Day 7

How did your day begin?  This was our view from the B&B we stayed in last night in Danville. 

Did you eat breakfast today?  We had to put up with our regular pedestrian fare.  

Pear slices garnished our bread pudding with authentic maple syrup. 

The Eggs Benedict dish was completed with the addition of three Quail eggs, Nasturtium flowers and petals edged by a delicious Hollandaise sauce and a garnish of grapes and garden greenery.  Oh yes and the coffee was a Rwandan bean sourced from a neighbor who is from Rwanda. Needless to say it was superb.

The ride today was along a ‘rails to trails’ route with long stretches of relatively flat terrain, punctuated by amazing infrastructure with sculptures, rest stops and washrooms.

Although this type of trail is not quite as interesting it did afford a much faster pace as we arrived at our destination of 80 km. sooner than expected.

Along the way there were many corn fields just waiting to be harvested.  The ground was quite wet from previous rains so harvest seems delayed but not knowing local conditions it might be quite normal.  We did see one very effective scare crow that had successfully removed all crows from the area. 

 

We stopped in Victoriaville at a bike shop.  This community of 40,000 supports 5 bike shops with signs along the route indicating a bicycle mechanic is available just ahead.  Considerable comfort for many cyclists I’m sure.  I was able to find some new heavily padded bike shorts to help with the continuing ride.

At one point when I was riding ahead I slowed down as I passed these volunteer maintenance workers. In my heart I knew that Cathy would be stopping to encounter fellow volunteers who were actually doing something physical on the trail.  Cathy was able to have a delightful conversation in French about their work as volunteers and her work in Saskatchewan.

 

WARNING DEAR READERS. When I showed the following text to Cathy she said I had been riding too long in the hot sun.

It appears that a call has been issued for the forest to prepare for the annual fall ball. The trees have responded with increasing urgency to don their resplendent party gowns to take part in the extravaganza. 

Perhaps the most attention seeking individual tree I have yet seen appeared in front of me on the trail.  As I approached she was in the process of changing her green summer cloak of photosynthesis for her formal fall sari with the golden red hues.  It appeared as if she had dipped into a crucible of molten bronze to choose the palette for her chosen party dress. 

We arrived in Lyster, found our B&B, settled in, cleaned up, had supper and chalked up another fantastic day of cycling in Quebec.

Day 6

Another fantastic day unfolded as we rode from Sherbrooke to Danville a total of 68 km.  We started out with another great breakfast at our B&B.

Mango with Yogurt and Granola

After 4 days of travel our laundry pile was advancing and needed to be beaten back.

 

Cathy’s Picture

Cathy has devised a great system to attach partially dried clothing to her bike with clothes pins.  It works wonderfully well when the sun beating down.

Cathy’s Picture

The early morning sun provided some great backlit photo opportunities and a chance to capture a gull eating breakfast.

Our route took us along a great mixture of trail types today.  The variety was really stimulating and seemed to make the time whizz by.

 

Cathy’s Picture

My brain was on visual overload trying to process the artist’s palette of forest colors flashing by as we rode along.  Brilliant reds, muted oranges, a whole concoction of greens and grays with a perfectly blue sky and puffy clouds formed a constantly changing backdrop for our ride.  It seems the colors are changing a little bit each day.

Our lunch stop was punctuated with a confusing view of people eating a strange mix of cheese and milk.  Cathy queried the non-English speaking person at the sales counter. Apparently she told him in French that she was from Saskatchewan and she had never seen this food before and 'What is it'. He disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a sample. It is apparently a local favorite where you add salt to the cheese curd and eat with coke and chips.  Huummmmm

Cathy’s Picture

Cathy’s Picture showing the locals eating fresh cheese. Note the Coke cans!

At 2:30 in the afternoon my bottom was on fire and I felt like sitting in a stream but couldn’t find one so we stopped for a rest and an apple. Cathy captured this shot of me resting on a local bench.

I was most intrigued with the farming operations we encountered today.  Farmers were harvesting corn, tilling fields and covering bales with plastic wrap.  This was a farming operation I had never seen before. 

 

Day 5

As cycling days go today was pure gold.  Beautiful weather, great company, inspiring views, and apple pie with ice cream for lunch. We had a great breakfast with Paul and Valerie and headed out with Paul biking along for the first 10 km. His presence was such an addition as he took us on back roads and showed us places we never would have found on our own.  

We traveled right by his son Jeremy and partner’s house and saw their horses in the pasture.  We then stopped at his daughter’s house to meet Ingrid, Richard and Mateus (3 years old).  

A few kilometers later we joined Ingrid and family at a local fall food fest at an organic farm. 

As we approached Sherbrooke we encountered the bicycle trail and had an inspiring ride on a beautiful path beside the river. 

Our brakes had been emitting some uncomfortable sounds so we stopped at a bike shop and had them cleaned up.  It made for a much sweeter sound as we head down steep hills.

Day 3-4

We rated Les Matins de Victoria as one of the two best B&B experiences we have ever had (out of 200 + and counting).  Maurice and Ginette our hosts really outdid themselves with superb hospitality and cuisine.  They had a full house including a couple from Edmonton, a couple from Lyon France with their son and 3 year old daughter and two friends meeting from Ottawa and Vermont. Breakfast was presented as a spectacular parade of 6 courses of lovingly prepared food. 

Our dream ... Custard, fruit Torte for breakfast!!

Conversation bounced back and forth between French and English with the lady from Ottawa providing translation where needed.  After the meal Terry from Vermont brought out his guitar and sang a couple of songs.  He was entertaining and really added a new dimension to a B&B.

We finally started out on the trail at 10:30 and soon realized that this was going to be a day with lots of ups and downs as we entered a much hillier terrain. 

 
Fall decorations were abundant on shops including this coffee shop in Eastman.

Our day ended with lunch and a tour around Magog, a lovely, albeit touristy town on the edge of a beautiful lake. 

 

The next two days were very special as Cathy and I connected with some friends we have had for over 40 years.  Paul and Martin were veterinary students who came to Saskatoon in the summer of 1972.  I was working with them in the W.C.V. M. clinics that summer and we became friends.  We have seen them a number of times over the years and really appreciate a great friendship and a window into Quebec from real Quebecers. 

 

Martin picked us up in Magog and drove us to his home. Paul and Valerie joined us for a superb supper prepared by Jacinthe, Martin’s partner. We regaled each other with stories from the last 40 years as laughter and tears dissolved the evening away.   It was such a delight to have Martin’s son Matthew join us at the end of the evening.  We have fond memories of a canoe trip we took with Paul and Matthew years ago in Northern Saskatchewan.

Trent, Cathy, Martin, Jacinthe,Valerie, Paul

 

The next day was full of visiting with Paul and Valerie, meeting some of their family and exploring around Coaticook.  We met Yuri and Cedric, the twin boys whom we had never met before. I really enjoyed the tour of Richard's Metal shop.  CNC lathes always amaze me with precision and speed compared to my low tech wood lathe.

Paul, Cedric and Cathy in Richard's Metal business.

Unfortunately, Heidi was in Montreal so we never had a chance to meet her on this trip.

Valerie and Paul

Fish stocked pond in Paul and Valerie's yard

Some of Paul's sheep being fed in the barn.

We had a wonderful evening as we experienced ‘Team Penning’ with Paul and his friends.  Paul has been riding horses as long as he can remember and has recently been spending more time reconnecting with his past and pursuing this sport of ‘Team Penning’.

Day 2

The day started out with full sun and a bit cool but soon warmed up as we rolled out of Saint-Jean-sur Richelieu on route to Waterloo.  

The cycling infrastructure continues to amaze and impress.  This is such an interesting area where you cycle along canals, rails to trails, city roadways with designated, separated bike lanes and the occasional road. The trails today were a mixture of pavement and hard packed crusher dust.  We were constantly bombarded with agricultural smells (both pleasant and not so pleasant), visual delights and a palate of constantly changing fall colors.

Corn fields and large barns dominated the area we cycled through today. 

Arriving in Farnham gave us a chance to buy some food supplies and rest our 25 km. butts.  We met some other cyclists who told us coffee was impossible in Farnham but if we could wait until Grandby we could get the real thing where they roast their own.  We waited for another 25 km. and it paid off.

A bike shop right on the trail rounded out our conviction that Quebec is the "Roi de cyclist"

We arrived at our B&B in Waterloo, unloaded our bags, fixed up some loose components on the bikes and had a little snooze to rest our muscles after a 75 km. ride.  Supper included some authentic heart stopping poutine and a great burger.