Day 47, August 5, Rest Day in Ottawa Ont.

Vanessa and Brett woke up early to grab a tour of Ottawa. Allan and I slept-in until around 10:00am, and then walked to Parliament to tour around. It was only a 10-minute walk from Joanne and Brittany’s apartment.

Allan and I toured for a couple hours, and then headed to Rideau Centre. We needed to buy Joanne a new cell phone charger so she could call a couple Alumni. We then walked to DFAT, where she is doing her internship.

We all headed to the restaurant were the Alumni reception was going to be held at around 5:00pm. Joanne was concerned very few Alumni were going to show up. At one point, she told me only 12 people were going to attend, and that included the four of us. As the time went on, more and more Alumni began to show up. I later found out she was trying to make me nervous. In the end, about 13 Alumni and 3 current students on Coop, attended the event. I really enjoyed talking to everyone, and hearing their U of L stories. They were all very interested in our travels, which we enjoyed talking about. We didn’t get out of the restaurant until 9:00pm. No one made an early exit. The event was incredibly motivating for the rest of the trip.

Special thanks to Joanne Luu for making the Alumni event happen. She sent 130 personal e-mails with follow-up phone calls to Alumni in the Ottawa region. I don’t know how she does it, but she does, so thanks again Jo! An interesting note: other than our trip, the formation of an Ottawa chapter was topic most Alumni were talking about.

Day 46, August 4, Rest Day in Montreal QC

We took the metro to downtown in the morning. It was the easiest way to get to Old Montreal. We stayed there for most of the day. It didn’t rain for the entire day, which seems unusual these days.

We met up with Jamie Huckabay, who was recently awarded the U of L gold medal for Arts and Science, and headed to St. Catherine’s street. It was a pretty cool place to hang out at. Vanessa was able to shop for a while, albeit difficult with 4 males as shopping mates.

We went back to Jamie’s apartment to cook chili for dinner. A much more economical way to eat than a restaurant. The food and the company was fantastic. We were on our way again around 9:00pm for Ottawa.

We didn’t get into Ottawa until 1:30pm after having some difficulty finding at parking space at the University of Ottawa. Joanne, being Joanne, was awake and waiting for us. She also had a pan of gluten free cookies waiting!

Day 45, August 3, Lachute QC to Joliette QC

I had a great sleep last night in the motel. We’re all going to enjoy sleeping in beds again. At one point last night my back tire just popped. Allan and I had no idea what the pop was until I felt my back tire. It was my second flat of the day.

We began our ride at the Tim Horton’s that we stopped at the day before. I decided to change my tire there. 15 minutes into the ride, my tire popped again. My back tire had a couple gashes in it, so I decided to change the tire. It started to pour a minute after my tire popped.

It stopped raining as we headed into a town that had a house of the former PM, Wifred Laurier’s. Turned out it cost money to go in, and it actually wasn’t his house. We decided not to stay. It only lightly rained for the rest of the day. We packed the bikes in Joliette, at 95k, and headed in Montreal.

We ended up staying in a motel in the outskirts of Montreal after searching for reasonably priced accommodations for sometime. It wasn’t too bad of a place to stay. Our plan tomorrow is to sight see in Old Montreal, and to meet up with Jamie Huckabay.

Day 44, August 2, Gatineau QC/ Ottawa Ont. to Lachute QC

We didn’t leave Ottawa until 10:00am, and began our ride out of Gatineau around 11:30am. After we left the city, we were on the same highway all day. There was a bike trail for the entire ride, which was incredible. We haven’t had shoulders like this since Alberta.

It looked like it was going to be the first hot day in about 2 weeks. It ended up raining about an hour into the ride, and didn’t quit for the next 4. The shoulders made it easy to ride in. However, it’s difficult to spot the odd pothole when they’re filled with water. Vanessa and I both had a close call with one in particular. Vanessa had two flats today, and I had my first one in over 2000k. It was warm out, so it wasn’t too uncomfortable changing the tires in the rain.

As we made it into Lachute, the rain was subsiding. We all had a coffee at a Tim Horton’s to decide what the plan was going to be. Vanessa and I were completely drenched. We decided to stay in a hotel for the first time since Surrey. There weren’t any campsites for 40k, and most of our stuff was wet and needed to be aired out. Having a nice bed to sleep on, and the thought of a light day tomorrow at 90k, makes for an enjoyable night.

Day 43, August 1, Haley Station Ont. to Gatineau QC/ Ottawa Ont.

It was easy to get up this morning. I had a great sleep, except for my eyes being worse this morning. They both seem to be infected. . I couldn’t put my contacts in this morning, and had to wear my glasses. The $5.00 investment in a new Wal-mart pillow was worth it.

We all went to the campsite’s/ amusement’s restaurant for breakfast. Allan learned the difference between regular and farm-fresh eggs. It was a serious question, but the waitress still called him a smart-ass. Small talk was around the horrific Greyhound killing.

We took a lesser-traveled road into Quebec, so there wasn’t much for traffic. It was a nice change from the past few days. The sides of the roads were filled with old farmhouses that were full of character. I really enjoyed riding passes these houses and other outbuildings.

The roads riding into Gatineau were challenging. I’m surprised Vanessa or I didn’t get a flat. By chance, barely into the city, we stumbled across a bike path that went through the city. Vanessa and I road this until we somewhat got lost. Allan and Brett were driving in the Van, and had made it to the eastern edge of the city. They met us at a gas station, where we racked the bikes to head into Ottawa. We rode 130k today.

We made it to Joanne Luu and Brittany Earl’s apartment, where we would be spending the night. Jamie Huckabay, another U of L graduate, was also there. It was great to see these fine folks again. Vanessa and I showered quickly, and we were off to a restaurant in the market. It was a great evening.

Thanks again for putting up with us Joanne and Brittany!

Day 42, July 31, Stonecliffe Ont to Haley Station Ont

We were up early today. Young kids always seem to get up early, and like to let everyone else know. Our tents were fairly dry, which was nice. Even Allan’s for a change. Our goal today was 120k. It’s motivating to know Ottawa is only 100k away.

There were few hills today during the ride. We had a tailwind for most of the ride, and we averaged 26km/h. Traffic picked up again today, and most-likely wont lighten until we pass Quebec City. It rained slightly during the ride, which passing semi-trailers would throw your way, with a little sand for good measure. Although, the rain was refreshing during the ride.

We stopped 80k into the ride and drove to Pembrook for lunch at Tim Horton’s. I had a delicious bag of Doritos for lunch-Cool Ranch. We drove back to where we left off on the highway, and rode the last 50k to Stonecliffe.

We ended up at a campsite with an outdoor water park, mini-golf, petting zoo, etc. It pretty much has everything. We didn’t get a chance to try the slides, but we did get to eat in a “Noah’s Ark,” complete with paper animals. I’m surprised the paper bear didn’t spontaneously combust when Allan saw it.

Tomorrow we’ll deviate from our original plan and ride into Quebec early. We’re going to bypass the traffic in Ottawa and ride to Hull, which is on the other side of the Ottawa River.

Day 41, July 30, North Bay Ont to Stonecliffe Ont

It was pouring when I first heard Allan’s wake-up call this morning at 7:00am. We all decided to wait and see if the rain would subside before we had to pack our tents. Packing a tent when it’s raining isn’t too much fun. To our luck, it stopped raining around 9:00am.

We drove to the Ottawa turnoff and began to bike. We’ve been biking longer than our scheduled distances to make up for the lost 60k in Sault Ste. Marie. I had to laugh at myself during the beginning of the ride because of what I wrote in a recent blog post regarding the flat terrain. We were greeted today with non-stop hills for the entire ride. I also ate a ridiculous amount of Reese Chocolate Bars during the day. I may have a problem.

We found a nice campsite in a small village after 130k. The Ottawa River was 100 meters away. It rained for a while, but quit for just enough time to put our tents up.