Bike touring in three directions across North America(this page is under construction)
August 2015 Baltimore Maryland to Asheville North Carolina
In 2015 after handing in my MSc thesis, I cycled the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge Mountains in the eastern United States - an immersive and revitalizing experience. I had just submitted my thesis from Baltimore where I was giving a conference presentation when I bought a $150 mountain bike on Craigslist then left town. I cycled to Washington DC then inland to gain the extensive Blue Ridge Mountains parkway from Maryland through Virginia and North Carolina. The trip from Baltimore to Asheville was about 800km following a road that continuously climbed up and over mountain tops all the while surrounded by towering Carolinian forest. Pedalling my heavy mountain bike 150km a day I experienced profound exhaustion that wiped my mental state clean of the tedious workload I had just been through. I was a new man. Although it was tough, that was also one of the safest tours I have ever done with very little traffic and I loved the Appalachian mountain culture and music.
2012-2013 Vancouver to Panama
Click here to read full story. The following is a summary: In 2012 I set course to cycle tour from Vancouver BC to San Francisco with my good friend James Caldwell. My first objective was to visit the largest trees in the world along the way. I wasn't too sure how far I would actually make it because in years prior, my knee injuries had seriously curtailed the amount and intensity of adventure that my body could handle.
But my knees proved strong, and I ended up cycling to the farthest corner of the continent over eight months on a bike ride that brought me across across nine countries, including the United States, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, ending my cycling trip at the Panama Canal.
Having a focus on forest exploration enhanced the already purposeful task of cycling across the continent and it led me to some genuinely interesting and off the beaten track experiences. I visited many of the largest trees in the world, including the largest giant sequioas, red-cedars, Sitka Spruces, and Douglas-fir.
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| World's widest red-cedar located just off route in Olympic National Park, Washington. It would seem a shame to cycle past this giant without stopping in for a visit. I think it was one of the most remarkable trees of the trip! |
I wrote many blogs, posted videos of gnarly desert riding, and am also slowly working away writing a book about the travel experience.
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| 10800 km bike ride from Vancouver to Panama |
2006 - Across Canada from Cape Scott to Cape Spear
In my maiden bicycle tour I cycled from the western tip of Vancouver Island to the Eastern top of Newfoundland, cycling just over 10,000 km. My motivation was to experience my own country self-sufficiently. I was successful reaching Newfoundland in September 2006, having had incredible experiences along the way. You are welcome to flip through the whole story. But otherwise, check out these awesome highlights from across the country:
- On Vancouver Island, I saw 12 black bears in three days then took time to help a First Nations man build his kayak camp on a remote coast line (Click on photos to view story).
- hiked around to the backside of Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains,
- partied with Edmontonians during the Stanley Cup Playoffs
- canoed with my friend Cameron Jynks about 400km into the boreal forests of northern Saskatchewan
- Spent a week in each of Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City
- Cycled most the way around the Gaspesie Peninsula in Quebec, then hiked up Mont Jaque Cartier
- Cycled around PEI and then the Bay of Fundy... well, until my hub exploded and I had to hitchike to Halifax
- Cycled around the Cape Breton Island Highlands park (in terrible weather!)
- Encountered another 8 bears by the time I was in Newfoundland
- After arriving to Cape Spear Nfld, cycled back across Nfld and spent two weeks hiking in Gros Mourne National Park, weathering a powerful hurricane with some locals along the way.
