You ever Paddle and Pedal for day trips?

[Srobocop]

Do you guys ever paddle and pedal? When you drop a bike off at your finish point down river so that you can pedal to get your car after you take your canoe down river? Obvoiusly this is more of a day trip idea, but i know a guy out in Maryland that seemed to do it quite a bit. I just did it for the first time today on the Dead River in Marquette MI, from the Forestville Dam to Lake Superior. Had to portage over one dam and then took mountain bike trails back to the truck. Good All around work out, will probably do something similar soon.

 

[yellowcanoe]

More lakes than rivers here..so no.. Its a good idea. I paddle 11 miles round trip and walk a mile round trip to go to the library.
The bike idea would be harder.. Lakes are at about 250 feet and the surrounding hills top out at 1100.. No way to get around without a lot of up and down as the roads go over the top. That would be quite a workout at the end of a long paddling day!

 

[yellowcanoe]

No Title

Plus I get to check up on the couple.

 

[Alan Gage]

I just did it yesterday. I don't do it real often but it's nice when it works out. Most of my day trips on the local river are upstream and then back. If I do an all downstream trip locally I usually just call for a ride from family or friends as I'm getting close to the takeout.

Also did it last summer when a friend and I were out west with only one vehicle and no way to shuttle. She hung out with the dog at the take out while I rode the bike back to the car. No other way to do it other than flag down a local.

Having a dog along complicates it a little unless I bring her trailer that pulls behind the bike, which I did yesterday. It was nice since it allowed me to solo paddle a non-local river.

Alan

 

[Qayaq]

I do on a couple of streams near home, both in Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. Usually in spring runoff or after big rain events when the water's high. I get on Swanson's Creek on highway 19 which joins Whirlpool River and then eventually crosses #19 again. The bike ride back is about 5 kms but the paddling is quite a bit longer. The other stream is Jackfish Creek which crosses the Lake Audy Road a couple of times east of Lake Audy. The bike ride is around 5 kms again and the paddling is 8 or 9 kms. A nice option if I only have a few hours to get out in the boat.

 

[Philtrum]

I've done it many times. I prefer to do the bike part first, for two reasons. If something happens on-river and I'm delayed I won't be biking in the dark. And I'd rather get the bike ride over with - it's usually in the morning, vs. taking out in the (warmer) afternoon.

I trailered my dog ... once. I used a Yakima bike trailer and it was fine - on the flats. As long as I could spin a constant cadence it was nice and smooth. But standing on hills caused it to lurch forward with every pedal stroke. I ended up gearing down and spinning up the hills instead of the easier, low-rpm method of standing.

 

[Guest]

I have done this quite a lot here in WNY and in the ADKs for both day and multi-day trips. I use a throwaway mountain or road bikes I got at garage sales,but have never had anyone bother them. I drop off the boat and camping gear,drive to the takeout,bike back to the launch and go.I like to have my car waiting at the takeout. One nice thing is that roads paralleling streams are usually quite flat. I go solo, so have never had to deal with a dog.
Turtle

 

[stripperguy]

I do the same as Turtle, but with MDB along as well. If it's a short trip between put in and take out, I'll bring her bike, and we both bike back to the put in. If it's a longer distance between spots, I'll ride it alone... In season, I typically ride 75-100 miles per week anyway, so a jaunt on a mountain bike is a refreshing change of pace for me.
Done the same for multiday trips too, always locking the bikes, never having a problem.

 

[snapper]

Funny you should ask...while I've thought about this for solo day trips, I've never actually done it except on day hikes. With paddling I'll typically paddle upstream (or upwind, whichever is stronger) and then return pack to my truck. Since I've done it on hiking trips I don't see any reason not to do so on paddling trips. It is definitely a good way to cross train while out for the day.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[BWCA66]

Never done it for day trips but have a number of times on longer trips.

 

[Iskweo]

I did it once and I have sworn off that foolishness forever. We were out for a week or so. The final day was cold, torrential driving rain all day, we got lost on the portage from heck and had to wrassle the supertanker through some pretty nasty Manitoba boreal forest. Then the final straw was the carry to the takeout up a very steep muddy hill that succeded in sapping every last ounce of energy that I had.

Then all I had to do was ride 16? km in the rain and wind on a hilly gravel road. Are you kidding me? Who thought this bs up? Oh yeah. It seemed like a good idea at the time...which was when it was sunny and I was envisioning a fun ride. NOT.

So umm, no. I dont paddle and bike.

Christy