Epic Adventure via TCT

[ollie.olsson]

Hiya,
I'm new to here and I first want to say that I truly admire how much you, I want to say limit, but I feel it's the wrong word. Basically, how much you guys pull off with so little. Pretty bad ass!

I've got a crazy idea (nothing new to you guys, nor is the idea), but I can't seem to find any good information about it, neither in one spot or spread out, just a bunch of vague guesses.

I'll tell you what my plan is: Bike across Canada, Vancouver -> Quebec/Halifax, but primarily via the Trans Canada Trail.

I'm not going for speed on this, more of just completing it in one piece.

I was thinking of using a full-suspension (Canyon Nerve XC 8.0) along with a BoB Ibex Trailer. However, I must admit, having seen some of the crazy bike bags that are out there, trying out the ultra lite travel form. I have questions about that...will come later.

Reason for me wanting to use a full suspension (mind you, I think about a hardtail too, since it has one less thing to break) is that I plan to do some of "naked" biking along with way, and enjoying the mountains with a bit more speed.

However, there are some things that bother me. I contacted Fox Racing (it's on both front and rear suspension) about how often the suspension needs to be serviced, and they replied they need to be serviced every 40-50 hours of use. And that's based on ALL use, not the type of use. And if I biked say 8 hours a day (or more) then I would have to service them every week, for 3-5 months. When I heard that, my mind exploded, and a part of me died. Okay, didn't hurt THAT bad, but it wasn't the greatest thing to hear.

So here's a bombardment of questions for you guys:

What are the downsides with ultra light bikepacking? Can only carry food for short periods of time? I have a hard time doing it over a time span over 3-5+months.
How often do forks and rear shocks actually need servicing? Keep on trucking until it feels off? What about hydraulic break fluids?
Your electronics, such as GPS, Kindle, iPod, etc, do you mainly charge them where possible or do some of you use solar panels to recharge? Such as a PowerMonkey.
Anyone have experience with Canadian wildlife? If anything, that's my biggest fear of it all. I'm not stupid, and won't try getting close to a bear just to get that photo. I know better than that but as one said, sleeping in a bivvy bag makes you a bear burrito. How do bears or the cats see bivvy's or tents. For example, lions, elephants, and other animals in Africa see tents as a rock, that's why people get trampled, because the animal was trying to scatch itself using the tent.
What tyre would you recommend? I need a tire that would be good for both off-road and road. I think a pair of semi-slicks would be too much, or? I saw that Jay Petervary used WTB Nano for his Divide tour, anyone else can vouche for it, or give a better tip?
And would using barends be enough to prevent issues with sitting on a bike for a long period of time? I've read that's pretty important to switch positions while biking for long periods of time. I was a bike courier before, but I didn't have any other grips. It was a different type of biking too compared to what this would be.

I guess, for now, those are the main things I'm wondering about

Just a side note, I'm a pretty experienced backpacker (was out for 3 years recently: 2years in Australia, 1 year in New Zealand) and I have a lot of other travel experience too. So I feel pretty confident that I wouldn't over pack the trailer with crap I don't need.

Thanks for all the help/info! Really appreciate it!

//chris

[bartspedden]

First off, WOW! That trip sounds totally frickin awesome  

Here's some thoughts (read that my opinion) on your questions:

BOB trailer - Trailers make sense for roads, but not on trails.

On suspensions... For me going with a full suspension rig is a no brainer - my body loves the fact that it doesn't have to act as a shock absorb-er.  While I understand the argument for less to break, it's a risk I'm willing to take.

On Maintenance... maintenance schedules go well beyond forks and shocks for a trip as long the one you are proposing.  I'm pretty sure you'll go through tires, chains, and brake pads.  And you may go through any/all bearings (i.e. bottom bracket, hubs, headset. That being said, I was told by a friend that's been working as a bike mechanic for 8 years that the maintenance schedule for a mavic freehub is something like 25 hours.  I had to laugh because because I'm certain my hub has over 400 hours on it without ever being maintained.  And I put about 200 hours on a fox shock without any maintenance during the training and racing of the CTR and everything works just fine (though I will rebuild shortly).  I wouldn't get too uptight about the schedules, but I would plan on getting the bike serviced as needed when you get to a town. I might plan on once every 3-4 weeks, but I'm fine with the "keep on truckin" moto.  You'll know when things are going south!

food - I can comfortably carry 3-4 days of food. I'm not familiar with the trans canada trail, so what's the longest stretch between towns? However many days that is is what I would prepare my rig for, but the more important question is what's the median days between towns? If it's just a couple days, no big deal, UL racers do this all the time and are very willing to share what they eat.

Brakes - I would definitely plan on replacing brake pads on your trip.  You'll also know if you need your brakes bleed too.  I know of folks that have somehow gotten their brake fluid contaminated and needed their fluid flushed, but it's never happened to me.

Electronics - I just bring things that I can get batteries for at gas stations.

Bears - I don't have enough experience with Canadian bears to say, but... my experience with black bears in colorado tells me bivy's are fine. I see bears each summer but never have any issues with them.  I try not to sleep where I eat.

Tires - I try to avoid roads at all costs (got hit and am now afraid) so I don't focus on what works well on roads.  For me I LOVED rollin on specialized Captains this summer! They had a low rolling resistance while I was on paved sections, but I would troll through the TD threads.  Those guys have special needs that I'm not familiar with.

Hands - No magic bullet here. You've gotta figure out what works for you. Some folks like barends, some like just ergo grips, while some like any of the non-typical bars that offer multiple positions.  For me, ODI Rogues are the ticket.

[Adam Alphabet]

Welcome Ollie,

Here would be a good place to start.
http://www.tctrail.ca/home.php

Living in Vancouver I've seen and ridden many sections of the trail that run through here, just in passing and linking things up, not specifically looking for it. Some sections in and near town are paved or very smooth paths others are straight up hiking trails that require shouldering the bike.

Keep in mind the TCT at this point is not at all close to 'completed' and is more, from what I've read about the BC sections anyways a piecing together or mish mash of dirt paths, urban walkways and trails as opposed to this one contiguous ribbon of dirt that will span the length of the country, a dreamy ideal.  I'm sure many sections will take you into the woods and I bet they'll be amazing, further from the major urban centres no doubt. An example would be the trails marked TCT around Hope like the Silver Hope Creek Trail and Skagit River trails. Amazing dry fly fishing if you're into that (I am), so bring a tenkara rod with you, you'll have fun out there.

Each their own when it comes to bike choice and set up of course especially if you're going to do some unloaded day rides (or you could just hire a bike for the day), for me though, for a trip like this it would be a rigid bike with tires in the 2.0" marathon extreme realm, salsa bell lap bars with double wrapped bar tape and some interrupters and of course some durace bar end shifters. Wide, stable, reliable, no fuss and most importantly comfortable, it's about the riding not the ride. I wouldn't want to be thinking about shock maintenance every week when I'm in the middle of the forest riding across the best place on earth. I'm biased though as this is what I've been touring on the last number of years and have never had any problems. Same shifter cables for well over 10 000km (mostly road and gravel touring, not much trail), that passes my durability test. The only flats I've had are from nail punctures.

There are going to be a lot of sections that will likely be paved (your research will dictate how much based on the trails completion in each area) a two inch tire would, in my opinion be the best mix for efficiency on smoother stuff, but take the sting off the rough stuff, plus (based on reviews and reading) one set will likely carry you the whole length of the country.

For food I don't think you'll be stuck for a week on end without food options, in the BC section anyways, unless you stop to fish of course (catch and release for trout in most rivers around here, but I digress).

Animal safety, is a touchy subject with some, so I'll tread lightly. There is plenty of information out there on how to have safe and pleasant interactions with the animals you share the wilderness with. Bears are out there, you will see them, cougars are too, you probably won't see them. Be noisy, carry your fox 40 whistle with you, practice your singing, don't eat where you sleep (I have), hang your food (I haven't), etc etc. Read up and be smart.

If I were to do this trip I would employ an almost tour divide 'lite' or a gravel grinder 'heavy' setup. Frame, seat, tank, bar and pouch bags, maybe a back pack, preferably not, bike set up like a heavy gravel grinder a la dirty kanza with some 2" tires and you're ready to roll across this great land. I would absolutely love to join you on a trip like this, I'll tell my boss I'm, ahem 'sick' or something.

Best of luck in the research Ollie!
Have a great ride!