From Seatpost to Shoreline: Canoe-Biking the Chippewa River with Jordan Gonzales

Eau Claire’s Jordan Gonzales doesn’t just paddle or bike, he does both. Using a canoe cart hitched to his bike, he hauls his boat to the river, paddles to hidden islands, and camps out under the stars. His recent Chippewa River trip was simple but creative, and he’s already planning bigger adventures this fall.

Jordan Gonzales, who currently lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, takes a unique approach to bike camping: towing his canoe behind a bike to reach hidden campsites along local rivers.

The idea clicked for him while exploring the Wolf River on the Menominee Reservation. “There’s no shuttle up there, no easy way to do an upriver-downriver paddle,” he said. “If I wanted to do that trip, I was going to have to figure it out myself.”

Jordan uses a Wike canoe cart that clamps to his seatpost and rolls on full-size bicycle wheels. It can handle 50–60 pounds of gear and moves more smoothly than you’d expect. “It pulls like a dream,” he said, “as long as you keep a steady pace.”

His most recent trip started at the confluence of the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers. He first stashed his bike downstream, then launched his canoe and paddled to a tiny island managed as BLM land. “The island was maybe 30 feet wide,” he said. “I just threw down my cowboy bedroll under the stars, with the bug net to keep the mosquitoes off.”

For Jordan, the simplicity and freedom are what keep him coming back. “You don’t have to wait on anyone else or book a shuttle. You just figure it out and go.”

Next up, he’s eyeing the Kickapoo River in early October, a fall trip to Brunet Island State Park, or even the possibility of combining his hot tent setup with a canoe haul. “That’d be legendary if I can pull it off,” he said.