On Monday morning, Jean-Baptiste Cornet and Remi Foletto could be found in the Flin Flon Public Library, drinking hot chocolate and reading.
A day earlier, the pair from France were fighting subzero temperatures and slushy conditions, biking into Creighton after five days on the Hanson Lake Road.
The cyclists came through Flin Flon as part of a cross-continent trek that started last fall in Alaska.
Cornet and Foletto began the trip after a spur-of-the-moment decision. The pair originally started their trip at sea, sailing from France to Alaska as part of a planned round trip around the Americas.
“We broke our engine in the Northwest Passage,” said Foletto. “We arrived in Alaska with no engine. We needed to change it, but in Alaska, there were no engine parts or old engines for a good price.”
Stuck in Seward, Alaska, with a broken engine, with six months remaining on their visas and their original plan in jeopardy, Cornet and Foletto came up with a second plan.
“We put our boat in dry dock in Seward and we said, ‘Well, what can we do for winter? Let’s do a biking trip. Let’s get to Toronto by bike,’” said Foletto.
The two used a crowdfunding campaign to buy bikes and supplies, and headed out on the open road. Cornet and Foletto headed from Alaska into Yukon, then south to BC before hitting a major snag.
“We broke our bikes in Dawson Creek,” said Cornet.
Unable to leave on two wheels, the pair instead left on four, hopping on a bus and heading west.
“We went to my cousin’s place in Calgary to repair the bikes, then from Calgary because there’s such a busy highway with so many people, we weren’t able to bike there,” said Cornet.
The two finally got going again in Prince Albert, setting a course toward Flin Flon. During daylight, Cornet and Foletto would cycle continuously, clearing around 75 km a day.
At night, the pair heads into the woods, setting up a small camp and fire before hitting the road again the next morning.
“We’re camping in the forest, a little bit in the bush,” said Cornet. “When we arrive, the first thing we do is [start] a fire. When you think you’re going to have frostbite, you just go to the fire and warm up, then you can move. When you’re biking, because you’re doing physical activity, it’s okay.”
Weather permitting, the pair will head east from Flin Flon, setting their sights on Norway House before heading through the Interlake region toward Winnipeg.
“It depends on the amount of snow,” said Cornet. “If there’s too much snow, it’s impossible to pedal.”
“Then we’ll just do another thing,” said Foletto. “Plan A is this one.”
Flin Flon is not a typical destination for adventurers on a cross-Canada trek, but Cornet and Foletto decided to head to the North as a safety measure.
The men said northern conditions, including sparsely-driven roads and heavily wooded areas, make the trip easier.
“During winter, there is not so much daylight,” said Cornet. “When it’s foggy, if a truck is coming, he won’t see you. It’s kind of dangerous. We just decided to stay in a fairly remote place, where there’s less people on the road. Just to be sure.”
“We prefer to be in the forest, make a fire and everything. That’s why we took this road,” added Foletto.
Once their trip is finished, Cornet and Foletto plan to head back to Alaska, fix their sailboat and hit the open water again. A replacement engine for the vessel is en route to Seward from France.
Once the engine is installed, the pair plan on exploring North America’s Pacific coast before heading back to France.
“We have only one year to do that, then we’ll go back to France and go back to work,” said Cornet, with sad eyes and a quick chuckle. “Come back to real life, you know?”
