Happy Canada Day

I wanted to take this time to wish everyone a Happy Canada Day.

Had it not been for Covid, Paul and I would be pulling into St. John’s Newfoundland today, Sue would be arriving by plane, then Sue and I would be planning on how to tactfully tell Paul it’s time to go home.

As the Atlantic Provinces are still not open to the rest of Canada, and with the uncertainty as to when it will open, it’s unlikely I will be doing any trips outside Ontario or Quebec this year. Disappointing but there’s lots to see and do right here at home.

Also, I have been sidelined somewhat for the past couple of weeks by a broken bone in my right foot. Although I can ride, I can’t do long day rides until I am completely healed up. Two weeks ago Paul and I went for a 70km ride checking out the LRT2 construction sites in and around Ottawa (for those unfamiliar with Ottawa, we are adding to our current Light Rail Transit system). The 70kms was probably as much I want to do with my foot the way it is, and except for the run-in with Ottawa’s finest at the airport, it was a great trip capped off with a couple of well deserved beers. (Full disclosure, “run-in” sounds worse than it actually was, the police were very professional and just enquiring as to why I was taking pictures at the airport. The fact they sent three officers and a police dog was very intimidating, but again they were very professional and let us keep our pictures.)

Before the broken foot, Paul and I did a couple of longer rides where we found some amazing restaurants (click on the restaurant name to open Google Maps for their location):

• The Heart and Soul Cafe in Dunrobin. Best breakfast sandwich I have ever had. The conversation with the owner was great about how he was coping with the new reality from covid. It’s inspiring to hear how people are changing to meet the needs of their customers, who obviously love their food, and for good reason.
• Maison Melda in Vals-des-Monts, Quebec. Fantastic roast beef sandwich and the owner was very nice. There is a cute little boutique upstairs with candles and wares made by a woman from the area. This is a new restaurant, having opened in November 2019, but I think they have a bright future, I hope so anyway because I want to go back.
• Ridge Rock Brewing Company in Carp. Best burger I have had in a long time, and an amber beer which we were not supposed to drink on site, but what they didn’t see wouldn’t hurt them. So Paul found a spot out of their sight lines where we drank our beer and ate our burgers, he didn’t see the camera right above our heads. Super friendly staff.

So that’s pretty much it. We adopted a dog, Moose, from a rescue organization in Toronto. He’s a 2.5 year old Husky originally from the Kenora area.

Safe trip to Paul who is heading to Windsor tomorrow on his bike. He figures it will take him about 8 days to get there, staying at campgrounds, relatives and using Warmshowers.org along the way. Ride safe my friend.

Be healthy and safe ride.

Bill