Totherocktour // Cycling TransCanada from southern Ontario to St. John's, Newfoundland // Canada 2021

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Rick Mercer, Canadian television personality. For Labrador and Newfoundland Tourism. The Youtube video that sparked my #ToTheRockTour 2021 has been deleted due to the ongoing Pandemic!!!! But luckily, I saw it in time, packed up my bags and rode the bicycle to the Rock this past summer. It was a memorable ride east through Ontario, Quebec (Gaspesie peninsula), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and western Newfoundland to Corner Brook, and the final 9 days in St. Johns and the Avalon Peninsula and a final ride out to Cape Spear. 

Here is a substitution video about Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

 

Since the global pandemic started. I think a lot of us wondered when it would be safe to travel again. The thought went through my mind over and over and over again. I was fully vaccinated (second dose Moderna vaccine on May 31, 2021) and wanted to head out on the road again. I saw a tweet with Canadian comedian Rick Mercer, he mentioned Atlantic Canada's Labrador and Newfoundland were open for business to vaccinated Canadian travelers, that was my cue to plan the bicycle journey to the Rock (Newfoundland). I was still recovering from Covid-19, or Long haulers Covid since being infected in late November 2020, while working in Oaxaca, Mexico with a group of Kentucky coworkers. One guy had it, it spread across the group of us despite facemasks and hand sanitizers being used. We traveled to Cruz Azul Cement plant in Oaxaca together in rental pickup trucks, so anybody near this person, was in high risk of contracting the potentially deadly virus. I had contracted the virus on the trip home to Ixtepec, Mexico airport, it incubated and within 10 days I was sick and fighting to breath and taking copious painkillers. I later recovered after losing the job, the Kentucky-based employer ghosted me in Canada. Never heard from them again.

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Once July 31, 2021 came around, I couldn't wait to be reunited with my trusted Koga Miyata World Traveller a.k.a. the Mungi Bungi Bicycle. At 40 pounds, the Dutch built Koga touring bike is anything but lightweight, but it's easy to maneuver and on flat routes, a pleasure to ride on. Once the mountains of the Appalachian mountains came around in eastern Quebec, well, I had another thing coming. I covered approximately 50 miles or 80 kilometers per day and cycled 4000 kilometers or 2450 miles.  It was tough pedaling on changing elevations across the Appalachian Mountain ranges and rough ditch camping in the bush for 53 nights on this multi-month 77 day overlanding expedition. But the sweetness of this odyssey was being outdoors, alone during the daily travels and long nights resting up in the small tent, the tent was a sacred space - free from mosquitoes and much of the rainy nights. 

I travel overland with no regrets. It is a freedom known and understood by those with wanderlust for world outdoor experiences, moving large geographical distances - using your own human energy. It would be easier in a car, or riding on top of a motorcycle, but with those speeds and distances, you might not meet anybody stopping only at conveniences like a gas station or McDonalds restaurant. If you want to dive deeper, you move yourself at bicycle speeds, which is a snails pace compared to anything motorized. I saw a many roadie cyclists in Quebec, many seniors were active too riding their shiny new e-bikes, electric powered lithium ion batteries helped them voyage. 

So, I like the e-bike trend. I would ride one if I could afford one in the future. For now, I still have standard mountain bikes, a touring bicycle, and all of them have no power assist, no batteries, no engines and no petrol to move across the lands. I can box the bicycle in cardboard container (taken from bicycle shops), take my bicycle packed up to an airport, and fly to a new country. The bicycle travels for the cost of Sporting Goods, like a set of golf clubs or snowboards. For $80-100 dollars, the bicycles goes wherever I want to go. 

In this case, I cycled from my home in Leamington, Ontario to Corner Brook, Newfoundland and rounding the massive Quebec Gaspesie peninsula added to the delight and challenge ahead of me. This summer I flew 4200kmon an airplane home from St. Johns Newfoundland, and I kept overlanding until I rode the bicycle to my destination city of Corner Brook, Newfoundland and St. Johns, Newfoundland on the other side of a 680km bus ride.  I started my summer trip late in the summer season, I worked on renovation of a 29 foot Ford motorhome for a month, started and stopped getting heat stroke along lake Erie in Port Glasgow, Ontario. I stopped and went home. A week recovery and then setting off again July 31, 2021 and arriving at St. Johns 68 days later in October 2021. It was a good trip, a memorable trip, also a tough trip for me. 

High points= 53 nights free camping in the ditch or woods along the TransCanada Highway; Seeing black bear along the highway edge while cycling; Meeting amazing Canadian people from all walks of life in the Maritimes, that was truly special and something I will remember for many years to come; making memories outdoors, making new friends, accepting a challenging route I followed from Google Maps. The will to live, the will to explore outside. To go beyond any doubt and see the world from my own perspective on the back of a bicycle. It was really cool.... (:

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Ontario was amazing! (hot weather, the Great Lakes), Quebec was amazing! (The Saint Lawrence River south shore route, the amazing people, the French language and mountains), New Brunswick was amazing! (small towns and terrain), Nova Scotia was amazing! (vast landscapes, friendly people and terrain), Cape Breton was amazing (terrain and people) and Newfoundland (terrain, remoteness, people, weather), Newfoundland was all the above, it was definitely an amazing place on Earth!

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In 2015/2017, I have driven with the family on several car-camping trips through Quebec, New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, and PEI Prince Edward Island, so with this basic knowledge about the roads, landscapes and camping options, I built the plans for #Totherocktour - a bicycle powered adventure to the eastern edge of Canada. It started this summer at 5am on July 31, 2021 from Leamington, Ontario and I rode along the waterfront to Wallaceburg, Sarnia, then continued up the coast of Lake Huron through Grand Bend, Sauble Beach, Sauble Falls, Wiarton, Owen Sound and zigzagged the Transcanada highway and Transcanada Trail (Snowmobile/ATV in winters, pedestrian/bicycle in summer crushed gravel route).  I wanted this trip to become a successful motivational adventure to connect with Canadians while cycling across the eastern provinces of this massive country. I was gone 77 days, traveled over 4250 kilometers and met dozens of great people out enjoying the outdoors along the route.  From Ontario, to Newfoundland, including New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island and around Quebec's marvelous Gaspe Peninsula, I recommend this bicycle or motorcycle or overlanding route to anyone curious about Canada. It's an incredible route!

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I passed the days on the stout bicycle I use for overlanding, the 2008 Koga-Miyata World Traveler 26 (smaller 26 inch wheels and rim brakes!) while wild camping for 53 nights in the ditch, washing in streams or small rivers (using paid campgrounds with a hot shower for 7 nights , average about $30 night), 2 nights in boutique hotel where Queen Elizabeth once stayed in Sackville, New Brunswick and hosted for 12 nights in friends or kind strangers homes along the TransCanada highway route, and one night sleeping at the St. John's airport on Thanksgiving during the thunderstorms. A week more either couch surfing in St. Johns or staying in my tent on beaches and coves along the Avalon Peninsula. Totaled 77 days on the road this summer.

For the entirety of the summer,  I was taking in the outdoor sights and putting sweat equity into getting back on the road again. I bathed in rivers beneath the highway, I camped in the forest perimeter near the highway, I drank coffees from automotive gas stations, I met people daily and shared my stories, and listened to their stories too. I shared the experiences daily using Instagram and Facebook, and connected with those using social media. Some connections lasted the summer, and some beyond the summer, as I promised to return in 2022 to visit again with those great people. 

5 Years no Bicycle Adventures... But the Overlanding adventures are adding up:

• 1989-1996 - Student and Factory worker in Windsor, Ontario. Canada.
• 1993/1999 - Canoe guiding with Voyageur Wilderness Program, Atikokan, Ontario
• 1994 - Motorcycle overland between Windsor, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia 8000km
• 1995 - Train Windsor-Vancouver, Motorcycle Vancouver-California-Detroit, 4500km
• 1996 - Motorcycle 8000km Mountain biking - Northshore Vancouver, British Columbia
• 1997 - Camping year-round in Michigan, United States. Jeep Restoration.
• 1998 - Motorcycle 9500km Windsor, Ontario to Phoenix, Arizona, an Francisco, CA, Vancouver.
• 1999- Suntrek Tour Guide, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Grand Canyon.
• 2000-2003 Teaching English as a Second Language, South Korea/China.
• 2003-2006 Pre-Medical Science education, Camping year round. 2x motorhome restorations.
• 2006-2014 Years of teaching English / Korean-World Bicycle Adventures inside South Korea.
• 2011 Himalayas X - Crossing western China and Himalayas 3200km
• 2012 Mongolia X - Crossing Mongolia from Ulanbaatar to Altai National Park 2500km
• 2013 Totherocktour - Grand Rapids, Michigan to Banff. Lake Louise, Alberta 3400km 
• 2014 Mongolia X - Crossing Gobi Desert, to Kentii to Underhaan (Genghis Khan birthplace)
• 2015 Year of work projects. Quebec Gaspesie, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia camping roadtrip.
• 2016 Iceland/Lake District England/France/Luxembourg journey by Bicycle, Plane, Ship, SUV.
• 2017 Year of work projects. Jeep CJ project abandoned.
• 2018 Year of work projects. Toyota motorhome project #3 completed.
• 2019 Year of work projects. Toyota motorhome project #4/5 completed.
• 2020 Year of work projects. Toyota motorhome project #6 completed.
• 2021 Year of work projects. ToTheRockTour #2 4250km 77 days. Ford V10 motorhome project #7 completed. 

ToTheRockTour 2021 - Ontario to Newfoundland, Oh Canada!

Having survived Covid-19 infection (Thanks to my X-coworker in Kentucky!), I had lost my main employer and had an open schedule starting January 2021, I wanted to plan an overland journey crossing Canada in the summer months, but I was still recovering from Long Hauler Covid-19 and had numbness in my foot, some lingering chest pains, and general fatigue overall. I hadn't ridden my bicycle in months, and was feeling exhausted. I enjoy renovating motorhomes, but after being left in the lurch with Covid-19 after working in Oaxaca, Mexico with my former employer, I did not want to tie myself into another industrial job with potential for accidents or injuries. Then in July, I was recruited to work as a maintenance technician at a local mushroom farm in Leamington, but ended up declining the position and opted instead to purchase and restore the large motorhome.   Late nights (2-3am) I spent searching the classifieds online, we found a 1997 Ford V10 motorhome project come up to purchase, I made arrangements to purchase, made the deposit and returned to see the motorhome with Misung. She didn't like it, but also didn't want to return to scraping marijuana resin off production lines in Staples, Ontario either. So we both worked in shifts spending the month of May 2021 working on The Ford motorhome renovations and restorations (transformation). At the beginning of June, 2021 we met the new buyers and helped them complete the arrangement. So, my partner Misung and I bought the Ford V10 motorhome, revitalized it and made all improvements to modernize it. We completed the rebuild within a month, I worked on a few other renovation projects, and before I knew it, it was already late in July, 2021. I started #ToTheRockTour 2021 with TWO goals in mind, to heal physically and go out there and explore Canada on the road. An engine to help propel me would of helped, but I honestly wanted to move across the land, no matter what means I was able to use. Without an internal combustion engine to propel me (like the 1991 Honda St1100 I already own), I used just the mechanical science of a bicycle, strong frame that wouldnt break, stout wheels made in Belgium, a high quality Shimano XT M8000 chain that would not stretch easily under the stress, Ortlieb panniers that are German designed, waterproof (except for bolts in the rack frames that have fallen off, might have a small leak there, and even with the Ortlieb panniers, I carried a 5 Liter plastic insulated Thermos, it worked well as fresh water surplus supply that could be refilled at restaurant bathrooms, gas stations, or with purchased liter bottles when clean tap water wasn't available. It worked well for 2 day complete no resupply situations where I traveled, or stopped overnight and travelled again without resupply point for fresh water. Canada has abundant water, in rivers, ponds, lakes, streams, you just need a reliable filter system. I wasn't carrying on this summer. I took on 7 liters of water, as I mentioned, at public restaurant bathrooms along the inter-provincial route I followed. Apart from desolate stretches of Transcanada highway near Algonquin Park, and while crossing Newfoundland, public access to drinking water was always accessible. 

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Meanwhile, my Croatian adventure friend, Antun Colig in Zagreb, Croatia told me to "Go hard, or Go Home!" I guess, given my limited travel budget and nearly unlimited time available to complete this overlanding expedition, I would Go Hard! and Go all the way to the island of Newfoundland, Canada some 4000km away from my home. I left a week earlier, cycling to Wheatley, Ontario fishing harbour and camped, calling my wife and we decided on a picnic dinner on the beach with our children, Matthew and Sierra. 

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We had a nice dinner, I stayed behind on the beach to camp, and the thunderstorm rolled in that night. Through some pretty spectacular rain, winds and thunder booms, I slept through the night in my small tent at the edge of the forested and protected shoreline. The next day, I pedaled parallel along the Lake Erie shoreline but remained high above the farmlands. During that first day, I was sweating and drinking copious amounts of water. By the time I reached Port Glasgow beach, my legs were cramping up and I was exhuasted. The night followed with terrible muscle spasms, my entire leg muscles were stiffening up and it was excruciatingly painful, I writhed in pain, curled on my side, sucked on bamboo salts and eventually passed out. I met a woman the night before, she was a Dutch immigrant who cared for her adopted son's special needs, they kept me company while I setup my tent and they also made a phone call out near the highway, to alert my wife that I was not doing very good. In the morning, I packed up my hidden tent, and rode out of the Glagow Beach harbour to the highway, there my wife met me with the car. We drove 115km back home, and my trip to Newfoundland was stalled, I had hit a major setback: Dehydration sickness.  Back on social media, I shared my first few day experience with my friends, on Facebook, the post drew feedback and suggestions from experienced long-distance cyclists. Mainly, I drew on important points about sports nutrition and hydration. I didn't have Gatorade or any electrolyte replenisher, and I didn't take multivitamins with Magnesium. So, I would shop at Walmart in the coming week, and purchase a few kilograms of Gatorade powder, and a big bottle of Mens 50+ Multivitamins with Magnesium. The preparation with how to stay hydrated, how to prevent muscle cramping and adding loads of Trail mix (dried fruits and nuts), supplementing bread, oatmeal for breakfast and chunks of aged cheddar cheese blocks, coffee and chocolate milk - as a complete energy source for this 73 day journey, made it happen!

Powered by Gatorade, Trail Mix (Nuts and berries), and Mens 50+ Multivitamins, and coffee. Photo taken on old stretch of Transcanada highway near Kemptown, Scotia, Canada, September 2021. 

Why overland travel?

Overland travel, even on a bicycle locally (Photo above: Leamington, Ontario on Lake Erie shoreline) gives one the opportunity to see the outdoors through an outdoors perspective, take it the air and sea. Share the experience with friends that don't normally ride bicycles. Spend an afternoon riding around. Then, for the big trips these small experiences build up for the longer journeys ahead.

On July 31, 2021 at the wee hours of 4:40am, packed with new hope and supplies to deal with the Ontario heatwave and hydration concerns, I left my hometown of Leamington, Ontario with Misung in our Toyota hatchback and she dumped me off in a parking lot in Wallaceburg, Ontario. From there, at approximately 5:30am I began pedaling my mountain bike towards the Bruce Peninsula of Ontario. I only knew from Google Maps the driving distance between Leamington, Ontario and St. John's, Newfoundland was about 4200km away. I chose this route because I needed to cross Ontario, and I wanted to stay along the Great Lakes (Lake Huron at the start, to have access to swimming because the weather was hot and humid (25 celcius plus 60% relative humidity) and continue south of Algonquin Park, staying clear of the big city of Toronto, Ontario. 

40 days later...

Since, my TransCanada cycling route followed the line between Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, Penetanguishene, and Kanata, Ottawa and Montreal, I would continue along the south shore of the mighty St. Lawerence River which eventually meets with the north Atlantic Ocean along Quebec's Gaspesie Peninsula. The decision whether to turn east directly to New Brunswick at Riviere Du Loup, or continue northeast around the Gaspesie Peninsula was a strategic choice I made later in this journey. Once I arrived at Riviere du Loup several weeks later, I needed to address a technical equipment crisis that had manifested as the journey was leaving Ontario. I also camped at the first official campsite Riviere Du Loup, La Pointe muncipal campground, and gulped down a massive banana ice cream split at Regal Glace 

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The photograph above was taken on TransCanada highway in southwest Newfoundland. Brilliant!

My route took me to some great places along Lake Huron, first Grand Bend beach, Sauble Beach, Sauble Falls, Wiarton I passed a huge stone quarry and camped again just outside of Owen Sound on the bottom of the peninsula along the lake front inside a small municipal park. Most camping locations were stealth, undesignated, but I still had access to municipal restrooms to refill water bottles on bathroom taps, wash myself up, and these public facilities were accessible in the evening and mornings before I started riding again. Most stealth camps however, were more remote along stretches of the TransCanada trail, or forests, so there were no amenities to speak of, except proceeding or later once traveling again through the next town or village. You can explore the link above to see sections of the trail that I had access to this summer. I started using the trail in southeastern Ontario and into Quebec. 

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In Sauble Beach, my friend Kimberly Trudell from Windsor Motorcyclists invited me to stay in her spare bedroom, and that was the first real shower at the start of this trip, Other nights, I just plunged into Lake Huron with a piece of Ivory soap and washed myself off before returning to spend 8-10 hours recovery time sleeping, eating, and reading inside my small pop tent.

Overlanding and travel in itself, is an opportunity to meet and make New friends for life!

Meeting Jeremy Steffens, the Musician in North Sidney, Cape Breton was definitely a highlight this summer. We plan to meet up again in 2022. Let's hope this pandemic doesn't stop that possibility!

I made some great friends this summer as well, including Roshen, Tijo and Ninth (above photo at Brunet Park, Windsor) . Roshen made the trip across Ontario and Quebec to meet me up the Gaspe Peninsula on his Honda 250 dual sport motorcycle. We met up again a few weeks back in Windsor.

Thomas Van Der Park ( and Holly) sent a Christmas postcard photo and letter, Thomas and I met while I lived in a van in Michigan through the winter of 1997. We have kept in touch through the years. I still cherish his friendship, and old school method of keeping in touch around the Christmas time of year.

Crossroads for overlanding Adventurers, Gene King (from South Conception Bay, Newfoundland) we met on the ferry to Port-aux Basques, Newfoundland. Shared an AirBnB in Margaree. Great guy!

Sidney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Met this awesome guy who offered me laundry, warm shower, and any help I needed. I had to keep cycling to North Sidney ferry, so just exchanged contacts and back on the road I went. This encounter however, shows how helpful and approachable people are in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. I had many experiences like this one in Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, and especially true in Newfoundland, Canada. Thanks to everyone!

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TransCanada Highway after the Wreckhouse winds, across southwestern Newfoundland, Canada

2008 Koga Miyata World Traveller (26er) fully loaded near St. John's, Newfoundland (with firewood) Below photo taken in late September 2021 on my tour around the Avalon Peninsula north of St. John's. I camped at various wild camping locations during 8 days near the biggest city on the island. There was lots of bushland, and beach coves touching the Atlantic coast, so camping was okay in any of these locations. 

 

I met up with my amazing Newfie friends Cameron Neville and his girlfriend Ashley on several occasions. They knew I was still wild camping at the end of my 70+ day journey and checked up on me, brought cold beers, marshmallows, hotdogs and all the firewood (above) to the bush near Torbay and to the beach at Pouch Cove. Photo above from our campfire at the bush in Torbay. 12am we needed to move the whole camp due to a hostile neighbor concerned with our fire pit. We obliged and packed and moved on to Pouch Cove, the night was eventful but a lot of fun too!

                                 Good Morning! at Pouch Cove, Torbay (eastern) Newfoundland. With waves leftover from recent storms on the north Atlantic Ocean, locals flocked to the Cove to take photos.

I met some awesome local photographers that were spending the whole morning capturing the large waves crashing in on the Pouch Cove rocks and cliffs. The salty Atlantic Ocean was superb!

Life in the tent, that was a principal means of accommodations. I wild camped in the bush for 53 nights, I enjoyed luxury accommodations for 2 nights Marshlands Inn where Queen Elizabeth once stayed in 1984, on other nights I camped in designated campgrounds 6 nights, I stayed with generous Canadian hosts for 12 days, I slept in the airport 1 night when flights leaving St. John's were cancelled due to high winds and rainstorms.

Screenshot on the return Air Canada flight from St. John's, Newfoundland to Montreal, Quebec to Toronto, Ontario to Windsor, Ontario ($518). The bicycle and gear stuffed inside the cardboard bicycle box from Canary Cycles ($11.50) St. John's cost additional $90 as sporting equipment on the flight home.

The East coast trail and Stiles Cove, one of the many Coves along the northern Newfoundland east coastline.

First Blog post this summer from my Sony smartphone: 

Totherocktour - July 31st until ???. I'm fully vaccinated with the new covid-19 vaccine Moderna and ready to hit the road. It's already July 31st and it's 5am going out the front door. I have prepared my bicycle 🚲 🏕 🍁, the KOGA Miyata World traveller that I have dubbed the Mungi Bungi bicycle 26er mountain bike. This is opportune time for a long bicycle journey along the Appalachian mountains ⛰ of eastern Canada. My plan is simple, follow the water along the Canadian/US border 🛂 to Sarnia/Port Huron, ride along Lake Huron and swim 🏊 as often as possible to beat the heat 🔥 wave. Then along the TransCanada Highway 7 ride across the rail trails also known as, TransCanada Trail, camp alongside the cycling and walking trail at sunset each day. The TransCanada Trail has different sections, it's a snowmobile/Quad 4x4 track in winters, but in the summers, it's all of us Outdoor nuts - the hikers, bikers, and nature walkers taking over the dirt and gravel paths across the eastern provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick,Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland. I camp 🏕 🍁 free along these nature trail edges. There are nearly no services along the TransCanada trail itself. No washrooms, no hot showers, no canteens or restaurants close at hand. For services, you have to ride the TransCanada highway 6/7 into towns or cities to get the restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations also offer hot coffee, tea, snacks, and chocolate milk (my high energy favorite). At small supermarkets, I purchase the best breads, vintage aged white cheddar cheese blocks, peanut butter and jams, and trail mix for my fuel. I don't cook on this bicycle adventure. I only eat raw foods, occasionally mixing in some yogurt, chocolate milk, bread and cheese, and the main course is usually, trail mix (peanuts, raisins, dried cherries, Cashew nuts, Walnuts, dates, Chocolate covered nuts or raisins, dried apricots, etc). I also try to buy fresh blueberries that was in season, price is $5 a quart, bananas are readily available everywhere too. To top off my daily trail mix based meals, I take 2x Mens 50+ multivitamins in the morning and 2x the multivitamin horse pills, every evening too. The magnesium supplement is really, really important because it helps me avoid the muscle cramps, and muscle spasms that can plague a touring bicycle traveler. With loads of magnesium, my leg muscles stay limber at night in the tent, however, it's not 100% full-proof. when I had muscle cramps in my legs or feet, it can be severe and I twist and turn to try and relieve the spasms, eventually falling asleep in exhaustion. 

I stopped in Grand Bend, Sauble Beach, Sauble Falls, Wiarton, Owen Sound, Penetenguishine, Peterborough, Sharbot Lake (Provincial Park), Kanata's Costco adjacent field for bush camping, Ottawa, Montreal, Levis (Quebec City is located north Levis on the Saint Lawerence River), I stay along the southern St. Lawerence River shoreline, making wild camps every evening, my search begins around 5pm each day. I am actively traveling by bicycle from 9am-5pm daily. This is my routine. 

Up along the TransCanada Highway near Algonquin Park is getting remote, less and less traffic and more and more woods. Some older hotels and gas stations are all bordered up, no longer a main route for travelers. Still, I find this an opportune route with less traffic and worth the effort to get here.

Lake Sharbot Provincial Park is beautiful, first free park entry, I wash my tent, I wash all my stinky clothes. I stay the day and relax by the shimmering lakes. Not wanting to forego the expensive Ontario camping fees, I opt to continue on the TransCanada highway east until a locate a suitable camping location in the forest edge of the highway. This is also a daily routine i repeat for the entire journey!

Good luck 🤞 🍀 and hope to see you soon. Thanks for the bike ride across eastern Canada 🍁 🤘 😁 this summer. This is a test post 📯 from my phone (: 🇨🇦