Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
After pedaling in the heat today for nearly 45 miles, we have a brief ride of 18 tomorrow bringing the total to slightly over 300 miles. We have had a wonderful adventure with all the Canadians that we have met being kind and accommodating. So we leave the OVRT/Algonquin Trail with the following thoughts. The […]
For an uneventful albeit hot ride of 46 miles today, my mind wanders to the untended spaces next to bike trails that are often a cornucopia of wonderful and wild plants. The OVRT/Algonquin trial is no exception to this. While I can identify about half the plants I find, to discern the others I rely […]
We are looking forward to our lunch today at the Hexagon Restaurant in Deep River. A leisurely ride of 45 miles should be a piece of cake considering neither of us will be hauling our 20+ pounds of gear. It doesn’t turn out that way. Unlike prior mornings, today is windless, hot, and sunny. We […]
Our 46-mile ride started out as did yesterday: Overcast and cold. We’re expecting an ordinary pedal. We couldn’t have been more wrong as the day becomes progressively stranger. A superb breakfast at the Lochiel Street B&B in Renfrew prepares us for the ride as we enter the OVRT/Algonquin trail heading for Petawawa. Stopping over the […]
After biking 46 miles against the wind yesterday, the last thing that Ted and I want is another long day. But that is what we get with today’s 50-mile effort. Still, we are enjoying the ride and how our bodies are adapting to biking life. Leaving the MacNamara B&B, where Ted and I had a […]
Leaving Smiths Falls after a hearty breakfast, it takes us a while to get to the beginning of the Ottawa River Valley Trail (OVRT). We make an easy mistake, first entering a storage-unit property but soon find our way to the OVRT. The first thing we notice is that a myriad of wildflowers, the dominant […]
The start of Le Tour du Geezers is an uneventful and quick car drive of 400 miles. The skies clear as we traverse the Canadian border and the final 50 miles is through bucolic hay and corn fields. The rear of a caboose at the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario is where I will be […]
It is coming down in sheets so we need to delay the final leg of our travels. We finally get out of the motel a bit after 9 am and settle down for a great breakfast at Deb’s Place. We linger over our omelets as the rain picks up. Around 10:30 we are on the […]
It’s a beautiful clear day with not a cloud in the sky. I approach today with both excitement and trepidation as 61 miles will be our longest pedal so far with temps in the upper 80s. But I am leaving such thoughts in the background as the waitress at our hotel, Auberge Sutton Brouerie, brings […]
The church bell in St. Albans rings nine and we start our way to Canada on a cloudy and cool morning. This trip is only 38 miles so we should be able to handle it easily. It’s a quiet Sunday with only a few people walking the trail and even fewer cars on the roads […]