June 26, 2019
You Gonna Ride that Hill?!
Port Glasgow to Port Burwell
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Jackie’s avg speed: 10.1
Scott’s avg speed: 11.7
Weather: sunny, 65-75 degrees, SW wind 10 mph
A small shower passed through overnight, but the ground was dry when we woke about 06:00. We made the usual breakfast of oatmeal, tea, and coffee, broke camp, and were on the road by 09:04. On the way out, we saw the designated manager and asked if we could recycle the plastic water bottles and wine bottle. She said she would take care of it for us.
The Adventure Cycling route took us on less traveled roads so we continued to discover for ourselves the Ontario farm country and topography that defines the Lake Erie shore. The lake sits below a shelf that extends most of its length. The towns, or ports, are situated below the shelf on the shore, and the farms are on the heights. The low points on the graph correspond with the descent off the shelf down to the ports and back up. The sun was hot, but a fresh breeze kept us cool most of the day. That breeze was pushing around the clouds so sometimes we were riding in a cloud shadow which is another kind of “trail magic.”
Port Stanley was the perfect place for lunch, so we enjoyed pizza outside on a deck overlooking a bridge. We headed east out of town and stopped at a traffic light. A woman on the sidewalk asked Scott, “You going to ride up that hill?” “I will,” he said. Her question was actually a warning that a sensible person would find an easier way. We had been sitting down for over an hour, so our legs weren’t ready for the sudden demand on our muscles. As we strained up, each of us was glad we had held back from another slice of pizza. The climb was short, but extremely steep. And we thought we were in shape!
When we got to Port Bruce, we had to detour around a bridge on Dexter Road that is closed indefinitely. One option is to take the long way through town, but we stayed on Dexter Line Road and went directly to the one-lane bridge on Bank Street. The town route comes back to the same bridge.
For the rest of the afternoon, we pedaled over the rolling farmland and got to Port Burwell around 17:30. The digital Adventure Cycling map showed the Port Burwell Provincial Park Campground at the base of a hill on the beach. That would have been nice, but only the day-use park is on the beach. The campground was not well signed, which is why passed by it the first time. Look off to the right before descending the hill and you’ll see a sign inside showing the way to the registration office of the campground.
This park is more popular with tent campers than RVs. The $45 Canadian/$34 US fee covers the cost of a site with an electrical hookup and access to modern shower facilities and flush toilets that we saw being cleaned in the evening and again the next morning. After leftover pizza and rehydrated chili-Mac for dinner, we took the Ravine Trail out the back of the park to the day-use area to get another view of Lake Erie. The trail is really long and winding, but beautiful. A flowering bush that looked like jasminwas growing wild along the path and providing a lovely scent to the evening air. A sign pointed out poison ivy, so we stayed on the path.
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On the way back to the campground, we took the shorter path up the paved road. The day park is on one side of the road and a waste treatment facility on the other. A strange (and smelly) juxtaposition, but at least the lake shore has land set aside for the park.
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Scott stopped for an ice cream sandwich at the park store at the registration office. It stays open until 22:30, another nice benefit. Besides ice cream, it offers souvenir hoodies, t-shirts, camping supplies, and candy. No perishables like milk or yogurt. The campground also has recycle bins for aluminum and isobutane camp stove bottles. We were asleep in a nanosecond after getting into the tent.
Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 2,066 miles (3,325 km)
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