Montreal!!!

It hasn't been long since my last post, but I've been having a blast in Ottawa and Montreal.

I had a great time exploring Ottawa with my Uncle Glen for a couple days. We went on a tour of the parliament buildings, had incredible poutine, and watched the horse races (I lost $6). There was lots of wonderful food for the whole time I was there.

Looking across the Ottawa River to Quebec from Parliament Hill.

A yoga class on the lawn in front of the parliament buildings. Lululemon had set Rachel up to do fundraising at the class.

My first time doing yoga ... hard and relaxing at the same time!

Touristy Canadian moment.

Ottawa has an incredible network of bike paths. I was able to ride from 20km South of downtown to the waterfront without even having to cross a road! The paths were well maintained and wide enough that you could still use them if you were in a rush.

Entering Quebec!

I had a wonderfully happy moment on the bridge to Quebec. Parliament buildings in the background.

Once in Quebec I found myself on La Route Verte. This is an incredible bike path that runs from Gatineau to Gaspe (a really long ways!). I followed it from Gatineau to Laval, just North of Montreal. The path wandered on and off roads, along the shore of the Ottawa River, and through many neat little towns.

Canadian flags have been replaced with Canadiens flags and Fleur de Lis'.

It absolutely poured rain for my first day from Ottawa, but for some reason I was happy enough that I didn't care. I misunderstood French directions to a campsite near Grenville and spent that night camped behind a mini-storage. My bright orange and reflective tent is not so great for squatting! When I awoke in the morning, my shoes were still so wet that I didn't bother putting on dry socks. Again, the wonderful bike path (and better weather) had me in good spirits.


A section of La Route Verte.

Bike paths in Montreal. This is right downtown.

Yesterday in Montreal I had a wonderful day playing in a competitve beach volleyball game, going for a swim in the St Lawrence, and climbing. Later I spent my second night at the African Nights festival, dancing to drum music with some folks I met there. The African Nights and Just for Laughs festivals are happening in Montreal right now. Both are fun and free, but I've been spending the majority of my time at the African one ... better food and music! Today I explored the city by bike by going up to Mont Royal, down to old Montreal, around L'Isle de St. Helene, and doing some bouldering.

The African Nights festival. Awesome and completely free.

Downtown Montreal from Mont Royal.

Montreal and the St. Lawrence

The Museum of Biodiversity (this one's for you Dave!). I was too late to go in, but they had some pretty cool information outside.

This makes for rough riding.

I'd heard horrible things about the drivers in Quebec, and most of them are true. But there's a lot of respect for cyclists here ... after running stop signs, swerving, honking and yelling at each other, drivers slow down and give cyclists space on the road! Not a single car came close to me in the two hours that I was totally lost on my way to downtown Montreal.

Now it's back onto La Route Verte on my way to Quebec!

Dave

Wow, how did I get all the way to Ottawa?

Wow, I made it to Ottawa! This is the first time that the scale of this trip has really hit me. It's hard to believe that I've actually pedalled 2/3 of the way across this massive country. The change in scenery is so gradual while riding that you don't feel like you're covering much distance.

I left off last in Sault Ste. Marie at the Eastern end of Lake Superior. It's quite a cool city, with a really neat downtown area and seawall.

International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie. The USA on the other side.

First stop out of Sault Ste. Marie was a U-Pick strawberry field, about 4km down a dirt road but well worth the bumpy detour. We shared the smallest container possible, and still had enough to stuff ourselves twice during the day, make strawberry rice pudding for dinner, and have strawberry pancakes the next morning!

Mmm, U-Pick strawberries.

Oooo, U-Pick strawberries.

The most creative meal of the trip: strawberry rice pudding. Not bad considering I'd never heard of rice pudding before and Rachel only knew that it consisted of milk, rice and sugar.

Between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury parts of the road followed the North Channel of Lake Huron. I got to swim in my second Great Lake of the trip. Not as large or clean as Lake Superior, but still lots of fun.

Sproing! ... uh oh. Replacing a broken spoke in a yard near Espanola. Kind of fun when you've never done it before. The guy in the house watched us for the majority of the time and made us promise we would write him ...

In Sudbury we stayed with Liz and Pete, who were very kind to us. We had an excellent time, with great food and company. Pete even lent us his truck to use during our rest day. It was a little strange driving again ... I get quite uncomfortable going faster than 40km/hr!

Sudbury has loads of wild blueberries. Apparently they like the acidic soil. Pete showed us what they look like and where to find them.

Add Sudbury's giant nickel to the list of enormous things I've seem along the way.

Sudbury has a few huge smokestacks. A strike had closed the main factories, so the air quality was great.

Sudbury to North Bay was quite a neat trip. The view out onto Lake Nipissing was quite incredible with a big approaching storm. No picture unfortunately as I didn't want to get the camera wet.

Between North Bay and Ottawa the road travels just North of Algonquin Park. I had originally planned on going canoeing for several days but decided to avoid the difficult logistics in favour of more time on the East Coast. There were many neat small towns along the road. And the Ottawa River was so massive we mistook it for a lake at first!

The Ottawa River from Stonecliffe.

My first time seeing Canola fields ... pretty neat!

The weather has been pretty iffy the last couple of weeks. There have been lots of thunderstorms and we've been thoroughly soaked a number of times. You become proficient at pulling over and putting on your raingear really, really fast. Since it's warm out, the only worry is keeping your feet dry. As a result, we've spent lots of time playing cards in gas stations. Some other roadside hideouts have included a farmers market, a truck weigh scale, a craft shop, and of course Tim Hortons.

Rachel's rain jacket wasn't up to the task. But this garbage bag / clamp / twist tie creation kept her dry ... and very stylish! Pardon the reflections.

Right now I'm visiting my Aunt Dona and Uncle Glen in Osgoode, which is about 30km South of downtown Ottawa. It is wonderful to see them as it's been at least 6 years.

Après avoir explorer Outaouais, ma prochaine destination sera Montréal!

Dave

Around Lake Superior

For the past week I've been riding from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie, around the Northern shore of Lake Superior. It is the second largest lake in the world and is very beautiful.

Thunder Bay was pretty awesome. Tuomas' parents took us sailing for a few hours on Lake Superior. Then we played tennis and headed to the Blues Festival. We saw about 5 different acts, leading up to Robert Cray. He was very good ... and funny too!

The next morning I headed out to the Terry Fox Memorial just outside Thunder Bay. Even now, the effect he has is incredible. It's inspiring hearing some people talk about him running by on the road.

The monument where Terry Fox finished his run, with the Sleeping Giant in the background.

Rachel and I met up at the monument and headed North towards Nipigon. Shortly after it started to really rain. Thankfully we found a gas station and played cards to hide from the rain while the owners dried our clothes (yep, there are some nice people out there!). A cyclist I'd met in Thunder Bay named Noah rolled in, chugged 1L of juice, and rushed back out into the rain shouting "Well I'm off guys, wish me luck. If I get hit by a truck, I died doing what I love!". He was full of energy and a blast to hang out with. When the rain relented a bit we headed out for the last 40km to Nipigon, and arrived quite wet but in good spirits. That night Noah, Rachel, and I shared a motel room. The owners spoiled us (including doing our laundry) and we spent the evening eating, sitting in front of the fire, and stretching.

Luxury! Noah is eating his favourite breakfast of raw oats, peanut butter, milk, banana, and maple syrup.

We followed Hwy 17 around the North shore of the lake for several days, with stops in Terrace Bay, Marathon, White River, and Wawa. There were many hills, but they were fortunately short.

One of many steep hills above Lake Superior.

The campsite in Marathon. The lake looked nice to swim in, but turned out to be max 3 feet deep and the bottom was covered with 2-3 feet of sediment. I almost lost my sandal! With the right attitude, we had a great swim!

For all the Winnie the Pooh fans out there: White River is where Winnie the bear was born.

Wawa means "Land of the Goose". There were a few enormous geese like this around town.

Finally saw a moose. They're really big!

Some things that didn't survive the trip. A few of you probably know what a disappointment this was to me!

This brings us to my two favorite days of the trip so far. After Wawa we entered Lake Superior Park. This was a gorgeous area with many beautiful beaches. I went for a couple swims along the way. The water is surprisingly clean and clear ... you can drink straight from the lake!

Beach in Lake Superior Park. Looks and sounds just like the ocean ... but smells much better!

That night in Montreal River we stayed with Ruth and Ward. They put us up in a wonderful cabin right on the beach, with an oven and a wood stove! We took the opportunity to make tortilla pizzas to go with beer and jelly beans! Ruth writes a column for the Sault Star, and this week she wrote about our trips!

View from the cabin in Montreal River.

Hwy 17 near Montreal River.

The Sand River entering Lake Superior.

The last day to Sault Ste. Marie was also great fun. Ruth and Ward cooked us a wonderful breakfast (it was my first taste of real maple syrup), so we didn't leave until about 10:30! We stopped for a great swim / suntan in Batchawana Bay, and at a really cool Native Craft Market. The weather was wonderful and the road was right along the lake for most of the day!

In Sault Ste. Marie I'm staying at the best bike store on the planet (sorry Bikes on the Drive). They have a spot where touring cyclists can camp for free, hot showers, and a BMX track in the back. The store owners work hard for the local bike community and are busy building walking / cycling paths around Sault Ste. Marie. I got a thorough tune up today along with new tires and pedals. Other than that the bike is in great shape!

Velorution in Sault Ste. Marie. Best bike shop ever!

I guess I haven't been writing much about the riding recently. There isn't really much new to report, and I'm preoccupied with the more important things which are always on a cyclists mind: food, people, weather, and food. During the trip I've been eating less and less meat and have been feeling great! Maybe a step down the path towards vegetarianism?

Peanut butter, cheese, tomato, and alfalfa sprouts ... mmm.

Now it's East through Sudbury towards Ottawa!

Cheers,
Dave

Out of the Prairies, Into Ontario!

It's been quite a trip from Winnipeg over this last week. I've finished the prairies, and am onto the next big challenge: Northern Ontario.

Right at the Ontario border the terrain changed. All of a sudden there were steep hills. Gearing down was a novelty at first, and it was a challenge to see how fast one could zoom down the other side. But after about a day that wore off...

Last one of these signs for a while. It will take about three weeks to cross Ontario!

In Kenora I was able to stay with Johannes' relative Melody. She was very nice, and made me a wonderful chicken dinner! The next day was Canada Day, and I rode hard to make it to Dryden for the evening. I watched the fireworks from my campsite until I was too tired and had to go to bed.

Canada day between Kenora and Dryden.

The lakes are really cool. I must have passed a hundred along the road since entering Ontario. Especially around Kenora they were really small and clean. Since then there has been a little more Muskeg, but still a great deal of lakes.

The bike with new scenery near Kenora.

The Savanne River (or maybe Savanne Lake?) beside the campsite last night.

For most of the time from outside Winnipeg I've been riding with Rachel (from bits of Alberta and Saskatchewan). It's great to have good company along the road, and I think the physically and mentally intense experience helped us quickly become friends.

Rachel on the road. Note the sunny skies and flat road ... this was a good day.

Well, many people warned me about them ... and now I understand why. A couple days into Ontario we noticed some small bugs that were greatly outnumbering the mosquitoes. But we couldn't feel them biting so we didn't worry about it too much. It turns out they are black flies, and you can't feel the bites until later. They seriously hamper your enjoyment of camping, and a cloud will sometimes form around your head when pedalling slowly uphill! Hopefully bug repellant (with lots of Deet) will keep them away.

Being swarmed by black flies on an uphill.

The towns are spaced quite far apart on the section between Kenora and Thunder Bay. At one point I was counting on filling my water at a dot on the map labelled Borup's Corner, but it turned out to just be someone's house at a junction in the road. I started talking to a lady who was helping in the yard there, and she convinced me to let her go home and get me an apple and some water. A few minutes later she came back with 3 sandwiches, 3 apples, 3 cans of juice, crackers and cheese, and a jug of water ... wow! She even apologized that she didn't have more food in the house to give me! I had to take a long lunch to be able to carry the rest on the bike.

People have been telling me the halfway point is anywhere between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. Here's a pretty good guess ... at the point where it becomes Eastern Time. I feel kind of lame taking pictures of signs, but there really wasn't much else in this section.

As I write this, I'm well fed and comfy in Thunder Bay with Tuomas, Johannes' brother. Tomorrow we will play tennis, go sailing on Lake Superior, and head to the Blues Festival! On Monday I leave for Sault Ste. Marie, which will take 5 or 6 days of cycling. This section is right along the lake, and is apparently quite beautiful.

Cheers,
Dave