- 05/07/2005 - 0.. kms Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
It was raining in the morning when I got up... Not an attractive start to this tour, and I was wondering whether to delay the start until the next day... But at 8:30, the sun started to peek out and I promptly left Lachine to join Brigitte at her place on "Le Plateau". The 20 kms to Brigitte's place went well, even though I hadn't cycled loaded for quite a while, and by 10:00 I was at her place. We made quick adjustments to Brigitte's panniers and left towards my father's place in Rosemontfor a quick "goodbye". We then cycled north to Henri-Bourassa blvd and then east towards Legardeur bridge to Repentigny were we joined "Le Chemin du Roi" cycle route.
- 05/07/2005 - 99. kms Ste.Geneviève de Berthier
This cycle route follows mostly 138 East. It's made up of some dedicated cycle paths and wide shoulders on the road where there aren't dedicated paths.
By 12:30 we had crossed the bridge out of the Island of Montreal and had lunch in a park in Repentigny. Most of the day was grey and humid and so not too hot. The cycling went well and we settled for the night at Ste. Genevieve when Brigitte got a flat.
We got caught in the rain while buying groceries, had dinner, fixed Brigitte's flat and turned in.
- 06/07/2005 - 71. kms Trois Rivières
I woke up early and it was really grey. Brigitte was still sleeping so I dozed off again... When we woke up again, the sun was out so we got ready quickly and left
The scenery was enjoyable... Gone was the city, and the suburban scene quickly faded to be replaced by farmland and countryside... Though we had to cycle against a noticeable headwind, the day was enjoyable. We made it ti "Trois Rivieres" by late afternoon and settled at the Youth Hostel for the night.
There was a festival in town (Le Festival de l'Art Vocal) which made for an interesting after dinner stroll.
- 07/07/2005 - 76. kms Portneuf
We got a late start in the morning, but the day was beautiful though still having to cycle against a headwind.
We stopped at a goat farm, to visit a couple of country churches, to talk to an old lady (at Grondines) which was only too eager to tell us her life's story and we finally settled at Portneuf for the night.
There isn't even a grocery store at Portneuf, so we dined on convenience store fare
- 08/07/2005 - 74. kms St. David (Lévis)
The first village leaving Portneuf was Cap Sante... A beautiful little village where we stopped to visit the church. The next was Donnacona which is basically one big shopping mall. Neuville didn't present much more, but we took a break at a marina on the St. Laurent river. Cap Rouge is basically a campus town and residential district, but has a neat little touristy area by the river. We then crossed the Laporte's bridge to the south side of the St. Laurent river and headed for Levis where Brigitte would visit with her mother.
Well, we spent two nights at Brigitte's mother's place. I bought and changed my panniers since these past few days I kept loosing the front ones with every little bump on the road. The "Panpacks" served me well for some 20,000 kms, but the velcro attachment system was getting tired so I decided to try the Arkel panniers which everyone praises profusely. They seem well built and the attachment system appears bomb-proof...
- 10/07/2005 - 102 kms St. Jean Port Joli
We left Levis by the cycle path that follows the St. Laurent river... This took us to Lauzon where we joined with the 132 East. It was hot and sunny, but it wasn't humid and we had a tail wind so the cycling was easy. We stopped at Baumont to see an old watermill... but it appeared to be a tourist trap so we headed to a little restaurant for lunch where I had a pizza and lemon pie (hmmm ! so good !). We settled for the night at St. Jean Port Joli since we wanted to have dinner at "La Boustifaille" which is a nearby restaurant attached to a summer theater (La Roche à Veillon) and specializes in traditional Quebec dishes. However, being tired we felt we wouldn't do justice to a superb meal so we decided we'd have lunch there the next day instead.
- 11/07/2005 - 12. kms St. Roch des Aulnaies
So we spent the morning walking around town (touristy and pretty) and left just before noon to cycle the 4 clicks or so to "La Boustifaille". I had a superb pea soup, "cipate" which is a huge meat pie of mixed meats and veggies, and raisin pie for desert. This really filled us up and we found cycling very difficult after this meal.... So we decided to crash at St. Roch des Aulnaies where Brigitte's aunts congregation (Brigitte's aunt is a nun) maintains a summer place by the St. Laurent river and set up camp on the summer place's grounds.
- 12/07/2005 - 47. kms Kamouraska
We got up early and cycled to "La Pocatière" where we had a brief visit with an aunt and uncle of Brigitte and then continued on.
The wind was strong and it was a struggle all day. At Kanouraska we had enough of it and decided to spend the night at a small B&B located at an "emu" farm (an emu is a kind of ostrich and is raised for its meat and its oil which apparently has curative properties).
We walked around the village, tasted a delightful nut pastry and smoked eel, had a beautiful diner of cauliflour and orange soup (really nice !), sturgeon and cod... and watched the sunset... That's the life !
- 13/07/2005 - 91. kms St Honoré
The bed was fine but the breakfast sucked... It was at a nearby "bio-equitable" restaurant and consisted of a small glass of juice, one small egg, a small waffle and a few small pieces of fruit... No wonder most "bio freaks" ar small, thin and appear sickly...
Coming back from beakfast, Réjeanne, the B&B owner, was already making up the room and I found her all "ga-ga" as she found a big spider... so I helped her out by taking it outside (I really didn't want to kill it for her)... Réjeanne then took us on a tour of her farm and talked to us about her emus.
The morning was still foggy as we left and we still had to fight against this headwind so at St. André (where we stopped to visit the church, the oldest in the Lower St. Laurent area) we decided to head south, inland, towards St. Alexandre. That took us out of the wind but the road was much less flat and started off with a monster hill... The change was welcome and the scenery of forests was a novelty from the coastal scenery we had experience since leaving Montreal.
At St. Alexandre we followed the Rang St. Charles east until the "Petit Témis" cycle path which goes all the way to Edmunston, New Brunswick. It's crushed stone... a bit of a pain... but the scenery through forests, with small lakes and rivers is very pretty. Also, it's very peaceful with no motor vehicles allowed and little bicycle traffic as well. I saw chipmunks and a snake on the path and Brigitte was lucky to see a pretty gold fox which I missed.
We settled for the night at St. Honoré.
- 14/07/2005 - 90. kms St. Jacques, New Brunswick, Canada
It was grey when we left in the morning but it didn't look like it would rain. The cycle was easy and mostly downhill with little wind. The cycle path went through Cabano, St. Louis du Ha Ha (named like that since apparently the pioneers when arriving from the St. Laurent valley and seeing the pretty blue lake exclaimed: "Ha!, Ha!" in admiration and the name stuck), Notre-Dame du Lac. At Dégélis we stopped for lunch at a marina (on the Lake) pub since it was starting to rain
It was still raining after lunch, so we put on our rain gear and continued on in the rain... A dirt and crushed stone surface really messes you and your bike up when it's raining... However, a couple of hours later it was sunny again. We tried for Edmunston, but at St. Jacques, New Brunswick, we were tired and since there was what appeared to be a fine Botanical Garden here we decided to camp at the Provincial campground next door and visit the Gardens in the morning.
Lots of Black Flies (small flies that actually bite a chunk out of your skin) here at dusk...!
- 15/07/2005 - 12. kms Edmundston
We got up and since everything was wet from the dew in the morning, we left everything there and went to the Botanical Garden for breakfast and a visit. When we got back, all had dried up, so we packed and left for Edmunston.
Edmunston's a small industrial town. Nothing special about it... but we decided to stop here since we needed to do laudry. Anyways, we spent a nice afternoon walking around town and doing our chores.
- 16/07/2005 - 67. kms Grand Falls
Heading south on route 144, the weather, road and scenery were fine. We stopped for lunch at St. Leonard and decided to spend the night at Grand Falls. The campground was smack in the middle of downtown by the gorge and rapids so it was all very convenient... We decided to take the boat ride through the gorge which ended up being a tourist trap, but then walked down to the bottom of the gorge and walked around a bit (which required a bit of rock scrambling, and was quite amusing !).
- 17/07/2005 - 88. kms Florenceville
Leaving Grand Falls we headed south on road 105 towards Fredericton. This road is just beautiful, though quite hilly at spots, it follows the St. John's river through forests, farmland and small villages. Very little traffic and very scenic. Though there is a cycle path along the river, which is awful (large rocks and patches of sand... used primarily by dirt bikes and 4 wheel motorcycles even though it is clearly signed as not for motorized vehicles of any kind) we were happy to stick on the 105.
It was very hot from about midday and Brigitte was having at hard time of it. By 4 in the afternoon she was "pooped" so we settled in Florenceville for the night. We could only find an relatively expensive motor inn, so we enjoyed some time in the pool and jacuzzi... A fancy conclusion to a beautiful day...
I haven't mentioned it yet, but motorists in New Brunswick are something else... If a pedestrian puts a foot on the road, anywhere, all traffic stops to let the person walk across. So cycling on the road was a breeze, as motorists give you wide birth. Also, dogs are a charm... Much different than my experiences with nasty mutts in the U.S. We got chased by dogs in New Brunswick, but nothing of a threatening nature... No barking, no showing of teeth... They just followed us a bit, stretching their legs, and then returned home... On one occasion, a german shepard followed us to a speed of 30 kms/hour for quite a stretch and the appeared sad to have to turn around a return home.
- 18/07/2005 - 84. kms Nackawic
Continuing on southward, the road got very hilly, and though it wasn't particularly hot, the humidity and effort made us sweat a lot. At Nackawic, Brigitte was "pooped". We met a local cyclist who told us it was OK to camp by the river in the park behind "the biggest axe in the world" and so we decided to freecamp that night. There was someone at the nearby arena and she let us take showers which was real nice.
- 19/07/2005 - 70. kms Fredericton
We got up and it was grey and foggy, but that soon cleared and the sun came out. Now it got really hot and humid and we sweated profusely all the way. At Nictaquac we were told that road 102 on the other side of the river was less hilly and quieter so we crossed over the river for the 20 kms or so left to Fredericton. It was less hilly but there was however a lot more traffic....
When we got to Fredericton at around 3 in the afternoon, we headed straigh for the Youth Hostel anticipating with delight and relief a good shower... Well, the Youth Hostel was closed until 6PM so we decided to lounge at a nearby terasse with a pitcher of sangria and a plate of chicken natchos. That was somewhat satisfying.
The next day was my birthday, so we took a day off and walked around town taking in the sights.
- 21/07/2005 - 69. kms Cambridge-Narrows
From Fredericton, we decided to head south-east towards Alma and the Bay of Fundy. It was a beautiful morning and the road was fairly flat, so we made good progress, 50 kms or so, before noon. It the got hot and humid and very hilly so after a lunch of clams and chips at a roadside eatery we only managed another 18 kms before getting fed-up. There was a camping on the edge of a lake at Cambridge-Narrows and we decided to settle down for the day and jump in the lake.
- 22/07/2005 - 66. kms Penobsquis
The cycling was pretty hot from the start and hilly all the way. We arrived at Sussex around noon. A pretty little town so we hit the tourist info center and were greeted by a crowd of mentally handicapped who seemed to have gathered for the day at the train station, the site of the tourist info center. After a nice lunch at a nearby cafe, we walked the town for a couple of hours then left towards Springdale, the heat having abated somewhat. After a while, the wind changed direction and became quite strong. It looked like a pretty big storm was in the works. At Penobsquis we stopped by a campground wondering whether we should quit for the day when a car stops and the driver tells us that the radio says that there's a hail storm with strong winds at Moncton heading our way fast and that we should take cover. That settled it and we hit the campground.
In the middle of the night I woke up for a pee... and wow... the cops are all over evicting a bunch of kids from the campground for rowdiness... I hadn't heard much and it hadn't bothered my sleep, but in the morning I could see bottles of beers all over, broken branches, etc... Kids will be kids...
- 23/07/2005 - 45. kms Alma
In the morning it had cooled down so the cycling was pretty good though the road was very hilly. We got to the Bay of Fundy at low tide and set up camp in the park near Alma. Lots of black flies and mosquitoes but fantastic scenery. Our campsite was on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Bay. After setting up and cleaning up we went to walk the village and had a beautiful seafood chowder at a small restaurant set up in the village's grocery store.
- 24/07/2005 - 55. kms Hopewell
In the morning, it was downright cold so we didn't sweat that much cycling in the hills towards Hopewell. We spent sometime viewing the Hopewell Rocks and then cycled to Chocolate River where we settled in a mosquito infested campground for the night... The joys of the outdoors, heh!.
- 25/07/2005 - 35. kms Moncton
In the morning, it was grey and dewey and still mosquito infested... so we left quickly. Still hilly and occasionally drizzling, but at least it wasn't hot... We had set out to cycle to Shediac, but passing through Moncton, we found the downtown area nice and attractive and decided to spend the rest of the day and night here. That was a good decision since it rained pretty hard in the afternoon and evening.
- 26/07/2005 - 73. kms St.Edouard de Kent
We left Moncton in the morning and it went well. The weather was nice and the road was level. We passed Shediac without stopping as we were eager to get back to the coast. At the coast, we stopped for a quick lunch of lobster rolls and scallop burgers and then some pastries and then headed northward along the coast. At Bouctouche, we stopped at the tourist office and met a couple of cyclists who incited us to stay at a nearby campground on the grounds of a winery. After setting up camp, we had a dip in the ocean amongst the jelly fish, had a taste of the wines being made here (of which a beautiful edelberry wine) had dinner and turned in. After dinner we had a nice long walk along the dunes at the Irving Ecocenter.
- 27/07/2005 - 61. kms Kouchibouguac
The morning was grey again so we left quickly trying to make as much distance as we could before it would rain.. However, it didn't rain and the cycling went well as it wasn't too hot and the terrain was flat here on the coast. Around lunch time, we looked for "poutine rapée" which is a traditional Acadian dish (pork wrapped in a ball of potato dough and boiled). We had seen it at Bouctouche but hadn't stopped for it and now that we wanted it we couldn't find any... Ain't that always the way !
At Richiboucto the tourist office person told us that we could buy some canned at the local grocery store. So we bought some, as well as "fricot" of chicken and beef and Acadian lobster paté. If we hadn't found this, I was considering parking the bikes and taking a taxi back to Bouctouche to taste some authentic "Poutine rapée". So we kept the canned food for dinner that evening and had a lunch of Acadian pastries (the best being "poutine trouée" which is a ball of dough filled with fruits and sirup through a hole) and continued on our way.
We reached the Kouchibouguac park in mid afternoon, still hadn't rained. We set up camp, walked along the coastline, had dinner and turned in.
It rained pretty hard in the night.
Since our stuff was pretty wet from the rain in the night, we decided to stay an extra day in the park. It's a beautiful park and we enjoyed walking around exploring and spent the afternoon at the beach. A nice day's rest !
- 29/07/2005 - 117 kms Miramichi
Continuing on northward along the coast, the cycle was fine. The scenery wasn't bad but the small villages along the coast were mostly depressed with little to see. So we made good distance and reached Miramichi by late afternoon. It's a big uninteresting town, but the most likely place to spend the night in the area. We did laundry and chores, had dinner and turned in.
- 30/07/2005 - 90. kms Tracadie-Sheila
A good night's sleep in a dry warm motel room really rests you. The cycle again was good (clean clothes) wind at our backs, sunny and not too hot, road mostly level. We stopped for lunch in Negouac at a small Acadian "boulangerie". It was very nice ! The attendants were all dressed in traditional style Acadian garb. I had fish cakes (cod and onion patties) and a "poutine trouée" which were really good.
We continued on to Tracadie and decided to settled down here (at a camping not far from the town center) for a couple of nights since there apparently was an Acadian festival the next day in town.
The so-called festival was a big disappointment... Loads of people in the streets... but the music was mostly bad country/western... the kiosks were cheap souvenir stuff and garage sale stuff... We ended up just walking around town taking a day's rest.
- 01/08/2005 - 40. kms Caraquet
Since we were too late for the "Baroque Festival" at La Mèque, we decided to by-pass the peninsula and head north-west to Caraquet on "La Baie des Chaleurs".
When we got there it started raining hard so we decided to wait it out at a touristy area near the port. We had a real nice lunch of seafood and since it was still raining hard after lunch we decided to spend the night in Caraquet.
- 02/08/2005 - 28. kms Grande-Anse
In the morning we headed for the "Acadian Village". A really nice provincial park reproducing village life of traditional Acadians at the turn of the previous century. We spent the whole day there and cycled to Grande-Anse to spend the night.
- 03/08/2005 - 79. kms Pointe-Verte
The coast of "La Baie des Chaleurs" is beautiful... with small cliffs, lots of rocks and little reason to stop. So we got to Bathurst by noon even though fighting strong side and front winds. At Bathurst (a big industrial town) we stopped for lunch and continued on our way towards Campbellton.
We got stopped by a cop who wanted to give us each a $25 ticket for riding our bicycles without helmets (apparently compulsory in New Brunswick). Brigitte talked him down arguing that we have cycled around New Brunswick and just as we are about to leave they're telling us that we have to get helmets...? Well it worked !.
We stopped at Pointe-Verte for the night and settled in at a campground on the Bay. In the evening, while enjoying a walk along the coast, we were treated to the most beautiful double rainbow (two full arcs) opposite a dramatic sunset.... Quite a sight... too bad I didn't have my camera at the time.
- 04/08/2005 - 83. kms Campbellton
As we cycled westward along the coast of the Bay, the road got increasingly hilly but still very rideable. Belle Dune was pretty industrial, then little villages succeeded each other. We stopped at Charlo for a lunch of chowder and pie outside by the Bay and then reached Campbellton by mid afternoon. We registered at a quaint little Youth Hostel set up inside a lighthouse... Really nice !... and spent the rest of the day walking around town.
- 05/08/2005 - 86. kms Causapscal, Quebec
It was really grey when we set out of Campbellton. We crossed the bridge into Quebec at Pointe à la Croix and it started drizzling. We pushed on towards Matapedia but 5 kms out it started raining hard. So we took cover at the site of a museum and park about the Battle of Restigouche (the sinking of the French ship Machault by the English). A couple of hours later, it stopped raining and we continued on. We reached Matapedia by lunchtime and when we finished eating, the sun was out. We fought a headwind going uphill all the way to Causapscal where we settled for the night.
- 06/08/2005 - 77. kms Baie des Sables
Still nice and sunny in the morning, but cool and windy (headwind). The valley's beautiful but the road is still mostly uphill. We reached Amqui and then the lake Matapedia. After lunch at the north end of the lake we turned off road 132 and headed towards lake Malcom and Baie des Sables. This side road was much more enjoyable than road 132, much quieter and less windy than the valley, though very hilly (3 killer hills) and we reached Baie des Sables happy.
- 07/08/2005 - 32. kms Sainte Flavie
In the morning, we didn't have much to cycle as I wanted to spend some time at "Les Jardins de Métis" (a superb botanical garden... as I remembered from a few years back...). It was a bit of a disappointment. Few flowers were in bloom and the excellent traditional restaurant that I remembered was closed... So after spending a good part of the day there, we cycled up the st. laurent river to Saite Flavie where we spent the night.
- 08/08/2005 - 70. kms Saint Fabien
Our intent in the morning was to cycle the 50 kms or so up the river to Rimouski and spend the rest of the day and the night camping at the Bic park. Well it turns out that the park was full, so we phushed on another 20 clics to Saint Fabien where we spent the night at a nice secluded campground.
- 09/08/2005 - 79. kms Rivière du Loup
In the morning it was already hot, and as we come out of the woods and onto the road, we find that we'll be fighting very strong headwinds... We're stil determined to reach Rivière du Loup. The villages along the way (Sainte Luce, Trois Pistoles, l'Isle Verte, Cacouna) were all very nice and provided needed relief from the wind. So though the cycling was very hard, the day was enjoyable.
We reached Rivière du Loup at the end of the afternoon and found the Youth Hostel where we settled in for the night. At the hostel we found out that the wind had been gusting at up to 50 kms per hour all day... no wonder it was hard work cycling.
In the morning, the forecast was for showerstorms all day, so we decided to spend an extra day resting at Rivière du Loup.
- 11/08/2005 - 94. kms St. Jean Port Joli
The day started out grey but it turned out beautifully and with the wind at our backs for a change. We had covered most of this route on our way out, so we breezed through it. We decided to spend the night at a campground near "La Roche à Veillon" just outside St. Jean Port Joli. We had a great dinner at La Boustifaille and turned in promising ourselves to have breakfast at the same place in the morning.
- 12/08/2005 - 101 kms St. David (Lévis)
Well this was the last day for Brigitte as she intended to stop at her mother's place to spend a bit of time with her family. This again was road we had covered on our way out and we just breezed through it. I spent an extra day with Brigitte before leaving on my own to return to Montreal.
- 14/08/2005 - 108 kms Robertsonville
Rather than following the St. Laurent river back to Montreal (the same road we had started out on), I decided to return through the Eastern Townships. The road would be mountainous, but at least it would be novel.
So I cycled south out of Lévis along the Chaudière river. I stopped at Valley Junction for lunch and then turned west on route 112 towards Thetford Mines. Coming out of Valley Junction, there's a long killer hill and then it's uphill all the way. I decided to spend the night at a campground in Robertsonville just east of Thetford Mines.
- 15/08/2005 - 131 kms Rock Forest
In the morning, the road was fairly level to Thetford Mines and then mostly downhill for a bit... It didn't last. Then it was just up and down till Sherbrooke with a killer hill on King street in downtown Sherbrooke (which I had to walk the bike up). It was still a very good day of cycling and I decided to spend the night in Rock Forest, just west of Sherbrooke.
- 16/08/2005 - 128 kms St. Hubert
In the morning, I continue on road 112 through quaint little villages and beautiful mountainous terrain which dwindles to hills and then farmland... The whole day was beautiful and I decide to stop in St. Hubert where I know a friend will be able to drive me across the bridges into Montreal at the end of his workday.
Total cycled on this trip : 2,732 kms
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