Day 9

No B&B breakfast today but Quebec City has lots to offer in the culinary department.  Our hotel is in the shadow of the  Hotel Frontenac, one of the great old CP hotels in Canada.  We are in the center of action in Vieux Quebec so a short walk will offer up many options.  We chose a place with healthy butter and chocolate croissants.

Even though there was no bike riding today my legs felt nearly as tired from walking, standing and climbing up and down the 'break neck' stairs from upper to lower Quebec.  We spent the morning on an interesting historical tour outlining the last 400 years in 2+ hours.

Note Cathy paying close attention and getting ready for a question.

 

The oldest house in Quebec City, now a restaurant.

This is such a superlative place to immerse oneself in Quebec and Canadian history. Carole did a great job of compressing the stories and answering questions.

The afternoon was taken up exploring shops, wandering up and down streets that could have been in many European countries.

We stocked up on supplies for tomorrow’s ride to Cap-Saint-Ignace at a delightful market offering local produce.   

I discussed garlic with a local producer and marveled at his braiding technique.

Some of the drivers at the market were not always paying attention while sitting at a stop light.

 

Day 8

Today began with another B&B breakfast in a lovely sunroom positioned so the morning sun illuminated our orange juice, croissants and pancakes.

Our hosts had built this place starting with a skeleton and retrofitting for a purpose built B&B.  It was a real work of love as they completed all aspects of the construction themselves. As well as having a large room, comfortable bed and a great sleep it was also the cheapest accommodation so far.

Today’s route included more linear, virtually curve free riding with either packed crusher dust or paved surface sprinkled with small river crossings .  As we approached Quebec City the terrain changed to hills, swinging bridges, waterfalls and rivers.

After numerous confusing attempts to follow the Velo signs, and many questions to fellow cyclists we arrived at Old Quebec.  Our first view of Quebec City came a few km. away where we could see the bridges off in the distance.

 

We crossed the Pont de Quebec where an old iron bridge with rusted crumbling iron struts miraculously held us from tumbling into the St. Lawrence.

For those who have been here you can appreciate the leg cramping torture of pushing our pannier laden bikes up to our hotel.  It was a great relief to arrive at the Hotel Sainte Anne, shower and prepare for our evening of exploring.  The old buildings are quite beautiful and speak of a much different time.  Soon we are off to supper.

 

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.