"There are nine million bicycles in Beijing...."
- Katie Melua
Ivy Lea – Ottawa
Day 50 – 145kms + 15 (+15)
I slept remarkably well given that I slept on the floor in a small, stuffy hotel room with three snoring men..! We woke to the sound of Andrew’s alarm going off at 5:45am, stretched our sore legs and slowly got ready. The night had been far too short - I still had ‘Back in the USSR’ going through my head and was pretty sure that Ian and Andrew were nursing minor hangovers – although they’d never admit it..! It was tough to get up and get going. There was a sense of urgency as we had yet to cycle the 15kms that we should have cycled yesterday to get to the Ivy Lea campground. Andrew was adamant that we do it asap so that we would be there to take down our tents (in the event that people put up our tents yesterday). Not surprising (I guess, true to my usual form) I was keen to relax, chill out a bit, take it easy, have a stop at Tim Hortons, prolong the ‘field trip’ as long as possible and THEN make our way over to the campground to pick up our map. Today were were due to head to Ottawa – The Capital City of Canada…!!
I was not in a rush as I was working on the assumption that if people had been kind enough to put up our tents last night (and we didn’t show) then they would logically take them down as well (because we weren’t around)…. Andrew didn’t agree with the principle behind my logic and argued that we should be there to take the tent down even if they put it up for us (working on the assumption that they put up our tents in the cold, mud and pouring rain to begin with..?!). I was 99.9% positive that no one had bothered to put up our tents so questioned, perhaps rather selfishly on hindsight, ‘Why rush??’
Andrew got very stressed over the .01% and this began a rift between us for the next 15kms which then lasted throughout day (clearly we are both Taureans)... not the first and not the last falling out but perhaps the most significant falling out so far. Again, on hindsight (funny how hindsight provides such clarity of vision), I should have listened to Andrew because his attitude was more ‘team oriented’ than mine and perhaps on hindsight we (I) should have approached the situation a bit better and a bit more empathetically. I was feeling rather diva-esque (some may call it bitchy and selfish) and wouldn’t hear any of it… and as a result, pouted quietly and in silence with lots of sighs. A mood which seemed to last throughout the day.
We found a Tim Hortons just outside of Ganoque and I happily sipped my coffee, ate my breakfast sandwich and ate 3 honey cruller donuts. I was rushed through my last donut though and had to quick start the digestive process to follow Andrew, Ian and Dennis out the swinging glass door to cycle the 15 kms to the Ivy Lea campground to collect our map and take down our tent (ah-hem…).
We had to get to the Ivy Lea campground before the Galley Crew finished cleaning up. The 15 kms should have taken us about 30 minutes given the gentle rolling hill terrain from Ganoque through to Ivy Lea and the fabulous weather conditions. The weather had completely cleared up over night and the dawn revealed blue skies – but rain was in the forecast (as usual we are starting to learn..!) It was a lovely cycle into Ivy Lea – a bit hilly and we had a few problems finding the campground and ended up in the town of Ivy Lea (very pretty!) where we were told that we’d gone too far and had to backtrack.
What a blessing our decision had been to spend the evening in the hotel in Ganoque… The campground in Ivy Lea was a one gigantic sticky, brown toffee-like mud puddle – the campsite where the tents had been had obviously been in a ‘depression’ as the water had collected to create a giant pool. A few members of the team were still straggling (eg. slipping and sliding) about. The morale was low and puddles and thick, sticky mud surrounded the truck. Meaghan was sloshing around in her crocs. The campground itself wasn’t especially nice– in the middle of nowhere and there were more RV’s then tents which meant that the washrooms were a bit of a hike from the campsite. This made the previous day’s side-trip into Ganoque and our fun evening out even more enjoyable.
Not surprising, our tents were never put up (Meaghan had already assumed that we’d spend the night in Ganoque and didn’t even consider putting the tents up as she knows my extreme dislike for the rain..) I didn’t rub it in with Andrew even though I was very tempted to… Instead I smiled smugly in his direction which didn’t go down very well. I could tell he was annoye
d with me by his brisk tone.
We helped to load the truck and picked up a map for the 145kms which lay ahead before turning on to the 1000 Islands Parkway and in the direction of Rockport. We cycled in silence for most of the morning – the weather was beautiful and the terrain was mostly rolling. There were few services along the way. We stayed on fairly smooth and well paved country roads for most of the time but after about 40kms we turned off of County Road 2 and onto a dirt road which cut into the small town of Lyn. We stopped in Lyn and had a snack in the only store in town – a giant white ‘house’ that served as the grocery store, post office, and local town gossip hotspot. The only thing it lacked (much to my dismay) was a public washroom (or any washroom apparently for that matter). Because I hadn’t had my usual 5-pancake breakfast I was starving and ate 6 butter tarts … and a large iced tea. At the General Store we met up with Tak, Laura, Wing and Dennis and chatted with them while sitting in the sun devouring our snacks. It was a chilled out and relaxing atmosphere but we still had 100kms left to cycle that day..! I showed off my lovely Canada socks which I’d decide to sport that day to mark our cycle into the Capital City of Canada..!
Soon after leaving the shop I could feel my bladder was about to explode. I peddled frantically looking to my left and then to my right and then to my left again for any sign of a cornfield or a large tree but the road was lined on both sides by a fence which separated the road and a grassy shoulder from the forests and the fields. I shared my ‘cornfield stop need’ with Andrew,
Wing, Denis and Ian who all began to look out for me… pointing at saplings (far too small!!) and cornfields behind fences that I’d have to scale to reach them… Men are so incredibly lucky to just be able to get off their bikes (or not) and go!!!
I kept thinking… ‘maybe one more kilometre… I can make it just one more kilometre…’ I managed to distract myself for about 20kms when I could stand it no longer and was just about to pull over when…like a miracle from the Gods of Bladder Control, the Merrickville sign was a dream come true…
There was a giant old fashioned ‘English style pub’ in the centre of the lovely town. It was like mirage and I was sooo relieved (not literally!!). I leapt off my bike and ran inside where nearly EVERYONE was sitting and eating and enjoying their early afternoon lunches (burgers, giant bowls of pasta, pizzas… club sandwiches..). I would have loved to stop as had the feeling that we’d done nothing but rush all morning but felt pressurised to continue on. But, my moodiness was a clear indication that I was hungry again and needed a proper meal. This was not in line with Andrew mission to get to Ottawa at a reasonable hour so that we could get settled in and have a look around the city – go out for a meal and grab a few beers.
I was more concerned with enjoying the ‘here and now’ rather than rushing to get to a cold beer in a bar in the evening… so again, we had a bit of a difference of opinion which did not help to mend the rift that we had that day. So, rather than staying at the lovely pub I used the facilities, said a quick ‘hello’ to everyone enjoying their
lunch and then hopped back on my bike to join Andrew, Ian and Wing on our mad rush to get into Ottawa.
Things were going relatively well (good weather, good roads…) but at kilometre 86 Andrew told me to keep my eyes out for Malakoff Road as we were overdue to take a left turn. We cycled, and cycled and Malakoff Road did not appear… We stopped and consulted our map which said that the road should have been about 5kms back. We were certain that we’d not yet passed it as also met up with Jan and Rick who were also searching for the road…. Then we saw Lani who was also looking for the road. Andrew pulled off and asked some builders who told us that we hadn’t reached said road yet and should continue down another 5kms. By this stage we were 10 kms past where the illusive road should have been BUT there was still no sign of the road…. Soooo frustrating.
It was the icing on the cake for Andrew who was definitely not in a good mood and my pouting and silent complaining wasn’t helping matters much. We stopped again and asked for directions at another house and were finally directed in the direction of Malakoff road… It turned out to be 15kms past where it should have been which threw the entire map out of context as we were left to second guess where each turn off was or add 15kms to all the directions on the map. A day which should have been 145kms was now 160kms plus the extra 15 we’d done that morning from Ganoque to Ivy Lea. Groan.
There was a fund-raising bike trip on the infamous Malakoff Road to raise money for MS and the cyclists were all going in the opposite direction to us so I passed the time by waving to every cyclist who came along our path. It was a huge event and there must have been about 100 cyclists (or more!) that we passed.
We turned right onto Roger Stevens Road and passed through the lovely small town of North Gower. By this point it was about 2:30 and I was soooooooooooooooooo hungry. And I was in a very, very, very bad mood. The further we went, the hungrier I got and the more I sunk into my ‘emotional rut’. I wanted to stop as we hadn’t stopped for a proper rest since our morning stop about 70kms back… I was annoyed as there was no reason to be in such a rush and would have loved to stop in one of the small towns, rest my legs, put on sunscreen, grab some food and enjoy the gorgeous weather. Unfortunately by the time we decided that everyone was hungry (not just me) it was too late and we couldn’t find a restaurant or a convenience store..! Plus, the map was still out of sync with our odometers and everyone seemed to be tired and agitated.
I am very, very relieved that tomorrow is a rest day as have decided that I needed some space to myself and a good nights sleep…. As much as I love cycling with everyone and never ever forget what an incredible experience this truly is, I do feel that I need some ‘Heather time’, away from the bikes, the lycra, the helmets, and the fluorescent reflective clothing. Some time to think and try to get some sense of what ‘normal’ life is like. I started to dwell on my ‘life in London’ and some things I’d left behind back in Amsterdam. I thought about friends and family and wondered what they were doing. I don’t think that this is an ‘unnatural feeling’ and I am surprised that it’s taken this many days for this feeling to sink in. Having said that, I count my blessings every single day and genu
inely do realise how incredibly fortunate I am to have this fantastic experience.
The road conditions deteriorated and the even pavement turned ‘segment bumpy’ and helped to shake me up a bit and break my daydreaming. When the road cracks due to weathering, poor quality asphalt etc. the local Road Works Department ‘repairs’ the road by filling the long (up to 3 feet), horizontal, 3cm-wide cracks with lines of gooey black tar… if your wheel gets stuck into the ‘rut’ created by the tar then you sometimes get ‘pulled’ along the crack and can easily lose control and balance. When the cracks run laterally across the road it’s also annoying as you have a ‘thump’ against your wheel ever 3 or 4 feet. We had about 15kms of this and my patience was wearing thin. I knew that my bad mood was 100% associated with my lack of food but it was at the point where we just had an hour to go until we reached Ottawa so I didn’t want to waste time eating – I just wanted to get there. I am sure that Wing, Andrew, and Ian felt the same.
The ride into Ottawa was incredibly confusing and we ended up getting lost just outside of Manotick. We cycled to the outskirts of Ottawa and stopped a local cyclist to ask him for directions. The roads zigzagged all over the place and it was hard to understand the directions as they were all ‘off’ because of the extra 15kms that we’d cycled earlier that day looking for Makakoff Road. The traffic was fairly aggressive. Having said that, it felt good knowing that we were nearing ‘civilization’ and that soon I could stop and get off my bike and have a short nap in the Carlton University Residences where we were spending the evening and the following Rest Day.
I was mentally and physically exhausted and really needed space. We cycled into Ottawa’s downtown core and along the Rideau River. When the Carlton University sign appeared I was INCREDIBLY relieved.
Not surprising (due to our lack of stopping for lunch), we were the first to arrive in Ottawa….
Ottawa is at the junction of the Ottawa, Rideau and Getineau Rivers. It was originally called Bytown and the rivers provided transportation for the lumber trade that was the mainstay of the economy. The Rideau Canal was built as a military project after the 1812 war because of fears that the US Navy would control Lake Ontario. It was never used for that purpose and is now a wonderful recreational waterway.
We checked into our residences at the University and unloaded my stuff from the truck. My tent was still wet from the dew we had in Carrying Place two days ago. My clothes were also wet and everything was disorganised. I grabbed my stuff and checked into my room which I was sharing with Carmen. I was so tired and it felt fantastic to lay on my bed and close my eyes.
The Carlton University residences are quite nice – our room was fairly big with super comfortable and we even had fresh towels and new soap!!! What a treat..! The Olympics were on that night and pizza was on the menu for dinner. It was SUCH a treat.
Andrew and I avoided each other (or rather, I avoided him) for most of the evening – although he did kindly offer me the last piece of pizza…. I know that he was annoyed with me and that I didn’t adopt his ‘team attitude’ relating to the tents (tent-gate?). I have to learn to be less stubborn and when I get into these moods I need to ‘shake myself out of them’ and get on with things. Lots to learn on this trip!!
The boys went out and I decided to do my laundry, have a quiet night in and go to bed early in the hope that my mood would improve with a good nights sleep..! It took me a whole of 20 seconds from closing my eyes to be fast asleep.
- Katie Melua
Ivy Lea – Ottawa
Day 50 – 145kms + 15 (+15)
I slept remarkably well given that I slept on the floor in a small, stuffy hotel room with three snoring men..! We woke to the sound of Andrew’s alarm going off at 5:45am, stretched our sore legs and slowly got ready. The night had been far too short - I still had ‘Back in the USSR’ going through my head and was pretty sure that Ian and Andrew were nursing minor hangovers – although they’d never admit it..! It was tough to get up and get going. There was a sense of urgency as we had yet to cycle the 15kms that we should have cycled yesterday to get to the Ivy Lea campground. Andrew was adamant that we do it asap so that we would be there to take down our tents (in the event that people put up our tents yesterday). Not surprising (I guess, true to my usual form) I was keen to relax, chill out a bit, take it easy, have a stop at Tim Hortons, prolong the ‘field trip’ as long as possible and THEN make our way over to the campground to pick up our map. Today were were due to head to Ottawa – The Capital City of Canada…!!
I was not in a rush as I was working on the assumption that if people had been kind enough to put up our tents last night (and we didn’t show) then they would logically take them down as well (because we weren’t around)…. Andrew didn’t agree with the principle behind my logic and argued that we should be there to take the tent down even if they put it up for us (working on the assumption that they put up our tents in the cold, mud and pouring rain to begin with..?!). I was 99.9% positive that no one had bothered to put up our tents so questioned, perhaps rather selfishly on hindsight, ‘Why rush??’
Andrew got very stressed over the .01% and this began a rift between us for the next 15kms which then lasted throughout day (clearly we are both Taureans)... not the first and not the last falling out but perhaps the most significant falling out so far. Again, on hindsight (funny how hindsight provides such clarity of vision), I should have listened to Andrew because his attitude was more ‘team oriented’ than mine and perhaps on hindsight we (I) should have approached the situation a bit better and a bit more empathetically. I was feeling rather diva-esque (some may call it bitchy and selfish) and wouldn’t hear any of it… and as a result, pouted quietly and in silence with lots of sighs. A mood which seemed to last throughout the day.
We found a Tim Hortons just outside of Ganoque and I happily sipped my coffee, ate my breakfast sandwich and ate 3 honey cruller donuts. I was rushed through my last donut though and had to quick start the digestive process to follow Andrew, Ian and Dennis out the swinging glass door to cycle the 15 kms to the Ivy Lea campground to collect our map and take down our tent (ah-hem…).
We had to get to the Ivy Lea campground before the Galley Crew finished cleaning up. The 15 kms should have taken us about 30 minutes given the gentle rolling hill terrain from Ganoque through to Ivy Lea and the fabulous weather conditions. The weather had completely cleared up over night and the dawn revealed blue skies – but rain was in the forecast (as usual we are starting to learn..!) It was a lovely cycle into Ivy Lea – a bit hilly and we had a few problems finding the campground and ended up in the town of Ivy Lea (very pretty!) where we were told that we’d gone too far and had to backtrack.
What a blessing our decision had been to spend the evening in the hotel in Ganoque… The campground in Ivy Lea was a one gigantic sticky, brown toffee-like mud puddle – the campsite where the tents had been had obviously been in a ‘depression’ as the water had collected to create a giant pool. A few members of the team were still straggling (eg. slipping and sliding) about. The morale was low and puddles and thick, sticky mud surrounded the truck. Meaghan was sloshing around in her crocs. The campground itself wasn’t especially nice– in the middle of nowhere and there were more RV’s then tents which meant that the washrooms were a bit of a hike from the campsite. This made the previous day’s side-trip into Ganoque and our fun evening out even more enjoyable.
Not surprising, our tents were never put up (Meaghan had already assumed that we’d spend the night in Ganoque and didn’t even consider putting the tents up as she knows my extreme dislike for the rain..) I didn’t rub it in with Andrew even though I was very tempted to… Instead I smiled smugly in his direction which didn’t go down very well. I could tell he was annoye
d with me by his brisk tone.We helped to load the truck and picked up a map for the 145kms which lay ahead before turning on to the 1000 Islands Parkway and in the direction of Rockport. We cycled in silence for most of the morning – the weather was beautiful and the terrain was mostly rolling. There were few services along the way. We stayed on fairly smooth and well paved country roads for most of the time but after about 40kms we turned off of County Road 2 and onto a dirt road which cut into the small town of Lyn. We stopped in Lyn and had a snack in the only store in town – a giant white ‘house’ that served as the grocery store, post office, and local town gossip hotspot. The only thing it lacked (much to my dismay) was a public washroom (or any washroom apparently for that matter). Because I hadn’t had my usual 5-pancake breakfast I was starving and ate 6 butter tarts … and a large iced tea. At the General Store we met up with Tak, Laura, Wing and Dennis and chatted with them while sitting in the sun devouring our snacks. It was a chilled out and relaxing atmosphere but we still had 100kms left to cycle that day..! I showed off my lovely Canada socks which I’d decide to sport that day to mark our cycle into the Capital City of Canada..!
Soon after leaving the shop I could feel my bladder was about to explode. I peddled frantically looking to my left and then to my right and then to my left again for any sign of a cornfield or a large tree but the road was lined on both sides by a fence which separated the road and a grassy shoulder from the forests and the fields. I shared my ‘cornfield stop need’ with Andrew,
Wing, Denis and Ian who all began to look out for me… pointing at saplings (far too small!!) and cornfields behind fences that I’d have to scale to reach them… Men are so incredibly lucky to just be able to get off their bikes (or not) and go!!!I kept thinking… ‘maybe one more kilometre… I can make it just one more kilometre…’ I managed to distract myself for about 20kms when I could stand it no longer and was just about to pull over when…like a miracle from the Gods of Bladder Control, the Merrickville sign was a dream come true…
There was a giant old fashioned ‘English style pub’ in the centre of the lovely town. It was like mirage and I was sooo relieved (not literally!!). I leapt off my bike and ran inside where nearly EVERYONE was sitting and eating and enjoying their early afternoon lunches (burgers, giant bowls of pasta, pizzas… club sandwiches..). I would have loved to stop as had the feeling that we’d done nothing but rush all morning but felt pressurised to continue on. But, my moodiness was a clear indication that I was hungry again and needed a proper meal. This was not in line with Andrew mission to get to Ottawa at a reasonable hour so that we could get settled in and have a look around the city – go out for a meal and grab a few beers.
I was more concerned with enjoying the ‘here and now’ rather than rushing to get to a cold beer in a bar in the evening… so again, we had a bit of a difference of opinion which did not help to mend the rift that we had that day. So, rather than staying at the lovely pub I used the facilities, said a quick ‘hello’ to everyone enjoying their
lunch and then hopped back on my bike to join Andrew, Ian and Wing on our mad rush to get into Ottawa.Things were going relatively well (good weather, good roads…) but at kilometre 86 Andrew told me to keep my eyes out for Malakoff Road as we were overdue to take a left turn. We cycled, and cycled and Malakoff Road did not appear… We stopped and consulted our map which said that the road should have been about 5kms back. We were certain that we’d not yet passed it as also met up with Jan and Rick who were also searching for the road…. Then we saw Lani who was also looking for the road. Andrew pulled off and asked some builders who told us that we hadn’t reached said road yet and should continue down another 5kms. By this stage we were 10 kms past where the illusive road should have been BUT there was still no sign of the road…. Soooo frustrating.
It was the icing on the cake for Andrew who was definitely not in a good mood and my pouting and silent complaining wasn’t helping matters much. We stopped again and asked for directions at another house and were finally directed in the direction of Malakoff road… It turned out to be 15kms past where it should have been which threw the entire map out of context as we were left to second guess where each turn off was or add 15kms to all the directions on the map. A day which should have been 145kms was now 160kms plus the extra 15 we’d done that morning from Ganoque to Ivy Lea. Groan.
There was a fund-raising bike trip on the infamous Malakoff Road to raise money for MS and the cyclists were all going in the opposite direction to us so I passed the time by waving to every cyclist who came along our path. It was a huge event and there must have been about 100 cyclists (or more!) that we passed.
We turned right onto Roger Stevens Road and passed through the lovely small town of North Gower. By this point it was about 2:30 and I was soooooooooooooooooo hungry. And I was in a very, very, very bad mood. The further we went, the hungrier I got and the more I sunk into my ‘emotional rut’. I wanted to stop as we hadn’t stopped for a proper rest since our morning stop about 70kms back… I was annoyed as there was no reason to be in such a rush and would have loved to stop in one of the small towns, rest my legs, put on sunscreen, grab some food and enjoy the gorgeous weather. Unfortunately by the time we decided that everyone was hungry (not just me) it was too late and we couldn’t find a restaurant or a convenience store..! Plus, the map was still out of sync with our odometers and everyone seemed to be tired and agitated.
I am very, very relieved that tomorrow is a rest day as have decided that I needed some space to myself and a good nights sleep…. As much as I love cycling with everyone and never ever forget what an incredible experience this truly is, I do feel that I need some ‘Heather time’, away from the bikes, the lycra, the helmets, and the fluorescent reflective clothing. Some time to think and try to get some sense of what ‘normal’ life is like. I started to dwell on my ‘life in London’ and some things I’d left behind back in Amsterdam. I thought about friends and family and wondered what they were doing. I don’t think that this is an ‘unnatural feeling’ and I am surprised that it’s taken this many days for this feeling to sink in. Having said that, I count my blessings every single day and genu
inely do realise how incredibly fortunate I am to have this fantastic experience.The road conditions deteriorated and the even pavement turned ‘segment bumpy’ and helped to shake me up a bit and break my daydreaming. When the road cracks due to weathering, poor quality asphalt etc. the local Road Works Department ‘repairs’ the road by filling the long (up to 3 feet), horizontal, 3cm-wide cracks with lines of gooey black tar… if your wheel gets stuck into the ‘rut’ created by the tar then you sometimes get ‘pulled’ along the crack and can easily lose control and balance. When the cracks run laterally across the road it’s also annoying as you have a ‘thump’ against your wheel ever 3 or 4 feet. We had about 15kms of this and my patience was wearing thin. I knew that my bad mood was 100% associated with my lack of food but it was at the point where we just had an hour to go until we reached Ottawa so I didn’t want to waste time eating – I just wanted to get there. I am sure that Wing, Andrew, and Ian felt the same.
The ride into Ottawa was incredibly confusing and we ended up getting lost just outside of Manotick. We cycled to the outskirts of Ottawa and stopped a local cyclist to ask him for directions. The roads zigzagged all over the place and it was hard to understand the directions as they were all ‘off’ because of the extra 15kms that we’d cycled earlier that day looking for Makakoff Road. The traffic was fairly aggressive. Having said that, it felt good knowing that we were nearing ‘civilization’ and that soon I could stop and get off my bike and have a short nap in the Carlton University Residences where we were spending the evening and the following Rest Day.
I was mentally and physically exhausted and really needed space. We cycled into Ottawa’s downtown core and along the Rideau River. When the Carlton University sign appeared I was INCREDIBLY relieved.
Not surprising (due to our lack of stopping for lunch), we were the first to arrive in Ottawa….
Ottawa is at the junction of the Ottawa, Rideau and Getineau Rivers. It was originally called Bytown and the rivers provided transportation for the lumber trade that was the mainstay of the economy. The Rideau Canal was built as a military project after the 1812 war because of fears that the US Navy would control Lake Ontario. It was never used for that purpose and is now a wonderful recreational waterway.
We checked into our residences at the University and unloaded my stuff from the truck. My tent was still wet from the dew we had in Carrying Place two days ago. My clothes were also wet and everything was disorganised. I grabbed my stuff and checked into my room which I was sharing with Carmen. I was so tired and it felt fantastic to lay on my bed and close my eyes.
The Carlton University residences are quite nice – our room was fairly big with super comfortable and we even had fresh towels and new soap!!! What a treat..! The Olympics were on that night and pizza was on the menu for dinner. It was SUCH a treat.
Andrew and I avoided each other (or rather, I avoided him) for most of the evening – although he did kindly offer me the last piece of pizza…. I know that he was annoyed with me and that I didn’t adopt his ‘team attitude’ relating to the tents (tent-gate?). I have to learn to be less stubborn and when I get into these moods I need to ‘shake myself out of them’ and get on with things. Lots to learn on this trip!!
The boys went out and I decided to do my laundry, have a quiet night in and go to bed early in the hope that my mood would improve with a good nights sleep..! It took me a whole of 20 seconds from closing my eyes to be fast asleep.
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