It was supposed to be a short, easy ride today. Only 46 miles up down the spine of the Bruce Peninsula. I planned it this way, in case I somehow missed the ferry the day before, and had to take the first one in the morning, that doesn't leave until 11:00 and arrives at 1:00.
So I was thinking short easy day, and what I got was open farm fields and headwinds, headwinds, headwinds. It was a total slog. But I know from many rides across the Eastern Shore of Maryland, don't fight a headwind. Just slow down, gear down, keep you level of effort comfortable, and be patient. You'll get there eventually.
There is not much on the Bruce Peninsula. It's basically one long, straight road that leads directly to the ferry in Tobemory.
This was the only lunch option, The TruFood Cafe, which is by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. It's actually quite nice, and they have lots of healthy snacks for the snack bag.
The end point was the really nice waterfront town of Wiarton. They have a big public park on the waterfront with camping. Here I am at the beautiful historic park office checking in to the campground.
I got a basic tent site, with no amenities, but I charged everything up just fine at an unoccupied full-service site. It's right on the water! It's so much nicer than stealth camping in the back of a cemetery.
There is a nice downtown, with multiple restaurant choices. The Silo here is the only one open on Tuesdays. So they were really backed up.
I got these sort of Buffalo-ish wings where nobody ever explained to them that Buffalo Wings are shaken in the hot sauce, which is not a dipping sauce served separately.
All the bars sell wings by the pound here. Which turns out to be about 7 or 8 wings. This is not a lot of food, so I had to have a bacon cheeseburger too.
Back at the campsite, I wound up having fun talking to four couples staying in their RVs and trailers. They are all retired, and they get together 3 or 4 times in the summer to camp at campgrounds like this for a few days. They live about two hours away. I told them about my visit to our cottages from over 40 years ago on Manatoulin Island, and share my very sincere appreciation of Canada's cultural contributions to Western Civilization (specifically, Letterkenney and the Trailer Park Boys). They said "Don't forget about Larry the Cable Guy!" They also said the guys who created Letterkenney live in their area, and one of them is a friend of a friend.
There's definitely been a cultural shift today. Back in the UP and the north side of Lake Huron, everyone has a super-heavy upper Midwestern accent, and everyone is super friendly and talkative. You might think he videos Charlie Berens makes (like the Pickleball one here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB80DdRCLic) are satire. Nope. Everyone actually like that. Especially the campground host lady in Spanish who offered me a shower beer the moment I showed up.
Now it's starting to feel more like farm country and less like untamed wilderness. People's accents are more subdued. It's still fun though.
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