Oh Alberta - a province with two faces. Coming from the East one enters the last of the Prairie provinces. A big part of Alberta is still vast, a bit more hilly, cattle and crop country.

But wait...what's that? Oil rigs, countless like mushrooms in the forest can be seen everywhere - in the midst of fields.
Well, not pretty but you get used to it. But then, the other face - the mountains, mighty mountains.

Before you reach Edmonton and if you follow TGT/TCT, you will have to conquer the Iron Horse Trail. Let me tell you...this is a nightmare. The small villages along make a sad impression. They slowly die. This trail could have a huge potential if it would be maintained and kept in a state, cyclists could actually cycle it. Families with their kids on bikes could go on it. But...the reality is different.
Check out following link of two other cyclists, riding the trail and taking a different branch of it. The trail splits at some point but the experience is the same.

http://bikebikeblog.blogspot.com/2020/09/critique-of-albertas-iron-horse-trail.html

Edmonton is big and has a good cycling network through parks and predominantly along the river. What you also see are huge industry complexes. Kind of impressive.

The Badlands are breathtaking, especially the Red Deer River Valley. Don't miss out Drumheller and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and once you are there - The Hoodoos.
All of that and more I feature in my latest video. Well, not the mountains. I am not there yet (virtually), hehe.

Enjoy!

Interview with Rolf Hicker, wildlife and nature photographer and filmmaker, on the EH? Travel Talk Show, with the Brothers of Tourism. Rolf shares with us hi...

Community round table panel talks about their unique internet marketing program called Experience Nicola Valley and why it won a national and provincial 202...

Joseph Rosendo is an author, journalist, motivational speaker, educator, role model and is the TV Host to the Emmy Award Winning Travel Show called Travelsco...

Good d'eh,

the journey continues. With that new episode I am entering the Canadian province of Saskatchewan (SK). A boring province in the Prairies. The roads are just straight, dusty, endless with nothing interesting left or right.
Well...not quite. Most people just drive through SK on the Trans-Canada Highway, which apparently is quite boring. Many Trans-Canada cyclists choose this route too. Why? I really don't know, because if you take the scenic route (a.k.a. Trans-Canada Trail / The Great Trail) SK has a lot to offer. OK, some improvements have to be done on the trail, but apart from that...

...various Provincial Parks look and feel like oases in the dry Prairie landscape. The sky is endless, the land anyway. Many "Cathedrals" can be found in small, charming villages.

And...let me present my personal, favourite view of my Trans-Canada trip. I already spoiled it with the thumbnail of my video below. But there is more to see.

Enjoy!

Sydney van Rensburg of the Merritt Golf & Country Club is talking golfing, youth programs, opening day, and the 2021 opportunities to play golf in the Nicola...

We are talking bird tourism and birdwatching on the Great Trail with Bird scientist, Sonya Richmond on Canada's EH? Travel Talk Show with the Brothers of Tou...

Chris Flynn, CEO of the World Tourism Association of Culture and Heritage, dons an "eh Canada" baseball cap and sends us a video message to share with you gu...

From Winnipeg I went South all the way to the US border on the "Crow Wing Trail". A historical trail but very difficult to ride, nevertheless interesting. At the border, which is only a ditch, I turned West and went through a part of Manitoba, where you still can find German heritage and people speaking a German dialect, which is impossible for me to understand. Crazy, isn't it?
I went on and off The Great Trail, for it was partly a torture and not worth the effort. However, I went through the same region as the trail, therefore I did not miss anything. And that is the main reason I am doing this. The trail is a guide into regions less travelled.

The trail runs North after a while, crosses the Trans Canada HWY. I felt like being in those "frog-crosses-road" games, trying to find a gap to cross that busiest four lane HWY Canadas.
Long stretches of just straight dirt roads and some more unmaintained old rail trails. I skipped a part of the trail in order to visit Riding Mountain National Park, definitely worth a detour. I met incredibly friendly people and crossed into Sasketchewan on the scenic Crocus Trail.

Link to the overview map of my route:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19HGeuwywfxIG7hsWxz1Pdj8HcnoYfpK8&usp=sharing

Carole Leroux and Greg Alexander, of Merritt's new Hat Doctor, is our guest on Nicola Valley Talk with Tania Stewart. Hat Doctor has been a Western instituti...

Hockey! Hockey! We talking hockey, baby! NHL, WHL Goalie Coach & Internationally recognized Goalie Camps, Eli Wilson is our special guest tonight, talking wi...

Fantastic conversation with Melvina White, VP of Tourism Nicola Valley, on Nicola Valley Talk. Melvina will be discussing the many projects, innovations and ...

My two cycling buddies and I left Kenora and cycled on a very busy HWY. After every turn we expected the Prairies to start but we still saw only hills and forest. None of us, neither the guys from Montreal nor me every have been in the Prairies. However, at the ON/MB border we parted ways, I wanted to join The Great Trail again, they wanted to stick to the roads. A few minutes later we met again, my trail went on the road they wanted to take as well, haha. We rode to Rennie and camped one last time together and parted ways a second time the next morning.

Long distance short - from Rennie to Winnipeg I cycled on and off the trail, checking out the conditions, evaluatied and debated multiple times if trail or road. But see for yourself.

Link to the overview map of my route:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19HGeuwywfxIG7hsWxz1Pdj8HcnoYfpK8&usp=sharing

One of our "funnest" live conversations as we approach 50 shows. Wes David of Fishing the Wild West TV Show is our guest on the EH? Travel Talk Show. Wes tal...

23 to 30 June: The ferry brought me over to Saint-Siméon, from where I cycled NW towards Saguenay. The fjord of the Saguenay River was very impressive and mystical. The rain and low clouds contributed a lot to this atmosphere. A day ride further I arrived in La Baie with blue sky and sunshine.
From there I made my way to Lac Saint-Jean, where I joined onto the "Véloroute des Bleuets" ("Blueberry cycling route"). I was told, that this is the prime location for cyclists and I definitely should cycle around the whole lake. Well, I skipped the whole Maritimes, therefore had enough time to explore. So I did it. Easy riding, small towns around the lake, perfect infrastructure. A small bicycle ferry in Alma and the best sunset on my whole trip. Friendly guys in the local bike coop "Vélo-jeunesse" and a beer in a local brewery - the highlights of that detour.


Link to the overview map of my route:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19HGeuwywfxIG7hsWxz1Pdj8HcnoYfpK8&usp=sharing

01 July: I left the "Véloroute des Bleuets" behind me and reflected my journey through Québec on "La Route Verte", the provincial cycling network. I talk shortly about my safety preparations for the long stretch ahead, after all I was going into the unknown. Once I reached the turnoff from the HWY my concerns were gone - the dirt road was damn busy. A lot of cars and trucks meant, I wasn't alone but also had to deal with clouds of dust and flies, sometimes even at the same time.

I also tell a short anecdote about a very unexpected encounter. Last but not least in this longer video, I recorded a clip in a forestry camp, where I spent the night. Life is full of surprises.


Link to the overview map of my route:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19HGeuwywfxIG7hsWxz1Pdj8HcnoYfpK8&usp=sharing

02 to 09 July: I left the pow-wow place of Obedjiwan and followed the dirt roads through Québec's North. Unlike the section from Saint-Félicien to Obedjiwan, this stretch had less traffic. Furthermore, once around the North of the Gouin Reservoir, I followed a road leading South and luckily I did not take a look at my map and followed the signs instead.

Apparently the main way leading to Senneterre was changed to another dirt road which isn't mapped nor in Google Maps or in OSM. The previous road still exists, but probably has even lesser to none traffic.
Normally I would not have cared but the universe was on my side. Exactly on that stretch my tire burst. Nothing I could do. Imagine this would have happened on that other road.

I had a huge stroke of luck getting a ride into Senneterre and even more luck getting a new tire in that small village. Going further West I took the decision based on the location of some warmshowers host, to go to La Sarre and to continue to Ontario on a forestry road North of Lake Abitibi. A very unconventional route for a cyclist too.


Link to the overview map of my route:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19HGeuwywfxIG7hsWxz1Pdj8HcnoYfpK8&usp=sharing

10 to 16 July: First Ontarian settlement was the small town of Cochrane. All of a sudden people spoke English again, which after over six weeks in Québec took a little to get used to again, hehe.
After the city of Timmins I could have gone straight West towards Wawa, BUT two Ontarian Brothers I met on Gaspésie told me, I should go around the whole Canadian shoreline of Lake Superior, I would not regret it.
So it came that I went South instead, on the HWYs 101 and 129 all the way to Thessalon. A detour for sure, but HWY 129 is beautiful to ride and the small isolated towns of Foleyet and Chapleau worth a visit as well.
There was quite some wildlife along my way - big birds, moose, bears, millions of blackflies and mozzies. The latter count as wildlife, too, right?

At the shore of Lake Huron I reached the Waterfront Trail again and met a wonderful couple, who did everything to make me feel comfortable, from a bath in their outdoor bathtub, to wine and food. Amazing. Thank you, guys!


Link to the overview map of my route:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19HGeuwywfxIG7hsWxz1Pdj8HcnoYfpK8&usp=sharing

17 to 24 July: The ride around Lake Superior is called breathtaking and scenic. And I totally agree with that. However, the only existing road, the HWY 17 is a dangerous bottleneck. Right after Sault Ste. Marie one can avoid the HWY by taking a few side roads, but soon there is only one way. Everyone has to take it, motorized or non-motorized, trucks and cyclists. You can imagine...
Additionally to that, one has to cycle through the very long Lake Superior Provinical Park, in which steahlt camping is prohibited and strictly enforced. Staying at official campgrounds can get very expensive.

Enough negativity - I loved cycling there. Arriving in the small towns along the shoreline, each roughly 100 kms/1day apart and the amazing views in between - just incredible.
In S.S.M. I met two cyclists from Montreal and we unintentionally leap frogged for a few days, which means, we saw each other in the upcoming small towns, then separated again, then met again and so forth. We had the same daily average and pace and at some point we decided to cycle together and I can say, we became friends. It was amazing to share the way with them. Eventually we arrived in Thunder Bay and left the lake behind.


Link to the overview map o my route:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19HGeuwywfxIG7hsWxz1Pdj8HcnoYfpK8&usp=sharing

25 to 30 July: After a resupply stop in Thunder Bay (I am still surprised how I always manage to find space on my bike for the huge amount of food I buy, haha), my buddies from Montreal and I left Lake Superior behind us and continued westwards. We passed the impressive Kakabeka Falls where we found out, that official camping in Provincial Parks is just a shameless rip-off - over 40 CAD for a spot, no matter if you are one or three people. No thanks!
The next day my friends continued on HWY 17 (the busier one), while I followed HWY 11 and 71. However, we planned to meet again in Kenora, despite my route being 70 kms longer. Challenge accepted.
I passed through Fort Frances and Emo, the latter actually is a very nice little town, directly at the border river to the USA. The local park there even has clean showers, a covered BBQ area and power. I as a cyclist call that a hotel, haha.
And indeed, we met in Kenora and had a beer and some food in the local brewery. Yeah.

Link to the overview map of my route:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19HGeuwywfxIG7hsWxz1Pdj8HcnoYfpK8&usp=sharing