After crafting the Log Driver’s Waltz, an 800-km bikepacking route in the Ottawa Valley and Outaouais, Eric Betteridge and Jen Adams had to wait to invite riders together for a first Grand Depart. Riders could take on the route alone, and many did, but one mass start was not possible.
That changed in 2022, as over 30 people gathered in Almonte, Ont. for the first Log Driver’s Waltz Grand Depart.
“We were thrilled to have people come to Almonte to ride our route,” says LDW co-creator Jen Adams, who also rode in the Grand Depart. “It was fun to go out on our own route with tire tracks out in front of us and people pushing behind us. It was very gratifying to host our own Grand Depart.”
Many of the riders were experienced bikepackers, but, says Betteridge, “there was even a few that were newer to the sport. There was a great diversity and range of excitement at the breakfast get-together.”
While the Grand Depart isn’t as splashy as the Great Divide in Banff, which Betteridge and Adam’s spent 33 days riding earlier in the summer of 2022, there was a get-together at a local micro-brewery the night before and a pre-ride breakfast at a local cafe.
“The cafe we had the breakfast at organized a special for the racers, entirely on its own,” says Betterridge, adding that many businesses along the route, which crosses from Ontario into Quebec and back, have already give positive feedback on the riders.
Grand Depart and really fast FKTs
While most of the 30-plus riders at the 2022 Grand Depart were from Ontario or Quebec, several travelled from farther away. Among them, Squamish, B.C.’s Cory Ostertag, who set a new FKT on the route. While he’s an experienced bikepacker, also completing the BC Epic 1000 this summer, Ostertag said the Log Driver’s Waltz route profile is deceptively difficult.
“I like climbing, and coming from British Columbia, I do a lot of it. But the climbs on the Log Driver’s Waltz route just hit differently,” says Ostertag. “They are steep, relentless and simply drained my energy in a way that I wasn’t prepared for. I totally underestimated how difficult this route is and have a new appreciation for how challenging bikepacking can be.”
Ostertag lowered the LDW FKT to an impressive two days, one hour and 43 minutes. Adam’s and Betteridge expected to have a few people chasing new FKT’s but, even after a few seasons of watching the speed increase on their route, were surprised by…
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