Intrepid duo takes on ‘bikepacking’ EASY FUN, EASY LESSONS ON HOW TO COMBINE CAMPING AND CYCLING By Lesley Cassidy STANDING IN A GRAVEL parking lot in Bristol, Que., my friend was trying to pedal a hybrid bike with two fully loaded panniers. It wasn’t going well. “Maybe I should have tried riding this bike with everything packed on it before this morning,” she said wryly. Laughing at ourselves, we knew this was going to be an adventure. We were set to ride from Bristol, Que. up to Chapeau, close to the Ontario border at Pembroke, following an old railway line converted to a biking and hiking. It opened officially in 2005 along the old Pontiac Pacific Junction (PPJ) rail line and is 92 kilometres one-way. Neither of us had ever tried to combine camping and cycling, but both of us are cyclists and I’ve done quite a bit of canoecamping. After researching online on how to pack a bike for camping, I went to “my” local bike store – Tall Tree Cycles on Wellington Street West. Options ranged from racks and panniers to small packs designed to attach to various parts of your bike. I rented three packs. One fit behind my bike seat, one hung from the top tube of the frame and the third attached to the handlebars. I wondered how the heck I could fit a tent, sleeping bag and other gear into them – it looked like a squeeze. My friend had borrowed a bike rack and panniers and bought a handlebar pack too. On a warm and sunny Saturday morning in early June we were excited about giving this new adventure a try. The trail is flat, generally hard-packed gravel in good condition. The first few kilometres cut through forest dotted with marshes and beaver lodges, and continues through rolling farmland with greying wood farmhouses. There were refuelling stops for snacks and cold drinks along the way in Shawville, Campbell’s Bay, Fort Coulonge and Waltham. Lots of rest areas with picnic tables and outhouses too. Our pace was steady and we started to see the blue waters of the Ottawa www.ottawaoutdoors.ca
River through the trees as we rode north towards Campbell’s Bay. At kilometre 63, we arrived at a campground right on the trail – Base Macrocarpa – with sites for both RVs and tents. It was still early enough in the sunny warm day, so we continued to the end of the PPJ trail with plans to return to our campsite later. When we arrived at scenic Waltham it turned out that the trail portion built on the rail bed ends there. But it continues anyway, past farm fields and cottages at the south end of l’Isle-aux- Allumettes. We rode the trail, diverting onto gravel roads when it got a little too rough. At the kilometre 92, the trail ends unambiguously at a parking lot in Chapeau, Que., on the main road to Pembroke across the river. Hot, tired and hungry, we stopped for a break at one of the many nearby gas stations and restaurants. Soda and chips were fuel for our return to the campground, after we rested in the afternoon sun. Once back to the campground, we pitched out tent at a small sandy site on the beach. Hours ahead of nightfall we could swim and relax – no putting up a tent in the dark. Spicy tomato pasta sauce and a chocolate dessert filled our hungry bellies. Beside a campfire, we watched the sun set and the sky’s changing colours, laughed about our unrealistic packing and figured out how to do things differently next time: leave the iPad, small pillows and some cooking gear at home, and share stuff like toothpaste. Sunday started off gray and gloomy. We rose early, ate lukewarm oatmeal and started to ride. Two hours into it, the skies opened and wind blew the rain into our faces. We had rain gear, but it was a windy and wet ride. Our legs were
tired from yesterday’s effort, and it took hours to reach our cars: we turned the heaters on, grateful to be out of the rain. We had made it. We had learned to pack lighter – space beyond the bare essentials too often translates into things we didn’t really need. As well, we decided cyclecross bikes are lighter and more comfortable for this type of ride. With those lessons under our belt, another a multi-day bikepacking adventure is very much on our minds. Stay tuned. Φ
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