Long Road North - Rolling Through the Hemispheres on Two Wheels

I suspect we can all relate to the feeling Gwendal Castellan had while at work in a windowless office a few years ago: a longing for something new, a change of pace, maybe a jolt to break free from a rut you may be slipping into. For some a weekend in Tofino will do the trick. Not Castellan. His plan? Build a bicycle and ride it from the very tip of South America up to the Canadian Arctic.

Quitting his job, he began to put his plan in motion. He built a tandem bike that can be altered on the road to ride as a single. He consulted maps and planned routes. He put the call out to find a riding partner or two. Then he got hit by a car. A minor setback turned positive; Castellan was not seriously injured, but used his settlement to purchase a camera and the final piece to document the journey fell into place.

The resulting film - Long Road North, directed by Castellan and Ian Hinkle - had it's world premier at the Doxa Film Fest and sold out both screenings. The filmmakers are putting on one more screening this Tuesday, June 24th at the Ridge Theatre as a fundraiser for the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition. Ticket info and an interview with Castellan after the jump...

Castellan set out from the gusty shores of Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia, rode through some of the most spectacular terrain in the world and completed his journey 19 months later back home in Canada. In the process, the destination becomes abstract while the expedition's ups and downs find Castellan and his riding partners fending for themselves in challenging times. Tires popped, wheels disintegrate and moods fluctuate as basic necessities like finding food and shelter become daily excursions into frustration.

With that, however, is their unflappable sense of wonder and hope. After all, they are doing this completely by their own hand, or legs as it is. No support vehicle. No guides. Just a few cyclists, a camera and an unconquerable attitude toward living, for living's sake. When Castellan's girlfriend (producer Tania Lo) joins in we see a little further into the human psyche and they really explore the dynamics of relationships, personalities and how it all comes together under the banner of a grand old adventure.

It's a triumphant debut and a remarkable tale - one that has me yearning for something more than just the seawall at sunset. I spoke with Castellan about his 24,000km ride and how it all came together in the end.

Beyond Robson: So how did you decide that riding from the tip of South America to the Arctic was something you wanted to do?

Gwendal Castellan: It was a slow evolution, sort of my imagination running away from me and I just caught up to it in Patagonia. It really just started from the idea that travelling by bicycle was very appealing, and then the geography just sort of got out of hand.

BR: Early on, I imagine the responses from many must have been incredulous. How did you manage to recruit more to come along on your adventure?

Castellan: I think once people saw that I was serious about doing this expedition, they started to realize that maybe it could be something they could do too. I think you can react two ways when someone proposes some big crazy idea; you either dismiss it, or you start to see yourself in that situation. So after getting 14 different people to participate, I think I'm a pretty good salesman.

BR: First time film-maker, right? How would you describe your learning process and motivation to shoot the entire trip on film?

Castellan: I was inspired by a film I saw about the first woman imprisoned in communist Romania for a bank robbery. The filmmaker was maybe only 22 or 23 when she did it mostly from pictures and short pieces of archival footage. I saw it and immediately was inspired - if she could do it maybe I could too. So in the year of preparation, I ruminated about what filming the expedition would be like. But I did not have the camera until the insurance settlement just one day before I left. So the idea was well developed but the skills were learned on the fly with a lot of trial and error. But because I had fostered the idea for a long time, the motivation to keep filming was pretty natural.

BR: Tell me about one of your favourite moments on the trip.

Castellan: One of my favourite experiences was in northern Mexico. I was slowly coming to terms that we were soon going to leave Latin America, and was spending my time on the saddle thinking about what the reverse culture shock would be like once we entered the United States. Then I just snapped out of my reverie and realized how beautiful the Tarahumara mountain range was around me and thought, "Hmm, I could just keep riding like this forever..."

BR: What about the lowest points?

Castellan: Struggling with the realities, the wear and tear of the expedition, sometimes the bike gets tired and you need to give it some mechanical attention in situations that are not ideal, like the end of the day when you have not arrived where you want to get to and you are very hungry. It just happens and it feels horrible at the time, but once you get through it and you have a nice warm lentil soup in you or a big bowl of ceviche, it is quickly forgotten.

BR: Any really mindblowing encounters that just made you step back and need to take it all in?

Castellan: Almost every day on the road! The sense of freedom and pure discovery is intoxicating. Somehow it does not seem to ever loose its potency on the saddle of a bicycle.

BR: What was the feeling crossing from country to country, especially the threshold from Latin American countries back to our western world of North America?

Castellan: Crossing borders was easy with our Canadian passports. It is one of the best tickets to free movement in the world. And the more borders we crossed the more we realized that in large part our freedom came from that small booklet rather that from the bikes we were riding. Especially once we got to the US border, when the border guard told us he did not need to see our passports and just said "American, Canadian - what's the difference?" If we were Latin American, it would not have been so simple.

BR: I am an avid cyclist but haven't been on any kind of bike tour and I imagine there are a lot of people like me. Any advice for people who are thinking of a bike tour/trip for the first time?

Castellan: Start with a shorter trip (but rembember that if you choose the Gulf Islands they are unusually hilly). Don't worry too much about having every last bit of perfect equipment for cycle touring, you'll figure out what is missing during your trip, often it is small things you can pick up along the way. Just make sure you get your bike checked out by a mechanic, and that it is comfortable. In the summer you can easily get away with two panniers or rent a trailer from MEC. And remember that the toughest days are the first couple days. So give yourself a rest day and you'll find that generally things get easier as the week progresses.

Long Road North screens Tuesday, June 24th at 7pm at the Ridge Theatre (3131 Arbutus).
Tickets can be had at Bike Doctor, Bikes on the Drive, or here.
There will be valet bike parking and a draw prize for VACC members for a trip on Rocky Mountaineer's train to Whistler.

All images courtesy LongRoadNorth.com