuck earlier that day.

Trying to find the easiest path in the dark I ended up stuck in a deep hole, I managed to reverse and ride the back tires out but my bike shut off. Low on fuel and the bike stuck at a sharp angle it simply ran out of gas! It was dark and mud was freezing to the bikes & our raingear, but with enough cursing and pulling with Bassan's Winch we managed to get my bike out of the bog hole. Once the bike was level, it started right up.

With my hand warmers on bust, we chose another route around the bog which took us up the embankment around a road sign on the highway, and back down on the other side of the bog. It was a very steep decent over loose rock, but we made it safely to the other side with no further incidents. Since it was late, dark and cold, we bypassed the rest of the trail and rode the side of the road back to Andrea's house.