Rideau Lake Cycling Tour - Ottawa to Kingston return

The 39th Annual Rideau Lakes Cycling Tour (RLCT) took place on June 5th and 6th, 2010.  Organized by the Ottawa Bicycle Club, approximately 3000 riders started on Saturday to bike the 177kms from Ottawa to Kingston.  They were supposed to return on Sunday — more about that later.

PREP

It was my first cycling tour — and a big challenge — as my previous longest ride had been about 110kms.  I got started in January on the trainer and was able to get a couple of hours per week.  Spring in Nova Scotia can be challenging, but this year was outstanding so I clocked just over 1000kms in April and May.  I also made a point of doing back-to-back long rides … this worked really well.   Sportstracks for January to May : 59 rides / 1587kms (Mar-100, Apr-387, May-1102) / 101 hours

RIDE

The route is at : http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3806184 (actually, there are several routes — a 100k version that starts in Perth and a 200+kms route)  It’s mainly on quiet, flat country roads.  My Garmin said about 90% was ‘flat’ with just a couple of climbs.   And the last 30kms returning to Ottawa is flat with the prevailing winds usually behind you … much appreciated at the end of the ride!

SATURDAY – we got underway about 8am.  My two bodyguards — sons TJ and Cliff — took up forward positions and off we rode under cloudy skies.  One of the really cool things about a ride of this size is that you can join a wide variety of groups — want to ride at 28kms/hrs with some triathletes training for Ironman?  maybe a little faster crowd?  bigger group? smaller?  They were all there.  By lunchtime, the sun was out, 26C and life was good.  We made a point to take regular pit stops, a bit longer for lunch and drink lots — I went through 8 bottles of water.  We arrived in Kingston around 4pm, a monster supper at the Queen’s University cafeteria at 5pm and then a bit of downtown sightseeing. Sitting at Queen’s having a beer as the sun went down … sweet.

SUNDAY – what a difference a day makes.  Rain, wind, 10C — yuck.  All the table talk at breakfast was about ‘the call’ — how long before you phoned to get someone to come for the pickup.  We got underway around 8am — it was awful.  The rain gear didn’t do its job so after 15mins we were soaked.  And the fully loaded cars with bikes on top started passing.  And the people along the road, stopped, on their cell .. the call.  By the time we got 50kms and stopped at a gas station, it was a grim scene.  We kept moving and got to Perth for lunch.  Fortunately, the rain finally stopped and by the time we left Perth, things were beginning to dry out.  The rest of the ride went well, finally arriving in Ottawa just after 5pm.   I heard that 2/3s of the riders chose not to finish the ride.

CONCLUSION

I’m really glad that we did it, and were able to complete the entire thing.  I understand that weather is often a challenge.  The prep was key — it meant that the ride was enjoyable.  Further, it provided some reserve for the lousy conditions on Sunday (I couldn’t imagine really hurting and being stuck on the road in the wind/rain).  The ride was very well organized, well supported and the police provided excellent support.  Queen’s University was a real treat (it’s been 30 years since I stayed in dorm … some things never change!).  And if you can fit it into your long term plans, arrange to have two sons that enjoy cycling that are prepared to take care of you on a 354km journey … it’s awesome!