It is now August 10, 2016, 13 months after the completion of my trip across Canada. On August 17 – just a week away – we will be leaving on another multi-week bicycle trip; it is high time I wrap up this up. Here are the FAQs.
Why ride across Canada?
It’s my country. Where else can I cycle over 7,000 km without risk of war, meet people who share the same country, speak the same languages, where I can cross peaceful borders, see two oceans, cross two mountain ranges, plains, three great lakes, rugged glacial stripped rocks, and still be at home. Why not ride across Canada?
I should not fail to mention that while travelling I also I dropped in and enjoyed the hospitality of my generous neighbours in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
What is the most memorable place in Canada?
The first views of Lake Huron were the most wonderful. I felt I was arriving at home with the familiar but uniquely beautiful views of rocky shores, islands and the sun rising on the shores of Manitoulin Island.
Where were the best places for riding on the route?
The stretch from Burlington, Ontario along the Waterfront Trail through to the east side of Montreal along La Route Verte in Quebec were the best cycling paths along the route. (I would have included La Route Verte paths south of the St. Lawrence to Quebec City but on the trip I followed the La Route Verte north of the St. Lawrence which followed along the shoulder of the King’s Road.)
How many kilometers did I ride per day?
I spent 58 days riding my bicycle and covered roughly 7540 kilometers averaging 130 km per day. Although I did not take regular rest days the duration included 6 non-riding days; 5 days in my home in Kitchener, Ontario and 1 day touring in Gross Morne in NL. When factoring the non-riding days the average daily distance drops to 117 kilometers per day.
Was it a good idea to go on your own?
I did not stick to my original itinerary, route or schedule. I changed things on a whim continually – where to eat, where to sleep; I stuck to my own pace – I’m slower than some and faster than others.
Shorter trips <14 days would work out very well with equally paced companions who can manage to get the time off work. But for this trip me travelling solo was ideal.
Regarding safety: Riding companions can’t stop cars. Any way you cut it cycling is a risky activity. And I carried a Spot Gen3.
Did you get tired?
The first couple of weeks were the toughest. After that the body adapts (and so did my Brooks saddle). A good meal and a good night’s rest were sufficient to keep the body going. By the end the daily ride did not feel difficult.
Did you benefit from the westerly wind?
I am not sure. The winds were in my favour from Ontario to Newfoundland. However I faced strong headwinds when crossing the prairies which slowed progress by a few days.
Where was the most bicycle friendly city on the route?
Calgary, Alberta – hands down.
Best and widest shoulders on the road cycling?
Along highway #2 stretching from Minnesota to Michigan. NOTE: This does not include the towns and the cities where the shoulders were revoked.
Most dangerous place to bicycle?
The overpass on highway #555 from Duluth to Superior Wisconson when highway #2 was under construction. Some of the places I found myself in Vancouver were a close second. There may have been safer routes which would have taken much longer.
What were your most memorable songs or artists?
I took a small Sony Walkman mp3 player with me to keep me company. It had about 24 hours worth of songs that replayed every few days. All the songs were selected by hand by my daughter Laura and my son David. They were all good songs; some grew on me and others not so much.
- Most loved song: A Case of You – Joni Mitchell (it was better when I didn’t think about the words)
- Most beautiful voice: Nora Jones
- Most Jaded Artist: Rodriguez
Did you camp every day?
I intended to sleep in my tent about 50% of the nights. Instead I only camped out in my tent about 1/4 of the nights. Generally this was because my original itinerary changed and at the end of the days I often found myself in towns where there were no camp sites.
How often did you cook your own food?
Rarely. Even nights when I slept in my tent I would go out of my way to find a good place to eat prepared food. This was for a number of reasons: I didn’t want to carry much food, my camping food wasn’t that tasty, I needed lots of calaries, and I was tired and lazy after riding.
What animals did you see?
I kept a running total in my head. The accuracy has slowly leaked over time. This is close…
- Deer – 3 dead, BC
- Moose – 3 alive, NB
- Beavers – 3 dead, NB/NS
- Elk – 2 alive, AB
- Pronghorn – ~ 20 alive, AB
- Skunks – 3 dead,
- other rodents – lots – some dead most alive
- Birds – a few dead – most alive
- Bear & Cougars – none
- Most dangerous animal – drivers – alive
Gear?
Lists of stuff.
- Bike: Trek FX 7.3, 2012 triple chain ring crank with an eight speed cassette
- Bike Accessories/Non-Stock Items
- Saddle: Brooks B17 – After about 2 weeks to wear in this saddle was excellent. Now this is simply the best thing to site on – better than a couch.
- Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Touring Tyre – Great tires except I had one bad wire bead that slipped off the rim. Because of this incident I carried one spare foldable tire. I had only two flats in ~10,000km.
- Rear Rack: Bontrager Backrack Deluxe – NOTE: This rack cracked after ~4000 kms and had to be replaced.
- Rear Pannier: Ortlieb Rear Pannier, Rear-Roller Classic – Model no longer made
- Rear Rack Trunk: Bontrager Interchange Deluxe Rear Trunk Bag
- Front Rack: Tubus Tara Front Rack – Upgraded from Axiom Journey Deluxe Front Racks used in earlier tour.
- Front Pannier: Ortlieb Front Pannier, Front-Roller City – Model no longer available.
- GPS: Garmin Oregon 600 – Upgraded from Dakota used in previous tour which couldn’t charge with USB. NOTE: Because I was frequently disconnecting the usb cable the mini usb connection finally failed near on the last day of the tour (fortunately) and I was unable to retrieve my tracking information for the trip. Garmin replaced the unit which was under warranty. To eliminate the need to disconnect the cable in the future I have since replaced the cable with one with a right angle mini USB.
- Dynamo: Shutter Precision SV-8 This continues to perform perfectly after two separate tours and everyday commuting ~10,000 km
- USB Power supply: E-Werk Worked well continually keeping my GPS charged.
- Front Light: Phillips Saferide Dynamo LED Light 60 Lux
- Rear Light: Phillips Lumring Dynamo LED – no longer made. This light was smashed when transporting the bike from St. Johns and has since been replaced.
- Rear Flasher: Planet Bike Superflasher Turbo LED Rear Light
- Tools/Spares
- Spare Foldable Tire: Schwalbe Marathon Mondial
- Chain Link Remover
- Chain length gage – used. This may be unnecessary since chains should be replaced every 2,000 miles or so regardless. (A worn chain will wear out the cassette and chain rings.)
- Spoke Tightener: – needed to true wheels and to replace two rear spokes.
- Cassette Remover: Stein Mini Cassette Lock – needed to remove the rear cassette to replace inside spokes.
- Blue Locktight – never used but light and small
- Spare water cage bolts – fit muliple uses
- Spare spokes – needed two
- Chain Oil – need almost daily
- Small pliers – handy
- Cooking Utensils
- Fork, butter knife and spoon
- Stove: Trangia Small Non-Stick Pot Set and Stove
- Sharp Knife
- Dish Soap
- Flint Fire Starter
- Thin rope
- Cooking Fuel Container + Methyl Hydrate – 600ml (methyl alcohol – methyl hydrate)
- Hydration
- Three 710ml water bottles: Camelbak Podium
- Water Filter: Platypus Garvityworks 4.0L Filter System
- Electronic
- GPS Tracker: Findmespot SPOT Gen3
- MP3 Player: Sony Walkman
- Cellphone: Blackberry Q10 – Compact and comes with a physical keyboard. The physical keyboard is indispensable when writing blogs. The cellphone was left in airplane mode most of the time to conserve battery life.
- Solar Panel and Cache Battery: Voltaic Fuse 6W Solar Charger – The cache battery was used to charge the MP3 every other day and the cell phone periodically. The solar panel would recharge the battery in a full day of sunshine. This was a bulky item and ideally should have been smaller.
- USB Wall Charger: Used to charge the cell phone at convenient stops.
- Head Lamp Light
- Tent and Bedding
- Tent: Big Anges Copper Spur II
- Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-rest Prolite
- Inflatable Pillow: Therm-a-rest pillow
- Sleeping Bag: Sea to Summit Talus Ts I
- Clothing
- 2 pairs of padded cycling shorts
- 1 pair of running shorts
- 2 pair of minimalist running shoes
- 2 pair of ankle socks
- 2 pair of cotton tee shirts
- 2 pair of cycling jerseys
- 1 cotton hoodie
- 1 cotton pullover
- 1 wind breaker
- 1 Goretex rain jacket
- 1 Bug head net – not used
- Toiletry and First Aid
- 1 bar of soap
- 1 half roll of toilet paper
- 1 first aid bag – complete with guaze, bandages, tape, etc.
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellent
- Diaper Rash Cream – dynamite for rashes
- Chamois Cream – not needed. This is useless for rashes.
- Henry Loyd Cream – essential
- Tooth brush, tooth paste and floss