Ontario

Nice try Ontario. Still not as big as Alberta though.


Tim and Toby—booze enthusiasts and excellent riding companions. Technically this photo was taken in Manitoba, but I rode with them in Ontario for the majority of the time. Deal with it.


I think this was taken near Kenora. Look at that big fat paved shoulder. You could take a nap while riding on a shoulder that size. Sadly, the sweetness didn't last.

This day was a hard one for me. It was a stretch from Thunder Bay to Nipigon that we didn't start riding until 3pm. I honestly thought we were going to die out there. There were tons of cars, and even more transport trucks. You really don't know fear until you've had a semi buzz within feet of you travelling in excess of 110 kmh. The shoulder along this highway may as well have not existed, as what was there was so poor it offered us zero respite from the onslaught of bloodthirsty motorists and truckers. For the first time during the whole trip I actually considered taking the bus.

Here I am during happier times. This was taken along the north shore of Superior—a very hilly and beautiful part of northern Ontario. A stranger took this photo. He told me to "look studly". Mission accomplished.



This is one of our many illegitimate campsites along the shore of Lake Superior. When I first rolled into Terrace Bay—the location of this photo—I enquired what the cost of a night at the local RV/campsite would be. $20!?! Twenty dollars to sleep in what amounts to little more than a bug infested parking lot with a couple trees? PEACE SUCKERS! I'll take the free beach with ample firewood and natural bug repellent: the wind. The downside was it rained hard all night, meaning we had sand all over our gear after packing.

Same location, different view.

One of the many tiny lakes found along Highway 17.


Another one of our beachside campsites, this one located outside of Wawa. It was rather challenging to get to, but well worth the effort.


Another shot of the lake from the southern end of Lake Superior Provincial Park.


As usual, we're still on the road come dusk. Throughout most of Northern Ontario we put in long days. Combine that will our late departure times and we often found ourselves riding at sundown.

Lake Superior Provincial Park.

The Midwest

Everything is big in Alberta

You can't actually see them in this photo, but way off on the horizon stand dozens of huge wind turbines. Unbeknownst to me, Alberta has developed many large wind farms that stretch for kilometers along highway 3. Kind of puts the lone windmill on the Toronto waterfront to shame.

My second stealth campsite in Alberta. Finding stealth sites in eastern Alberta is always a challenge, given the complete lack of trees and endless barb wire fence. Not such an issue if one were travelling by foot, but it makes for difficult movement when hauling a 100lb bicycle. This site turned out to be quite good as the farm equipment blocked me from a secondary road and it was well removed from highway 3.


The bar tender and myself outside "The Boars Nest" in Seven Persons, Alberta. Seven Persons is a tiny little town just west of Medicine Hat. From my brief observations, I could see only two businesses in operation there: Premium Sausage (A sausauge emporium) and The Boars Nest (Local watering hole and the only ATM in town). I was starving by the time I reached Seven Persons, and as much as I love all sausage lunches, I opted to dine at the nest. Once inside I was greeted by Gord (loyal nest patron), the owner and bartender. These three helped turn what was up until that point an abysmal day, into one of my most memorable. Good food and beer—which Gord graciously bought for me—along with good conversation put me in high spirits all the way to "The Hat." If you ever find yourself in Seven Persons, I highly recommend The Boars Nest bar and grill.


Not as big as Alberta's.

Contrary to popular belief, Saskatchewan is NOT flat. The only land I crossed that seemed truly flat was in Eastern Alberta. All of saskatchewan—at least the portion along the Trans Canada—is gently rolling hills.




My campsite in MacGregor, Manitoba. This was a campsite owned and operated by the local legion. It was only $10 and it had free fire wood, washrooms and showers. A far cry from the $28 campsites with pay per use showers here in Ontario. MacGregor was a lovely little town that seemed immaculate in it's cleanliness and order. I got the impression that the residents really cared for both their private, and communal property. Also, a nice woman came by my tent around dusk and gave me a bag full of homemade cookies. SCORE! Here's how I looked post-cookies:

British Columbia

The best place on earth? My first reaction to this was that the people over at Tourism BC are a group of arrogant blow-hards. I can now say with some authority that this claim does hold water. On earth may be hard to prove. North America? Probably. Canada? Almost certainly.

Myself and Sebastien. I think we look quite dapper, don't you?

Mountains and farmland in the Fraser Valley

This chipmunk loved powerbars.

You can't actually tell from this photo, but this was a really long, steep climb. Sebastien in the background, reaching deep into "the suitcase of courage" in attempt to make the summit.

Outstanding sheep illustration on this one. I also like how the driver is leaning forward, straining to see what he just mowed down. "What the hell was that?!?" Don't worry man. It's just an exploding ram with demonic eyeballs.

The view from Anarchist mountain above Osoyoos. This climb was nutty. Tons of switchbacks and steep grades. I felt like a champ once this one was completed.

A dam on Kootenay river. They have lots of hydro electric dams along the Kootenay. This one was the largest, me thinks. Quite impressive.

Mountains on Kootenay Lake. The Nelson area is beautiful. They have a really cool local radio station called co-op or something like that. Kind of like the CBC's spunky little brother. They were talking about humanure and playing some righteous tunes as I rode the east shore of Lake Kootenay, which only amplified what was already an awesome day. Good radio can work wonders.

On-scari-ari-o

Greetings humanoids.

It's been so long since our last encounter I don't even know where to start. What intrigues you? Kilometers ridden? Near death experiences? My complete lack of hygiene? Well friends, prepare your brains for an onslaught of rambling and musings from the mind of Derth.

Last time we spoke I was vomiting forth a stream of vitriol that may not have been entirely deserved. Don't get me wrong—Manitoba's roads are an embarrassment; I must point out however, that Ontario, my place of birth and current residence, has many stretches of highway that rival the pitiful conditions found in its little brother to the west. So in Manitoba's defence, you're not alone in your ineptitude. Even a wealthy province like Ontario has great difficulty maintaining it's roadways. Take solace in your mutual crappiness, boys.

But enough criticism for now.

Shortly after my last entry, I rolled into the metropolitan center of Manitoba, Winnipeg. I must admit my expectations for Winnipeg were set rather low. Perhaps that's the Torontonian elitist in me speaking, but it's the truth. To my complete surprise, I found Winnipeg to be a very attractive city. Much larger in size than expected, beautiful riverfront parkland and a lot of personality. I eventually secured accomodation in a hostel near the city centre that was well maintained and to my complete delight, filled with other bicycle tourists. I found this concentration of cyclists so thrilling primarily due to the reprieve it offered from the dispiriting isolation I'd experienced in the preceding 2.5 weeks. Before I left on this trip, people would ask me about the loneliness I would invariably face while cycling solo for such great lengths. I'd respond with the utmost confidence, offering up the simple explaination that "I'm an introvert by nature, thereby perfectly suited to long stretches of solitary activity." Poor naieve little thing. From Castlegar BC to Winnipeg Manitoba I didn't see a single bicycle tourist. That's a long time to go without substantial human contact, even for an "introvert" like myself. Sure I had verbal contact with other people during this time—RV enthusiasts, servers, convenience store attendents, curious locals—but very rarely did this contact go deeper than a 5 minute exchange about where I was going and when I expect to get there. By the time I hit Manitoba I was starting to feel rather estraged from the rest of humanity, so you can appreciate the relief these other cyclists offered.

There was a couple of English folks making the cross, as well as two cousins, Tim and Toby from Vancouver and San Francisco, respectively. The first evening there we spent the night sucking back wine and some local brew we picked up at the Liquor store (I have to point out that the employees at the Manitoba Liquor stores are by far the friendliest, most helpful sales people I've ever encountered in a government controlled liqour retail outlet. Unlike the employees at the LCBO, who seem to regard their customers as some kind of parasitic nuisance, the Manitoba liquor store employees actually ask you things like "Can I help you with something" and, wait for it... they smile! CRAZY! Both Tim and I were in awe upon walking out) while comparing field notes and war stories from the previous leg of the trip.

The following day was a rest day, so I wisely walked around town instead of cycle. When in unfamiliar cities I like to wander aimlessly with no set destination, as I find this method often uncovers hidden gems and helps avoid tourist traps. After walking for several hours I eventually made my way into The Manitoba Museum. They have several amazing exhibits—namely a huge schooner and full scale 2 block re-creation of early 20th century downtown Winnipeg— along with some cool history on native tribes of northern Manitoba and the development and construction of the Churchill railway line. Later in the evening I went out for some beverages with a fellow crossing the country by greyhound bus and another guy from San Francisco travelling by motorcross bike. We eventually found our way to some "happening" bars where, against my better judgement, I drank in great excess and returned to bed around 4 am. Normally this wouldn't be a major concern, but I was scheduled to ship out the next morning and ride a meaty 140km. Somehow I managed to hold it together the whole day despite the gut-rot and post-drunk haze clouding my head. Nearing the end of that days journey we saw at least 25 deer along the side of the road and one very skittish black bear. It was unbelievable. Almost every kilometer someone would spot another deer standing only feet from the roadway. Most often they'd scatter upon sight of us, however, a couple large bucks simply stood their ground and stared as we passed. It's always a pleasure watching deer bound through deep brush with the utmost ease; humans in comparison are such clumsy, bumbling creatures. Tim, Toby and myself eventually rolled into a provincial park around 10 pm, set up our tents and passed out.

Somewhere around Ignace we added two more cyclists to our group: Doug and Naamaan. These guys had been working in Tofino for some time and wanted to return to Sault Ste. Marie for the summer. They bought a couple of used mountain bikes for $200 each and started riding. Each wore a giant backpack—a guitar sticking out of Naamaan's, a bongo out of Doug's— and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. Despite the immense weight on their backs and the cardiovascular disadvantage from the smokes, both were able to haul ass. Doug and Naamaan were quite adept at sniffing out good, free campsites. With their aid, I was able to spend less than $65 on accomodations from Winnipeg to Toronto—a period of 15 days. (NOTE: For those interested, I plan on writing an indepth article on the value and advantages of stealth camping when bicycle touring once I return from the east coast). We secured many beautiful lakeside sites all the way from Kenora to the Soo. Upon arrival in Sault Ste. Marie, we made our way to Naamaan's cottage for some booze and sauna—something I think we all desperately needed after many long days in the saddle. Tim and Toby had to stay in the Soo an extra day for bicycle maintenance reasons, while I chose to carry on because I wanted to reach Toronto as soon as possible. The roads from Tobermory were pretty crummy with lots of traffic. Combine that with a south wind and I was in one of those moods where I mutter profanities at anything that crosses my path. In retrospect I realize I was pushing myself too hard in those final days before Toronto. I was averaging 18okm days regardless of conditions and my ass and mental stability were starting to wear down. During my second leg of the journey, I have to be more conservative in my riding and less mileage hungry.

Being home has been a relief. I had dinner with my parents and brother and spent time with Marilyn and Speedball. I think my butt has recovered fully so I'm hoping to ship out come Friday.

To this date, I've done approximatly 4300km. I can't be sure because there were several days in the beginning of the trip where I'd remove my odometer during storms (I later realized it is waterproof), resulting in my estimation of distance.