Cross Canada Series – Part 1 – Victoria to Winnipeg

This is the ultimate way to see your country – or at least the western third of it. Begin at the beaches of western British Columbia, move into mountain territory, then the Okanagan, the stunning Rocky Mountains, and drop down into a rural landscape of the farmlands and small towns of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as well as the big cities of Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg.  We don’t know what else we can say about it. This tour is a six-week camping tour with 12 hotel nights. See the Itinerary for a complete day-by-day description. (Note that this is the first section of the Cross Canada ride in what we hope will be a three-series ride, with Ottawa to St. John’s Newfoundland in 2027 and Winnipeg to Ottawa in 2028. At least, that’s the current plan if all goes well and there are sufficient volunteers.)

This tour will involve more than just cycling. The objective is to experience the different facets of the communities we will travel through as much as possible. See details provided below.

Ebikes are welcome on this tour if you have the extra battery power described under Riding Conditions.

Ride start/end and logistics – This is a one-way tour and everyone will have to figure out their own specific logistics for how they will get to the tour start and home from the tour end. The tour starts in Tsawwassen, which is near the Vancouver airport, and it ends in Winnipeg, which also has an airport. If you can drive to the tour start, we will organize “host families” – i.e., Fraser Valley club members who will let you park your car at their house for the tour duration. Participants will need to arrange transport for themselves, their gear and bike at the end of the tour.

√ Is This Tour Right For You?

You should consider signing up for this tour if you:

• • Want to cycle across western Canada – British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and most of Manitoba – and do it with reasonable daily distances.
  • Want to experience more than just cycling and enjoy the local culture, foods, and communities.
  • Have reviewed the itinerary and think you can complete the daily cycling distances now or that you will be able to by the time the tour departs in a year’s time. (We will have a support truck, but it is only for carrying luggage and an ill or injured cyclist should the occasion arise. The truck is not available to carry tired cyclists.)
  • Function well in a group setting and can get along with others even when you are tired, wet, cold, hot, or covered with mosquito bites.
  • Are a “low maintenance” person and understand that things will not always go the way you want them to.

• Most Importantly – Are a team player most of the time and willing to share your skills with the other tour members.

X You should not sign up for this tour if you

• • Want to cycle across western Canada quickly and make good time by cycling long distances every day.
  • Like to cycle but you’re not interested in the other activities offered by this tour.
  • Don’t think you can complete all the daily cycling.
  • Have a difficult diet such as gluten or dairy intolerance, no sugar, etc. We can accommodate food allergies that will put you in the hospital, such as a peanut or shellfish allergy. We cannot accommodate dietary choices.
  • Have difficulties traveling with groups and/or keeping your temper in check when things are not going well.
  • Have high standards for campgrounds, hotels, food, etc. These will not always be met on this tour.

• If you prefer to be in charge and/or operate independently versus working as a team member. 

Scouting Effort:

This tour was quite thoroughly scouted this spring by five volunteer CCCTS scouters:

• Team Seattle – Robin Howe (Tour Leader) – Tsawwassen to Kindersley, SK
• Team Edmonton – Danielle Amerongen and Rachel Champagne – Kindersley to Regina
• Team Twin Falls – Bill and Charlotte Eberlein – Regina to Winnipeg

We all owe a big Thank You to these club members who volunteered their time and their money (hotels, gas, food, and new tires for one) to help make this tour as successful as possible. Will the route and accommodations be perfect? No, absolutely not, but they will be as good as we can make them. Our scouting effort definitely paid off and we made route changes to improve safety and accommodation changes to avoid less than ideal campgrounds, including those without toilets, when it was possible. 

Tour accommodations will range from very nice hotels to campgrounds that are minimal at best. We have done the best we can and volunteers have fully scouted the entire route. But there are some regions with very small towns and low populations where there was no choice. Some campgrounds have full RV-type services with laundry rooms, lovely showers, swimming pools, and other amenities. Other campgrounds are more like a patch of grass surrounded by a “faded” small town. We do plan to purchase a portable toilet for the truck to deal with the potential risk of a seriously inadequate campground.

Food:

Included meals are marked as B/L/D/S (snacks) on the daily itinerary. We are planning to eat really well. Most of the food will be homemade by the Weekly Teams. There will be plenty of yummy and healthy food. An average day will include three meals prepared in our own camp kitchen. We did not budget for “steak and lobster”, but we budgeted sufficiently to ensure we can serve three healthy meals a day with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Whenever possible, we will try to buy local produce and take advantage of local specialties, like local sausage or cheese, ordering dessert from a local bakery, ethnic groceries enroute, etc. Secondary to the tour group eating well, we want to support the local businesses and farmers whenever we can. The Weekly Teams will be responsible for researching the local food opportunities and giving this information to whoever is driving and shopping for the day.

Weekly Teams will be encouraged to branch out a bit from standard North American fare when they have the time and energy. We hope some Weekly Teams will serve up some ethnic meals – e.g., Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern. We can stock the truck with some non-perishable ethnic food ingredients in Surrey, BC before we leave the big city and it becomes more difficult to buy some of these items.

Truck Stops – Every day that we are cycling, our truck will stop at least once to make sure the cyclists are doing ok and to provide water and snacks. 

Meals Out – You will see on the itinerary that there are a number of restaurant meals included in the tour. We will normally have a group dinner out once a week – our layover day in a hotel. There are a number of other restaurant/café meals included like hotel breakfasts, group coffee and pastry stops, and group lunches. On our hotel days, some meals are not included so you will have the opportunity to do your own thing, or go out with your buddies, new and old.

Riding conditions will cover just about the full spectrum of all cycling conditions that are possible. Our route will include:

• Lots of rural, low traffic roads. Whenever possible, the route will take these roads.
• Highways with good shoulders, highways with rumble strips and narrow shoulders, and lower traffic highways with no shoulders.
• Highways with high-speed traffic where it is unavoidable.
• Mostly paved roads but some gravel roads and trails. 
• Dedicated bike trails where they are available, including good gravel trails.
• Some urban cycling to get through the cities on our route.

Every single person on this tour must come with their own GPS device or smart phone that will operate with RWGPS and know how to use it. There are no exceptions to this requirement. All riders must have data and a phone plan for the cell phones. We won’t have designated ride leads or sweeps but we will come looking for you if you don’t show up at the campground/hotel at a reasonable time and in time for dinner. Everyone should find at least one other person to ride with who rides at a compatible speed. We prefer that no one rides alone. 

Bikes – You will need to bring a dependable bike that you are comfortable riding. Tires should be a minimum of 28 mm and preferably 32 mm since we will be riding on some gravel trails and roads. Everyone will need to bring multiple spare tubes, a spare tire, and what they need for daily bike maintenance. If you are riding an ebike, you must bring a spare battery. There are a few nights that we won’t have power at our campground but never two nights in a row. Because of this, you need to bring enough battery power to last for two 90k days in a row with a mountain pass each day. 

Weather – We have done our best to pick timing for the tour that minimizes weather issues, but it would be a miracle if we don’t have them. You need to be mentally and physically prepared (including gear-wise)  for weather that is:

• Too hot,
• Too cold,
• Too wet,
• Too windy,
• Too many bugs,
• Too much wildfire smoke.

Camping Gear:

Every tour member must supply their own personal camping gear, including a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, folding chair, and set of non-breakable dishes/utensils/cutlery in a mesh bag to hang in the truck in between meals. Everyone needs to bring a battery pack, as well, for charging their cell phone when power is not available. We will bring the club’s camping equipment that includes coolers, shelving for the truck, large propane stoves, lanterns, cooking/eating tents, and tables. 

• Lodging for a total of 43 nights with 12 nights planned for hotels, based on two persons sharing a room, and 31 nights planned for campgrounds.  The split between hotel and campground nights could vary based on conditions. (We budgeted a limited amount for extra hotel nights if the weather is really bad and a hotel is available.) 
• Most meals, as noted in the Itinerary 
• Support truck to carry luggage and one cyclist in an emergency. Luggage will be limited to soft-sided bags weighing no more than 15kg each but it’s ok to bring multiple bags. We won’t be able to carry hard-sided bike bags or bike boxes due to lack of space.
• Group outings and activities, as noted in the Itinerary. These include outings to the Fort at Fort Langley, Revelstoke Aquatic Center, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, guided tour of Regina Legislature and Regina walking tour, Assiniboine Zoo Journey to Churchill in Winnipeg. There will be several more outings/visits to local concerts, festivals, museums, etc. planned by the Weekly Teams.
• One half of tour fee for Co-Leader, volunteer Tour Driver, and volunteer Tour Treasurer
• GPS routes 
• Credit card stripe fee (3% of the tour fees)  

• Transportation for riders and bikes to and from the starting and ending point of the tour 
• Some meals as noted in Itinerary 
• Bike-related expenses 
• Tour Leader fee (waived)
• Travel insurance for trip cancellation and travel medical expenses

                                    Totals: 2,812 kilometers, 19,465 meters of elevation gain

(40 breakfasts, 34 lunches, 34 snacks, and 32 dinners included with the tour)                          

Volunteer Jobs and Requirements:

It will take a village to execute this tour. Everyone on the tour will have multiple volunteer jobs:

• Tour Driver (50% discount on tour fee) – We need a volunteer Tour Driver who will drive and grocery shop half of the time, or more, and cycle the remaining time.  Our co-leader will drive and grocery shop whenever the Tour Driver isn’t on duty. The Tour Driver needs to be willing to drive on the days we are going through the urban areas – Vancouver metropolitan region, Kelowna, Calgary metro, Regina, and Winnipeg.

• Tour Treasurer (50% discount on tour fee) – We need a volunteer Tour Treasurer who will pay for tour expenses during the tour with tour funds. These expenses will include daily groceries, fuel, sundry supplies, some campground fees (though most of these are paid in advance), and some hotel fees (others are paid in advance). Tour funds will be remitted to the Tour Treasurer in advance so he/she will not be out-of-pocket for any tour expenses. The Tour Treasurer will track expenditures and monitor actual expenses versus budgeted expenses. The Tour Leader, who is a CPA, will also monitor actual expenses versus budget. The Tour Treasurer must have a Canadian bank account and set up a credit card just for the tour.
• Everybody’s Jobs 
  • Weekly Teams – Everyone will be assigned to a Weekly Team. The Weekly Teams will cook for the group (breakfast, lunch, dinner) approximately once a week.  (If the assigned Weekly Team needs extra helpers, anyone can be pulled in to assist.) Weekly Teams will also be assigned a one-week section of the tour to research the area and come up with any activities and cultural opportunities for the group (e.g., museums, local concerts, festivals, art events). Our tour budget includes a modest amount of money per person per week for the Weekly Teams to use for this purpose.
  • Daily Chores – loading/unloading the truck, setting up the cook tent and kitchen and taking it down, washing dishes, setting up and taking down your personal tent.
  • Special Duties – We will need a volunteer Wagon Master (supervises the loading of the truck), Non-Perishable Supplies Master (monitors non-perishables on the truck and notifies the Weekly Teams what needs to be replenished), Coffee Master (likes to get up early and make coffee for everyone), Beverage Master (manages the Happy Hour beverage supply and collects payment), Safety Master (keeps track of our first aid supplies and monitors route safety conditions), Route Master (monitors road construction and traffic for our daily routes), and Equipment Master (manages setting up our power plug-ins at the campgrounds and dealing with the propane stoves). There may be more Special Duties we haven’t thought of yet.
  • Sharing Your Special Skills – If you have a special skillset – like advanced first aid, bike mechanics, fixing broken equipment, cooking, or counseling – we will be looking to you to share your expertise with the group and tour members when/if help is needed. The philosophy of this tour will be “all for one and one for all”.

If we cannot fill all the volunteer jobs discussed above, the tour will not be able to go forward. 

Registration will be on the CCCTS website on the date shown. A computerized lottery system and waitlist will be utilized in the event that the ride is over-subscribed. A $100 CAD payment is required at the time of registration.

 If you want your own hotel room and are willing to pay the Single Supplement fee (an additional $2,000), please notify the leaders when you register. 

If you are interested in being the Volunteer Driver or the Volunteer Tour Treasurer, in exchange for a 50% discount on your tour fee, please notify the leaders when you register.

The lottery signup will run for 14 days, after which the Ride Leader will review the results.

The selection process will consider the following criteria in evaluating candidates:

• fitness and riding ability and experience required for the tour,
• a history of demonstrating safe riding practices,
• acceptable social behavior.

The leader may interview riders or others who know them to verify their suitability for the tour.

Leaders will have more leeway with tour member selection for this tour than is standard due to the nature of this tour and the length of time involved. In addition to the criteria listed above, tour registrants who have been club members for at least a year and who have participated in at least one CCCTS tour in the past will be prioritized over those who have not. 

The leader also has the option to prioritize 30% of the tour applicants up to a maximum of 6 people.

The leader will have the final decision on who is accepted or not for the tour.

• The leader will notify registrants of their selection status. If the ride is not filled to capacity, registration will continue until the closing dates shown.

• After you have been notified you are selected for the tour, the tour fee deposit of $1,400 CAD is due by October 10, 2025. 
• The remaining tour fee payments will be due $2,000 on March 1, 2026 and the final payment of $2,000 on May 15, 2026.

Cancellations and Refunds

• In the event of cancellation – The registration fee is non-refundable when a member withdraws from a tour once they have been accepted.  If a replacement can’t be found, we will refund any remaining tour fees paid for costs that can be avoided. However, if there are costs that cannot be avoided, these will not be refunded. 

Communicable Illness Information:

• • The CCCTS Communicable Illness Policy takes into consideration regulations and recommendations from Public Health Authority of Canada, BC Centre of Disease Control, and Public Health Ontario. In the case of illness while on tour, it is expected that all participants will follow the procedures outlined in this policy. Please refer to https://cccts.org/club-document/communicable-illness/ for details on the club’s Communicable Illness Policy.

• CCCTS strongly encourages all participants to be up-to-date on their vaccinations for COVID and all other communicable diseases.  

• Everyone should bring 3 COVID test kits with them on the tour and take responsibility for self-testing if they feel ill.