01.08.08 | Vancouver: route planning
at 11:51 am by colin
I have been in Vancouver for a few days now, reading up on some recent trip logs and refining the route i will take. This has enabled me to determine topography and actual climbs that i will be riding. Some are more than a little intimidating and impressive at the same time. I am feeling a little daunted and have some excited anticipation for the ride.
From accounts of othes, itseems that it will take me 8 days to cross BC. This, of course, depends on how well i manage the first few days given my fiteness (not what i had hoped given 6 weeks with my bike in and out of the shop) and my non-direct route. I will be riding through southern BC, avoiding the trans-Canada before heading north to Lake Louise and Banff via highway 93. This will provide some spectaular scenery, including this pic from the Parks Canada website for the Kootenay region (wiki):
Crossing the continental divide is going to be challenging, though exhillarating. I had considered riding via Revelstoke to cross Rogers (wiki) and Kicking Horse (wiki) passes, though am pretty certain i will take the southern route.
In reading some recent trip logs, i have come across reference again to the cyclsist who were hit in Manitoba. Along with ample accounts of the lack of shoulder on the trans-Canad, this confirmed plansto avoid this route. I have decided to head north-west from Calgary and ride to Winnipeg via Saskatoonto assist with this and also see a different part of the country.
All in all, I am excited and daunted by the weeks ahead... and being met in Winnipeg by someone...
Hi! I will be riding to
Hi! I will be riding to Vancouver and back from Edmonton ... too bad we will miss each other, as I am thinking to leave here either Aug 27 or Sept 7th. I am having difficulty finding info to read from. What books are you accessing to define your ride route?
I am super looking forward to the adventure. I think it will be awesome!
Sounds like a pretty nice
Sounds like a pretty nice ride! You could do some of the Yellowhead highway (ride further North than I did)?
I crossed paths with a number of people heading west, and only a couple heading east as i closed in on the Rockiies/Banff—a few doing the Banff-Jasper-Radum loop.
I read a lot of blogs, and relied on Paul Wood's (2006) Cycling British Collumbia for most of my route (I followed Highway 7 north of the Fraser to Hope). Having vertical profiles is something I would highly recommend for anyone riding across BC—they helped with planning greatly. I hope to post a list of sites i looked at soon... (perhaps after I write-up daily logs from my trip).