semegrant

A group of us from Northern NJ are going to go from Montreal to Quebec this summer. HAve you done touring in this area? Any suggestions for getting cue sheets

Machka 

Eastern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and western Ontario are NOT flat, they have rolling hills.

Depending on the route you choose they also don't necessarily have dead straight roads - the TransCanada is pretty straight, but there are lots of less main roads which are quite nice.

And they won't likely be surrounded by wheat fields . . . it's more likely to be canola fields in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and mid-Manitoba.


Once you get into the eastern side of Manitoba and on into western Ontario it's all lakes, hills, and forests ... quite pretty ... especially around the Falcon Lake and Kenora areas.


However, mid- Manitoba is flat. Mid-Manitoba defines the very word "flat".

Aphidman

I'll second that, as a lifelong Canadian prairie resident.

They put the main highways and railways through the flattest parts because it was the quickest and cheapest thing to do. Go off the beaten track, even in Saskatchewan, and you'll find some interesting things.

Just one example: if you take the Trans-Canada Highway through western Saskatchewan, and turn south near the town of Maple Creek, eventually you reach Cypress Hills Provincial Park. You'll do some climbing, but as you climb, you'll enter a forested region, with different vegetation and wildlife than the surrounding prairie. An amazing place. A geologist told me that Cypress Hills is what all the prairies would be like today if the glaciers hadn't pushed most of the land down to the Mississippi Delta.

Go north of Maple Creek? The Great Sand Hills. Sand dunes, as far as the eye can see.

I could list lots of other things if I had more time.

The Canadian Prairies are dull only if you want them to be.

--Aphidman

oldy57

If you travel from Thunder Bay you will have to take 17 up to Manitoba. There is no other way to get from Kenora to Manitoba. From Westhawk Lake you could take 44 through the Whiteshell park and end up at the north end of Winnipeg. From Wpg you could go north on HWY6 and cross over to Dauphin and down through Riding Mountain park. There is some beautifull county there. Hwy6 is next to Lake Manitoba and has some nice camping.
If you take Highway 59 north of Winnipeg and go to Grand Beach you won't be dissapointed at the beach. In the summer on a hot weekend there can be 20,000 people there. The beach is 1 of the top beaches in the world. You can walk out in the water for a long way before it gets deep. It is worth the ride there just to say you were there. I wouldn't ride it on Saturday or Sunday as traffic is very high, 2 lane no shoulders.
If you have time Manitoba can be a very scenic area but you have to know the areas to see what I mean. From Winnipeg west it is very flat and boring. If traveling the Trans Canada Highway west it is 4 lane up to Sask border. It was 2 lane for maybe 100 miles and then 4 lane from there on to BC. The 2 lane area is very dangerous, high traffic and no shoulders but it may be more 4 lane now as they were working on it 2 years ago when I went west. The Yellowhead is 2 lane and also very poor for riding up to Saskatoon. If you go south of #1 you could take #2 west, a less travelled highway but also 2 lane. You could also take Highway 14(I think) from Winkler(just north of US border) west and go through southern Manitoba and Sask.
I can give you a lot of interesting Manitoba areas if you have time to spend here.
Travelling west from Ont border you will most likely to have a headwind as the winds are always from the west. In the afternoon when the heat gets to 30c winds can get high and there is no shade for what seems like ages. Travel early in the day and stay out of the sun in the afternoon. Humidity in Manirtoba can be very high in summer days. In June and July the sun is up at 5am and goes down at 10PM which makes for long days and great evenings. The farther north you travel the earlier and later it gets.

norton

I notice that Mick, who started this thread way back in Nov '02, hasn't visited BikeForums since Aug '04....I wonder where he is now.....& what he's doing.....


What an enthralling travel-adventure storyteller!.....Makes you feel like you're accompanying Lewis & Clark......An unique Original.....

gnomonic

The Esker Road is again gravel & the bridge that was washed out on the Simm River is now rebuilt so I'm told.

I remember crossing a bridge that was severly damaged back in '96. The road between Churchill Falls and Goose Bay was yet to be opened for the season. Road crews were in the process of replacing the bridge and they allowed me to cross.

There are NO facilities of any kind along the road other than at Churchill Falls (a Company Town servicing the Hydro Plant). There is a hotel (expensive) & a Lodge (Black Spruce) which is alot cheaper. In the community complex therse a supermarket, Post Office & Restaurant.

I camped out on the town beach. Peolpe were friendly, allowed me to shower and wash clothes. The local RNC officer also came by and gave me updated road informatiom. I was able to book a free tour of the hydroelectric facilities at the hotel.

I crossed Labrador in late May, early June. The road was clear but there was alot of snow between Esker and Churchill Falls. The temperatures were around -2 C at night and 10 C during the day. From Churchill Falls the amount of snow decreased rapidly and when I reached Goose Bay the Temps hit the mid 20's C for a few days.

Loved the ferry trip from Goose Bay to Lewisport. The first of the year.

Peter