Winter Touring
12-07-22, 07:40 PM
#26
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I have not toured during normal temperatures but debating/considering doing a tour in the next few weeks. I am unsure how safe it would be to bike from Montreal to Bangor. I do have a touring bike and studded tires. However, I am unsure if stealth camping is an option with a bivy and quilt which neither do I own at the moment but hotel/motel might be a wiser/cheaper choice. I would be passing through Sherbrooke and Coburn Gore entry point. Any suggestions or recommendations will be taken seriously, my only concern is how remote the areas would be lack of water and the cold will not help.
Is this a joke?
Yes, it is kind of remote and never having toured and not even having a bivvy and thinking a quilt is sufficient? Don't do it. You are asking for trouble. Start touring in late Spring
12-08-22, 08:19 AM
#27
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I would say the exact opposite, for the same reason. Experiment a lot, with a safety net! until you know you are competent to pull it off. The short days, slower travel, heavier load, and more involved camp set up may necessitate drastically revised route planning. A lot of (all?) camp grounds will be closed, as well as a lot of motels. Given that temperature goes down as altitude goes up, I might plan a ride in river valleys to stay lower, and flatter. In your situation, I would start slowly and with a lot of provision for bailing out. Perhaps car camping in a Provincial park and day trips on the bike from the campsite just as a sort of proof of concept.
All that being said, it sounds like it could be a neat adventure.
All that being said, it sounds like it could be a neat adventure.
12-08-22, 11:15 AM
#28
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If You live in Montreal and have lived there for a while then your body is probably acclimated to extreme cold weather patterns and going to Sherbrooke or Maine will be going south :-) so you may do fine. At any rate though, I would not go without a winter sleeping bag. This quilt mickey mouse thing works fine in the summer and in hammocking (with a proper winter underquilt) but it just makes for miserable night in real winter temperatures.
12-13-22, 06:09 PM
#29
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Sometimes a 4-season tent is the way to go. There are ways to ventilate them that reduces the amount of condensation. Even a 3-season tent is better than a bivy sack.
Last edited by Doug64; 12-13-22 at 06:15 PM.
12-13-22, 06:55 PM
#30
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I have done snowshoe and cross country ski trips with a Whelen tarp setup. But I would not recommend it for your first time out winter camping.
12-15-22, 10:42 AM
#31
aka Timi
Sometimes it‘s the little things. Below 20F fixing a flat can be really difficult if your hands get frozen.
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12-16-22, 12:06 PM
#32
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I would suggest trying some shorter trips to test your equipment, as well as your tolerance for the cold etc. Start with a day trip, then an overnight round trip a little farther, and so on.
12-17-22, 12:28 AM
#33
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One of my least favorite things in the world when it's butt-a$$ cold out (by a mile) is crawling out of my oh so cozy sleeping bag to take a midnight pi$$.
12-17-22, 06:22 AM
#34
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12-20-22, 02:23 PM
#36
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Another thing that I always put in the negative column about winter riding is the disappearance of the shoulders under snow and ice. Not just to ride on, but to bail out onto in case a car gets just too close.
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12-25-22, 11:55 AM
#38
Senior Member
I can deal with the cold, but this is beyond cold. At least latter this week will be nice. Low 40's by Wednesday.
I never bike in ice, and snow.
Last year I did 48 Miles on the NCR on Christmas Day.
I never bike in ice, and snow.
Last year I did 48 Miles on the NCR on Christmas Day.
04-30-23, 03:09 PM
#39
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Unfortunately, I was not able to do this tour in winter but I plan on doing Montreal to Bangor this summer, and hopefully, it will prepare me if I ever do it in winter as well although I know the conditions and circumstances are not the same but will give me ideas
04-30-23, 03:41 PM
#40
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Montreal - Bangor in winter can be sketchy in a car.
04-30-23, 07:39 PM
#41
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05-01-23, 03:13 PM
#42
Junior Member
A short experimental trip first is a very good idea.
A recent near 0C trip helped me discover:
1) how metal pedals suck the heat from the soles of your shoes (causing cold feet),
2) how ski gloves are far more appropriate than waterproof winter cycling gloves (that get damp with sweat, and get very cold if removed for a few minutes),
3) that well indexed gears become poorly indexed (that no amount of adjustment can fix)
NB I did once visit Montreal when it was a balmy -25C (as a pedestrian).
A recent near 0C trip helped me discover:
1) how metal pedals suck the heat from the soles of your shoes (causing cold feet),
2) how ski gloves are far more appropriate than waterproof winter cycling gloves (that get damp with sweat, and get very cold if removed for a few minutes),
3) that well indexed gears become poorly indexed (that no amount of adjustment can fix)
NB I did once visit Montreal when it was a balmy -25C (as a pedestrian).
