Tweet
I found a nice day run, 400km (250mi) loop along the Ontario/Quebec border.
From Hwy 11 in North Bay Ontario, I took hwy 63 to Temiscaming Quebec just across the Ottawa River. Hwy 63 is a two lane great bike road with good pavement and lots of curves, little traffic.
Hwy 101 branches off hwy 63 in Tamiscaming and runs north along the river.
It is a similar road to 63 other than the geography changes considerably. Less bush and more farms and rolling hills. Good road, great scenery.
Stopped in a picturesque little town of Ville-Marie for fuel and ice tea. I was greeted several times in french, to which replied in english (so as not to embarass myself trying to have a conversation in french) Each time, I was responded to in english better than my own. Everyone there seemed bi-lingual except for me.
Carrying on up hwy 101, my next stop was Notre-Dame du Nord. This little hamlet is on the banks of Lake Tamiscaming which feeds th Ottawa River.
Notre-Dame du Nord is an absolute postcard with a history to match. There is a historical church over looking the town that was started by missionaries long before Canada was a country.
Crossing back over to Ontario, Hwy 101 turns into Hwy 65. Nice country road where you can open up the bike a bit, lots of visibility.
Hwy 65 meets up with Hwy 11 at New Liskeard. New Liskeard is a good sized town for Northern Ontario and has enhanced it's lake shoreline to accomodate tourism. Turning south on Hwy 11 there is a lookout on a hill top with a good view of the entire area.
Once on hwy 11, I was looking forward to the excellent road and Muskoka type scenery of rock, lakes and jack pines with birch stands. The Temagami region is famous for it's old growth forest.
All the natural scenery was there and I had all the time in the world to look at it as I sat in road construction gridlock.
Hot , humid, loose gravel, loose ashphalt, mud and bad road for about 50 kms. I was cursing the heat coming up off my bike while sitting still, and wondering why I had chosen a black helmet and jacket.
Anyway... Once past the construction the road opened up to what I was expecting and had a pleasant journey the rest of the way home.
It was a good day trip (so good I forgot to stop for lunch and I NEVER miss a meal) but next year when the road construction is done, It would be a perfect trip to invite some friends up to ride.
BDF
From Hwy 11 in North Bay Ontario, I took hwy 63 to Temiscaming Quebec just across the Ottawa River. Hwy 63 is a two lane great bike road with good pavement and lots of curves, little traffic.
Hwy 101 branches off hwy 63 in Tamiscaming and runs north along the river.
It is a similar road to 63 other than the geography changes considerably. Less bush and more farms and rolling hills. Good road, great scenery.
Stopped in a picturesque little town of Ville-Marie for fuel and ice tea. I was greeted several times in french, to which replied in english (so as not to embarass myself trying to have a conversation in french) Each time, I was responded to in english better than my own. Everyone there seemed bi-lingual except for me.
Carrying on up hwy 101, my next stop was Notre-Dame du Nord. This little hamlet is on the banks of Lake Tamiscaming which feeds th Ottawa River.
Notre-Dame du Nord is an absolute postcard with a history to match. There is a historical church over looking the town that was started by missionaries long before Canada was a country.
Crossing back over to Ontario, Hwy 101 turns into Hwy 65. Nice country road where you can open up the bike a bit, lots of visibility.
Hwy 65 meets up with Hwy 11 at New Liskeard. New Liskeard is a good sized town for Northern Ontario and has enhanced it's lake shoreline to accomodate tourism. Turning south on Hwy 11 there is a lookout on a hill top with a good view of the entire area.
Once on hwy 11, I was looking forward to the excellent road and Muskoka type scenery of rock, lakes and jack pines with birch stands. The Temagami region is famous for it's old growth forest.
All the natural scenery was there and I had all the time in the world to look at it as I sat in road construction gridlock.
Hot , humid, loose gravel, loose ashphalt, mud and bad road for about 50 kms. I was cursing the heat coming up off my bike while sitting still, and wondering why I had chosen a black helmet and jacket.
Anyway... Once past the construction the road opened up to what I was expecting and had a pleasant journey the rest of the way home.
It was a good day trip (so good I forgot to stop for lunch and I NEVER miss a meal) but next year when the road construction is done, It would be a perfect trip to invite some friends up to ride.
BDF
Comment