Canada tour - Day 6 - Shawville, Quebec to Ottawa, Ontario
This was an absolutely beautiful day of riding (60 miles). We rode
through rural Quebec, then into the outskirts of Ottawa
(through the 'burbs... OK, that part was boring) and
then on a bike path following the Ottawa river into the heart of
the city.
Kirk (from Richmond, VA) and Susan (from Minneapolis, MN) before
the ride. It was a chilly morning.
The Bike Friday team. We had three Bike Friday's on this tour.
Ruth was riding Roger's Pocket Rocket Pro, a high-end road bike,
I was on my Pocket Crusoe, a light touring bike, and Crazy John
was on his New World Tourist, the touring bike that is Bike Friday's
best seller.
Bike Friday operates by word of mouth and they got quite a bit
of it on this trip. Me and mine were able to keep up with
the Gung Ho team (Suzie had the Gung Hos pegged as a bunch of
"hammerheads"--I never really thought of myself that way before)
and the 1.5 inch tires that John and I were riding on sailed
through the off-road sections without much trouble.
Debi strikes another pose. We stopped off for water and snacks
at a convenience store, where people were having fun with
interesting non-American forms of candy.
Lisa, Nancy and Pat. They ride together in the Potomac Peddlers Touring Club.
I shot this when we were waiting for a ferry to take us across the river
back into Ontario.
Bob and Willi on the ferry.
Susan and Kirk. I thought they were a cute couple, but I never really
got a straight answer from them on whether or not they were actually
a "couple". Hopefully I haven't blown their cover.
One highlight was a
rock-sculpture garden, where the natural-rock (no chiseling,
cutting, etc.) sculptures are held together only by gravity and are
allowed to collapse each winter as part of the natural process,
presumably to be rebuilt next year.
The sculpture garden was right next to the bike path.
The water was quite shallow in this area, as indicated by the
figures wading in the distance.
Rocks and other structures.
Pat rocks.
Debi also rocks.
Another highlight was a lock on Canal Rideu, which we observed
being operated by hand to let some pleasure boats through.
Was this a beautiful day or what? I didn't realize it at the
time, but the reason we spent so much time at this spot was because
Debi and Pat thought one of the guys operating the lock was a hottie.
Another view of the locks (photo from Dave's camera).)
Jonathan and river. The building with the white grain silo in front
of it is Parliament (agriculture plays an important role in Canadian
political life).
Pat, Debi, Dave, Jonathan. We clean up real good.
Debi and friend dancing to the Irish music (from Dave's camera).
Dinner, with the Gung Ho team was Italian, followed by a walk
around the Byward Market area, coffee and desert, some Irish music
and a bit of dancing. Another lovely day.
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Canada Tour / Jonathan Krall / revised September 2005