A long overdue and very necessary 'vision quest' reaching all three of Canada's Ocean's on an e-bike hauling a homebuilt microlite mini Conestoga type trailer. By a 73 y.o. northerner who recently completed an August 2025 6000 km (4000 miles) thumb trip from Whitehorse, Yukon to Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Three oceans calling...

This all Canadian trip from Tuktoyaktuk, NWT at the Arctic Ocean's Beaufort Sea then to Prince Rupert (Haida Gwai), British Columbia on the Pacific Ocean and then to Signal Hill, Newfoundland on the Atlantic Ocean. Every jurisdiction in Canada except Nunavut. And we'll see about that.

A minimum distance of 13,500 plus kilometers or about 8,500 miles. Crossing at least five significant mountain ranges plus the substantial remains of what was/is considered the highest range ever to have existed on planet earth: the Grenvilles. Near 11,000 meters (Thirty six thousand feet) in their day and after four ice ages, ground down to their roots they are still seriously very major hills. As truckers might say, 'down into the cellar for gears' which never occurred in actual towering mountains!

I hope to avoid polar and woodland critters as much as possible. I can't say how many bears I've seen cumulatively. It's a lot and includes polar, black and grizzly. All are serious concerns when traveling on a quick moving semi quiet e-bike. Would definitely not wish to run into a moose, bison, elk, deer... you name it either. Even the best machine is incapable of outrunning any critter named here. No refuge on a lightweight e-bike!

Why do this at all???

I've had a very disastrous new millennium. Personal injury. Mayhem. Deaths. Corporate pile on. Plus a major expansion of what I've always considered my personal graveyard which I've carried since childhood. It's near double digits now. You would not wish what I've seen and experienced for anyone. In this century alone and over a six month period I added two, one person was crushed when she (totally her fault - RCMP concluded) drove under my semi-tractor wheels, at speed. Later the same year I cut a close friend down from a rafter. Both suicides? I dunno, one for certain. Then I buried two more. It fractured me on practically every level but there was no time to think or desensitize as I was engaged for a number of years in end of life elder care. Then came COVID. In all this I've somehow lost the plot.

On my 6000 km August 2025 thumb trip I asked everyone if they thought Canada had become a nastier place since COVID. Every single person agreed it had. I'd felt that but having complete agreement in this was still startling. A few offered nuance but still agreed things were worse.

To renew my faith in my country, my spirit, my body et al, I'm going on a journey I've had in the back of my mind for a very long time. At this age, feeling physically more capable than in years, it's now or never and nothing is holding me back but my capacity. And finances.

Hardening by living rough...

To that end I spent most of last summer living rough in Yukon Canada, in a tent, on the very edge of what the local Hunters and Trappers executive director here in Whitehorse acknowledged is a "black bear super highway", the Wolf Creek drainage off Golden Horn mountain (Yukon, Canada is my home).

In this very yard I sprayed a gorgeous Cinnamon (black) bear two years ago. That despite an almost overwhelming urge to give it a friendly rub, even knowing what I know. But it's safely back in the woods hopefully being more wary, and I might have saved its life sometime ahead. Just days ago two adult moose wandered by within 30 meters (50 - 100 ft)

It seems for many adventure trekkers Tuktoyaktuk would be most folk's end point. I've been there and all across the Beaufort Sea so many times through the seventies and eighties working for a number of employers. It was an incredible off and on shore oil exploration play totally beyond the average persons comprehension in which I observed and participated. My last oil patch experience was a private press jaunt where I rode into McKinley Bay on the "Kigoriak" ice breaker. I also built ice roads on the the Beaufort Sea/Arctic Ocean while based in Tuk, helped build a sea ice landing strip for C130 Hercules aircraft at Hershel Island. The latest visit to the ocean was 2018 on the then newly opened Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway.

Why begin in the north...

From 1972 - 1988 I lived in Inuvik NWT and I'm still living in the north albeit hundreds of miles further south. But I've never been to Newfoundland. Pretty simple and so Tuk is going to be my starting point. The 150 km section from Tuk south to Inuvik is also perhaps the crappiest road surface along the entire proposed route. Very, very deep and loose gravel. Think runaway lane conditions that immediately suck away tens of kilometers of speed almost instantly. It's going to be a challenge and I pray freeze temps at that time might keep it somewhat compacted. Getting this done first, likely beginning mid May makes sense. Secondly the 750 km Dempster Highway (440 miles) is also entirely gravel surfaced. Finally traveling west to east should bring favorable winds? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

It's not likely I'm going to do this in a single burst as the distance is great. Winter will definitely interrupt. Also I'm not likely to ride every day. I want to smell the roses, sit and talk to locals, eat local foods and learn the land and it's secrets. There's an intimacy in this type of travel impossible to find in planes, trains and autos. Just as you might experience when hitch hiking but even so this will be at a much slower pace, much less than the 100 kph (60 mph) road or train speeds for certain.

One hundred kilometers ride days???

Realistically my ride days would probably average 100 km. (60 miles) Maybe. Depending. Hopefully. Some literature suggests an average speed of 20 - 25 kph (10-15 mph) is pretty decent. But whatever it is, is what it'll be. I doubt there's much of a template for such a trip.

I'd suggest at least a four hour ride-time day is doable. Maybe more. Tugging a trailer over mountains and across the Canadian prairies on pedal/electric will be a test. Setting up and breaking camp is very time consuming. Sometimes near impossible. In battling ferocious winds. I was shocked how near impossible it could be. So being able to just stop and rest and eat and sleep is the answer.

On my hitching last summer wind gusts often staggered me. As did any highway tractor passing by in the curb lane! Skeptical? In one place near Colonsay Saskatchewan I set a very much anticipated full extra-large cup of coffee on a sheltered sidewalk while I ferried my gear (four packs total 140-150 pounds) a short distance from diner to the roadside. I was looking forward to some comfort in a brutal wind as I thumbed. Upon returning for the final carry and that to-go cup I discovered to my great chagrin the wind had toppled it. So I know what to expect. Expectations versus sometimes brutal reality.

Riding highway shoulders when necessary and being buffeted by winds strongly suggests that's a 100 km a day (60 miles or so) is a decent travel goal. Given the distance stated, that would be at an absolute least 140 or so days actually traveling, if no breaks were taken at all. But I'm realistic. Nor can I really imagine a lot of consecutive ride days. But who knows.

I mean to stop plenty, not push. This is for spiritual and psychological renewal primarily. Might save my life. Improving health would be welcome as well. Mainly the goal is to gain peace, let go of what needs gone and prepare for what comes next. To find purpose and new vision. Not to be full of myself but inexplicably I've long believed God protects me and I need to know why. Ages ago I lost count of times I've dodged death.

I've a select group of family and friends I'm going to 'bring' along on this via social media. I'll need time for this interaction and the maintaining of a YouTube or some kind of media channel. Anyone is welcome to 'travel' with me.

Suitable pedal electric e-bike...

I've found a suitable e-bike but it's expensive. Assembled in Canada meeting Canadian legal standards. Designed for on-road and off-road use. Presumably this will be practically all roadways but if trails beckon..??? The Trans Canada Trail would be an excellent track where possible. Regardless I need mechanical capacity because hauling a trailer is going to be its own test, not to mention the vast distance. E-bike and trailer and associated kit should run just well more than $10,000 CDN.

For perspective one section south of Eagle Plains Lodge - which I always think of grizzly bear central - on the Yukon section of the Dempster Highway has a road sign which declares, "Next services 397 km". They're not kidding and it's no joke either. No people, no backup, no cell, no power access.

Less than, second hand or under capacity gear is what's daunting, not my age or capacity. I dunno GoFundMe policy but I'd be inclined to abandon the trip entirely if suitable funds are not secured and simply return the money.

Additionally I need a substantial investment in a flexible panel solar charging set up. Then there's building the trailer and other essentials not yet fully delineated. Tool kit, certain parts, communication gear like Starlink and stuff which will reveal itself anon. The majority of the trip will be without any cell coverage at all. Starlink beckons.

For the e-bike I'm inclined to go with a dual battery set up by Biketrix of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. And I'm intending a third battery as well. Also will require an on the ball electric controller.

Research suggests no electric motor can travel such great distance without repair/replacement and likely plenty of other parts will be the same. That is a major future consideration and needs planning.

Can't do this without assistance...

It's absolutely clear I'm not going to be able to finance this trip and needed purchases without assistance. That's the bad news. On the other hand I'm generally comfortable with managing the day to day requirements and routine maintenance. Those are items I believe I can handle. That's the good news. Major repairs on the other hand will be dealt with as they might arise.

If you'd like to 'come along' and can provide any assistance or other support I'd be very appreciative. If you can't do anything directly just being a follower on social media will offer its own benefit. In low times, when mini prayers don't seem to be working, your encouragement alone will have extreme value. I've been there before and know I'll be there again.

My guess is this will take the better part of two years. Maybe more. Three months on, three off, weather and winter conditions being a major factor. Other issues in my life. No rigidly fixed schedule.

There are seemingly no end of seniors who've successfully engaged in 'extreme' adventure. This is not exactly that, extreme by my definition anyway, but it will still be very challenging. My background should demonstrate I have the capacity and certainly I have plenty of experience in practically all aspects likely to arise.

Notably, I twice worked in the early 70s actually building the Dempster Highway's first 34 miles south from Inuvik (Canada wasn't metric in 1972) I also worked in the oil patch all over the Beaufort Sea, was both a volunteer activist and an elected pol twice, and the former publisher of the Inuvik Drum (1978 - 1988). After that twice more as a weekly newspaper publisher and also once as a quasi publisher in southern Canada.

Please understand that nothing about this trek, despite my age, is particularly daunting. Except having to consider less than suitable, inherently weak or substandard gear due to underfunding.

If you'd like any further information please inquire. I've spent more than 20 years living in Canada's far, far north, lived a life of adventure and survived situations that seemed to defy all odds. Certainly should have killed me. Since childhood I've been intelligently comfortable throwing my body into harms way, mainly for myself but also on behalf of other people.

Now I'm for doing it again, albeit slowly as befits a man of a certain age.

If you'd like my 'resume' feel free to inquire. It's pretty eclectic and non standard... perhaps explaining how I got to this position, launching a crowd funding campaign.

Not curing cancer, establishing peace, alleviating hunger...

To be clear, I'm not curing cancer here, not solving world hunger or bringing planetary peace. I'm just trying to save/fulfill a life. Mine. After that who knows? Which is the entire point of this adventure. I'd be delighted for you to find that out with me.

Anyone wanting altruistic advancement or societal progress should inquire. I would be more than happy to direct additional funds however they can be raised to Diabetes, Heart and Stroke and Blindness issues. Particularly for Progressive Diabetic Retinopathy. I've certain public relations skills I can bring to this. These conditions in particular are very dear to me. Perhaps others. I'm in no way worried doing so is going to step on my message because I don't really have one. Just a tale to build and tell. A discovery to relate.

Thank-you for your consideration.

Here's the bare bones of a rough estimate for a practical budget:

6,500 - 7,500 e-bike*

850 extra battery capacity

1000. Pull trailer

1,500. Flexi solar panel set-up

1000. Starlink

1400 ??? Service plan @ $70/month?

900 Tools/spares etc.

1000 miscellaneous

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15,150*

*approximately. I have a "black belt" in buying. Where possible I seek deals and generally, but not always, some savings can be had. Plan for the worst, hope for the best!

This journey begins at a line of longitude midway between Vancouver Island and Hawaii and a latitude near 300 km (200 miles) north of the Arctic circle. Almost none of Canada is west of Inuvik. A very, very small sliver of NWT, and Yukon and very northwestern British Columbia. Check it out. You'll be shocked. I know I was! The country is bigger than you might think. Especially on a pedal assist e bike.

Dan Holman

March 2026,

Yukon Territory, Canada