Testing, testing, 1-2-3

This is my blog kick-off post. I've been scurrying about Ottawa for the last two weeks attempting to wrap up my student life, pack my house, play as much frisbee as possible, and of course plan the bike trip across Canada.

Less than two weeks ago, I decided that my 1960's Peugot road bike would not suffice for a 5000+ km journey across Canada. And so I began researching touring bikes. One week later, I bought a Devinci Caribou from Kundstadt Sports (pronounce it as you wish). At $1300, this is an entry level touring bike, yet it still had not problem emptying my bank account. Here is a picture of the beast from the DeVinci website.For those interested in bikes, here are some specs for the Caribou 1
- double walled, 36 spoked wheels (necessary when carrying a significant load)
- 27 speeds (to help destroy any mountain overpasses that stand in my way)
- Shimano Sora front derailleur (low end road bike derailleur)
- Shimano Deore LX rear deailleur (better than Sora)
- Shimano Tiagra shifters (byaaah! Upgraded from Sora, definitely worth it)
- Selle Italia XO saddle (first trip it did quite a number on my ass, but only time will tell)

I bought this bike because it is has some reputation in the touring world, although it is entry level. Either way, I'm bringing plenty of spare parts. Ideally, I would have bought the Trek 520 touring bike, a very respected and widely used entry level touring bike. However, I decided to buy a bike quite late and they were all sold out.

Enough technical info, onto the juice. The plan right now is to fly to Vancouver on June 5th with Mike and tour Vancouver Island for just under two weeks. On June 18th we head back to Vancouver to meet up with Pat, spend a few days in Vancouver and then head off East.

I have never been out west further than Calgary, and I must say, I'm pumped! Vancouver Island looks amazing, especially Pacific Rim National Park (close to Tofino) where we have reserved camping. The Rockies and BC in general look pretty sweet too from this far. I can't focus on anything beyond Rockies yet because they overshadow it. However, once this trip is under way, that will change.

I might put in another post before I leave town, we'll see.