To Cross Canada
Christmas time 2001, struggling with my first year of Engineering at the University of Calgary, depressed about grades, worried about the future, and sitting in a bar with my friend a thought struck me. What was I going to do?
Actually I was not wondering what I was going to do with my life, my grades or my school. I was wondering what I was going to be doing with my upcomming summer of freedom. What would be really fun? Canoe down the river? Drive across the continent? Get a Job? Bike across Canada?
What?! My friend said to me. That's stupid, you can't bike across Canada.
Ha! I showed him.
What did I do?
In 2002, starting on July 2nd and completing on September 8th, by myself, armed with determination and no conception of what I was in for (thank goodness), I crossed Canada from Vancouver BC to St. John's Newfoundland. I left about 2 weeks after my 19th birthday and finally completed my expedition 3 months later.
Of course, there is more to the story than I have told you so far, and that is kinda what this site is all about. For instance, did you know that, when I decided to do the trip, I didn't even own a bicycle? Nope, I didn't even know how to really fix a flat tire on a bike, nevermind how to replace a spoke, or worse, a chain. I bought my bike over eBay from a man named Bob Maxcy. Bob was very encouraging and gave me some words to remember as I crossed the continent.
"I am older and more conservative, but I do say that you must be very vigilant. These roads, weather, awful traffic and dynamics all conspire to make it difficult and even deadly, to mess with your mind, and mess with your judgment, so you have to beat them by being smart and very watchful of what is ahead. of what you feel really, what is really happening, not what the folks back home expect.
Your goal can be realized. When you are standing on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, remind yourself that it was worth it, and that you have grown immeasurably.
My best"
-Bob
And with that, I biked across Canada and have grown immeasurable. Well, maybe not immeasurable, but I have certainly grown up.
Bike Adventure
I feel a need to document my accomplishment somehow. There are various pages around the internet that discuss the travels of other adventurers journey across Canada on their bicycles. Many of these people post the daily travel log of their adventure, and you, the reader, can enjoy their experience through their words. Certainly, I found myself truly engaged in several of these books and would recommend any person interested in this subject to bookmark their pages and read their accounts at leisure. To travelling across Canada, especially bicycle touring across Canada, is an experience that really exceptional and that is why I want to share my bike adventure with you.
For myself, I do not know if I have the determination to write my entire log out into the computer. I spent a lot of time with that journal and their is a great deal of me invested into it. However, I find the process of re-writing all that information out to be painful and ardous (basically I don't want to do it). This is not to say that I don't want to share my experience with you. I hope that as you navigate this site, you experience a slice of what it was like for me to bike across Canada.
Now that you know a little bit of what it is that I did, why don't you either read some of my travel excerpts, or maybe you should read about what equipment I brought along.
