Bike Camping

When bicycle touring, we fall back to the most basic of needs – food, water, and shelter. Finding enough food and water may or may not be a challenge, depending on how much you carry with you and how populated the area your travelling is, but finding a place to setup your tent or finding a warm bed for the night can sometimes be more challenging and feel like the greater unknown.

Camping

Camping is the most popular means of accomodation for tourers – it offers freedom, fleixibility and affordability. There are many campgrounds in Canada; national, provincial, as well as private campgrounds. Most national campgrounds are in great locations and offer sites deep in the woods – this can mean a lot of biking even just to get to the campsite from the park entrance. The same can be true with provincial campsites, though often to a lesser extent. This is generally not the case with private campgrounds.

Wild Camping

Many tourers free/wild/stealth camp along the way. This is setting up the tent somewhere without permission, and trying to be discreet about it. In a country the size of Canada this can easily be done and is sometimes the only option when you find yourself in an unpopulated area. In Canada, it is legal for citizens to camp on Crown land (land owned by the Queen) which is actually 89% of the overall landmass of Canada. If you are not a Canadian citizen, you are supposed to get a permit to camp on Crown land, but I don’t expect this is enforced too strongly! However, there is a good chance the 11% of priavtely owned land is along your route if you are staying to the populated areas along the border, so you may find you need to ask local farmers rather than the Queen before setting up camp.

Warm Showers

Have you heard of Warm Showers? It’s a website/organization which brings together bicycle tourers and people willing to host them. Most of the hosts have experience with past tours or perhaps are about to embark on their own, so they are eager to hear your stories and offer you what they can to make your trip easier. Anything from literally just a warm shower, to a bed, a meal, and sometimes laundry facilities – what more do you need! We have recently started hosting people and it’s a great experience and opportunity to hear about someone else’s journey and live vicariously through them for a moment. Though we haven’t yet taken the opportunity to be a Warm Showers guest, we certainly will on our next trip given the experiences we have had as hosts. Warm Showers is a worldwide organization, with lots of members in Canada – over 50 members in Montreal alone!

Sometimes you just don't feel like camping

Hotels, Motels, and B&Bs

Well this is the more obviously of options, though certainly the worst for the budget. Sometimes however there’s nothing better than a hotel room to relax and stretch out in, especially when coming in from a cold and rainy day. The anonnimity of a large hotel can be a wonderful thing – though be sure to treat the room well so the next tourers are given a warm welcome at reception!

Bienvenu Cyclistes!

In Quebec, there is an organization called Bienvenu Cyclistes! which specializes in welcoming cyclists – look for the Bienvenu Cyclistes! sign in front. If it has this certification you can be guarenteed the following:

At B&Bs, hotels and other establishments
A covered and locked location to store your bicycle at night.
If there is restaurant service, your nutritional needs will be taken into account and you will be offered generous portions of fruits and vegetables and high-carb meals.
A pump and tools for making minor repairs.
Information about local bicycle repair centres, bicycle rental outlets and tourist information offices

At campsites
A camping space, even without a reservation, if you are travelling exclusively by bicycle.
A sheltered location where you can eat during bad weather.
A pump and tools for making minor repairs.
Information about local bicycle repair centres, bicycle rental outlets and tourist information offices.

Brad & Mary in Rimouski

We met Brad & Mary, two Utahians, while doing a two week tour of Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula. They had already been on the road for nearly two months, and were making their way across Canada to Alaska. Their trip began in Maine in early May, from there they went north and extensively toured Canada’s maritime region; including 3 weeks on unpaved roads through Labrador (good job!). The more difficult days included cold, rainy days full of headwind on dirt roads. However, good days have certainly outnumbered the tough days. They have had the opportunity to meet some great people and have had some interesting adventures – an invitation on a helicopter ride over Goose Bay, four bear sightings in one day, out for an evening trip on a sailboat along the St Lawrence – among many other great experiences.

Enoying Montreal's fireworks

We had the opportunity to hear more of their stories a little while after our meeting with them in Rimouski when they decided to be our Warm Showers guests and visit Montreal with us for a couple days.

You can follow along with Brad & Mary’s adventure by visiting their blog. Keep up with their story to find out if Brad meets his goal of getting a ticket for cycling without hands – apparently this is a ticket-able offence in Canada.

Alex & Vanessa's Bikes

In the summer of 2009 we decided on an uninformed whim to do a cycle-camping trip around Vancouver Island. It wasn’t until we booked our flight from Toronto to Sydney, BC that we realized what lay ahead for us: mountains. That trip prompted us to buy two cyclo-cross bikes that could hold up to the rigours of touring and all it took was our first 80km training ride to hook us in; from that moment we were transformed from casual city commuters to bike-obsessed fully loaded tourers.

After our magical two week Vancouver Island trip the itching for more became insatiable. By early 2011 our latent dream to cycle across Canada became fierce enough to squash all of the resounding doubts, fears and excuses that have prevented us from creating the opportunity in the past. After a night of mutual goading ‘can we do this?’ ‘Should we do this?’ ‘Are we actually going to do this?’ we finally realized that for all of the security (and funds) that we’ll ‘lose’ by taking the trip we would miss out on a much more valuable and life-altering experience by not taking the trip. We don’t know how long we’ll physically be capable of such a feat and imagining a life without ever having attempted the cross country dash made us feel deflated and stuck; we realized that we couldn’t not take the leap. It was settled, we will cycle across Canada this summer.

The next day, Alex gave notice at work and we booked flights to Vancouver so that we can complete the trip eastward to St. John’s Newfoundland from the end of May through August. Telling friends and family has elicited a huge array of responses, from the silent treatment to outright accusations of insanity but also genuine awe, jealously and excitement for the incredible journey that we’re about to begin. To be honest, the same responses flare up in each of us from time to time, when we let the ‘what ifs’ takeover, but that can usually be cured by a bike ride, or reflecting on the wonderful simplicity of traveling sustainably under our own power for days and weeks on end.

There are so many ways that we feel fortunate and privileged to be able to create the opportunity to do the cross Canada ride this summer, the most important of which is physical health. In 2006, when Alex was 23 he was rushed into emergency open heart surgery for an aortic aneurysm. This is a condition with an approximate 1% survival rate because most patients do not make it to the operating table. While the surgery saved Alex’s life, he was left weak and depressed in trying to cope with the new physical limitations that were imposed on what had previously been a young and healthy body. It wasn’t until Alex was enrolled in a Cardiac Rehabilitation program at the Toronto Western Hospital that he found the support, guidance and confidence to regain strength and control over his own life. Because Cardiac Rehab literally helped Alex take his life back, we aim to use our Cross Canada tour as a “Ride for Rehab” to benefit the Cardiac Health Foundation of Canada. Through our ride we hope to promote awareness and funds for the critical work they do in supporting post-surgical recovery and preventing cardiac illness.

Alex & Vanessa

Alex Holton and Vanessa Parlette are just two non-elite athletes who love to travel by bicycle. They live in Toronto and will be cycling from Vancouver to St. John’s from May 29 through August. To learn more about their trip and to follow their journey, visit them here.

Mike’s adventure begins when he dips his two wheeler in at Tofino, British Columbia and begins eastward. While watching Mike’s progress through the mountains and then the prairies, one thing was very apparent – Mike is a very friendly, personal guy. He has no problem stopping other riders on the road, sharing stories or asking if he can pitch his tent in someone’s backyard. It certainly doesn’t look as though anyone was ever put off by his very impressive playoff beard!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cNDqNCZ_r4
The documentary moves to a very personal level when, in one scene Mike talks about how shitty he is feeling and the changes going on inside his body….while sitting on the can.

It was interesting to see how he attached his waterproof camera to the bike (with an extendable pole) and then how he designed an on/off switch for it, attached to his handlebar for easy access. Many times throughout his trip, the rain is pounding down hard. But Mike’s equipment appears to hold up just fine – except for that one shot when the camera gets blown over after he had just ridden past.

While seeing the prep work on the video equipment was great, I would have liked to have seen more of how Mike prepared for the trip – the type of training he did, the research and map planning. Although, perhaps there was a time restraint on how much material he could put in to the 62 minute film. The DVD does contain an extra footage section where in one clip, Mike explains what he eats on a typical day. In another clip, his good-natured attitude gains himself (and camera) access to a very posh 5-star RV – two different travelling styles indeed! The extra scenes are some of the most entertaining scenes of the documentary, so be sure not to skip them.

While one can read about the journey or find pictures on several cross-Canada blogs and websites, it was great to get a different perspective by seeing it firsthand in video. Mike’s determination to get across the country (even though it was apparent not everyone, including himself, thought he could do it!) was impressive and watching his film is inspiring. So if you are considering doing this trip or touring any part of Canada, be sure to check out Mike’s website where you can watch the documentary online, or order the DVD to get the full experience (and the extra scenes!).

Eating & Touring

More than just riding from Tim Hortons to Tim Hortons……

Two approaches exist to fuel oneself when bicycle touring. Some people opt to eat out most of their meals, while others take the time to cook proper huge meals. I am certainly in the second category as I enjoy the challenge of planning meals, and often feel cheated if I spend a significant amount of money on a meal that isn’t too great. Not only is it the cheaper option but of course “homemade” meals always taste better. The main difficultly, and the most important one as well, is to make sure one is consuming enough calories and maintaining a balanced diet while touring. Weight loss during the first few days of the tour may not be a big concern. But over time, the combination of losing muscle mass and energy due to an improper diet could land you in emergency, hooked up to an IV and doctors asking why were you eating so much junk?

Our approach to figuring out what to eat while touring has been to look at recipe books for backcountry cooking/hiking, as the needs are quite similar – high protein, high nutrition, high calorie in a lightweight, easy to cook (possibly 1 pot or less), & non-perishable. Easy, no?

Preparing meals in advance really only works for shorter tours as you don’t want to be lugging packaged food around. However, using the same strategy can be applied while on the road, and not all these tricks require advanced preparation.

A few tips and tricks:

Coconut Nutritional Facts

• Get a coconut! A medium-sized coconut contains well over 1000 calories for just a couple of dollars. It might be the cheapest yet high in calorie count that you can find. Make some coconut rice, coconut pancakes, or just enjoy it on its own. Go for grated coconut if you’re not up for bashing a coconut on rocks or whatever you can find to fight it open. These dried coconut flakes are a far lighter option than lugging around a few of them in their original form. Read more about it at the Coconut Research Center website.
• Dried milk powder is a great way to add to the nutritional value of many of your meals. Look for whole milk powder, although skim milk powder seems more readily available and is still a good option. Mix it into oatmeal, pasta, instant mashed potatoes, coffee, tea…
• Instant Quinoa (or non-instant, but that would use up more of your fuel to cook) is certainly worth its weight in the pannier. It contains high levels of protein along with fiber, calcium, and iron. The protein in quinoa is one of the few plant sources which provides a complete protein – it contains all the essential amino acids. It works great in soups, as a breakfast grain (like oatmeal), or mix in some salad dressing and some veggies to make a quick salad.
• Dried soup mixes are great to add to pastas, rice, quinoa (above), couscous… they provide a lot of flavour without a lot of weight.
• Use Ghee instead of butter or oil – Ghee is a clarified butter that originated in South Asia. Unlike butter, it can be kept for extended periods without refrigeration. It is a solid, kept in an airtight container, so you won’t have to worry about it leaking all over the inside of your panniers – which is a concern with oil. You can find it in many South Asian grocers.
• Look for small pasta shapes – they will cook much faster and not take up extra space in your pannier. Couscous, spaghettini, and mini pasta shapes are some good options.
• Dehydrated food can be your friend. Once it is dehydrated, it is lightweight, has a long life span, and can fit into the nooks and crannies of your panniers. Dried fruit, dried fruit leather, and jerkies make for great quick snacks. For shorter tours you can dehydrate your pasta sauce (alfredo, tomato, stroganoff – it all works!) to save weight and bulk, but be sure you have enough water to bring it back to life. For longer tours, having some dehydrated lemon peel, orange peel, berries, onion, celery, carrot, etc can be a great way to add a bit more flavour to otherwise bland meals.
• Egg Powder can be a good alternative to carrying eggs – though certainly not an option for a sunny side up egg breakfast, egg powder can allow for a binding agent for many recipes, and also work to make scrambled eggs.

Quick Recipe Ideas – For the minimalists

Prepared meals, cooked in the bag – easy cleanup!

Recipe Ideas – For the not-so minimalists

Got any more ideas? Share them below!

Shaun at Duffy Lake, near the start of his trip

If you are looking to vicariously tour across Canada, or looking for more information for your own trip, head over to Shaun’s website to get near-daily updates on his journey. He started in Mid-June, and has now made it to Prince George.

He is currently battling mosquitoes, seen a few bears, and learning how to love camping. He’s learned how to properly pronounce “Nanaimo” (Shaun – check the cafe’s and bakery’s for Nanaimo bars! A good Canadian desert originating from Nanaimo but popular across the country).

Shaun is also doing a good job charting the road quality and where service stations can be found.

View his website here!

La Route Vert Map

Québec’s route verte is a joint effort between Vélo Québec (a non-profit organization pushing bicycle usage) and the provincial government. In the 1980′s, Vélo Québec began planning and brainstorming ideas for a bike-path infrastructure throughout Québec. In 1995, the Québec government announced it would join forces with the organization and invested $88.5 million over 10 years. This money has gone to developing over 4,000 kilometers of bicycle-only routes. These pathways can now be found throughout southern Québec, adjacent to roads and through parks.

The main bike path is called La Route Verte. In our experience traveling on it (in and around Montreal, to Ontario and around Lac St Jean) the pathways and signage can be easily followed. Maps of different portions of the route can be found in bookstores and gas stations. We have had to use our gps only a few times. In the past year we have seen more and more signs go up directing bikers and keeping them off busy roads. While having maps (perhaps a gps too) is always a necessary backup, I think eventually a tourer entering Québec will not have any problems navigating across. The planners are off to a great start, as we’ve found many options for entering the busy city of Montreal by bike is no problem. The extent of Route Verte is shown here on the government’s velo site.

Québec has led the way in North America by rolling out this infrastructure for bicycles. It is an obvious choice for city governments – more people on bikes means less cars, less parking spaces downtown, reduced pollution, quieter and with a healthy population, less on health care. While Montreal is not yet an Amsterdam, the city is well on its way.

In a book from National Geographic, Journey’s of Lifetime, La Route Verte is listed as the world’s #1 bicycle route. See the article here.

Mile Zero, Victoria.
Image Credit stevevoght

Sometimes it is exciting the stop and see the “Worlds Biggest something”. Many small towns in Canada make claim to something that is apparently the World’s Biggest. Often there is a monument celebrating it – from hockey sticks, to fruit, to a piece of mechanical equipment. While there is much to see on the road across Canada, the list below was compiled focusing on those attractions that are a “World’s Biggest” or of special local theme.

Roadside attractions are a great place to stop and take photos. Everyone chooses different routes across Canada and so you might have to detour to see some of these.

Mile Zero, Victoria

At the intersection of Douglas Street and Dallas Road you will find Mile 0 – the western end of the Trans Canada Highway. Here you will find a small monument to mark the beginning (or end) of your cross-Canada adventure.

World’s Tallest Totem Pole, Alert Bay

This totem pole stands at 173 ft (56.4 m), in Alert Bay, BC a town with slightly more than half of the village’s 556 residents First Nations people, in traditional Kwakwaka’wakw territory.

The Penticton Peach, Penticton

This Peach celebrates the great peaches grown in Penticton. Penticton is home to PEACHFEST – an annual, South Okanagan Valley tradition, which first began in 1947, to celebrate the peach harvest in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. Peachfest always starts on the morning of the first Wednesday after the long weekend in August, and runs for 5 days, finishing on Sunday night.

The Titan – World’s Largest Truck, Sparwood

From the plaque:

The Titan – World’s Largest Truck, Sparwood.
Image Credits 844steamtrain

The biggest truck in the world! Titan 33-19. It can hold 2 buses and 2 pickups (or 2,000,000 golf balls) and is about the size of the largest of the dinosaurs, but the Titan was built to haul 350 tons of earth in mining operations. The Titan began to take shape on the drafting boards of General Motors London offices in 1968 and by 1974 the monstrous truck was finished and loaded onto 8 railway cars for display at the American Mining Convention in Las Vegas. The impressive off-road hauler was the talk of the convention and Kaiser Steel agreed to put the truck to work at the Eagle Mountain Mine in southern California. In 1978 Kaiser moved the Titan to its coal mining operation near Sparwood where the hauler joined a fleet of smaller trucks to move earth away from the coal seams in the open pit mine.

It even has its own WebCam! Click here to see the truck live.

Inukshuk, Vancouver

The Inukshuk statue is located at the southern end of English Bay Beach.

From the plaque:

Inukshuk, Vancouver.
Image Credits GlacierTim

Ancient symbols of Inuit culture traditionally used as landmarks and navigation aids, this grey granite statue representing a human form with outstretched arms is a well-known symbol in Canada of northern hospitality and friendship. Constructed originally by Alvin Kanak of Rankin Inlet, this monument was commissioned by the Government of the Northwest Territories for its pavilion at Expo 86, and given to the City of Vancouver. Permanent location of the Inukshuk on this site was sponsored as a gift to the city in 1987 by Coast Hotels through the Vancouver Legacies Programs. Vancouver Board of parks and Recreation

Penny, Salmo

Salmo is located 43 km east of Castlegar at the junction of Highway 3 and 6. I’m not too sure why there’s a giant penny here, beyond it having something to do with a GST Penny Drive Bank.

Salmon, Sandspit or Sicamous

Both Sandspit and Sicamous have a giant salmon, if you happen to be passing through and like salmon!

World’s Largest Tin Soldier, New Westminster

This Giant Tin Soldier stands at 32 feet tall, weighs and 5 tonnes. It was built as part of 9-day fundrasing event at the Festival of Trees.

World Famous Gnome, Nanoose Bay.
Image credits Lori & Todd

World Famous Gnome, Nanoose Bay

If you’re travelling along Highway 19, you will likely spot this 29 foot gnome at the Nanoose Esso. It was originally built as a junk art project in the late 90s by Nanoose Bay resident Ron Hale.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Fort St. James

The Mountie was carved in 1992 at the Vancouver PNE, and represents the typical image tourists have when they think of Canada, or the RCMP.

Lumberjack and Chainsaw, Fort St. James

Another carving in Fort St. James, this logger was carved in 1993 at the Grouse Mountain resort, and depicts the importance of forestry to most communities in British Columbia.

Canadian Flag, Falkland

What Canadian tour would be complete without a photo next to a giant Canadian flag? Falkland is home to Western Canada’s largest Canadian flag. It was built in support of the I Care Campaign which received international attention when the people of Falkland challenged the rest of Canada to fly the Canadian Flag.

World’s Largest Hockey Stick and Puck, Duncan

Found on Vancouver Island, the Worlds Largest hockey stick and puck were built in 1985 out of Douglas Fir, reinforced with steel, and weighs 61,000 pounds. They can be found outside the the Cowichan Community Centre.

Hockey Sticks, Dawson Creek

If you’re looking for some more hockey monuments to stand by, head up to Dawson Creek for their giant Hockey Sticks.

World’s Largest X Country Skis, 100 Mile House

100 Mile House is serious about cross country skiing – as the home of one of the longest groomed network of trails in Canada. Here you will find the world’s largest pair of cross country skis, along with a pair of 9m/30ft poles.

Biking across Canada journal listings

As this site slowly begins to build, I thought it would be a good way start by listing links to journals of others who have already biked across Canada, and in a few instances, to the journals of people preparing for their bike trip.

Some people made it coast to coast, some called it quits early, others never intended to ride the full distance.

Distances range from the shorter 6 000km route, to 10 000km and more. Some people are trying to raise money or awareness, while others are just completing personal goals, or enjoying Canada and biking.

If you know of other sites to add, or you yourself have one, get in contact, leave a comment below, or leave a message on the forum.

Currently in 2011

• Andrew & Melanie cross Canada 2011
• Brad & Mary Across Canada, from Maine to Alaska, 2011
• Tom & Nate Cross Canada for Cancer Research, 2011
• Alex & Vanessa Ride for Rehab, 2011
• Wheels Across Canada – Coast to Coast for Cancer Research, 2011
• Fiija with the Circa 75 Project

Are you planning a trip across Canada, or part of Canada, in 2011? Let us know!! Get in contact, leave a comment below, or leave a message on the forum.

Past Tours

• Shaun, 2010 – A very complete and thorough account of his trip across Canada. Great resource!
• Glen Peters, 2009
• Jeff & Ian
• Bryan Throrpe, 2009 or his Crazy Guy on a Bike journal
• Thomas and Emily, 2009
• Peter Freeman, 2008
• Josephine & Derrick , 2008
• Trevor MacPhail, 2007
• Phil, 2007
• Kylie & Jason, 2006
• Janice Kenyon, 2006
• Steph, 2006
• Francois, 2005
• Andrew Ross, 2005
• Mike Beauchamp, 2005
• Jan Christensen, 2004
• Unknown Name, 2003
• Ted Bullock, 2002
• Morgan Betts, 2001
• Geoff, Kirk, & Mike, 2001
• Lynn McLellan, 2001
• Karl Augenstein, 2000
• Mark Tanner, 2000
• Erik Straarup, 1999
• Nobuhiro, 1998
• Mike Vermeulen, 1997
• Tom, 1997
• Dave Shipley, 1984

Additional Resources

• Canada by Bicycle – A very thorough website full of information for someone planning their trip. Buy the book or download everything you need from the website.

Photo credits oplopanax.

Cross Canada using the Trans Canada Trail? Image credit below

Cycling from one coast to another on the Trans Canada Trail is only a dream right now. The trail is completed in some areas, but not in its entirety. The goal of the project is to reach completion by 2017 – for Canada’s 150th birthday and the Trails 25th birthday. There are certainly some areas of Canada where taking the trail is a viable option in your Cross Canada tour, and some areas where even if the trail exists, it may not be ideal.

The Trans Canada Trail is said to be of high quality, well preserved and protected in Quebec. However once you cross the border to New Brunswick, the trails almost immeidately deteriorate, no thanks to the ATV riders who use them.

From Rivière-du-Loup in Quebec, the 135km-long Petit Témis trail leading to Edmundston, New Brunswick is pure joy: well maintained, with campsites and water along the way. – TravellingTwo

General advise for planning a coast to coast tour on loaded touring bikes (not mountain bikes) is to avoid Trans Canada Trail unless you know that specific area is well maintained and appropriate.

You can use the Trail Locator to learn which areas of the country currently have a finished trail, and to see where the proposed trials are located.

If you know of any areas worth including in a Cross-Canada trip, please post them below so others know where to take it and where to choose the main road instead!

Photo Credit Calypso Orchid