That felt so fast! Chris and I were talking in the car last night about how strange the end of bike trips can be. For a week (in this case) we rode, planned routes, packed and unpacked, ate and slept. That’s it. All day every day. Then 30 minutes after we stopped pedaling we were…
Day 7: back to Carlton Place (and home)
We are home! I’ll be brief because it’s 2:30 am. Rowdy start to the day as we rode some mountain bikey trails in the park. It was pretty fun riding but you know what the issue was. We then rode on pavement over some small mountains with all the Lycra clad speed demons from town….
Day 6: to Gatineau
The anti bug diversion was mostly a success. Who knows what the other route would have been like, but this one was pretty good. From our campsite we went to a grocery store and bought some breakfast and lunch. We then did about 25 km on a minor country road that was strangely bug free….
Day 5: to Gracefield
I’m not into patriotism or pride in country or anything like that, but I’d like to take a minute this Canada Day to reflect on what my chosen home has to offer. Maple syrup, a lot of space, a ridiculously short non-cold season, reasonably polite people and bugs. So many fucking bugs. Mean ones. We…
Day 4: to Shawville
Hello from Quebec. Crossed the border late afternoon today. Oddly the stop signs etc are still in English. Quebecers must love that. It was a hot ride today, probably the highest mercury of the trip if the forecast is accurate. 30 degrees and full sun pretty much all day. It was the edge of tolerable…
Day 3: to Calabogie
Today felt a little like an actual vacation. For breakfast we went back to the store/deli we stopped at the evening before. The owner had told us that she started work at 5 and if we knocked she’d let us in before opening. Turns out we didn’t make it until 9. Also turns out they…
Day 2: to Sharbot Lake
In case you rely on the emails to read these, I published yesterdays’s writeup too late for the system to catch it. Hopefully this one makes it. It was a long one today, full of mud, bugs, hills and a super unusual chance encounter. Chris is a morning person. I am not. Still, I tried…
Day 1: to Cartwright Springs Brewery
Just an FYI that the posts for this trip may be a little briefer than typical. Maybe that isn’t a bad thing :). Usually writing is, among other things, a way to occupy my evenings. Since I have company this time, this is less of a thing. It was a pretty long drive to the…
A local, week long loop with a friend
It was a Saturday, sometime in or around February, and Chris, Gary and I were having some pho (spicy for me) before going out for a ride. Chris said something like “… about that ride we were talking about …” and 5 minutes later we were planning a trip together. A week later it was…