The Adventures of Grunkle-Final Thoughts!

  Make no mistake Canada's a big country, put a bicycle up against it and it just got bigger. I kept telling myself "It's like eating an Elephant, one bite at a time".
In planning I considered several routes across the country, in the end I connected the dots to places I wanted to see. The Coastal Mountains of BC, up and over the Duffy Lake Road, Mt Robson and the Icefield Parkway. I wanted to ride around the Caspe' and end the tour on Newfoundland at Cape Spear. I opted for roads less traveled, avoiding the main highways whenever I could. It wasn't meant to be a race. I'm not an Olympian, you don't have to be to do this. I was told tho that I had "grit", Ive never thought that of myself, "stubborn", defiantly.  A pinch of grit or stubbornness didn't hurt, in truth it was essential. I pushed myself and at times the bike but never to the point of injury. I recognized the need for rest-days and took them. There is no right or wrong way to tour across Canada, it's an adventure, it unfolds one day at a time. 
 From the comforts of home it's tough to know what to bring and what gets left behind. The "weight list" as I called it required some decision making. In looking back here's how it all worked out. I'll start with the camping gear. Since I'd planned on doing a lot of it I needed good equipment.
  
Camping equipment- The MSR Hubba Hubba was a disappointment, it leaked and eventually from continuous use the center pole broke. I seam sealed the second Hubba Hubba, it never leaked but the center pole was showing early signs of fatigue, it went back to MEC. My four season Thermarest was another item that got returned. It simply started to come unglued. The solar panel failed and was returned. Having both, a charge hub and panel would be ideal, the hubs are pricey tho. My stove which was an older GAZ worked great but the canisters are no longer available. It got swapped out with a new Jet Boil MightyMo, it takes the canisters with the threaded top. I would suggest carrying a spare at all times, they can also be difficult to find. An International stove would be the best choice, they'll burn just about anything. There were only a couple of items from the camping list I would have ejected, the GAZ stove was a given along with a bowl, to save on the dishes I ate straight from the pot. I would consider adding the following, a Solar Powered night light, a wind guard for the stove, collapsible pots (Sea to Summit), collapsible wash bucket, a few more cloths pegs and bag clips. A luxury item would be a light compact camp chair. In Ottawa I picked up a cargo net from MEC, it's small, I'd opt for a larger one, they can be real handy. Another item I used often was the Water Bladder. A water filter would be nice rather than the pills.  

Bike Gear-The Surly fared well, but there were break downs! If the bike wasn't new I would have gone through it front to back. A few lessons learned, I'd carry a spare chain with a quick release link and likely a chain tool. Cables are light, I would carry a couple of spares. Breaking spokes is also a concern, spares and the tools needed to replace them would be handy. Having drops with bar end shifters make it difficult to mount a suitable mirror. I'm swapping out the bars for flats for that reason as well I seldom if ever use the lowest position on the bars. Gearing, it's a personal thing, I've since swapped out the rear cassette from a 32 to a 42. I carried a rather heavy/large cable and lock. In most cases you're keeping the honest thief honest, if that makes sense. In other words where and when I left and locked the bike it would have been unlikely a pro bike thief would have come in with a cable cutter. I think there are other much lighter options that would have been as effective. I've read and spoke to many riders and opinions vary on tires. They are pricey however but I would recommend Schwalbe Marathon Plus, I had one flat in 8000 kilometers. 
  
Clothing-I didn't need the winter clothes often but was thankful for having them, I wouldn't leave the warm stuff behind. Merino Wool works exceptionally well, socks, underwear, T-shirts would be nice.
 I brought two bib shorts, could have likely gotten by with one, as well one cycling jersey. I'd no intention of cycling after dark although I did carry a headlamp, I was glad I did.

Safety-I could write pages on all the unfavorable interactions I had with motorists, "they were suppose to share the road with me".  What's the point in telling you, you'll have your own war stories to tell. My initial reaction, yelling obscenities along with hand gestures was inevitably going to get me in trouble, I would advise against that. Something I wished I had was a functional mirror. I would strongly suggest a good one, it would have helped knowing what was coming up from behind. A reflective high viz vest, I'd go for the mesh or straps, they're cooler, flashing rear lights are essential. I tried to avoid situations where a drivers vision might be impaired, rainy days or when the sun was low on the horizon. I rode a lot of shoulder-less roads. The worst was the TC coming around Lake Superior. I would consider either busing your bike or opt to drop into the US, re-entering Canada at Saulte St Marie.

A few stats-I spent 130 days on tour, 102 of those were on the saddle with an average of 79 kilometers a day with a total of 8097. I camped 127 nights, of those 2 were spent in a hostel in Quebec City and one night in a KOA camping cabin east of Thunder Bay, I stealth camped three nights and slept one night in  the rental van at the St Johns Airport.

Let's wrap this up-Boxing the bike was pretty straight forward. I went for a slightly wider one to accommodate extras, clothing, helmet, panniers and the handle bar bag. I packed the rest of my gear in a 102L plastic tote from Home Depot. Zip-ties and a roll of packing tape looked after the final touches at the airport once security was done. Air Canada charged $57.50 for the bike box. 
 I guess the burning question in my mind before the launch was "Could I do this", I think most riders feel the same. I took it one day at a time and never got ahead of myself. It's a brilliant was to see Canada, I have no regrets and hope to tour again in the near future. 
 To my handful of readers, I've no doubt found valuable information and inspiration reading Blobs or watching videos on Youtube of other adventure cyclists, I hope you've found some of that in reading this.

Best...Gruncle!