Who is attending the trip:
Confirmed participants (people on this email chain):
Emily L
Steve H
Geoff S
Hugo P
Carl K
Gwyneth M - for first 2 nights only
Jonathan B
Tentative participants (keep me posted and let me know by early June!):
Valentina C
Jim D
@valentinacastilloc Here’s a solution for packing a small bike lol!
Emily a potential new member is wondering what pace this ride will be?
Emily, I will not be able to join. I have been scheduled for cataract surgery the day before departure so will still be in recovery mode. Have a great trip.
Hi Scott - we chatted yesterday after the Ride Leader Orientation and I think we will likely be going at a pace of about 20-23km/hour. We will take plenty of breaks in small towns we pass and would not leave anyone behind during the ride. I want to make this inclusive to everyone. I can meet up with riders if they have questions or do a practice ride out to Milverton (our first stop on day 1).
Sorry to hear that Jim - best of luck with the surgery we will be thinking of you on the ride.
Thanks Emily - that’s great!!
Very interested! Haven’t backpack toured with others for a bit. A little nervous about keeping up with a group. If it’s okay to be a maybe, I’d like to get a better sense of my pacing in a group context during the May group rides before committing. Or if you need a decision earlier (or if the trip is already full), pls let me know.
Sure no problem. Keep me posted. I am definitely not the faster rider myself and also plan to join some of the wednesday rec rides. Hope to see you around!
Hi All,
We are less than a month away from our trip on June 26-29! A few updates below. If you have any questions or would like to touch base 1:1 before the trip, please let me know. I will send a final update out a few days before we leave.
One quick housekeeping item is to ask you all to confirm who is your emergency contact during the trip? Please send me their name and number. If something were to happen and you are not able to continue with the group, you will require a ride home from someone you know who can drive out and help you get home with your bike. Of course during emergency situations we would call 911 and get help as needed - this is more in situations where you are unable to continue but are not in need of medical attention etc. Alternatively I would budget several hundred dollars for a cab ride back to KW. Please send me the name and number of your emergency contact ASAP and I will keep a record of it during the trip to help out if needed.
I have updated the Route files in Ride with GPS:
Our goal is to be leaving camp each day around 9-9:30am. Wake up should be around 8am or earlier depending on how much time you require in the morning to get ready, eat and pack your camp up. Our goal would be to arrive at camp around 3 or 4pm depending on how long our stops are on the way (we cannot check in until after 2pm anyways). Lots of awesome swimming and sunsets at Point Farms and MacGregor Point Provincial Parks.
We have 9 individuals confirmed to attend the trip. I am going to be closing the registration for new participants at this time.
Who is attending the trip:
I have also included a new cost breakdown below. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I am hoping to get etransfers to this email or cash on the trip for the costs below:
| Cost | Item |
|---|---|
| $ 58.45 | Point Farms: Day 1 |
| $ 58.45 | Point Farms: Day 1 |
| $ 64.67 | Point Farms: Day 1 |
| $ 20.00 | Wood Day 1 |
| $ 64.67 | MacGregor Point: Day 2 |
| $ 64.67 | MacGregor Point: Day 2 |
| $ 20.00 | Wood Day 2 |
| $ 66.00 | Conestogo Site: Day 3 |
| $ 18.00 | Conestogo site change: Day 3 |
| $ 76.00 | Conestogo Site: Day 3 |
| $ 20.00 | Wood Day 3 |
| $ 400.00 | My planning fee |
| $ 930.91 | Total Cost |
| 9 | # of people going on the trip |
| $ 103.43 | Cost per person |
Let me know if you have any questions. Looking forward to the trip!
Me too pls 
I’m still not sure of my speed with gear but I’m good to try and not afraid to drop back and catch up in the eves or shorten the tour and head back solo.
Oops. I just reread the post. It seems I missed the deadline to confirm.
Sorry Shelly - we are full up on the campsites for now. If anything changes I will let you know. Its also possible to join us if you are able to book your own accommodations nearby where we are staying (Point Farms PP night 1, MacGregor Point night 2 and Conestogo lake night 3). I will definitely be looking to do more of these in the future so keep an eye out for more posts.
Okay. Will check for alternative sites around those areas. If a spot happens to become available, let me know. Have kiddo care arranged and time off work - will leave them that way for now in case it’s doable.
Local area code plus 7293333 if you need a quick response.
Hey Shelly - are you still able and interested in joining us? I have managed to find another site at MacGregor Point which will allow us to bring one additional person. Let me know if you are still interested and shoot me your email in a message if you can. I will add you to our planning group.
Thanks!
I’m wondering what to organize/pack for food & cooking. I think this was discussed a while back but, @emily.lloyd or others, what are the plans for dinners & breakfast, what’s worth taking and what safe to leave behind, or better to be safe and throw in the kitchen sink?
Thanks
Great question Hugo. I am planning to carry a cook system similar to this: Primus Essential Trail Kit | MEC. Basically I want to be able to boil water for tea and hot chocolate at camp. I am also planning to bring one or two freeze dried meals to have just in case. I think you could also bring stuff like pasta, uncle bens rice or other easy microwave type dishes that you could do with this cooking setup. For breakfast I plan to boil water for tea and oatmeal, but we can also plan to stop when we first cross a cafe/place with coffee for anyone who needs it in the morning (we want to roll our each day around 9am-ish).
I think with our routes it will also be possible to not bring a stove on the trip (I believe one person is planning not to so far). The first day we will stop in Milverton at a cafe and in Blyth for lunch. We can stock up on takeout foods or grocery foods for the night in Blyth (we will be about 30km away from our campsite). The second day we will stop in Kincardine for the same (about 30km from campsite), and the third day we will be going by Walkerton for lunch, and Listowel is not far off the route and is about 20km from the campsite. You may want to consider something like a fold down backpack to carry some extra food to camp for these situations if you do not want to bring a stove.
In terms of getting hot food for dinner each night; that might be difficult but I do think we can order pizza to the campsites if we need to!? maybe something to think about… The first night we are fairly far from restaurants. The second night we are not far from Port Elgin but you might need to ride after dark to get back. The third night we are also fairly isolated/far from restaurants I believe. If anyone knows of any places to get hot food when we are out there let me know. I will try to add them to the full route here: Full Route 4 Day Lake Huron · Ride with GPS
I wanted to mention to everyone that you will probably want to hang your food at the campsites or use a bear proof container. I think this may have been discussed before? There are definitely bears! and they are wandering. One has even been spotted right in town here in Kincardine! I plan to bring a dry bag, a rope, and some carabeaners.
Yay!! Looking forward to it!!!
Food wise, I’ll probably bring oats and a mug for breakfast(and get hot water and coffee from cafes); veggies, wraps, and boiled eggs for lunch, and a hot meal for dinner (stove; pasta, cabbage, canned meat/fish, bouillon cube). I’m celiac so generally stick to drinks at restaurants.
I find those little dried sweet potatoes packs (e.g. at Korean grocery stores) handy for snacks or extras when i get bored of granola bars or as backup if restaurant and stove plans fall through.
Hardy veggies and fruit washed and wraped in newspaper last 3+ days in the heat. Heavy… but fresh veggies are sooo nice on a bike trip. Also, I am not planning to keep up with y’all, and this will be my excuse 
I have extra rope, bags and caribeeners for bear hangs if a couple folks need. Can boil water for others in the eves. Can also fit another person in my tent.
I will do oatmeal for breakfast too and figure out some other stuff, usually PB and J sandwiches. I wanted to share that I found these babies at the Latina store on Victoria beside the Whale and Ale pub. Super excited. I’ll pick up some tortillas to go with them . I’m going to bring my stove and probably my little lightweight kettle just for boiling water
Oh I love refried beans but never bring them cause I can only find them in cans which are quite heavy. This looks like a great find @Gwyneth_Mitchell I should stock up!
@shelly I think fresh food is a great idea and also love fresh fruit on the first day of the ride. I would be careful bringing too much though! I find there are sometimes roadside stands where we can get fresher veggies during the rides and there are local grocers we will be passing most days. Try not to overpack on food - it goes bad quickly and becomes a burden.
We will definitely want to place any food items, cooking items and hygiene items (toothbrush and paste, sunscreen etc.) in a safe place overnight so animals cannot get to them. I plan to ask the front office if we can leave stuff with them as they are closing (sometimes its as late as 8 or 9pm). We can also alternatively leave these items in the washrooms (which I have also done before - with no valuables). I think pitching over a tree is also a great idea, I just find that because not many people are doing it in the Provincial Parks there is not always a good place for it.
Finally, reminder to bring a swimsuit or something to go swimming in! We have access to the lake and its so nice after a long day of riding!
