As forecast, we woke to heavy rain. We dressed and took our umbrellas with us to walk to Father and Sons, the restaurant where we ate dinner two days ago. Breakfast portions were large, good, and economically priced. The coffees were bottomless.
After breakfast, we packed and checked out, then drove to David and Dayle‘s friends in Westboro. We sat at the spacious island in their kitchen, which was wrapped in windows, for more coffee and homemade baked scones. As we were leaving the rain stopped so we decided to go for a ride. I looked up free parking lots along the river and found one near Westboro Beach. We changed into our cycling clothing and unloaded the bikes. It looked like we had at least a couple of hours free from rain. We were able to use an underpass to access the Ottawa River pathway, which is also the Trans Canada Trail.
It was a great place to start a ride because there were bathrooms and a restaurant, in addition to the free parking. The hallway to the bathrooms had a conical shape with a skylight and interesting art. Red Muskoka chairs were scattered around the building and grounds.
Cindy and I had been on the first few kilometres of the Ottawa River pathway at this point, but then it was new to all of us.
There were many beautiful sections where the canopy of trees touched overhead.
We ran into a trail closure and a detour that directed us onto limestone screenings after 10 km of riding. As we discussed what to do several cyclists came off the detour and were filthy because of the very rainy morning. Since we hadn’t had lunch, we decided to turn back and eat at the restaurant at Westboro Beach.
On the way back, we noticed this interesting structure called the Belltown Dome. It opened in 1979 and reached the end of its life when the refrigeration system failed. The City is currently looking into what to do with the facility.
The weather was constantly changing from beautiful blue skies to threatening as we cycled.
We made it back to the restaurant without being rained upon.
After lunch, we drove to a third set of David and Dayle‘s friends who live in Nepean. They had invited us to stay for the night. Cindy and I decided to go out for another ride while David and Dayle visited with their friends.
There was a nice Hydro corridor trail nearby. We did get rained on twice. But it didn’t last long either time.
Shortly after we returned, heavy rain, began and lasted for quite a while. Our hosts provided us with a delicious home-cooked meal, good company, and comfortable rooms for the night.
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