Month: May 2025

So with the trip out of the way and the benefit of hindsight what did I learn that I can use for future trips? An easy place to start is with my gear.

I really need to get a lightweight quilt for summer camping. My nights will be much more comfortable and if I’m better rested then my days on the bike will go much better too. The thing doesn’t need to be too warm but it should be small.

My commuting setup that I’ve used everyday for thousands of kilometres had no problem handling a week of long days on gravel roads, ATV trails, and singletrack. That being said there are some changes I’d make in the future. First off I’d want to get my tent and any sleeping bag out of the panniers and onto my front fork. My panniers have enough space to hold them but they get in the way because they’re pretty big. By getting them out of the way I’d be able to access my other things in the panniers more easily and wouldn’t have to fill them up as much. Sometimes I feel like I want to get rid of the panniers and put a trunk bag on my rack instead. The advantage of a trunk bag over a large seat pack is that it won’t bounce around and will be easier to open and close. If I didn’t have the rack then I’d be stuck with the seat pack but as it’s there I may as well make use of it. The only thing is with the panniers I can still strap stuff like my sandals and lock directly onto the top of the rack. With a trunk bag the real estate is gone on the top so I’d probably end up strapping them to the sides of the rack.

The hydration pack was great for keeping me hydrated and storing things but it wasn’t great for holding my camera because I’d have to take the pack off in order to open it to get to the camera. Stopping to take a picture is one thing, having to take my backpack off as well probably prevented me from taking more pictures on the way because it would be too much of a hassle. I think if I get a bigger handlebar bag then I can put the camera there instead as long as I’m able to easily open it from the top.

Apart from gear, what lessons have I learned from the trip in general?

For one thing pacing matters. My days were fairly long, I could have gone farther on my second day but otherwise I didn’t have much time at camp at the end of the day which was fine because sitting around camp by myself doesn’t really sound that fun. If I was going with other people I’d probably shorten the days because hanging out at camp is more enjoyable then.

Route choice matters too. When I was just picking points on the map and letting apps auto-route me the rides were fine but it was definitely more interesting riding along the GNBR. I think wherever possible it’s a better idea to use actual routes. It’ll add distance but it’ll also add variety. When I rode part of the No Winter Maintenance route 2 winters ago it had us on closed roads and ATV trails for sections, and even though some of them were in bad enough condition to be unrideable in part it was still a fun ride. More than if we had just been riding on small roads or gravel roads for sure.

Cooking really is optional. There were always opportunities to pick up food along the way and if I knew there was going to be a long period before being able to resupply, like on my way back from Tobermory, I could just buy some extra food to eat later on. As long as I have some granola bars and other snacks then I’m even good for riding a couple of hours before getting a proper breakfast, although that isn’t ideal. If I was going with others I’d probably bring the stove and kettle so that I could make hot chocolate or coffee around camp but otherwise there’s no need to do any cooking if the route is passing through communities.

The more you know about how to fix your bike on the road the better. I’ve heard that a tubeless tire that is repaired with a plug is pretty much good as new and the repair will last as long as the rest of the tire. Of course when the time came for me to actually plug my tire I wasn’t able to do so and I had to use my backup option of putting a tube in and replacing the tire. Probably the tire would have lasted until I got home but that wasn’t something I wanted to risk.

Related to this is if you don’t have confidence in your setup then you’re going to have doubts in the back of your head, so really try out as much as you can ahead of time so those doubts are gone. Putting on extra clothes at night and wondering if I’d be warm enough was not a good way to try to sleep at night. Similarly once my tire was punctured, even though my emergency repair would have probably lasted I’d lost faith in the tire and would be worrying about it the whole time. Better to just get it replaced instead of worrying and risking an unrepairable tire in the middle of nowhere.

I want to plan another trip this summer to put all these lessons to the test and learn some new ones but the only possibility would be doing a family trip in August, maybe a 4-day trip around a weeken, and I have pretty large doubts about my ability to convince everyone into doing that.

The final stretch! Today’s going to be a reasonably long day but relatively easy at the same time because I can arrive in Barrie up to midnight and still be able to get home. Because of this I’m splitting my ride in 2: I’ll ride down to Wasaga Beach and then hang out there for a couple of hours before finishing the trip to Barrie. The forecast does call for rain so let’s hope the weather cooperates!

My route has me riding down to a gravel road and taking that to Meaford but looking at Google Maps I see that I can continue down the road the campgrounds is on and there’s a Tom Thompson Trail that will connect it to another road that’ll take me to Georgian Bay and a Lakeshore Road that’ll take me into Meaford. Seems more scenic and I’ve got time so off-the map it is. The trail is well signed and not too rough but there is one section where it goes down and up to cross a stream which is too steep for me to bike so I have to hike-a-bike that part but it’s just for a couple of minutes. The trail for the rest of the way is fine and the road it connects to is nice and quiet. When I get to Lakeshore Road I see that the road goes a bit farther and there looks like a path to a beach so I make a slight detour to check it out. There’s a nice view of Georgian Bay and whoever lives nearby is pretty lucky.

After taking in the view I go back to Lakeshore Road and continue riding. It looks like the municipality is in the process of repaving the road so I need to detour a couple of times but it’s still an easy ride into Meaford. I start on the Georgian Trail and then decide that I may as well have breakfast now. I go for the easy breakfast option of Tim Horton’s, no fancy coffee and pastry today, and then head back to the trail. The Georgian Trail is nicer than the other rail trails, it’s mostly forested and there are nice features like wooden bridges along the way.

The Georgian Trail ends in Collingwood. I’ve only ever driven through it heading up to Blue Mountain but it seems like a nice town. My route has me continuing on a rail trail and then taking small roads to get to Wasaga but I decide that I want to stay closer to the water so go off-route once again.

This time it isn’t such a good choice because the roads near the water aren’t continuous and keep looping back onto the main road which has a lot of traffic. It isn’t terrible but not a calm ride on a trail or empty gravel road either. Finally though I get close to Wasaga Beach and the small roads near the water do become continuous and I don’t have to loop back and forth. There are a lot of stop signs but I’m not going fast so it’s fine. I decide on Mexican food for lunch and have a huge burrito and then ride to the grocery store, a Superstore this time not a Foodland, to get some junk food, and then head to the beach. It’s cloudy and still looks like it’s going to rain but it’s also warm so sitting on the beach is pleasant. The relatively poor weather maybe means that it isn’t as crowded as it would be otherwise, there are still people but everyone has a lot of space around them. Still in planning mode I decide I’ll stay at the beach and watch Manchester United’s first game of the year but before that I’ll go for a swim so that I can watch and dry off at the same time. The water always feels cold at the start and it stays shallow for a long time so I have to will myself to jump in and fully submerge myself in the barely waist-high water. I’m not particularly tired or sweaty but it still feels so good to swim in the water. It’s cloudy but I can see what looks like a grain elevator in the distance, is that Collingwood or some other town? I couldn’t tell you. Manchester wins the game 1-0 but it was a pretty poor game and the goal comes late. A win’s a win though. Once the game’s over it’s time to head out.

The plan is to ride towards Elmvale and connect to the North Simcoe Rail Trail. For the most part the rail trail is pretty boring, fairly flat, featureless terrain passing through farmers’ fields but there are some sections where it goes through forest which are quite nice. On the whole there seems to be a downward slope to it so I’ve got elevation on my side. At some point my trail joins up with a mountain bike park and I see other people riding various side trails while I’m trying to make sure that I’m staying on the right one. I lose my bearings but eventually end up back on the trail. Eventually my time on the rail trail comes to an end, the trail continues but it starts to curve away from Barrie so I need to go back to normal roads. This coincides with elevation no longer being on my side and I need to start climbing some hills but nothing like what I had to deal with on day 2. Even here all the elevation I gain with my climbing means that I finish with a really big downhill as I approach Hwy 400 in Barrie. I really wouldn’t want to climb up this hill so here’s a tip, if you’re planning on riding the rail trail from Barrie out to Midland or Wasaga try to adjust your route so that you can avoid Leacock Drive, although for all I know maybe there is no avoiding that hill.

I’m back in Barrie and I have time to kill so I may as well have supper so I’m not dying of hunger on the train back to Toronto. I Google what’s available and decide on a Thai restaurant. Thankfully they have a pretty large, empty patio section so I can eat out there without disturbing anyone else because I probably don’t smell that great. Also this way I can keep my bike in my line of sight. I’m hungry and there are lots of tasty looking dishes on the menu so I order more than I should and have to fight to finish it all but I’m able to do it. Why not, I burned 5,300 calories today according to my watch so I can eat as much as I want. After I finally finish I ride back to the station to wait for the train to arrive. It’s definitely cooler now but I don’t feel like digging out my baselayer or jacket to put on so I just live with it. The train ride back to Downsview station is pretty boring, I’m back to just looking at my phone, but my day isn’t done yet, I still need to ride back home from the station. It’s only about 3.5 km from the station to the hydro corridor and then an easy straight shot home and before I know it I’m back home.

One advantage of doing a bikepacking trip over a hiking one is that you don’t need to be as self-sufficient because depending on your route you may be passing by multiple towns or at least points to get some water and food. That being said it’s always a good idea to have supplies on hand because life in unpredictable and shops and restaurants might be closed, your route or schedule might change, or there could be some other issue that might mean you won’t be able to replenish supplies as planned. In my case because the Foodland was closed by the time I got to Lion’s Head it meant that I’d be eating granola bars and water until I came by an open store. My first chance would be in Hope Bay about 25km away. According to Google Maps there’s a general store there so with any luck I’d be able to pick up a muffin or cookies and something to drink.

When I get out of my tent I can barely see anything because the whole area is covered in a dense fog so it was probably a good idea to do without that emergency blanket. It isn’t too cold and once I start riding I warm up quickly. Riding early in the morning on quiet roads is nice because the world is silent and I don’t need to worry about cars, not that there’s a lot of car traffic out here anyway. I make it to Hope Bay, which is another pictaresque bay, and see the general store but it isn’t open. It looks like it’s the store for a resort/campground and while the sign on the door says it should be open it looks like whoever is supposed to be running it is doing something else. I wait around on the beach for a while hoping someone will show up and have another granola bar. It looks like I’m not going to be able to get anything until I make it to Wiarton another 35km away.

The ride to Wiarton is pretty nice. I start along Hope Bay Road, hugging the shore and passing by houses. The road dead ends with a gate that says “road closed” but that just means that there’s a rougher gravel road on the other side of the gate. A car would need to do something about that gate but a biker or walker can just go under it which is what I did. The road just goes through a forested area, there aren’t any houses or other streets so it’s pretty desolate although there were a few people walking along it, maybe they were camping somewhere nearby. Eventually I start to see campsites so I guess I’m in some campground or park. It turns out this is Cape Croker Park which looks like a nice campground to stay at if you’re going to the Bruce Peninsula. One for the future. After that it’s more gravel roads until I get back to Highway 6 for the descent into Wiarton.

Wiarton is a proper town and by this time everything is open. I stop at a coffee shop and get a coffee and chocolate croissant. At one level I can appreciate that both the coffee and croissant are better quality than the coffee and chocolate eclair I had at the Markdate Tim Horton’s but on another level that quality is wasted on me in my present state and I just want the carbs and caffeine. I still take my time with it because I’m ahead of schedule thanks to not stopping off for breakfast earlier. Because I’m in Wiarton I have to visit the statue of Willie and after that I go to Foodland to stock up. When I finish my shopping some other cyclists stop to pick up something, one of them goes in to shop and the other watches over the bikes. They’re roadies on expensive looking bikes. One of them warns me about the main roads, especially Highway 26 as there are a lot of trucks on it. I told them that I’m mostly riding on smaller gravel roads but thanked them for the advice and went on my way. Sure enough I leave Wiarton and am back on quiet gravel roads. At some point my route merges onto the Bruce Trail and I’m riding on singletrack for a short section! It was fun but on a gravel bike with loaded panniers it was pretty rough so I’m glad it was just for a short section.

As I’m riding I’m noticing that my rear tire is getting squishy pretty quickly and I’m having to stop to pump it up every half an hour. I see that there’s a puncture and try to clean the area to give the sealant a better chance of plugging the hole. I ride some more and am losing pressure again so I add some additional sealant in case I’ve used it all up over the course of the trip. It still isn’t helping so finally I have to stop and try to plug the hole. I have the reamer and plugs and know what I’m supposed to do but this will be my first time actually doing it. It doesn’t go well. I can’t push the reamer into the existing puncture and if I can’t do that then the plug won’t go in. After spending too much time trying to plug the tire I decide to give up on that and go to plan B: patch the tire with a tire boot and put in an inner tube. It takes a bit of doing to do this because taking off and remounting tubeless tires is a hassle but eventually I’m able to do it and am ready to continue to Owen Sound where hopefully there will be a bike shop I can get my tire replaced at. Chances are I’d be fine for today and tomorrow on this tire and tube but I’d rather not leave that to chance if it could be helped.

The ride in to Owen Sound was fine and I’m able to find a bike shop. I explain the situation and they have a tire that’ll work and can install it for me. While they’re doing that I go out to look for food because there isn’t anything between Owen Sound and the campground I’ll be staying at. I end up getting a pizza and come back to the bike shop. They say the bearings in one of my pedals arein bad shape and ask if I want to switch out the pedals. I’d noticed that the pedaling was rough but thought it was the bottom bracket. As I’m already at the bike shop I figure I may as well do the pedals too. They also say that my front brake pads were pretty worn down but they don’t have any in stock so I should check in Collingwood tomorrow. Repairs done I was ready to leave Owen Sound but all my roadside repairs plus the detour at the bike shop means that I’m behind schedule. I decide to take a more direct route to the campsite, but keeping in mind the advice I received in Wiarton I decide to go on Highway 18 instead of Highway 26.

Highway 18 is still a pretty busy road. Thankfully it has wide, paved shoulders which I can ride on but there are a lot of cars and trucks driving by. Nothing can be done about it but between the road, lateness in the day, and the troubles I’ve had up to now this was by far the worst stretch of the trip so far. I’m able to make it to the campgrounds while it’s still bright out. They’ve got a solar heated pool and I decide I need a swim after a long day in the sun. The pool actually isn’t very warm but I stay in it until it starts getting dark and then take a nice hot shower afterwards. They have laundry machines here so I decide to clean my clothes. Even though I’ve only got one day left I figure anyone near me on the train ride back home tomorrow will appreciate it.

 

Rest day over I’m officially past the half-way mark so it’s time to start the journey home. Leaving Manitoulin Island means taking the ferry back to Tobermory and the first ferry of the day leaves at 11:10am so there’s no need for an early start. Even still, once I’m up there isn’t much to do at camp so I figure I may as well go down to South Baymouth, get some breakfast, buy my ticket, and hang out there until the ferry comes in. South Baymouth is tiny, you could walk the whole area in 5 minutes, but it has a couple of Pokemon Go gyms for me to take over and a picturesque little lighthouse. After that I just spend my time looking at the water waiting for the ferry to come in, it is very clean!

One thing about being on a bike waiting for the ferry is that you stick out a fair bit. Pedestrians are able to book passage on the ferry neither the Bruce Peninsula or Manitoulin Island have much in the way of public transportation so all the other passengers had their cars with them. So there were curious people asking where I was going and where I had been. For whatever reason a lot of these were Americans. I’m not sure if Manitoulin Island has more American tourists than anywhere else in Ontario. It could be there are lots of American tourists in Toronto or any of the other places I visited on my trip but because I didn’t talk with them I didn’t know they were American. It could also be that American tourists are just more outgoing so they were the ones to start conversations with me. I had fairly long conversations with a couple of Americans both waiting for the ferry and on the ferry itself. Once you’re out of sight of land you’re just surrounded by endless water, which is nice for a bit but gets boring, so you may as well talk.

Leaving Manitoulin at 11 means that I arrive in Tobermory around 1pm, half the day’s already done! I stop at the Foodland to pick up some sports drink, granola bars, and cookies. Also they had foil emergency blankets so I get one of those – maybe I’ll be able to sleep warmer at night. My goal today is to make it to Lion’s Head, which isn’t too far from Tobermory but the route I’ll be taking meanders. On the way up I made my own route using navigation apps and it was pretty much the shortest route that kept me off main roads. On the way down I’m using the Great Northern Bikepacking Route which was developed with contributions from people that live and ride in the area. I’m not sure exactly what to expect but the route has me zigzagging my way down so it looks like it’ll be a fun day.

The route immediately takes me away from Highway 6 onto some small deserted road. Nothing here but driveways to cottages. I follow the road to it’s end and there’s supposed to be a hydro cut I can follow to connect me to the next road but for the life of me I can’t find it. I walk around the area ignoring the no trespassing signs and while I can see the hydro wire the terrain underneath it doesn’t seem passible for as much as I can see. I could probably hike it, but pushing my bike along for however long until it gets clear doesn’t seem like the best idea so I decide to backtrack. That means going back to Highway 6 and passing the Foodland to go down to the next road my route would have connected to. Not the most auspicious start to using the GNBR but on the next turnoff it starts to get better. First off I pass by the secret cottage of 2 founding Avengers and soon after there’s a nice lookout onto Lake Huron. The road passes by a campground and after a bit more I’m back to Highway 6, but just to cross onto the other side. The road on the other side has a No Exit sign on it which means adventure is up ahead, the gravel gets a bit rougher and there’s a pretty big downhill that goes on a for a long time and at the end the forest road opens up onto a couple of farmhouses. Past the houses the road is blocked by a gate but an ATV trail continues beyond it so I just need to open it to continue. The gate isn’t locked but it does require me to solve a puzzle in order to continue, I’m figuring its a way to make it so that people can open and close the gate but livestock wouldn’t be able to. I need to move the chain along the slots so that I can remove it and open the gate. I’ve never seen something like this before and while I know what I’m supposed to do it takes me a bit to figure out how to actually move the chain in order to do it. But eventually the gate is opened and I can continue on my way, but first I have to close the gate and put the chain back in.

Just like riding on gravel roads is more fun but slower than riding on paved roads. Riding on ATV trails/doubletrack is more fun but slower than riding on gravel roads. The trail goes from forest to clearing to forest again and because it had rained a couple of days ago in some sections there are puddles, some that I can blast through and some that are really big I have to be a bit more careful crossing so that I don’t totally soak my feet. As I approach and ride through the smaller puddles all these frogs that were hidden in the water jump out in every direction. It’s both creepy and cool and I tell myself that I probably didn’t run any of them over. While I’m riding I spot a small lake and decide that would be a nice place to take a break. Along one side of the lake it looks like there are a bunch of cottages and some people are even swimming by their docks. The lake is really small and from where I am the water looks pretty murky. It probably isn’t that bad but I’d rather swim in a larger, clearer lake.

One problem with riding through forested sections is if I stop then the bugs will be all over me. I didn’t bother packing insect repellant because I figured I’d be moving most of the time and I’d be sweating it out pretty quickly anyway. Even while moving some mosquitoes and black flies will land on me but it’s a lot better than when I have to stop, like when I need to tree pee. As I approach Lion’s Head the forested road opens up and along one side I can see the bay right under me. It’s an abrupt change and while riding on the trails and roads didn’t feel particularly claustrophobic there is definitely a very welcome feeling of openness one this stretch of the road. I make my way into town, the campground is right on the lake by the beach. Kids are playing on the beach and going for a swim would be fun but it’s pretty late in the day and I want to make sure I can get supper before places close for the night. By the time I get there the local Foodland is closed so I won’t be able to get anything for tomorrow’s breakfast from there but at least there are open restaurants for supper today. Back at the campgrounds there are washrooms for campers, you need a combination to open the lock, and I can take a nice long shower and leave my battery for charging for a while. When it’s time for bed I decide against opening up the emergency blanket I bought today as an added layer because I’m worried about condensation, it might get pretty damp right by the water. Hopefully it won’t get too cold tonight.

When I planned the trip I gave myself a rest day on Manitoulin Island because I had to reserve my campsite for 2 nights during the Perseids. I was also unsure how beat I would be after three days of riding and being out all day. This is a vacation so I’m allowed to relax a bit right?
So after another cold night I wake up relatively early and no one else is awake. There isn’t really anything to do and it’s still a bit cool out so I just get ready in the most inefficient way possible. Go to the washroom, walk back to the campsite. Go to the empty common area to eat my breakfast, walk back to the campsite. Take a nice warm shower, walk back to the campsite. Now it’s warm and I go to the area with outlets to charge my phone as well as my backup battery. Slowly other people start to wake up and as the individual camp sites don’t have electricity some of them make their way to the charging area as well. As I’m listening to other people’s plans for the day and idly chatting my own plan starts to form: I want to swim in Lake Manitou.

Why Lake Manitou? Well just like Manitoulin Island is the largest island in a lake in the world, Lake Manitou is the largest lake on an island in a lake in the world, so it has that going for it. Also, it’s only about 7km away from the campsite, which is an acceptable bike ride for a rest day. Now in case you’re wondering there are islands in Lake Manitou but none of them are the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake in the world. The honour for that goes to Treasure Island on Lake Mindemoya which is about 20km away – too far away to ride to on a rest day and I’d need some way to get to the island as well. So Lake Manitou it is!

The first order of the day is breakfast and there’s a general store that isn’t too much of a detour so I pick up way too much junk food from there and continue to the lake. Just by looking you can’t really tell the difference between riding on the island and anywhere else on the trip but there’s definitely less people around.

I make it to the hamlet of Sandfield which has a little dock, boat launch, as well as a general store (which is closed, good thing I already bought my food!). There are signs saying “no swimming” so I just dip my feet in the water and then sit at the sole picnic table enjoying my food. It’s a hot, sunny, summer’s day so it’s enjoyable to just sit and drink a cold pop looking at the lake. There are cottages nearby and some of the kids staying there go for a swim off the launch. They leave and later a car arrives with a lady and her grandkid. They also swim off the launch. The lady says the water’s nice and that I should swim too and I figure if it’s good enough for the locals it’s good enough for me. I jump off the dock into the water and it’s not too cold. The dock has a ladder on it so I can either climb back up or swim to the launch. I decide to swim to the launch and walk out but it’s a bit slippery from algae. Using the ladder is definitely the better option. I swim around a bit more and then go back to my picnic table to dry off and eat more junk food. Once I’m dry and bored I decide it’s about time to head back and maybe see about getting some real food.

Conveniently there’s a restaurant on the road on the way back to the campsite, I didn’t pass it on the way to the lake because of my detour to the general store, but it looked pretty good on Google so I was looking forward to eating there. When I got there I had a bit of a dilemma deciding what to eat. Something big like a grilled fish or pasta would fill me up but I was more in the mood for lighter food. I don’t know if that’s because I’d been eating heavier foods in general or because I’d just had a bunch of junk food for breakfast but I decided to go with a soup and salad. Not having had anything else there I can’t say if I made the right choice but they were both very good. It didn’t take much of arm twisting for me to order desert as well as a vegan burrito to take back for supper.

When I get back to the campgrounds I just chill for the rest of the day and turn in early. It’s a rest day so may as well get my rest in after all.