With all the restrictions from Covid travel, some friends, my husband and I decided that a staycation would be a fun adventure.  We had done several other out of country self-directed bike tours together and had been scheduled to do a boat-bike tour from Belgium to Amsterdam last year, but of course that was cancelled so we decided to be creative.

We decided to ride the entire 154 km Rotary-Mattamy in 2 days, staying at a hotel overnight mid-route.  We left Scenic Acres at approx. 8 am., enjoying the lovely rolling hills and gullies in the NW, then continued NE through neighbourhoods still showing hail damage from last year.  Then we managed to walk through construction areas, dodging graders, continuing over long boardwalks spying many species of shore birds through the wetlands.  

After approx. 70km ,we arrived at our destination, The Glenmore Inn, at about 3:30pm.  We had carried our necessities and were ready for a nice dinner and a good night's sleep.  

The next day, we continued south, enjoying the shade in Fish Creek Park, then headed NW for the toughest part of the trek.  Tired from the day before, this was quite challenging!  With a strong west wind, some smoke, and big hills to climb we completed the last 90km of the RM at about 4pm.  

We met at a restaurant for our 'last supper' after the best shower ever, sharing the highlights and laughs we'd enjoyed.

In retrospect, we discussed various options to this trip, including starting in the deep south finishing near the airport. The second day would be much easier!  I'd even go for a 3-day option so that we wouldn't have to get up so early and it's a little more in line with my fitness level, especially cycling with 2 panniers carrying our lunches, snacks, and clothing.  If we did it in 3 days, there would be time to stop for coffee breaks and lunch in a nice restaurant.  

Pick your own adventure based on your timeline, fitness and smoke conditions.  We got lucky with our dates which had been chosen far ahead of the smoke problem. Feel free to email or call to discuss your Rotary-Mattamy adventure!