So Justine and I rode togather to Massey, on the way we came across a turtle in the middle of the highway. At first I thought it was just some bloated dead thing (we see a lot of road-kill). When I realized what it was I got off my bike and ran back to nudge it with my foot. It it was dead I wasn’t keen on touching it. However it pulled it’s head in telling me it was alive!
I pucked it up and ran it to the ride of the road. Apparently turtles pee as a deterrent to being picked up. This is something to keep in mind if your kids ever ask for a pet turtle. It stinks too. So I ran the turtle to safety and then we stood there to see if it would carry on. Justine suggested I pick it up for a picture. I figured it had already pee’d itself dry so why not? Well because while turtles walk slowly their heads snap very, very fast when I bent down to pick it up it snapped at me. I wisely decided not to mess with it any more. And the last we saw it was crawling towards to roadside swamp to go do whatever turtles do.
Massey is a small town with a Provincial Park called “Chutes”. Basically there are a bunch of waterfalls, however by this time we are both waterfalled out. I took the lead which allowed Justine to draft and I was careful not to go too hard.
At Massey we were directed to the Provincial Park and noticed the sign for the fees. $25.50 for campers with vehicle. Well, we didn’t have a car so we just went in without paying. Now before you judge me too harshly, please understand that while I am not opposed to paying, I AM opposed to paying the same amount as some fat son of a bitch with a bus sized Winnibego towing a fucking SUV! I have seen too many of them for it to be funny anymore.
What the hell is the point of camping when you never leave the comfort of home! Wechose our site and about a half hour these two motor homes pulled in next to us (one on each side) and asked us where the 30 amp sockets were so they could turn on their air-conditioning! They even left porch lights on all night to keep the scarey bad things away!
Later after we’d showered and eaten a Park Ranger came by to ask me if I paid. I said not yet, but that I was wondering how much we should pay since we didn’t have vehicles. She said because we were in a “serviced” site we had to pay $30.50! I think it is reprehensible of the Ministry of Parks to ask me to pay almost as much as a motel room and more than a hostel. Especially when I wasn’t using the “services” anyway. I could understand if I had kept someone from using the site, but the park was mostly empty anyway!
I said I would mention it to Justine, who was making a phone call and we would pay when she got back, in fact I was on the phone when the ranger came by and had to hang up. The bitch of a park ranger went and grabbed an envelope returning to me while I was on the phone again. This time I didn’t hang up, I just grabbed the envelope and turned my back to her, continuing my conversation.
Now, for some reason handicapped people got 50% off. They paid $12.75 for a site. Now I got no problem with handicapped parking spaces, or special seats in restaurants and theatres but come on. Some old ditty with a bad hip can go to the DMV and get a little handicapped sticker, drive their bohemoth home-on-wheels to the park and pay half of what I, on a @#$% bike, in a @#$% tent, sleeping on the @#$% ground should pay?!! @#$% that! If you are able enough to camp then you should be able enough to pay full price!
In Europe and the US there are sites for cyclists. They are typically flat, grassy areas where one pays a nominal fee ($10) and pitches their tent. There isn’t really a limit to the number of tents. For some reason though, here in Canada, despite the fact we initiated the Kyoto accord, there is no encouragement for cycling! Tenting sites are usually dark, dank places at the back of the camp ground.
I ended up paying the $25.50 and leaving a note. I wasn’t paying for services I didn’t use especially since there was nothing indicating that one would have to pay extra.
Stats:
Distance: 145km
Ave: 22.8 km
Time: 6:34
Max: 51.0km