Day 63 - Kanata, Ont. to Hawkesbury, Ont.

July 15, 2026 (Wednesday)

Start time: 5:30 am 

Stop time: 2:00 pm 

KM Travelled: 136.1 km 

Elevation: +818/ - 867 m 

Special Stuff: Cooler weather, Biking = Wellness, French language

Around 10:00 pm last night, I woke up to a thunderstorm that poured down rain and seemed to cool everything off to a tolerable level again. I’m able to pack my bike up comfortably. I don’t know how I would have coped with the temperature staying as high as it was along with this added humidity. 

I’m ready to leave at 5:00 am, but it is too dark, so I wait until 5:30 am. I’m really excited to cross over into Quebec, but unfortunately, that will need to wait until tomorrow as we were unable to find a campground on the Quebec side. Locating campgrounds is a more difficult task than I thought it would be. Many of the camping apps either do not show existing campgrounds (I know because I pass a lot that are not listed), or they no longer exist. Tonight we get to ‘live the dream’ and enjoy a free camping stay in the Hawkesbury Walmart parking lot. It’s a ways off my bike route, but Brian can park there all day and set up his mobile office. 

At a really long stop light going into Ottawa, I get to chatting with another biker – a scrappy young fellow in his 20’s with lots of safety gear on. I comment on how I like his neon orange helmet brim (with the fabric flapping at the back). He says his employer gave it to him - he works at a very hot worksite in the ‘centre block’ of Ottawa. He bikes in to work every day – and loves it. He says his wife can’t believe how happy he is when he gets home from work. He says - “How can I not be happy when THIS is my commute!” I understand what he is talking about - biking is wellness, even on tough days. 

My bike route today starts by taking me through downtown Ottawa – the exact place that Brian and I were walking around as tourists two days ago. I’m glad that I visited the area with him as it makes our Ottawa visit a special memory. The downtown bike route has me going down a side street – where I cannot directly see the parliament buildings, and that’s okay – been there, done that. 

After Ottawa, my ride follows the Ontario side of the Ottawa River. I get to follow the Ottawa River Pathway for a big chunk of the day. Ottawa “pathways” by the way, are paved and gorgeous to ride on – nothing like the ‘pathways’ that I’ve experienced in rural and remote Ontario. 

My route has a lot of zigs and zags and I need to make many of stops to check that I am still on the right path...I had to course correct a couple times. I sometimes think it would be easier to take the longer route rather than stop so much. 

The terrain is farmland to the right, and big estate properties to the left (all riverfront properties). The properties are so big that you need farm machinery to mow your lawn (a bit of an exaggeration) - but they do require a lot of work to maintain! The farmland is a bit different from other farmlands I’ve seen up to now. The trees are bigger and there are more evergreens around. Today I saw crops of corn, wheat, and something that could have been barley. There were some other crops that I just could not identify. 

Many people whom I greet respond to me speaking French. I love it! Many of the signs are posted in French. The first French signs I notice are real estate signs saying "à Vendre" (For Sale). When the property is sold, it says "Vendu".

I’m excited and nervous about getting into Quebec tomorrow. I had hoped to practice and polish my French while travelling to get here, but I just did not have enough time to fit everything in. I had to leave my French language book back at home because it weighed too much - and I just never got into the electronic version of it. I’m sure I’ll manage to piece together some basic French sentences. Google translate will also a very helpful resource.