Day 55 - What should we do today? Hmmm... How about bike into the MARITIMES!?

August 30th, 2010

Riviere-du-Loup, QC to Edmunston, NB

Our last day in Quebec, already!

We were greeted with about 30km of steep ups and downs in the morning. We didn't get the memo that northern New Brunswick is a WORKOUT!

Some of the hills required us to lean way forward on our handlebars in hopes of creating enough forward momentum that we wouldn’t roll backward toward Lois (who followed us the whole morning, thanks Mom!). It definitely required some cheering for the legs.

This pic does not do this hill justice.

Go Legs Go! Don't stop of you'll roll into Lois!

We stopped at what looked like a strawberry farm, and hung out with a beautiful farm dog and her owner, who donated to Pedaling Feat and gave us some delicious strawberry smoothies for the road.

Lis and Mom, with our new friend

We love talking to road workers!

The view from my handlebars.

Action shot!

In the afternoon, we decided to check out the Trans Canada bike path, which was mostly gravel. Mom stopped in the towns along the way, ready with freshly cut watermelon for us. Lisa was sincerely enjoying the path, and took her time twisting and turning along the changing landscape. I, on the other hand, was roasting from the heat and went faster to create a breeze for myself. Pedaling Feat split for a few minutes, and what happened? Mayhem. I was so hot that I decided to stop and swim at one point, not leaving any clues for Lisa that I had left the bike path. Meanwhile, Lisa rode right past me, unnoticed, to our rest stop at Lois in the next town... thinking that I must have missed seeing Lois so she continued on. Eventually I made it to Lois (happily refreshed from my dip) and Mom told me that Lis had rode ahead to find me! Anyways, when we finally found each other, there was no separating after that.

Late afternoon, we arrived at the New Brunswick Tourist Information Center. Hooray New Brunswick!! A family stopped us to take a picture because they had seen us on TV in Ottawa! I'm sure we looked just stunning, after one of the longest days on the saddle yet!

Too lazy to cycle back 200 meters to take a picture with the real "Welcome to New Brunswick"sign. Here we are in the Info Center.

What a challenging, memorable, wonderful day!

Day 54 “The Perfect Day for a Bicycle Ride”

August 28th - 29th, 2010
Montmagny, QC to Rivière-du-Loup, QC

What would one consider to be the absolute best cycling conditions in the world?

Well for starters you would need:

• Sunshine (but not too hot)
• Tail wind (but not strong enough to create dust)
• Beautiful, changing scenery
• No traffic
• Nice people

And that’s exactly what we had on our trip toward Riviere-du-Loup. It was almost surreal how smoothly the day passed. We stopped for lunch in an enchanting little town on the Fleuve St. Laurent called Kamarouska.

Joie de vivre À Québec!

Lunch stop in Kamarouska

We ended up at our campsite before 3pm, record timing for a 120 km day! The only eerie thing about Rivière-du-Loup was the changing leaves. Our campground was littered with fallen leaves - it smelled, looked, and even sounded like fall with the wind rustling through the trees.

Lois! Are those autumn leaves next to you!?

The next day, we had scheduled as a day off so we headed into town. First we went to look at “les chutes”, then we hit the streets of Rivière-du-Loup and ended up getting some ridiculously delicious (and pricey) cheese from a little charcuterie shop.

Les Chutes en Rivière-du-Loup

A..."beautiful"...monument?

And two beautiful models.

Hiking with Mary

Lisa went whale watching in the afternoon and said it was absolutely amazing. She saw all sorts of whales like minke, humpback, finback, beluga, etc!! Mom and I hung out in a little trendy resto for the afternoon getting caught up. All in all, it was the most restful of our days off in quite a while. Sadly, this was our last day off of the trip!

Baleine!

Sunset on the Fleuve St Laurent. Unbeatable.

Day 53: Along the Fleuve St. Laurent we go!

Day 53: Quebec City to... Montmagny (We didn't quite make it to our planned destination: Saint-Jean-Port-Joli)

The gang met for breakfast at the Sheraton and after saying goodbye to Brian and John we set out on a hunt for the last BCBG in Quebec City (Place Ste Foye). Mel is in a wedding on Sept 11th and needed to exchange a dress for the occasion. The story ends well, as in all fairy tales, as Mel found the perfect dress, and Mary and I enjoyed watching her try it on in 5 inch heels (it was all they had at the store – go figure!). We drove out of Quebec City and hopped on our bikes where the bike path began. Hooray for bike paths! By this time it was about 1:00 p.m. and we had 90 km to go.

Pedaling Feat and the Arsenaults at the Four Points Sheraton!

Driving throught the city of Quebec. First stop, Place Ste. Foy for a quick shopping date.

The day was great for riding. The wind was roaring at our backs, we had found a bike path (newly paved), the sun was shining and while we were starting a bit late in the day, we only had to make it 90 km! The views were also stunning along the St. Lawrence. Rolling hills, wheat fields and churches were all the eye could see as we rode along.

Our rest stop on the St. Lawrence River in Levis. The Laurentian mountains are just on the other side. Great views along the way!

And then ...

About 40 km into our ride, we took a break at the side of the road to fill up water bottles and snack on granola bars. It was an extremely windy day (which worked in our favour because the wind was at our backs), and to my misfortune, the wind tossed my bike to the ground while we were in Lois! My bike was no longer shifting gears as it once did, instead it was getting stuck between gears and sometimes not shifting at all. We stopped at a roadside veggie stand (yum!) and while Mary and Mel picked out delicious veggies, I gave my bike the once over. Having come up with nothing (my advanced bike mechanic skills let me down), we rode on to the nearest shop in Montmagny and handed it over to the best mechanic in town. He was a former bike racer, and he had my bike fixed up in no time. He was impressed/shocked that we had made it this far across the country without any serious bike issues. Hoorah! He also informed us that we should have changed our bike chains at 3,500 km. Coming up on 5,500 km, we thought now was as good a time as any, and so, he installed new bike chains for us. We cheered at the sight of our shiny new chains, while Mary laughed at how excited one could get over something so small.

The time was now 5:30 p.m. and we were still 30 km or so from our destination. Tired and hungry, we called it a night, stopped in at the grocery store for food, and set up camp in Montmagny. For dinner that night? Maple chilli salmon (brought by John) cooked on the BBQ! We stayed at the Camping aux oies campground that night. It was the large goose-like sculpture out front of the campground that clued us into what exactly a 'Oie' was!

Mel and the oie. On our way out the next morning.

Day 52: Oh la la! On y va!

Day 52: Nicolet to Quebec City!

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, we set off the next morning, under blue skies, along the bike route to Quebec City! Stefan joined the team once again.





Taking a break on our way to Quebec City!








We took our lunch break in front of a beautiful church. There seem to be churches everywhere in Quebec. Where every little town through the prairies had their claim to fame, the same is true of every little Quebec town having a gorgeous church with a bell tower. Upon our arrival, we found a CBC news truck waiting in the parking lot next to Lois! Sadly, they were not there for us. Rather they were reporting on the sentiments of the local community towards foraging for gas in the area.










Our lunch spot!









After eating a delicious PB, Nutella and banana sandwich, we continued on our way towards Quebec City. In no time, we were rolling down a hill towards the main bridge (Pont Pierre Laport) to the old city. Sadly, this is where Stefan would be leaving us to continue a bit farther along the route. We loaded up his bike with all his gear, and after failed attempts by both Mel and myself to lift his 1,000 lb bike, we waved goodbye to our biking buddy. We have the utmost respect for cyclists who do this tour without a support vehicle. Why? Well, only a few minutes later, we had loaded our bikes in Lois and were headed towards vieux Quebec when the sky opened up and pelted down rain. We couldn’t help but think of Stefan who was on the road Eastbound.










Mel attempting to lift Stefan's bike. Impossible!












Driving into Vieux Quebec. John drove while I attempted to navigate.












Quebec City is where John would be leaving us and Mel’s mom, Mary would be joining our feat! After an unsuccessful adventure to every BCBG in Quebec City (except one!), we made our way to the Sheraton Four Points Hotel, our sponsor for the evening! There we met Mel’s mom and dad, Mary and Brian, for a tasty and very filling 4 course meal. Mel and I often brag about how much we can eat these days (man-portions), but as I shovelled in the last bite of chocolate mousse, I began to think that perhaps I may have eaten too much!






Rainy city of Quebec. On the hunt for a BCBG.












Quebec City is a historical and very grandiose place. We wished we could have stayed longer!

Day 51: The Pedaling Feat family grows.

Day 51 - Montreal to Nicolet

We awoke this morning to a tasty breakfast of french toast with REAL maple syrup! John felt our piddly breakfast of instant oatmeal, a banana and granola was inadequate - so he was up with the sun to whip a hearty breakfast together!

Stuffed with deliciousness, we drove to the outskirts of Montreal to start our ride. We rode along a designated bike lane on highway 132 through Boucherville and Sorel-Tracy. Along the way we ran into a number of detours due to road construction. We soon learned that detours are not John’s forte. It was almost guaranteed that as soon as we hit a detour sign, we would lose Lois (and John) in the maze of streets.

About 30 km into our ride, the shoulder became an avenue of bumps, pot-holes and debris. Only a few kilometers later, I had a flat tire. I had managed to find a nail, and run over it so that it pierced right through my tire and my tube. Fortunately, it was nothing a little bit of glue and a patch couldn’t fix.

Riding through small town QC.

Changing a flat is messy business.










While gluing, a young bloke on his bike, carrying 40 kg of equipment stopped to say hi. His name was Stefan and he was also biking across Canada. Originally from Victoria, he was biking to Halifax, where he would be starting Law school in September. Feeling shocked (and a little bit embarrassed) that he had made it this far with that much weight on his bike; we invited him to ride with us.





Paniers in Lois, the three of us head out along the route to Nicolet. Stefan was pleased to feel as light as a feather, and we were pleased to have a third rider with us. The road improved (it seems Stefan was our lucky charm) and Stefan taught us that Quebec had BIKE MAPS! What a discovery. We could only imagine the possibilities... Newly paved roads with very little traffic and wide shoulders, or maybe even a bike path or two??! Heavenly.






Off we rode with our new trio. Look at Stefan go!







We rode through plenty of farmland that day, moo’ing at cows and taking turns leading the pack. As we arrived into Nicolet, it looked as though it was going to rain (in true Pedaling Feat fashion, we had out-biked the storm), so Stefan decided it would be best to hang with us for the evening.

Nicolet is right on the St. Laurence River, across from Trois-Rivieres. While we didn't get to see much of the town (other than the beutiful Trois-Rivieres skyline at night), the girl at the info centre was very lovely and helped us find our campsite for the night at Camping Port St-Francois.

That night John grilled up some scrumptious chicken shish kebobs with veggies over a campfire and corn on the cob (most of which made it to our plates, unscathed). Contrary to the rumours that have been spreading, we have been eating our fair share of meat on this trip! Our legs would not have made it this far otherwise! After filling our bellies once again, John, Stefan and I hung out around the campfire. A fellow camper stopped by (she was from Quebec City) to say hello. She quickly joined the Pedaling Feat fan club and donated to our cause. It was a wonderful way to end the day. Oh le Quebec!





One of my favourite photos from that day. Look closely. John is holding an electric fly swatter, while drinking Guinness and on the table is a charred piece of corn. Our new friend Stefan was probably wondering what he'd gotten himself into!

Oui Oui! Pedaling Feat au Quebec!

Day 51: Hawkesbury to Montreal, QC!

After a morning cuppa Joe (Starbucks, in fact), we left Hawkesbury bright and early, and were on our bikes only a few minutes when we crossed the Quebec border! After spending nearly a month in Ontario, we were now surrounded by quaint towns with picturesque neighbourhoods and many a French-speaker. One thing that hadn’t changed – the sun was still shining.

Crossing the bridge to Quebec!

Pedaling Feat's sixth province!

We followed a quiet highway (#344) that traced the Ottawa river. John drove ahead to find a break spot, and we would roll up to find him sun-tanning like a lizard on a rock. For lunch that day, we stopped in a little park in Deux Montagnes. There we met a handsome old chap named Rocky. Rocky, native to Quebec, spoke mostly French, which gave us the chance to practice speaking our second language. Rocky was very excited to learn all about Pedaling Feat. He was retired (at age 77) but took care of the Bocce Ball pitts, and was getting them all ready for the playoffs that night. We sat and ate lunch with Rocky on the swing, while he talked about his family and the town of Deux Montagnes (named after the Lake that it sits on).

With more than half of our ride completed, we continued on our way to Montreal. The traffic got busier and the roads, bumpier but we were both very excited to ride onto the island.

Mel, crossing the bridge to the island of Montreal!!!

Once in the city of Montreal, we visited Starbucks (John knows every Starbucks location in Canada) before heading to Marie and Errol’s gorgeous home in NDG. They ordered in Chinese, which Mel and I scarffed down like champions. We then ventured out to a local pub to meet up with old McGill friends, Curtis, Sylvain and Phil! It was great to be able to catch up with the guys (some of whom we haven't seen in years, others since Winnipeg!). A few sangrias later, we were ready to call it a night. We gave the guys a tour of Lois and sent them off with a hug, some Twizzlers and an apple pie.

Phil, enjoying his Twizzlers and apple pie.

Sylvain and Curtis hanging out in Lois!

Mel and I love Montreal, so it was really nice to be back. McGill is where we met – and where the idea of Pedaling Feat was born!

Note: No road signs were taken out by Lois today. Success!