Alfred & Plantegenet to Mountain Grove -- Let the Hills Begin!

Greetings from Kingston, Ontario, a beautiful, historic city that rests on Lake Ontario. After finishing late last night, we had accommodations in Ottawa -- about an hour drive from our final biking spot. Because of the driving distance to return from Ottawa and our plans to stay with dear friends in Kingston tonight, we modified our route, keeping the distance the same, to cut out extra driving time. Tomorrow we will do the same, riding from Kingston west until we reach the same distance as Mountain Grove to Greenbank (without the extra driving).

Starting just outside Ottawa, Canada's fascinating national capital and a city that rests high on a hill overlooking a river below, this was our first day of mostly sun. With mostly clear, blue skies, a fairly neutral wind, and little traffic, we felt re-energized. We also were anxious to end our ride at an earlier time today to allow time to visit, rest and recover. Taking slightly longer stretches on the bike and slighly shorter breaks, the ride went well and we enjoyed various cities along the way (Ottawa left, Perth right).

Our ride was filled with incredible scenary. Much of it reminded me of Northern Michigan with its many pine trees and country roads. Indeed, we traveled through two cities proclaiming themselves to be the "Maple Syrup" and "Lilac" capitals of Ontario. We also continued to see lots of farmland and farm animals as well as several lakes, including Lake Ontario as we got closer to Kingston. But this was also a day that we began to see some significant hills, particularly in the afternoon -- something akin to southern Indiana ala the Hilly Hundred. Matt and I both recoiled at the sight of one hill that seemed to go straight up toward the sky, a bit like that opening hill on the Voyage at Holiday World. Oma later recounted that Julie asked why we weren't getting off our bikes to walk up the hill. Oma's response: "I guess they're stubborn", but we all realized that these hills are part of the necessary training we need for our mountainous routes through New York and Pennsylvania. Later in the afternoon, we did experience one exhilarating downhill. With all due consideration for safety, we found ourselves outside a city called Westport, which rests next to a pristine lake, with a view that stretched indefinitely. With a certain amount of trepidation, we found ourselves flying downward, hands ready to apply the brakes and winds whipping around our very beings at slightly north of 40 mph! Translated into kilometers, it is even more impressive. It seemed to be our little reward for climbing!

Finally, a quick note about encouragement. Only a few days ago, we received news that a church in Ottawa was willing to help us with accommodations. Pastor Frank of the Nazarene Church didn't know us, we're not part of the same denomination and we're certainly not from anywhere near Ottawa. Nevertheless, he opened the church doors as if we've been friends for years and waited well into the night (given our late arrival) to help us out. Tonight, the Hurtubise family (Gilles and Marj, parents of Lisa and Francois in Indpls) received us as family. Helping us with laundry (believe me it smells -- at least Matt's), offering us comfortable beds and preparing an unbelievable meal fit for royalty (if I told you more, you'd think we were truly vacationing), it was more than we could even ask. Thanks to them and those of you who have encouraged us in so many ways -- it helps us understand what being "part of the body" means.

I hope your individual journeys are going well. Can't wait to hear about your own journeys!

In Him,

Charlie