Cross Canada Tour

Day 38 - July 15th - Owen Sound to Orillia
146km

 That day off was great, did some laundry, visited with family, ate a lot, drank a lot, cooled off in the pool and generally lazed around, leaving me more than ready to move along this morning. And to cap it all I had a nice tailwind which got me to my second breaky in Collingwood in just over two hours - not bad for a 64km ride!

 Highway 26 from Owen Sound to Meaford is in pretty rough shape, with broken pavement from frost heaves and no shoulder to ride on. Luckily, I was riding early enough so that traffic was minimal. Further along east of Meaford the highway improved and a narrow shoulder was available to ride on. There was lots of activity in the small bustling town of Collingwood, so there was no shortage of cafes from which to choose from. I always look for the one with the breakfast special posted in the window. Together with being the best deal, they usually are pretty busy, which makes it easy for me to strike up a conversation with some of the locals. Although half the time, I end up picking on another tourist!

 After my stop in Collingwood, the traffic gradually increased, which included more large trucks passing by (too) closely. I escaped from 26 just before Wasaga Beach and took County Road 22 - just about all the rest of the way to Orillia. County Road 22 was much a much quieter and scenic ride than Highway 26. Remember scenic? - Yes hills! I should have guessed; 22 goes through the Horseshoe Valley, but with the Horseshoe Valley come the Horseshoe Highlands! There were some good hills to climb today and what with the humidity gradually increasing, it was thirsty work. I also lost my tailwind after Collingwood, which was replaced by a brisk crosswind. All in all though, a good days ride.

 Lots of road-kill today - and varied too! Together with the gazillion raccoons, I counted: 2 seagulls, 3 skunks, 1 squirrel, 1 turtle, 1 deer, 1 porcupine, 1 frog and something that I couldn't determine head from tail - literally!

 Another motel tonight as I'm visiting with two of my sons tonight who are driving up from Brampton for the evening. I guess that I'll just have to go out for a meal and a beer with them, oh life's tough ain't it? I'm going to do a little bike maintenance first though. I mailed a package ahead to my son's place, with a new cassette, chain and tools to do the job.

 Later... Surprisingly enough even after 4000km plus, when I got to changing out the parts, neither the chain nor cassette were worn too bad, probably because I haven't had to ride in the rain and muck much at all. But I switched the parts out anyway; cheap insurance and I've got a lot of miles to go yet.

Day 39 - July 16th - Orillia to Bancroft
160km

 If anyone ever told you that there was good cycling in Ontario, then that statement would probably refer to the roads that I travelled today. From Orillia I took county roads just about the whole way to Bancroft. I started on 45, which changed to 503 at Kinmount then ended at 121, which I rode until it joined onto Highway 28. Just super roads, a bit hilly in places, but very low traffic volume. They even had a decent shoulder in places. Today I had a cross wind to start and a tailwind to finish. The high humidity that was forecast didn't materialise, fortunately, but it was still bloody hot!
I thought that I was going to get skunked for my second breaky today, as I wasn't passing through any really populated areas, but Kinmount is a little village with a convenient little country cafe - breakfast special was only $2.99! Good too!

 Scenery today was spotty, as it was mostly forested countryside; periodic views of many small lakes with cottages and boat docks etc.

 Not much road kill either! But I have noticed that most litterers prefer Pepsi. There's a much higher percentage of empty Pepsi cans and bottles in the ditches than Coca-Cola! And Gatorade bottles are the preferred choice of bladder capacity impaired people; there are many of these scattered in Ontario's ditches half full of yellow liquid of dubious origin. Why Gatorade bottles you may ask? I figure because of the wide necks! Ontario doesn't have a refund policy on it's drink containers, hence the roadways' ditches are literally inundated with the garbage and drink containers that many slobs toss out of their car windows.

 I'm camped at a park about 3km south of Bancroft in a campground come RV park, doesn't seem too bad for mozzies - yet. There's a nice small lake here with a sand beach and the water is quite warm, but still refreshing though. Bancroft's claim to fame... It's the mineral capital of Canada - bet you didn't know that, eh?

 Anyhow, another Lipton's Sidekick with some Albacore tuna thrown in for dinner tonight; I'm hooked on the stuff. The Sidekicks are available everywhere and there's lots of varieties, both in pasta and rice, and they sure are a lot cheaper than a lot of the freeze dried meals. I suppose that after twelve weeks on the road, I'll be sick of them, but for now, let's fire up the old Trangia and boil that pot!

 If I really pushed it tomorrow, I could probably cross over the Ottawa River into Quebec, but to no real advantage except to escape Ontario - it's been a long haul across this province. But I think that I'll stick to my original plan and cross over at Hawksbury; this means suffering another couple of days of Ontario, but I guess that I can suffer it out especially if the riding continues in the same vein as today!

Day 40 - July 17th - Bancroft to Renfrew
136km

  A tough day today. Not huge mileage, but the high humidity has made exerting any effort twice as challenging. With the humidex factored in, temperatures felt (and still do) as if they were in the 40's. Thundershowers just started as I pulled into Renfrew, so perhaps a good storm tonight will clear the humidity up. I'm holed up in a motel tonight, waiting for the big storm; I sure hope that it happens, because I'm pretty drained after today. The air outside is just putrid and even discounting the rain, trying to keep cool and breathe in my tent would have been impossible tonight. I've found that there's nothing worse, in humid weather, than laying in my tent with everything zipped up to keep the bugs out, and trying to keep cool and get some sleep.

 Today was definitely the worse humidity that I have encountered up to now for the whole trip. To add to that, this morning I rode the steepest grades of the trip so far. On leaving Bancroft, I had about three "good morning legs!" hills - but they were just the warm-ups. Highway 28, between Bancroft and Denbigh is VERY hilly. I rode some knee-knackering posted grades of 12% to 18%! And before my second breaky too! Once again, I thought that I'd be out of luck for a cafe, but when 28 joined 41, there was a lonely motel, with a lonely restaurant, waiting for the lonely (famished, sweaty and jelly-kneed) cyclist. Fortuitous! The waitress was talkative very friendly too, even to the extent of some of extra - free - pancakes for me! They didn't go waste, I can tell you!

 After that, the rest of the day's ride was still hilly, but much less so. The taxing part was the humidity; it was like riding in a sauna! I drank, sweated, drank, sweated. There were not many places to pick up cold drinks either. Luckily this morning, I set off with a full complement of water/Gatorade - about 2.75 litres. I replenished some of this at my breakfast stop, but didn't have chance to restock again until I turned off 41 onto 132 at Dacre - I was pretty well dry by then! Needless to say, the roads that I travelled were pretty quiet, and basically, apart from aforementioned killer hills, very good riding. The scenery wasn't the greatest though; I passed a lot of swamps today, so I had the usual troupe of bugs for companions as I crawled up the grades.

 Renfrew's a busy little place. It's at the junction of Highways 60 and 132, with the TC 17 on the doorstep; not to mention the Ottawa river and Quebec border very close by.

 I'm planning on some more county roads tomorrow to take me to Canada's capital, Ottawa, and then the parkway through the city. I don't plan on stopping there, but that will all depend on the weather! At least I've got air-conditioning for tonight, Basil demanded it!

 By the way, as I rode into Renfrew, the odometer turned over 5000km!

Day 41 - July 18th - Renfrew to Cumberland
146km

 Thankfully it rained quite a bit last night and the winds started blowing from the north, so it was much cooler this morning. Although the wind was in my face much of the day, but it was easier to take than the humidity of the previous day.

 I took all the county roads that I could find to get myself into Ottawa and avoid the TC17. I did end up riding on the TC, but for only about 3km coming out of Arnprior. Some of today's ride was alongside the Ottawa river with views of the Quebec countryside on the opposite bank. The river is quite wide at this point and dotted with numerous islands. The rest of the ride was through the lush farmlands of the Ottawa valley. I had some fantastic landscape vistas over fairly flat terrain. I also passed many large country houses; I guess that some of Ottawa's rich and famous frolic on the banks of the river - or play at hobby farmers! I also passed through the village of Carp, which we all should know is the home of the "Diefenbunker."

 I was already getting a bike lane when I was still 25km out of the city centre, which made Ottawa seems very cycle friendly until I hit a road without a bike lane, then I really had to look out! However, from about 15km out, I rode all the way to the Parliament Buildings downtown on a bike path.

 And about 10km riding out of the city was on a bike path too. Nevertheless, any other roads that I had to ride in, or close to, the core of the city were very busy. Fortunately, I have visited Ottawa before (not as a cyclist though), so I had a fairly good handle on which direction I wanted to go. Ultimately, taking the back roads and bike paths, made for a longer day, but I got some quick sightseeing in and the ride really was very pleasant. Lots of local cyclists here, so I got to chat with quite a few during my travels along the bike path and a snack stop at a street vendor's cart. I should have a placard on my back with the standard answers, you know - I'm from Vancouver Island. Yes, I've ridden all the way here. I'm going to the east coast; yada, yada, yada! Seriously though, I do like to talk about my trip to anyone who'll listen.

 I'm in a campsite on the shores of the Ottawa river about 3km east of Cumberland, or 6km west of Rockland, whichever way you want to look at it. Actually, the campsite is on the shores of a small inlet of the river, more like a swamp when I really look at it! I guess that the mozzies will be out to visit later! But I've camped in worse places and the location was a good stopping point for today's ride.

Well it's time to cook up another wonderful one pot creation, let me see, rice or pasta?

 Tomorrow's episode: Escape from Ontario!

Day 42 - July 19th - Cumberland, ON, to St. Canut, Quebec
125km

 Bienvenue a Quebec! I'm finally in another province! That took 2570km to get through Ontario - give or take a few pedal strokes. Admittedly, I did cross Ontario at almost it's widest point, and also took the Manitoulin Island/Bruce Peninsula route, which added a few Klicks on. Nevertheless, it was still a big task to cross no matter which way I would have gone.

 Once again, I only had to ride the TC17 for short while to just east of Rockland, where I breakfasted at a Tim Horton's. I then found the "Old Highway 17," which hugs the banks of the river for much of its route, all the way to Hawksbury. Another delightfully quiet road through some great countryside. Too bad that I had a headwind all day, as that spoilt the ride a wee bit.

 I had my second breaky there, at Hawksbury, and picked up some supplies, then crossed the bridge to Grenville, Quebec. It was recycle day there, so I stuck my Ontario map into somebody's blue bin - Yeay!
From there, Highway 148 had a nice shoulder all the way to Lachute; I then turned onto 158 where the shoulder is spotty to say the least, luckily though, not too busy. The area that I'm in is north of Montreal, which is not very far away; hence, I'm in an area of Montreal's bedroom communities so the traffic comes with the territory. As I travel further east, I should lose some of the hustle and bustle from Canada's second largest city. Do I want to visit Montreal? No way, that's why I'm staying north of the place; I'm more interested in visiting Quebec City to be honest - I might opt for some layover time there?

 Well, I do feel like a foreigner in my own country and I've only been here half a day! Many people do not speak any English, or choose not to, so even deciphering the amount of money someone is asking for, in a store etc., is quite taxing. I'll get by though, I'm sure. They do sell beer in the grocery stores here though, so not everything is lost!

 I'm camping at a family campground, and much like Ontario, many of the RV's at these places will never move again. They are blocked up and have permanent plumbing etc. Really, they've been made into cottages with additions and little gardens etc. It also appears that the Quebec trailer/RV parks mostly all have bingo sessions on an evening. I guess that I'll have to try it when I figure out how to count that high in French! I'm only up to 29 at present! After Rockland, it was surprising to see how quickly the language of the locals started changing as I headed east, even though I was still in Ontario. In Hawksbury, more people spoke French than English. The towns actually look different here too; and I have seen magnificent churches in each of the villages I have passed through. I'm sure that these are a result of the French Acadians that populated much of Quebec.

 I plan to stay on the 158 until Berthierville, when I'll switch to the 138, which should take me, eventually, to Quebec City. Hoping for that tailwind tomorrow, it's about time I had one! St. Jerome is not far away, so I might go for that double bagel breakfast again at Tim's in the morning.