Day 49 – Northward (Ivy Lea, ON – Ottawa, ON)

For the first time since leaving Vancouver, our route took a Northern heading from the St. Lawrence River, along the western side of the Rideau Rover to Ottawa, Canada’s capital for a rest day. The ride was our third “century” (100+ miles) in the last 3 days.

The route in the morning was along side the 1,000 Islands area of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and feature some great cottages tucked onto very small islands – must be nice not having a yard to mow in the summer!

When we turned left (North) we rode through some pretty small towns but some great cycling stops. We stopped in North Augusta at another general store for a break. It is great to be back in an area where soft drinks and Gatorade do not require you to take out a mortgage to buy them.

We also saw a rather neat cycling bag that would make Madison rather jealous - I don't think she'd be too keen on the pink goggles!!!

The map today showed a side route through a village where we got our Springer Spaniel, Kelly in 1969, so I decided on a detour to see if the kennel was still in operation. Unfortunately it was not, but when I asked about it at the farmers market in town, the person I happened to ask about the kennel was the son of the kennel owner – talk about a small world!

I arrived in Ottawa early in the afternoon (3ish) and called my sister, Liz, to let her know I was in town. She met me at the truck, on the Carleton University Campus, and schlepped my gear, all of my gear, back to her house where I would be staying for the rest day. I think I’ll have to get her car fumigated now.

My mum had come up for the weekend and it was great to see everyone again. They were both surprised to see how fit I looked, and that I could function rather normally after 3 consecutive 100+ mile days.

Pizza for dinner at the Colonnade, after which I got a head start on my wash. It was great to have full use of a washer and dryer where I could finally get my clothes and gear fully cleaned and dried beyond “mildly damp.”

Depending on network access, I'll try to get current over the next few days.