Intro to Bikepacking: The Wilewood Experience

The roughly 46-km LE&N Rail Trail was once the Lake Erie & Northern Electric Railway prior to being repurposed as a recreational cycling path in addition to its many other uses. It runs from Brantford to Port Dover, with four name changes along the way, but for the most part, remaining the LE&N. The portion from Brantford to Jenkins Rd. (the dividing line between Brant and Norfolk counties) lent itself nicely to my first bikepacking experiment.

The route followed the original rail trail where it meets up with the TH&B (Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo rail line) in Mount Pleasant and runs congruent with a bit of the Trans Canada Trail. The idea to take this trip came earlier this year when Stan Gorecki, owner/operator of Heron Head Bikes in Brantford hosted a Light the Night ride through the city. I purchased a Kona Lava Dome mountain bike from his shop in 2022 and I’ve loved every minute on it. My rides are typically rail trails an hour at a time, returning to a medium double-double coffee and an apple fritter from Tim’s I strategically leave in my console. But, I digress…

Following the springtime Light the Night ride, Stan asked if I was familiar with Wilewood, just outside of Scotland – a regenerative family farm surrounded by beautiful Carolinian forest and marshland that offers glamping, creative work studios, and two bikepacking sites adjacent to the Trans Canada Trail. I had only just read a blog by the owner a week prior, and I was intrigued. In the conversation that followed, I committed to a new type of cycling, barely having devoted myself to my weekly fritter-and-a-bike-ride habit! (You don’t become a Tour de France-type cyclist with doughnuts and coffee as your impetus.) Nonetheless, I was psyched to try this out and experience Wilewood as the campsite for my local bikepacking experiment.

In two months and I had thoroughly researched what this truly was (verb: [informal] all-terrain cycling and backpacking combined) and learned that people have planned trips a thousand miles in expanse, with this experience at their heart! There are entire industries built around it, including outfitting and where/how to have a one-of-a-kind “backcountry” experience. On a light and agile bike, you have enhanced range and travel at a much quicker pace. In comparison, my Lava Dome seemed like an elephant. Enter Stan again, who offered me the chance to test ride a 2023 Kona Rove gravel bike – arguably the cheetah of bikepacking transportation!

Rather than buying an expensive set of panniers or bikepacking bags, I bought a 15L drybag, three sets of adjustable camping straps, packed a 10L daypack, and borrowed a bivy bag and down sleeping bag from my cousin. The bivy I tied to the cross bar, the sleeping bag to the handlebars, and anything else went in my pack. I invited Shawna Porter to ride along; friend, former coworker, and one who’s always up for new experiences. She rode a Trek mountain bike with a one-man tent strapped to the handlebars, packed a 20L pack, and brought lots of water (bonus!)

We packed as light as possible and set out on the LE&N, arriving at our site just after 3 p.m. The Rove gravel bike was like a gazelle …the rider, however, a little less so. Pulling off the trail onto Jenkins Rd. outside of Scotland, we were immediately greeted by 4 little kids at a lemonade stand! The bikepacking sign at the entrance to the site marked the way in, and within 5 minutes we met Jonah Logan, property owner and father of the budding entrepreneurs at the laneway. The booking of this location was very easy to do via Hipcamp, and this spot did not disappoint!

We were given the grand tour, including washrooms, art and work studios, rustic glamping sites, and a floating tent! We briefly met the local livestock (a couple of sheep,) strolled past some free-range chickens, and found ourselves back at the site to set up camp. Bikepacking has this to its benefit – I have never set up a campsite in under 10 minutes. After removing the straps from the bike, my sleep setup and pack were all laid out and I had time to relax.

The overnight stay was just a taste of what an experience like this can entail. The scenery on the trail was beautiful, I highly recommend Wilewood as a destination, and at night the serenade of crickets and frogs at the Creekside site was the perfect sound to fall asleep to. We took a side trip in the early evening to Flux Brewing Company for appetizers and great beer, and after sitting at the bridge over the creek near our site (hence the Hipcamp booking name,) and enjoying a campfire that burned out by 10 p.m., I was happily fast asleep in my bivy bag shortly after. A thunderstorm rolled in around midnight, which cooled things off and sounded so nice. I stayed dry, the Rove stayed upright where I stood it against a tree, and there was no damage to speak of the next day.

In the morning, we managed another campfire before breakfast and left separately from the site. Shawna went ahead in order to get to another experience she was helping with, and I messaged Jonah to thank him and his family for the stay. We left no trace, packed out anything we packed in, and after all the research and planning for this little experiment, I almost wished I was biking to a new destination further along the trail.

As quick as it was, I learned that a micro-adventure can have just as much of an impact as the “Big Trip.” I remain just as intrigued about bikepacking as I was when my research began, and I plan to go again in 2024. This overnight stay at Wilewood solidified the first experience in as simple a way possible, and the 2023 Kona Rove gravel bike from Heron Head Bikes served to make me look like more of a serious cyclist than I can take credit for. I’m hooked!