The Making of a Cross Canada Route

True dat .... I'm looking forward to trying the other route too

The paved section on Tree's route is a nice scenic coastal road

Yeah, it is!

I've seen that one too .. rode it to the end once about 20 years ago.

Nice costal views.

I've been putting in the hours on the GPS files. The eastern half of the TCAT is almost complete, Juames and I are just putting some finishing touches to them. No more missing gaps

Eastern tip of Newfoundland to the Manitoba border

Below picture shows NFLD and Labrador (known as the Taiga Chapter in the guidebook).

It utilizes an old rail line across Newfoundland, some slab along the Viking Highway through Gros Morne park and along the coast. A ferry brings you to the Trans Labrador Highway. A mix of pavement and gravel until you get into Quebec. Gravel roads to the St Lawrence river (THANKS TREE ), slab along the St Lawrence to a town called Baie Comeau.

This "chapter" of the TCAT is estimated to take folks approximately 6-10 days and is approximately 3000 km's in length. 1/5 of the route

The next section of the TCAT crosses the province of Quebec. Approximately 1600 km's in length, this section is comprised of 90% gravel roads. Three tech sections for those who want a bit more of a challenge are included

Very remote would best sum up this section of the route

This section was a collaboration between Juames, Fab, Rob and myself. From what I have seen this section will be a highlight for many folks. After completeing the Trans Lab you'll think you have seen some remote places......

Very cool. Up until I read this thread, I hadn't given riding Canada much thought. There is a lot of time and effort into what your doing. Thank you for sharing.

Ted I found this on the very good Quebec dualsport website Ridaventure:
http://www.ridaventure.ca
If you register first then go to this thread the gps file (.gdb) for download is in the first post:

http://www.ridaventure.ca/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2732&hilit=relais+gabriel

The file contains Relais Gabriel - Port Cartier - Godbout ( all gravel ).
There should be more gravel to Baie Comeau from Godbout, maybe the Quebec guys here can fill that in.

Tough call, given it's someone else's route they probably spent a bunch of time putting together it wouldn't seem right.....

Also the section after Baie Comeau is a pretty remote and demanding one. That day right after Baie Comeau is almost 600 km's unless you want to camp in the wilds, all gravel and VERY remote. 380 km's of it must be done between fuel stops. My initial thought is that folks might enjoy an hour or two on slab along the coast prior to heading into the forest for a few thousand km's. It's predictable most folks would have also spent the night in Labrador City so I can imagine after getting to Port Cartier some coastal scenery and smooth sailing would not be a disappointment.


There are places that make logical stops along the route. Gas, lodging, mechanics, Internet, etc. Whenever possible I have tried to make it doable for folks to get to them in a day. About 600 km's of gravel kind of a day. Of course many folks will use their own schedule and agenda and for most parts of the route this ain't an issue.

how many days do you think this section takes?

5-8 days would be my guess. Really depends on speed and how long you travel each day, of course weather is a big factor but I think 5-8 days seems fairly accurate.

Words can not describe what you have done...

Thanks again for the stickers, my panniers look even more badass

A picture tells a thousand words......







































Many thanks to everyone who has helped with this half of the route

Fab, Skibum, Geoff, Rob, Jimmy, Jenna, Gord and everyone who helped by preriding a section to help verify the gps files

The western half will be completed next fall. So far so good, schedule is right on pace. It has been a long 3-4 years but the end is in sight

No thank you for the support, its much appreciated

Just curious, on Forest 01 especially and on a couple of others there are medium to large loops created. Are those designed to go somewhere special or just good riding roads?

If time was an issue on either section, could they be bypassed and not miss something spectacular??

What are the Go and End points about?

I'll get the book when that's ready...

In many of those "loops" thats the only road in the area

Funny, yes-I looked it up. The funniest part is that pretty much anyone I know here would put up a fellow rider/traveller any day of the week

Thanks Tree for adding that bit, as you know I had wanted to get down there but the weather didn't want me to make it. Maybe that's for the best in the end as even without the TLH my subframe was in 3 pieces by the time I got home

no shit! Those maps really make it clear just how much there is to ride and the work it's taken to get this far, excellent job to date

Thanks! I'm working on a version of the TransLab/TCAT for 2013 (have to take the Missus to Ireland first). I'm trying to work out a 2-3 week route.

Those maps look great Deadly , especially the loop into the Quebec never never !

Giv 'er !

Gentlemen, this is very impressive. I either need more vacation time or need to get back to being self-employed.