Events - Event View

Fall leaves, fabulous gravel roads and lots of hills - the Madawaska Challenge. We're going to spend three days exploring the lovely cycling countryside to the north of the Madawaska River. 



Schedule

• Day 1 - Tuesday October 12
  • Drive from Kingston
  • Day 1 ride will start at 11 am
  • Check into Ash Grove Inn (website) around 5 pm
  • Group dinner at Wilno Tavern Restaurant (website) (Tripadvisor reviews) at 7 pm (menu) ("Nestled in the gentle hills of the Madawaska Valley, the Wilno Tavern Restaurant has been offering exceptional hospitality for over 100 years. This historic pub features hearty Polish fare, celebrating the heritage of Wilno’s early pioneer families, as well as a traditional Canadian menu. The tavern is equally famous for vibrant entertainment – Tuesday Nite Blues Jam, as well as rock, country, jazz or folk bands on weekends.")
    
• Day 2 - Wednesday October 13
  • Day 2 ride will start at 9:30 am. This will be the queen stage of the Madawaska Challenge
  • Group dinner at Ash Grove Inn Restaurant at 6:30 (menu)
    
• Day 3 - Thursday October 14
  • Check out of hotel
  • Day 3 ride will start at 9 am
  • Drive home to Kingston after ride

Accommodation

We'll be staying at the Ash Grove Inn in Barry's Bay. You will be responsible for your own booking (613-756-7672). The desk manager is Chris, and she is generally available until 3 pm. I suggest that you book sooner rather than later. At the moment the hotel is fairly empty, but obviously could fill up quickly. The hotel has a very reasonable cancellation policy (24 hours) should the weather look nasty. However, I'll watch the forecast carefully as the event approaches and try and give the hotel several days notice that we may not be coming if the forecast does not look promising. 

Routes

The button below will take you to a RWGPS event page for three routes in the area. The Tuesday and Wednesday routes were recommended to me by a local who uses the moniker "Cranky" on RWGPS. I have ridden the Tuesday route. It was terrific. The Wednesday route is a loop around Round Lake that goes past Bonnechere  Provincial Park and the Bonnechere Caves. Joan McLeod of our club also has a farm just off this route. When I was doing my recce of the area in June, I rode for a while with a local (a retired RCMP guy) and he recommended the Thursday route. It's actually a road route. It goes through some of the most attractive scenery in the area, and it's super rolly-polly! There are also possible ways of shortening all three routes if anyone wants a more relaxed day.

 

RWGPS Routes Link

Covid Guidelines

KVC Etiquette Guide