I visited and cycled along the Cycle path between Shawville and Campbell's Bay for the first time last August (2000). I was extremely impressed with how well your organization has created this terrific pathway. The scenery is beautiful, and the interpretation plaques which you have placed along the way are most interesting and extremely well done.

I spent many summers in the Pontiac as a young boy. My grandmother, Mrs.Carmen Horner, lived at Radford Corners and my Uncle Norm and Aunt Catherine lived on a farm out at Yarm. My Aunt Catherine still lives out there. I travelled the roads between their homes several times a week. However, travelling along the cycle path allowed me to see the countryside from an entirely different perspective, and a beautiful one at that!

I look forward to my return visit this summer, when I plan to cycle from Wyman to the "end of the line" . Congratulations on creating a wonderful experience for cycle touring. Keep up the great work on this most important mission.

Apple is the fruit most common and native to the region. There are a few wild, apple trees along the bike path, near Campbell's Bay, going towards Shawville. In the other direction on the path, towards Vinton, there is a stretch of about one kilometre of wild plum trees. The plums are hard and bitter unfortunately, but plum preserve made with a lot of sugar is alright to eat. In the same general area as the plum trees are raspberry canes. 1998 was a bumper year for berries. After a good strawberry season in the second half of June, there were raspberries well into July. The blackberries were also plentiful and there were some blueberries too. There are some wild cherry trees along the bike path but the fruit is small and not very good. The trees are attractive in springtime because of their blossoms and the warm air is scented with their perfume. Though not a fruit, edible mushrooms grow in the Vinton fields near the path in the fall.

One of the more unusual encounters with wildlife occurred two years ago when a falcon attacked a fox. It happened in the swamp area where the bike path reaches Callahan Road in Vinton. Before the ditches were dredged the water of the swamp sometimes rose over the bike path. By chance I came across a fox using the bike path to cross the swamp. When the fox noticed me it increased its pace to escape but it didn't want to go into the water filled swamp. This area is a favourite of large birds which I think are falcons. As I watched the fox one of these birds swooped down from the sky directly at the running animal. The fox only noticed the unexpected attack at the last second and had to stop and turn its jaws towards the on-rushing bird. The falcon checked its descent abruptly just out of reach of the snapped together teeth. The hawk climbed into the air, perhaps to begin a new attack, but the fox ran a few more paces and seeing a relatively dry area, ran off the track into the reeds and swamp grass.

This summer has been a particularly good year for black bears. I first met some in June, but in the forest, off the bike path. I stopped moving immediately and wondered about my chances for retreat. There were a large and two small ones about 100 metres ahead of me. The small ones which were babies I guessed weighed about 30 kilograms. They noticed me where I was stopped and began moving off into the bush; one of the smaller ones seemed interested and took a longer look before following. When I heard the crashes of their bodies in the brush I continued my journey. Later in the summer I again saw black bears in this general area. There is a swamp about halfway between

Campbell's Bay and Shawville that seems to be a black bear habitat. The bike path crosses this swamp and there are always signs that black bears are bound. Twice I have seen bears but at a far distance.
Two weeks ago at the beginning of December (3rd) I biked to Shawville. On my return as I neared Campbell's Bay, just before the forest gives way to the fields, two big black bears blocked the path. After a day of some 30 kilometres of riding I was only thinking of rest and a warm room. The sun was low in the sky and the chill of late autumn evening replaced the mild day. I was tired and was coasting on the downgrade. I was close to the animals before I instinctively and almost reluctantly halted my progress. I thought I might have to wait some time but after about a minute the bears decided to leave and went down the very steep slope of the deep gully to the right of the path.
Black bears fear nothing but they always seem to prefer to avoid confrontation. Given a few seconds after an unexpected meeting they calmly find a way to depart.

A regular visitor of the Cyclopark tells us why he loves this area...

A person can bicycle almost the entire distance between Ottawa-Hull and the Pontiac on secondary roads. There is only a section of highway 148 bypassing Luskville that has to be used.
When I bicycle from Ottawa to the Pontiac I take the old railway bridge that crosses the Ottawa River; the National Gallery of Canada is on the Ontario side and the Museum of Civilization is on the Québec side. There is a bike path from there through Hull, to Sacre Coeur Boulevard and Montclair Avenue. There are many paths in the vicinity of Gatineau Park and it is possible to find a quiet route to the junction of St. Raymond Boulevard and Mountain Road.
Mountain Road is a winding paved way along the Laurentian foothills, it is easy biking and the traffic is light. Mountain Road connects with highway 148 about five kilometres from Luskville. The highway is the main link and traffic is heavy, it is four lanes for most of the way and so the danger is not too great. From Luskville to the St. Cecile de Masham Road junction highway 148 is two lane and is the least pleasant riding space. There are two moderately difficult hills but in about fifteen minutes an average biker can cross this section. At St.Cecile de Masham Road a person turns away from the mountains. The gravel roads that go in the same direction as the river are the ones to take through low, flat terrain to an intersection with highway 148 again. But it is simply a matter of crossing the highway and secondary roads with names like 8th Line, 7th Line, 6th Line, etc, lead a person to different parts of the lower Pontiac. These main lines are practically empty of traffic it is possible to bike for hours of the day and not meet a car. The PPJ Bicycle path begins at Wyman near Quyon. There are linking roads from the lines to it. I have never gone that way however, I follow the lines through isolated farm and bush lots in hilly lands. Some parts of my route would be a challenge even for a good mountain biker and I have to walk my bike. Past Shawville it is simple to follow a line road to meet highway 148 near Bryson but it is also possible to use a logging road over a mountain and come out on  a secondary road near Campbell's Bay.
Some years ago I would travel the 100 or so kilometres from Ottawa to Campbell's Bay in about six hours. The last time I did it in 1996 I took nearly eight hours which included a lunch break.
For the past two years most of my bicycling has been on the PPJ Cycle path between Shawville, Campbell's Bay and Fort Coulonge. This part of the path which I know is perfect for recreational biking. There are no steep hills on the path and the scenery is a variety of forests, fields, swamps and active and abandoned farms. From Campbell's Bay I can go to either Shawville or Fort Coulonge in an hour an a half of easy riding.
The things I like are the different familiar scenes. There is a large marsh just outside Campbell's Bay. Between two ridges tiny streams have flooded several acres of land. When it reaches a certain level the water finds its way to the nearby Ottawa River and its bay. The Vinton farmlands are flat, wet and dull. But there is an open vista and the spire of the Church is visible throughout eight kilometres of the path. Forest brackets the bike path from the Serpentine Creek to Fort Coulonge. When I was a boy we swam in this cold water which we called the Benoir Creek. Benoir Creek is created by two streams coming from lakes in the mountains. There are secondary roads and bush tracks leading into these parts. I travel one such route that follows the creeks and lakes to my mother's farm. Logging is on-going but really nature is still untouched in this back area.
I don't think bicycling should be done for the purpose of spotting wildlife but sightings occur frequently. Falcons are common in the swamp areas of Vinton as well as blue herons in summertime. Recently the only thing I have seen are water rats in the ice-ridged streams. The presence of beavers is shown by a hutch in a flooded, treed, lowland. Next to the path are trees cut down by the animals. I have seen beavers in other, more remote places, usually all I notice is the sudden slap of their tails on the water as they dive out of sight. Deer, foxes and skunks make up the list of interesting wild animals that are in the Vinton area. Black bears favor a swamp area between Campbell's Bay and Shawville. These bears are the lords of the land but despite their power they shun human contact. It is an exiting thing to unexpectedly cross their path.
The encounters with wildlife are extras, it is the open spaces, the fresh air and sense of freedom that I enjoy. Biking is part of my life and I spend an hour or two traveling the bike path almost every day.