Into the heat - Ottawa to Montreal

July 2nd, We packed up and prepared to leave Ottawa but a sickness delayed our departure for at least 24 hrs. So we relaxed and re-focused for a Sunday departure.

July 3rd, Still a little under the weather we decided to make a go of it. We left around 2pm and instead of taking the direct route we followed the beautiful bike paths through Ottawa, down the canal and then along the river. It made our trip a little longer but much more relaxing and enjoyable. The day was hot but the riding was enjoyable and after 80km and not much time before dark we set up at a campsite in Jessups Falls. This was our first real run in with French language. Although I fully expected the North side of the Ottawa river, the Quebec side, to be mainly French speaking I was unaware of the fact that many of small communities along the south or Ontario side of the Ottawa River would also either not speak much english or none at all. But all worked out and like most nights after a hot shower we ate, slept, woke up and headed out again.

July 4th, We followed beautiful back roads along the Ottawa River with no traffic seemed almost no danger, until after about 20km we came upon a horrible sound, half screech half cry. As we approached we could see that it was a raccoon and it was going bezerk running around in circles, on and off the road. I made sure to keep my distance and ride by nice and fast. Joanna slowed down not wanting to run into it or hurt it, until it started coming right for her, then she stepped on her pedals and got outta there. I`m thinking it must have had rabies or something, I`ve never seen anything like it. Anyhow minus this small moment of excitement we continued on peaceful back roads all the way to Hawkesbury Ont. At Hawkesbury we took the long bridge over the Ottawa River and for the first time in over a month we were in a different province than Ontario. Almost instantly when we crossed the river we noticed something different (other than the french signs), there were a lot more cyclists. We rode another 50km into Montreal along bike paths and bike lanes. In this 50km we literally saw more cyclists than in 5000 or so km prior. We had felt heat on this trip, many days over 30 deg Celsius but as the day went on we could tell this was going to be hotter. We arrived into greater Montreal at around 2pm and with the hummidex it was well into the 40s. With no decent cheap options for accommodations especially none with air conditioning we checked into a downtown hotel for two nights.