I’m a week away from my trip to Canada and I think I have everything I need for my ‘credit card tour’ from Montréal to Gaspé. Here’s what I landed on for packing by bike:
This is a SciCon Aerocomfort 2.0 ‘soft case’. I can’t speak to its ability to keep my derailleur from getting smashed in during the flight, but it sure does look packing friendly:
This is how the bike sits inside the bag/box. Notice the pedals are still on and the handlebars are looking straight ahead. Even the derailleur is still there, protected (although it’s hard to see) by a metal bracket that wraps around it. If you’re not too tall, the saddle can even be left up. Yes, I’m thinking the same thing – too good to be true. We’ll see soon enough, but the reviews I’ve read so far have been positive.
Next up, the ultimate seat bag:
Ultimately goofy looking, maybe, but this sucker (Revelate Designs ‘Viscacha’) fits my shoes, 2 pairs of socks, rain jacket, long-sleeve wool jersey, shorts, 2 t-shirts, underwear, toiletry kit, extra tube, and a few other things I can’t remember right now. 14 litres, so they say. I haven’t tested it out yet, but I’ve packed it and I can see that it’ll sway from side to side a bit. There’s not too much climbing on my route, so I don’t think that’ll be an issue.
As for the route, it’s pretty straight forward; follow the St. Lawrence River till it dumps into the Atlantic Ocean. That’s where I come from. I have been using the excellent Route Verte website for accommodation and route tweakings, by the way. Quebec, it seems, has invested a bunch of time and money into creating the largest sign-posted bike route system in North America. I’ll be on a part of it most of the way home.
The Vicious Cycle 
It looks like you got yourself covered! Bonne route.
Thanks, Chikashi. I’ve even got a 25 mm tire to try out. Very excited.
Very cool, Gerry! Love that seat bag. The bike bag indeed sounds too good to be true. I also used a soft bag to HRA yesterday and one of my wheels came out of true, but luckily the local Geneva bike shop trued it. (I would not dare leaving the derailleur on; curious to hear how that’ll go ). Bonnes vacances!
I’ll let you know how it works, Jan. I’m not sure I’ve ever flown without something bending on my bike, so got my fingers crossed. Btw, I bought that bag via the kind folks at Haute Route. We all got discount codes for SciCon bags a few weeks ago.
That looks like great kit. Don’t forget the bug repellant.
I wasn’t going to pack any. Hoping I’d be riding too fast for them…
Love the bag Gerry, as you know I have two EVOC bags which have done the job for the last couple of years with nothing broken (I haven’t opened them up yet from yesterday’s flight) but your bag looks far more stable with the frame tie down system and double wheels. If i hadn’t gotten such a good deal for the two bags I have, basically two bags at cost I would have gotten yours. Good Choice! See you next Sunday.
‘Next Sunday’ sounds so close, Pierre! Hope you’re ready for a long, flat day on the bike.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. How is the boss going to take that I just came back from holidays just to be off one more day.
He’ll get over it. Unless you’re talking about Ginette!
I too am looking forward to a report on derailleur condition (if I can convince HerrKaa to fly with his Canyon, this could revolutionize vacationing for us), and pics of my supposed terre natale.
Am fascinated by your “pannier”. I see a bit of irony in that you’ll be credit card camping in the wilds of the Gaspé, while I’ll be hauling tent, stove and so forth to bike tour in….Germany.
When are you and M. Ruf heading off? I see the irony, too, but my guess is that hotel touring in Canada is still rougher than camping in Germany!
I am heading off week after next, for a few weeks of solo touring. Herr Ruf will join me in early September for 2 weeks, at some still TBD location. I’m hoping by then I’ll be fit enough to keep up with him. Although, if not, I’ll offload tent etc to him :).
I’m with Jan, take the dérailleur off. I take mine off ever time I travel and I have a hard shell case. Better to be safe than scrambling around Montreal trying to find a bike shop.
It won’t take much to take it off, but I’m really curious to see if the ‘protector’ works. Probably not worth the risk, though.
I’ve moved my bike in a different, but I assume similar (EVOC) soft bag and always take the derailleur off, then tie it into the inside. Also I tie/wrap up the chain since it is such a nuisance to fix if it wraps into itself, in that incomprehensible nasty way chains sometimes do. Bubble wrap is a better invention than sliced bread. How is your fork protected …. there are nightmare stories around about forks.
You are riding with so much less gear than I do! Very fun. Maybe I’ll dredge up a post there… and, have a great trip!
The forks aren’t protected, other than the padding in the bag. I’ll take a drive town to Casto and get some zip ties and bubble wrap to make myself feel good, maybe!
Feeling good about a bike in transit is always a good thing.
Hi, bonne route! The trip looks great on the map. I m with the rest. Dera. And pedals off. I am travelling with mtb shoes, saves a second pair of shoes. Did you buy the seat bag in Europe? Have fun!
Carsten
I have mtb shoes, too, so that could be an idea. Then again, my power meter happens to be in my pedals! Not much need for the meter, though. Good thinking, Carsten. The bag is from Alaska, but I think I bought it from an inernet shop in France.
Want. The bike bag arrangement with that support frame looks great – though I don’t actually have a derailleur on my bike, if you recall. Still, it looks very stable and secure – nice choice. But I second the bubble wrap idea, and if the derailleur comes off easily…
Oh, and the shoes – I’ve been commuting in the Keen Arroyo SPD sandals this summer, and I have to say they’re fantastic. Good, comfortable fit, plenty of airflow, ‘waterproof’ (i.e. rain won’t screw them up, and they dry quickly) – and good to walk in. Keen also have the Commuter III’s (all synthetic – the Arroyo’s have some leather), and a few ‘normal looking’ shoes with SPD soles, and I’d certainly be considering one of these as a single-pair-of-shoes solution for a trip like this.
I’ll need ‘street shoes’ once I finish my ride, so it’s best that I take them along I think. Can’t see myself walking around rural Quebec (or anywhere, for that matter) in cleats, SPD or otherwise!. Those sandals sound great for what you use them for, by the way.
Im just wondering that you have the logistics of getting there planned really well but are you going to be in Lycra the whole time you are there? Disco dancing at your sister’s party in Lycra and cleats. How does that work? You may have posted something about that already.
Not sure I mentioned it but I’ve sent some ‘normal clothes’ along to Canada. Not many, though. I think I’ll end up buying a few items when I get there.
I still think you should take a look at Keen’s web site – they have a range of decently ‘normal’ looking SPD shoes. You could always take off the cleats once you arrive, and put the protective dummy-plates back on for a while… Anyway, just a thought.
Might check them out some day, but only have a few days before the trip, so will make do with my Sidi disco shoes!