Riviere-du-loup - Edmundston 123km
I had a bit of sleep-in in the morning, enjoying the comfy hostel bed. My roomie Julia from Germany and I went downstairs to enjoy the breakfast included in our stay! Somehow free breakfast just always tastes better! I packed up and said bye to the new friends I had made the night before. Back on the road I turned south, away from the river and towards New Brunswick! The road was pretty decent for the first while although the cross wind was really strong, definitely a 2 hands on kind of day! Luckily the wind died down but that was when I hit all of the construction, and the stinky farms :( The road was bad so I had to go quite slowly and it was very bumpy and to make matters worse it smelled like poo. I kept on going for ever it felt like since I didn't want to stop for lunch until the smell went away. I have this thing about eating when it smells, ever since someone told me everything you smell your actually eating tiny particles of. In this case it would have been manure, no thanks! Finally things got better smell wise and road wise and I found a rest stop for lunch. Not to long after it started to rain but luckily just a light drizzle nothing to worry about. I hit the New Brunswick border at about quarter past 4 and promptly lost an hour due to the time change. I spent some time in the info centre looking up campgrounds and checking my email. By the time I was out again in was just before 6 and pouring! I started looking for the closest campground but when I reached the exit it had a big closed sign over it, darn! I continued on and the rain abated and I even briefly saw a rainbow! I stopped in Edmunston for some groceries and then continued south of town where I knew there was another campground. Luckily this one was open and even had a elevated pumphouse under which I was able to pitch my tent to stay out of the worst of the rain. I ate my dinner of granola and yogurt in bed before rolling over to go to sleep.
Edmunston - Grand Falls 65km???
So as you probably have gathered from the question marks after my distance yet another cyclometer has bitten the dust. I give up, that's the last one! Partially because I hate replacing them but mostly because there isn't another MEC until Halifax!
I slept in this morning and when I woke up the sun was streaming through my tent! Yay! I didn't manage to get out of the campground until after 11 which didn't really matter since I knew the day would be short.
Pushed along by a tailwind I was covering ground at a great speed! I was listening to my Spanish podcasts and practicing my pronunciation as I pedaled. Luckily there weren't too many people on the streets to hear me butchering the Spanish, repeating over and over "Esta es mi hermana, se llama Raquelle" That kept me occupied right up until I reached the campground, or until I saw the sign actually. It turns out that the address had been a little wrong and the campground wasn't on the highway but on a side road which ran parallel. I hopped off of my bike and decided to pull/drag it across the ditch, over the hill and across the next ditch instead of going back to a crossroad. It wasn't too difficult and I'm sure I probably saved at least 2 minutes! I've set up camp and have come back into town to use the Internet and try and find somewhere for dinner! Tomorrow I am heading for Woodstock!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Days 61-64 Au bord de la Ste. Lawrence
Montreal -> Trois Rivieres 150km
I left Montreal guided by Giselle, she took me to the bike path so I wouldn`t get lost like the day before. Back on La Route Verte I headed out of the city. The path was wonderful nothing reminscent of the stressful day before! The only unfortunate part of the path is that because it stays off of the main road I was zigzagging all around which added time and km to the day. Once I was out of Montreal`s industrial area the scenerey was gorgeous, I followed alo
ng the St. Lawrence and then headed inland through the Mauricie region. It was slow going since I was battling a slight headwind and I didn`t arrive in Trois-Rivieres until the sun was setting. I decided that 150km definitley deserves a poutine so I had one. I ordered the small and when it arrived it looked large enough to feed four! I will never understand how the quebecqois can polish one of those off. The guys beside me were ploughing their way through larges. I took my leftovers to go and even though cold poutine isn`t very tasty I ate it for two more meals to avoid being wasteful! After dinner I rode the last few km to Caro and Matt`s place, the couchsurfers with whom I was spending the night. We had lots of fun playing an english trivia game which resulted in lots of laughing and misunderstanding because of the language barrier!
Trois-Rivieres -> Quebec 160km
My longest day ever! It was the equivalent of a century ride (100 miles) and I think once was enough, I will stick to shorter days or less weight from here on out! Luckily I had a tailwind so although the distance was farther I actually made better time than the day before. I rode alongside the river again following La Route Verte. The weather was perfect and there was hardly any traffic. I passed some familiar sights from the last time I had been in Trois-Rivieres as I pedaled out of town. One thing I have noticed since being in Quebec is the huge number of casse-croutes, otherwise know as fast-food. The big difference between Quebec and rest of Canada though is that everywhere else you see the giant arches or some other chain but here they are individually owned and family operated. I`m sure they probably do a mean poutine but being all poutined out I stopped for an icecream instead. I rode into Quebec about 5:30pm that afternoon in search of a hostel in the old part of the city. I missed my turn off and ended up in who knows where but being lost ended up being a blessing in disguise because as I was plugging away at my GPS I received a phone call bearing news of accommodation for the night! A friend of a friend had offered to put me up! Even better she lived straight back from the way I had come so instead of figuring out new directions all I had to do was turn around! Josée and her family were great and I was instantly jealous of her bilingual children who switched between languages without even realizing it!
Quebec -> Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies 132km
I started the day off with a wrong turn which caused me to unneccarily go up the steepest hill I had seen all week! maybe next time I will check the map a little more carefully! I got back on track and headed f
or the bridge to cross over to the south side of the St. Lawrence. I had a great view of vieux Quebec and château Frontenac as I rode along the busy bike path. Eventually I left the chaos of the city behind me. I rode through many picturesque villages, many of which were hundreds of years old! The rest stops along the road were spaced perfectly, need water? a lunch spot? a bathroom? Pop! They would appear just as I needed them! It was great! For anyone deciding on their next Canadian vacation destination I would highly reccommend this area! I stayed with a family that I contacted through the website warmshowers.org (a website linking up touring cyclists) they were great, 2 new kittens had recently become a part of the family and were adorable! The kids didn`t speak english so it was a good opportunity to practice my french!
Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies -> Rivière-du-loup 82km
The wind was so strong this morning I barely had to pedal, if I had a sail I would have been here by noon! Either way it was a fun and easy ride! I got rained on a little but had dried off before stopping for lunch so it wasn`t a big deal. I would officially say I have reached the se
a today, I can smell the salt on the air! Although I think it is still officially considered the St. Lawrence the water is salty and there are huge tides. Eel fishing is a big thing here and I have been told I should try the smoked eel it`s supposed to be delicious, I think I may just take their word on it! I was in Rivière-du-loup before 2pm today, a change from the past few days that`s for sure! I am staying at a very nice hostel which seems to be quite empty and have just found the library which is where I am now! Tomorrow I was going to have a rest day but I think I may just carry on instead. Heading for New Brunswick!
I left Montreal guided by Giselle, she took me to the bike path so I wouldn`t get lost like the day before. Back on La Route Verte I headed out of the city. The path was wonderful nothing reminscent of the stressful day before! The only unfortunate part of the path is that because it stays off of the main road I was zigzagging all around which added time and km to the day. Once I was out of Montreal`s industrial area the scenerey was gorgeous, I followed alo
ng the St. Lawrence and then headed inland through the Mauricie region. It was slow going since I was battling a slight headwind and I didn`t arrive in Trois-Rivieres until the sun was setting. I decided that 150km definitley deserves a poutine so I had one. I ordered the small and when it arrived it looked large enough to feed four! I will never understand how the quebecqois can polish one of those off. The guys beside me were ploughing their way through larges. I took my leftovers to go and even though cold poutine isn`t very tasty I ate it for two more meals to avoid being wasteful! After dinner I rode the last few km to Caro and Matt`s place, the couchsurfers with whom I was spending the night. We had lots of fun playing an english trivia game which resulted in lots of laughing and misunderstanding because of the language barrier!Trois-Rivieres -> Quebec 160km
My longest day ever! It was the equivalent of a century ride (100 miles) and I think once was enough, I will stick to shorter days or less weight from here on out! Luckily I had a tailwind so although the distance was farther I actually made better time than the day before. I rode alongside the river again following La Route Verte. The weather was perfect and there was hardly any traffic. I passed some familiar sights from the last time I had been in Trois-Rivieres as I pedaled out of town. One thing I have noticed since being in Quebec is the huge number of casse-croutes, otherwise know as fast-food. The big difference between Quebec and rest of Canada though is that everywhere else you see the giant arches or some other chain but here they are individually owned and family operated. I`m sure they probably do a mean poutine but being all poutined out I stopped for an icecream instead. I rode into Quebec about 5:30pm that afternoon in search of a hostel in the old part of the city. I missed my turn off and ended up in who knows where but being lost ended up being a blessing in disguise because as I was plugging away at my GPS I received a phone call bearing news of accommodation for the night! A friend of a friend had offered to put me up! Even better she lived straight back from the way I had come so instead of figuring out new directions all I had to do was turn around! Josée and her family were great and I was instantly jealous of her bilingual children who switched between languages without even realizing it!
Quebec -> Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies 132km
I started the day off with a wrong turn which caused me to unneccarily go up the steepest hill I had seen all week! maybe next time I will check the map a little more carefully! I got back on track and headed f
or the bridge to cross over to the south side of the St. Lawrence. I had a great view of vieux Quebec and château Frontenac as I rode along the busy bike path. Eventually I left the chaos of the city behind me. I rode through many picturesque villages, many of which were hundreds of years old! The rest stops along the road were spaced perfectly, need water? a lunch spot? a bathroom? Pop! They would appear just as I needed them! It was great! For anyone deciding on their next Canadian vacation destination I would highly reccommend this area! I stayed with a family that I contacted through the website warmshowers.org (a website linking up touring cyclists) they were great, 2 new kittens had recently become a part of the family and were adorable! The kids didn`t speak english so it was a good opportunity to practice my french!Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies -> Rivière-du-loup 82km
The wind was so strong this morning I barely had to pedal, if I had a sail I would have been here by noon! Either way it was a fun and easy ride! I got rained on a little but had dried off before stopping for lunch so it wasn`t a big deal. I would officially say I have reached the se
a today, I can smell the salt on the air! Although I think it is still officially considered the St. Lawrence the water is salty and there are huge tides. Eel fishing is a big thing here and I have been told I should try the smoked eel it`s supposed to be delicious, I think I may just take their word on it! I was in Rivière-du-loup before 2pm today, a change from the past few days that`s for sure! I am staying at a very nice hostel which seems to be quite empty and have just found the library which is where I am now! Tomorrow I was going to have a rest day but I think I may just carry on instead. Heading for New Brunswick!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Days 59&60 Bienvenue au Quebec
Ottawa - L'Original 100km
My first day striking out on my own! Leaving Ottwas was nice, the roads all had bike paths and were not too busy. I stayed off of the main highway for the majority of the day an
d had really good riding conditions. With a bit of a tail wind I made great time getting into town and found the campground with no problem. In town while I was grocery shopping I met numerous friendly locals all interested in my ride and supportive of the cause! I had to use my french for the first time at the campground even though I was still in Ontario the caretaker spoke no English. I pitched my tent and had my cold dinner, (no stove now that Malkolm isn't with me) done just in time to watch the sunset over the river. Bedtime is coming earlier and earlier these days as the sun sets earlier. That night I think I was tucked into my sleeping bag by 8:30 luckily I had a book from my care package from Nao and Liis to keep me company!
L'Original - Montreal 110km
I woke up with the intentions of getting an early start that morning but when I h
eard the pitter patter of rain drops on my tent all good intentions flew out the window as I buried myself deeper into my sleeping bag in hopes of waiting out the rain. Luckily it stopped quite shortly after and I was able to get almost ready to go before it started again. I waited out the drizzle under the overhang of the bathrooms while reading the local paper and as soon as the rain ceased I pulled down my tent quickly and got packed up and on the road. That was it for the rain that day and soon after the sun was shining. I crosses the river into Quebec and immediatley found La Route Verte, the fabulous bike route all through Quebec. I managed to follow the path as is travelled along side the river for most of the day. As I neared Montreal traffic got heavier and heavier, unfortunately I was arriving in Friday rush hour. I 
decided to stop at MEC to return yet another cyclometer and that was my one big mistake. Traffic was crazy, my phone was dead and I was lost after that. I rode till I found a pay phone and called my host, M
ichel, and got directions. I was told that I was pretty much as far away from where I wanted to be as possible :( Good directions, a close-call with a school bus and an hour later I had made it to Michel's but unfortunately he had already left for work, his girlfriend Giselle was there to show me around and she was a most gracious hostess! Big thanks to both of them for their hospitality! I slept very well that night and the alarm sounded as usual too early the next morning.
My first day striking out on my own! Leaving Ottwas was nice, the roads all had bike paths and were not too busy. I stayed off of the main highway for the majority of the day an
d had really good riding conditions. With a bit of a tail wind I made great time getting into town and found the campground with no problem. In town while I was grocery shopping I met numerous friendly locals all interested in my ride and supportive of the cause! I had to use my french for the first time at the campground even though I was still in Ontario the caretaker spoke no English. I pitched my tent and had my cold dinner, (no stove now that Malkolm isn't with me) done just in time to watch the sunset over the river. Bedtime is coming earlier and earlier these days as the sun sets earlier. That night I think I was tucked into my sleeping bag by 8:30 luckily I had a book from my care package from Nao and Liis to keep me company!L'Original - Montreal 110km
I woke up with the intentions of getting an early start that morning but when I h
eard the pitter patter of rain drops on my tent all good intentions flew out the window as I buried myself deeper into my sleeping bag in hopes of waiting out the rain. Luckily it stopped quite shortly after and I was able to get almost ready to go before it started again. I waited out the drizzle under the overhang of the bathrooms while reading the local paper and as soon as the rain ceased I pulled down my tent quickly and got packed up and on the road. That was it for the rain that day and soon after the sun was shining. I crosses the river into Quebec and immediatley found La Route Verte, the fabulous bike route all through Quebec. I managed to follow the path as is travelled along side the river for most of the day. As I neared Montreal traffic got heavier and heavier, unfortunately I was arriving in Friday rush hour. I 
decided to stop at MEC to return yet another cyclometer and that was my one big mistake. Traffic was crazy, my phone was dead and I was lost after that. I rode till I found a pay phone and called my host, M
ichel, and got directions. I was told that I was pretty much as far away from where I wanted to be as possible :( Good directions, a close-call with a school bus and an hour later I had made it to Michel's but unfortunately he had already left for work, his girlfriend Giselle was there to show me around and she was a most gracious hostess! Big thanks to both of them for their hospitality! I slept very well that night and the alarm sounded as usual too early the next morning.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
To Ottawa and beyond!
My time in Ottawa passed quickly. On Tuesday we held a rally on parliament hill which was well attended and very successful in terms of politicians and citizens alike being in attendance. I was put a little on the spot when I was asked to give a speech without any forwarning! Luckily Malkolm had known in 
advance and written something up so I said a few things a greatfully passed the mic on to him!
I passed out the remaining postcards that Nadia and I had been carrying since day 1 and talked to lots of people who were interested in the trip we had just completed. You can check out some pictures of the event here. We also got to meet the group from Quebec who had just cycled in that morning.
In the afternoon we all rode together from Embassy to Embassy in search of Canada's missing climate action plan. We heard from the Dutch Ambassador as well as from a representative from the Danish Embassy. By then we were all starving so a bunch of us headed ove
r to a local cafe where Kesten's cousin had kindly offered to treat us to lunch. The MTV news girl joined us for lunch and conducted a few more interviews while we waited for our food so keep an eyeout for pedal for the planet on MTV canada's news airing sometime this week!
Yesterday I finally reached a decision about my plans for after Ottawa, nothing like leaving it till the last minute! I am going to continue riding on to Halifax! I spent the whole day planning route, searching for accommodations and getting supplies. I am going to post my itinerary below and like before I will indicate whether or not I have somewhere to stay and if you or anyone you know would be interested in hosting me for the night please let me know! As the weather gets colder a warm house to sleep in is more and more welcome!
> Sept 17 - Ottawa - Hawkesbury YES
> Sept 18 - Hawkesbury - Montreal YES
> Sept 19 Montreal - Trois Rivieres NO
> Sept 20 Trois Riviers - Quebec YES
> Sept 21 Quebec - Saint-Aubert NO
> Sept 22 Saint-Aubert - Riviere-du-loup YES
> Sept 23 Rest day in Riviere-du-loup YES
> Sept 24 Riviere-du-loup - Edmundston NO
> Sept 25 Edmundston - Grandfalls NO
> Sept 26 Grandfalls - Woodstock NO
> Sept 27 Woodstock - Fredericton YES
> Sept 28 Fredericton - Waterborough NO
> Sept 29 Waterborough - Moncton YES
> Sept 30 Moncton - Port Elgin NO
> Oct 1 Port Elgin - Charlottetown YES
> Oct 2 Rest day in Charlottetown YES
> Oct 3 Charlottetown - Caribou NO
> Oct 4 Caribou - Truro NO
> Oct 5 Truro - Halifax YES
advance and written something up so I said a few things a greatfully passed the mic on to him!I passed out the remaining postcards that Nadia and I had been carrying since day 1 and talked to lots of people who were interested in the trip we had just completed. You can check out some pictures of the event here. We also got to meet the group from Quebec who had just cycled in that morning.
In the afternoon we all rode together from Embassy to Embassy in search of Canada's missing climate action plan. We heard from the Dutch Ambassador as well as from a representative from the Danish Embassy. By then we were all starving so a bunch of us headed ove
r to a local cafe where Kesten's cousin had kindly offered to treat us to lunch. The MTV news girl joined us for lunch and conducted a few more interviews while we waited for our food so keep an eyeout for pedal for the planet on MTV canada's news airing sometime this week!
Yesterday I finally reached a decision about my plans for after Ottawa, nothing like leaving it till the last minute! I am going to continue riding on to Halifax! I spent the whole day planning route, searching for accommodations and getting supplies. I am going to post my itinerary below and like before I will indicate whether or not I have somewhere to stay and if you or anyone you know would be interested in hosting me for the night please let me know! As the weather gets colder a warm house to sleep in is more and more welcome!
> Sept 17 - Ottawa - Hawkesbury YES
> Sept 18 - Hawkesbury - Montreal YES
> Sept 19 Montreal - Trois Rivieres NO
> Sept 20 Trois Riviers - Quebec YES
> Sept 21 Quebec - Saint-Aubert NO
> Sept 22 Saint-Aubert - Riviere-du-loup YES
> Sept 23 Rest day in Riviere-du-loup YES
> Sept 24 Riviere-du-loup - Edmundston NO
> Sept 25 Edmundston - Grandfalls NO
> Sept 26 Grandfalls - Woodstock NO
> Sept 27 Woodstock - Fredericton YES
> Sept 28 Fredericton - Waterborough NO
> Sept 29 Waterborough - Moncton YES
> Sept 30 Moncton - Port Elgin NO
> Oct 1 Port Elgin - Charlottetown YES
> Oct 2 Rest day in Charlottetown YES
> Oct 3 Charlottetown - Caribou NO
> Oct 4 Caribou - Truro NO
> Oct 5 Truro - Halifax YES
Days 56-58 Watch out parliament here we come!
Kingston -> Westport 64km
Left Wolfe Island and headed over to Kingston in the morning where we were hoping to find some other people to ride with us. We set up outside of city hall to talk to passers-by and
see if there were any cyclists to join us. We met some interesting people but when it appeared there were to be no more cyclists we packed up and hit the road.
The windy hilly road we followed was pleasant and the weatherwas good, a great day for riding. We had arranged to meet with our billet that night for lunch at a point half way but when 1 o'clock rolled around and we still hadn't found it we decided to have lunch number one on the side of the road. We found Gerrie a few km further on and stopped again for a second lunch. She had made us delicious dishes with ingredients from her farm. She even brought a table and tablecloth, the classiest lunch of the trip!
Left Wolfe Island and headed over to Kingston in the morning where we were hoping to find some other people to ride with us. We set up outside of city hall to talk to passers-by and
see if there were any cyclists to join us. We met some interesting people but when it appeared there were to be no more cyclists we packed up and hit the road.The windy hilly road we followed was pleasant and the weatherwas good, a great day for riding. We had arranged to meet with our billet that night for lunch at a point half way but when 1 o'clock rolled around and we still hadn't found it we decided to have lunch number one on the side of the road. We found Gerrie a few km further on and stopped again for a second lunch. She had made us delicious dishes with ingredients from her farm. She even brought a table and tablecloth, the classiest lunch of the trip!
Westport was not far from there and we made good time. Although just outside of town on the way to the farm we did have to climb one of the top 5 steepest hills of the trip! Most of us managed to pedal all the way, but I can attest to the fact that we were all breathless by the top except maybe Ted who decided to go back down and do it again!
Gerrie's farm was great! She primarily grows produce and worms! Who knew red wrigglers were such a cash crop? I learned a lot about the benefits of having a worm compost. They will eat almost anything! All your food wasted and paper wasted can be digested by them and their own waste is some of the best soil you can get! Gerrie has introduced worm composters into many schools and businesses in the area which is awesome! I have been a fan of worms since I used to collect in my blue bucket when I was kid, but now I will be singing the praise of worms wherever I go!
Westport -> Blacks Corners 61km
A nice short day, it felt like we hardly did any riding at all. No sooner then we were on our bikes it felt like we had reached lunch. The town of Perth welcomed us at their museum with sandwiches and goodies. It was great to have such a wonderful reception, even the mayor was there to chat. Some of the locals rode out with us after lunch and I enjoyed chatting as we pedalled along. Nothing like a good conversation to make the miles fly by and again we had reached our destination in no time at all. We were staying on Goodwood farm and they had organized a barbeque for us! Although the sight of a lamb and chicken roasting on a spit doesn't appeal to me I know some in the group were very excited! Dinner was enjoyed by all and the good company helped. I noticed Malkolm in animated discussion with a neighbouring farmer who apparently did not share all the same views. We later found out he had been invited because our host wanted to stir up everyone's blood a little and get some good discussion going. He was certainly successful!
We slept that night in the backyard and I was only allowed to pitch my tent after being warned about all the animals which had the potential to attack. Bears, wolves, coyotes, coy dogs, raccoons and vampire bats were all mentioned. I couldn't tell if Keith was joking or not so I climbed into my sleeping bag feeling less then settled that night. When I woke up in darkness to see the silhouette of an animal circling my tent I was petrified! I managed to convince myself that it was just a neighbours dog, and after a few minutes it took off. The rest of the night was uneventful and I slept well.
Blacks Corners -> Ottawa 77km
The final destination! We had finally reached it and it felt kind of surreal. We took a great path into Ottawa, I really enjoyed not having to worry about cars and trucks and took time to enjoy the beautiful fall colours surrounding me. We had lunch in Stittsville and from there you really have reached the outskirts of the city so we passed through numerous subdivisions on our way to the riverside where we would find another cycling path leading us right to parliament hill.
Once in Ottawa we took the obligatory pictures in front of parliament before our hunger got the best of us and we took off in search of one last ice cream cone! A double scoop of gelato later and we were all pretty content. I left the group then to search for my friend Dom's house as that is where I was staying. Only then did the clouds burst and I was soaked within minutes! I got lost a couple times on route so by the time I was outside the door I was looking more and more like a drowned rat. Rain like that really makes you appreciate a roof over your head and hot shower!
Gerrie's farm was great! She primarily grows produce and worms! Who knew red wrigglers were such a cash crop? I learned a lot about the benefits of having a worm compost. They will eat almost anything! All your food wasted and paper wasted can be digested by them and their own waste is some of the best soil you can get! Gerrie has introduced worm composters into many schools and businesses in the area which is awesome! I have been a fan of worms since I used to collect in my blue bucket when I was kid, but now I will be singing the praise of worms wherever I go!
Westport -> Blacks Corners 61km
A nice short day, it felt like we hardly did any riding at all. No sooner then we were on our bikes it felt like we had reached lunch. The town of Perth welcomed us at their museum with sandwiches and goodies. It was great to have such a wonderful reception, even the mayor was there to chat. Some of the locals rode out with us after lunch and I enjoyed chatting as we pedalled along. Nothing like a good conversation to make the miles fly by and again we had reached our destination in no time at all. We were staying on Goodwood farm and they had organized a barbeque for us! Although the sight of a lamb and chicken roasting on a spit doesn't appeal to me I know some in the group were very excited! Dinner was enjoyed by all and the good company helped. I noticed Malkolm in animated discussion with a neighbouring farmer who apparently did not share all the same views. We later found out he had been invited because our host wanted to stir up everyone's blood a little and get some good discussion going. He was certainly successful!
We slept that night in the backyard and I was only allowed to pitch my tent after being warned about all the animals which had the potential to attack. Bears, wolves, coyotes, coy dogs, raccoons and vampire bats were all mentioned. I couldn't tell if Keith was joking or not so I climbed into my sleeping bag feeling less then settled that night. When I woke up in darkness to see the silhouette of an animal circling my tent I was petrified! I managed to convince myself that it was just a neighbours dog, and after a few minutes it took off. The rest of the night was uneventful and I slept well.
Blacks Corners -> Ottawa 77km
The final destination! We had finally reached it and it felt kind of surreal. We took a great path into Ottawa, I really enjoyed not having to worry about cars and trucks and took time to enjoy the beautiful fall colours surrounding me. We had lunch in Stittsville and from there you really have reached the outskirts of the city so we passed through numerous subdivisions on our way to the riverside where we would find another cycling path leading us right to parliament hill.
Once in Ottawa we took the obligatory pictures in front of parliament before our hunger got the best of us and we took off in search of one last ice cream cone! A double scoop of gelato later and we were all pretty content. I left the group then to search for my friend Dom's house as that is where I was staying. Only then did the clouds burst and I was soaked within minutes! I got lost a couple times on route so by the time I was outside the door I was looking more and more like a drowned rat. Rain like that really makes you appreciate a roof over your head and hot shower!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Days 54 & 55 on the home stretch
Grafton -> Belleville 78km
The highlight of this day was a stop at Earthwalk, Eco Education Centre. Located just outside of Colborne on a 5 acre plot of land it seems eons away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Peace and quiet surrounded us as we coasted down the driveway to the centre. There we had a snack of freshly picked beans and tomatoes before heading to one of the classrooms for a workshop on "getting your message through" some helpful hints on how to engage your audience were shared with us by Garnet McPherson the program's director. We also learned about the house and how it had been built, essentially carbon neutral using solar power to both heat and cool the house. We had lunch there and were then joined on our ride by a couple of locals who pedalled with us to Brighton.
We stopped for ice creams in Carrying Place a small town about half way through the ride. There we determined that yet again we had managed to lose a member of the group. Eddy was nowhere to be seen and only after some thorough searching by the support vehicle did he turn up having taken a substantial detour! The rest of the ride was uneventful and we arrived in Belleville about 6pm only 2 hours behind schedule! We were supposed to meet with the mayor there but I guess he got tired of waiting around and the town hall was quiet when we arrived. We headed on over to Organic Undgeround a great cafe/multi-use space where we were spending the night. The space didn't have showers so we decided to go the Y we heard was just a few blocks away. We started walking and 45 minutes later were still walking, I guess we should have asked just how far a "few" blocks is. The sauna there made it worthwhile and I had a great sleep that night.
Belleville -> Kingston 92km
Just me and the guys. again. Rita had to return to Toronto for the day and Eddy had to get back to school so our group had dwindled to 7. We left early and made great time as we followed the shoreline east towards Kingston. I finally finished all the Harry Potter books, perfect timing as the tour is almost over! We stopped in Bath for lunch and had arrived in Kingston by 3:30pm.
We went to a tar-sands teach in at Queen's led by Clayton Thomas Muller of the Indigenous Environment Network. He is a great speaker and I was happy to learn more from him. He also told us that Mercury is in retrograde which apparently makes people late, miss connections and generally behind schedule. This makes sense as we proceeded to miss two ferries and a train all within the next two hours! We finally made it over to Wolfe Island by 10:30pm our final destination for the night. While waiting for the ferry we amused ourselves by playing Zoom, Schwartz, Bflude..something, Kingston's citizens were probably wondering what kind of crazies were in town as we crawled, hopped and ran barefoot around the ferry terminal. Or maybe they took no notice since it's frosh week at Queen's and many weirder things are going on!
Today we are having a rest day, this morning we had a tour of the wind farm on Wolfe Island which was very interesting. The structures are very impressive once you get up close. I don't know about you but I would much rather have a wind turbine in my backyard then a coal-fired or nuclear plant! I guess tonight we will just chill out and try and get a good night's sleep before we head out for Westport tomorrow!
Apologies for the lack of pictures but I forgot my camera cord! Will post some next time I have reliable internet!
The highlight of this day was a stop at Earthwalk, Eco Education Centre. Located just outside of Colborne on a 5 acre plot of land it seems eons away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Peace and quiet surrounded us as we coasted down the driveway to the centre. There we had a snack of freshly picked beans and tomatoes before heading to one of the classrooms for a workshop on "getting your message through" some helpful hints on how to engage your audience were shared with us by Garnet McPherson the program's director. We also learned about the house and how it had been built, essentially carbon neutral using solar power to both heat and cool the house. We had lunch there and were then joined on our ride by a couple of locals who pedalled with us to Brighton.
We stopped for ice creams in Carrying Place a small town about half way through the ride. There we determined that yet again we had managed to lose a member of the group. Eddy was nowhere to be seen and only after some thorough searching by the support vehicle did he turn up having taken a substantial detour! The rest of the ride was uneventful and we arrived in Belleville about 6pm only 2 hours behind schedule! We were supposed to meet with the mayor there but I guess he got tired of waiting around and the town hall was quiet when we arrived. We headed on over to Organic Undgeround a great cafe/multi-use space where we were spending the night. The space didn't have showers so we decided to go the Y we heard was just a few blocks away. We started walking and 45 minutes later were still walking, I guess we should have asked just how far a "few" blocks is. The sauna there made it worthwhile and I had a great sleep that night.
Belleville -> Kingston 92km
Just me and the guys. again. Rita had to return to Toronto for the day and Eddy had to get back to school so our group had dwindled to 7. We left early and made great time as we followed the shoreline east towards Kingston. I finally finished all the Harry Potter books, perfect timing as the tour is almost over! We stopped in Bath for lunch and had arrived in Kingston by 3:30pm.
We went to a tar-sands teach in at Queen's led by Clayton Thomas Muller of the Indigenous Environment Network. He is a great speaker and I was happy to learn more from him. He also told us that Mercury is in retrograde which apparently makes people late, miss connections and generally behind schedule. This makes sense as we proceeded to miss two ferries and a train all within the next two hours! We finally made it over to Wolfe Island by 10:30pm our final destination for the night. While waiting for the ferry we amused ourselves by playing Zoom, Schwartz, Bflude..something, Kingston's citizens were probably wondering what kind of crazies were in town as we crawled, hopped and ran barefoot around the ferry terminal. Or maybe they took no notice since it's frosh week at Queen's and many weirder things are going on!
Today we are having a rest day, this morning we had a tour of the wind farm on Wolfe Island which was very interesting. The structures are very impressive once you get up close. I don't know about you but I would much rather have a wind turbine in my backyard then a coal-fired or nuclear plant! I guess tonight we will just chill out and try and get a good night's sleep before we head out for Westport tomorrow!
Apologies for the lack of pictures but I forgot my camera cord! Will post some next time I have reliable internet!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Days 52 & 53 Riding with a new crew
Toronto -> Oshawa 80km??
Left Anubha's after a great stay in Toronto. I was shown that my preconcieved notions about Toronto were completely wrong and it is a very down to earth and friendly city after all. Thanks too very mu
ch to Anubha for having me stay and showing me a great time!
I met with the new crew at union station and got ready to ride out of the city. The majority of the group decided to ride the GO train to Pickering but, the west coast crew plus Leslie decided to brave the busy streets and pedal our way out.
Stopped in Pickering for a photo shoot in front of N.A's largest wind turbine, largest but solo...and in front of a nuclear station... let's think about that for a minute. After that the whole group rode into Ajax and there we met the mayor Steve Perry who rode with us through town. We stopped for lunch at a park on lake Ontario and then got back on the Waterfront Trail to continue east along the lakeshore.
We spent the night camping in Darlington Provincial Park, our site was on the cliffside looking out onto lake Ontario, pretty stunning! It was fun to be part of a larger group again, we had a campfire and played games by the firelight before retiring to our tents.
Oshawa -> Grafton 65km so far
Odometer number 5 is now functioning! Hopefully knock on wood this one will last the rest of the trip! It should considering there are only 5 days left!
We left the campground around 10, our group having already shrunken by 2. Emma had to head back to TO for work and Ted was heading into town to have a broken spoke repaired before he could rejoin the tour. He left me with the map and directions to continue east, assuring me that they were straightforward and easy to follow... I don't know if I'm just bad at directions or he is exceptionally good but we managed to split the group into three, spend time backtracking and do some bushwacking all within the first hour! After trying to leave hints for groups further back as we twisted and turned through the forest we finally gave up and left the trail for a service road running parallel to the highway.
We met back up with Ted at lunch time just outside of Port Hope and I was happy to relinquish the role of "leader" back to him. We stopped in Cobourg for a tour of a geothermal company and then continued on to a press conference at a local cafe, we chatted with local press and did a mock ride by for a good photo opportunity. Check out these links later today or tomorrow to see the articles. Northumberland View, Today.com, The Northumberland News
That brings me up to right now where I am currently blogging away at the Go Green Together office. Big thanks to them for organizing the press conference, riding with us into the city and letting us use their office for blogging! We have a few more clicks to go but have been revitalized by fresh lemonade, fruit and coconut cookies at the cafe next door. End destination is Ted's families farm.
Left Anubha's after a great stay in Toronto. I was shown that my preconcieved notions about Toronto were completely wrong and it is a very down to earth and friendly city after all. Thanks too very mu
ch to Anubha for having me stay and showing me a great time!I met with the new crew at union station and got ready to ride out of the city. The majority of the group decided to ride the GO train to Pickering but, the west coast crew plus Leslie decided to brave the busy streets and pedal our way out.
Stopped in Pickering for a photo shoot in front of N.A's largest wind turbine, largest but solo...and in front of a nuclear station... let's think about that for a minute. After that the whole group rode into Ajax and there we met the mayor Steve Perry who rode with us through town. We stopped for lunch at a park on lake Ontario and then got back on the Waterfront Trail to continue east along the lakeshore.
We spent the night camping in Darlington Provincial Park, our site was on the cliffside looking out onto lake Ontario, pretty stunning! It was fun to be part of a larger group again, we had a campfire and played games by the firelight before retiring to our tents.
Oshawa -> Grafton 65km so far
Odometer number 5 is now functioning! Hopefully knock on wood this one will last the rest of the trip! It should considering there are only 5 days left!
We left the campground around 10, our group having already shrunken by 2. Emma had to head back to TO for work and Ted was heading into town to have a broken spoke repaired before he could rejoin the tour. He left me with the map and directions to continue east, assuring me that they were straightforward and easy to follow... I don't know if I'm just bad at directions or he is exceptionally good but we managed to split the group into three, spend time backtracking and do some bushwacking all within the first hour! After trying to leave hints for groups further back as we twisted and turned through the forest we finally gave up and left the trail for a service road running parallel to the highway.
We met back up with Ted at lunch time just outside of Port Hope and I was happy to relinquish the role of "leader" back to him. We stopped in Cobourg for a tour of a geothermal company and then continued on to a press conference at a local cafe, we chatted with local press and did a mock ride by for a good photo opportunity. Check out these links later today or tomorrow to see the articles. Northumberland View, Today.com, The Northumberland News
That brings me up to right now where I am currently blogging away at the Go Green Together office. Big thanks to them for organizing the press conference, riding with us into the city and letting us use their office for blogging! We have a few more clicks to go but have been revitalized by fresh lemonade, fruit and coconut cookies at the cafe next door. End destination is Ted's families farm.
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