Road tripping across the country is one thing, but a cyclist from Alaska set out on a different journey this year: biking across Canada from coast to coast.
Piper Haney arrived in St. John’s on her bicycle on Thursday after leaving Victoria in May, all because she wanted to explore Canada, she said.
“I was looking for a really long adventure,” said Haney, who is originally from Colorado but works as a social worker in Alaska.
And a long adventure she has had. She spent six months pedalling through the rugged western mountains, central prairies, and eastern forests to reach the Atlantic coastline — with a dip into northern Minnesota and Michigan for a safer route.
“I think a lot of Americans have gone to maybe one or two places in Canada, but it’s just really cool to compare and see the really striking differences between provinces,” she said.
Now, she’s finished her final leg of the journey through Newfoundland as temperatures were dropping.
“With it getting darker and colder, it felt like time was ticking to get there,” she said. “The fall colours have been astounding.”
Piper Haney celebrates her six-month bike ride from Vancouver Island to Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site in Newfoundland. (Submitted by Piper Haney)
Trip highlights the good in people
Haney biked between 60 and 90 miles per day (96 and 145 kilometres) depending on the terrain, she said. She packed light, carrying the essentials on her bike: a sleeping pad, sleeping bag, water filter, camping stove, chair, layers for different weather, tools to fix her bike and lots of snacks.
Along the way she’s found Canadians to be kind, generous and hospitable, Haney said.
“It just like really highlights the good in people,” she said, citing people along her route eager to help or offer a cup of tea.
“It just makes you feel very, very welcome … I’ve run into nothing but good people and really beautiful scenery.”
Although she said the U.S. government has been “pretty provocative” towards Canada throughout her ride, she’s found Canadians haven’t held it against her.
“I am a bit embarrassed of how my country is managing those dynamics. But I’ll have political conversations with Canadians, and they’re just like nothing but kind to me.”
The good and the black flies
The trip has also taught her that even if a hill is huge or terrain is tough, there is something good around the corner, she said.
Camping and being outside in the elements made her cherish the smaller things in life — such as a cold drink on a hot day, sleeping in a bed, cooking on an indoor stove or a friendly stranger giving a fist pump as she biked up a big hill.
Piper Haney pushes her bike up a rugged trail along the Great Northern Bikepacking Route. (Submitted)
That doesn’t mean the journey was without struggle.
She came across a lot of black bears, but some of the biggest challenges were big climbs in B.C. and the biting flies of Manitoba, she said. And of course, the biking.
“There’s definitely some challenging sections, and because it’s mostly on gravel and remote roads, it takes takes a bit longer,” she said.
Great Northern Bikepacking Route
The 13,600 kilometre route, called the Great Northern Bikepacking Route, includes a whopping 123,000 metres of elevation.
The map was dreamt up by Matthew Kadey, who lives in Waterloo, Ont. Kader said he wanted to create a rugged and off-road route for cyclists going across the country.
“People have been cycling across Canada for decades, but it’s been mostly road-oriented or traditional rail trails and that,” he said.
He created the route through a combination of reaching out to local cyclists and using GPS software to map it out.
Waterloo’s Matthew Kadey mapped the Great Northern Bikepacking Route that spans Canada from coast to coast. (Submitted)
“It’s still pretty niche,” he said.
“I really get a lot of satisfaction out of giving people a really good adventure,” Kadey said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of adventure, something you would never forget.”
But he warns, there are lots of highs and lows, and the terrain isn’t always easy.
Haney agrees.
“It takes you to some pretty remote places. But if you’re down for an adventure and looking to see really cool corners of the provinces, I would definitely recommend it.”
As for next on Haney’s to-do list, she’s said she’s going to go home, sew a pair of jeans and maybe get a dog.