I’m planning to do a bike trip this summer for 3-4 weeks starting in August, when the race season in Qc is calming down and legs are tired.
I was thinking of heading towards Gaspésie or Saguenay, or both (by use of a ferry across the St. Laurent. I’ve actually never been in that area before and it’s probably nice to explore on bike. I hear there are some major hills there, so we wouldn’t be idle.
I envisage doing about 100-120 km / day which, based on experience, gives about 6 hours of riding if we’re going at 20-22 km / h average. This is a nice pace when you’ve got about 100 lbs of supplies and equipement with you. So that’s like 3 hours in the morning, and maybe 3 in the afternoon.
So bike overday and sleep in tents overnight in forests or fields, cooking on gas-stoves : The nice nomadic life-style is highly addictive!
So if you’re interested and are free for the month of August, let me know.
I was thinking maybe of going towards NYC or somewhere near, but i would like to avoid insurance issues, and they tend to more strictly enforce trespassing legislation.
I’d love to come! During my bike trip in October, we stayed in B&Bs, which reduces the luggage by a fair amount yet is certainly more expensive. Given my thesis writing is going as planned I’d be in, camping or B&Bing.
that would be awesome. I’m imagining a caravan of 6-7 bikes going!
I was thinking camping though. As you say, it’s cheaper. Then the only expense is food. True, we’ll eat a lot, but not so much that it would cost more than $10-15 / day! That’s pretty cheap travelling.
Anyway, camping is a lot of fun. Especially if there are several of us. It’s also more authentic! Going in a group is fun cause we can distribute supplies a bit, i.e. pans and stove and bags of rice & patatoes, etc. Moreover it’s less lonely!
Usually on the way people are very hospitable. I show up to a farmer’s door and ask permission to pitch a tent in his field. Then i use to my advantage the ascendancy and complicity of farmer’s blood. By experience, half the time you’re invited for hamburgers for supper, and bacon and eggs the next morning!! Also an occasion to shower!
This is a good site and has lots of members in Qc :
This is how i plan to go (with a Beast Of Burden trailer–though without a guitar) :
* In lightweight touring—informally called credit-card touring among cyclists—the rider carries a minimum of equipment and a lot of money. Overnight accommodation is in youth hostels, hotels, pensions or B&Bs. Food is bought at cafes, restaurants or markets.
* In fully-loaded touring (also known as self-supported touring) cyclists carry everything they need, including food, cooking equipment, and a tent for camping. Some travellers go ultralight with basic supplies, food, and a bivy.
* Expedition touring means travelling extensively, often through developing nations or remote areas. The bicycle is loaded with food, spares, tools, and camping equipment so that the traveller is largely self-supporting.
* In supported touring a motor vehicle carries most of the rider's equipment. This can be organized independently by groups of cyclists or commercial holiday companies. These companies sell places on guided tours, including booked lodging, luggage transfers, route planning and often meals and rental bikes.
* In a mass day trip, hundreds or thousands pay a fee to be conducted, sometimes by representatives of a charitable organization, on a day tour of usually tens of miles or kilometers. Accommodation is provided in the form of rest and refreshment stops, marshalling to aid safety, and SAG service.
Autonomous, self-supported touring is for real adventurers. The rest is for bicycle enthousiasts, no doubt, but who sacrifice a genuine outdoors experience for the comforts of everyday living that are intentionally being left behind by their more courageous kin.
