Il fait fraite ici

It's been a cold, wet, couple of days in Montreal and I've been feeling a bit wimpy with regards to getting on the bicycle in this weather... I'm sure we'll be in for my share of miserable days during the trip itself.

On the upside, tents can be set up indoors as well as out, so it seemed like the perfect time to start checking some of my old equipment...

In other news, Tyler intends to ride for 23 days, which means that I can look forward to having him with me through the Rocky Mountains.
Ideally, I'll be able to trick him into letting me draft behind him most of the time... maybe "Tyler, it's easiest to ride in front," will work.

Discounts, Discounts, Discounts

I booked my flight west the other day. Credit card points... Consumerism, woot!

Additionally, it would seem that the ferries to and from Newfoundland offer significant discounts if you happen to be in the Canadian Forces.

And the last discovery as of late is that there is indeed a pedestrian/cyclist shuttle across the Confederation Bridge to PEI.

Tag Along

This is going to be an awesome experience to be able to ride along with a seasoned rider, and an ol' friend like Ian.

Unfortunately I will not be able to ride the whole trip due to other commitments, like work, and a very understanding and pregnant wife! (Love ya Kiddo!)

With that, time will tell how far I can get, before I have to find an airport and fly home...

A load of road maps

I haven't quite gone full out digital yet. I know it's the year 2011, but I'm dragging my heels a bit when it comes to maps...

I've been able to order complimentary road maps from 8 of the 10 provinces.
Getting a paper map of Quebec required me to pay to order it off their tourism site (it seems tourism in this province is organized and funded region by region... so getting a map is a bit more complicated).
Getting a paper map of Alberta is as of yet a complete failure. I've searched their tourism and transportation sites. I've emailed them to see if any of their complimentary travel guides include a map, but so far it seems like the answer is no. I may end up buying an Alberta map as well.

(Update: The email reply from Travel Alberta was helpful, to say the least. An Alberta road map is on its way!)

Provincial tourism websites offering complimentary paper roadmaps:
☐ British Columbia (Update: the website let me order a complimentary map but it never arrived.)
☐ Alberta (Update: the website doesn't seem to offer a map, but you can get one by emailing them.)
☑ Saskatchewan
☑ Manitoba
☑ Ontario
☐ Quebec
☑ New Brunswick
☑ Prince Edward Island
☑ Nova Scotia
☑ Newfoundland & Labrador

A new blog for an old idea

I've been intending to do this trip for a few years now, but this will be the Summer for it.

The current plan is to dip my tires in the waters of the Pacific Ocean at Stanley Park, Vancouver on or about the 3rd of July 2011 and to dip them again in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean near Signal Hill, St John's sometime around the 3rd of September. Yes... I know that if it's a bay or an inlet or a harbour it's not technically ocean, but bear with me.

The route is still somewhat vague, though I've decided on the following:

1) I'll start from Vancouver and end in St. John's,
2) I'll pass through each of the 10 provinces,
3) I'll be taking the Crowsnest Pass through the Rocky Mountains,
4) I'll be taking a route that doesn't include Southern Ontario,
5) I'll be taking the Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick to PEI (probably on a bus as I don't believe bicycles are allowed),
6) I'll take a ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia,
7) I'll take a ferry from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland,
8) I'll mostly be sleeping in a tent (which I'll be carrying in paniers), and
9) all of this will take about two months...

Also, the blog isn't quite "ready to go" yet. It should be done in a week or two.