Trip planning Phase

So Marge and I decided last September that we would complete a tandem trip across Canada during the summer of 2009. We checked the Internet for references and were lucky enough to find a good reference by Janice Kenyon called "Ride with a Twist". She lays out nicely the logistics of each day she rode and relates daily experiences. We revised her route,  to suite us while maintaining her objective of staying in Canada all the way, but decided that we would start from our home town, St Bruno Quebec, and travel east to St John's NFLD. We would then prevail on Scare Canada to take us toVictoria BC, and ride the 5000kms home from there. Simple. We liked this idea because for most of the trip we knew we were heading home. The advice we collected from the net was clear in that people in general did not fail to complete the crossing from physical causes, but from the mental stress engendered from the riding and trials and tribulations encountered on a regular basis even during a well organized trip.   It also seems vital to stay focussed on the objective of the crossing and not get side tracked by going out of the way to features off route.
Planning:
In September 2008 I started to put together an Excel sheet with the daily ride schedule, distance and logistic data, ie where to pick up groceries, available camp sites, and rest days. The trip is just short of 7500km and we plan to do most of it just us two. We know from experience that we can manage an average of about 65km per day. However, this would have made the trip too long and so we were forced to increase the average to more like 75 per day. This includes rest days (1 in 5) and ferry and air line transport days. The thing that fixed our schedule was the start of the Ferry from North Sydney NS to Argentia NFLD which doesn't start until 19th June.  (There is another ferry which lands on the other end of island at Channel Port aux Basques which is quicker and cheaper and runs all through the year, but for various reasons we decided to take the short route via Argentia.)    From this we knew when to start and when to book the air passage. We plan to camp most days, but are prepared to motel and hostel where the weather is inclement. (Research International Hostels). Suffice it to say we needed three or four iterations to feel comfortable with the plan. It is interesting that when this plan was completed I had a great sense of elation, so I can only imagine what it will be like when we actually finish the ride. I intend to publish Kit List, Itinerary, and training work up record during the next little while, ie when I find our how to best make my Excel files more blog friendly.
Marge and I have done annual bike trips over 1000km many times, so have some experience in trip planning and the need to get fit. If one wants to enjoy the process rather than suffer for three weeks, before finally becoming inured to the pain in the ass (no definitely not my ever loving stoker) one has to put base miles on, ie train on a bike.
How we Trained through the winter:
We live in Quebec, so for most of the winter, cycling for us is not an option, and though there are a few hard cases that take their lives in their hands, we rely on rollers. We have set up an old tandem in the basement and have a TV and lots of DVDs and old VHS tapes to catch up on. Our friends Tim and Dot have lent us lots of DVDs of Tour de France, California, Ireland, Giro d'Italia bike races which we found to be perfect fodder for training. They don't demand too much attention and one can join in the action on the cols and in the breakaways. Suffice it to say we never get dropped. Jackie Chan on the other hand is not so good as when he's doing his stuff, it just demands too much attention.
We do 1-2 hours per day, yes retirement is a very good thing, some days spinning with a light load, and three times a week high heart rate ie 80-95%. To ensure that we balance the load between us we both use HR monitors and try to more or less even out the rates. It is noticeable that for a given day, cadence and torque load, our total HR is a constant once we are warmed up, so I can tell whether she's pedaling. We do have a wide variation day to day, but my scientific friends say that is normal. It is very noteworthy that Marge takes a long time to warm up so for the first twenty minutes her output is limited. This is worthwhile knowing, as it saves me a lot of energy at the start of a ride.
As the warmer weather arrives we will get on the road and put in the miles as the folks in warmer climes do it. As I write this it is snowing gently and minus 5 C
Equipment Outline:
As I said we full intend to publish our complete list, however, it is worth describing the main points which our experience leads to least discomfort and pain.
First of all is the bike: Over the years we have collected quite a stable of machines which somehow I can never get rid of, so now we have three in use and one in parts which I intend to build up someday. The one we will use for this trip is a Santana Cilantro small frame with S&S couplers for easy transportation. We bought it in 2003 and it has over 13000km mostly hard miles. We quickly found the OEM wheels were not up to full up touring loads over rough roads and switched to Sun Rhino Lites which are nowhere near as pretty but they have given us 4 years of excellent service. Tires are Continental TravelContact 1.9 inch pumped to 85psi. They are proving to be very durable and tough, ie puncture resistant.   I took one off the rear to check wear rate and found there was little wear after 5000km.
Our camping kit is carried on a Yak Bob. We like the single wheel efficiency, and we have found it reliable and large enough for extended trips. We have also used front bags which are also excellent, but they have the disadvantage of increased wind resistance, and much more limited volume capacity.  Their advantage is reduced weight and improved balance of the bike.  We carry  rear panniers for personal stuff and have been very impressed with Ortlieb bags which we have  used on the front so we plan to try them out on the back this trip. 

Our sleeping bag is made from a heavyweight silk inner (Jagbag) and a coverlet made from an old lightweight bed spread. This arrangement is new to us but we have tried sleeping bags and they get too hot and are difficult to wash on an extended trip. The combo saves over 1kg from equivalent commercial bags. I will keep you posted on how it works out.
we also use the small self inflating mattresses.
Clothes:
We have invested in lycra, wash and wear undies, and the best rain gear we can get. We have got turned onto Icebreaker Merino wool longs and shirts. Our clothes packing will be very spare as we know from experience that whatever we take we will get sick of it, so minimalizing is the name of the game.
Camping Kit:
Tent is a Hubba Hubba II, with a heavyweight polythene sheet cut to size as a groundsheet protector, Primus Gasoline(multifuel stove) for cheap and available fuel giving the lightest combo with a 0.6 litre tank. 

On Road Training Starts:
25 March- First On Road Rides:
So the batlle has been joined, and we got onto the road for a 57 km ride to Chambly and Otterburn Park. Seems like the training has done some good, we kept up a good cadence all the way round, and we both enjoyed the ride. The durability of the Coninental Travel Contact tires was demoèd today as they successfully repelled a piece of glass embedded in the rubber.
26 March,-Chambly Beloeil: 47km
This one of our staple rides along the river. There was a light wind, and though it was cool we dressed for it and had another good ride. Our average was 25kph even though we had to walk for some distance on the Chambly bike path because it was still covered in snow.
27 March- St Amable Beloeil, Rue Robert-45km
So the weather man said it would be 11`C so I dressed light. It turned out to be more like 6C with a nice wind. We got back somewhat cold that will learn us as my Dad would have said, not to believe the weatherman. Our average today was 23kph but who cares!

28 March-Chambly Petite Caroline, Rougemont, St Mathias. 102km, 24.8kph, 293m ascent

Should be warm, but the air was very dry, so it was cool when riding, but we set off against a gentle head wind on one of our favourite rides.  Tim, Dot and Andrew came along and provided good company.   We certainly felt the benefit of our winter training.