2004 MTF  Trans Canadian
Trip Plans

Stop by the Motorcycle Tourer's Forum

Halifax to Vancouver

Vancouver to Halifax

Halifax to Vancouver

Note the mileage from start information given below may be off by several miles as the electronic maps from East to West have a lot of issues.

• Start: Ultramar Cornerstore, 10 Highland Park Drive, Halifax, NS

• You will enter 111 (Circumferential Drive) at Exit 3 and head East.

• At 111 Exit 4, you will exit onto 118 (Lakeview Drive) to the North.

• Take 118 to 102 and exit North onto 102

• Take 102 to TC-104 just north of Truro

• Take TC-104 West. You will encounter a Toll

• At the Nova Scotia/New Brunswick border TC-104 will turn into TC-2 (About 120 miles from start).

• Important: The electronic maps do a really poor job in New Brunswick. Stay on TC-2 to Edmundston!

• Edmundston Mandatory Stop (Approximately 453 miles from the start)

• At the New Brunswick/Quebec border TC-2 turns into TC-185. If you start to get the feeling that this is not the Interstate type roads that you have become familiar, you probably are not lost. This will not be your most enjoyable stretch of road. A lot of access and small towns. (Approximately 466 miles from the start).

• At Riviere-du-Loop TC-185 turns into TC-20 which you will take south.

• 12 miles past Ste-JulieTC-20 changes to TC-25. 

• You will take the Lafontaine Tunnel across the St. Lawrence

  • Going thru the tunnel keep right if possible or middle lane. Middle lane are for heavy traffic mainly trucks. Left lane very shortly (10 seconds) after tunnel must exit to left, don't be caught there . Going back to three lanes after that exchanger keep middle lane to 40 west exit to your left. Watch for merging traffic and lane cutting from tunnel up to and a mile after that intersection.

  • A word of caution: try to be off rush hours for going thru Montreal and L.-H. Lafontaine tunnel, riders can easily loose an hour just going in stop & go traffic. Rush hours begins around 6.30 to 9.00 AM & 3.30 to 6.00 PM in week day worse on Friday.

• Once across the river, you will take TC-40 south through Montreal and then west

• West of Riguad, you will take the southerly 417 loop instead of staying on TC-17. You will take 417 through Ottawa

• West of Ottawa you will get back onto TC-17

• North Bay. MTF Mandatory Stop (Approximately 1136 miles from the start)

• At North Bay you will take TC-11 North/West. Do not take TC-17. We do not have a mandatory stop to make sure you do this. However, there was consensus from the experts that TC-11 is the preferred route.

• Thunder Bay. Mandatory Stop (Approximately 1816 miles from the start, you are about half way through your trip.)

• At Thunder Bay, you will have to make a decision. We are recommending that you take Highway 102. Input from Tom Picketts, a local, is "Hwy 102 is a bit of a shortcut and it is a main highway in good shape.  I take it all the time.   The only down side to taking this route is you will miss Kakabeka Falls (Niagara of the North). You "Iron Butts"... I don't know how you do it!  You will definitely want totake Hwy 102 in this case.   No time to stop and smell the roses or see the Falls." However, you may decide to stay on TC-11 which makes a rectangular loop south of Thunder Bay.

• Whether your take 102 or the TC-11 southerly route, you will eventually end up back on TC-11 heading west.

• About 10 miles from the 102/TC-11 intersection, you will be exiting TC-11 north on TC-17.

• Take TC-17 to the Ontario/Manitoba border where TC-17 turns into TC-1 (Approximately 2146 miles from the start, 4 Provinces down, 4 to go)

• Take TC-1 through Manitoba to the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border. (Approximately 2449 miles from the start, you are about 2/3 of the way through your ride.)

• Take TC-1 through Saskatchewan to the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. (Approximately 2851 miles from the start)

• Stay on TC-1 to Calgary. Mandatory Stop (Calgary is approximately 3066 miles from the start).

• Just west of Kamloops, you will exit TC-1 and pick up the Coquihalla Highway, expect tolls. (Note: the electronics maps have a section of road missing on the East to West routing, so it is not possible to route this direction. On the maps that we have provided you will find a red scribbled area to make the correction, but the mileage obviously is off.

• The Coquihalla Highway will terminate at the Crownest Highway. Take the Crownest Highway west toward Hope, B.C. where you will intersect TC-1.

• Take TC-1 west toward Vancouver

• Take the East 1st Street exit west

• At the Grandview Viaduct, East 1st Street become Terminal Avenue. Continue west to Quebec Street.

• Take Quebec Street south to West 2nd Avenue.

• West 2nd Avenue will jog and after a few blocks intersect with West 6th Avenue

• Just past Birch Street, there is a "Y" on with West 6th Avenue going to the left and West 4th Avenue going to the right. You will go to the right on West 4th Avenue.

• Take West 4th Avenue to Burrand Street. Turn right (north) onto Burrand Street.

• Finish: 3rd & Burrard Chevron, 1900 Burrard Street, Vancouver BC

Vancouver to Halifax

• Start: 3rd & Burrard Chevron, 1900 Burrard Street, Vancouver BC

• South on Burrand to West 4th Avenue

• West 4th Avenue will jog south and intersect with West 6th Avenue

• East on West 6th Avenue

• West 6th Avenue splits just east of Ash Street. You will want to take the left (north split)

• West 6th Avenue will turn into West 2nd Avenue just after the split

• Continue East on West 2nd Avenue which will turn into East 2nd Avenue

• Turn north on Quebec Street

• Turn east on Terminal Street

• At the Grandview Viaduct, Terminal Street turn into East 1st Avenue

• Continue East on East 1st Avenue to TC-1 East

• Congratulations, you are off the city streets. But you are not out of the city.

• Take TC-1 East

• Near Hope, British Columbia you will take the Crownest Highway East. This may also be identified as Highway 3.

• You will only travel 4 to 5 miles on the Crownest Highway.

• Take the Coquihalla Highway (Toll Road) North/East about 115 miles

• Take TC-1 East to Kamloops and beyond. Settle in you are going to stay on TC-1 all the way through British Columbia

• At the B.C./Alberta border you will be leaving Yoho National Park and entering Banff National Park. (You have traveled approximately 483 miles)

• Stay on TC-1 to Calgary. Mandatory Stop (Calgary is approximately 600 miles from the start).

• Back on TC-1 through the remainder of Alberta

• Just outside Walsh, Alberta you will hit the Saskatchewan border. Continue on TC-1 (The Alberta/Saskatchewan border is approximately 815 miles from the start)

• Take TC-1 all the way through Saskatchewan (The Saskatchewan/Manitoba border is approximately 1217 miles from the start. Congratulations you are about 1/3 of the way through your ride)

• Continue on TC-1 through Manitoba. (Four Provinces down and four to go. 

• At the Manitoba/Ontario border TC-1 turns into TC-17 (You have ridden approximately 1520 miles from the start)

• After about 300 miles TC-17 will intersect with TC-11

• You will travel on TC-11 for about 13 miles.

• You will have to make a decision. We are recommending that you take Highway 102. Input from Tom Picketts, a local, is "Hwy 102 is a bit of a shortcut and it is a main highway in good shape.  I take it all the time.   The only down side to taking this route is you will miss Kakabeka Falls (Niagara of the North). You "Iron Butts"... I don't know how you do it!  You will definitely want totake Hwy 102 in this case.   No time to stop and smell the roses or see the Falls." However, you may decide to stay on TC-11 which makes a rectangular loop south of Thunder Bay.

• Thunder Bay. Mandatory Stop (Approximately 1850 miles from the start, you are about half way through your trip.)

• Take TC-11 North out of Thunder Bay

• At Nipigon, Ontario, you will continue on TC-11. Do not take TC-17. We do not have a mandatory stop to make sure you do this. However, there was consensus from the experts that TC-11 is the preferred route.

• You will stay on TC-11 to North Bay.

• North Bay. MTF Mandatory Stop (Approximately 2530 miles from the start)

• At North Bay you will take TC-17 East.

• At Ottawa, you want to take the 417 loop which runs south of TC-17 instead of staying on TC-17.

• About 40 miles west of the Ontario/Quebec border 417 will reconnect with TC-17.

• At the Ontario/Quebec border TC-17 turns into TC-40. (Approximately 2829 miles from the start)

• Take TC-40 through Montreal to TC-25 which you will use to cross the St. Lawrence.

  • A word of caution: try to be off rush hours for going thru Montreal and L.-H. Lafontaine tunnel, riders can easily loose an hour just going in stop & go traffic. Rush hours begins around 6.30 to 9.00 AM & 3.30 to 6.00 PM in week day worse on Friday.

• Soon after crossing the St. Lawrence, TC-25 will connect with TC-20.

• Take TC20 northeast

• At Riviere-du-Loop TC-20 turns into TC-185 which you will take East toward Edmundston. If you start to get the feeling that this is not the Interstate type roads that you have become familiar, you probably are not lost. This will not be your most enjoyable stretch of highway. A lot of access and small towns.

• At the Quebec/New Brunswick Border, TC-185 turns into TC-2 (Approximately 3200 miles from the start, you are getting close).

• Edmundston Mandatory Stop (Approximately 3213 miles from the start)

• Important: The electronic maps are not very good in New Brunswick. Stay on TC-2 through New Brunswick!

• At the New Brunswick/Nova Scotia border continue east on TC-2 which turns into TC-104 (Approximately 3546 miles from the start)

• You will encounter a Toll Road that will take you to Truro.

• At Truro, you will take 102 South to just north of Waverley, where you will exit onto 118 (Lakeview Drive) South.

• Take 118 to 111 West.

• At Circumferential Highway (Exit 3), you will exit.

• To the north the road is Burnside Drive. To the south the road is Highland Park Drive, you will want to go south onto Highland Park Drive.

• Finish: Ultramar Cornerstore, 10 Highland Park Drive, Halifax, NS

Congratulations. Whether you did the Trans Canadian Gold or the Trans Canadian Quest, your should be proud. Don't forget to attend the banquet to share your tales.

Quebec's French Road Signs

Courtesy of Thane Skiller (LDRyder)

Number - Numero pronounced noom-ER-oh Again, roll the r.

Gas - Essence - pronounced ay-SONCE
But popular slang word for gas is Gaz pronounced guzz

Where is the key for the washroom?
où est la clef pour la salle de bain? pronounced ooh ay la clay POOHer la sal doo; bain is pronounced like you are going to say "bank," but stop before you pronounce the "nk" part. Alternatively, you can use the word toilette (twah-LET)

I need the name of the town on the receipt
J'ai besoin du nom de la ville à la reçu pronounced: The J in j'ai is pronounced the same way you would promounce the G in the actress GaGa Gabor. The last syllable of besoin sounds the same as the pronunciation of bain above; Jay buzz; doo nom duh la vill ah la raySOO

I need a receipt please
J'ai besoin d'un reçu svp: d'un is prounced roughly as doon, where the oo sounds the same as the oo in the word boot. svp stands for s'il vous plait which is pronounced seel vooh play.

prostitute - prostituée (when in Rome...) pronounced prost-ee-TWAY prost is pronounced the same as the ost in the Russion word glasnost. For god sakes, don't pronounce it prost-ee-TOO which is the male form of the word and is spelled prostitue!

protestant - don't worry, you won't need this word. :D