This was my first real bike camping trip. I packed everything onto my bike and set off from Ottawa toward Smiths Falls, aiming to camp on crown land.
The ride out was long but peaceful. There is something very grounding about moving entirely under your own power. Every hill feels earned, and the wind becomes your enemy. I was rewarded at one point with a lemonade stand run by some kids, which was a nice surprise. My wallet wasn't so happy about the cost. I didn't have change so I ended up paying $10 for a cup. It was worth it still to see the kids happy.
I made a terrible mistake though. I forgot my backpack with all of my sunscreen, and my sweater in it. I didn't realize this until I had been biking for a while, and it was past the point where I could feasibly turn back to get it. I was pretty worried about it, as I knew I would be biking in the sun for a while, and I didn't want to get sunburned, but I just had to make do with what I had. I was also worried, as I knew it was going to be cold overnight and in the morning, and without by sweater I was going to be pretty underdressed for that, but there was nothing I could do about it at that point, so I just had to hope for the best and try to stay warm with what I had.
Stopped on the side of the road with a fully loaded bike.
My last stop before my campsite was a small town called Merrickville-Wolford. After taking about 15 minutes to find a place to lock my bike (I settled for a railing), I sat down to get some food. I technically had brought food to cook myself, but at this point even the thought of it exhausted me. I ended up getting a cheeseburger poutine with some cold pop. It was a great chance for me to rest and refuel before the last stretch to my campsite, which was a ways away still.
My meal at a restaurant in Merrickville - a cheeseburger poutine and a pop.
After my meal, I explored the town a bit. It was a cute little place with a clear focus on tourism. I didn't much bother with shops or anything, but did take a look at the park and the river. I also tried to go to the pharmacy, as I was in desperate need of some sunscreen, but they were closed for the day, and with it being a small town, I was out of luck.
I finally set out again for the last stretch to my campsite. I had been on the road for a while at this point, and I was pretty tired, but I knew I had to get to my campsite before it got dark, so I pushed through. The last part may have been the most beautiful, and I regret not taking more pictures. I was riding along the river on a quiet road with the trees arching over it. It was a really peaceful and serene moment, and I felt really grateful to be out there experiencing it.
The road I took to get to my campsite.
I turned onto the small dirt road that was supposed to lead to my campsite. I was going off of some directions I had found online, and I was a bit nervous about whether or not I would actually be able to find the campsite, but I was determined to make it work. I missed the trail the first time and came to the end of the road at a house. After an awkward exchange with some kids playing in the yard (I must have looked so strange), I turned around to look again for the campsite. I eventually found the trail, or what was supposed to be the trail. It was really just some slightly pushed down grass leading through a swampy woods. I had to walk my bike through most of it, but I was too tired to care about getting dirty at that point. I just wanted to get to my campsite and set up before it got dark. I found an area under a big pine tree that looked like it would be a good spot to set up my tent. It was a ways above the mud and dirt, relatively flat, and clearly other people had camped there before, so I figured it would be a good spot. I hurried to set up my tent, as I wanted to get away from the bugs which were starting to get bad in the evening. I considered making a fire and some food, but I was so tired at that point that I just wanted to go to sleep. I ended up just eating some granola bars and crawling into my tent.
I sat in my tent for a while, just enjoying the sounds of nature around me. It was great to relax. I crawled into my sleeping bag as it was cold outside, and I was underdressed. I unfortunately did not get a very good sleep, as it was a very windy night, with a full moon. The wind was knocking all sorts of sticks off of the tree above me, making loud sounds and even hitting the tent a few times. There was also the moonlight shining through the tent, which was very bright and made it hard to sleep. I ended up just laying there for a while, listening to the sounds of nature and trying to relax.I know something came by to visit me in the middle of the night, and it gave me a little startle. I still have no idea what it was, but it was big enough to make a loud noise and knock on my tent a bit, which was enough to wake me up. I laid there for a while after that, but I eventually fell back asleep.
I slept in a bit later than I had planned the next morning, as I was pretty tired from the night before. It was a chilly morning, and still being underdressed I wanted to hurry and get on the road so I could warm up. I packed up my tent and got everything ready to go, and then set out on the road back to Ottawa. The ride back was much harder than the ride there, as I was pretty tired and sore from the day before, but I was determined to make it back without any issues. I didn't really have any other options anyways. I had made the decision to go back a different way, stopping in Smiths falls so I could get some sunscreen, charge my phone, and grab some food. I knew at the very least I wouldn't survive another day in the sun without sunscreen. I took it slow and steady, and made sure to take breaks when I needed to. Honestly biking to Smiths Falls was really nice. The town itself was small but well built and had a nice little downtown area. I stopped at Tims to get some food and a cold drink, and then went to the pharmacy to get some sunscreen.
Then I had to tackle the big ride back to Ottawa. It was a long ride made worse by my need to bike along a two way highway for a good portion of it, which was pretty stressful. At first it wasn't so bad, as the road had a paved shoulder that I could bike on, but as I came to Ottawa, the shoulder turned into loose gravel, which was basically impossible to bike on, and I had to bike in the lane with the cars, which was pretty scary. I decided to bike on the road, then pull off when cars came along.
The end of the shoulder on the highway back to Ottawa, ironic given the sign.
Overall the trip was a great experience. It was a bit more challenging than I had expected, but I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I definitely want to do more bike camping trips in the future, and maybe even try some longer ones. I would love to bike to Montreal or something like that, but I think I need to build up my endurance a bit more before I attempt something like that. I think it would be really fun to do a bike camping trip with some friends too, as it would be nice to have some company on the road and at the campsite. Overall I just really enjoyed being out in nature and experiencing everything that comes with it, even the challenges.