July 30 - Day 56 - Getting Loopy on the Riviere

Today was our last day on the beautiful Highway 132 following the south shore of the St.Lawrence, and riding through the many small towns along the way.  What a great ride, but tomorrow we head inland to Edmundston, New Brunswick, a great town, and home of the Edmundston Oilers where Gretzky played for a while before being traded to LA...............

    Farm after beautiful farm along the south shore of the St. Lawrence

As we leave Quebec today, I must say it has been such a pleasure to ride on both 138, and 132, but really the entire riding experience here has been terrific.  It is nowhere near as scenic as BC or Northern Ontario, and has been relatively easy riding with favourable winds and flatter terrain, which is sometimes boring, but on the pleasure meter it scores very high.  I commented today that we haven't seen an 18 wheeler for probably four or five days, and anything bigger that a pick-up truck only sparingly in the last three.  Road surfaces have been great, and today we ran into many fellow cyclists out on the road enjoying the beautiful day.  Leaving Saint Jean Port Joli, the back side of town was much like the front, with many artist studios, some kinda touristy, but I imagine a lot of original and beautiful work behind those doors.

We passed through town after town, heading towards Riviere du-Loupe, our home for the evening, about 100km down the road.  With the wind at our back again today, the speed was up, and km's were flying by, so a sit down lunch was definitely in order.  Right on cue, we rolled into Kamouraska and found a cute little bistro on the rivers shore, with great views, and from what we saw coming out of the kitchen, great food.  I texted Jon as he hadn't caught us yet, and told him to park in the lot opposite the restaurant which was virtually empty.  By the time he arrived 20 minutes later, there were cars everywhere, and he was 100% committed to the lot after turning in off 132.  It took all of his ace trailering skills to get that puppy turned around, and after rearranging the landscaping slightly, he was on his way, opting for a poutine surprise somewhere down the road rather than trying to park the beast in this very busy little town.

Sid and I sat on the back porch, getting the usual looks because of our banana suits, and ordered up the fish and chips that had just passed by on the way to a neighbouring table and looked very appetizing.........it was delish.  I was the only one in the restaurant to order coffee, so they made a fresh pot just for little old me........just like it was out of a French press........fab baby........had three cups a rode like the wind for the rest of the day.  Absolutely no room for dessert, so it was back on the bikes to knock out the last 40km.

A great spot for lunch

We made it to camp in great time, and had the chance to sit around for a bit before thinking about dinner.  This restaurant was on the corner so we decided to pop in rather than cook.........I had the FuXing sweet and sour chicken balls with the FuXing fried rice, and two FuXing egg rolls..........I'm just FuXing with you.........I cooked pasta with cream sauce, salmon and roasted peppers in the trailer.

So we are off the New Brunswick today, the home of the bowling ball and the pool table.  Talk at ya later.

Parting shots............

 Conehead Memorial Riviere du Loupe

Looking downstream from camp

LYJ

(sorry)

  

July 29 - Day 55 - Saint Jean Pont Joli - Angelina's brother

It was kind of a slow start to the day, having to work our way through Levis with it's numerous stoplights and traffic, but soon enough, the road opened up to the Highway 132 we were expecting.  Very much like 138 on the north side of the St.Lawrence, but from the south side you gained the view of the mountains to the north which were beautiful.  Lovely paved shoulders and accomodations for cyclists everywhere.  There was a guy in a van with a flashing light that was riding behind Sid peeping his horn, and when Sid stopped and approached him he asked in broken English if he was going to the Gaspe Penninsula.......we thought he was a lurker and were going to call the cops.
Sid picked up a flat a short time after the encounter, and when we were on the side of the road fixing it, many cyclists passed us that were on an organized ride..........followed by the guy in the van with the flashing light!  Who knew?

 

There is some power in these lines stretching across the St.Lawrence

 Think that is Mont St.Anne in the distance

Weather conditions were just great and the wind was in our favour.  I found myself coasting at over 30km/hr sometimes which was great because I gave me lots of time to look around at the great views of the St.Lawrence and the mountains to the north.  John crossed our path after two and a half hours, and we had a quick pit stop before resuming the ride in search of a comfy lunch spot.  We found that in L'Islet sur Mer, at La Salicorne Cafe.........FYI salicorne is harvested from the side of the river in July in small amounts and used in various local dishes (or so I'm told)........we had a delish lunch which included for me a large strong cafe aux lait in a bowl.......another Patachou fave.

 L'Islet sur Mer had a few other surprises to share that we were not aware of, and made me wonder how many other great spots I have ridden past in the past couple of months without knowing.

Pano from the south shore L'Islet sur Mer looking north

The church in L'Islet sue Mer was stunning inside

Just down the road we came across the Quebec Maritime Museum.  The story of this attraction is best told by the pictures below.  We didn't go inside, but the exhibits outside were real interesting.  There was a workshop visible through the garage doors at the back of the building where you could see a workshop inside with boats of various shapes and sizes being restored.

The Ernest Lapointe - The last steam powered icebreaker of the Canadian Coast Guard, in service 1939 - 1978.  It was used during World War II to transport troops and material to Labrador, then resumed service keeping the St. Lawrence navigable.

HMCR Bras d'Or - The Royal Canadian Navy's experimental hydrofoil, 1960 - 1971.  With it's gas turbine engine it could reach speeds of 65 knots - 115km/hr and was designed for coastal defence and submarine detection.  High operating costs eventually scrapped the program.  It was named after 

Bras d'Or Lake in Cape Breton, where initial experiments and testing of prototypes took place.

J.E. Bernier II - The smallest vessel ever to circumnavigate North America.  It left Montreal in 1977, and headed south, through the Panama Canal, then north.  It is most famous for navigating through the Northwest Passage (which I have done many times on snowshoes), and returned to Montreal in 1979.  Might have my dates screwed up here, but it did make the trip. Pretty amazing.

We only had a short 20km or so to go to reach Saint Jean Pont Joli, but as we traveled along the road, photo op's were appearing faster than we could imagine.  This town and the surrounding area is home to many artists and artisans.  Stone and wood carvers were everywhere.  Sculptors studios open for viewing.   What a great area, and one I would revisit sometime in the future for sure.  Our camp is right in the middle of town in a small but very well equipped campground.  

This was clearly a memorable day that had nothing to do with the cycling, how fast we rode, or how far.  Just nice to be out here riding in some beautiful country.  We just had to stop at this wood carvers gallery and workshop, and this guy wins the prize for my Large Things By The Road category.

Hunting Duck w/ banana suit boy

A little story from yesterday that I forgot to include........
In the distance we saw two cyclists riding with totally loaded bicycles.  Bright yellow paniers were packed full on both front and back wheels.  As we got closer it appeared it was a couple of ladies on the bikes, based of course on the hair hanging out of the helmets, and shapely figures.  Sid rode alongside the cyclist at the back and said "Hello ladies", and when the head turned to reveal a guy with a moustache, we just about lost it.  Had a good laugh for the next few km.

Parting shot for my Mummy in Worthing, UK..........
Hey hen......I've got the washing oot

LYJ.............The farther away I ride, the closer I get to you

July 29 - Day 55 - Ride Stats - Saint Romuald - Saint Jean Pont Joli

July 29 - Day 55 - Ride Stats - Saint Romauld - Saint Jean Pont Joli CLICK HERE then link below

July 28 - Day 54 - Pouring into Quebec City

This would be the second day in a row where all we had to do was follow Highway 138 along the north shore of the St.Lawrence, leading us today to Quebec City, then heading south across the river to our camp at Saint Romuald, for a total of 110km.  All went well, with continued great views , and great riding on these roads.  I still can't say enough about the accommodations made for cyclists on the secondary roads in Quebec.

Fairly soon we were on the outskirts of Quebec, and noticed a separate trail leading off 138, with a map showing it continuing well past the city for miles.

We decided to give it a try, knowing 138 would be only a short distance north so we wouldn't/couldn't get lost.  It was an interesting run along a rural road, but still nicely paved, bordering the river, and dotted with pockets of really nice cottages and vacation homes.  

It was then that the day got interesting.  Sid was unable to change gears, with his chain rating in the highest (hardest) ring on the cassette, so we stopped to take a look, thinking it might be something like what happened way back in BC when some wire picked up from the road screwed up the works.  Not this time.  Our best guess was that his shifter cable was snapped or snagged somehow, and after a call to Chris at Kamikaze, Sid adjusted the cassette so it was at least in a sprocket that was 2-3 gears easier.  It was still a bitch pedalling up hill in that tough gear, and to make matters worse, the rain that had been toying with us all day, was now falling steadily and getting heavier by the minute.  We had made our way into town, and by chance, Sid stopped a lady in the parking lot of a Metro, and in the midst of getting directions to the bridge, he mentioned he would need a bike shop.  She said there was one just a few hundred yards down the street, lucky lucky lucky, and we were off.  Great bike shop.  Sid rolled into service, and the mechanic dropped what he was doing immediately, and started to work on his ride.  Turns out it was a cable, which was replaced, and we were ready to go.

While the repairs were being made, I struck up a conversation with a nice guy, and fellow cyclist named Claude.  He warned me strongly that trying to ride across either bridge to the south side, especially in this weather, would be a big mistake and quite dangerous.  A ride across was offered, so we gladly accepted.  It was clear on the ride across that Claude knew what he was talking about.......would have been scary.

Our camp was just a short distance down Highway 132 which follows the southern shore of the St.Lawrence, much the same as 138 does on the north side.  The rain did not let up, and in fact was getting even stronger, but nonetheless, we dried off, had a snack and made preparations for our trip into town.

Quebec City is beautiful, but in a torrential rain on those narrow streets, you were just trying to not get sprayed by the passing cars.  Jon, Sid, and I decided that one restaurant in this tow was probably as good as the next, so we ducked into one that looked quite full, thinking that all those people could not be having a bad meal.  We were ushered back into a side room that was crammed with 6 tables, in fact the entire restaurant seemed crammed, and I immediately noticed that this room appeared to be a shrine to Gilles Villeneuve.  We never did find out, but the owner is a race car enthusiast, and had picture of cars the restaurant had sponsored all over the place.  Tons and tons of memorabilia and pictures everywhere.......I mean everywhere.  I will post some pictures below for the F1 fans.......JC, RV, TC......but here is a sample........

Look at that rain coming down

Made it back to camp no problem, and getting ready to head down the 132 this morning.......may the winds be with us.

Parting shots.................

 Gilles

 Alex Tagliani 

LYJ

July 27 - Day 53 - RIO by the SEA O

Even after yesterday's debacle, I still woke up with a very good feeling about today's ride.  The only question was the weather, which was forecast to be rainy, 90%, with thunder storms possible all day.  It actually rained most of the night and into the morning, so we were in no hurry to hop out of bed and get going, especially after looking at the radar that showed a couple of big dumpers coming our way.  I ran over for a shower, had some breakfast, but then it was time to go........a very stylish 10:15 start.

Another church, but this one was gorgeous......in Champlain

We were camped right beside Highway 138 which runs along the north shore of the St.Lawrence, and that would be our route the entire day from start to finish, so very little chance of getting lost.  It is a great road for cycling, with excellent shoulders in most places, and where they were absent, cyclists present signs were there for motorists to see.  It is a secondary road, and in fact we could see the main highway from time to time running parallel to 138, but that meant no trucks, and we had the best views, coming close to the north shore of the St. Lawrence for miles at a time.  I must say, the roads in Quebec so far have been A1, and they seem to go out of their way here to accommodate cyclists.

Waterfront town homes........how interesting

With the wind at our backs, it was easy to maintain a good pace, so the morning 2 hour spin class produced close to 60km.  After three hours we were 85km and approaching Trois Rivieres where we planned to have lunch downtown by the river.  It was a nice break, and although a cold beer sounded good, we still had another 37km to camp, so opted for gallons of water and a cuppa joe.

Trois Rivieres

Our pace was strong for the afternoon stint also, and we pulled into camp feeling quite satisfied with the day's ride.  Although rain was all over the forecast, I think we were lucky to be nestled in between two cells moving east, because not long after we arrived the skies lit up with some pretty big thunder and lightning, and tons of rain.  We hung out at RIO, the restaurant that anchors this campground/marina, had a great dinner, and hit the sack.  This complex is really something different from any other campground I have ever seen.  Beautiful wood dividers between the sites, slate tiles and stainless in the washrooms (I call them personal salons), I mean just really over the top for camping, but very nice all the same.

The bridge to Rio

I am back at RIO this morning finishing up this piece, and it looks a little overcast, but the wind appears to be in our favour again as we push on to Quebec City today.  Our camp is through town and across to the south side of the river, but we might drive back to town this evening for a look at the sights.

My office at Rio this morning

Parting shot..........."Don't take my picture".....or something like that en Francais

LYJ