Ottawa to Kingston 2002
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I lost my job at Silicon Access Networks the same day my friend
Dave had biked up to Ottawa from Pittsburgh. While drinking a few
beers together that evening, and since I did not have to go to work on Monday, I decided to bike out of
Ottawa with him a few days later. I was not in shape for this tour. The longest ride I had done this
summer was 80 km and most of my riding had been commuting to work and around the city. Nevertheless, I managed
to pull off the distance with a little bit of pain.
Mon Sep 23 - 165 km - Ottawa to Kingston
We got up early and ate a large breakfast before hitting the road at around 07:00 to attempt to beat the rush hour
traffic out of Ottawa. This worked only somewhat, because it was pretty busy until we got on Flewellyn road, which was
pretty much devoid of all traffic. The day was clear, calm, but a bit cool... perfect riding weather. We made good
time and stopped at the general store in Ashton where we enjoyed some home-made muffins and Nanaimo bars which were
excellent. We continued to follow the road along Mississippi Lake which was nice and quiet, but a little annoying as
well, because there is not a single inch of the woods anywhere along this road which is not filled with houses or
fenced off. We wanted to avoid Hwy 7 going into Perth, which our cycling route map showed the route as doing, but the
road names we needed were not on the map so we ended up riding into Perth on Hwy 7
anyway. Why does someone bother
publishing a cycling map with no road names on it? Anyway, Hwy 7 was not as bad as it looked even though there was a
fair bit of high speed traffic. Soon we reached Perth where we stopped to get groceries and some water. It was only
11:30 so we decided to push on to Westport before eating lunch. Route 10 through the Rideau Lakes is quite nice to
ride on. Very little traffic and nice views of all the small lakes as you travel down the Rideau system. As we
approached Westport a pickup truck pulled behind us but was hesitant to pass. I initially wondered why, but then the
road plunged steeply into a valley, where we quickly surpassed the speed limit and left the truck behind. He caught up
to us at the bottom and then finally passed. We ate lunch at a public dock on the lake, where lots of fish gobbled
up any crumbs which fell in the water. The rest of the trip to Kingston was nice scenery, but I was getting more and
more tired as we went. In fact, today is the farthest I have ever ridden a bicycle
in one day. I have only ever done
one other Imperial century in my life. The traffic became worse as we approached the city, finally becoming horrendous
near the end. Fortunately the road gained a shoulder through the worst of it, so riding was safe, yet still annoying.
We finally reached the city and rode through on very broken pavement. We found the youth hostel where we planned to
stay, but it was closed for the winter. There were a couple Bed and Breakfasts suggested on the sign, so we decided to
try those. The first place had no one home. The second place had a friendly woman who regrettfully informed us that
she did not have a room, and that all the B&Bs in town were taken by student boarders for the year. She suggested the
Super 8 motel so we head over there and got a moderately priced room. It is tiny and there is barely enough room for
us and the bikes, but since it was late, and I was very tired, it would have to do. We ate some dinner at an Indian
restaurant which served us tons of food (perfect) but it was a little bland until we asked for some hot sauce. We
found a pub afterword for some beers, but left before finishing, because we were stuffed from supper, tired, and the
place was full of annoying drunk students. Went back to the motel and then crashed for the night.
Tue Sep 24 - 134 km - Kingston to Merrickville
Got up before the sun and packed up. Ate some food in the hotel room and then went across the street to Tim Horton's
for some coffee and some more food. While we were eating, a couple of other guys came in and talked to us about our
trip. They had a cute dog which liked to eat donut holes. Dave was heading back to Pittsburgh via Toronto, and I was
planning to take two days to get back to Ottawa so we said our goodbyes here and then rode off in different directions.
I got a little lost on the way out of the city because the roads are poorly marked in Kingston and also because of an
error in the map in the phone book. Nevertheless, it did not take too long to find the correct road out. At first,
the traffic was pretty bad with rush hour mostly coming towards me, and dump trucks running both directions. As the
morning wore on, and after I had passed a couple of gravel pits, the traffic died down to almost nothing. The day was
sunny again, and much warmer than yesterday, so it was not too far before I had to stop and shed my jacket and apply
the sunscreen. I stopped in Battersea at the general store and bought some fruit and homemade butter tarts for a
snack. While I ate on the porch, a man talked to me about the trip and about ice fishing. I left Battersea and after
riding a couple kilometers, had a horrible feeling I was on the wrong road. After biking back, I realized I was on the
right road after all and turned around again. After riding this stretch a third time and further, I found the un-named
road on my map to take me to Seeleys Bay. This road was very windy and hilly, but also very scenic and traffic free. I
came to a swinging bridge which was closed while some workers were doing some maintenance. I asked the bridge keeper
how long it would be, but he said that I could probably squeeze by, which I did. I then had to ride highway 15 with
reasonably heavy traffic, but this was not going to be a problem, as I did not have very far to go. It ended up that I
went a lot farther up 15 than I had intended because my map had mis-numbered the road I was supposed to turn off on.
This trip is starting to take on a bad map theme. When I hit Morton, I realized the error, but found a nice quiet road
to get me back on track. I had
another snack along a rock cut and then continued to push northward. I stopped at a gas station in Toledo to use the
rest room, and a man chatted with me and gave me some good directions to Merrickville. I stopped and had lunch along
another rock cut, and then pushed on. After I passed 100 km, I was beginning to get very tired. My body is not used
to riding this far, especially after yesterday's ride. After a while longer I was wondering if I had taken a
wrong turn. I
could have sworn I saw a sign 20 km back which said Merrickville was only 15 km away. I pushed on anyway and
eventually hit the town. I stopped at the locks and rested for a little while. I filled up my water bottles and then
head out a little further to find a place to camp in the woods. I set up my tent and then dozed for an hour before
getting up to cook supper. Someone was shooting a gun nearby, but that stopped as the sun went down.
Wed Sep 25 - 50 km - Merrickville to Ottawa
I woke up before dawn and it was very cold so I stayed in my sleeping bag and read my book by the light of a candle
lantern until the darkness started to turn grey. I got up and fixed some coffee to warm up and then cooked a breakfast
of pancakes. After cleaning up and packing, I hit the road around 09:00 as the air was starting to warm. It was
another clear day. There was a gentle headwind, but I was not too concerned as I did not have too far to go to
get home. There was no need for maps today as I know this area well. I stopped in a park on the outskirts of
Barrhaven for a small snack and watched a Via passenger train roll by. I then continued for another
thirty minutes or so to get home and enjoy some lunch.
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