Constance Bay

| Sarah Simpkin

[ This is part three of a three-part tour to Carp, Fitzroy Harbour and Constance Bay branches. ]

After a fairly restful sleep, and with visions of a tasty breakfast in Dunrobin, I woke at dawn and began packing up my little campsite. In the wise words of Supertramp, I really did enjoy my stay, but I must be moving on.

All packed up and ready to roll!

My route to Constance Bay took me from the main entrance to Fitzroy Provincial Park, down Canon Smith Drive and northeast on Galetta Side Road to Dunrobin Road. There was hardly any traffic just after 7am, and I zoomed along at a nice clip courtesy of the four levels of pedal assist.

A pleasant early morning ride out of the park and along Galetta Side Road, with a decent amount of paved shoulder and a scene out of an Andrew King painting.

Dunrobin Road was a little rougher in places. Some segments were freshly paved with more room to maneuver, in other places I had to take up more space on the road. Fortunately I was fairly hi-vis with the bright orange panniers and the ebike’s lights.

Scenes from Dunrobin Road.

Constance Bay is just off Dunrobin Road, and is really two bays: Constance Bay to the east and Buckham’s Bay to the west. The Torbolton Forest is in the centre, and the library is in the centre of that, co-located with a community centre. There were several friendly joggers and dog walkers out early on Sunday morning, and we exchanged greetings as I made a loop around town.

Constance Bay was well-signposted. I circumnavigated the Torbolton Forest, which is at the centre of the community, and found the library easily enough on Len Purcell Drive.

I was, at this point, extremely ready for breakfast. Remember when I told you my friend Mary was my helper and motivator this weekend? She was also my trusty breakfast companion at the Heart and Soul Café in Dunrobin. In “small world” news, two members of my book club were also enjoying breakfast at the same time (Hi Rhondda and Robin!).

I do recommend making friends who will do things like meet you for breakfast and offer to bring your camping equipment back.

I was, shall we say, enthusiastic about the pedal assist feature after falling off the bike on Saturday. With no opportunity for a recharge overnight, the battery bit the dust as I was leaving Dunrobin. Luckily for me, the worst of the hills were behind me, Mary had my heavy gear, and I enjoyed a cushy ride downtown on what was effectively a big cruiser bike.

Retracing my steps through Kanata, then taking an alternate route home along Carling. I pulled onto Sparks Street just as the sky clouded over.

I retraced my steps back through Kanata, passing houses and golf clubs and the empty business park, then took an alternate routing back along Carling Avenue, turning onto the Trans Canada Trail at Andrew Haydon Park. I then joined the Sir John A Macdonald Parkway at Mud Lake. The parkway was open for cyclists, and I ventured downtown without a care in the world.

I completed my tour in just shy of 24 hours, including a night of camping nearly exactly in the middle. While I do think I could have finished the tour on my regular bike, the ebike actually made the experience enjoyable, and I felt better knowing that I could use the pedal assist if necessary. All in all, would recommend! Special thanks to Escape Bicycle Tours and Rentals for their excellent service and Mary for her encouragement and support.

Twenty four branches down, 9 to go.