Eric Betteridge and Jen Adams have spent a majority of their lives travelling by bike. With their collective experience exploring some of North America’s greatest routes, the two decided to settle down in Ottawa.

“We actually have some of the best riding anywhere, I mean just anywhere, period,” said Betteridge.

In the past 15 years, they have explored almost every . . .

kilometre of the trails in the Ottawa Valley and Outaouais regions. “One of the reasons we ended up on the backroads in the Ottawa Valley-Outaouais, was that when we started to travel more with our kids on bikes, we gravitated towards the quieter backroads,” said Betteridge.

In 2019, Betteridge and Adams began developing the Log Driver’s Waltz, an interprovincial bike route with an emphasis on backroads, gorgeous landscapes and access to essential amenities for travellers. “We decided to make this route after we had ridden another route with sort of similar feel called the Butter Tart 700,” said Betteridge.

The final route was published in the summer of 2020 with a total length of 800 km.

The Log Driver’s Waltz passes through Alleyn-et-Cawood, Ladysmith, Litchfield, Campbell’s Bay, Clarendon, Shawville and Portage-du-Fort, and consists of sections of the former Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway.

It is far from linear, but Betteridge and Adams are confident that their extensive research and exploration has paid off. “That’s been a lot of the fun of developing our bike route,” said Adams.

Betteridge and Adams have both enjoyed the Pontiac’s restaurants and inns during their many trips through the region. Bikepackers could be an additional economic benefit for the Pontiac’s local businesses.

“You tend to spend a little bit more time in an area, you’re not zipping through it,” said Betteridge. “We probably are spending $30-40 a day on food.”

In August, the Log Driver’s Waltz will be hosting a grand depart, where a sizable number of bikepackers will be travelling from the same starting point to promote the route and boost community morale.

“One of the things about this is developing community. Developing community amongst riders, developing connections between riders and the communities they pass through,” said Betteridge.

Aside from the main route, Betteridge and Adams have continued to develop new, smaller routes derived from the Log Driver’s Waltz. “We saw a need for other routes to offer people a chance to ride in a particular area or ride a shorter distance,” said Betteridge.

For those interested in bikepacking, Adams recommends “taking whatever bike you have, strapping your camping equipment to it and going for an overnight to someplace that’s not too far away where you’re going to have a nice experience riding and camping and then coming back home and then doing it again the next weekend.”

Jen Adams and Eric Betteridge crossing the Chenaux Dam.

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