Today: 61 km
To date: 5,765 km
To go: 2,035 km
Have you ever been in the kind of rain storm where your clothes are so wet they are glued to your skin, your hair is plastered to your forehead, and water is dripping down your nose and into your mouth? That sums up this mornings ride into downtown Ottawa. I think this is where the phrase “you look like a drowned rat” comes from.
I was a bit embarrassed as we entered the breakfast restaurant each bringing a small puddle with us. Somehow everyone else looked so dry and warm sitting at their tables sipping their cappuccinos.
Despite the rain (or perhaps because of?) I really enjoyed our entry to Ottawa. The bike paths are absolutely fantastic – and we saw so many residents commuting to work – it was really good to see such an effective system.
Parliament Hill
After drying off and warming up over breakfast (french toast, of course), we headed over to the bike shop. Alex had a mysterious creak in his pedal/crank/lower bracket area so wanted to see if a set of new pedals would do the trick. We left our bikes there and wandered through the city a bit. Ottawa continued to impress me with its old buildings, pedestrian streets and farmer’s markets. I bought some delicious blueberries!
At this point in the ride, we had the option of crossing over to Gatineau, Quebec or to continue riding up the Ontario side of the river – but as I mentioned before, we were keen to enter a new province – especially since I had heard only good things about the cycling conditions in Quebec. We were not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed following the Route Verte for the remainder of the day. The trail was not terribly direct, but at this point I did not mind; it was just nice to be off the shoulder-less roads!
Categories: Across Canada, Biking, Ontario, Quebec
Just Ambling 
Leave a Reply