Starting out!

Hello! I'm eighteen, living in the Canadian prairies. I've always been obsessed with travelling, but sadly I've done very little of it. My wanderlust has become unbearable after watching Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. I just have to go somewhere. I can't afford a motorcycle or the gas, of course, but my best friend is my bicycle!

So, does anyone have tips for someone looking to do a short bike trip in Canada this summer? The threads here have been extremely helpful already, but I'm kind of worried about equipment. My current bicycle is crap, so I'll clearly need to invest in a new one, but I don't know what makes a good travel bike. And what should I carry in the case of a breakdown? What are some general bike-travel rules?

Thank you in advance!

hi marie,

don't worry, everyone has to start some how !
and for the beginning you don't need the best gear--middle of the road is good enough. i lived in winnipeg for about 2.5 years well--now i'm enjoying the bicycle paradies
i still have good friends in winnipeg--friends who build there own bikes---and like to travel by bike too!! if you wan't i could hook you up with them, i'm sure they would love to help you with your set up!

just send me a pm with your email adress and i will hand it over .


btw: bike touring on vancouver island is fantastic!!!!!

take care
andreas

it's funny to say "always" being 18 :-) .... I'm going for a looooong trip this year but not in your area :-) goooood luck !!

Hi Marie,

you've already got a good hint on the Vancouver area, which is what I would recommend to do. It's somewhat weather-critical of course, especially in this part of the country. Alternatively, you could head east and see what the Atlantic provinces have to offer. There's a good deal of touring cycling going on there.

As for the bike ... it might be difficult to give general advice and the best thing you can do is to check out a local bike store and see if there is one that knows its way around touring biking. On the other hand, my first touring bike was my racing MTB, converted for touring. But the current bike I have is much nicer to travel on. It's sadly a question of budget also. As for packs, there's a garden variety out there. I ultimately chose Ortlieb panniers and I'm not telling you they're good because I get sponsored by them. I started out with Jandd packs and liked them, but waterproofing was an issue. Having said that Ortlieb packs are proof, meaning that what doesn't get in doesn't get out either, i.e. wet clothing will not dry up.

Spares, there are a range of lists. Just give google a whirl ... a good general list for long-distance cycling or at the very least a good starting point is this: http://www.14degrees.org/en/?page_id=348, so is this - a bit more comprehensive: http://www.adserballe.com/index.html

Hope this helps a bit. Let me know if you have any questions.

All the best for your travels,

Markus