We say goodbye to Montreal by crossing the great Jacques Cartier bridge and then promptly going astray in the suburbs on the eastern shore. There is a cycle route heading eastwards and we are not lost. But either are we going the way we want to go. Or is it just that the navigator is beig doubted by the rest of the team? "Are you sure?" I ask again. Gayle is hesitating. And then we spot two other cyclists joining our route from the left. They're two young guys travelling light on great old road bikes. I say old - I'm guessing the bikes might be older than their riders.
Chris and Matthew are from Hamilton and, after working through the early summer, are now on a ride to New Brunswick. Despite being quicker and lighter than us, they seem happy to go at our speed and chat along the way. With Gayle's map and Matthew's smartphone we can make sure we're heading the right way. It's mostly farmland here and hereabouts. We are both heading to Granby and we both have Warm Showers hosts arranged. We stop at a supermarket for lunch and dodge a shower under an awning. A man approaches us and asks where we're heading. He gives us explicit directions which we ignore and he chases after us to put us right. He's the supermarket owner and we are embarrassed by his persistence in putting us on the right road. |
| Denise and Charles planning their next adventure |
That evening we stay with Denise and Charles - a couple full of stories and tales that make us laugh. (Find more here.) They show us their new tandem - the kind with the recumbent seat at the front. Denise does not want to spend her touring days looking at Charles' back. It turns out that on their first big cycling adventure they flew to Lima and set off into the Peruvian mountains to follow a bike route plotted by an English couple. This bike route has attracted a reputation, and as we already know the English couple who devised it, we cannot but nod knowingly as Chares and Denise describe the ensuing result. Neil and Harriet Pike (Pikes on Bikes) stayed with us as Warm Showers guests and embarrassed us by telling us that we'd already met once before. We had struggled to recall one night in Hunza, Pakistan, when we sat around a dining table in a cheap hostel and exchanged travel plans. Now, Harriet and Neil are a bit hardcore by our standards - always keen to try something challenging and difficult. Think unclimbed mountain peaks in the Chilean Andes, or the Trans-Himalaya.....in winter. So we listen in awe as Denise and Charles recount this epic tale of their first big cycle tour into the High Andes, along what Charles renames "Neil and Harriet's cow path". They are smiling at their own naivety. Think of crossing valleys, climbing 1500 metres, descending 1800 metres, climbing 1600 metres etc. etc. It sounds, and I use this word in its true sense, awesome. We make a mental note to add this to our list of destinations.
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| shady lunch |
The next day we go north, short cutting a cycle route triangle through the Eastern Townships. Many of these towns were settled by English loyalists after the American War of Independence and they are very pleasant small towns. We wander through Drummondville along a combination of cycle paths and country roads. We are put off from camping in woods off a cycle path by frequent signs warning us of poison ivy. It's a harmless looking plant, but to my untrained eye every plant looks like poison ivy after that. On towards Victoriaville we meet other cyclists along the way out for the day. We spend much of our time in woods and glades which is a relief as it's hot in the sun. Sometimes we guess our road. It works out fine. In Victoriaville the old train station has been converted into a bike station, complete with tourist information and showers. We avail ourselves of the facilities and then have to sadly turn down an offer of accommodation from a man passing by. We explain we have to ride on, as we need to be in Quebec City the next night as we are expected. He looks disappointed and we feel bad for turning him down.  |
| 1 of a series of photos Gayle took en route (blink for that flicker book effect and imahgine I'm disappearing off into the distance) |
The onward route is completely along an old rail line that has been cleared and laid with crushed stone for cyclists. It's not the most exciting way to cycle anywhere but it is efficient - super flat and we can cycle with music in our ears for a change. Quebec City here we come.
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| an unbelievably noisy crossing to Quebec City |
