Day 4 – Tuesday September 16, 2008

Good morning Eden!

Last night was a super cold one, and Eden woke up frequently, not because of the cold – but because she was too hot!  We had overestimated what to dress her in for bed!  We tried to eat and pack up quickly and get on the road again — but of course things took longer than expected.  Reuben had the trailer hooked up to his bike still from the day before, so we didn’t switch it back quite yet.  At first the roads were long rolling small hills.  Then they evened out and were pretty flat.  The problem was the wind — it was right in our faces.  Eden was now in the swing of things with our bike/rest/bike/rest schedule.  When our breaks were over, she would see us packing up and she’d try to climb back into the trailer (although she needed our help to actually get in)!  She was such a trooper!

We stopped for lunch and we picked up some fresh cheese, veggies for a stir-fry supper, and fresh fruit – yum!  We ate at a playground in Wiarton where Eden had a grand time!

A typical lunch break.

After lunch, on the road, we turned a little east which gave a bit of break from the wind.  We made it to Wiarton (home of Wiarton Willy, the groundhog) and, despite the cool weather, had some ice cream — a corner stone of all of our previous bike tours.  We then switched the trailer to my bike and headed on our last leg of the day.  We ended up on some dirt roads for a bit and we were both ready to stop for the night — but of course we were having a difficult time finding a place to free-camp.  Rolling past a campground labeled ‘private’, we figured considering the time, it was worth checking in to see if this trailer-park had any extra sites for tents.  We pulled in and talked to the owner.  It went a little like this:

Heidi: “Hi!  We’re just biking through.  We just need a place to stay tonight.  We’ll be gone early tomorrow morning and we won’t need any fire or anything.  Is there a place we can stay, perhaps?”
Owner: “You mean… for free?”
Heidi: “Ummm… sure!  We won’t be here long and we don’t need to use any of your facilities…”
Owner: “Well, you can pitch a tent right here if you want.”
Heidi: “Great!  Thanks so much!”

Free camping with playground proximity!

Thankful for our luck, we pitched our tent right near their playground with all the “ides” and “ings” (slides and swings as Eden would say).  We parked our bikes and gear under their small gazebo and Reuben entertained Eden on the playground while I cut up fresh peppers, mushrooms and onions for a peanut soy stir-fry.  Then we each made phone calls to our mother’s at the payphone here to tell them about our trip so far. What a great end to the day!

Kilometers’s travelled: 87
Hours on the bikes: 5