Cross Canada Reflections

The statistics entry below is sort of an intro to this post. A cursory glance will tell you that we skimmed through only about a fifth of the top 100 urban areas in this country. Keep in mind that only 20 percent of Canadians live in settlements not on the list of the top 100 cities or towns. Only a few countries can compete with Canada in the sheer vastness department. And those who can (the States, China, and Russia) have far larger populations. For this reason, despite being a profoundly urban nation, Canadians still have an attachment to the vast rural wilderness that surrounds us even while we cling to our pockets of concrete. Biking across Canada really reinforces this impression. Taking the back roads also allows you see the tiny hamlets and villages that you would miss otherwise. And despite most of Canada living in cities, the countryside is still largely fairly industrious. The declining forestry industry is still keeping on from BC to Newfoundland and most places in between. Mining though dead out East, is booming in BC and Saskatchewan and is at least staying afloat in Sudbury. Agriculture and ranching is very present in every province. Though here in Canada there are still vast areas of wilderness even if you don’t include the North. Parts of BC interior, Northern Ontario, the middle of New Brunswick and nearly anything not on the coast of Newfoundland all come to mind. The regional geographic differences such as the above examples are probably what really jumped out at me across Canada the most.

But that said the differences among people were also pretty interesting. It’s easy to find many different peoples across Canada. Language is the most obvious marker. From Manitoba to Nova Scotia we biked through Francophone communities and obviously had total immersion in Quebec outside of Montreal. Another obvious one is the fact the original inhabitants of this land are very much still here. I lost count of all the First Nation reserves we went through. And cities like Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Thunder Bay all have large Native minorities. Biking through rural farming communities you see a lot of evidence of the immigrants that settled this land and whose descendents still live there. Random examples would be: Sikhs in BC, Ukrainians in Alberta, Dokhobours in Saskatchewan, Mennonites in Manitoba, Finns in Ontario, United Empire Loyalists in New Brunswick, Scots in Nova Scotia, Irish in Newfoundland with English and French everywhere in between. There are more subtle regional differences as well- or not so subtle in the case of Newfoundland. But really all that diversity and all those differences are superficial. I found that people were pretty much the same across Canada. Even if it is hard to communicate with someone (such as a Quebecer or even a Newfoundlander) everyone is more then willing to give you directions and help you out. And no matter where we were we always got a couple people coming up and asking what we were up to and encouraging us when they found out. So really Canadians are far less different from each other then we often imagine.

Aside from the Canadiana reflections I have to comment on our expedition unit. It was the smallest expedition group that I have had the pleasure of being a part of so the dynamics are obviously quite different in a two man unit as opposed to a 6 or 12 person group. We each had our expertise- mine on the camping/expedition side of things whereas Tyler was far more knowledgeable about bikes and cycling. We each had snippets of regional familiarity- Tyler guided us thru Calgary and Ottawa and I led thru the crucial metropolises of Aldergrove, BC and Thunder Bay, Ontario. And we both know how to get to Brentwood from the Mill Bay ferry terminal. Anyway it’s impressive that we made it 8400 kilometres and three months together as we can be pretty different people with slightly differing worldviews to say the least. But it’s hard to imagine myself doing it without Tyler so a heartily thank you. I don’t where we would have been without his heroic dishwashing efforts, steely determination in fending off Quebec bikers from jacking our campsite and the ever present can of bear spray- just in case the Grizz tore through the Subway window during lunch. And of course all the memorable conversations, jokes, arguments and debate whether good or bad while we were sober or shitterwrecked will be missed. I couldn’t ask for a better touring companion myself.

Tomorrow or so I will throw up a equipment review with some stats so that’s something to eagerly await.