Riding across Canada

[olayda]

Hey all,
I'm planning a ride from Vancouver to Toronto. Anyone have any experience with this? I'd appreciate any tips at all. Routes, weather in August, hazards, what to see, what to avoid, packing etc..
I'm no stranger to touring, but don't know much about this route

Cheers!

 

[bigpoppa]

@shanekingsley

 

[Wingboy]

Lol. Subscribed.

 

[shanekingsley]

I did this in August/September of 2020. I really loved that trip!
Here's a ride report I did of it: Ride Report: 2020 BC

Feel free to ask any questions and I'm happy to try and help, because good suggestions really depend so much on what kid of riding/travelling you wish to do.

 

[Lightcycle]

Hey all,
I'm planning a ride from Vancouver to Toronto. Anyone have any experience with this? I'd appreciate any tips at all. Routes, weather in August, hazards, what to see, what to avoid, packing etc..
I'm no stranger to touring, but don't know much about this route

Cheers!

There's many ways to get to the west coast. For example: all Canadian, through the US, through Deals Gap and California...

I've ridden from TO to Van four times, each time taking a different way. There are different things to see via each route, also depends on your timeframe and how soon you need to get to Vancouver. Also, do you like to sightsee, ride twisty roads, gravel roads?

Here are a few routes:

The most common way people go is via the TransCanada. Takes about 4-6 days depending on your daily mileage:



Pros:

- Don't need a passport, don't need US medical insurance, don't need USD.
- It's always nice to see your own country and observe how the geography and culture changes from province to province
- North shore of Lake Superior is very scenic
- The Canadian Rockies are spectacular and worth seeing at least once in your life. Columbia Icefields are a must-see!
- Riding through BC is a wonderful experience

Cons:

- Depending on who you ask, the prairies are dead boring - straight and featureless for a couple of days.
- Even in August, you might encounter snow in the Rockies. I once rode through a snowstorm in Canmore in August!

There's the all-US route:



Pros:

- Fastest route. Even though you ride through some major cities (like Chicago), the high speed limits on US interstates through some of the boring sections (east and Grand Prairies) saves you a ton of time. The speed limit through Montana is 130 km/h. You're saving at least a day or more of travel time.
- No reciprocity for traffic tickets in the states that don't border Ontario. No record on your Ontario drivers license for speeding tickets.
- Amazing riding in South Dakota. That's where the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held and for good reason. Amazing roads in the area.
- Amazing riding roads in the Cascades Mountain range in WA as well as Idaho.
- Food and lodging in the US is much cheaper, even after the conversion rate.

Cons:

- as above, passport, travel insurance, USD
- Boring part becomes the eastern section, opposite of the all-Canadian route

My favorite is a mixture of the two, where you hit the North Shore of Superior, dip into the Dakotas, go up Glacier National Park in Montana to the Canadian Rockies and then over to Vancouver:



A good mix of both.

Cons: Need a bit more time.

Others will chime in with other routes, I'm sure.

 

[GreyGhost]

Lol. Subscribed.

Subscribed? If you felt like writing enough, you could fill them in on current conditions of multiple possible routes (assuming you are coming east again instead of heading south to play in the sun).

 

[GreyGhost]

Hey all,
I'm planning a ride from Vancouver to Toronto. Anyone have any experience with this? I'd appreciate any tips at all. Routes, weather in August, hazards, what to see, what to avoid, packing etc..
I'm no stranger to touring, but don't know much about this route

Cheers!

How much time do you have? Is it a return trip or one way? Do you want to wander the whole way or do you want to burn through boring parts and hit occasional gems along the way?

 

[mimico_polak]

Subscribed!

I want to ONE DAY be able to do this trip. Maybe I'll have the time...maybe not...but it's nice to dream.

 

[matthew]

Cons. Everything between thunder bay and Calgary

 

[GreyGhost]

Cons. Everything between thunder bay and Calgary

If they have time and don't mind gravel, explore the Qu'appelle valley between Moosejaw and Regina. I wouldn't say that they are the best riding roads (bumpy and variable traction) but the landscape is stunning and not at all expected. Just cruise and enjoy the views.

 

[shanekingsley]

Cons. Everything between thunder bay and Calgary

Between Thunder Bay and Kenora is pretty nice too.

 

[Lightcycle]

If they have time and don't mind gravel, explore the Qu'appelle valley between Moosejaw and Regina. I wouldn't say that they are the best riding roads (bumpy and variable traction) but the landscape is stunning and not at all expected. Just cruise and enjoy the views.

Yes! That's the thing, if you have time, there are interesting things to see everywhere, you just need to get off the highway and travel a little bit.

People think the Prairies are straight, boring and featureless, but if you just get off the TransCanada for a little bit, you can see things like the Big Muddy Badlands in southern Saskatchewan:

Unfortunately for most people, time is short and they pass up the less obvious places to head straight to the more well-known sites and attractions.

 

[GreyGhost]

Yes! That's the thing, if you have time, there are interesting things to see everywhere, you just need to get off the highway and travel a little bit.

People think the Praries are straight, boring and featureless, but if you just get off the TransCanada for a little bit, you can see things like the Big Muddy Badlands in southern Saskatchewan:

Unfortunately for most people, time is short and they pass up the less obvious places to head straight to the more well-known sites and attractions.

Agree. Entirely changed my view of SK when I found it.

Not my pic.

 

[Wingboy]

Between Thunder Bay and Kenora is pretty nice too.

Today i went from Dryden to Fort Francis and then back up to Kenora. Awesome ride.

 

[shanekingsley]

Today i went from Dryden to Fort Francis and then back up to Kenora. Awesome ride.

Right on that is a really nice route. I really liked the town of Fort Frances too - totally took me by surprise and it would be a relaxing spot to spend a weekend.

And Kenora is actually quite the hilly town.

 

[Lightcycle]

If you've got time to kill around Kenora, the road to Redditt is kind of entertaining and twisty, albeit short - about 15 minutes long, before it turns to gravel north of the town. Then you have to turn around to get back to the Hwy.

It was just recently repaved a couple of years ago and there's a kitschy tourist site called the Bottle House in town:

Redditt Bottle House

Redditt Bottle House. 493 likes. Take a drive out to Redditt, Ontario and see the only known bottle house in Northwestern Ontario! A must see, that's for sure! Contact us today to visit!

www.facebook.com

The ride is more interesting than the attraction. And also you can post the picture of the road sign on Reddit for a couple of laughs.

ObTrivia: Redditt Road was once numbered RR666 and was rumoured to be haunted, with unsubstantiated reports of numerous fatalities along that road. Another rumour has it that the local church petitioned the MTO to have it changed to RR658.

The reality is more mundane. No actual reported fatalities on that road, and the reason why it was changed to 658 was because so many people were stealing the 666 sign...

 

[Wingboy]

The day started with reports of really bad flooding in Manitoba. Even my new Garmin said there were no roads open to Winnipeg. So i headed south to Fort Francis, and it got really bad. The flooding was terrible. Saw a pair of really young moose at the side of the road. Startled them and they ran into each other. Lol. There were deer everywhere in Fort Francis. They couldn't find thier usual cover because of the flooding. Couldn't find a BMO to get US dollars to cross the border. Talked to a gent a gas stop that said his daughter came back from Winnipeg yesterday with no trouble.
Bottom line is .... The media has hyped up the flooding to make news.
Sol i went back north up past Lake of the Woods (beautiful) to Kenora and spent a few hours drinking beer with some Harley guys.
So i turned a 130km route into a 400km side route and had a good time.
Oh, and i found a Walmart and did my laundry. (Cheater style)

 

[Lightcycle]

The day started with reports of really bad flooding in Manitoba. Even my new Garmin said there were no roads open to Winnipeg. So i headed south to Fort Francis, and it got really bad. The flooding was terrible. Saw a pair of really young moose at the side of the road. Startled them and they ran into each other. Lol. There were deer everywhere in Fort Francis. They couldn't find thier usual cover because of the flooding. Couldn't find a BMO to get US dollars to cross the border. Talked to a gent a gas stop that said his daughter came back from Winnipeg yesterday with no trouble.
Bottom line is .... The media has hyped up the flooding to make news.
Sol i went back north up past Lake of the Woods (beautiful) to Kenora and spent a few hours drinking beer with some Harley guys.
So i turned a 130km route into a 400km side route and had a good time.
Oh, and i found a Walmart and did my laundry. (Cheater style)

This post has been reported to the mods for thread-jacking an existing thread.

Please hand out the appropriate infractions and move this post to the correct thread:

Where's Wingboy?

I'm at home sucking on a beer.Booo. Lots of little details still to take care of before i take off.Spent a couple of hours with my financial planner yesterday transferring rrsp's from joint to just me.Still waiting for my extra credit card to arrive.The joint ones were cancelled when my wife...

www.gtamotorcycle.com

KTHXBYE

 

[GreyGhost]

The day started with reports of really bad flooding in Manitoba. Even my new Garmin said there were no roads open to Winnipeg. So i headed south to Fort Francis, and it got really bad. The flooding was terrible. Saw a pair of really young moose at the side of the road. Startled them and they ran into each other. Lol. There were deer everywhere in Fort Francis. They couldn't find thier usual cover because of the flooding. Couldn't find a BMO to get US dollars to cross the border. Talked to a gent a gas stop that said his daughter came back from Winnipeg yesterday with no trouble.
Bottom line is .... The media has hyped up the flooding to make news.
Sol i went back north up past Lake of the Woods (beautiful) to Kenora and spent a few hours drinking beer with some Harley guys.
So i turned a 130km route into a 400km side route and had a good time.
Oh, and i found a Walmart and did my laundry. (Cheater style)

I go on adventures with old clothes and throw them out as they get dirty. Helps to purge the clothes that should be purged, eliminates laundry and makes room in the bags for treasures acquired along the way..

 

[Georg3__]

For folks who done this, do you adjust your chain with the wheels on the ground?