Biking 5300km Around Western Canada at 18

thank you summer 2023 this would be the time where I decided that I would go for my big bike trip all the way from Avatar BC up to Watson Lake in the Yukon and eventually made my way back to my home in Winnipeg Manitoba I left pretty much right after I graduated at 18 years old and would cover about 5 300 kilometers over 42 days I would have mountains prairies remote places in northern BC and so much more it would be an experience that I would never forget this is my trip [Music] all right the night before all packed up here trip tomorrow morning the day was finally here August 5th after working for about a month in BC I was finally all ready to go bike it's crazy well about to leave Sam Nana Grandpa All In Goodbye from the mission Mike all right about to leave all big loaded down [Applause] that's it [Music] after finally departing my grandparents and my friend Sam biked with me all the way to the mission Bridge it was a very nice Sunrise we made it to the bridge and said goodbye and it was off bye love you and I'm alone Mission BC first other uh yeah I made my way through Mission and then got to Silverdale I briefly saw my uncle in Silverdale and he would be the last family member that I would see for thousands of kilometers after that I made my way through the Lower Mainland in Maple Ridge accidentally hit a garbage bin which caused my front herd to be loose but I quickly fixed that [Music] after a decent bit of biking I made my way through Coquitlam which was very cool and then eventually after quite a while I got to the city of Vancouver it was very busy and I saw lots of homeless people as well it was quite something being in downtown of the biggest city of the whole trip [Music] while biking through Stanley Park a guy named Keith pulled over in his vehicle and gave me some hard taco shells and some salsa it was very nice and was the first person that I would talk to on the trip and have a very nice encounter with after that I crossed a Lionsgate bridge and made my way onto the city sky highway just before the Sea to Sky highway I was able to find a little creek to cool off in after that I did a pretty big climb out of Vancouver like nothing I had ever done before it was very very busy there's lots and lots of hills to Squamish uphill downhill but I had a very nice view of the ocean [Music] first black bear 34 kilometers before Squamish I eventually got to Squamish they stopped at Wendy's stopped at the dollar store and got a little arrow bar after that I briefly left Squamish and then found a spot to camp for the very first night of this trip it was an unreal feeling that I had not a clue what I had got myself into [Music] thank you I was very hopeful for an easier day the second day I went down the Sea of the sky highway I stopped at a pretty nice Viewpoint just shortly in the morning there and after a little bit I made it to Whistler so it was a very cool town at biked through foreign [Music] ly after Whistler I passed by a very beautiful Lake after that I made my way to Pemberton about 30 kilometers it felt like it was nearly all downhill well very beautiful [Music] just after I passed through Pemberton it got very flat I then churned right to continue on the highway 99 toward lilliwet BC finally felt like I could do [Music] this however just when I was starting to enjoy myself I started a massive climb I didn't expect it at all and it had 15 grades the mountain really made me question why I would choose to do a trip like this but after many countless exhausting hours after walking my bike and biking on the easiest gear I finally was reaching for the top and nearing the spotlight camp for the night [Music] all right well I believe this is pass I think it's called let's just climb the mountain finally now it's downhill looks crazy if I find a nice spot on the way down I'm gonna stop to camp at it so yeah shortly after passing the top of the mountain I found a spot to camp just off the highway that night ending one of the most exhausting days of the whole trip there was a bear right over there I was excited for the start of the third day because I knew it would nearly be all downhill for the first couple hours after climbing the massive Mountain yesterday foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] within a span of a couple hours as well I met three other bike tourists hello I'm good how are you where are you coming from [Music] Arizona from France hello hello I'm good how are you I'm good I'm tired yeah big climb you just did where are you from uh just from here Abbotsford oh okay how about you I am from Spain Spain yes and my girlfriend and friends wow yes where are you coming from biking so all up in Alaska there yes Argentina okay very good all right thank you all right good luck all right very good luck thank you bye see ya you after meeting a couple biking from Alaska all the way to Argentina I had a very big downhill and it was just amazing [Music] all right I'm approaching a little away right over there [Music] after I left a little wet it got quite hot however there was some very beautiful views so that kind of made up for it I ended up stopping at a gas station getting some ice cream too foreign [Music] that night I ended up staying at a campground I met a very nice person named Jessica and she let me stay on her Campground and to set up my tent on there it was very nice and she gave me some food and stuff too it was pretty cool day four would be pretty exciting I would reach the end of the highway 99 through the sky highway and finally get to the Caribou highway highway highway 97. oh however there was some very nice downhills before I reached highway 97. after a little bit though I finally did it was an amazing feeling well I am usually at Highway 97 I did not expect to get here so soon in the day but that's great I will have liked the length of all of Highway 99 so that's pretty cool and I guess I will take will take me to Prince George so yeah it's crazy after a little bit of rain a little bit of not feeling well I made it to Clinton it's a very nice town and then after that I just continued for quite a while it's very nice after a big hill after Clinton I was very surprised to see how much it just flattened out I didn't think BC could get so flat [Music] summit bagdi we're 4 000 feet [Music] [Music] well there are two uh F Trudeau Flags just in the middle of the little Lake thing there funny after a little bit I got to 100 Mile House I had never been there and I ended up stopping at Subway as well it also ended up starting to rain quite a bit after I left 100 Mile House after a bit I reached it was a pretty nice place but after a little bit it started to rain which is not so nice really for the first time of the trip although I did find a couple places to take shelter and I ended up asking a RV park if I could stay there tonight and the older lady that was very very nice and she let me stay in an undercover area and she made sure I had food water and everything that I could possibly need it was very very nice to her [Music] oh day five so yeah [Music] day five it started off with the rain lots of rain after a little bit though I eventually started to make my way to 150 mile house [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] not too long after I finally reached Williams Lake I went to McDonald's there got some food and then I had a pretty decent climb out of Williams Lake and then it was on my way to Cornell [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] well it's raining again the wind's picked up a little bit too there's like a small storm over there it looks like so after mclees Lake I started to notice more and more rain off in the distance so I knew that I would have rain later again [Music] yeah all right well the storm is right over there it looks like I'm gonna get some of it so that's gonna be [Music] foreign [Music] finally stopped and I was finally making my way to Cornell and Quinnell I would stay with my parents Old Friends Dan and Debbie for a night they were very nice and it was very nice to see them again after about 13 years [Music] we ended up having pizza that night and it was very nice being able to have a nice warm shower and a bed to sleep in that night I ended up restocking on food and then eventually around 11 o'clock was when I left glenel [Music] even though I left past 11 that day I still wanted to make it to Hicks and BC nearing Hixson the roads got quite a bit worse and there was lots of construction too but eventually I was able to make it to Hixson it ended up being a beautiful day for riding and I made it just about 20 kilometers south of Prince George that day in the end I found a very nice place to Camp just on the side of the highway [Music] [Music] thank you well I got the rain thing on for the tent because felt a couple raindrops and it's supposed to rain and tiny bit overnight so yeah looks cool though [Music] I was finally one week into my trip I was excited for today because I would reach Prince George which was my first Milestone that I had in mind I'd never been there before so it was pretty cool to eventually get there when I did what Prince George [Music] it's kind of their first bigger milestone so that's pretty cool thank you [Applause] near in the middle of Prince George I would reach highway 16. I would turn left there to start heading west down the Yellowhead Highway also known as the highway of Tears until I would finally reach after a number of days kit Wonka as I started to leave Prince George it started to rain again as well [Applause] found the BC license plate so I'm gonna throw out the Washington one just like that put this on my bike [Music] [Music] it started to rain quite a bit after a little while but it eventually stopped not too long after a little bit though I started to get my way to Vander hoof that would also be the time where I would reach about 1 000 kilometers on my trip which I had never done before [Music] [Music] thank you not too far outside of Vanderhoof I noticed more rain coming so I decided to set up camp a little bit earlier that night so I could get my stuff out of the ring before I started again all right spell to start or it already is raining decently hard so I have set up a tent the rain thing over it and I'll be camping here for the night this field so yeah a little bit past uh Vanderhoof so yeah well it is raining so yeah good thing I set this up for it all got wet [Applause] [Music] day eight I'm really starting to get into the trip now over a thousand kilometers in and I'm finally off the Caribou Highway as well I'm heading toward northern BC but I'm not quite there yet [Music] [Music] after not too long in the morning I reached Fort Fraser it was a nice little town but shortly after that I met a couple who was driving all the way from Argentina and it's going up to Alaska they gave me some water and it was also pretty cool because they did barely spoke any English but we were still able to have a pretty good conversation all right here's Fraser Lake so that's cool foreign with the wind and I have so much resistance [Music] all right this day I was able to make it all the way to Burns Lake in Burns Lake I found a free campground in town and then I also went to the store and restocked on food later in the day foreign [Music] [Music] leaving Burns Lake was very calm and nice today I would hope to make my way all the way to Smithers well another Summit I didn't even realize I was going up one but 840 meters so that's something awfully [Music] dog back there ran right out into the highway barking at me came right up to me gave me a little nip ran away so I was interesting after leaving toplet it became quite flat it was pretty nice after a little bit I reached Houston BC and that around there was where I saw the first small small fires of the trip to leaving Houston I came in view of the mountains again they were very beautiful I also had a pretty decent climb and eventually after a little bit I reached telkwa 69 feet 844 meters second one today you of all this is amazing [Music] view is just incredible second bear and like half a kilometer other one was down there well made it to telkwa [Music] [Music] thank you after Telco it was a very beautiful and short ride all the way to Smithers I stayed in Smithers for a little while and my kickstand also snapped there which was a little bit unfortunate [Music] [Music] well my bike stand broke so foreign [Music] ERS I found a beautiful spot to set up camp for the night it was right beside some massive mountains and the sunset was just beautiful [Music] [Music] day 10 would be pretty exciting I would hopefully reach the Stewart cashier Highway Highway 37 that would lead all the way up to the Yukon northern BC [Applause] as I got further north I would pass through more and more small native towns as well [Music] after a little bit I reached new Hazelton I had restock on food there before the long remote stretch go in a pie 37 that would last for about a week [Music] foreign [Music] it was a very nice area between new Hazleton and the junction that would lead to highway 37. I even saw a bear along the way [Music] [Music] all right Highway 37 student cashier Highway I'm gonna go up to the Yukon most remote I will have ever bike down is right up there [Music] I finally turned down Highway 37 shortly after I reached kitwanga and there was a free campground there and I decided to stay there the night [Music] the first day on the Stuart cashier Highway was an amazing feeling it started off with the rain but it was pretty cool to be all alone there was not many cars passing at all thank you [Music] I even met another biker coming all the way from Alaska his name was Andrew well looking forward to that Andrew Liam Liam nice to meet you yes nice to meet you as well yeah all right well I'll take a picture yes yes foreign [Music] there was even an abandoned house so I decided to check it out on the side of the highway [Music] well just found these sunglasses and might as well keep them so that's kind of cool cool [Music] Bear right there [Music] I started to approach the Messiah injunction if I would turn left I would head towards Stuart BC and apparently there's a very cool Glacier that people can see there however I'd be turning right so that was all right well that does not look very nice I have a spot to camp for tonight it's kind of just on the side of the highway trying to see it and yeah lots of berries in the area so there's that I heard a massive snap just outside my tent so that was a little bit unsettling heard about there being big Grizzlies over here right over here I saw the things move I saw the branches moving I don't know if you can see but there is tons of mosquitoes just following me so I stop I'm gonna be eating alive pretty much big hill though I just climbed that Hannah so yeah yeah well it's just beautiful here it's just so calm trees just nature northern BC it's crazy but I never thought that I would be here let alone by bike oh there's a decent bit of construction on the highway it's always nice being able to talk to the workers though they're always very nice and talkative yeah number 13. [Music] the landscape has just got so beautiful and after a little while I was approaching Bell two [Music] foreign again so that's fun [Music] the Mountain's got just so Lush and Untouched by humans like nothing I've ever seen before in my life well it says that this is a summit but I've just been going downhill for the last while [Music] I even met a crazy bike from Japan who was biking all around the world it was from Japan had already done Australia and was going from Alaska to Argentina Europe Alaska and all across Asia shortly after though I found a rest stop where I would stay the night and there was a very nice trucker who made me a grilled cheese sandwich gave me a can of pop it was very nice it's been awesome to see how nice people have been on this trip it was a very nice night besides for the fact that I accidentally spilled some boiled water on myself [Music] in the morning I talked with the trucker whose name ended up being Chris for quite a while so I left on the road a little bit later than normal I was also a little bit chilly this morning but it was also very beautiful and the mountains were very nice I even saw a rainbow [Music] [Music] it's cold today that is for sure not sure how cold but somewhere below 10 I know that probably like six or something after a little bit of biking I had a pretty big downhill but then after that it was a very big uphill ten percent Grace on that one not as bad as I had them before but still pretty bad [Music] well it is raining yet again so that's fun really see the rain up there but that's already passed I'm just at the very end of it so yeah after a little bit I reached to toga BC there was a lodge there and I decided to get a sandwich which cost seven dollars which I don't think I will do again on the whole trip not too far after tatoga I would reach this cut it was a small town but I didn't quite know what to expect it was pretty cool though and I was able to restock on some food before the last stretch before the Yukon just outside of town it was a pretty good climb so I made it a little ways but then I decided to set up the camp part ways out all right well I am part way up this big hill maybe it's a mountain I don't know but I've just found this nice spot here I've just just decided I am camping here and that's that so I'm gonna set up camp got past is cut today tomorrow I'll get to Dees Lake and then after Dee's Lake it's a long stretch with nothing until I get through the Yukon so yeah well it rained a lot last night so everything's just wet wet wet and wet and it's chillier so I have this jacket on for the first time so yeah it's like five degrees so [Music] well this is the hill that one of the bikers uh kind of warned me about you so it was pretty sketchy because it's partly gravel so that's gonna be fun I had a pretty big downhill even some of it turned into gravel and it started to rain a little bit but it was pretty cool all a part of the experience after that though I knew that I would have a pretty big uphill little did I know though that it would be the highest point on the whole Stuart cassiere Highway [Music] another thing that I noticed while getting up north is that all the water that I would see would be very very clear unlike anything that I have ever seen before thank you [Music] foreign I have reached this Summit oh 1241 meters I think nearing the end of The Descent close to Dees Lake I almost lost control of the bike I wasn't paying attention and went off into the gravel on the side of the road somehow though I maintained control and was able to continue on but with a possible flat tire well my uh front tire I don't know if it's losing air getting a little bit flat so pump it up a little bit and hope that there's not a hole I also almost kind of went off the road right coming down there I looked away for a second and then all of a sudden I realized I was on the gravel I thought I was gonna crash if I was going kind of into the dish and the gravel and then yeah so I'll see about this [Music] apparently this is a summit Arctic Pacific divide Summit 820 meters interesting Dees Lake was a nice small town I didn't do too much in there but I was stayed there for a little bit and then kept on going [Music] well rain again oh 500 after the rain stopped I found a nice spot to set up camp at a rest stop right beside deas Lake foreign [Music] would be to get to Boyle Lake I had heard from it from a previous person a couple days ago and apparently it's supposed to be really beautiful [Music] I also started to reach the cassiar mountains it reminded me a lot of the Rocky Mountains and were just beautiful they were pretty cool to see pretty much all the way right at the top of northern BC after a little bit I would reach Jade City it's not too much of a city it has a couple building and probably like a population of five however it was a pretty nice shop there and I was able to get a couple of rocks and the person there gave me a sticker for free as well which was very nice [Music] foreign T too long I would reach Good Hope Lake there's not too much there there's a couple buildings but not really any stores or anything also beautiful manager on it after that I would make my way to Boyle Lake where I would turn off the highway and take down a little road to the campground I decided to pay 20 for a campground that night and I also met a very nice older couple who made a smoky for me and we talked the couple's name was Leo and Mary they were very nice later that night I would repair my bike the front bike tire that I had because yesterday it started to deflate and I started to notice it more and more throughout the day so I was able to patch the tire there was a tiny hole the very first run of the trip after close to 2 000 kilometers so it was pretty good [Music] August 20th this would be the day that I would hope to get to the Yukon border it seemed just crazy I would have never thought that I would be so close to such a massive milestone hello there are I think it's the Yukon it's just insane there yeah that's it I can see the Yukon border oh man see signs oh man foreign [Music] well I mean quite the spot the Yukon border BC border and yeah just crazy and I'm in the Yukon it was the craziest feeling thinking that I had just biked the Yukon after that though I would finally get to the Alaska Highway shortly and make my way to Watson Lake where I would stay for two nights and one full day it would be amazing we stayed in a hotel being able to sleep in a bed Wi-Fi electricity I just everything I also finally had cell service for the first time in six days [Music] once I was settled in the hotel that I was going to stay out for the two nights I went restocked on food and then I was just ready to relax for the next full day I was very excited and it was a moment I had been waiting for since the start of the trip on my day off I was able to explore watts in like a little bit I went to the signpost forest which had lots of license plates and signs from all over the world I was also able to relax and get ready for the next leg of the trip which would take me all the way to Edmonton foreign kind of walked around got a couple little souvenir things got a Yukon license plate so that's kind of cool [Music] [Music] all right so I'm about to leave well not about to leave maybe in about an hour packed up there in the hotel belt to leave for the next stretch of the trip to Edmonton I'll have to go through that Rockies and that's going to be a big challenge reach the highest point on the trip but to go five days I'll get to Fort and Allison so yeah that's the hope at least so yeah there I am bike all packed up here yeah okay for the hotel maybe leaving about an hour just relax for the last little bit and yeah that's it for now all right well I am back on the road leaving Watson Lake and on the next leg of the Journey [Music] there's the Yukon sign so not sure where the BC side is but it'll be somewhere now I can see the welcome to BC way over there for nearly the rest of BC I would be taking the Alaska Highway pretty much all the way until I would reach Alberto up until Dawson Creek well car stopped and uh gave me an orange that was fantastic well I just found what looked like a fresh banana and Gatorade on the side of the road unopened so I mean someone must have seen me stopped put it here and then [Music] beer number 15. here's another Yukon sign because I'm kind of going in and out of the Yukon border right now so yeah another Yukon sign I saw the first bison of the trippy I've never seen wildflies before so it was pretty cool foreign [Music] number four today I ended up doing a shorter day because I found a very nice spot to camp at a viewpoint [Music] the morning of August 23rd was the foggiest morning of the whole trip after a little bit of biking due I met a old biker 81 years old from Japan he was biking all the way from Alaska to Los Angeles which just blew my mind well met two met two more cyclists a seemed like a couple Denny and a Tasha biking from Anchorage and they're hoping to eventually get to Argentina thank you [Music] after a little bit I reached coal River with small settlement in northern BC it had a small restaurant so I decided to get a little breakfast and it tasted amazing thank you [Music] the northern Rocky Mountains are finally starting to come into sight I was half dreading them but also looking forward to them knowing that they would be some of the most beautiful places of my whole trip shortly after a bridge just after a live River I had my first climb that would be entering the Rocky Mountains I had people stopping warning me of Bison up ahead they never seemed like they would come but finally I saw this [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] wow not too far after seeing the Bison I found a spot to camp for the night I also discovered that my water filter had broke so I wouldn't have a water filter for possibly the rest of the trip also that night of Bison walked right past my tent so that was kind of cool [Music] well uh [Music] bison right by my camp [Music] thank you [Music] mean well it's the morning now and uh all packed up just a beautiful landscape here but uh it is very windy it was windy throughout the night but I woke up in the middle of the night and saw some a little bit of Northern Lights just a tiny tiny bit but yeah it was pretty cool so many stars too but uh yeah get on my way soon and uh yeah it's gonna be a hard day today I imagine so [Music] it was a moose just saw it run away somewhere down there [Music] [Music] after a little bit I reached muncho Lake it was a very beautiful Lake however shortly after the lake I ran into a little issue [Music] well front brakes are completely done so not quite sure what I should do here this snapped therefore no breaks my front brake cable snapped I decided that I would try to ride with it for the rest of the day and just use my back brakes and hope that it would last the rest of the day I'd hopefully repair it later that night on top of that I had some pretty decent Hills today but finally after a little bit I would reach toad River [Music] at toad River I talked to a couple people about my trip it was pretty cool I also got some ice cream and arrow bar shortly after toad River I crossed a bridge and found a pretty nice spot to camp just beside a river great I think I found my spot that I'm gonna camp tonight just in here all right so I am set up here got the tent and I just worked on the brakes I've never done breaks before and I was able to figure it out and get it working perfectly and I tightened the back ones because they were getting quite loose so it's just perfect oh [Music] all right so I took off the mirror here just because it was very uh loose and I couldn't tighten it like the screw was a strict so that's off now [Music] I was finally three weeks into the trip I left pretty early in the morning and found a little abandoned house to explore as well I was more like an abandoned gas station or something I'm not completely sure however today would be the day that I would climb Summit Lake the highest point on the whole trip it was a pretty big climb but had some pretty cool views as well [Music] there is a moose in the water over there which is pretty cool there it is [Music] [Music] I just saw some mountain goats and they ran away [Music] it was a very long slow climb to the top of Summit Lake however I would say it was worth it because Mounds were just beautiful foreign 600. I finally reached the top of the Summit Lake pass I was very happy and it finally reached the highest point of the trip the day sent on the mountain was very nice as well at the bottom of the mountain I ended up talking to someone named James we talked for quite a while and he told lots of stories it was very nice hearing him talk it was quite one of the most interesting people that I met on the trip after a little bit I had a pretty big downhill after that though little did I know that I would have a whole nother Mountain Steamboat Mountain that I would have to climb up eventually I got to the top near Sunset and found a spot to camp near the bottom all right now it's The Descent I'm gonna stop our way down to set up a camp [Music] a bear just appeared out of nowhere right there I didn't even see it until I was right beside it probably within like 10 feet I would try to reach Fort Nelson today it'd be a pretty big milestone as of it being at both the halfway point of the trip before that though I would reach Highway 77 which if I would turn left down there it would take me all the way to the Northwest Territories however I would not be taking that way something a little bit exciting looking out that way there's no giant mountains it's just like Hills Rolling Hills it's fantastic there's mountains over there way back there too but we've been through those haven't seen a flat stretch like this the whole trip oh I was pretty happy about finally getting to Fort Nelson after about five days of being in more remote areas I had restock on food and then finally leave Fort Nelson as well all right well restocked on food and I'm leaving for Nelson now I was amazed at how flat it was finally becoming after all I had done so far it was great it was quite hot that day too so I found a lake and decided to go for a little swim in it and then I kept on biking and at the end of the day I ended up finding a very very nice spot to camp one of the nicest of them kilometer 400 well vehicle just pulled over gave me a bottle of water so that was pretty nice so yeah well big hill right there so that's gonna be fun that night I probably had one of the best camping spots that I've had the whole trip it had a lake dock picnic table fire pit I even saw the northern lights that night [Music] [Music] day 23 would end up being a bit of a harder day however in the morning I met a guy named Andres who was traveling the world and started in Colombia he was born by motorcycle and was already all the way up in British Columbia oh well I met some people they uh crazy alaskans from Texas that's what they uh said I should call him so uh that's pretty cool and I got water so I was getting low on water so I got water so that was amazing got some cookies got some vegetables so that was just amazing there after a little bit I would pass through bucking horse River it had also gotten quite hot in the day over 30 degrees after that though I would pass through sikhani Chief it was a big descent into that I even saw a small Wildfire off in the distance however there was a big climb after that on that climb I noticed that something was very off about my back tire I was making the climb a lot harder and the brakes were rubbing somewhere on the tire so I would check it when I would set up camp at a rest stop that night well just did the massive Hill it was brutal [Music] there's a bulk right here that's just loose and then also one of the bearings here is just gone so yeah I guess I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take this off or not but yeah you can see it more when it's stood up but you can see it wobbles all right well here I am off with my entire issue so hopefully I can make it two days and then should have a spot to fix it so yeah it's even a little bit Smoky out you can kind of see so yeah I would have to make it to Fort St John about a two day right away to be able to figure out exactly what was wrong with the back tire [Music] I had a very beautiful sunrise on August 28th it was also the first day where I'd have a little bit of smoke and it would get smokier throughout the day after a little bit I would reach through pink mountain and it would also be quite hot still today it'd also be a decent bit of hills [Music] between pink mountain and one one it started to be quite a few more vehicles on the road it was the first sign to me finally coming out of the more remote places that I would be on my whole trip it was a very nice feeling finally getting back into civilization well it's definitely the smokiest day of today it's a lot to smoke there's like no Shadow either just barely so yeah quite something that evening I found a very nice rest spot to set up camp it had lots of picnic tables it was very nice even had running water [Music] August 29th was another Smoky day however after not too long I would reach Fort St John there I would take a little break and get my bike looked at it turned out that the back rear axle part had bent causing more issues in the back tire I'd probably have to get the whole back room replaced either in Grand Prairie or Prairie or Edmonton [Music] out of [Music] foreign [Music] I had a pretty decent descent down in a Taylor BC however just crossing the river there was a big Ascent I was able to make it up though without stopping once [Music] foreign [Music] Creek the smoke started to finally lift it also got quite a bit flatter and started to be more Rolling Hills and more Fields it was very cool to see Dawson Creek would also Mark mile zero of the Alaska Highway which I had been traveling for about a thousand kilometers [Music] I made my way through Dawson Creek after that I would continue on through BC down Highway 2 which would take me to Alberta and in Alberta it would turn into Highway 43. this day would be my last day in BC after weeks upon weeks of mountains all that foreign [Applause] all right this is my map I have marked down every night so far So Gone up and all the way over there now last last night in BC tomorrow I will be in Alberta so third province flash territory of a trip so that's pretty cool and then uh yeah eventually get to Edmonton so that's the next big big place it'll be so that'll be nice [Applause] I just shined my flashlight over there and they're two sets of eyes I was pretty excited in the morning I know I would shortly reach the Alberta border the third Province slash territory of the trip it would also be this kind of the start of the Prairies and it would even get flatter afterwards well see the BC sign if I'm getting quite close all right well I am waving British Columbia for good I'm entering Alberta the signs right over there so that's very exciting so yeah [Music] thank you [Music] I would pass through a couple small towns before reaching Grand Prairie the first being height then Albright Beaver Lodge and then Wembley after that though it would be a long straight stretch to Grand Prairie where I would stop for a little while foreign [Music] Beaver Lodge and Grand Prairie I made crazy time even passing a tractor on the highway for a Time [Music] Grand Prairie is a very busy there's lots of cars and not all the roads that I took were really meant for bikers so I had to bike on the main road it was even one vehicle that honked at me a lot but I got through it eventually and was continuing on my way the next big stop Edmonton [Music] thank you [Music] I would still end up passing through the small town of bezenson and a little bit after that that bolt after that though I would find a small rest stop and decide to set up camp there for the night it also got quite Smoky later in the day possibly the most Smoky the whole trip [Music] foreign [Music] crazy probably barely see a kilometer away so yeah [Music] when I passed the Alberta border yesterday I had also passed through the time zone I really noticed this this morning when I would wake up at the same time but it would be a lot darker and it was a lot harder for me to wake up however I got going eventually and pretty shortly I would pass through Valley View [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] after a little bit I would reach a small town called Fox Creek I ended up refilling water getting some Subway there and then continuing on my way I didn't plan to go too far after Fox Creek today however just how it worked I just kept on biking and biking somehow I ended up reaching White Court which is crazy it was a long long ride and I ended up reading till it was past Sunset and doing over 200 kilometers today I ended up paying for a small in today and it was very nice though black bear over there I guess what I've seen well got a hotel room hotel room it's uh yeah quite something the hotel wasn't anything crazy special but after not having slept in the bed since the Yukon it was very nice had a nice shower and it even had a breakfast in the morning which is fantastic I ended up riding over 200 kilometers today for the first time of the trip too all right gotta leave the Hotel here we'll get some uh a little bit of food from a store here and then I'll be off for the day it's just about nine o'clock so today would be a pretty big day I knew that I would want to try to get to Edmonton even though it would be over 170 kilometer ride I was convinced that I would try to I'd been riding on my back tire for about six days as well so I really need to get prepared had progressively gotten worse and worse but still thankfully rideable [Music] thank you the protein barley guy gave me earlier [Music] I would finally slowly make my way back toward Highway 16 which the last time that I had been on there was back in northern BC foreign so hopefully I make it to Edmonton I would bike through Stony Plain and shortly after that Spruce Grove that would be just before I would reach Edmonton later in the day and I would get a hotel the next couple days [Music] have made it to Edmonton it was just crazy September 1st 2023 Friday later in the day for sure but yeah that's all right Edmonton Edmonton would be one of the biggest Milestones of my trip I done over 3 500 kilometers and I would stay here for a couple days in a hotel my mom would also drive from Winnipeg just to see me and we would do a couple fun little things go to the West Edmonton Mall that was probably my best all right the hotel should just be around here well here's the hotel room pretty amazing and then [Music] not too much but pretty cool all righty well I am liking to get the bike fixed at the bike shop so it's all not loaded right now but definitely seems off so all right so I've got a whole bunch of new things here new whole new tire here new cassette new uh don't quite know what this is called but that's new too new chain on so it should last the whole rest of the trip so place after a long day of driving for my mom she would also reach Edmonton the next day we would go to the West Edmonton Mall and walk nearly through the whole thing and do lots of things throughout the day [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] that Monday me and my mom relax in the hotel for quite a bit however we still went to go see a movie and later in the day we went to go have a nice dinner because I would be leaving for my last stretch of the trip on September 5th okay oh bye [Music] at the start of the day I would like past the West at mentioned wall and slowly make my way to highway 2. I would take that to get out of Edmonton however it was very busy and I would eventually take Highway 2 all the way down to Calgary foreign [Music] I eventually made it out of Edmonton and shortly after I had passed by lid duck [Music] [Music] [Music] all right well it's raining for the first time in uh a little bit here so yeah after quite a bit of biking for that day I would pass through Red Deer shortly after Red Deer I would find a spot to camp in a field and set up camp for the night [Music] spot here just kind of just off the side of the highway so uh yeah that would now it would be a nice challenge but I think it's getting late and I've already made it past Red Deer so yeah thank you well there's a first little bit of frost of the trip on the backpack there so foreign I would pass through a couple small towns and I would also pass through a little bit of construction there'd be a few Rolling Hills but my goal for today would be to make it to Calgary there I would be able to stay with my friend Brooke from high school and her family which I was looking forward to a lot [Music] about my first glimpse of Calgary way way off in the distance as I got close to Calgary I got quite a bit busier it also got quite rainy but eventually I would make it to Calgary and Calgary F would have to ride through the whole city just to get to where I would meet my friend Brooke with her family I would end up staying there that night which was fantastic foreign but eventually I was able to make it [Music] [Music] alrighty fine back on the road after being able to sleep in a bed for the last time of the trip and having a nice breakfast and saying goodbye I was off for the day making my wave around Calgary and to the number one Highway which I would take the rest of the way back all the way to Winnipeg [Music] back [Music] [Music] foreign I was able to find a nice spot to camp today off the number one highway just on some random Gravel Road the sunset was very nice [Music] all right all right well I am packed up for the day sun is rising and a little bit sick that was last night yesterday a little bit kind of for the first time on the trip so yeah just like a runny nose throat sore small things but just all stuffy and whatever so yeah not too bad but yeah so heading that way I'll have a headwind it seems like for who knows how long so yeah that's it for now foreign [Music] [Music] biker he's on the other side so I doubt I'll talk to him but I wonder don't know if you can see him but yeah pretty cool first one in a long time [Music] all right well I'm about to get to Brooks in the next little bit here but uh looks like we got some rain coming it's just been getting closer and closer so I'll be uh yeah all right well here starts the rain it's going to last a while I think so it's gonna be fun [Music] [Music] after Brooks it got even flatter just long straight flat no trees no feel it's just open land [Music] oh [Music] yeah but there's some of those uh Antelope kind of things I forgot what they're called [Music] I found a nice spot to camp that night just off the number one Highway again there was even some small cactuses by my camp and it was right beside some train tracks but it was pretty nice spot all right so this is the setup for tonight it's pretty nice actually she got there the bike there cooking up some Ramen and uh right by the tracks but it's off the highway so that's nice and maybe I'll get to a Saskatchewan tomorrow but I'll see Medicine Hat for sure and then go from there so yeah [Music] that morning started off pretty foggy but it shortly lifted after not too long I would reach Red Cliff and then Medicine Hat Medicine Hat I would do a short little stop at the big teepee that they have there and then I would continue on [Music] oh Medicine Hat oh it's the world's tallest teepee so here it is it's pretty big oh well leaving the teepee so that's pretty cool [Music] shortly after leaving Medicine Hat I saw a toy run I didn't know what it was at first but there was a whole bunch of motorcycles led by a Santa Claus apparently they were raising money for kids Christmas presents so that was pretty cool I didn't know what it was at the time but after the fact I did find out and it was pretty cool around a thousand motorcycles it just never ended it seemed like well now I have a license plate for every Province and territory I've been in I've been having a pretty decent headwind for the last couple days as well it didn't show any signs of stopping but eventually I would reach the Saskatchewan border [Music] all right well I can see the Alberta water sign well I can see the Saskatchewan shine so close crazy [Music] foreign Saskatchewan I'd have to bike through the Cypress Hills or smaller Hills compared to what I have done but still noticeable and after a little while I would find a spot to camp and set up camp near Sunset that night [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all right well this is where I'm going to stay tonight so just on the side of the Gravel Road here so yeah [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] well my front tire must have a small hole or something again it could be the one that I had way back in a northern BC Come Undone or something but uh the tires ever so slowly deflating so I'll see if I can make it the rest of the day today and then maybe I get that done tonight so I'll see though well Swift Current [Music] in Swift Current I restocked on food and Walmart after that while still in Walmart I noticed that my tire was quite a bit flatter so I had to pump up my tire in Walmart however that lasted me till I was able to set up camp later that evening it was a very nice spot that I was able to find as well [Music] all right well not sure if you can see it but there's a small little thing I pulled out of the oh now it's gone small little thing I just pulled over pulled out of the tire so good thing I got that I got the tube out here I'll look for a whole Hatchet and then uh yeah so pretty nice spot though so yeah I stopped a little bit earlier too just so I had a bit of extra time to fix all that stuff and whatever so [Music] foreign [Music] the 11th I would end up having a lot of headwind however in the morning I would pass through a small town of Herbert where my friend Jesse's grandparents lived I thought that I would stop by maybe say hi but they did not answer their door however after texting Jesse Jesse messaged them and they ended up driving out past Herbert and giving me a whole big lunch and stuff and it was pretty great [Applause] getting closer to the chaplain there would be a whole bunch of salt on the ground kind of looking like snow but I thought it was pretty cool and I've also been having lots of headwind foreign I would finally reach Karen Port I'd find a spot shortly after that to set up camp for the night after flooding somewhere around 40 to 50 kilometer per hour winds [Applause] [Music] thank you pretty much right in the morning I was able to make it to Moosejaw it was pretty cool and I was able to stop at Subway however after that I would continue my way and maybe make it to Rich China today which was my hope I would fight again a whole nother day of strong headwinds which was not the most enjoyable [Music] [Applause] thank you well 24 till Regina but with this wind that could take probably like I don't know three hours and it's like so yeah pretty bad wind yeah all right wow playing exciting first sign for Winnipeg all right first signs for Winnipeg so very exciting so happy about that but now I'm about to go direct headwind for quite a while so that's just gonna be quite hard well this is Regina I went around so I won't see too much of it though that's pretty cool [Music] after a long day of headwind for nearly the whole day I was happy to finally set up camp and I did [Music] after a few hours I would make it to Indian head I ended up stopping at Subway there and then continuing however around that time would be the time where the wind would finally start to switch after about five days of headwind so it'd be just fantastic I would fly for the second half of the day [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] all right well it's it's white wood so that's pretty cool pretty good distance today the wind has not been as bad at all [Music] thank you just started to rain but I think there's this road that I may be able to turn off here so that I can camp tonight and they're right by I am just approaching the big wooden turbines here so I'll do go through all those tomorrow morning so correct I have made some pretty good time today so the wind has finally finally been a lot less so yeah yeah they're brilliant so yeah all right well set up the tent here I'm gonna hook up some food and whatever and uh get settled for the night so last night in Saskatchewan and then tomorrow Manitoba which is crazy so yeah plus I'll see grandparents tomorrow I just see the sun too [Music] pretty much right away I would pass through all the wind turbines in eastern Saskatchewan they're always very cool to see and they're just massive [Music] oh [Music] foreign after not too long I would pass through mooseman it would be pretty much the last town in Saskatchewan before I would reach the Manitoba border however right before the Manitoba border all of a sudden I noticed one of my old teachers driving by me he stopped away after we talked a little bit so that was pretty cool well there's the Saskatchewan border see the Manitoba sign so close [Music] well made it to Manitoba wow last Province now Manitoba home Province so it's just awesome so noticed right before I entered Manitoba somewhere I lost my Canada flag so that's too bad it lasted a good while but now it's gone once I'd reached virgin Manitoba then I would finally have reached other places that I had liked before it'd only be a couple days before I had finally reached home after this crazy trip just crazy crazy so yeah it's this intersection right here that I've biked to before which is just insane here it is believing and hurting so now from now on it's just I've biked way before until I get back home so that's pretty cool [Music] [Applause] 22 till Brandon all right well here is this big Valley beautiful Valley so yeah it's probably was the biggest hill I've ridden in Manitoba so yeah not that big compared to what I've done though all right well Nelly made it up the hill here so compared to what I've done that was nothing so that's pretty cool after a decent bit of baking I would finally get to Brandon Brandon's a pretty nice town I stopped at Subway and then I continue on as things would just start to get more and more familiar [Music] all right well leaving Brandon so we made crazy time today and a bike threw Brandon twice territory right now somewhere in Spruce Woods a vehicle ended up stopping and a guy named John ended up coming out and talking to me it was very nice he gave me a whole bunch of food and he had also done a crazy bike trip in his 20s which was just amazing only around a half hour after that my grandparents ended up driving past me and stopping gave me a couple snacks but it was very nice to see them I haven't seen them since the day that I left the trip so that was just fantastic I've camped down there before so that's kind of cool but I might as well go a little bit further today thank you yeah [Music] I finally found a spot to set up camp for the night the very last night of the trip which was an unreal feeling a part of the trip is always the end and it was kind of sad but also just amazing I had done so much at this point it is quite possibly my last night of the trip that's if I make crazy time tomorrow and make it like nearly 200 kilometers or something back home but yeah if it is a last night it is last night this is the spot that I have here beautiful sunset can't see that somebody can see the clouds and uh yeah I figured that I would try uh sleeping under the stars tonight one final night if it is I don't know yet but yeah it's been a crazy trip that is just yeah well here's my maps so I was right there I've all kind of marked out the route here and whatever Abbotsford I went all the way up all the way up watch the lake down the Alaska Highway Dawson Creek down the 43 down in Edmonton Edmonton took me two days to get to Calgary Calgary went down Alberta started to get some bad headwinds right around there Medicine Hat reached Saskatchewan pretty bad headwinds all this way yesterday actually halfway kind of that but yeah now here I am just by Carberry so unreal that's all you gotta say the last ramen noodles [Music] all right here it is last last thing here I got the sleeping bag here just on the curb yeah all right well I am up now first night sleeping just with uh no tent just under the stars so yeah I uh did get rained on so that wasn't ideal but uh [Music] and that was off on the last morning of the trip it was a very beautiful sunrise as well [Music] after a while it just started to rain it rained a lot the most it had on the whole trip which was crazy after such a beautiful morning by the time that I reached Portage it was raining pretty hard and by the time that I was out of Portage I was soaked my [Music] everything's just wet huge soft just outside of Portage there was a woman outside her house and she offered to let me stand there for as long as I wanted I accepted because I was just soaked and it was just fantastic I had a couple hot dogs we talked for a while pretty cool her name was Maria after staying at Maria's house for around an hour probably a little bit more even the rain did slow down so I continued biking it was a pretty rough gravel area but I made it through there and made it through eventually to middlely and then eventually to warn [Music] after Stonewall I decided to take a slightly longer but less Gravelly route to get back to my house it was finally the last stretch of the whole trip wow made it to made it to the municipality of Saint Andrews well I've biked nearly all down this highway that I'm about to cross here so that's kind of cool well this is it for Highway River Road off the Lockport damn I'm about to complete the trip and under under two kilometers I think it's just insane but all the stuff floated down last time like this and this trip yeah oh just the last last tiny bit of the trip oh and we got a new road too there it is oh [Applause] my word well my family didn't quite know that I was getting back today so I surprised him a day early which was pretty fun but I was doing the trip 5200 kilometers 42 days all alone which is just crazy yeah [Music] now that I'm back I'll slowly start getting back into normal life after graduation [Music] I know that looking back on years to come I'm just gonna think that it's crazy what I did all the challenges that I had all the people that I met all the Landscapes that I saw all the weather that I had to deal with it's just was really an amazing trip ever since I was a kid I had wanted to or at least thought about biking all the way from BC to Manitoba it's been something that I've kind of just in the back of my mind but now I had finally done it [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] all right well currently in the process of unpacking everything I couldn't fall asleep tonight so I figured I'd do this so yeah

Channel: Liam Richard

Views: 300,807

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Id: am-QjMVxRLY

Length: 128min 56sec (7736 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 26 2023