Going around my place before leaving for that long wasn’t a bad idea. I was able to fill my mind with imagery from my nation before confronting the solitude in the unknown of the American continent. More technically, it was the occasion to train and to test my equipment. A bike is like a pair of shoes: you have to break it when it’s new to make it comfortable. Often, defects show up in the first thousand kilometers. Apparently I wasn’t out of that when my paddle system broke down between Chambord and La Tuque, while my bike meter was showing 970 km. Better to happen here than in the tundra! 

This training was already promising about the adventure I’ll encounter and people I’ll meet. I’ve been hosted by cyclists that shared their experience and friends who warmly opened their doors. I went through a collapsed road in the Asbestos region, I got tired in Charlevoix’s hills, I felt the nordic climate of Grands Jardins national parc. I’ve pedaled with fever and tonsils that I would have liked to tear off from my throat. I appreciated riding along Saguenay river, Lac St-Jean and St-Maurice river. I also got some media attention, finishing by being in the national news when I was in Trois-Rivières.

Now I just have a few days left before the real departure, on June 13th. I have a few adjustments to make, some more equipment to get before I jump on the bus that will bring me in the Far North. Going up there will already be part of the adventure!