One of my big motivators for buying a bike for the cottage was when I saw signs throughout Huntsville advertising a ‘Tour De Muskoka’ – this ended up being a fundraiser for the Huntsville Hospital Foundation. Rides of 93km, 54km and a gravel ride of 53km were offered, and I waffled between the latter 2 options. I’m far from an expert gravel rider, so maybe the road 54km would have been better – it also had slightly less hill climbing. On the other hand, a gravel bike is what I had, so a gravel ride is what I should do, right? The ride was intended to be friendly and open to riders of different levels (though I did sign a waiver attesting to the fact that I was ‘fit’), so I opted for the gravel ride.
The ride started in the Deerhurst parking lot, and we got a coupon for a free coffee from the in-house cafe. That put me in an encouraging mood. The ride leaders made fairly informal announcements, but we did get a police escort from the OPP along the majoro roads where significant car traffic could be expected. The 93km riders left first, then the other 2 groups left more or less together, since the first 15km or so of their routes were common to both.
The ride to and along Highway 60 was pleasant and sociable, and riders chatted amongst each other, getting to know one another. Things began to spread out on hills as riders had different fitness levels and climbing abilities, and different tolerances for high-speed downhill descents. I noted those descents, knowing they’d be big climbs on the way back.
The police officer held traffic for riders to turn left off Highway 60 to Limberlost road, and after a few kilometers along that road, the rider regrouped for head-counts, and to split the road riders from the gravel riders. We gravel riders wished them well, while bragging that we’d have more fun. Someone compared the divide to skiers versus snowboarders; I’m not sure I agree, especially because I think it would put me in the snowboard group.
At the entrance to the Limberlost Park, we got another stop to regroup and have the particulars of the more complicated sections of the ride. I had tried to scout it out during a brick workout a few days earlier and screwed that up. They apparently put up signs the next day, so I was better off this time. We did loops around Lee Lake and Peeler Lake, and for the former loop, I did stop another rider from accidentally repeating it.
It was a beautiful day, and on more than one occasion I noted the sunshine sparkling on the water of the lakes we rode past. There were also several huge Inukshuks that had been built. I didn’t stop to take pictures because I noticed I was one of the slower riders and I was self-conscious about keeping people waiting. There were some hills that were not only steep but with very, very loose gravel, so dismounting became the wisest option, and frankly, there were times it seemed like it would be faster.
I had noticed that I was at the 27km mark at the far end of the Lee Lake loop, with the Peeler Lake loop still ahead of me. I began to figure that unless there was a short-cut out of the park after Peeler Lake, I wasn’t really near half-way done. I had heard a comment that the Strava route they provided didn’t start at Deerhurst the way we did but rather about 5km into the entire course; at the time I was trying to tune out any discouraging thoughts or information.
The group leader told me after the Peeler Lake Loop that he’d be heading back to Deerhurst without stopping. I was tired and slow, but confident I could make it on my own. Luckily there were 2 other slower riders who waited for me at some of the intersections – shout out to Frank and Leslie! I’m also grateful to the volunteer who manned the aid station even when I figured she would have packed up – she even gave me some banana bread!
I got check-up texts from my wife offering to pick me up, since I wasn’t making my original estimate of a 3 hour ride, but I was determined to finish. The climbs on Highway 60 were as bad as I feared, but I just kept slowly grinding away the distance.
When your family is there to cheer you to the finish, it always feels like a hero’s welcome.
In the end, the ride ended up being 65km long. It was for a good cause, but I didn’t want to look at a bike again for the better part of a week.