Dude that is awesome! A lot of guys on here who take photos, but not too many videos. Well done.

I also enjoy the theme of the title and video. This is an adventure based sport, delving into unknown territory, and should be regarded as such.

EDIT- What the hell kinda fish is that!?

Quite honestly, following the crisis in Syria and the tension between the US, Israel, Russia, France, and Britain, I flew off the handle and decided to get into "prepping". Yeah... I know, my imagination is off the hook. Anyways, in anticipation of a crisis, I began building a bug out bag, incidentally, a lot of the contents in a bug out bag you would bring bike packing with you. Contrary to many preppers, I do not have a truck that I can just take off in. I HAVE been riding a bike every day for the last six years though and I dare say on two wheels, I'm one of the fastest things in a downtown urban city(Yes, even faster then a police cruiser, in fact I dare say I'd ride circles around them, I'm so comfortable with the urban cycling.)

Anyways, i wouldn't want a truck either. You need gas for a truck, which means you might have to kill or be killed. The idea is to survive. In an emergency their'd be traffic backed up everywhere. So fuel, access, stealth, price, and availability are the major key factors. ENTER: BIKE-PACKING

It really is the most efficient and easiest way to bugout. Every night I pass hundreds of cars on my bike, if not thousands, as they fall victim to grid-lock. This maneuverability, along with training to learn local trails makes the bike a very powerful asset.

So that's why i got into it. That, and I think bike-packing is an incredible concept. The independence of it.

EDIT- I guess what it came down to was this. A lot of preppers seem to exhibit some unhealthy traits. Hoarding all this stuff, thousands of dollars of equipment, for some terrible events to take place doesn't seem healthy. BUUUUT... if you have a kick-ass hobby which entails you to gather the same type of equipment, and to train, become more prepared, and to learn as efficiently as possible the best ways to disapear ona  bike... then that sounds like a great, fun, and full filling idea!

Great post man. Very motivational to get out and do the same thing.

I rode the Newfoundland section of the TCT this summer.  Here is my write up of it:  http://theslowbiker.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/across-newfoundland-by-fatbike/

Hey, man, thanks a lot, appreciate that. Will take a look.

Just to clarify as well, sometimes I fly off the handle and decide to do something ridiculous, honestly sorry for posting this in the first place, it was not a good choice for a first post hahaha. I still have yet to train!

I'm not saying it's the most exiting trail in the world. It's a lot better than roads though, a lot safer as well. Like I believe I said, always wanted to do a mean feat of endurance like this, but I absolutely hate road biking if it's not in the city. The idea of staring straight ahead, staring at the same things for like a half hour makes e want to shoot myself.

You gotta keep in mind whats boring too. Matter of perspective. I bet you do this all the time. So it's probably nothing to you, but keep in mind I'm a dude who grew up in a rural area, but has been living in the city for six years now. I'm kinda craving it. It's thousands of kilometers of wilderness, lots of wildlife, lots of fishing across the country, hundreds of different towns and cities, solitude, the chance to see old friends and family along the way, and as a reward, the last two weeks of this trail is through the mountains, which is awesome.

As for back roads in Ontario, i'm not too sure if a back road is a good idea in some of these spots. It's a maze of thousands of lakes. Really, it looks like the highways the only way straight threw. Besides theirs still hundreds of KM of wilderness trail.

What WILL be boring is the prairies. That's gonna suck.

No doubt, I've recently discovered that. What's a staircase though, here and there... I'm more concerned about knowing when to hop off the trail and onto the highway, particularly in northern Ontario where a significant amount of the trail is only accessible by canoe, as it winds through hundreds of small lakes.

In regards to the ATV accessible sections, most of those are to the east of Ontario, going all the way to the Atlantic. To tell you the truth, I pretty much can't find any trails where ATV's are allowed until almost BC and Alberta, even then a lot of it is gravel. There are large sections of the trail in Manitoba and Saskatchewan which I plan on passing as they zigzag to hell and back. Pretty much making a straight line through the prairies.

Most of it's gravel. Even in the sections where it says it's incomplete, you can tell by the satellite imagery there is definitely a path there.

Anyways thanks for the advice. I'm planning to start training this weekend biking all over Ontario, and planning over-nighters, camping outside.

This goal is a little far fetched, honestly I'd pretty much be giving up anything I'd worked for. I'd lose my job, and possibly even my apartment. Maybe I'm a in a little over my head. Screw stairways though, I did masonry for years. A stairway every hundred kilometers isn't gonna stop me from anything.

Okay wait a minute the dutch oven isn't 7 pounds it's like 4.27, guess that's not so bad for a multi purpose one item piece of cookware.

Eh man thanks a lot. Honestly should've done some searching the forum before I post anything I found out a huge amount of information so far, and realize now what kind of configuration I want. I also realize panniers are kinda out in regards to anything but the longest distance riding. For these short one or two day trips it doesn't seem justified, and my wallet will thank me for the breathing room I believe as well.

So I guess I'm just sticking with the handlebar bag, frame bag, seat bag, and back and possibly even a front rack, to hold my sleeping bag and tent. Honestly, Maybe most wouldn't agree with me on the weight issue, but I got this seven pound anodized aluminum dutch oven that just rocks. I keep a katadyn hiker pro, which weights like under 400 grams, inside of it to protect it. http://www.mec.ca/product/5007-114/katadyn-hiker-pro-microfilter/?f=10&q=katadyn

I know it's heavy as all hell, but honestly the thing rocks. Guess I'll be carrying that in my backpack. Heh, we'll find out if I can deal with that or not.

[2- forty litre panniers-]

Hi everyone,

I've got an idea of all the gear I'm gonna get for some short trips throughout my province, roughly 100-300 k at a time. This includes...

2- forty litre panniers- sleeping bag, bivi or lightweight tent, food, aluminum dutch oven with water filtration system encased inside for protection... http://www.mec.ca/product/5024-314/mec-world-tour-2-40l-cycling-panniers/?f=10+50002+50156
1- eight litre handlebar bag- bear spray, bear bangers, flares, food... http://www.mec.ca/product/5026-252/mec-rando-handlebar-bag/?h=10+50002+50012+50156&f=10+50002+50157
1- seven litre rack pack- food... http://www.mec.ca/product/5026-251/mec-rackpack-2-rt/?h=10+50002+50012+50156+50157&f=10+50002+50156
1- average sized backpack- for tools, medical, and extra clothes and rain suit, something like these... https://www.armynavydeals.ca/asp/products_details.asp?SKU=CD126&catid=2047&ItemName=Medium%20Modular%20Assult%20Pack , https://www.armynavydeals.ca/asp/products_details.asp?SKU=CD129&catid=2047&ItemName=Modular%20Assault%20Pack%202

So pretty much just one question. To start with the most important, if you only had two panniers, would you put them on the front or back??? Why???

Also, do I need two more panniers? To balance the weight out? The rack pack is gonna be backed with food, and will be on the opposite end of the panniers.

Keep in mind the trail I'm using runs through many towns and cities, so I'm not too worried about water, not only that but my water filtration system is super light and kickass.

Any help is greatly appreciated! Want to do some heavy riding as soon as possible!

EDIT- Ah by the way I'm 230 pounds, so theirs gonna be a lot of weight on the back end, that's why I'm asking, maybe I should put some weight on the front end???

[The Trans Canada Trail]

Hi everybody!

Just wanted to get out of the way that it's great to find this forum. Now, for the proposition of a trail...

The Trans Canada Trail. I've always wanted to bike across Canada, but I absolutely HATE riding in a straight line. I bike in Toronto, which is a lot of fun cause it's so fast paced, and dangerous, but highways are not for me. Then the other week someone told me about the Trans Canada Trail. I couldn't believe it. Just the concept... So I've been researching the trail with a fine toothed comb, figured out how much all the necessary equipment is gonna cost, figured out how much money I'm gonna need for food and repairs, and I think I should be ready by mid April or May 1st.

Here is the trail...  http://tctrail.ca/explore-the-trail/

At some points it looks like there is a good 700km where theirs not so much as a corner store, let alone a house or a road. It's gonna be a crazy trip. I've estimated it to be about 6500- 7000 km, it goes through almost a thousand communities, towns, and major cities.

Has anyone ever done this? or know of anyone who has?

Of course I'll be training to ride up to 500 km at a time from now till then, from Toronto to Barrie, Toronto to Huntsville, and Toronto to North Bay, to get familiar with the idea, and the first few hundred KM of the trail. The cool thing about this trail is I can literally leave my apartment, ride through Toronto and hit the trail just outside of the city.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated! I have not done much travelling at all, and I feel this would be an opportunity to make up for that.