A tale of two bike rides

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
Sue and I both went for bike rides yesterday.  They ended very differently.

I rode to the Champlain Lookout in Gatineau Park.  When I left, the rain and drizzle had recently ended.  The air felt warm and very humid.  As I reached the first hills in the park, the sweat began to collect on my brow and run down into my eyes, stinging them.  I stopped at Pink Lake for a snack, peeled off my shirt and hung it over the rail of the observation deck to air-dry.  Down the back, where it pressed against my pack, the shirt bore a broad, dark patch of perspiration.  I ate a delicious mandarine orange and a yoghurt, then watched the nearby birds:  white-throated sparrows foraging noisly in last year's dried leaves; chickadees flitting between trees; a pair of kingfishers squabbling on the lake below.

From Pink Lake, I carried on more slowly, both to avoid the sweaty, stinging eyes and to allow closer observation of the surrounding forest.  With the trees still barren, I could see deep into the forest.  In particular, the topography and geology stood out very clearly.  I made note of several places to revisit in the summer -- several potential cave sites, a promising escarpment, a garden of fern-covered boulders (rock polypody, one of my favourites).  A few spring flowers had bloomed on some sunnier, warmer outcrops, and bright green cohorts of Clintonia stood out on the wooded slopes, ready to burst into bloom.

As I passed King Mountain, the clouds began to lift.  Ahead, I could see the mist rising from the hills, as though I were cycling through the Great Smokey Mountains.  The sun broke through as I approached the Huron Lookout, and I arrived at the Champlain Lookout in full, blazing sun (to which my unprotected forehead and nose now attest).  I ate my lunch sitting on the wall at the lookout, watching for hawks and spying on a pair of deer in the fields below the escarpment.  The line of the escarpment curved away to the north:  patches of dark, green pine, the grey hardwoods with the faintest tint of budding red, the underlying Canadian Shield bare and white in the midday sun.  Other cyclists passed by at regular intervals, clad in lycra and spandex, riding ultralight road bikes that purred with precise, mechanical efficiency.  I thought that it might be nice to try the ride in that manner sometime, instead of plodding up the mountain on my lunking hybrid, laden with lunch, binoculars, jacket and field guides.  On the other hand, once at the top, what would I do but go back down?

The trip down the mountain went more quickly, of course, although I did stop briefly at the Pink Lake parking lot this time, in the hope of spotting the bear that I'd earlier heard crashing in the woods.  No bear, but an adult bald eagle flew directly overhead, his primary feathers and tail feathers silhouetted perfectly against the sky.  I arrived home about 4 PM, with heavy legs and a feeling of fatigued satisfaction.

And then Thomas greeted me at the door to say that Sue was at the Civic Hospital Emergency Department, having crashed her bike along the canal.  Giving the boys some money to buy supper at Subway, I left immediately for the hospital.  I found Sue lying in bed, with our friend Ann standing beside her.  Three broken ribs (none displaced, thank heavens) and a minor concussion.  But no other serious injuries.  She will feel very stiff and sore for many days, but should recover fully.

A short list of today's observations:

Yellow-bellied sapsucker
Northern flicker
Hairy woodpecker
Downy woodpacker
Black-capped Chickadee
Northern raven
Eastern Phoebe
Blue jay
Robin (American thrush)
Canada goose
Kingfisher
White-throated sparrow
Chipping sparrow or Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Osprey (in migration at lookout)
Peregrine (in migration at lookout)
Sharp-shined hawk
Assorted, other common birds
3 painted turtles
2 bears (overheard foraging)
Muskrat
Groundhog
White-tailed deer
Mourning cloak
Wooly bear caterpillar (Isabella Tiger Moth)
Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman's Britches)
Trillium sp. (not in flower)
Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)
Erythronium americanum (Trout lily, not in flower)
Clintonia borealis (Clintonia, not in flower).