Dan Burkhart 

Prior to 9/11, I rarely had to show any form of ID going either direction, and crossing the Canada US border has been a regular part of my job for 40 years. How things have changed, although I must admit that the pre-arrival clearance procedures now in place have made crossing more seamless. No more trekking to the broker with a hand full of papers.

jonescanada

I biked on the roads surrounding the highway section from Standly to Portage to River Road and I have three theories though none of them very easy.
1 - There is a parking lot near the Canadian entrance off Portage Road. He would have needed to open a gate and cross the oncoming traffic and go over a raised curb to enter the US bound lane.
2 - There is an emergency vehicle entrance off River Road. I didn't investigate up there because it said Emergency Vehicles and I never mess around at the boarder.
3 - He got on the highway like a crazy man and road that to the bridge. Standly would be the only entrance.

There is a continuos fence on the US bound side all along the 405. You might be able to see some access point from the highway but it would have to be pretty hidden from the bordering roads for me to have missed it.

If anyone sees this guy again we will just have to ask him because I think he did something pretty ballsy at the boarder. I cross once a week and I would never think of doing anything out of the normal but he seems to have.

Dan Burkhart 

Thanks for checking that out. I really wish I had been more on the ball and asked him the important questions instead of wasting the short time I had discussing his equipment.
From what I know, I would not recommend using this bridge for a bike crossing.

LarDasse74

I recommend the Pigeon River crossing. Much less traffic volume, the bridge is level. Might be a wee bit out of your way, though.

Dan Burkhart 

I cross there fairly regularly. Route 61 in Minnesota looks to be quite bike friendly.There is a paved bike path beside the road for part of the way to Duluth, and the shoulder is quite accommodating elsewhere.
There are some lovely towns along the way too, like Grand Marais for one.
Every time I drive that road, I think I'd like to cycle it some day.

LarDasse74

The last time I drove that road was a few years ago and I recall the road my not have been ideal for bicycles, but traffic was not too heavy so people still did it. In fact, if you wanted to ride across canada, skipping Northern Ontario (between Saut Ste Marie and Thunder Bay) is probably not a bad idea - cross into Soo, Mi and return at Pigeon River... then take Highway 11 through Atikokan as it is less busy than hwy 17.

Dan Burkhart 

There have been some recent upgrades on route 61 in Minnesota (like within the last two years or so). Ya do face a pretty stiff climb just after crossing the border, but the hills are not too brutal beyond that into Duluth.
I do see quite a few cyclists on that route during the cycling season.
If I were going to go around the south side of Lake Superior, I'd carry on to the International Falls/ Fort Frances crossing, and take 71 back to the Tcan.

lhbernhardt

If you cross the border regularly for non-commercial purposes, it makes a lot of sense to get a Nexus card (you can apply online at the GOES web site). I cross quite often by car on Hwy 99/Interstate 5 near Vancouver. On busy weekends, without the Nexus card, you are stuck in a 2-hour lineup to get into the US. With the Nexus card, you get to use a special lane and it takes from a few seconds to maybe 20 minutes at really busy times (like Saturday mornings) to get across to the US. You can even get an iris scan at the airport and use the Nexus card to bump you past airport passenger lineups. But don't tell anybody; things are slowing down in the Nexus lineups because too many people are getting these cards. I'm not sure why I'm telling you this. It costs US$50 for five years, which I figure is worth it to skip just one 2-hour border lineup!

So if you're on a bike, I usually either ride into the Nexus lane if it's empty, or I just bypass the car lineup and get checked with the peds, at least at the West Coast crossings.

I have gone across at Rainbow (Niagara Falls) and Peace (Buffalo). At Rainbow, you just ride across the bridge on the roadway and take the Nexus booth that the cars take. It's usually devoid of cars, so no waits. At Peace, you take the sidewalk over the bridge (it can get windy), and then you end up at this blockhouse where you have to get past the typical US border guards, who tend to be real bullies. Just focus on being friendly, and letting them know that they're way smarter than you are, and you'll usually be just fine.

BTW, if you're a Canadian, and you're just traveling by air from one Canadian city to another, it's worth carrying your Nexus card.Even though you're not crossing borders, you can still use the card to circumvent the longer passenger lineups - they have Nexus lanes at various places. I guess there's a higher standard of trust with a Nexus card, given all the background checks they do on you to get one.

Luis

jerrycan42

Bike Access.. Courtesy of google.... https://goo.gl/maps/WENVn