Ontario’s got a thing for William Wallace

Port Rowan to Wallacetown 63 miles
Wallacetown to Wallaceburg 64.5 miles

Ontario Loves William Wallace

Notice the town names above? We went through two towns named after William Wallace in Ontario. I wonder if there are more?

As Dan mentioned in the previous post, we “stealth” camped in Port Rowan. Meaning we camped in a town park that doesn’t allow camping. And while it didn’t specifically say “no camping allowed,” we knew that no camping was allowed. We woke up before sunrise to pack up and left the park at 6:30. It was nice to get such an early start and it felt really good to go twenty miles before 9am. We planned to get breakfast in Port Burwell (after the first 20 miles) and ran into the Grumpkin biker on our way into town. He made a few ridiculous comments about how many miles he’s done or will do and we pedaled off rolling our eyes and laughing to find some food.

We rode our longest day (we’ve gone further since) because we did not have many options. Our plan was to ride to a campground in Port Glasgow. When we were about 11 miles from our destination, we stopped at the first restaurant/gas station (in Wallacetown) we had seen in a long time to refill water, use the bathroom, and get a snack. Upon entering, the owner comes over to us and asks us where we’re going. He immediately offers the backyard as a free place to pitch our tent and we very happily accept! This one place was everything for the town – post office, gas station, general store, and restaurant with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We both got burgers (mine sans bun) and shared fries and a salad. Every once in a while the owner, John, would come and chat with us. He told us about how the town was named after William Wallace and the history of the settlement of the area – including something about how that town was where modern roads were invented. He had cooked for a Scottish festival in the next town and happily gave Dan a container of haggis to try. If you don’t know what haggis is, you should look it up. John said that he doesn’t even like it. Dan said it was actually pretty good and tasty, but very rich and he couldn’t eat all of it. (I couldn’t eat it beside it was made with oats). We had a delicious breakfast the next morning and were on our way to Wallaceburg!

Wallaceburg was less eventful than Wallacetown. It was our last full day in Ontario and we had a good day of riding. We left Wallacetown in the rain, but it didn’t last long. We stayed at a Days Inn in Wallaceburg because there were no convenient camping options. When we arrived at the hotel, I noticed that the whole building was covered in Mayflies! It was crazy. I had never seen anything like it. The owners said it happens every year. See the pictures below.

The next morning we pedaled to the Walpole Island First Nation territory to take a ferry across the St. Claire River to Michigan. It’s fun to take ferries on bicycle, especially small ones like this one was. It didn’t take long and it was a beautiful day.

We really enjoyed our time biking through Ontario. We met really kind, generous people and enjoyed the views of Lake Erie. The restaurant/gas station/post office/ general store where we stayed in Wallacetown

Leftover breakfast with the maple syrup from Phil

Crossing the St. Claire River. Looking towards the US.

By Emily