Pike Lake

Of course I went. The Chariot (bike trailer) that I have been using forever has in recent months been converted for use as a cargo hauler. Leora and Anwyn are such competent bikers (and lets face it a little large) that they have been getting very few trailer rides this year. Anyway, 4 bolts are removed and the fabric seats, belts and a couple of bars can be rolled up and tied out of the way. The result is that it is capable of carrying a surprising amount of cargo. My bike also has a double sided pannier on the back. Wendy has a rack with bungee cords on the back end and a wire-frame basket on the front. What did we take on this trip?

Large items included:

(x1) Tent, tarp, cooler, axe

(x2) sleeping bags, camp rests, pillows, folding chairs

There was all the miscellaneous gear that you might expect: Clean clothes, books, rain gear, bug spray, water, ropes, food, coffee press, cooking stove, pots, pans, fresh spices and some of the best salt in all the shire.

Moving on. With all the last minute planning (not the least of which was watering the entire garden and moving hanging plants and boxes into the shade) we didn't get a move on until after 2 p.m. Here is the route we traveled.

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It was hot. Dare I say "Africa hot"? No, I dursn't. We were bucking a bit of a head-wind, and with the heavy loads we were toting, we really needed a few breaks. We stopped at shady spots on the highway and had ice-cream and a head-dunk at the Berry Barn which, as it turns out, is almost exactly half-way.

The second half of the trip was quite uncomfortable. We both resolved to get better seats for our bikes before there would be any repeat performance. In any event, we arrived triumphant and found one of the few sites remaining.








You may gather from the picture that it was less than secluded.

Things I enjoyed about the trip:
-challenging ride
-free entrance to provincial park (no vehicle)
-camping during a great thunder storm
-getting looks because we biked into our site
-no one at picnic spots

Things I did not enjoy:
-crowded campsite
-listening to a Bluejays game on 4 different radios until 11pm
-my really sore butt

The whole thing made me wish for a bike trailer that could bring the canoe with us. It would be great to bike upstream for a day and then camp on the river on our way home.