Unlike 2018 and 2019, 2020 just didn’t work out for Konrad and I to do a bike trip. Between COVID-19 and our impending move out to White Tree Farm, an opportunity to spend a few days cycling did not materialize. With summer 2021 coming to a close, we decided to do a short overnight bike trip. I suggested biking to Port Burwell Provincial Park as the destination as it was only 55 km from home and it had open spaces in their campground.
Day 1 – 54 km
We decided to cycle along Sparta Line for most of the day. We took things pretty easy and stopped in Sparta for a short break. East of Sparta we crawled up the steep hills up from Catfish Creek. We jogged north to Calton Line before heading south on Richmond Line, then south east on Vienna Line and finally south on Brown Line in Port Burwell.
Departing WTF 
Sparta 
Sparta 
Port Burwell
We hoped to buy some beer at the LCBO but discovered it was closed. So a couple of soft drinks had to suffice. We cycled back to the Provincial Park and checked in.
At our campsite. 
Rusty was along for the ride.
We set up at site 35 in the Alzora Campground which backed upon Ravine Creek. Dinner was Backpacker’s Pantry Pad Thai with Chicken. Konrad built a fire and we enjoyed a wee dram of Glenfiddich as the sun set. I checked my phone around 8 pm to find that we were under a severe thunderstorm warning. So we battened down the campsite, our bikes and the tent, prepared for some bad weather.In the end, we had three waves of storms over night. The first was mostly lightning and a bit of rain, but the second and third had much heavier downpours. Our new tent handled the rain well and we were both pretty comfortable.
Day 2 – 57 km – A 3 Port Day
We were up in good time and took stock of the impact of the rain.
Our new MSR Hubba Hubba NX 
After Three Rounds of Thunderstorms
A classic breakfast of instant oatmeal and coffee got us ready for the day. We started Day 2 cycling the same route we did in 2018; Vienna Line. However, this time we turned south on Imperial Road and cycled into Port Bruce. It was a bit early to eat lunch, so we pushed on to Port Stanley along Dexter Line. Being a Monday, the car traffic on Dexter Line was light and except for a small section, Dexter Line has been repaved with wide shoulders for cycling. Great stuff!
We decided to have lunch at GT’s on the Beach in Port Stanley along with a couple of beers. We then cycled the remaining 10 kms to the farm.
Short break at Malahide 
Port Bruce 
Port Bruce 
Beers at GT’s
Summary
Compared to our other trips, biking to Port Burwell was certainly less ambitious. But it came at a great time for both Konrad and I and it was great to get outdoors for a couple of days. Also checking off three Ports in a day (Burwell, Bruce and Stanley) was pretty cool.
Photography / Videography
We considered taking GoPro’s and my Mavic Pro drone, but in the end, we just decided to go ‘naked’. All photos were taken with my iPhone.
Camera: iPhone 8
