Day 39 - Ottawa to Voyageur Campground

Ottawa to Voyageur Campground (before Rigeau, PQ)
127 km
Sunny, winds (15-25) mainly at my back.

(pics by clicking on the title)

The time has come, the time has come, it's time to get away. Get innocuous.

A bit of LCD Soundsystem to start off the entry (and second “half” of the trip).

I really enjoyed the winds today. Being a bit tired (went to bed at 6:30 am, slept for max 3 hrs), the winds and the short distance were quite appreciated.

From the race, I had a Red Rain (knock off of Red Bull) that Dave bought for me. I brought that along for the trip in case I would need it today. I tapped into it a few hrs into the ride – just for fun. The recommended max intake for the day is 500 ml. I drank what I had left, so 750 ml or so. Apparently, the bottle is equivalent of 5-6 cups of coffee, plus some other additives in there for extra pep. I dont know if it was the tunes, or the drink, or just being high from the week again, but I was singing, foot was tapping while I was coasting, just genearally gittery. If I would have had a riding partner, they would of thought I might have been on crack. The tunes were excellent.

Ok. The naked truth on nudist camps. 1. You can't be alone to go into one. 2. Rule number 1 doesn't apply if you can prove you are a member of another club. 3. To get in, you must be part of a couple (I assume heterosexual). Because I was alone, and not a member of another club, I could not go to the nudist club near the campsite. Too bad, as I wanted to go for a dip, get a bunch of funny pictures that I had envisioned. It would have been quite funny and entertaining. Oh well, maybe next time I'm with someone.

Campsite was nice. I took a spot near the water, and was able to go for a partial dip. I bought a new tent as the one I've had for the past 12 years ran into more problems at Solstice. It was just a matter of time. MSR Hubba Hubba, 2 person, 3 season tent. Nice, very nice. I am starting to have lots of MSR and OR stuff, and I love it. It is also 1.5 lbs lighter (at least). Having dropped off a few things in Ottawa, I am probably leaving with 5 lbs less for this part of the trip.

My family (nephew, nieces, sister-in-law) came down for the start of the evening, and special K spent the night. So, the tent is good for 2 people, with the gear outside in the compartments. It was very nice to have people for the evening, having marshmallows around the fire and just relaxing.

At night, a skunk got a little currious by the smell of junk food drops around the pic-nic table. So, she came near and ate whatever she found. Then, she came towards us, with the tail up and all, and came within 2 feet of me at my back. Both Ka and I were trying not to move, and hoping she didn't spray us. We are safe.

Later, it was the racoon's turn to come and be bold. That bastard eventually snuck up behid the tent, and tried to get in. As a “welcome to my trip” for the tent, the racoon ripped the screen and left me a nice little hole I have to patch up. Dang.

So, that's the day – favourable winds, sunny, light day for km, rejected at a nudist camp (i usually get rejected when i have no clothes..), and a nice campsite with friends and family.

Oh, and I love 28c. I am not talking about chest size, but rear tire size. That stuff goes through everything, including the sections I had flats on last year.

What was odd, was that almost to the day (if not exaclty to the day), I was in these neck of the woods (almost the same camp site, almost the same route, and probably the same areas in the next 5-6 days) as when I was riding with Tanya and Attila last year.

Expect shorter entries for a while, maybe for most of this part. I figured you guys had a handful already, so I'll try to keep them shorter. Plus, MTL and QUE, I have been here before, and will do more of the touristy thing when my little Eesti friend comes here in October. Can't wait, should be fun. Moodalask!

Ciao,
p2