Almost Champlain lookout
Champlain lookout is a good after work ride. It’s a couple of hours, 50ish kilometres. You work out your frustrations climbing some narsty hills, you get wide eyed with glee as you tear back down at 60 km/h. That’s when the road isn’t covered in snow.
Officially, the parkway doesn’t open until some time in May. But it’s easy enough for a bike to get by the gate and from there it’s glorious. No traffic, sun setting, nice views of the valley.
Now I realize there’s a reason why the road stays closed until MAy.
There were a couple of spots just after the turnoff for Champlain lookout where there was only a strip of bare road along the east side. “Fine,” I figured, I’m the only person out here, so I don’t have to share it with anyone.
A few hundred metres later there was about a 10m stretch where the snow covered the entire road. I ran it, and quickly discovered just how slick my tires are. But I managed to stay upright. The snow was thin enough that my wheels managed eventually to hit something solid.
Then I did the nasty long hill, and pushed on. But just before the trail to Lac Bourgeois, there was a snow-covered stretch that ran for easily 300 metres. I figured I’d see how far I could get.
The answer was maybe 5 metres before I was swerving and wiggling at 10km an hour desperately trying to unclip before I fell over. I didn’t make it.
I picked myself up and walked my bike through the snow. I figured if this was the worst, then I could still get to Champlain lookout and back before dark.
I got to dry road again and hopped on. Around the corner and down hill a bit I saw another snow covered patch that stretched up the hill and around another corner out of sight.
By this point I was noticing that the slot cut in the toe of my shoes to let in air on hot summer days also lets in snow and water. Doing the duck walk in my bike shoes is awkward at the best of times and now my feet were starting to freeze.
I figured I’d climbed the Pink Lake hill and the biggest of the hills to Champlain. I could turn around. So I did.
Another little side effect of walking in snow is that ice freezes to your cleats and you can’t clip in. So I stopped, sat on a guardrail and pounded my shoes against the metal until the ice fell off.
Back home now, I can feel my toes again.
