Ottawa is a capital that still has the feel of a lumber town. It began in the 1820s as Bytown, named for Colonel John By, the army engineer who was sent to build a canal to link the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario, and the Rideau Canal, finished in 1832, still runs through the middle of the city. In winter it freezes and becomes one of the longest skating rinks in the world, with commuters gliding to work in scarves and hats, and in summer boats pass through the locks beside the grand Château Laurier hotel. The canal is a UNESCO site, and the whole waterway to Kingston is a good place to follow by bike.
Parliament Hill rises above the river with its Gothic Revival towers, built in the 1860s on a cliff over the Ottawa, and on summer evenings a light show plays across its facade. Behind the hill, the ByWard Market has stalls of cheese, maple syrup and flowers, and a famous pastry, the BeaverTail, a flat fried dough that tastes best sprinkled with cinnamon sugar on a cold day. The city is bilingual in a practical sense, with the French-speaking city of Gatineau just across the river in Quebec, so you may hear both languages in a single street. Museums line the riverbank, and the parkland of Gatineau Park, a few minutes away, offers forest, lakes and scenic roads.
The ride from here to Kingston follows the canal and the Rideau lakes, a region of rock, water and pine, with quiet roads, small villages and old stone locks. Roads are generally smooth and well signed, with moderate traffic and wide shoulders. Deer and moose are present, so be careful at dawn and dusk. Cottage traffic can be heavy on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons in summer, so a weekday start is ideal.
Fuel is plentiful in the city and along the main highways. The riding season runs from May to October, and the best months are June and September, with warm days and cool nights. Autumn turns the hardwood forests red and gold around the middle of October, and it is the best time of all, though the mornings can be frosty. Winter closes the season, and not every road is salted for two wheels.