Ontario Stats!

Ontario stats: 

-1893.4 km of cycling

-114.75 km/ day on days cycled

-mom and dad visited!

-dad did 200 km

-Canada's worst highways

-1 full after bite container

-2 cans of bug spray

-2040 songs listened to + one 7 hr audio book

-2 cans of sunscreen

-2 sunglasses

-1 book

-1.5 days off 

-18 days total 

Interesting facts: 

-Ojibwa legend states that when the daughter of an Ojibwa chief heard of an imminent attack from a Sioux tribe she pretended to be lost and purposely stumbled into the incoming tribe. She bargained for her life saying she would lead them to her camp in exchange for them not killing her. She was placed at the front of the canoe and led it over the falls sacrificing herself in order to save her community.

-Lake Superior is the third largest fresh water lake in the world. This massive body of water seriously influences weather and climate in the area. You will feel cool breezes off of the lake before you see it. Locals claim that water from Lake Superior is potable. The surface area of Lake Superior is 82,413 kilometres, and it has an average depth of 147 meters.

-On November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank suddenly without any distress signals. All 29 crew members perished. Legend states that Lake Superior seldom gives up its dead. Bacteria normally feed on a sunken decaying body creating gas that makes the body buoyant after about a week. The lake’s cold water inhibits bacteria growth causing bodies to sink to the bottom and never resurface.

-White River is famous for being the birthplace of Winnie the Pooh. In 1914, troops from Winnipeg were being transported to eastern Canada for World War One. When the train stopped at White River, a lieutenant bought the small cub and named her Winnipeg for his hometown. The bear traveled with the brigade to Britain until they headed to battle in France. Winnie was sent to the London Zoo, where he became the inspiration of author A.A. Milne who penned the now world-famous Winnie the Pooh stories. 

The name Espanola (outside Sudbury) is attributed to a story about an Ojibwa tribe raiding a village far to the south and returning with a white woman who spoke Spanish. She married a chief and taught her children to speak Spanish. When French Voyageurs came to the area they heard some of the people speaking Spanish and remarked, “Espagnole.” It was later anglicized to become Espanola. The name was also given to the river in the area. Espanola is largely a forestry town. Camping is available in Espanola at Lake Aspey Resort, just south of town.

In 1855, Bytown was given the name Ottawa after the resident Odawa First Nations People. In 1857, Queen Victoria was asked to choose a common capital for the Province of Canada. Surprisingly, she chose Ottawa which was at the time a logging town. It was far from Upper Canada’s major centres of Québec City and Montréal as well as distant from Lower Canada’s major centres of Kingston and Toronto. This made Ottawa a compromise between the two sections of Canada. Also, Ottawa was surrounded by dense forest making it hard to attack over land, while the Ottawa River and Rideau Canal eased transport to both the east and west. In 1858, the Queen officially named Ottawa the capital of Canada.

Day 50: 0km

June 25, 2012

Kanata - Ottawa

Today mom and I left Sandy and Naveens, and drove in from Kanata to Ottawa to sight see. 

My bike got all fixed up and prettied at Kunstadt Sports in Kanata, who gave me the biggest deal of my LIFE! Such incredible people there!!! I got a new chain and back gear cassette because I had stretched my chain a bit. It was amazing the deal I got, and I only paid for parts!!! And it was done early!

Mom and I toured Ottawa and the parliament buildings. We thoroughly enjoyed the day even with the rain and the sushi food poisoning at the Sushi Shop on Sparks St. 

  

We had a little sit down in a very fancy hotel (Fairmont hotel) and I had a lot of fun with their spinning doors. People weren't impressed but the valet guy seemed to find it entertaining!

Then, Mom and I walked around the market and stopped in this funky little store and chatted up the sales girl there for a while. She was awesome. Such an amazing personality. She's a history student in Ottawa, and she helped me get Conors grad gift and suggested where we stay the night. Then mom and I stopped at a little bakery in the market place for some poppyseed bread and headed to our place for the night.

  

At the market...it's a booba!

 

Mom didn't understand "wait, I have something in my teeth"

Where she had suggested was the Ottawa Jail. No joke. Mom and I spent the night in jail! The old Ottawa jail, which was an actual jail (Carlton County gaol) from 1862-1972. They converted this old jail into an international hostel! It is so cool! It is supposedly haunted, because it was known as the most brutal jail in Canada, and though there were only 3 recorded hangings, over 100 bodies were found underground with their necks snapped! No one really knows what happened in this place... Freaky!!! This was also the place of Canada's last hanging.

Mom and I ran around the place and took pictures. Then we went out for a lovely dinner at Mojis and drove around Ottawa. It was so much fun! Then after dinner we walked around in the basement of the jail where the convicted would be led in via a tunnel from the court house. So scary!!!!!! We were creeped out so we ran back upstairs!! So much fun!!! I'm sad to see mom leave tomorrow we have had a lot of fun together. She hopes to come back out soon though!!!!

 ANNIE!

 

The cells were tiny!

 

Where the last hanging took place

 

We gave this guy (and his cat) our leftover pasta

Day 49: 44.52 km

June 24, 2012

Arnprior - Kanata

Today was a truly enjoyable day. But this morning I was absolutely sick of this trip. I was sick of the bumps and cracks in the roads, and the terrible highways, and the angry drivers, and my bike. I need a day off. 

We biked on quiet side roads to Kanata, Ontario to meet up with my moms cousin, Naveen and his family. The ride was quiet and beautiful. I did figure out however that my headaches at night that have been happening lately are caused by the super bumpy roads. Even the tiniest crack on the road is a bump for a bike. My head and neck are constantly getting rattled! But Quebec highways are rated the second best in the country so I'm excited for that! Today was not too hot, and was threatening to storm but it didn't until the night. We biked right to a bike shop in Kanata and I dropped off my bike just to get the chain cleaned and everything just a bit tuned up.

Then mom and I drove to Naveens, and we spent a few hours sitting in the kitchen catching up while the boys showed us absolutely every toy they owned. It was so much fun. Then we went to the Swiss chalet for dinner because I had never been there and I wanted to try it! After dinner we went back and sat and chatted until 11:30pm! It was so good to catch up with them.

 Cutest kids!

 One of their pugs, his tongue is too long to fit in his mouth ahhaha

This evening I bought a Quebec map! It was so exciting!!! 18 days later I am in the next province!!!! Tomorrow we have a few things to do in Ottawa and we want to go see Parliament hill, so we are going to start from where ever we end off our errands and then continue on. Kanata is only about 30 km from Ottawa so it's not too bad.

Day 48: 77.43km

June 23, 2012

Stonecliffe - Arnprior

Today was an interesting day. We spent the whole day across the river from Quebec. We started with a good shoulder out of Stonecliffe and knocked off a bunch of towns in a row, Mackey, Rolfton, and then Deep river. We stopped at Deep river at the Laurentien dairy place for lunch and giant milkshakes! It was delicious.

We kept trucking to Petawawa, and then the trouble started. After I had turned past the Petawawa exit the shoulder went from a foot wide to a foot wide with a rumble strip. So I had 3 inches to bike on. Then it got rid of the rumble strip and there was only 3 inches! Cars started being irritated with me being there. I got honked at and fists shaken at me. Three cars tried to push me off the road. I have gotten use to cars being right beside me, but these two cars and one semi went right beside me and then swerved so they were right in front of me and kept going. A little too close for comfort. The semi swerved so much that it had two tires in the gravel shoulder and it kicked up stones at me. 

 

The non-existent shoulder on Hwy 17

Mom pulled the plug. She made me get in the car. She was pretty proud of her risk assessment. She thought Deb and Trev would be very proud of her. We had dad on the phone as he searched for another path for us, and I was searching as well. Mom and I zigged and zagged north and south to find a good highway to bike on. Our expectations weren't high (I mean we are still in Ontario) but we needed something safe at least on one level.

 

Pembrooke

We found a path and I biked for a bit on highway 4, which ran parallel to Highway 17. Highway 4 was good but it had no shoulders, but it was ok because you could see quite far ahead. People could pass mom and I safely at least. 

 

We went right past this little gas station and we stopped to get ice cream. At this gas station a few people told us that there was a huge hill coming up. At first how they said it bugged me and i was like "ill be fine" but then enough was mentioned about this giant hill that i began to worry. This one lady was like "pfft, have fun on story book hill". Then as I biked I got nervous for it. Next thing you know I was at the top of the hill and hardly realized it! I thought it was just the beginning of the giant hill, but it was actually this tiny little hill. Its crazy how things are interpreted by perception. Highway 4 turns at highway 1 and that would take us 30 km to Arnprior. This road had no shoulder either but the lines of sight were non-existent. We had to pack it in again because people were driving so fast without seeing what was around the next corner, and I was in their lane since there was no shoulder.

 

Petawawa

It is so frustrating that I had to get in the car today. It's frustrating because tons of people do this trip! And I don't understand how they do. Today was scary and plain rude from those people. And yes, I realize that there have been fatal incidents and when I have the car I should be safe and do a proper risk assessment but I don't understand how all these people get through that without a vehicle escape. It's hard to let that one go.

Anyway, when we got into Arnprior mom and I got a room at the Quality Inn and then went to the movie Brave. It was so good!! One of my favorites! Then we had a nice early night. In the end it was good. I'm alive, and in bed. But I feel like I cheated more today than ever. I've been looking at peoples blogs who have biked this trip to find out what they did but so many blogs are the end result and stats. So I'll have to keep searching. 

 

Dinner at East Side Mario's