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
OTTAWAOUTDOORS | 19