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.
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