Biking to Aylmer with Escape Bicycle Tours

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Disclosure: I participated in this trip as a guest of Escape Bicycle Tours, which neither reviewed nor approved this post.

Where in the National Capital Region can you cycle alongside rapids teeming with birds, over a marsh populated by beavers, past a one-time hotel built in 1831, to a beachside café for a mid-morning break and then up a hill to a strawberry farm—all in about two hours, with lots of stops for photos and snacks?

The answer, I learned on an entertaining outing with Maria Rasouli of Escape Bicycle Tours, is a section of the Sentier des Voyageurs recreational path on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River.

I joined Maria and Hollie Grace, a fellow writer and cyclist, at the free parking lot just east of the Champlain Bridge on the Ottawa side. Even though I have my own bike, it’s heavy and old, so I was curious to see what sort of bike Maria would provide (all of her escorted tours include all equipment, from bikes to helmets, with a small discount if you bring your own wheels).

A lightweight bike

I wasn’t disappointed. Compared to my clunky “city errands” bike, laden down with panniers, fenders and a basket, the aluminum-framed bicycle Maria lent me was light as air. Since she was carrying our snacks, all I needed was a water bottle and a light backpack (mainly full of camera gear). I felt free and agile.

The bike was lovely, but a note for those of us of, um, a certain age and width: most of Escape’s bikes come with those miniscule saddles apparently designed for super-lean Tour de France participants. Sure, they’re aerodynamic, but I am not and my posterior was sore by the end of the day. If you’re renting and you’re not used to racing saddles, ask when booking what sort of seat the bike has. Alternatively, bring along a gel cover or even your own saddle.

A busy start, then peace

The only slightly unnerving part of the entire ride was the trip across the Champlain Bridge. Even though rush hour was over (we left shortly after 10am) and even though there is a marked bike lane, traffic was thick and fast. I was glad when we nipped onto the bike path as soon as we crossed the bridge. Within moments, we were in a different world of water, trees and birds, even though I could still hear the hum of traffic behind us and see apartment buildings across the river.

One of our first stops was the Deschenes Rapids, where the river roars through the ruins of a 19th-century dam, and the stones and nearby islands are carpeted with squawking seagulls. It’s really loud and strangely hypnotizing.

A few minutes later, it was a complete change of scene, as we cycled over a wooden bridge through a marshy forest that, according to a nearby sign, was home to beavers and herons (although we saw neither).

A glimpse of history

After cycling through some attractive residential sections of Aylmer, we passed the Symmes Inn, built in 1831. It is now a regional museum, but it wasn’t open for the season yet (it is now).

Our next stop was a stone’s throw away at the Aylmer Marina and beach, where we munched on the granola bars Maria had bought and admired the view. I’m ashamed to admit, after three decades of living in Ottawa, I’d never been to the Aylmer Marina. Both it and the beach are lovely, and there’s a nice little beach café. I’ll definitely be back, with my swimsuit! (It was a bit cool for swimming the day we went out.)

Next, it was time for a debate. From this point, Maria usually takes cyclists up a huge hill to a strawberry farm. But the strawberries weren’t in season yet, so we’d be going mainly for the view…and the exhilarating ride down.

Maria was very persuasive. After all, the sheer thrill of biking was one of the things that brought her to Canada from her native Iran. As a child, she adored peeling around on her bike, until one day when she was 11, when the adults around her decided biking wasn’t an appropriate activity for young women and gave her bike to her little brother. She missed biking intensely, and when the opportunity arose to come to Ottawa to take her PhD in organizational psychology, she jumped at the chance—and back on a bike. She recently left the business consulting world behind to launch Escape Bicycle Tours, so she could be in the saddle as often as possible.

What goes up must come down

With that kind of inspirational life story, how could we resist her insistence that the ride up the hill would be worth it? And she was right—even though Holly and I had to walk our bikes up part of the way. Here are Maria and Holly at the top, with the sweep of the Ottawa River behind them.

And here they are enjoying the ride down!

After all that exercise, we were more than ready for lunch, and Maria guided us to the charming Café British on rue Principale in Aylmer. I had a really tasty bowl of curried carrot soup and a smoked salmon sandwich. And because everyone always likes food photos, here you go.

As we headed back toward Ottawa, there was one last treat in store: a stop at the Boulangerie aux 2 Frères, a cute bakery where we picked up some big cookies for the road.

After that, we pedalled back to Ottawa at a leisurely pace along the route we’d come. Again, the last dash across the Champlain Bridge was a little hair raising, but quite safe.

To sum up

All in all, it was a great day out. While it probably wouldn’t appeal to die-hard cyclists, who would be comfortable doing it on their own, the trip—like all of Escape’s tours—is designed more for the casual or novice cyclist, who is nervous about doing a longer trip without the support of a more experienced rider who can handle repairs and point out quiet paths and roads.

Also, this might not be the trip for you if you enjoy a ton of commentary about the places you’re riding through; Maria keeps it quiet while riding unless you ask questions, but she’s happy to provide details if you do.

The pace is gentle—despite the racing saddles, this ain’t the aforementioned Tour de France—and Maria gears the speed to the abilities of the riders.

And, finally, the chance to ride a top-notch bike is nice, too.

If you go

Escape Bicycle Tours offers a huge range of itineraries on both sides of the Ottawa River, including two-hour, half-day, day-long and multi-day routes. Prices start at $45 per person. I took a shortened version (about five hours) of the full-day Nature in the City tour, which normally runs 7.5 hours and costs $145 to $165 per person, plus taxes. The fee includes all equipment and snacks; lunch and other purchases are each participant’s responsibility.

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As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.