Photos and Text by Olivier Paradis and Marie-Andrée Fortin
English version to come…
Fin de l’été dans la toundra. On avance lentement sur le chemin du lac Ujarasujjulik, nous on l’appelle le lac Barnoin, vous comprenez pourquoi. Les gens du village y vont surtout pour pêcher, quelques cabanes y sont bien installées, surplombant le lac. On vient de rouler la douzaine de kilomètres qui nous séparent de la petite communauté Inuit où l’on demeure.
C’est le plus loin qu’on peut se rendre, c’est une des seules routes qui relit le village à… À quoi ? Un lac poissonneux ? La toundra ? Quelques vieilles bicoques de tôle ? Ou encore à rien du tout ! Pour se rendre au village voisin, on doit prendre l’avion.
Bref ces routes qui mènent vers nulle part sont à nos yeux, de superbes sentiers de vélo. Une rivière à traverser, quelques belles montées, des courbes serrées dans les descentes abruptes et d’innombrables lacs scintillants.
La toundra, pour ceux qui l’ont apprivoisée, recèle aussi de nombreux trésors. Osez braver les moustiques et vous serez récompensé de gargantuesques talles de bleuets, de camarines noires par milliers, de chicoutés juteuses, sans oublier ces énormes bolets laissés pour contre. Quand on ne marche pas sur des petits fruits murs, on piétine le thé du labrador. Les lacs sont gorgés de truites frémissantes. La baie d’Ungava et les rivières qui s’y jettent débordent d’ombles Chevalier. Des centaines de lagopèdes perchés dans les bouleaux nains. Des lièvres géants immobiles se croyant invisibles. Le territoire Inuit est un véritable garde-manger.
On roule, on s’arrête on cueille et on se gave de petites baies et les mains tachées de jus de bleuets on reprend la route.
"S24O" (aka Sub 24h Overnighter) is, in the jargon of the bikepacker, an adventure of less than 24 hours including an overnight stay. The definition of micro-adventure!
Slow Travel is the state of mind we approach during bike journeys. It is taking the time to live each experience in its entirety, focusing on quality rather than quantity.
When you venture on the less traveled roads of the backcountry, sometimes, the beautiful road becomes much more bumpy than what was predicted. The asphalt becomes gravel, and the gravel literally becomes an off-road trail. It is for this kind of adventure that the Anticosti was created.
The Anticosti bike is built with a custom selection of Reynolds 725 steel tubing, tapered where necessary to reduce weight. For this generation, the geometry has been revised (shorter seat tube length and slightly slackened steer angle) and the new shaped chainstays offer more clearance to the rear tire. This bike is ready for a quick gravel loop, or a more ambitious multi-day trip.
*Frameset comes with wheel axles, headset installed, seatpost collar and frame protectors.
***In stock, we ship daily!
The Boreal is an all-terrain touring bike designed to carry its rider in a comfortable upright position on trips and expeditions. The frame and fork are sturdy, and the components are reliable and low-maintenance. Capable of taking loads, the Boreal is the perfect partner for your most ambitious projects.
This bike share the same geometry and features as the Boreal-Pinion. Unlike the latter, which is equipped with an internal drivetrain, we build the Boreal with either a Shimano SLX 1x12 or a Shimano Cues 6000/8000 2x11 drivetrain. The 2x11 option offers a huge range of gear ratios, 669% versus 510% for the 1x12. Building the bike around the Rohloff Speedhub 14-speed hub is also available as an option.
For half-road/half-off-road touring, 29×2.0 (700×50 equivalent) tires will provide an optimum ride. For off-road use, 27.5″ tires of equivalent diameter, i.e. 27.5×2.6, are the appropriate choice. The two 32-spoke wheel options (for greater durability) are offered with the purchase of the complete bike. In both options, no lack of mud clearance while the frame and fork can accommodate 29×2.8 tires.
*** Refer to the specification list for component details.
* Rohloff option comes with Speedhub 500/14 A12 DB PM black hub, 180mm rear disc, shifter. The chain option comes with a 34/16T chainring/sprocket and the belt option in 42/19.