This year has brought about many changes and one of those has been staying isolated and staying home. So, when it came time for holidays, we decided just to do that. We had originally thought of touring in Croatia this year, along the coast, so, why not turn our pedals in beautiful Ontario for a stunning holiday? After all, vacations don't always mean travelling far away. After all, we travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us.
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| "Discover the World " with Apidura |
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| The Grand Depart |
Cornel purchased me the line of Apidura bags as an early birthday gift, so I was anxious to use them and test them out and they did not disappoint. Previously, we had done a couple long weekend bike touring trips on Manitoulin Island, so why not expand our horizons. Previously, I had carried hard panniers, so I was already feeling a ton lighter. Wait until Cornel finds out that I packed pj's again. Its become our bikepacking banter since our first trip. At least these weren't the full micro fleece ones.
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| Kissing Bridge, West Montrose |
We embarked on Sunday morning and as usual we had a late start, but, temperatures were cooler than the previous week. Our first destination was Brussels, ON where we would take advantage of the G2G railtrail and also take advantage of my sister Gail's hospitality. There is a plethora of abandoned railways that have since been turned into hiking/cycling trails throughout the area and we planned to take full advantage of them. We had cycled the G2G previously in sections on a few occasions but it was more complete this year. The only issue with the day was the amount of headwind we encountered, so the first 157km seemed like a push. We were treated to the best hospitality with cold beers and smoked chicken and ribs (made by my niece Kailey on her new Traeger). My sister also made us Key Lime pie as she knew we had carbs to replenish. Full of beer and good food, we finally retired to our tent around 1am.
The late night made for another late start the next morning. In addition, I needed to repack as I didn't consider packing things in the order that I would need them? Rookie mistake I guess. And, as easy as the Apidura bags are to put on the bike, why remove all of them each time? Thanks Cornel, Destination Sauble Falls or bust. Well the bust occurred within the first hour with Cornel getting a pinch flat. Just glad it was him or he may have expected me to change my own flat.
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| Maitland River, Brandon Sidreroad, just outside Brussels, ON |
The blood sucking symbionts were a distraction on the gravel climbs as you attempted to swat them away while maintaining your line. Not sure what was worse, the mosquitoes or the deer flies. Damn wheelsuckers!
"As soon as I saw you, I knew that an adventure was about to happen'' Winnie the Pooh
