REMINDER: all riders must have taken the OBC Group Riding Clinic to participate in group rides. Significant, current group riding experience can be acceptable in lieu; contact the event organizer to discuss.

5 semaines avant la Tournée Cycliste des Lacs Rideau (RLCT)... Tabarouette... Il faut se mettre en forme!

Upcoming Club Events:

Please take a look in the calendar to see all the upcoming events you may wish to take part in.

April 29 - Morning Coffee rides perk up

May 2 - Gravel ride season rumbles to life

May 5 - Women & Youth Time Trials brought to order

May 6 - RLCT Tips & Tricks - Bushtukah Westboro

May 7 - Open Time Trials opening arguments

May 15-18 (long weekend) - Northumberland out-of-town tour

The first-of-the-year multiday OBC outing, setting out on day rides from a base on the Lake Ontario shore in Cobourg. A variety of rides await, selected from these options, perhaps others. A very fun way to get your season underway and get to know, better, fellow club members, and enjoy new routes and a new part of the province, by bike. More info: https://ottawabicycleclub.ca/tours/

June 6/7 - RLCT

Book your place soon!

Volunteer's sought and needed!!

Your club, and all the activities it organizes, run on volunteers and it needs us all to pitch in, whether a little or a lot; every hour helps.

Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour Whether your are planning to ride the tour or not, there are plenty of opportunities, either on the weekend or beforehand, to play a small (or large!) but vital role in making it successful. Many many many volunteers are needed. Please sign up. https://ottawabicycleclub.ca/rlct/

This & that

 Is your bike ship-shape? Are you carrying basic tools and equipment? Be sure all the critical components -- brakes, drive train; tires -- are in good shape and thus ensure that your bike won't be inclined to leave you in tears at the side of the road. On all club rides (in fact, whenever you ride), please carry, minimally, a spare tube, tire levers, air pump (or equivalents for tubeless). Having bright, day-time running lights (front & back) is also a really good idea to improve your visibility to drivers. 

Keep an eye out for trash, rocks, sand, gravel, etc. on the roads, especially rounding corners.

The east-end roads were in pretty good shape, yesterday (Apr 26) but do keep an eye out for debris on the roads and in the corners.

On to the ride...

Bien venu à toutes et à tous au Québec!

Remember: ONLY single-file riding in Quebec. (Though I am not averse to doubling up on the Gatineau Park parkways when they are closed to vehicles)

Event Description

Road Ride from the south end of Gatineau Park to points north and north-east.

Note that any rides on the Quebec side are going to be hillier than the Ontario side. Note, also, that not everyone in the club can scoot up those hills like a billy goat (I, for example, am more decrepid nanny goat!); but the billy goats would prefer to be among their kind in the hills, so please choose your distance and speed based upon your known -- vs aspirational -- capabilities. If you are a new member, perhaps uncertain of your hill climbing abilities, I recommend signing up for a distance & speed at least one notch lower than you would sign up for on flat routes. If in any doubt, the D 20-22 group is welcoming to all; it's very relaxed and the ride leaders know how to avoid hills, if needed. (If you are REALLY uncertain of your abilities in the hills, I suggest heading over to the P3 (Gamelin) parking lot on your own and just start a gentle ride up the parkway towards Pink Lake, even if you don't climb up the ultimate hill).

On the Quebec routes, it is wise to not only note the length of the routes in RWGPS but also how much climbing there is. Some of the very long routes can have as much as 1500m of climbing.

All that said... there are real payoffs for your effort; the most beautiful and rewarding routes we offer on Sundays, in my opinion, are in the hills of Quebec! Whether it's a stop by the river in Wakefield, the view from Champlain Lookout and satisfaction of meeting the challenge. There is even great satisfaction in your first ascent of the Pink Lake Hill (and every one after). Also, once I'm sure the Chelsea-Wakefield rail trail is dry (in June), I will be sending the D group to Wakefield on the smooth gravel (suitable for most road tires) of that beautiful, quite flat, riverside trail. It's a bit longer of a route for the Ds but you have time to build up your stamina to enjoy the ride when it appears on the schedule.

On more substantial hills, riders typically ascend individually, at one's own pace, and regroup at the top. When you register, please keep in mind your capability and select your group accordingly. We have some fast climbers in the club who would prefer that slower climbers choose, perhaps, a slower group than they might on the flats.

Start Location  : Parking du Lac des Fées

FYI: I have moved the Gatineau starts up the hill for a couple of reasons:

1. it removes the first immediate, substantial and unwelcome (for many) climb to get to P3 (Gamelin) and into the park;

2. It facilitates a faster exit out of Gatineau, to the north and east.

If you are cycling to the start, here's a pic with a couple of low-intensity routes to get there: Routes to P3 Gravel Parking Lot.jpg

If you have a strong opinion, positive or negative, on the change of start from Parc Moussette, please let me know!

Start Time         : 9:00 AM Departure - gather 8:30-8:45

The current weather forecast is shamefully unpleasant. With luck, and perhaps with appropriate sacrifices being made to your deity of choice, it might improve. Don't forget that you can register for the ride (to express your interest) and if the weather ends up poor, cancel your registration the evening before or even early on the day of.

Whatever the eventuality, continue to dress for the weather.

Public Service Announcement: A start-of-season reminder that it is not really great form for a group to stop to use the toilet without a couple of members buying something. Also, bringing your own food into a restaurant is likely going to invite an unpleasant reaction.

Bonne route!