Day 3: to Calabogie

Today felt a little like an actual vacation.

For breakfast we went back to the store/deli we stopped at the evening before. The owner had told us that she started work at 5 and if we knocked she’d let us in before opening. Turns out we didn’t make it until 9. Also turns out they make incredible cinnamon buns and pretty good breakfast sandwiches.

We decided to opt out of strictly following the route and instead rode a more direct, shorter and easier rail trail all day – the K&P. Not to say it was all tailwind and hard packed gravel of course, but it made for a much more leisurely day than we would have had otherwise.

The K&P is pretty classic Ontario rail trail. Awesome in some spots, terrible in others, never the same for more than a couple kilometers. When you don’t like the current trail conditions ride 10 minutes and it’ll be different. Surrounded by typical northern Ontario scenery. It was great.

We are camped tonight at an RV park. Got here fairly early due to the short day of riding and went for a swim. Then we just hung out chatting and eating for a few hours before the bugs got bad enough to send us into our tents.

I’ll mention here that the bugs like Chris a lot more than me. While they chew through his clothing and leave bites all over him, I am so far unscathed. And pretty happy about riding with a decoy :).

Chris’s version

The route today has a couple options to avoid sections if desired. We rolled out of camp with breakfast sandwiches from Grays Grocery on the mind. They did not disappoint. Two breakfast sandwiches each and an Apple cinnamon bun and a smoked meat sandwich were acquired to get us through the day. 

After eating what we could and stashing away the rest for later we hit the trail. We had discussed skipping sections and sticking to the K&P trail but decided to play it by ear. The first few km went by quickly. We made good time on the crushed limestone of the trail. 

When the first potential deviation came along, we elected to deviate. The trail continued and the day got hotter. We decided we would stick to the K&P trail all the way to Calabogie. 

There were all kinds of surface options for us to keep things interesting. Fine gravel, dirt, mud, and a few sections that were completely submerged. We made it to the second to last flooded section before we both ended up with wet feet as we walked the shin deep 10 meters or so. 

We stopped briefly so I could empty the water out of my shoes only to be attacked by deer flies. This became the theme for the rest of the day. The deer flies were after us like we owed them money. 

As the deer flies chewed through my gloves we continued on past big lakes, small rivers, beaver dams and ATVs. We struggled to find places to stop for breaks where we wouldn’t get eaten alive.

As we came closer to Calabogie we had a group of cyclists come up behind us. They let us know that the golf clubhouse was having a party. We were pretty close to camp but stopped to use the facilities and have something cold to drink. It was very welcome in the heat.

A quick stop at the grocery store and we got to camp. Armed with a cherry slushy and time, we set up our chairs and enjoyed some time to relax. 

A swim in Calabogie lake, ravioli for dinner and fireworks overhead we ended a shorter than planned but greatly enjoyed day.

Onto the next.