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.