Well, we made it lol! And in a beautiful way. Jerry put it best:
"Bike riding this morning was as good as it gets. It was cool, sunny, and clear, and the wind was with us. There was no traffic. Best of all were the sparkling lakes and rivers that we biked along."
But it wasn't all that easy, as fast and heavy traffic was encountered for a short eight-mile stretch as we approached Ottawa. But then we turned onto secondary roads for the last 16 miles for a much better ride experience. Ottawa has an impressive skyline, particularly on the approach across the Ottawa River as we left Québec and entered Ontario.
So, as Jerry said, the first 14 or 15 miles were a cyclist's heaven. While most cyclists passing through these parts seem to use Québec Route 309, probably because of the challenges we faced yesterday, I decided to route us on a parallel road on the opposite side of the river . . . and it was (fortunately) paved the whole way (although I had little fear it wouldn't be).
Leaving Notre-Dame-du-Laus, our first turn was onto this bridge over Rivière du Lièvre.
My only complaint is my Garmin! Which I had some "difficulties" starting as we left Gîte B&B. It loaded the course but wasn't recording properly, so I had to reboot the Garmin about 4 miles into the ride. Well, that's a minor setback compared to what we were otherwise enjoying.
I also wasn't sure what would happen at Val-de-Blois, where we intersected Québec Route 307 and there was another river crossing to Route 309. The most noticeable change was the double yellow line down the middle of the road, which usually means more traffic. There was some of that, but not a big issue, and we just continued on our way, soaking up the scenery and beautiful weather.
The bridge over Rivière du Lièvre in Val-du-Blois, where we joined Route 307.
At about MP 22, we turned due west and away from the Rivière du Lièvre and towards the two small mountain ranges we needed to cross to get to Ottawa. There was still some flat land to cover, but you could see the hills in the distance. While this is the more scenic route, following Route 309 to the Ottawa River will give you a flatter route. But I like hills, so off we go.
Heading west and for the mountains. You can see there is little or no shoulder, which suited us fine until we got closer to Ottawa.
About two miles after that turn, we turned again, and then we started our climbing. I enjoyed it immediately. It was gradual and not tough at all, and in the long run, the descents on the far side were longer as we were needing to get down to the Ottawa River eventually. At the top of the first set of hills were Val-des-Monts and Saint-Pierre-de-Wakefield, a cute little lakeside town that required another dip down and climb up to visit.
Our turn before the "real" start of climbing was at a three-way stop. Notice how it is signed. Behind it is another sign denoting the 1.5-meter passing clearance for cyclists.
Soon after our descent, traffic started picking up. We were now getting pretty close to Ottawa, and there was still only the one way to get there . . . Route 307. And there was no shoulder to speak of. As long as there was no oncoming traffic, cars gave us lots of room when they passed. Unfortunately, as the volume of oncoming traffic increased, so did the poor judgment of the passing cars, some of whom were now gunning it to get around us and still get back into their lane before oncoming traffic arrived. Two particularly aggressive drivers were a bit unlucky, as the oncoming car was a police officer. He wasn't pleased, turned on his lights, did a U-turn, and chased the miscreants down. Two miles down the road, I passed him as he was writing them up. The law in Canada is 1.5 meters . . . about five feet, which essentially means you need to be half in the next lane to pass properly. I would have loved to stop and talk but chose to just pedal through.
From that incident on till our next turn, about eight or nine miles, traffic just got heavier and heavier. And the scenery changed with more and more evidence of human intervention . . . but also some interesting rock formations.
We finally turned off Route 307, thinking it would be a fairly easy ride from there into Ottawa. And it was, for the most part. There was just one longish unpaved section of roadway that was under construction, and then some travels through mostly residential neighborhoods and their bike trails. Finally, we were close enough to the city to experience real bike infrastructure all the way to our hotel. Ottawa is not Montréal in that respect, but it isn't far behind either.
An unpaved section of Chemin Sainte-Élisabeth, which seemed to go on forever.
To cross the Gatineau River, we used the old railroad bridge with an added-on bike trail . . . but then I saw that the deck was set up for vehicular traffic. So I'm not sure what this is all about . . .
And finally, the crossing of the Ottawa River on the Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge, a former railroad bridge converted to vehicular use . . . with a nice bikeway attached!
We are staying at the Ottawa Rideau Residence, which is operated by the University of Ottawa. I'm not sure what the arrangements are, but in July, we were in. And it was very convenient to downtown and all the sights. We will be here for two days, not counting our arrival, and the price was right!
