Exhaustion and Fulfillment: The Ascetic on a Bicycle.

So, this fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants operation has finally looked at a couple maps. It actually doesn't look like I'm biking a very great distance. What I thought was going to take three weeks is probably only going to take ten days, if that. Well, it gives me something to think about. Probably, I'll have to go to Mexico.

On another note, as I embark on one trip, I start looking forward to the next. I want to do some paddling, and have been dreaming of Nahanni national park. It's the park made famous by Trudeau's beard. He grew the beard while on a canoe trip in the park and wore it back to parliament with him. It was a sensation.

I was doing a little research on the subject of Trudeau's canoe trips and found an essay written by him called "Exhaustion and Fulfillment: The Ascetic in a Canoe." I read the essay looking to be inspired on my upcoming trip, but what I found...well...

I'll quote the passage.
"Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature."

So, to summarize. I am a brute because I like the train, and I am also "basically" a bourgeois. A basically bourgeois brute.


[fact check: I don't really know if Trudeau grew his beard on his trip through Nahanni. That part about it being a 'sensation' might also not be factually correct.]

booked (take two)

I cancelled my train ticket and booked a plane ticket through Air Canada. It costs about the same as taking the train when you factor in the bike check fee.

Air Canada has a bad reputation. And their website did reject my reservation and still charged my credit card. But the people I spoke to on the phone were more than cordial, and due to necessity gave me a complimentary upgrade. I thought that was nice. I'm dreaming of the amenities that will accompany the upgrade - probably an extra moist towelette.

The fifty dollar bike check fee seems expensive when compared with Westjet, who charge you nothing. But, looked at from the perspective of an United passenger who has to pay $175 to take a bike on a plane, it's okay.

bike check

So, the plan was to take the train to Montreal. Maybe relax there for a day, maybe not. Then take the train to New York, stay the night or more. And finally take the train to South Carolina - an exact location wasn't important to me. I had booked the first leg of the trip on Via Rail. I got a bedroom to Montreal for a steal at $114 - using a late train credit.

The Montreal to New York train is operated by Amtrek, and so I gave them a call to see if checked baggage can be left with them over night in New York, and discovered there is no checked baggage on the Montreal train. And on further inquiry found there is no way of transporting my bike from Montreal to New York by train. Making my life difficult.

I have explored other options. Ideally I would like to ship my bike. But, you can't ship by bus across the border. I talked to Fedex and UPS, but I was provided with an estimate of $200 and potentially 10 days for delivery. Plus, I was warned customs might not be too nice to it. I was looking forward to shipping the bike from the get go; thinking after taking the train to Montreal I could rideshare or whatever down south - but there is no way to make this happen.

I can take the bus from Montreal to New York and accompany my bike across the border. It'll be 12 hours of pain. Plus, I'll need to get from the train station to the bus station in Montreal, and back to the train station in New York. Which will be difficult with a large bike box. I'm thinking it won't fit too well in a cab. I could take the bus all the way from Montreal to Charleston, but it'll be 36 hours or something obscene like that.

I can fly. The Air Canada flight to Charleston on Jan 15th my departure date is $1000. Four days later its $200.

The other option is to fly Westjet. While they don't fly to South Carolina, they do fly to Florida. So, I could just go there. They don't charge you anything to bring a bike along. But, this is less than ideal: I want to get warmer as I go, not colder.