Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Chateau Frontenac 

Cycled short circle route over big, old, steel, narrow bridge crossing the very muddy St. Lawrence into Old Quebec City. We briefly explored the quaint waterside narrow streets of shops in old town when it started to rain. Got soaked and ducked into a Naval canteen for some warm soup and coffee. Took 10 min ferry across channel and headed back to camp as more dark clouds were fast approaching. Dried out and decided to drive into city and be walking tourists for the night but that too was also cut short by a severe thunderstorm and torrential rains…thank god we were not on our bikes or we would have been swept away down the instant river paths of rain water. C’est la vie!

Scary Quebec Bridge

Shops of Old Town

Mural History

Monday, August 29, 2011

Quebec City from Quartier Vieux-Levis

Wellll, we loaded up the truck and headed to Quebec City....hills that is...large rock bluffs, charming, Newfoundland character homes, narrow Mexican streets and terrible bus drivers... Ils drive trop vitely!.(Merci Monsieur Tooker por ma classe en Francais!) We were almost on the bus...the side that is...I really need to learn some French swearwords but until then, I will just have to resort to showing them they are number one! We are at La Relache  campground in St-Romuald, Quebec which is across the seaway from the City but has excellent access to the cycle routes and bridge.A late afternoon 46 km ride allowed us to explore the seaside village quarters of St. Romuald, Levis, and  St. Joseph. It is such a beautiful,, multi purpose pathway winding along the St Lawrence river offering grand views of the harbour and Quebec city. I loved the neighborhood cruise through the eclectic mix of  housing...much charm and certainly no cookie cutter planning here. There was very little signs of tropical storm Irene other than a few downed trees, rushing muddy creek waters and the odd puddle of water in the campsite.

Pierre Laporte Bridge

August 28, 2011

Unbelievable! Incredible! OMG WOW! What a day! Grounded by tropical storm Irene which started here with light winds around 5:30 am, increasing to full blown storm by noon, not dying until the middle of night. Poor Hillary and Kubla sought coverage in the back of the truck while Tom and I laid low in the trailer as it rocked back and forth with major gusts of wind and was pelted with buckets of water which accumulated flood plains around the site. This is our second experience with tropical storms, last one when we cycled Newfoundland in 2008…not liking this trend!! It was a day of eating , watching movies , crocheting , and kicking Tom’s cute little butt at Yahtzee   This morning skies are clear, sun is shining with light, breezy, cool winds and hopefully all will dry up quickly so we can get back on the bikes again!

Holy Blow!

My Motto: Be Prepared

Walls of water

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Art in the Park

Icky, sticky, muggy day of cycling 106 km of Montreal’s paths…in fact I was dripping, soaking wet most of the day as temps ranged from 20-30 degrees with lots of humidity. Figured out correct route into city and did an extended cruise through St. Catherines’ neighborhoods and then down the middle of the 10 km Seaway cycle route. Took Montreal Aquaduct and Lachine canal routes to a lunch stop at the Atwater Market where 100’s of cyclists in all shapes, sizes, and ages converged in the square; it was very reminiscent of cycling in Amsterdam. It was crazy to see a man smoking a pipe while cycling plus the two old French guys cruising along in their underwear? Tom would not comply!! A much needed refuel allowed us to follow the Lachine canal out to the end of Rene Leveque Park where we had great views of the St. Laurence Seaway and took in the public art park. Return route was along water side of La Salle Boulevard past the Lachine rapids which were filled with surfers and rafters; hooked onto the Estacade across Sisters Island and back through St Catherine’s for another great day!!



Atwater Market Square



Rene Levesque Park

Friday, August 26, 2011

A short 230 km thunderstorm drive from Ottawa led us to muggy Montreal on Thursday. Today, the cool morning mist lifted by noon for a sunny 86 km ride from St Phillippe along cycle routes and Trans Canada Trail through towns Candiac, La Prairie, and Brossard over Victoria Bridge past original Red Roses Flour mill around cruise ship docks meandering through cobblestone paths of Old Montreal. I thought the criss crossing highways were crazy but there are way more cycle pathways to immerse oneself in the heart of Montreal's vibrant action. This place really caters to cyclists; stop signals with bicycles, pickup, drop off bicycle stations, bridges dedicated solely to cyclists, shouldered roads with 2 way cycling lanes…gotta love itJ Cycled the St. Laurence Seaway locks, narrow streets of Paris North, past China town, Victoria Square down to Saint Paul street's busy boutiques and eateries for some nachos and a cool pint at 3 Brasseurs. Our return trip took us over Champlain cycle bridge and back through St Catherines to St Phillippe. Loved the purple pampas grasses and many brick house gardens along the route...so much character and very beautiful.

Check out light

Notre Dame Basilica

St Paul St

Goin'to Montreal

Near Locks

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Muggy start, sprinkles finish for a short 46 km ride. Variety day started with a jaunt through the bushes along hard packed paths out to Shirley’s Bay on Ottawa River; Beautiful wetlands at the western terminus of the city’s cycle routes where Jacques Greber’s amazing 1950’s vision of green belt development for Ottawa originated. Followed single track ski paths through wild flower fields, canopied trees, dead spooky trees and along boardwalks in Kanata, Beaverbrook and eventually through the Stony Swamp conservation area. I thought Tom was a little hard on the beav today when he chased it to the top of a hill on the way back from Shirley’s Bay…he thought it was a muskrat??? Finished the day with a cool one even though we didn’t earn it…so be it! Life is good!

Too muggy, time for a dip

Watch out for Tom little froggie

I love spooky ole trees

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Crossing the Ottawa River

Bonjour mes amis…aujourhui nous cycled 103 km of GatineauJ I love these cycling paths as there are so many users of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels. I swore I saw my mom on a bike today. It is enlightening to see so much activity and enjoyment by all…it’s brilliant! There are road bikes, mountain bikes, tandems, mom’s with baby trainers, kids with tricycles as well as walkers; some Nordic and lots of dog walkers, rollerbladers, and many jogging groups. Some sections are busy while others feel like you are all alone way out in the country of canopied trees, bridges and many creeks. Today, we crossed Champlain bridge over Ottawa river to Quebec and rode as many of the pathways as possible. It is interesting how crossing the river changes the nature of the paths and the abundance of French…we felt like we were in a foreign country…help!…can’t remember Grade 8 French class…I only learned to conjugate verbs and ouvre la fenetre! Tom went into a building to find washroom only to say “ gracious” to person giving him directions…gots to love my boy! Loved the twisting, up and down routes through beautiful Gatineau Park. Tom thought it was a road rider’s paradise with perfectly angled curves permitting much excessive speed with thrilling, exhilarating, raison d’etre? We barely touched the surface of the trails to explore there so will have to save for another time…until then, au revoir!....I thinkJ

Train route to Quebec

Maurice Rocket Richard

Monday, August 22, 2011

"I love a rainy night…I love to hear the thunder roar”….BUT on my 57^th I was singing “Who will stop the rain?” Wet, muggy day turned into touristing and a bike shop visit… to Bushukah’s …Tommy is trying real hard to get me on a TREK road bike, but due to my short assedness, sizing seems to be a problem…oh well, Hillary will have to do…she’s a good ole bike with the bestest buffer…NOT!  Today started with cool fall temps, falling leaves and wind but evolved into a perfect 23 degree cycling day skirting thunder clouds and exploring 115 km of Ottawa’s network of amazing signed, paved pathways totally out of traffic yet well marked for accessible access to everything in the city…can someone tell me why there is a beaver on the archway to Parliament buildings ???...stopped at 24 Sussex Drive to see if Stevie wanted to join us but he was too busy running “THE COUNTRY” so we went out to Orleans and St Joseph for lunch along Ottawa river parkway returning along Rideau river pathway and back to downtown via the Rideau canal and through Watt’s Creek Greenbelt to the campground…can you believe we are out of rye?...inhaled 2 of the best peach ciders thoughJ

Capital of Ottawa

Crossing the Locks

Too many path options



Pathway to Parliament



Look for the beaver!

Ottawa River Inukshuks

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Early start out of Parry Sound Friday taking some quiet backroads and Hwy 3 through cutest little Huntsville town. Tom stopped to take a pee in George Lake ...sorry brother... then onto Algonquin Provincial Park, a real hiking and canoeing meca. Picnic lunch in Whitney where Chuckster swam in Galeairy Lake. Arrived in Ottawa Municipal campground, 15km west of city around dinner totally burnt out from sitting for sooooo long....much harder to sit in truck than on bike saddle.  Today Silvee, our BFT, went in for checkup while we cycled Stittsville in huge humidity...got drippin, soaking wet while a thunderstorm brewed all around us...downpour so ride cut short, returned to campground and headed out for after-dinner ride of 58 km along paved Capital City network of cycling paths...tres belle...formidable! Saw 7 deer, 2 muskrats, squirrel and heron...lots more to explore...hit 2000 km mark today...c'est possible!

Tom's monkeying around again..He ain't so tough!

Ottawa Senator's House

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Stupid, dumb, shut up thunderstorms...rained out yesterday so ended up reading, getting groceries, touring city by truck and playing a few games...Tom kicked my butt at Yahtzee and later Ladder Golf toss...I won't tell him I played left handed%-) Skies cleared after dinner but we opted for dog walking and checking routes for today. Long, beautiful drive to Parry Sound (tourist town size of Ladysmith) in time for BBQ pizza and an evening ride the wrong way into town. Started out on Park-to-Park 230 km multi-use trail system out of the campground but ATV usage has really chewed it up making it difficult to ride in sandy spots...about face and headed out to road where we caught up to 2 cyclists from Parry Sound who graciously rode us into town and toured us along a fitness trail leading out to Salt Dock in Georgian Bay just as the sun was setting...tres belle...getting ready for Quebec:-)  Rode back to site with headlights and tailights flashing...great 36 km after dinner ride.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Little sleep so short 130 km drive to Sault Ste. Marie’s KOA following Hwy 17 through rugged highlands of Lake Superior; again, breath-taking views of the jagged coastline and the crystal clear waters of an endless lake. Gorgeous 74 acre treed camp spot away from the highway noise. Hard to get Tommy going but managed to cruise 46 km checking out the local city of 79,000 in 30 degree, muggy weather…another lifesaver, popscicle day. Watched a tour boat and canoeist maneuvering the locks of St Mary’s River connecting Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Apparently there are 60 species of fish in these lakes. Rode scenic waterfront boardwalk and followed much of the 30 km HUB trail route which circles the perimeter of this bustling trucker city.

International Bridge

Michigan side

Going thru locks...something we'd do

Monday, August 15, 2011

541 km long drive day along northern portion of majestic Lake Superior circle tour to Agawa Bay Provincial campground. An extremely scenic drive of many lakes, rolling green hills, red rocks and tremendous, breathtaking views of the lake, which by the way is the world's largest fresh water lake. Lunch stop at warm Penn Lake in Marathon where Chucky dog had a swim to cool off and run free. Yesterday, we paid $20 for 2 burgers, fries, and 3 pints...bargoon...tonight's roadside campground complete with 100's of long haulers passing by, just a short 50 yards away, was $42...cheaper to eat than sleep soooo we might as well eat as we certainly aren't sleeping. White sand beach sunset walk was almost romantic...

Paddler's Paradise

The Almost Romantic Part

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Gorgeous, clear, hot, muggy day...gotta love sweating...actually, it almost felt fall-like this am when we started as there was a cool fog bank cloud sitting over the lake and all was wet at the campsite..temps varied from 18-30 degrees today depending where we rode. 95 km route took us south of the TBay and out past airport along country roads to Stanley Tavern, est 1899 and was the town....specialty: hamburgers and a cool, well earned pint which I inhaled. Return country ride saw many horse and goat farms as well as a wide variety of wild flowers...I love the purples!

Super hero fixes Glenda's flat

Boulevard Lake Park

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Had to change sites Friday and decided to take a rest day to refuel, catch up on time change, get groceries and play tourist in the Hand Made Art and Finnish districts of TBay. Sat’s 96 km ride to Kakabeka falls was along very quiet country shouldered roads through small village of Murillo. Falls plunge 130 feet over sheer cliffs and some of the oldest fossils in the world. This area has prairies on one side of the road and B.C. on the other. Again, avoided looming thunderstorms…I tell ya, the skies are crazy here; believe it or not, Tourism Thunder Bay boasts that they are the sunniest city in eastern Canada….kinda like Sunny Saltair!

Kakabeka Falls

Tom wouldn't jump!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Did you know that there are 2 seasons in Thunder Bay?....winter season and construction season...roads closed and heavy machinery everywhere; however, even so with Thunder clouds all around us, we managed to squeak in 70 km touring Thunder Bay along network of cycle paths and city's cycling routes without getting wet...skies were an amazing array of different fluffy white and very black cumulous clouds and the occasional lightning strikes were off in the distance. Thunder Bay is the only town that has included cycling routes and bike shop locations in their tourist guide which is a great step for cyclotouring. Brick homes, lots of character buildings and much green space were abundant on today's enjoyable ride.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

What the hell...my butt is soooooo sore....not from riding, but from sitting in the truck for 8 flippin hours driving to Thunder Bay, Ont. Ever since my stair fall last summer, I cannot sit long without much pain running down my left leg, oh well, I will work it out on tomorrow's cycle. It was a 4 scrubbie, 1/2 slipper crochet day:-) At KOA just down from Terry Fox Info center...KOA camping criteria = must be by highway, airport, and railway...this one takes the award as there is also major highway construction just outside the door...no thunderstorms yet!

Terry Fox Info Center overlooking Lake Superior

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Now in Kenora, Ontario in Anicinabe Park on the Lake of the Woods which is very pretty, similar looking to BC scenery. Arrived in time for a very windy, thunderstormy night. Today brings cloudy skies with sunny breaks and mucho windo so we got off the roads and headed to the offroad technical trails of Tunnel Island...I am too frickin old to be doing ladders, large roots and large boulders...had one sideways header into the bushes with hurt pride and no injuries...lotsa fun and very beautiful pine forest and fields of small plantain flowers covered with little red berries; lots of deer today and one little baby frog. Later hit some backroads riding into small waterside village of Keewatin where we explored side streets and Minx Bay urban single track trails which were much gentler on our bodies. Refuelled in afternoon waiting for winds to die, had early dinner and headed out for evening ride of rolling, quiet country roads, many lakes and a gorgeous sunset for a 75 km day.


Float up Safeway



Tunnel Island

I hate ladders

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Morning ride around Provincial Park which is larger than Rathtrevor. Extreme fire conditions has closed all of the trails so were limited to 11km circle road route which is where we encountered Manitoba's Grand Fondo 160 km cycling event. Tom had a tough time holding back Kubla as she really wanted to jump in on the race. Took secondary road south out to little town of Oakbank where we had the bestest ice cream ever. Evening circle ride took us north on secondary roads past sunflower farms and into another little cute country town, Lockport and back to site. We dodged a very dark thunderstorm all the way and were very lucky not to get absolutely drenche.d. As it was another smoking hot day we split our kms between am and pm which I really like...I seem to get quite dehydrated in the heat of the day which makes peddling a tad more difficult...82 km day....then we stopped and cleaned all the aliens off our spokes. We read that in 2008 Winnipeg city council mandated that during any road rehabilitation or reconstruction they would add an active transport element in the form of a bicycle path, multi-use trail, or at bare minimum a dedicated bike lane. Already they have quite a network of trails and routes. Now all they have to do is change the mentality of their drivers who you cannot trust at cross walks, red lights, or stop signs....you have no guarantee that they are going to yield to you or try and run you down....have encountered more discourteous drivers in three days than in the last 10 years on Vancouver Island. With that said, Winnipeg's "active city" philosophy should be adopted by all Canadian municipalities.

Breakin' the law...anybody got spare change?

Beauty nite ride

Saturday, August 6, 2011

72 km return ride to downtown Winnipeg along great cycling routes and pathways all the way to the Forks where Red River and Assinboine meet...many of the river paths were underwater as well as the trees and picnic benches. Surprisingly enough, there have been relatively few mosquitoes...seems to be the talk of the town. Played cyclotourist with a stop at our favourite Mountain Equipment Co-op where we picked up a fabulous cycle map of the city.

At the Forks

Important Winnipeg corner

I think the aliens are after us. At first, I thought they were out to take over the planet, and perhaps they were, but then they realized how big we humans are, and now they have just targeted a few of us..........Glenda and I.  It all started when we spotted their armies of helicopters swooping and dive-bombing us while we cycled along the backroads of Dauphin....we couldn't figure it out, we thought they were some sort of insect until we spotted the mother ship at the airport in Dauphin...we took a photo, but it mysteriously disappeared from our camera. We got out the big truck and cruised down the highway, managed to squash a number of them in our grill. That was our first mistake. Now they are targeting just us. Yesterday and the day before they lay in wait along the bicycle trails where they took a completely different form and sprang up from the pathway as we rode by. Trying to get into our mouths, I think, but luckily most of them got destroyed by the spokes of our wheels and our "grasshopper-like" reactions with our hands that, in a previous life were lethal weapons. Spotted another mother ship here....no  photo attempt. Other than that, everything is great.

Last night we were walking the squirrel hunter through a deserted part of the campground and he tracked down a lynx.....that was cool.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Warm, humid day, could not quench our thirst. Ended up doing a 62 km evening ride as heat was sapping our energy and we had to move our campsite. Ran into some cyclists in campground who gave us an awesome backroads circle route through St Paul to Winnipeg perimeter and then returning along the very quiet, grasshopper filled Winnipeg flood plains pathway where we spotted an injured coyote heading down to the water. Great sunset ride was finished with a cool bevy!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Bikes in truck and headed to Manitoba's Riding Mountain National Park for another 30 degree day. Started at Wasagaming to circle tour Clear Lake in search of some much advertised wildlife...would you believe 3 crows and a deer. Had a real mix of riding in the spruce and birch forests of the park; ride was a blast, especially the 15 km of single track along lakeshore's edge; much high grass and mud holes in high flood zones on lake's north shore. Tom almost lost his bike in a very deep, quick sand mudhole; we were both covered and later washed off at Camp Wannakumba's beautiful beach. South lake was too high for us to cross 20 feet with our bikes so resorted to the roads for last part of our 45 km day.