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Days 49 and 50: Tuesday and Wednesday, August 17 and 18, 1999 - Rest days in Montreal

We decided to spend days 49 and 50 as rest days in Montreal while the other members in our group rode from Ottawa to Hudson, a picturesque community off the western tip of the Island of Montreal and then, from Hudson to Mont St. Hilaire where we planned to meet up with them Thursday evening. Tuesday evening our daughters organized an open house dinner for a crowd of about forty of our friends and family. The day was spent running errands: taking our bikes in for checkups, buying food and drink, helping get everything ready. Luckily the weather was good when people started to arrive and we were able to eat outside. It was a great party that we thoroughly enjoyed and it was wonderful to see all our friends at that particular time. Some encouraged us to quit but by that point, we had decided to try to finish our odyssey.

Wednesday was spent relaxing with our daughters and gathering the things we thought we'd need - such as more warm clothes - for the end of the trip. We dawdled at the end of the day and made it to the Laurier camp grounds in Mont St. Hilaire at about 9:30 p.m. after watching the X-Files movie and eating leftovers from the party the night before. I had to laugh when we arrived because the site was chock-a-block with camper trailers each occupying its own little rectangle of terrain on straight, parallel streets and the scene struck me more as city living than camping. We met Jen and Ali who had just come back from playing bingo at the camping community centre and the whole scene seemed like kitsch. Luckily the night was clear and we set up our tent in the darkness. Everything was a bit damp because of the high humidity but nothing was actually wet. The girls helped us sort out our things and after fond good-byes, drove off as quietly as they could.

Day 51: Thursday, August 19, 1999 - Mont St-Hilaire to Pointe-du-Lac near Trois-Rivières

Distance: 126 km; Climb: 112 m; Drop: 112 m

Woke up early at 6 a.m. after a good night of rest. Everything was wet from heavy dew. We packed our gear away and then Leo told us that Jonathan was cooking breakfast alone so I said I'd go over and help right away, which I did. We had toasted blueberry bagels, toast and fried eggs plus assorted fruit, cereal and so on. I informed Eva that she and Jonathan were the sweeps since Gilbert and I had done sweep duty twice in a row. We left the grounds at 8:45 after everything had been packed into the truck.

It was a lovely day after the morning fog lifted and we had a most pleasant ride along the Richelieu River past many picturesque houses from McMasterville to Sorel .

Picturesque route along the Richelieu

From Sorel, we caught the noon ferry to St. Ignace de Loyola near Berthierville.

Ferry across the St. Lawrence

Then from St. Cuthbert to Louiseville, we rode along many of the same back roads as we had ridden in 1994 during the first Grand Tour du Québec. During this portion of the ride, we rode with Wally and Roger making several stops along the way to enjoy the day. Our most remarkable stop was in Champlain where we talked with the local priest for a half-hour about our experience crossing Canada and about his travels in Italy. Then we visited the church which displayed a unique architectural style.

Church in Champlain

The weather was fine with a comfortable temperature of about 22 C but we did have to fight somewhat of a headwind. When we finally arrived at our camp site, "base de plein air Ville-Jolie," I immediately felt at home because it looked a lot like Camp Marcel in Ste. Beatrix where we spent several summers when our children were young. Even the furnishings in the half of the cottage that we would call home that night were similar to those in Camp Marcel. I was delighted that we could sleep in one of the many bedrooms furnished with bunk beds and we could also use the kitchen facilities to cook supper. Although the camp looked out over Lake St. Pierre, the water was chill so Gilbert decided to cool off in the swimming pool before taking his shower.

The local handyman and caretaker gave us a tour of the grounds. When we came back to the cottage, we saw a truck with the words Marche pour l'indépendance written in huge letters on its side. How ironic that the group in the other half of the cottage was composed of staunch Quebec separatists! We wondered when the others in our group would notice who our neighbours were.

We went for a long walk that evening and discovered an excellent inn farther down the road. Then we headed back to camp and went to bed in our small room at the end of the corridor. We could here many of the others having an animated discussion about the separation of Quebec. Apparently, several of our neighbours had explained their point of view in English to some of our cyclists. We went to sleep thinking that it had been a great day.

Day 52: Friday August 20, 1999 - Pointe-du-Lac to Laval University in Quebec City

Distance: 148 km; Climb: 286 m; Drop: 278 m

We left camp at 7:20 a.m. under sunny skies which continued the whole day. We did ride against a slight headwind all day long but otherwise the conditions were perfect. The road was excellent, too, with a paved shoulder for cyclists most of the way along Highway 138. The part that wasn't yet paved was being paved when we passed and this was the only time we were to see road workers actually working on a shoulder for cyclists.

Paving the road shoulder

The majority of the members of our group declared Quebec to be far ahead of the other provinces in terms of cycle paths and facilities for cyclists.

The rolling countryside was picturesque with great views of the St. Lawrence River in parts. I noticed many charming houses in what I would call early Canadiana style with sloping, overhanging roofs and often French-style garrets. Lovely flower gardens often added a decorative flourish of colour to the scene.

A picturesque Québecois house

It was a great ride except for Gilbert's sore backside which started making itself known at about the 100 km mark. We stopped for a chocolate milkshake at Donnacona and later ran into a cyclist who had ridden some Bud-organized rides and who knew Henry Murphy from TDC97. We soon entered the outskirts of Quebec City and we both made a point of riding up the steep hill at Cap Rouge that had defeated us in 1994. I had been looking forward to claiming victory over this particular hill. We continued along the route and found our way easily to Laval University. Upon our arrival, Jen told us that our friend, Claudette, had left us a message saying that she was available for supper so we called her to confirm. Then we showered and headed downtown on a local bus. How surprised we were to meet her at a bus transfer point and not the spot we had set for our rendezvous!

After continuing on to the lower town, we walked to the restaurant of our first choice but it was too crowded so we went to a Vietnamese/Thai restaurant nearby and had an excellent meal. Then we walked around the old city, admired the Franco/Québecois mural, listened to singers on the wide boardwalk patio outside the Château Frontenac and breathed in the wonderful atmosphere. Then we parted with Claudette and took the bus back to the university where we went to bed at about 11:30 p.m. Some of the younger members of our gang were making quite a ruckus but luckily they stopped. Had a good night of sleep.

Day 53: Saturday August 21, 1999 - Rest day in Quebec City

We sampled a free but skimpy breakfast in the university cafeteria and got ready to leave for the day's activities. We first had planned to meet Gilbert's cousin, Judy, at 10:30 a.m. at her condo which was only about 3 km from the university. Later that evening we would be having a pizza party at the residence. It didn't take us long to walk to Judy's place and we arrived fifteen minutes early. She introduced us to her big golden retriever. Then Judy drove us to the Yellow Tomato restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious brunch and interesting conversation.

After saying our farewells after the meal, the two of us walked to the old city, where we spent the day browsing in shops and most especially bike shops. I bought a t-shirt with an attractive Quebec City scene on the front. We took pictures of the remarkable mural painted by French and Québecois artists in a joint summer venture. This huge tableau on the side of a building really looks three-dimensional and our photos actually fooled some of our friends.

Mural in Quebec City

We arrived back at the university for the pizza party, went for another walk and had a frosty cappucino at a local Tim Horton's and then went to bed.

Day 54: Sunday August 22, 1999 - Québec City to Rivière Ouelle

Distance: 142 km; Climb: 484 m; Drop: 488 m

We enjoyed another great day of cycling. At first Highway 132 had paved shoulders but later in the day, they disappeared. The skies were grey until mid-afternoon but there was no rain; the temperatures ranged in the low 20s and we had a tailwind for most of the day. Early in the morning we rode through the deserted streets of Quebec City to the ferry terminal. We had had no luck at the one Internet café that we had found the evening before and there was someone online already when we tried again in passing. We embarked on the ferry and rode it to Lévis with Eva and only two cars.

After leaving Lévis, the scenery soon became lovely; everyone enjoyed this day's ride. It was 2:15 p.m. when we arrived in St. Jean-Port-Joli and decided to stop for dessert at the Coureuse des sables restaurant that we had discovered during our bike trip of 1998 with our friends from Beaconsfield. We had already eaten our sandwich lunch at 11:30 a.m. but there was a special "menu du jour" with halibut in a pink sauce that sounded so good that we decided to eat a second lunch. By the time we left the restaurant, we were both feeling stuffed to the gills.

The campground at Rivière Ouelle was four kilometers from the highway and I found that a bit of a drag until we turned the last corner of our route. In front of us was a strikingly lovely coast with eel nets stretched between parallel posts reaching out into the river.

That evening we went for a long walk along the shoreline and enjoyed a magnificent sunset that we captured partially on film.

Sunset at Rivière Ouelle

Back in the campground just as night fell, Gilbert discovered that his wallet was missing. Just as we were starting to get really worried about it, Dave Faingold discovered it under one of the picnic tables. What a relief!

Day 55: Monday August 23, 1999 - Rivière Ouelle through Rivière-du-Loup to Trois-Pistoles

Distance: 125 km; Climb: 310 m; Drop: 370 m

When we arose, Jen told us about a fox that had stood guard for quite some time in front of our tent during the very early morning hours. She had tried to shoo it away but it wouldn't budge. Later on the trip, the other group said the fox had paid them a visit the next day.

It was another lovely day and Gilbert and I did our best to avoid riding on Highway 132 as much as we could; we took lesser used and often more picturesque local roads at St. Denis and Notre Dame du Portage. At a pit stop, we met up with three cyclists promoting the Age d'or provincial games. It was great to see these people keeping fit. 

Since the public library in Rivière-du-Loup didn't open until quite a bit later in the day, we went to the Cégep and met an ESL (English second language) teacher who took us to the library where we were able to use the Internet. We sent some messages off but had trouble with group mailings. Then we rode up to Auberge de la Pointe where we had hoped to eat a lovely meal of salmon but the restaurant wasn't open so we bought a delicious chocolate milkshake and downed our peanut butter and jam sandwiches before continuing our ride. At some point during this section of the ride, Gilbert's keys bounced out of an open pocket in his pannier and disappeared forever.

When the paved shoulder disappeared, we rode the concession roads before rejoining the 132 just west of Trois-Pistoles. During a slow ride through a one-lane construction bottleneck just before reaching the town, a tractor-trailer honked at me to get off the road. As he would have saved all of 30 seconds before being able to pass, I didn't see the point of moving over so I held my ground. Such impatient drivers!

Upon arriving in camp, we learned that some of the other riders had experienced some very unpleasant incidents along Highway 132. Up till now, the only other place where we had encountered some really dangerous drivers had been in Ontario. The day's incidents included a pickup full of young men who harassed several cyclists and actually drove onto the gravel shoulder to spew up stones in front of Jackie. Then they opened a door, just shutting it at the last minute and missing Megan. Very scary! And at one point, when Martin looked in his rearview mirror, he saw a van behind him swerving out of control. The van got closer and would have hit him if it hadn't veered into the ditch, passing him and covering him with mud as it did. Many people, including ourselves, are now feeling nervous about riding this highway.

Day 56: Tuesday August 24, 1999 - Trois Pistoles through Rimouski to Causapscal

Distance: 189 km; Climb: 610 m; Drop: 410 m

I began this day in a bad mood because of the huge distance we had to ride along a highway that I knew was very dangerous in parts. We tried to avoid the 132 soon after leaving camp by riding up into the concessions. Martin, who was riding behind us, decided to follow. This detour turned out to be a bad idea because the gravel roads were very poor and although we left at 6:45 a.m., we spent so much time travelling slowly along these gravel back roads, before we came down from the hills at Bic, that our day ended up being extra long.

View of St. Fabien before arriving at Bic

Just outside of Bic, Jen went by in the truck and Martin decided to hop on board because the hill climbing we had done had resulted in a sore knee. We did have a fairly quiet ride into Rimouski where we stopped at a sidewalk café for some espresso. Then we continued along local roads that followed the scenic coast and next stopped for a delicious lunch of mussels near the very picturesque village of Ste. Luce. On the rocky shoreline near the restaurant, a woman hand fed bread to Canada geese; they were amazingly tame.

Special lunch stop for mussels

After lunch, though, I found the rest of the day long and arduous especially after leaving the coast at Mont Joli and heading into the hilly Matapedia Valley which ultimately seemed to have more climbs than descents. We had only completed 100 km and had another 90 or so to do! I had no energy left in my legs to climb all these hills that appeared one after the next. After another 40 km, we saw the tandem and Jonathan stopped at a small restaurant so we joined them and filled up on coke and chocolate while we complained about the length of the day's ride.

Somehow I mustered up the courage to continue and we ended up making fairly good time for the last part of the ride. We made it into camp where supper consisted of grilled cheese sandwiches and minestrone soup. Bud and Margot dropped in on their way back to Toronto and I mentioned that the maps really needed work because of numerous inaccuracies and even false information. She seemed surprised as Jackie, Dave and I gave her some examples. After supper we walked down to the highway for an ice cream and chatted a while with Jackie, Dave and Jonathan. We went to bed after yet another tough day and I began the countdown of long days left: no more days with rides over 180 km. 

Day 57: Wednesday August 25, 1999 - Causapscal to Petit Rocher, New Brunswick

Distance: 175 km; Climb: 696 m; Drop: 516 m

Another gorgeous day with a long distance to ride. Gilbert was in really great shape as we set out on our route through scenic hills, snaking alongside the clear waters of the Matapedia River. At several spots we saw fishermen fly fishing from canoes in picture postcard settings.

Fishing along the Matapedia River	Covered wooden bridge across the Matapedia River

I found the hills about as steep as those in the Canadian Shield in northern Ontario. The day had become very hot and the sun seemed to beat down on us by the time we reached Matapedia and crossed into New Brunswick. Then the scenery became more and more coastal with fewer hills and pretty villages. I really enjoyed the last part of the ride and found something very refreshing about the sea coast.

A wonderful meal awaited us at our scenic campsite on the beach at Petit Rocher. Adélard's family from "up north," that is his sisters and brothers and in-laws, cooked us a real Acadian feast. We feasted on fricot, baked beans in maple syrup, chicken soup, corn soup, home-baked bread, boiled mackerel, potatoes and a variety of desserts - date squares, carrot cookies, raisin pie, to name a few. It was great! especially since we would have been on kitchen duty for this long day. Gilbert and I both ate too much and had trouble sleeping. I had found it a difficult day at first but a pleasant one afterwards. No more 175 km days left to ride.

Adélard's family serves us an Acadian supper

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