Well, Sask Pirate and I got out today for a bit of a ride. The goal was to explore possible TCAT routing between the Gardiner Dam and Kyle. The ride was a total blast, and we found some great roads and trails!

I headed out at about 7:00 AM to meet Sask Pirate at Tims in Stonebridge. After a quick breakfast and a discussion on the Dempster highway we hit the road. We intended to head straight for the Gardiner Dam as fast as possible so that we could get as much time as possible to explore beyond the Dam for the TCAT. However, Klaus (Sask Pirate) couldn't find his little air compressor at home, and was wondering if it might be in his garage in Glenside, so we stopped there briefly to take a look.



The search proved unsuccessful, and soon we were headed for the dam.

We weren't far past the dam when we started to get into the really good stuff. This road was a ton of fun to ride!



After a few turns we found ourselves on a good gravel grid road headed west. It was straight for a while, but there were a few long sweeping curves.



A bit further down this road we found a sign - a sure indicator that the roads that follow are the type we're looking for.



The roads beyond were great, and at one point we were a bit concerned that the road may not be passable. But we made it through.



A few km later we found ourselves on this beautiful dual-sport road through the Monet PFRA Pasture.



At one point we split off the road onto a route that was a little more trail-like...



...but while this road was great, there were about 4 gates in a few mile stretch that we had to open and close. So in the end it was decided that the TCAT wouldn't run here.

From there we cut through several pastures trying to get to Clearwater Lake, but some roads indicated on the GPS and maps did not actually exist. We eventually got through to highway 342, going through about 4 gates on the way, and cut over to Kyle for lunch.

Lunch was a tasty burger at the Cedar Villa.



I recommend this place if you're eating in Kyle. The burger was small-town restaurant delicious!

After lunch we only had about an hour left to figure out the last bit of the route into Kyle before we had to head for home. We headed back to Clearwater to find a different route through. We wound up going across pastures and through several gates again, but eventually nailed down the route, after which we headed for Highway 4 and the 2 hour slab ride back to Saskatoon.

I'll work on the video, but it'll take me a while to edit.

Total km for the day: 501 km. TCAT km explored: 201 km. Total TCAT km nailed down: 120.

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Chris

2017 Versys X
1991 Suzuki TS200R

Gotta love the rolling prairie hills, looks like a great ride. Did you see any wildlife?

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I do these things not to escape life but so life does not escape me

We saw several antelope and deer, as well as one curious badger, who was checking me out when I stopped at an intersection. Of course he went down the hole just as I was pulling out my camera. Go figure. Hope he shows up on the helmet cam video...

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Chris

2017 Versys X
1991 Suzuki TS200R

Dang man! That looks like fun of course any 2 wheel time is fun in my book. I'm sad though cause my ride is broke down in my garage. Which brings me to... does anyone have a KLR 650 flywheel puller I can borrow?

That looks like an awesome trip again Kiffer!!

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Stay Safe and Get Dirty!

saw some water too

It was a great ride, Sask_Pirate! Thanks for accompanying me.

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Chris

2017 Versys X
1991 Suzuki TS200R