Hi Marie,

you've already got a good hint on the Vancouver area, which is what I would recommend to do. It's somewhat weather-critical of course, especially in this part of the country. Alternatively, you could head east and see what the Atlantic provinces have to offer. There's a good deal of touring cycling going on there.

As for the bike ... it might be difficult to give general advice and the best thing you can do is to check out a local bike store and see if there is one that knows its way around touring biking. On the other hand, my first touring bike was my racing MTB, converted for touring. But the current bike I have is much nicer to travel on. It's sadly a question of budget also. As for packs, there's a garden variety out there. I ultimately chose Ortlieb panniers and I'm not telling you they're good because I get sponsored by them. I started out with Jandd packs and liked them, but waterproofing was an issue. Having said that Ortlieb packs are proof, meaning that what doesn't get in doesn't get out either, i.e. wet clothing will not dry up.

Spares, there are a range of lists. Just give google a whirl ... a good general list for long-distance cycling or at the very least a good starting point is this: http://www.14degrees.org/en/?page_id=348, so is this - a bit more comprehensive: http://www.adserballe.com/index.html

Hope this helps a bit. Let me know if you have any questions.

All the best for your travels,

Markus