April 19 Sunday
After studying my map last evening I see the best way for me to get to the Grand River is to bike portage by taking the Island Lake Road to Hwy 52, then Territorial Road to the Grand River. So I packed up and proceeded on my way to Dexter, stopping only long enough for a journal entry and continued on my way on Island Lake Road. Island Lake Road started out as a paved road but quickly turned into a gravel road.
Side Note: The best way to explain what it's like to pull a canoe by bike is this. First of all, my bike is a Dahon with 20" wheels and naturally folds up. My bike trailer is basically a T of pipes with 16" wheels. The middle of the canoe sits over the wheels and the front of the canoe ties to the extended pipe that attaches to the bike. There is a V attachment that goes around the pipe that the front of the canoe rests in and allows me to attach it to the trailer. One slight problem I forgot to mention earlier is that on my first portage I could not find the V attachment. Must have left it in Jim's car or back at Belle Isle. At the time I felt I was in deep trouble for I couldn't figure out how I could keep the canoe attached to the trailer. But with the habit of losing things and re-adjusting for many years, I figured out if I take my tiedown strap, wrap it around the pipe and then around the stern of the canoe and cinch it down tight I can create my own V attachment to secure the canoe to the trailer frame. It is working well. If I do say so myself, that's pretty good thinking for a full-blooded Norwegian.
Anyway, to give you an idea of what it's like to pull a canoe, it's like having two of your grandchildren sitting in a wagon - both maybe a few pounds overweight - and you are pulling them on this little 20" folding bike through a yard where the grass hasn't been cut for a month. In other words, it's a little bit like paddling upstream but only using your legs. Although I can keep up about a 7-10 mph pace.
As I continued on my way, it felt good to be doing something beside paddling. Also I see this state from a different view other than the river. It's very pretty. Very much like my home state of Wisconsin. Lots of farms, rolling hills, and forests. I saw numerous deer and wild turkeys as I pedaled. Around 3:00 in the afternoon it started to rain. I wasn't that far now from the Grand River and decided rather than get real wet I will look for a place to camp. Not much farther down the road, I found what looked like an old abandoned railroad trail. I worked my way down the trail until I was out of sight and set up camp. Snug in my tent with the rain now starting to pick up, it actually felt good to be taking what I call my first real break.
Normally it's tough for me to stop before dark but today my body tells me I need the rest. I sure hope the others are OK.
Side Note: The best way to explain what it's like to pull a canoe by bike is this. First of all, my bike is a Dahon with 20" wheels and naturally folds up. My bike trailer is basically a T of pipes with 16" wheels. The middle of the canoe sits over the wheels and the front of the canoe ties to the extended pipe that attaches to the bike. There is a V attachment that goes around the pipe that the front of the canoe rests in and allows me to attach it to the trailer. One slight problem I forgot to mention earlier is that on my first portage I could not find the V attachment. Must have left it in Jim's car or back at Belle Isle. At the time I felt I was in deep trouble for I couldn't figure out how I could keep the canoe attached to the trailer. But with the habit of losing things and re-adjusting for many years, I figured out if I take my tiedown strap, wrap it around the pipe and then around the stern of the canoe and cinch it down tight I can create my own V attachment to secure the canoe to the trailer frame. It is working well. If I do say so myself, that's pretty good thinking for a full-blooded Norwegian.
Anyway, to give you an idea of what it's like to pull a canoe, it's like having two of your grandchildren sitting in a wagon - both maybe a few pounds overweight - and you are pulling them on this little 20" folding bike through a yard where the grass hasn't been cut for a month. In other words, it's a little bit like paddling upstream but only using your legs. Although I can keep up about a 7-10 mph pace.
As I continued on my way, it felt good to be doing something beside paddling. Also I see this state from a different view other than the river. It's very pretty. Very much like my home state of Wisconsin. Lots of farms, rolling hills, and forests. I saw numerous deer and wild turkeys as I pedaled. Around 3:00 in the afternoon it started to rain. I wasn't that far now from the Grand River and decided rather than get real wet I will look for a place to camp. Not much farther down the road, I found what looked like an old abandoned railroad trail. I worked my way down the trail until I was out of sight and set up camp. Snug in my tent with the rain now starting to pick up, it actually felt good to be taking what I call my first real break.
Normally it's tough for me to stop before dark but today my body tells me I need the rest. I sure hope the others are OK.
posted by Coach at 7:06 AM
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