Old Quebec. pretty neat. It is exactly as you would expect it to be...quaint, friendly, tons and tons of cool little shops and cafes and restaurants and bars. we purposely went later in the afternoon so that we could spend some time there in the evening after we ate. Jude thought is was very romantic! We killed an unplanned extra hour getting there...didn't get off where we should have, and thought if we rode the bus long enough we could just hit the spot again on the buses return route....holy crap those buses go a long way...we finally gave up, got of that bus and caught another going the right way. good way to see the far reaches of the city for low cost I guess.

We agreed that this was one of the most 'restful' rest days we have had to date.

The pedal from the city to our next campground (river ouelle) was full of great bike trails, quaint quiet highways, great little french cafes and bakeries (home made lemonade with strawberries at one stop , fresh multi-grain bread with butter and a raspberry puree at another) Jude - "total awesomeness". The section of the St Lawrence where the fresh water changes to salt water was during this day. We decided we are coming back for sure for a bike holiday here. our campground was at the center of the eel fishing industry. Most of it goes to Europe...I was hoping for a restaurant that served it so that I could sample. Super was a winner with Asian noodles with MEAT (chicken) and enough for seconds and even thirds!

Next day we finally had a true head wind on our way to Trois Pistoles ...woke up to 10 degrees, and only warmed up to 13 with a 30 km wind, what happened? previous day was high 20s. Also high humidity which made if feel cold, and for a good part of the day we were pedaling through cloud. Anyway, made for a very arduous day. Still, some great scenery and towns, and some great stops. One such stop was a great little bakery (see picture) in Kamouraska, home to a Novel by Anne He'bert and a film by Claude Jutra. Lunch stop of wine, bread, local cheese, fresh tomato, hummus and sprouts behind the CO-OP in Trois Pistoles. Found a place against a stone wall in the sun and out of the wind. Still everyone was very glad to see camp. Judy was adorned with loaves of fresh bread at camp, she was not sure why she got the special treatment, she said "but hey, I like it!"

Next day again haunted by the black fog and a relentless head wind. Another stop at a sweet little bakery / craft shop in a town called Bic. Routes as of late have been taking us off the highway and through 'cute' little districts and towns. We climbed the spine of the Gaspe' Peninsula, wicked hills toward the end, but the trip has made us fairly strong so no problems. Camp was by a beautiful little lake, canoes, loons, and even a water slide (kelly took some turns). Full moon this night...we took turns holding it. Another 'meat' meal...the complaining must be working.

Next day - Seemed like there was frost on the ground. (closer inspection revealed that it was fine spider webs on the blades of grass that had collected dew and give the appearance of frost...but it seemed cold enough that we would not have been surprised if it was. A hilly 20 kms to start the day.

Kelly - I had a wicked crash into the back of judy through one of the towns. Was trying to read the cue sheet on the fly and when judy slowed down for a Macdonalds coffee stop, my front wheel ran into her rear wheel and I took a tumble into a curb and on to some grass. Very painful but could have been much worse, and lucky I didn't take her down with me, and that my bike was OK. We had a nice breakfast stop in the village of Causapscal, Saw some great scenery and an old covered bridge. Lots of special canoes...large wood ribbed wishbone style but designed to hold prop higher than the bottom of the boat so they can run shallow water. Noticing a lot of leaves are changing color. We also this after noon entered New Brunswick, province number 7! At camp more meat for supper yay!!!

Aug 25th today a mustang car pulled in front of us and waved us over after we climbed a very steep hill in Dalhousie. Turns out it was a couple that had done the tour du canada 2009. Great people and its neet to feel like we belong to an extra special group, sort of an elite club of extra ordinary people living a dream. This day was filled with great costal views. Judy was homesick a little today, misses the kids, her pooches, and of course "hell cat". She says she really missed the way she eats, her clean house, clean bedding, and walking around in her panties in the morning enjoying a quiet cup of great coffee (I miss her walking around in her panties too...). Short day (100 kms) and we ended up camped by the gulf of St. Lawrence, pretty relaxing day. Glimpses of orange / red and yellow dusting the Appalachians. A gentle reminder that our amazing journey will soon be coming to an end.

Lobster! Our turn to cook and we got to serve Lobster! And they even let us substitute thai noodles for the rice. Mark gave a lesson on how to eat the things...oops I have been wasting a lot of the best parts on Lobsters past...The day was light rain off and on, but a short pedal with no wind. Did a pace line with Bob for the last 40 kms so got to camp early. There was one high steep bridge over Miramichi river to pedal over...riders with fear of heights were warned.

Ottawa to Quebec

Ottawa to Quebec City
This segment might as well be called tail of 3 cities...

The stay in Ottawa was at the University res. quite nice...all you can eat breakfast buffet again!
Kind of a rain rest day here...too bad as Ottawa is set up with superb bike trails everywhere, especially along the famous canal system. So we opted instead for the bus to get to the Parliament buildings and the Byward Market. Getting in and out of the city to the campus on bikes seemed ultra easy, one turn coming in and one turn coming out. Our friend Bill broke a spoke about 30 kms out, and hobbled his bike to a lucky bike store few kms down the road (Orleans). They however did not have the parts so he ended up having to taxi back to down town Ottawa, and then start his bike ride over...big day of 166 kms plus his extra mileage, and he was still in camp by supper time! Some beautiful countryside and back roads, a ferry ride, and we were in Quebec. Luckly we were traveling with one of our french speaking swiss friends (Serge) so no language issues for our lunch stop.
Our days destination was a campground near Hudson, and on route we just happen to be passing right by one of the riders houses marked with balloons. (Marie-Andre). Her family met us there and fed us cookies, and iced tea. (3 sons and husband on pink chairs, just missing the daughter as she was still at work) The locals gave lots of support to Marie as she was greeted by the kids she teaches on a fly by of the Hudson school...and then at the campground, the community organized a pot luck with local in season corn and a cake at our campground.
Along the way, Judy keep surprising me with her french...she actually paid attention a bit in french class...(wished I had of...)
We passed by the famous Lachine Rapids which were a great barrier to navigation until some of the canals were built. the rapids are obviously popular for kayakers, surfers, and jet boaters, fun to watch.
Next stop Montreal...biked into city to stop at the Marche' Atwater (atwater market). Always some good food at these places...the a visit to a bike shop for supplies, and then Our friend Bill took us on a tour of Mount Royal for the views...and some uphill pedaling!! The trip to Chinatown through rush hour...not sure how to describe it...bikes just kind of go where they want...weaving in and out of traffic...cutting people off...going through red lights.....we lived through it anyway...Over all everyone in Quebec is extremely tolerable of cyclists and the roads are mostly cycle friendly...definitly get the prize for best bike province so far. China town was neat...but very similar to other china towns...Old Montreal was pretty cool...especially enjoyed by Judy and our 2 friends jodi and carol...they were all in their prime sitting eating supper on the cobblestone. The food of course was superb.
No campground this night....one of our riders (Daniel) lives in Montreal, so she invited a few of us to stay at her house...we had great fun. She was careful to remind me "you make sure to bring shorts to wear tonight or you will be naked" She of course had planned to wash our cycle clothes so that we could wear them again the next day.
On the way out from her house the next day, we stopped by the Olympic stadium for some photos, and then took a slightly different route (more scenic) then everyone else. Many memories made on our little stops at cafes, and one general store this day. note the collection of phonographs at top of one picture.
Back to tent camping...and our turn to cook this night...but we lucked out...our menu item was beef bourginous!! we were hero's...everyone loved the meal (big chunks of beef) our cook crew is amazing and it turned out great.
Next morning we headed out for Quebec city...1st stop a few kms from our camp was a provincial park based on the 1st Steel Forge in Canada. It was still early so the facility was still closed, but one of the techs saw us riding our bikes around investigating, and offer us a private tour. A quick radio to his boss for the ok...Wow it really was quite fascinating...and this forge play an extremely important roll in Canadian history....everything from stoves, to pots, to ship parts, to anything you could imagine were made right there. Lucky enough to have iron ore right on the surface in this location, so the forge was prosperous and ran for over 150 years!! It was worth me 'bringing judy' on this trip just for her spotting abilities...note picture of large white bird (still have to look up) she doesn't miss too much...
Often some of the most interesting stops we have had come from just wheeling into a place to see what they are about. One such place was a dog kennel. We just popped our head in the door and asked if we could look around...turned out to be much more then a kennel...it was a very well established dog breeding facility. Of course we got the full tour...and it is always free. Judy got to be mauled by puppies...of course the runt crawled right into her arms and did not want to leave. Springer Spaniels were the main breed.
About 30 kms away from our destination, 2 former Tour du Canada riders Set up a Corn Roast at a road side Vegetable stand for all the riders. They also supplied juice and water and fresh strawberries. This has happened to a lesser degree all trip...x tour du can riders link up
with us and give us goodies, and hang around camp to reminisce and compare notes. way cool.
We arrived at Laval University just in time for pizza, then quick showers and off to see the Cirque-du-Soleil. bus ride and a one hour wait...but who cares....it is a free show they do outdoors 6 days a week under all the freeway overpasses downtown. As always what an incredible show! (1st time we ever saw them live)