Trans-Canada or Alaska, then South - Starting August '16

[wipe-out]

Hi everyone,

my girlfriend and me are going to enjoy a bit of a break from work-life and are currently trying to figure out which routes to take. Our trip will be starting in August (not too far away) and we have around eight months to go. I'm not trying to have a very detailed plan or itinerary, for me it's part of the whole adventure to just let go! Some tips on where to go and what to see would be great though, especially some off the beaten track advice!

We'll be travelling 2-up on my F8GS. In between rides we also want get some trekking & outdoor acitivities in. We're not in a hurry, we don't want to break records. On my trip to South America we covered around 16-17k miles in 6 months, that would be our max. pace.

I'd appreciate your input and feedback around the following general ideas:

1. Ship our bike to Halifax, go across Canada and then head South along the Westcoast towards Central & South America.

2. Ship our bike to Tacoma, go North through British Columbia to Alaska, turn around and then head South along the Westcoast towards Central & South America.

3. Ship our bike to Tacoma, maybe spend some time in British Columbia but start heading South quickly.

Are we too late in the year for the first two or should we be fine for either one of those? Is there good reasons to prefer one of the other?

In Central America we would like to spend maybe a month or so to go diving and surfing and generally take some time to relax and hang out.

We would like to make it as far as Buenos Aires to meet some friends and ship our bike back to Germany. It seems like Trans-Canada could be done in 1.5 months, Tacoma to Panama City 1.5 months, then Cartagena to Buenos Aires another 1.5 months, based on rough distance (Google Maps) only, equalling maybe 150 miles a day, everyday. So if I plan with 6 months (some buffer for changes) it actually seems doable? Any of the above to muuch of a stretch?

Thanks a lot for your thoughts,
Thomas

[ScubaLaphroaig]

I would go with option 2. If you arrive late August you may not get to Alaska, but BC/Alberta have some great routes.

[Daytona675]

Sounds great, but why riding 1 bike toghether?

2014 we´ve visited CA for about 3 weeks and did a nicely trip in bc with a motorhome.
We are looking forward about our trip in northamerika by bike next year.
Around 6 months, from east to west, north to south ;-)
Route is atm not yet clear, but i think we will handle it a bit like you - lets see where we are driven....

Cause of that I'm very interested in your plans and thoughts about your trip.
Maybe you could tell me more, also if you like per pm.

[wipe-out]

Thanks both.

@ Scuba: It looks like we're going with a slight variation of option 2. After having seen the Air Canada "Fly my bike" deal it looks like we're starting our trip in Calgary towards the end of July. Then whether or not we will go to Alaska we have not decided yet.

@ Daytona: One bike because even though my girlfriend got her license end of last year she does not have a lot of riding experience and does not feel comfortable to start off on a big trip just yet on her own bike. I myself could not picture doing it another way, hence the 2up. We've done trips together before, the longest being four weeks 2up on a thumper in Costa Rica, so we have a good picture of what we're in for. We may get a second bike along the way if she changes her mind, we'll see!

[wipe-out]

We have booked our flights and will be off to Calgary end of July!

[Daytona675]

Are you flying with Air Canada, "Fly my Bike Deal" ?

[wipe-out]

Yes we are! Made the most sense in our case. Need any info?

[Daytona675]

Where do you start your flight to calgary, in ffm? Is it a non-stop flight? are you on the same flight with your bike?

Yesterday I tried to make up my mind about our trip.
Maybe you can get some ideas or inspiration for your trip ;-)

https://www.google.de/maps/dir/Halif...40.7127837!3e0

what do you think about our plans, route is not fix yet.
How much time should we plan for this trip?
What is the best season in year to start?
Route is around 35`km or 22`miles
We think about starting on the eastcoast CA in halifax. Go down to NYC and drive north up to alaska. After that down south to panama city on westcoast. Then back north again on eastcoast and finish NYC or halifax.

[aditya raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by Daytona675

Are you flying with Air Canada, "Fly my Bike Deal" ?

Hi. Whats this deal about?

'Bike on a Hike'. Available at WWW.Amazon.com

[Daytona675]

http://www.aircanada.com/cargo/share...-15%2012:42:19

Nothing special, just bike transportation by Air Canada Airline.
Maybe wipe-out can give you detail informations...

There is also an extra thread about that topic
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ler-deal-80707

[wipe-out]

Originally Posted by Daytona675

http://www.aircanada.com/cargo/share...-15%2012:42:19

Nothing special, just bike transportation by Air Canada Airline.
Maybe wipe-out can give you detail informations...

There is also an extra thread about that topic
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ler-deal-80707

Thanks Daytona. Worth to look into, it could save you a couple of bucks. The deal is that if you book your own ticket with Air Canada they'll credit you some on your ticket for the bike. On the route I'm going that saves 600 Euros for the bike. Of course you have to compare the air fares for Air Canada with those of others and so forth, they are not the cheapest, but in the end for us it made sense. Plus no crate needed and I can have some luggage on the bike.

[Daytona675]

so how much did you paid for your flight and bike transport? (ffm to calgary, right?)
are you on the same flight with your bike??

did you already book your bike shipping from southamerica back home?

[wipe-out]

Sent you a PM! Yes, we're travelling from Frankfurt to Calgary. We're not going to be on the same flight. I'm sure it would be possible, but since you only have 24 hours to get your bike out of customs etc. before you start paying money for storage I opted to drop off the bike in Frankfurt a day before our departure, they will then put the bike on a flight a day or two after ours. That gives us some time to get everything arranged in Calgary. I'm not in a rush afterall!

We have not booked anything for returning the bike. To be honest we're not sure at this stage where exactly we will be returning the bike from... Plan is Buenos Aires.

[mollydog]

Great plan! Have fun!
Arriving in Calgary in July should mean plenty of time for doing AK or ...Yukon area if you like. But this is a HUGE area ... so pick and choose where you want to go. AK weather won't get nasty until September. Also, keep in mind AK is really expensive!!! Canada less expensive now.

USA West Coast weather in August/September should be fine, some fog along coast, HOT inland. No rain. Lots of tourists.
If too hot, stay on the coast. In mild, check out: Trinity Alps (California), North Rim, Grand Canyon, Utah, Colorado. All good if you have the time.

The weather in Mexico and Cent. America will be HOT all Summer until mid October. Rainy season begins in July in Central and Southern Mexico, happens all the way to Panama. Rain starts around July, goes to around November. By mid October temps in N. Mexico begin to cool. To avoid severe heat, travel in high Central Highlands, beautiful, historical and cooler.

November is best month for Southern Mexico and Central America travel. Unbelievably HOT most of the year, not great riding weather, so try for November/December if possible.

Once in S. America weather is harder to predict. Depends more on altitude and proximity to the coast and which Ocean you're near, Pacific of Atlantic. Once further South from Equator, a sort of reverse pattern happens: (Winter: May, June, July, August ... Summer: November, December, Jan, February)

Have fun, hope you have a safe ride!

[wipe-out]

Thanks Mollydog! Some good information.

There's two reason I'm thinking about skipping AK.

One is because we will be arriving late July. I feel that we would need to be covering some great distances each day to make it back and forth while weather still allows? If we'd be going back through Canada around September it may already be rather cold, especially in the mountains of course. What would you think is a realistic time to make it to Prudhoe Bay and back from Calgary via the Dalton Highway without doing 400+ miles each day?

Second reason is so far we have not planned to obtain a tourist visa for the US. That gives us 90 days in the US which will start counting as soon as we enter AK, even every day we'll spend in Canada on our way back. Not critical maybe, but less flexibility in the US.

Originally Posted by mollydog

Great plan! Have fun!
Arriving in Calgary in July should mean plenty of time for doing AK or ...Yukon area if you like. But this is a HUGE area ... so pick and choose where you want to go. AK weather won't get nasty until September. Also, keep in mind AK is really expensive!!! Canada less expensive now.

USA West Coast weather in August/September should be fine, some fog along coast, HOT inland. No rain. Lots of tourists.
If too hot, stay on the coast. In mild, check out: Trinity Alps (California), North Rim, Grand Canyon, Utah, Colorado. All good if you have the time.

The weather in Mexico and Cent. America will be HOT all Summer until mid October. Rainy season begins in July in Central and Southern Mexico, happens all the way to Panama. Rain starts around July, goes to around November. By mid October temps in N. Mexico begin to cool. To avoid severe heat, travel in high Central Highlands, beautiful, historical and cooler.

November is best month for Southern Mexico and Central America travel. Unbelievably HOT most of the year, not great riding weather, so try for November/December if possible.

Once in S. America weather is harder to predict. Depends more on altitude and proximity to the coast and which Ocean you're near, Pacific of Atlantic. Once further South from Equator, a sort of reverse pattern happens: (Winter: May, June, July, August ... Summer: November, December, Jan, February)

Have fun, hope you have a safe ride!