Our Route Itineraries now include elevation charts, so you can see how hilly a segment is, and plan your rest stops appropriately.
The Canadian Cycling Association has a great book about touring by bike (Elliott Katz, 1994), though for a variety of reasons, they take significant detours off the Trans-Canada.
Can you bicycle on the Trans-Canada Highway? Yes, for most of its length bikes are permitted and (other than Northern Ontario) the shoulders are generous. There are a couple of stretches that are high-speed traffic limted-access divided highway were cyclists are not allowed:
But these routes have good side roads that are reasonably direct, lower traffic and bicuyle-friendly, and often on the original routes of the Trans-Canada (like Highway 17 east of Ottawa, along the Ottawa River), and these routes are offten more scenic, have more places to stop, shop, and rest than the main route. This makes these side routes more suitable for cyclists.
Because the Tran-Canada is relatively high traffic, there are some adjustments recommended to the route, especially if cycling alone, without a “chase” or “pack” vehicle. May cross-Canada cycling treks have such a vehicle for logistical reasons.
Item 9 is not a possibility for those precluded from entering the United States, who have a criminal record (in some cases even an arrest record), or who did not apply for a Visitors Visa in advance (this applies to citizens of countries other than Canada, and some Canadian citizens who were born in certain other countries – their rules, not ours!)
Ontario & Alberta require bicycle helmets for riders under 18 years. Other provinces have all-ages legislation requiring bike helmets behind New Brunswick (1995), British Columbia (1996), Nova Scotia (1997) and Prince Edward Island (2002). Both BC and Nova Scotia helmet legislation also includes inline skates and scooters.
E-bikes are generally treated the same as un-motorized bicycles, and have a maximum speed of 30 km/h. See e-bike discussion by Fight Your Tickets.
From the east, Toronto is approachable for cyclists by using Highway 2, which runs alongside the St Lawrence River (Seaway), and along the north shore of Lake Ontario, connecting many small town centres in a manner very convenient to cyclists. Once inside Toronto, use Kingston Road to head into the downtown area.
To the north of Toronto, Highway 400 is the main route north, extending past Barrie up to Parry Sound, and very shortly to Sudbury, where it connects to the main Trans-Canada Route on Highway #17. Since 400-series highways are verboten for cyclists, we recommend cyclists head through York Region north on Yonge Street, and meander around Lake Simcoe to continue north on Highway #11 near Orillia, and ride north to North Bay and the Trans-Canada #17 from there.
