Tuesday August 4 Ottawa ON

Got up early and tried to dry tent as I don't know what the Ottawa hostel will have for outside drying space. One of the strange characters has sat down at my picnic table to tell me his tales of woe while I pack up. Finally had to cut him off as I was leaving. Hwy 17 has some more of the most dangerous designs that I have ever seen. It becomes Hwy 417 and at some point cyclists are not allowed but this is only communicated at the on ramps which I can not see. I got off at Hwy 20 and it passed the Diefenbunker which I should have toured - maybe next time. The route went through Kanata and all the high tech offices with empty parking lots. It was just past noon so I saw a few out for walks and runs with their ID and swipee cards. Luckily I checked the maps for MEC as it is on the west side of town. Dropped in to pickup supplies. People kept coming up to me when I was locking up my bike to talk and shake my hand. Good to be in a larger city with the smells of foreign food, especially Indian, sounds of different languages and I got to ride like a bicycle courier. Found the hostel with little difficulty (map at MEC, some construction) and met two young Trois Rivieres-ians finishing up a 10 week loop through Boston, Chicago, Toronto. They went to all the major cities they could with their mountain bikes, trailer and only doing ~80 km/day. Weather pretty good today but a strong S wind that might be bringing thunder storms.

OD 5116.9 km, 4:33:10, 102.34 km, 22.4 ave, 46.6 max