Today I went for a ride out west of Ottawa.  I had arranged to meet Mike at the Tim Horton’s in Perth, but after that I had no idea where we would end up. 

When I got there at 9:00, he was already there with a couple of other riders having coffee, and after we sat and chatted for a bit, it was time to head out.  I filled up the tank on the ST while everyone else was getting ready, and off we went.  We took it easy, winding through the farmland north of Perth, then crossing over highway 7 and into the “Highlands”.  The leader took us on some pretty un-travelled roads, but I don’t think there were any places with really bad pavement.  (None that I remember anyways.)

After a couple of hours, we stopped for a break to decide what to do about lunch.  We decided that the only logical destination was the gas station/restaurant in Calabogie, since it would mean taking the 511 to get there.  I gotta say, the 511 is still a pretty impressive road for around here, but after Eldorado National Park in California then Highway 1 and 101 up the west coast, it seems pretty tame.

The restaurant had hot beef sandwiches and fries on special, so that’s what I had.  Good choice for a special on a cold fall day.  It was about 8°C, and almost sunny all day.  After a good lunch and a rest, it was time to head back out.  We took the 508 back towards Burnstown, then meandered our way South.   We stopped for a couple of minutes outside of Burnstown to snap a picture from the lookout back towards the bridge.  You can still see the pilings from the original bridge in the water there.

Eventually, we got back to the crossroads in Almonte – it was about 4:00 by this time, so I decided it was time for me to head home.  I split off from the group (after stopping to say thanks for the ride) and I made a left and took the easy way home…