Rideau Lakes Ride by Alex Botelho

Jun 8, 2010

Wow what a trip that was. Such an experience. 2000 riders sharing the road. Very few incidents. Tandems, recumbent and even a Unicycle participated. I was not sure what to expect of the trip other then a long ride. I did not expect to meet so many people who are passionate about cycling. We all expected rain on the Saturday, and it ended up to be absolutely perfect. It was me Wayne, Joe, Brad and Neil Leaving Ottawa. The Amount of experienced riders out on the Road it did not take too long to join in with other groups. As we were a small group.

As soon as the group got as large as 30 the nice police officer asked us to watch the road and not to go 4 abreast as a safety precaution.
We also saw within the first 20 km the amount of cyclist with mechanical trouble, and there were mobile mechanics to help out. white tires what a deal. rest stops every 30km with bathroom, water, Gatorade, baked goods and bananas.

It was so good to see the city of Kingston sign, we made it.

After the ride sign in, get you bags your keys have your shower then a cold beer at the bar with your friends. Have some laughs about the ride, talking about the SUFFERING that Joe put on our ride. Then go off to dinner which consisted of roast beef, veggies, potatoes, pasta, Salad and dessert.

Off to bed pretty tired, also worrying about the weather the next day.

Wake up 5am and its pouring rain, the forecast called for rain you just hope they are wrong. Off to breakfast pretty typical eggs, waffles, potatoes, sausage, and fruit. We meet up to go back to Ottawa and its still raining. Its going to be a miserable ride. you all know what riding in the rain is like. its raining constantly and blowing and the spray from the rider in front of you just makes it miserable, you just wonder when is the rain going to stop. Our first stop Westport 40km away, riders are hypothermic. Some under blankets but overall everyone is shaking like a leaf with cold. cups of coffee half empty because there hands are shaking. It felt better to be on the bike then to stand around getting cold. We move on the rain does not stop there is word that if the weather continues you may get an early out of the ride by buses bring you back to Ottawa at the next stop Perth. It rained for about 140km of the 180 km of the ride. Some riders took the Early out at Perth, but the rain was thinning out at Perth and I wanted to finish what i started so about 20 km from Perth the rain stops and the sun comes out for a couple of minutes the road dries, and finally I can finally stop shivering. there were 2 stop from Perth to Ottawa, I did not want to stop because i would just get cold, so i Went 80 km to complete this grand tour. What an experience, i will be back next year.

Alex Botelho