Hi Gary,

Bad weather, bugs, bears, moose, deer and raccoons maybe I should stay at home

I saw your tips on insurance in another thread, thanks for those. We ship are Transalps into Montreal this May. Insurance is the only thing left to resolve. On previous trips to the US I just went into a local broker and brought it over the counter, but it would be good to have it organised before arrival.

Our loose plan is to head east to Nova Scotia, then west to BC and then up to Alaska.

Will you make it to the HU meeting in BC this June?

One thing we would like to find is a isolated cabin somewhere wild for a couple of weeks, any suggestions?

Steve

Hi Steve.
I am doubtful on making it to the HU in BC this june. Well, if you have not yet secured your destination, I might suggest that you ship to Halifax instead of Montreal. I say this for a few reasons reasons. If you are set already, no problems. You can see all sorts of things on the way east and back.
1. It should be cheaper to Halifax for freight shipping costs.
2. Your flight tickets should be cheaper as well
3. You fuel/food/accomadtions will be cheaper.
4. You will end up having to ride about 2000kms Ball park to the east coast, then turn around and drive back over that same route to head back. to Montreal before you can start the 2nd leg of your trip.

Cabins eh. Yes, you can get cabins in many places in Canada. I would say a nice place to get one would be Algonquin Park, especially in the north. There is a highway thar runs through the lower part of the park, with Car Camping available, as well as Yurts ( like a canvas cabin, but has bunk beds, table, chairs, and lights and heat. Then you can do the Interior camping. You can rent all the gear from the outfitters in the park. There are a few, like Opeongo and Such. You could Canoe or Hike into a cabin, that s isolated. You may even see Norhtern Lights (Aurora Borealis). You will probably see many moose, beaver, deer and a few bear. Wolves you will hear probably, but rare to see, and lynx are rare to see as well. There is also an art gallery in the park, from Tom THompson and the Group of 7's works, as well as a museum with animals, etc. Restuarants, laundry, fuel ( more expensive in the park, and you should ride to Whitney for fuel) There is an education center, Day trails, and ampitheatre. Thursdays in August are Wolf Howls, but if you arent here during that time, you can still hear them on thier own howling.

I can get you prices and locations later on, as I have a map of the park and its cabin locations. Its a HUGE park, many times larger then the City of Toronto. Its about 2 hours north of Toronto. Another point of int erest would be Niagra Falls about 1 hour or so south of Toronto. Also WildLife Habitat on the highway to Algonquin has Wolves, lions, moose, etc etc running in enclosed areas. Blue Mountain and Wasaga Beach are great places to go on the way up too. They are about 1 hour north of Toronto. Camping is there, and a nice spot is Cragleith outside of Collingwood.
Blue Mountain is a ski / golf resort, that has mountain biking and whatnot, as well as having the Scenic Caves. You can pay to go walk through them, and see history, and go below earth into a cave thats ice all year round. You can go to Wasaga Beach, the largest fresh water beach in the world. I used to live there, and can tell you its great. You can rent a cottage there daily or by the week for reasonable prices. You can also go kart, and use the waterpark, play Paintball and many other things.

I can get you more info a bit later on, as I am heading out on a 4 hour drive today to go to Toronto.

Something to consider, May is not the best riding time. So bring rain gear and warm clothes. You can get all the seasons in 1 day in May. Bugs are especially bad unless we had a hot 3 day spell. Usually a 30ish for 3-4 days will kill off the Black Flies, but brings out the mosquitos. So, bring good clothes or buy them here. June will warm up nicely and most bugs arent bad by then. Sometimes June bugs / fishflies can be annoying but usually not to bad until late night. Oh, about 30 mins north of Toronto is Canada's Wonderland. A very good amusement park, and shows etc... Our version of Disney land but smaller.

Oh all the north of Toronto stuuf starts on Hwy 400. and there is a good outdoors store off it. Sells everything from boats to socks. Has an amazing inside with stuffed rams, bear etc etc cool for a stop and rest and food.

You should go to BonneChere Provincial Park if you like cool things like ancient rock paintings. I would say a MUST is Algonquin and Lake Superior drive and the provincial Park. You can camp there or at Pukaswa. lake Superior is known as the inland sea. It is amazing but turbulent and colder water. A must see, and nice ride. If you like Camping, Id suggest Quetico Park, north west of Lake Superior. Its unlikely you will see anyone in there once you set you canoe in.

You can go to Cochrane Ontario, and take the train north to Mooseanee / Moose Factory on James Bay, which is off of Hudson bay, and see the old forntier / Hudson bay camps etc. Maybe some Polar bears as well. The train carries canoes and stuff, so you might get your bike on it. I can ask around, you may be able to ride to there, on a trail beside the tracks. But consider this singletrack and can be rough riding. You will see the Canadian Shield at its best too.


Nova Scotia is great, and you MUST! Go to Peggy's Cove, Halifax and to Cape Breton. You MUST drive the Cabot Trail. Pictou has a nice camp ground to stay the day before you hit the trail. There are calieghs, and all sorts of concerts, events etc. I can find more out for you on this. But Id say spend some time here. The rusty anchor on the sea side is the best food , its about half way through, and offers whale watching tours. Very good idea.
Annapolis Royal is an old fort, and very interesting.

PEI is the home of the Anne of Green Gables, and popular to go see the house. Red mud and potatoes. Its unique, you should go if time allows.

Newfoundland and Labrador are GREAT, I would atleast go to Nfwld.
beware of Newfie Screech, hard liquor to curl your toes. Basically Moonshine.

New Brunswick has the worlds fastest resceeding tide, and is something to see, you should see this. I know most universities allow you to stay in teh dorm rooms at night for a very cheap price, and you get communal showers etc. Bring your own sleeping bags. I stayed at the University of New Brunswick for a night last time I was up there.

Kingsotn Ontario and Gananoque Ontario ( beside each other) are great. Kingston has our Royal Military College, a Fort, and a military base and school, as well as Queens university. Gananoque has 1000 islands tours and Heart Island. Very cool indeed.

Quebec is very cool too, Old Quebec City and Montreal are must sees.
Nuns Island if memory serves is an ammusment park.

I would say there isnt alot to see in Manitoba / Saskatchewan but there are a few things. Ill dig them up later as I cant recal all them at the moment.
Alberta is amazing.

Alberta you have the start of the Rocky Mountains, and Banff, National Park,
as well as the Badlands with alot of dinosaur fossils still there. Fantastic scenery. If you go north from Calgary to Edmonton, you can go to Canada's Largest mall, with a working Submar ine in it amusement rides, a whole row of bars, etc... quite a sight, but be warned, remember exactly where you parked, its insane if you forget your entrance that you came in on.

BC is amazing. Great scerney and mountians, Whistler is a must see. Okanagan valley, etc are great. You should go to Victoria Island and see the ghost bears. They are black bears that are all white. There is alot of native stuff in Canada and the BC area I think are mainly Hokaidas <spelling>
Vancouver is a neat place to see. Be wary of crime though. its like any big city. Same as Toronto but Id say worse. Lookout in Winnepeg Manitoba too, hehe.

Alot on the way north, but the pavement tends to be harder on tires I am told going north, so yo may have to buy new tires up t here, even if you have brand new ones on at the start of your trip.

Roads can get bad, and whatnot. Ill try to add a few links to a Northern Canada movie for you. They arent long but Id say watch all 3 for an idea what its like up there. I know some people stopped as the dirt road was too muddy and they were fish tailing all over the place.

Well, Thats about all I can do off the top of my head. I can get you more info like more accurate distances, some names and contact info of good bike shops, routes, accomadations, Campgrounds etc if you like. More accurate weather averages and stuff, and some points of interest as well.

Just remember, East to west coast in Canada is alot farther then in the USA, and if you start in montreal you will be adding some extra mileage. As you head west, the weather should get nicer, as they get spring a few weeks before Ontario normally.


Hope it helps. I know Im forget stuff, but its a good start. I can give you exact info on Algonquin with rates that should be close to current. And the like.

If you wanna see some pics from Canada, gotot the myspace I have listed in my signature, I have some pics at the bottom.

Remember, when driving day or night, watch out for these guys... They will walk right acrossed the road and you will lose the exchange




Below ill add the urls for the movies.

Episode 1
YouTube - Canadian Arctic By Motorbike - Episode 1

Episode 2
YouTube - Canadian Arctic By Motorbike - Episode 2

Episode 3
YouTube - Canadian Arctic By Motorbike - Episode 3


and if you are lucky, you will see some of these.

__________________
Gary
CANADA
www.myspace.com/intrepid_cdn

Oh yeah, I just thought of something. Im able to get some info for you from the tourism office in the city. It comes with maps and things to do, points of interest, coupons, etc etc. If you like I can send some stuff to you. Simply tell me your interests, or I can asend a mixed bag of tricks.

You should have a great time here I would say. Think each province has a book that they will send to you as well, with camp grounds and attractions info etc... for free. I can look into the emails or webs for them if you want.
Gary

__________________
Gary
CANADA
www.myspace.com/intrepid_cdn

Oh, almost forgot, if you like White Water rafting or Kayaking, there is some great stuff on the Ottawa River. Just a thought!

__________________
Gary
CANADA
www.myspace.com/intrepid_cdn

Hi Gary,

Thank you for the comprehensive reply.

I looked at the flights and shipping between Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. Not much to choose between them. Halifax while not the cheapest would have been the best place to start but getting a flight in when we needed to at a good price proved impossible. Shipping the 2 bikes to Montreal is going to be around CD1200 all in. I am not concerned about the distances infact the opposite; it is a road trip after all.
Thanks for the heads up on the May weather, we will head out of Montreal on the 12th and we have plenty of time so if the weather is bad we can stay put for a day or so.

We are making a list of things to do and see, you have given us lots to think about. Algonquin is near the top of the list and I have checked it out on the web, all the cabins and things to do and see in the park are listed. We have a stack of guides and a couple of the milepost books and your suggestions are great. We can't see and do it all; we need to leave something for next time.

With the miles planned tyres will be an issue but we will have to sort them out as we go along. One thing I dislike the most is carrying spare tyres, so I will buy them when we need to.

Steve

Steve,

I rode to Alaska from Alberta, then across Canada west to east last spring/summer. My blog is at Backroad Explorers.ca Perhaps my notes could help with your planning.

Cheers,
Bill

__________________
Bill Atchison
Red Deer, Alberta Canada
www.backroadexplorers.ca

Cool, ill check it out.

__________________
Gary
CANADA
www.myspace.com/intrepid_cdn

Steve, if you like, you can leave a set of tires here at my house. Im basically where Detroit is but on the Canadian side. So to montreal is liek 12 hours fmo here, so east coast, maybe 2500kms. 1 way. So, you could pick them up on the return trip through. Or, Im sure one of the Canadian riders farer to the west might be able to do the same, say in Calgary or Vancouver.

There are tons to do. Most of the times alot of the best things seem not to make brochures. But ask locals, as Im sure you already know this anyways. Any questions, Im more then happy to answer if I know about it. Like I said previoulsy. I have been all over the country but my knowledge is best in Ontario, with a bit in Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Definitley remember 1 thing.... May 24 weekend, Victoria Day is a GREAT time in Ontario, long weekend, and really, the kickoff to Camping season. It typically Rains like a mother that weekend, but we all go out anyways. So, if you plan to camp, that weekend is hard to get sites anywhere. plan ahead. Also Canada Day. The BEST place to be for that is Windsor, Ontario, Where I live. We have the Largest Fire Works show in North America. As the USA celebrate theirs on the 4th of July.. So the 2 cities, Windsor and Detroit got together and pooled funds and set barges out on the river and fire off fire works from there. I think about 3-04 barges loaded up. Milliopns of dollars worth. Plus, the Freedom Festival is going on at the same time, as is Carosel of nations and Blues Festival. So, you can eat and ear music and see clothing and dance from all the nations of the world. Like Polish will have a site in the city some place and have all polish stuff and food, etc... Italian, vietnameese etc etc. These are all GREAT and if you are down this way, I think you would enjoy it. We get people from all over Canada and USA coming up for this. If it fits into your scheduele, its worth considering. The fire works usually happen on Wednesday the last wed before July 1st. AS that way both sides celebrate on that day and no one gets it on their day.

but just be prepared for accomdations all over ontario to be hard to get on May24 weekend. Quee Victoria Bday is a popular weekend here.

Keep us posted on how it goes eh! Any questions or if I can help at all, let me know.

__________________
Gary
CANADA
www.myspace.com/intrepid_cdn

Hey Steve, how did your trip go?????

Gary

__________________
Gary
CANADA
www.myspace.com/intrepid_cdn