Biking Across Canada - FINISHED!!

[La]

My friend Bryan is cycling across Canada, from Newfoundland to BC, to celebrate his 50th BD (in August). He left last Tuesday. If anyone is interested in reading his blog, here it is: http://www.brianbikecanada.blogspot.com/

His decision to ride from east to west (most people ride the other way) was because he has family in BC, so it made sense to end there. Also, it means that drivers coming up behind him in the morning won't have the sun in their eyes. Then again, if he's riding in the evening, they will!

[Miss*Smiles]

My friend Bryan is cycling across Canada, from Newfoundland to BC, to celebrate his 50th BD (in August). He left last Tuesday. If anyone is interested in reading his blog, here it is: http://www.brianbikecanada.blogspot.com/

His decision to ride from east to west (most people ride the other way) was because he has family in BC, so it made sense to end there. Also, it means that drivers coming up behind him in the morning won't have the sun in their eyes. Then again, if he's riding in the evening, they will!

Wow! Good for him! I hope he has a great time.. My dad biked from London to Ottawa a few years back and stopped at provincial parks to camp overnight (how cool!). I know he's always wanted to bike across Canada, but a cycling accident with some major recovery time hindered that dream... Good luck and all the best to Bryan!

[Sir Crashalot]

Hooo Weeee!!!
One tough guy! East heading west means he will have the wind in his face the entire ride!

[drghfx]

Hooo Weeee!!!
One tough guy! East heading west means he will have the wind in his face the entire ride!

I hope he figured out that that was why most people go west to east and that he is ready for the extra challenge.

Good luck to him!

[Kelodie]

Hooo Weeee!!!
One tough guy! East heading west means he will have the wind in his face the entire ride!

I hadn't thought of that. Wo - that guy is tough!

[La]

Hooo Weeee!!!
One tough guy! East heading west means he will have the wind in his face the entire ride!

I hope he figured out that that was why most people go west to east and that he is ready for the extra challenge.

Good luck to him!

He's a very experienced cyclist. He knew what he was getting himself into (in that respect). However, the cold, wet weather on the east coast wasn't something he bargained for. The joke in St. John's is: It's going to be 20 degrees today - 10 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. The good thing is that he is wearing all his cold-weather gear instead of having to carry it on his bike (bike is 70 pounds fully loaded).

[fe.RMT]

Hooo Weeee!!!
One tough guy! East heading west means he will have the wind in his face the entire ride!

I hope he figured out that that was why most people go west to east and that he is ready for the extra challenge.

Good luck to him!

He's a very experienced cyclist. He knew what he was getting himself into (in that respect). However, the cold, wet weather on the east coast wasn't something he bargained for. The joke in St. John's is: It's going to be 20 degrees today - 10 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. The good thing is that he is wearing all his cold-weather gear instead of having to carry it on his bike (bike is 70 pounds fully loaded).

We had great weather in the east in September when S rode in 2003, but just prior to me meeting him he had been rained on SOLID through Newfoundland. He was miserable by then So maybe best to get that part of the trip out of the way first?

[drghfx]

Ha Ha! I'm not sure leaving the boring Praires for the second half or leaving the Rockies for near the end is the better way to do it either. Either way is freaking tough!

[La]

He was in New Brunswick yesterday and had covered 946kms in 6 days. Fish & Chips seems to be his staple for dinner.

[turd ferguson]

Ha Ha! I'm not sure leaving the boring Praires for the second half or leaving the Rockies for near the end is the better way to do it either. Either way is freaking tough!

Rockies aren't that bad. Seriously, they're no worse than northern Ontario for hills. And there's usually better shoulders.

In fact, northern Ontario is the worst because it can be 100's of kilometers between towns. In just about the rest of the country there's a town every 20 k or so.

[FishPants]

Ha Ha! I'm not sure leaving the boring Praires for the second half or leaving the Rockies for near the end is the better way to do it either. Either way is freaking tough!

If he takes the Yellowhead, the summit is still in AB Net downhill from there...

[deerdree]

very cool. thanks for sharing the link!

[turd ferguson]

Ha Ha! I'm not sure leaving the boring Praires for the second half or leaving the Rockies for near the end is the better way to do it either. Either way is freaking tough!

If he takes the Yellowhead, the summit is still in AB Net downhill from there...

The summit on the #1 is right at the border. The summit on the 93 is well inside Alberta (which is cruel, when you pass the BC-Alberta border on a bike and have to keep climbing to get to the divide)

[La]

Poor old Bryan is having a rough time.

Day 8: 154 kms in 8hrs; 1,274 kms in total.

Rain, rain and more rain. Cold and soaked, he's in Quebec (Kamouraska) where nobody speaks English.

[deerdree]

i hope the weather improves for him. it certainly sounds like the last two days have been extra crummy.

crazy to think that he's made it so far, though. really amazing! am i correct in reading the route map and thinking that he's passing through toronto?

[La]

am i correct in reading the route map and thinking that he's passing through toronto?

He's not sure yet. He will get as far south/west as Stirling, ON (near Belleville) since that's where his parents live. He doesn't know if he'll just head north west from there, or come all the way down to TO before heading NW.

[drghfx]

Poor old Bryan is having a rough time.

Day 8: 154 kms in 8hrs; 1,274 kms in total.

Rain, rain and more rain. Cold and soaked, he's in Quebec (Kamouraska) where nobody speaks English.

He's moving along pretty good. Hopefully he'll get some nice temperate weather so he won't be wishing for the rain again.

[La]

He's definintely dealing with extremes - cold/wet or hot/humid/windy. He's made it to Belleville, but got 7 flats in one day, so lost some time because he had to wait for the bike shop to open before he could get his rim fixed. He was supposed to be in TO tonight, but that's been delayed for a day and he'll be here tomorrow. His wife is hosting a BBQ for him tomorrow evening, so I may have a few more stories to share after that. He sounds so completely miserable.

[fe.RMT]

He sounds so completely miserable.

Yeah, I worried a bit about this. I passed the blog on to S (he always likes to read about other people making the trip)... and he was really surprised at how much distance he was covering each day... his comment was, "As the end he might find he doesn't have that many memories of this trip, only the memory that he covered the distance"

[La]

He sounds so completely miserable.

Yeah, I worried a bit about this. I passed the blog on to S (he always likes to read about other people making the trip)... and he was really surprised at how much distance he was covering each day... his comment was, "As the end he might find he doesn't have that many memories of this trip, only the memory that he covered the distance"

I guess a lot of that depends on whether you're a process-oriented or goal-oriented type of person. I suspect he's the latter.

I've decided that I'm going to do the Toronto to Montreal bike trip in the summer of 2013. I'm recruiting friends to join in. My best friend is also turning 50 that year, so we're planning on doing it together. I don't think I have the desire to ride any further than that. Actually, now that I think about it, I almost DID do that distance over five days while in Majorca in 2008 (511kms). So I know it's doable.

[fe.RMT]

He sounds so completely miserable.

Yeah, I worried a bit about this. I passed the blog on to S (he always likes to read about other people making the trip)... and he was really surprised at how much distance he was covering each day... his comment was, "As the end he might find he doesn't have that many memories of this trip, only the memory that he covered the distance"

I guess a lot of that depends on whether you're a process-oriented or goal-oriented type of person. I suspect he's the latter.

I've decided that I'm going to do the Toronto to Montreal bike trip in the summer of 2013. I'm recruiting friends to join in. My best friend is also turning 50 that year, so we're planning on doing it together. I don't think I have the desire to ride any further than that. Actually, now that I think about it, I almost DID do that distance over five days while in Majorca in 2008 (511kms). So I know it's doable.

We also wondered if he was time constrained (which S wasn't...).

Will you do the AIDS charity ride or the group ride that BJH, S and I did?

[La]

Yeah, I worried a bit about this. I passed the blog on to S (he always likes to read about other people making the trip)... and he was really surprised at how much distance he was covering each day... his comment was, "As the end he might find he doesn't have that many memories of this trip, only the memory that he covered the distance"

I guess a lot of that depends on whether you're a process-oriented or goal-oriented type of person. I suspect he's the latter.

I've decided that I'm going to do the Toronto to Montreal bike trip in the summer of 2013. I'm recruiting friends to join in. My best friend is also turning 50 that year, so we're planning on doing it together. I don't think I have the desire to ride any further than that. Actually, now that I think about it, I almost DID do that distance over five days while in Majorca in 2008 (511kms). So I know it's doable.

We also wondered if he was time constrained (which S wasn't...).

Will you do the AIDS charity ride or the group ride that BJH, S and I did?

I'm not sure what his time constraints are. I think he has plenty of time, but doesn't want to lollygag.

No, not the charity ride. Depending on how many people want to do it (and how "control-freakish" I want to be about the dates, route and the distances per day), I'll either do my own tour, or do something like you and BJH did last summer.

[fe.RMT]

No, not the charity ride. Depending on how many people want to do it (and how "control-freakish" I want to be about the dates, route and the distances per day), I'll either do my own tour, or do something like you and BJH did last summer.

Fun! If business is good for me by 2013 I just might beg to be included Would love to do that trip again. The trip we did was very 'open'. You could be as control freakish as you wanted

[La]

I'm sure I'll pick your brain a lot about this trip over the next three years!

[Madame Bourette]

http://www.tourducanada.com/

This is the Tour I did in 2003 (full) and in 2004 (Golden BC to Toronto).

It is a non profit tour that operate on a coop basis. I think it's easier and cheaper than going solo. (Many tents on one camping site and group grocery so lot of savings.) Luggage are carried by truck and the driver do the groceries.

What I did not enjoy was the lack of flexibility but I liked to not worry about logistic.