Touring - Pictures from my Tour (from the road)

Well, I'm currently in Brandon, Manitoba and I'm uploading some shots I've taken along the way.

The pictures are often out of order. I've gone from Victoria to here but my final destination is St. John's, Newfoundland. Basically, I've gone Victoria > Vancouver > Kamloops > Banff > Calgary > Drumheller > Edmonton (backward-ish) > Lloydminster > Saskatoon > Moose Jaw > Regina and now to Brandon. So the pictures come from somewhere between Victoria and here. Thought some of you doing a similar trip would be interested to see what I've seen.

Sorry for the goofy pics of 'me' but my girlfriend and family were requesting shots of 'the engine.' The shots might look off in terms of colour, exposure and whatnot but I'll fix those (each shot is recorded in JPG and RAW) after the tour.

http://www.pbase.com/sebastian82/

Looks like a good trip - thanks for pictures

Can learn a lot just from your pix. Many thanks. Looks sweet. Just getting interesting in touring and am interested in that front head post mount rack and bag. Never seen that before. What is that called, officially?

thats awesome. the pictures look rather nice, what camera are you using? and it looks like you took at least one of the pics with a fisheye lens but reformed the picture to show no distortion, is this true?

And the pic of you riding into the shot from the left: Does your camera have some method of tripping the shutter when something moves into frame?

^my guess is he is using a digital camera that you can set delays on to help take pics when there is no one around.

It's a Canon Digital Rebel XT (EOS 350d, digital). My only two lenses are a 50mm f/1.8 and a 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 (wide, non-fish). The lenses are not long at all but I figure the big images can be cropped later. I really like the wide lens: it gets a lot in frame but doesn't distort it like a fish-eye does. The camera has a 10 second timer on it to get self-shots. I'm not a big fan of taking pictures of myself but there were requests.

I'm now in Atikokan, Ontario (turned off the 17, via the 71 to the 11). But the computer I'm using here has USB 1 ports (too slow to transfer 8MP pictures) so I can't do an update to show Northern Ontario. I'll get some done eventually though, it's an on-going process of updating but is never up-to-date.

I've taken hundreds of shots and these are just a few yet-unaltered selections to give a sample of things I've seen and done. I just thought maybe a few people would like to see what I've experienced and seen in my cross-Canada trip thus far.

The Handlebar bag is the Arkel Big Bar Bag. It's a 10-liter bag which has been invaluable to me in this trip. I keep all my valuables in it and carry it with me whenever I go off-rig. I copied a double-stem setup I saw online in a few places to help lower the center of gravity and keep the whole thing a lot more accessible in general.

Your "thumbshifters on the bar tops" are interesting. As is the double handlebar setup. And platform pedals with no toe clips.

Wow, one amazing ride you're doing, very amazing. I live in Sudbury Ontario, If you're continuing along 17 Im guessing you'll probably pass through here. If you can tell me about how long sudbury to montreal takes that would be appreciated; im thinking of riding there around september maybe when its less hot out, I've never done any touring personally, been wanting to do a long ride before the snow comes, and was thinking Montreal might be cool..!

You took alot of great photos. What kind of tent is that? freestanding? It looks nice and light.

You have a lot of great shots there! What an adventure!

Coming by Toronto by any chance? :) We can meet for ride! Bananas are on me! :D

I am using the side shot of your bike setup as a bit of a "shopping list" for me as I begin gathering the tools to do some touring. Very grateful you have taken such photos. Love that double stem. I, too, wonder what tent you are using?

So I'm back in Ottawa now, but I'm only here for a few days until I continue out East. I've updated the photo space with a few shots.

I ended up doing Winnipeg > Kenora > Fort Frances > Thunder Bay > Sault Ste. Marie > Espanola > Manitowaning > Toronto > Ottawa. Sorry divine, I bypassed Sudbury... so I guess I wouldn't be much help in telling you how far it is to Montreal.

My shifters are Dura-ace bar ends installed on Paul Thumbie mounts. I love these things. Oh, and I eventually compressed my running shoes to the point where the pins on the platforms started to hurt my feet. So I got actual cycling shoes (SPD-compatible) to use with my platforms. Then like 10km down the road from the LBS, I started to wonder why I don't just run clipless since I already had the shoes, so I bought clipless pedals like 200km later. Right now I'm using Egg Beater Mallets (good for gravel shoulders) and Specialized Taho's.

My tent is the Big Agnes Seedhouse 2 SL. I love it. It's light, very good in water, spacious for one and easy as pie to setup. I can't really think of any complaint except maybe... nope, can't think of any off the top of my head. Oh, maybe the price.

Sorry chephy, I would have liked to meet someone from the board but I really only passed through Toronto (through that massive rain storm we had last week) on my way back to Ottawa. I was debating hanging around but given the hot and rainy weather, I decided to get back to Ottawa ASAP. Thanks for the comments on the pictures though!

If anyone has any picture requests (gear or terrain), just let me know and I'll fire a few snaps next chance I get on the road.

I'm enjoying the way your frame your shots and taking notes on the gear you are using. Keep them coming!

I'm finished my tour now and am back at home.

I went Ottawa > Montreal > Quebec City > Riviere du Loup > Edmundston > Fredericton > Moncton > Charlottetown > (ferry) New Glasgow > Sydney > (long ferry) St. John's

I shortened my trip by just over two weeks in order to take a two week Maritime car-tour (not including NFLD) on the way back after she drove out. That means I had to skip out on Halifax and going the long way around Newfoundland. But after 3 months on the road, I really wanted to do something with/for her and I am glad I did. I got to see "what was down the other side of the fork in the road" and experience it with her. In a way, my memory of the cycle tour has already been fused with the car-tour... we're happy to have shared part of the trip which was, for so long, a solo experience.

On the last part of my tour, I was really surprised by the friendliness of Atlantic Canadians, especially the Newfies. They say that Easterners are more friendly- but man when you experience it for yourself, it is just mindblowingly true. Now just a few people either, like the average Newfoundlandander is about as kind as the kindest Ontarioian or Quebecer. I was sitting on the sidewalk in St. John's, talking with a streetgirl from Ontario who was asking for change. We were just talking (she not asking for anything right then) when a woman walked right up to us out of nowhere and offered the streetgirl her 'new-in-bag-with-receipt' sweater she just bought. It probably cost more than any sweater I own but she just handed it over and said "I just bought it but you could probably use it more than me." It was still 19 degrees C (66.2 F) outside! I think will go back someday and cycle the entire province.

I can't believe I actually thought (for a second) about cutting my tour short and staying at home in Ottawa. The trip from Ottawa to St. John's really opened up my eyes to a whole other side of Canada (land, people and culture). Now I find myself thinking more and more about other tours I would like to do.

Sebastion: Szuper pics. Nice chronicle of your journey. I think I want to tour Newfoundland now.
What an experience...

Thanks for the link to the pics...amazing

I don't know, maybe I was just really really lucky but I ran into the nicest people in Newfoundland.

For example: while I was walking around downtown in St. John's looking really tourist with my loaded bike, random people would just ask me where I was coming from. When asked if they could take a picture with me, many people would just wrap their arm around my neck like I was a buddy in so many 'party shots.' Then after talking with a few for a minute or two, they just sort of dropped whatever they were doing or wherever they were going and gave me a tour of downtown for an hour. And when I tried to get a shot of Water street but couldn't really find a good angle, they took me up on rooftops they knew so I could get a good wide shot.

Funny to think all of it started with "Ah bai, you're loaded down! Where you camin fram?"

what's the monkey's name???

The monkey is my girlfriend's sister's keyring turned tour mascot. He didn't have a name before but I named him Judas. I figured if I ran into any inexplicable mechanical problems, I would need someone to accuse of sabotage. He has since been returned to his owner who wasn't too thrilled to see her monkey subjected to new forms of abuse with every new set of uploads. What kind of treatment do you expect for a freeloader who doesn't carry his own weight for three months?

[QUOTE=Sebach]
I'm now in Atikokan, Ontario (turned off the 17, via the 71 to the 11). But the computer I'm using here has USB 1 ports (too slow to transfer 8MP pictures) so I can't do an update to show Northern Ontario. I'll get some done eventually though, it's an on-going process of updating but is never up-to-date.

Ive been canoeing up there, its beautiful. Enjoy.

Where else should you go canoeing but the "canoe capital of Canada." The town actually has flower beds made in the hulls of canoes lining the streets. It was nice but when I was there, it was a downpour so I spent most of my time indoors and didn't take many pics. I took over about 8 000 shots by the end, almost 1 picture per KM if you average it out but I took very few when it was raining. Man, it is already starting to feel like a long time ago.

Great pics. Glad you have a fun tour!

Your pictures are great! Sounds like you had a great trip, did you write a journal during your trip?

Thanks all!
I actually did keep a written journal for the trip but I hate writing by hand, so I eventually started slacking off on it. I really would have liked to do a more of a pblog format for this trip for friends and family to track me but it seems that internet cafes aren't doing well these days. Everywhere I went, right across the country, locals were like "there used to be one, but I think it closed down."

Next time I'm hoping to bring some kind of typing device for journal entries that I can upload. Maybe pocketmail or a small laptop?

I cycled across canada in 2005 and carried a small laptop with me, a 12" scren, 4.3lb laptop that costed about 1200$ in the spring of 2005. The girlfriend and i have found many uses for the laptop other than me bringing it on the tour. The main reason i brought it was because i know how lazy i would get after the tour, and i would never transcribe my journal into a digital form to share. Infact i am still working on transcribing a 2 day trip from July of this year.

Downsides, I spent an hour or more a day typing a journal and editing pictures, time I could have spend socializing. It also was an additional 4.3 pounds (total weight was above 60lbs of gear).

Pluses: I was quickly able to update my tour ever 2-4 days with detailed entries and photos on www.crazyguyonabike.com and i was able to track others who were riding along the same route and finally hook up with them on the road.