Riding for a season in Canada this year, planning on doing most of the races I can get too, but no insurance I can find covers you for races over there, also it seems with races there it's compulsory that you have insurance. Is there some that you can buy when there or what have other people done/found?

Thanks.

get an international license and the insurance that allows you to race internationally from BikeNZ

A Canadian bike license comes with insurance, I believe you'll just have to pay a bit more if you're not from Canada.

Out of interest, what is the XC race scene like in Canadia?

There was a girl visiting Wellies last year (Kate, rode a Storck, worked at Gordon's I think) who had raced the Canada Cup series, sounded pretty good, but obviously a huge commitment in terms of travel etc.

I think there are regional series within BC. I rode with a dude in vancouver who implied there was a pretty active local race scene there too, as well as cyclocross.

Am sure there would be the usual range. Colorado has a great series, Mountain State Cup I think it's called.

canada xc racing is great, I have taken athletes to these races. The racing starts in Quebec with Quebec cups and Canada cup races leading into the two world cups and then the racing heads across country to BC

Awesome. I'm looking at heading over in a while, so it's certainly handy info.

When I was racing in Canada - well, the Wairarapa really - we had to drive for sometimes as many as ONE hours to get to a race! And we didn't need insurance. I sincerely hope this handy info helps.

Have a talk to wgtngirl, she went over there last year

renevw24 wrote:Riding for a season in Canada this year, planning on doing most of the races I can get too, but no insurance I can find covers you for races over there, also it seems with races there it's compulsory that you have insurance. Is there some that you can buy when there or what have other people done/found?

Thanks.

Not clear from your post, but are you over here at the moment? If so, is there any way that you can get a health card (eg., OHIP, BC Care Card, etc)? If so, you've automatically got the cover that you need to be able to race (at least out East that suffices). If you still need additional cover, then you will easily be able to pick up Blue Cross or something like that. Oh - and if you can get provincial health cover, bear in mind that there's an involved process for claiming for out of province expenses - so it'll pay to have supplementary cover if you're planning on racing across the country.

Option B is to grab some travel insurance. If you can't get some through BikeNZ, go onto TriNZ's website and get the contact details for the folks at Marsh who organise their insurance - it specifically includes race cover.

Option C is to get some travel insurance through Blue Cross. You'll have to ring their 1-800 and it'll cost a bit, but you can get cover. BUT - and I say this without encouraging any sort of fraud on insurance companies - you will most likely have to say that you are a newly landed immigrant and you are wanting to get cover for the compulsory 90 day period before you are eligible for a health card. (Check out your provincial health insurance website and you'll see about the 90 days rule and general eligibility, so you'll understand if they ask you any questions.) That's what I did when I first moved over before I got my OHIP card and it enabled me to race ....

And yeah, it is compulsory to have insurance and even for relatively small races and series you'll end up signing quite lengthy waivers. Don't quite understand why as they're nowhere near as lawsuit happy as the yanks and almost every way that you can damage yourself is covered by the provincial health insurance ...

Good luck and enjoy the racing.

RacerBoy wrote:A Canadian bike license comes with insurance, I believe you'll just have to pay a bit more if you're not from Canada.

Just clarifying - and I can only speak for Ontario and western Québec - but the insurance is typically only for events run by the provincial association that you have joined. So, as a member of Ontario Cycling, I'm covered for their events, but am not covered by them when I race in Alberta or BC ...

Does the same thing apply if you're a member out west?

Monolith wrote:Out of interest, what is the XC race scene like in Canadia?

Haven't raced XC over here - but can offer a couple of comments about racing in general.

Number 1 is to remember that there's a shitload of country east of BC - so don't get in the trap of thinking that Whistler and the Island is it. Everyone here who has raced in the west and out east - especially in Québec - is surprised at how much harder the racing is over this side of the country. I guess that's not surprising considering so many of the country's top cyclists are from (or have shifted to) "La Belle Province".

There are also far more races over this side - between Québec Cup, Canada Cup, the UCI races and a heap of road races and smaller local events (road and dirt) there are more than enough races to keep you amused. BC and AB, for all of their international reputations as "bike nirvana" have stuff all races in comparison ...

Expect fields to be pretty big too. We had a crit in town the other day and there were three grades each with about 60 racers in them. We get 100 in each of the two cross races each weekend - unless it's sleeting or snowing ... Local club MTB races are pulling 60's plus each week ...

Courses are definitely different to NZ. Don't know how to describe it other than to say that you have to ride a lot more actively than in NZ. Definitely get used to picking your bike through, around and over stuff rather than just riding through it like you can in NZ. Takes a bit to get used to - or, more to the point, the pace that the locals can do it leaves you thinking for the first couple of weeks "can I really ride a bike??"

Two things that you really need to get used to are weather and altitude. Coastal BC is pretty much like NZ. The interior through to around Canmore is hot - damn hot and dry! I've ridden in temps up around 40 degrees - enough to literally heat the water in my bottle over a 2 hour ride. It gets bearable pretty quickly though - mainly 'cos the air is so dry. But allow time to adapt to it.

Once you get around Southern Ontario through to Mont-Ste-Anne, it gets really humid in summer. By some weird quirk of weather, here in Ottawa we get the same summer weather that they get in the Carribean and Mexico. So it's super sticky and often at night you get a torrential downpour for about 15 minutes. It takes a bit to get used to - which is why the BC and AB riders didn't figure that well in the recent road nats over in Beauce, QC - but again, doesn't take much once you're in the groove on it.

If you're planning on doing any racing between Kamloops and Canmore, it is absolutely essential that you spend at least three or four days in that corridor before you race. The reason is that this area ranges from about 400m to 1600m above sea level. If you're not acclimatised, your arse is grass ... That applies especially at Canmore as every race they hold there (including 24hrs of Adrenaline) starts the same way - starts at the Nordic Centre (1200m up), flat for long enough to sort out the field, turn left and climb about 400m vertical to near the top of the park on a combination of ski trail (fire road) and single track. If you're not acclimatised, you can pick up your lungs on the second time around. Don't underestimate this - just about everyone I know who's come across here has done - and hasn't enjoyed racing in this area as a result ... (and believe me when I say that after you've ridden Canmore once, you'll be hanging for an opportunity to come back again - it has some of the most amazing single track I've ridden anywhere ...)

If there's anything specific that you want to know, feel free to PM me and I'll tell you what I can. But as I say, I haven't raced XC here, so I wont profess to be an expert on the ins and outs of that, and would leave specific comments to someone who has done.

Good luck for getting something sorted to get over here.

Mike Henry will also cover you for races - ring their call centre and they'll add the "appropriate fee" to the standard cover but I believe you need to take this out before you leave NZ

I spent 2 months last year and went from west to east - there was one hell of a long drive in the middle there but it was my choice to do it by driving (main reasons being I had total freedom in where I went and how I got places, times I left etc, and things like not having to break my bikes down and rebuild every few days). Not convinced yet that I would do it that way again even though I do love the west.

When I was planning for this year before all my plans went kaput I was going to focus on the Quebec and Ontario races. There are a fair few UCI races in the season in those provinces, and some quality courses and competition. Remember Quebec is very much like Europe and they love their cycling. The nature of the terrain is quite unique too.

My insurance was just BikeNZ - anything not covered in that was a risk I was prepared to take.

One of the main things to remember is that it's a HUGE country and it's not exactly cheap living. Alberta is probably the cheapest province, but I found most stuff was 20-30% more expensive than in the states in BC/Ontario/Quebec. When I was there the US/Canadian $ was equal (at one point Canadian was worth more!)

Watch out for getting pinged big money for excess baggage and bikes on planes - not too bad domestically, but when you're flying out to come home check that the carrier won't sting you way more than the airline you thought you were flying with would have.

Oh, and if you're going to be there a while it's well worth investing in a CostCo card - think Moore Wilsons but better, and you can cash the card back in when you're leaving ($55 in Canada, $50 in US). Stocking up on non-perishables is way cheaper.

If you're not there already - hurry up and get over there! Have fun eh

wgtngrl wrote:One of the main things to remember is that it's a HUGE country and it's not exactly cheap living. Alberta is probably the cheapest province, but I found most stuff was 20-30% more expensive than in the states in BC/Ontario/Quebec.

Gotta take a bit of issue with Lisa's comment about not being cheap over here ... I'm still paid in Kiwi pesos (long story) and even though the NZ$:C$ exchange has worsened by about 10% since I arrived, I still find that my NZ salary lasts something like 1 1/2 to 2 times as long as it does in NZ. That said, you do need to know your way around some of the bargains - and I am based in one location rather than moving across the country.

(Oh, and for anyone who is checking out getting a job over here, total income tax - as you pay provincial and federal - comes in less than NZ. My net tax in NZ is about 1/3 of my income, but if I was paid the same salary here, I'd only pay 1/4 of income in tax.)

OK, so some pointers:
- like Lisa says, join Costco - you'll save heaps on foodstuffs, especially if you can buy in bulk;
- local equivalent of the Warehouse is Canadian Tire - similar quality and price in most things;
- for supermarkets out west - SaveOn is the cheapest (like Pak n Save with bags) and Safeway is pretty good value. IGA is mega pricey. Both SaveOn and Safeway have club cards - like the One Card for Foodtown in NZ - that are definitely worth getting (they cost nothing and you get them at the checkouts - just have an address that you can fill out). Out east the supermarkets are Loblaws and Metro/Loeb (just rebranding at present) - no cards, but good ranges and heaps of own brand products that are great quality and cheap.
- some things are a lot pricier than NZ - eg. bread and some dairy products. But stuff like veges and some meats are cheaper. You'll also cringe when you see NZ organic fruit cheaper than ordinary fruit in NZ ... and we wont even talk about export meat .. Be in for a shock if you buy booze in BC or AB - especially BC. ON and QC are much better - I can buy good NZ wine that you can't get in NZ for about $15-$20 a bottle - plus you get great European and South American stuff - and some amazing micro-breweries!
- if you're getting a rental car - Thrifty and Discount are usually the cheapest ... make sure you check out their deals on the websites;
- if you're going to be in one place for a reasonable period, get a provincial licence (relatively easy to do) and join a car sharing co-op. Most large cities have them (Van, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Québec City definitely do) and they let you effectively hire a car for a couple of bucks an hour plus a few cents a km (they'll pay the gas). Great way of getting to races close to your homebase ...
- if you have a car, try to buy gas outside of the main centres. In something that is all arse about face to what Kiwi's are used to, typically it's cheaper out of town (due to a combination of local taxes and the costs of running a business in a bigger centre)
- if you're travelling a fair bit, check out universities as places to stay. They're not as cheap as youth hostels, but you wont get dorm rooms and shared kitchens) and they are cheaper than motels. Typically all uni's run their halls of residence as accomodation over the summer, but some also have accomodation available year round (eg., UBC in Van). One thing though - you'll need to have pots, plates and utensils ... but a quick trip to the Sallies works wonders.
- if you need furniture or anything like that, check out the sidewalks in the suburbs on the evening before garbage day. North Americans would be second only to the Japanese for throwing out perfectly good stuff (you should see what the poor, starving students in the area where I live have thrown away at the end of the varsity year) and heaps of people take advantage of that. I've seen TV's, couches, beds, you name it ... and all stuff that any Kiwi would be happy to have in their nest!
- when you fly internally, generally you can get a better total flight deal out of WestJet than you will out of Air Canada. On the eastern side of the country, check out Porter Air. Also consider rail on the corridor from Toronto through to Québec City ... it's cheap and moderately quick travelling. But definitely fly from BC/AB to ON/QC - like Lisa says, it's a bloody big piece of dirt! (One of the most amazing things I remember was flying across the top side of Lake Superior and not being able to see the southern end of the Lake - it looked just like flying across the Tasman ...!!)

When it comes to bike stuff, definitely get in close with the LBS in wherever you stay. I've found bike shops over here have a very different attitude to customers than in NZ. A bit of talking and going back a couple of times to the same shop - and telling your story about being a Kiwi on an overseas racing road trip - can get you discounts and moved up the service schedule in no time at all. People will also be pretty willing to tell you about local bunch rides and races and stuff - turn up there and you'll definitely get yourself into the "in group" and will practically guarantee better service at the shop. As a personal example, at my LBS I get between 15-20% discount, whereas the local bike club official discount rate is 10% - and all because I've ridden a couple of times with the guys in one shop and at another because I bought my cross bike there. Side note - there's something that most NZ bike shops could learn from the shops here .... but that's a subject for another post ...

Last thing, while I remember, is that none of the prices include sales tax. There's a 5% GST and a 6% - 7% PST (provincial sales tax) in all provinces apart from AB - who just have the GST. There are exceptions on a number of bike related things though - eg., in BC all things bikes are PST exempt, in ON bikes under $1k and all safety stuff is PST exempt. The GST+PST thing is a pain until you get used to it - but it is useful when you eat out as the tax amount is basically what you need to leave as a tip ...

That's about all that I can think about to cover most of the main bases ... but if there's anything in particular that anyone who's planning a trip would like to know, either post a reply or send me a PM ... Just bear in mind timezone differences and unfortunately work has done something funny to my access to Vorb, so I can read but can't log on ... so may take a day or so to get back to you.

And as Lisa says - it's great fun and a great experience that you'll never regret, so instead of making like a sheep and OE-ing to the UK, have a look at Canada, eh?!