.: Ski XCOttawa.ca :: Skiing in Ottawa and Gatineau Park

"Best of July Biking" A Photoessay
By:  Alana Thomas   (2009/07/23)

RSS

It is somehow already late July, where does the summer go? I have been spending the bulk of my time running a local outdoor pool and working for the Carleton Economics department on the side but have tried to find enough time to keep ski training and even get some good riding in. As usual, I am entertained not only by the workouts themselves but the funny or interesting things that occur while out and about.

Over the past while I have been amazed and impressed by some of the creative and friendly comments I have gotten from cyclists while rollerskiing the park loop on Sunday mornings. Keep the good ones coming!

Quote 1, While skiing up fortune from P10: "Do you ride your bicycle in the winter?"

Quote 2, while skating the hill towards the top of Black Lake: "That looks so much harder than riding a bike!"

Quote 3, While doing a timetrial of the loop, skating: "You have beautiful leg muscles!" (this one really made my day- from another woman! I said thanks and told her hers were nice too.)

Canada Day was another biking highlight. A couple of our friends gathered at Anna, Nic and I's house before cruising down the canal on bikes to celebrate downtown. I rode the favourite of my three bikes, an '80s Bianchi with gold hubs called "Little Blue".



Little Blue out celebrating Canada Day. (Please excuse my head being cut out of the picture)

Myself, Anna G-W, and former XC Ottawa skier/good pal Lindsay out celebrating. (Go Sens Go!) Unfortunately I don't have photos of the little Kona Anna rode down or Lindsay's sweet fixie called "Old Green".


Last week I was out for a road ride of the loop and while cruising down fortune I noticed some furry black things at the side of the road. I promptly turned around, biked back up and whipped out my camera to catch some pictures of a big mamma bear and her little cub. Quite adorable! (I stayed on my bike so could make a quick getaway if needed)


Camp Fortune has been another favourite biking destination this July. I recently got a new polar watch that measures total climb in workouts (and you all thought Justin was the team gear nerd.... HA!) and was stoked to get 545m of climbing in a 2h 15 mountain bike ride! Fortune is pretty sweet because you do most of your climbing all at the start of your loops then get to cruise the mainly gradual/downhill singletrack. However on Wednesday we accidentally got onto some of the downhill trails (I could only handle Salamander, the easy one, on my hardtail... too scary otherwise!) and ended up much further down the hill than intended. This resulted in 2 climbs back up the pavement road up past p10 back to the top.

Above is just another shot of some Fortune action. I felt lucky to find a day off work that wasn't pouring rain!


This sign just makes me laugh every time I ski or bike by. It seems all of the parking lots in the Gatineau Park are numbered, you know P8, P10, P5...ect. This one however, is too special to have simply a number attached and instead has a dollar sign. I like to call it "P-Money" and think it would be the parking lot of choice for the likes of 50 Cent or whatever blingin' rappers are popular these days. 

That's all I have for now, hope everyone has been enjoying July!

 
Interesting Reading. . .
Interested in supporting XC Ottawa or advertising on our site? Email: info@xcottawa.ca.
© Copyright 2001-2006, www.xcottawa.ca. All Rights Reserved. Contact us before re-publishing anything seen here.