a girls only bike adventure

With panniers filled with camping gear, warm clothes and food, my girlfriend and I set off last Friday on bikes, excited to be on our first cycle tour for the year. Our goal was to spend three days cycling 200km from Montreal to Ottawa along part of the route verte which followed the St. Lawrence river the whole way.

It was exhilarating to be on the road again; to feel my muscles working hard; to challenge the limits of my physical body after a long slow winter of stillness…

Sunshine and laughter filled the first day as we cycled through the quiet suburbs of Laval, past the biggest and craziest sculpture garden I’ve ever seen, through small villages (once, just as the church bells rang for midday!!), and then paused for a picnic along the shorelines of the Saint Lawrence overlooking houses perched on small islands accessible by boat only.

After filling our bellies we continued cycling through bright green forests, across the wetlands towards Park d’Oka, up some small foothills and down into the river-side village of Sainte Placide.

At dusk, hundreds of wild Canadian geese took to the skies while we set up camp in a small park looking over the river. Ah! to be living out of panniers again… life doesn’t get much more simple…

The beauty of the location was only slightly dampened by our nervousness that we were camped in the middle of the town. We bedded down with our fingers crossed that the local youngsters had better things to do with their friday evening than to harass two cyclists camped in a public park. We needn’t have worried though and we awoke to the beautiful sounds of the geese honking their way back across the skies from where ever they had slept the night.

Above the geese, however, dark clouds teased us with drops of rain as we hastily made breakfast hoping to make some headway on our bikes before the rain hit hard.

The forecast had predicted rain for most of the trip so we were prepared for the worst. Well, mostly. Our gear kept us warm albeit our feet. Neither of us had thought to bring waterproof shells for our shoes. So our adhoc solution to cold, wet, numb feet was to stop every few hours, replace our soggy socks with fresh ones and warm our feet in public/cafe washrooms. Eventually we stuffed our feet into plastic bags to stop the rain from drenching our socks.

Despite the rain, I found the terrain to be gorgeous. Being spring, the forest trees and undergrowth were bright green, while lilacs and other flowers lined the main roads of the villages. If only I had a waterproof camera to share these wonders with you, my friends!

About 7 km out from the national park where I’d been hoping to camp that night, we met a group of locals in a restaurant where we’d pulled over to pee. After being showered with free coffee and free fried chicken (eww!! But what? I was supposed to reject a beautiful gesture of love? Rude…), one of the women insisted we stay in her spare room for the night. I was disappointed about not camping in the national park (especially after seeing it the next day), but as it was predicted snow and my cycling mate didn’t want to camp in snow, I settled for the delicious luxury of a warm shower and bed.

The woman was ecstatic about the idea of ‘rescuing’ us from the ‘danger’ of our adventure. (I’m always amused by how people so often view outdoor activity – regardless of its intensity – as dangerous!) She shared her story with us and we had great fun playing with her miniature poodle. A pleasant evening, for sure!

Though it didn’t snow overnight, we set off the next day peering nervously up at the sky wondering whether we’d be snowed upon at some point during the day. And ah, yep, we were. Well, not much though. It snowed a little in small drifts. I actually prefered it to cycling in the rain because it didn’t soak my shoes…

Probably more challenging than the snow was the head wind that followed, which pushed against us for almost the entire 70km we cycled that day. It was a tough cycle, that’s for sure. The kind where you’re in your middle gear and pedaling hard despite going along a flat road. At times, the wind pushed us sideways threatening to blow us into the oncoming traffic.

Luckily, the beauty of the farm fields, Canadian geese and river was enough to distract me from the physical challenges imposed by the wind. The surroundings were simply magnificent. And being in extreme weather made me feel so alive and invigorated. It’s one of the reasons I love cycling: learning to view different extremes of the weather in a positive light. To embrace it. To be one with it.

Next time, however, I’m going to take waterproof shells. Having wet feet could easily have been prevented with the correct gear. Numb feet could have been extremely dangerous on a more remote route (ie. without public washrooms + cafe to warm them!) leading to hypothermia or frostbite if not monitored closely.

We arrived in Ottawa (after a hideous jaunt through the never-ending sprawl of Gattineau) with time to enjoy a scrumptious vegan dinner with our hosts before rushing off to farewell the 19 tour members of Otesha Canada’s current 8-week bike tour of Ontario. A huge feat compared to our three-day adventure!!

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