Where ever I may roam

Earlier today I gave notice for terminating the lease on my basement suite. This was followed by having dinner with the adopted family, which was full of great conversation and laughter. I’ve been asked several times why I don’t sub-lease my place while I’m away and the answer boils down to Serendipity. I’m only in Canada because of two events: Driving around Australia with a minimal plan and going to the pub one night in Melbourne for dollar tacos. The first one allowed me to end up in Melbourne during the summer of 2010-2011 and the second one allowed me to meet the person who ended up encouraging me to look into a working holiday permit for Canada.

Dollar Tacos at the Dan O’Connell

By not having a place or a job to come back to, I’m free to explore the possibilities that present themselves over the course of this adventure. I don’t quite know where I’m going to end up, which I feel is exciting and slightly foreboding.

I’ve mostly finished getting everything that I need for the bike and the trip, from upgraded suspension and new tires, to RAM mounts and a video camera. Some of it is still in the mail, but most of it has arrived. The longest wait was for the rear shock spring. After Canada Post had received it in Vancouver they sent it to Malta for some unknown reason.

Some of the items to go on or into the bike

Over the course of the next week I’ll be performing some major work to the bike so it looks like I’ll be on transit for the commute to work. At least it will be motivation to get the bike fixed quickly.

44 days until the adventure begins. I’m getting quite excited.

I handed in notice to work today, which made me a bit sad. I’ll be finished up in 5 weeks and there are 52 days until the adventure begins. I’ve begun getting rid of items that I no longer want, and being quite ruthless in the process. This marks one of the points where I can’t turn back, the other one being when I give notice for cancelling my lease in a week. I imagine that I’ll be a lot more focused from this point forward. During the last few weeks I’ve determined the route that I’ll be taking and put dates against places.

The Route (so far)

The route across Canada so far. (click for larger version)

The initial plan was to head out of Montreal as soon as I arrived, tour around New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and then get back to Montreal in time to catch some of the Jazz Festival, after hanging out in Quebec City for a few days. After planning the route it became obvious that I would not be able to catch any of the Jazz Festival without skipping a large amount, or travelling excessive amounts per day. In the interest of my sanity, and actually enjoying the trip, I changed the plan to spend a few days in Montreal before hitting the road.

From Montreal I’ll head inland toward New Brunswick, where I’ll pass through Grand Falls, Fredericton, and then spending a day or two in Saint John. I’ll then head up the Fundy Bay coastline,  taking the Fundy Trail Parkway, and check out Hopewell Rocks. From there it’s into Nova Scotia and down towards Annapolis Royal. After checking out Luenburg, Blue Rocks and Peggy’s Cove, I’ll spend a few days in Halifax. Then it’s time to head towards Sydney, along the coast, where I’ll also spend a few days before heading out on the Cabot Trail. At this stage it appears that I’ll be spending Canada Day in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, which is the home town of a friend. I’ll then make my way towards Prince Edward Island, where I’ll head around most of the island anti-clockwise, taking advantage of the historical roads on occasion.

Once getting back into New Brunswick, I’ll follow the Arcadian coastline towards Campbelton and then enter into Quebec again. I plan on taking the ferry at Trois-Pistoles across the St Lawrence River and then make my way down the river towards Quebec City, during which I’ll ride around Ile d’Orleans. I’ll spend several days in Quebec City, resting and exploring the city. By this point it will have been 3 weeks since arriving in Montreal and I would have covered over 5000km of roads.

From Quebec City it a long day’s ride into Ottawa, crossing into Ontario at Hawkesbury. A few days later I’ll make another long ride to Toronto, where I’ll also spend a few days, one of those days will include a trip out to see the Niagra Falls.

The route gets a lot less defined once I leave Toronto. I’ll be heading up towards Sudbury and then across to Thunder Bay, but how I do it is yet to be decided. I’ll try to take parts of the TCAT if the route doesn’t look to difficult. The same is true for the route from Thunder Bay, through Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and then into Edmonton. I plan on spending at least a day in the cities mentioned above and I will probably weave my way across, as opposed to heading straight through. From Edmonton I’m going to head to Jasper, where I’ll spend a day or two. Then it’s down the Icefields Hwy for a stretch, through Rocky Mountain House and then down into Calgary. After spending a day or two in Calgary, I’ll head south to Bellevue, through the Crowsnest pass and into British Columbia.

Once in B.C. the route meanders from the Crowsnest Pass towards Creston, then up to take the ferry at Kootenay Bay across to Balfour, and continues on into Nelson. Then it’s up through Nakusp and Revelstoke and into Kamloops. I’m participating in the Loose Screw Dual Sport ride, so I’ll need to be there by the 12th of August. After that I’ll probably head towards Vancouver, via Whistler. It depends on how I’m feeling after 2 months on the road and how the funds are going. I could possibly head over to Vancouver Island as well.

I have 15 days to cover the 3500km between Toronto and Edmonton, which averages to 233km/day. As far as I’m concerned, this is a reasonable pace that still lets me see lots.

In 70 days I’ll be leaving on a trip to ride across Canada on my KLR.

Last week I discovered that Air Canada will air freight motorcycles across the country for $650 if you’re also travelling with them. This immediately got my mind racing over possibilities for adventure. After checking a few facts I found out that the motorcycle can only be booked 30 days in advance and that the fees are subject to review on the 1st May 2016. That was all the information I needed, on the 1st April I booked a one way ticket to Montreal from Vancouver.

There’s been a dream to drive across Canada since I got here 4 years ago. I arrived on June 12th 2012 and I’ll be starting this trip on June 13th, 2016.

Timing and Dates

I’m leaving for Montreal on the 13th, but I’ll be taking off a week before. I’d already registered for ToorCamp which is the June 8th – 12th. I was still keen to go as it only happens every other year and I missed the opportunity in 2014. As for returning, I’d registered for the Loose Screw DualSport Ride in Kamloops last Monday. The Loose Screw in on August 12th – 14th, so I’ll need to be in Kamloops on or before the 12th of August. This gives me almost 9 weeks to get from Montreal out to Nova Scotia and then all the way across to Kamloops.

The Route

Fly East. Ride further East until I hit ocean. Turn around and ride West until I hit the ocean. There’s a possibility of hitting up Vancouver Island again, just because. The actual route I’ll be taking is still up in the air, however I know that I want to ride the Icefields Highway (driven it twice now), some parts of the Crowsnest Hwy, and see some towns in B.C. that I haven’t been through before. I’d love to ride along the St Laurent river between Montreal and Quebec City (driven that, both sides), the rest is yet to be determined. I’ll be looking towards the TCAT for inspiration when planning the route.

The timing is right for me to catch part of the Montreal Jazz Festival on my way back through, which would be wonderful.

More to come on the route later.

The Bike

The KLR as it currently stands

My bike is a mostly stock 2013 Kawasaki KLR 650, with the addition of paniers, crash bars and a steel bash plate. I’ve got a chunk of work to do on it over the next 8 weeks, including but not limited to:

• New front tire.
• Upgrade suspension springs, both front and rear. (on their way)
• Luggage top box for sleeping bag, tripod and hiking boots. (in progress)
• Tool tube and better tool kit. (in progress)

The Plan

I’ve started getting rid of things, and have a few items to sell. Most of my bigger stuff is going to go into storage, which will need to happen by the end of May. Come the 1st of June I’ll be homeless and unemployed (again). I’ll be heading south on the 6th as I’m going to stay in Larrabee Park and hike around Chuckanut for a day. Back in Vancouver on the 12th, out the the airport to drop the bike early on the 13th and then fly out that night. In the mean time there’s a 1001 items on a TODO list which only seems to be getting bigger. Thankfully there are some green ticks on it already.

It’s time for an adventure.