Putting Up The Wood

Last evening to be able to stay warmer we were able to use the 'family room' at the campground. It consisted of a kitchen, a mini museum, about 6 sets of tables and chairs, 2 couches and a television. We sat and read all by ourselves. What an amazing facility.

We had to take down a wet tent this morning as it had rained off and on during the night. We were able to use a covered picnic table to eat our breakfast and pack up our gear as it continued to rain. We put on our 'shower caps' and departed at 7:35 in a steady rainfall. It was a wet affair as we continued along the seawall highway. To make matters more uncomfortable it was a 'balmy' 9 degrees. Add a strong crosswind and to say the least it was not overly pleasant.

After a couple of hours the rainfall came to an end but we were still riding in cool windy conditions. The positive was, however, that we got to ride for 41 kilometers on the perfectly flat seawall. Along the way we saw numerous small waterfalls that we stopped to photograph and admire. We saw numerous ships plying their trade out in the St. Lawrence and again got up close to the seabirds...and no they still were not responding to my conversations...maybe I should have tried French...no that would never work either with my limited French skills!

The latter part of the ride saw us playing in the hills again. We were able to ride all but one...heck it is always nice to exercise some different muscles.

As we have slowly made our way around the Gaspe we have observed an awful lot of people 'putting up their wood' for the Winter. Some people are still cutting, others are splitting and piling and an awful lot are moving it. We have saw pickup trucks, cars pulling small trailers and quads pulling small trailers all transporting firewood. It appears that most people in these small communities still heat their houses with wood. I guess it makes sense. The area still has a substantial coverage of trees. Heck, I doubt anything else can grow! I am starting to wonder if these people know something that I do not. Early Winter? I hope not but it has me thinking that my 'putting up the wood' will have to begin as soon as we get home.

We are staying in Sainte-Anne-des Monts at the Motel Beaurivage. It is another nice motel facing where the Ste-Anne River flows into the St. Lawrence. We chose another motel as the weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow is less than great. We also know that tomorrow could be the most climbing of any day so far. We are always faster at exiting a motel than a campground.

Daily Distance = 65.51 km. Time on the Bikes = 4 hours 41 minutes. Average Speed = 13.98 km. Maximum Speed = 47.69 km. Wildlife Sightings = Merganser (female therefore could not tell if Red Breasted or Common), Black Backed Gulls, Black Guillemots, Merlin, Ring Billed Gulls, Herring Gulls.

P.S. "Whether the weather be fine, whether the weather be not, whether the weather be cold, whether the weather be hot, we'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not."

Sunrise from our Campsite

Riding the St. Lawrence Seawall

Roadside Waterfall

Embracing Slow Travel

We were up and at it early this morning and on the road by 7:10. After the first 0.5 km we went for our first of numerous 'walks' of the day. By the 3 km mark we were averaging a 'blistering' 5 km per hour. This was only the beginning. For the next 27 km we climbed and descended, we climbed and descended. And did I mention that it was only 5 degrees as we started out and it had only made it to 11 degrees by the time we stopped for lunch!

At the 30 km mark things changed. We were out of the hills and riding along a man made seawall. The road was flat, flat, flat and one can only imagine how bad the terrain must have been above us in the hills that they would have went to the expense of building the road out in the water. Of course this comes with a 'but', a large 'but'! Our nemesis, the wind, made an ugly appearance chilling us to the bone and keeping our speed at a maximum of 13 km per hour on a totally 'flat' road. Brutal!!!!

We did ,however, enjoy some of today's ride. Well maybe 'enjoy' is a little bit strong. Up in the hills we saw some of the Appalachian fall colours once again. We had the unique experience of riding along the edge of the water enjoying the seabird life up close. We were able to chat with them as we rode slowly along. Funny, they did not seem to be responding to us. We were pleasantly surprised that we actually arrived at our campground by 1:30 as we were prepared to probably not arrive until 4:30 or 5:00.

We are camping at Parc et Mer Mont Louis located in the small town of Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis. It is probably one of the cleanest and best kept parks we have ever stayed in. The washrooms are spotless!

Daily Distance = 51.80 km. Time on the Bikes = 4 hours 38 minutes. Average Speed = 11.17 km. (down, down, down!). Maximum Speed = 62.92 km. Wildlife Sightings = Groundhog, Moose (Kevin only as Sue was not flying down the hill quite as fast!), Ring-Billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Black Backed Gulls, Black Guillemots, Spotted Sandpipers.

Sunrise from our Room...Again!

Fall Colours

Where did the Road go? Yes we walked up this one.

Sea Wall Highway

Route Verte - You Missed Out!

We were on the road by 8:40 this morning, quite a bit later than our other departures on this adventure. It was partly planned and partly not. Our ride today was to be shorter and to be used as a partial day off so we could get ourselves rested for a couple of potential difficult riding days to come. Also as we were checking out of our motel I got into a conversation with the owner. Imagine that...me getting involved in a lengthy conversation!

It was a fun day today. We spent a lot of time enjoying the scenery and stopping to 'smell the roses'. Again we were challenged by many hills. In fact the whole ride consisted of a series of ups ad downs as we climbed up out of the small communities into the hills and then dropped back down into the next community. Some hills we again tested our walking abilities. If there was a downside to today's ride it was the wind. Again we pounded into headwind that was in the 25 - 35 km range. Good thing it was a short day.

Route Verte! It is hard to believe I have not mentioned this cycling route before now. We have been following a Quebec Government sponsored cycling route for most of our trip so far. We have a set of their maps and there has been some signage but not a lot. So, all the way around the Gaspe we have been following Route Verte 1. The section of coast that we have cycled the last couple of days is not sanctioned by Route Verte. We suspect that it is due to the limited shoulders on the roads, the curves and the tremendous climbs. The funny part is that we saw more tour cyclists out in the area not recognized as a cycling route than the rest of our trip put together. In total, we saw 6 touring cyclists. Only one was going our direction. Francois was a microbiologist from Quebec City who had done some of his post doctoral studies at the University of Western Ontario shortly after we attended. Route Verte, you are missing out on a cycling experience through this area!

We are staying in the lap of luxury at the Hotel Motel Grand Vallee des Monts. It was recommended by Glen and Cathy. They were stranded here for 2 nights due to 'fowl' weather. We were upgraded to their 'suite' because they made a mistake and originally rented us a room that was already booked. This room is huge with a square footage probably equal to about 1/2 of our house.

Daily Distance = 28.71 km. Time on the Bikes = 2 hours 33 minutes. Average Speed = 11.23 km (the slide continues!). Maximum Speed = 46.42 km. Wildlife Sightings = Marsh Hawk, Golden Eagle, Black Backed Gulls, Black Guillemots, Cedar Waxwings

Sunrise From Our Room

At least they are smart enough to put these high in the hills...I wonder if they make any more economic sense than ours do!

Fishing Community

The Direction of the Wind...Not in our favour

Bedroom Number One

View from our Balcony

Blasting Down The Hills After Walking Up Them

We were on the road by 7:55. Our legs began to burn as we climbed a 9% grade away from the campground. Climbing is never a good way to start a day and this hill went on for 1.5 km. That should have told us what was to come.

The Appalachians showed us many things today. We experienced the beginning of the trees turning colour. Gaspe is considered one of the top 10 destinations in the world to see Fall colours. The maple trees are turning red, the birch are turning yellow and the poplars are a yellowish green. Throw in the softwoods with their ever present green and we could see why this is a destination drive in the Fall. The Appalachians also showed us some amazing vistas of the St Lawrence/Atlantic Ocean today. We also came upon some 'pristine' lakes high up in the hills and at times wondered if we were back in Northern Ontario. And last but not least, the Appalachians showed us her hills today. What we had been experiencing for the past few days paled in comparison to today's ride. Up and down we went, walking several hills of 10, 11 and 12%. But boy were those down hills a 'blast'!

Our riding distance today was short partly due to accommodation but more to do with the conditions. It really was a grueling day. We knew that this area would be difficult and it delivered in spades. We are tired and are staying in another 'Ma and Pa' Motel called the Motel du Cap Saint-Yvon located (surprisingly) in Saint-Yvon. The owner appears like she would do anything for us.

Daily Distance = 45.85km. Time on the Bikes = 3 hours 58 minutes. Average Speed = 11.54 km. (Anyone see a trend here?) Maximum Speed = 67.75 km. (I know, I know...going this fast on a loaded bike might not be the smartest but what a high!) Wildlife Sightings = Chipmunk, Black Backed Gulls, Gannets.

Sunrise from campsite

Saw lots of these signs both ways

Heading up into the hills again!

Fall Colours

I Never Thought That I Would Want A Mountain Bike!

We were up and at it before 5:30 am. And yes even Sue was a awake...at least as awake as she ever is first thing in the morning. So we hit the road at 7:35 to a perfectly blue sky and not very much wind. It was, however, a little chilly. It was only 7 degrees when we set out expecting a difficult day. We rode the 10 km into Gaspe (the town) making a couple of pit stops to re-stock our groceries and cooking fuel supply.

Gaspe appears to be large centre. It has a port where luxury cruise ships dock. (one was docked as we rode by) It also has a large airport where Air Canada flies out of.

Departing Gaspe was the first test of our legs as we climbed up towards Forillon National Park. There was way too much traffic on this stretch of Highway 132 and the shoulder could only be described as dismal for much of the riding. At times we were forced to simply take the lane.

Just before entering the park today we could see across the inlet and realized that we had just ridden our bikes 35 km and could see where we had been last night only about a kilometer across the water. Now that is progress! To add insult to injury, the Park Visitor Centre was closed for the season. I can hear it now. What would be so difficult, just follow 132 like you have the whole trip. We were actually trying to find a poorly marked (on maps) route across the centre of the park to cut off 27 kilometers of miserable climbing that is not recommended to ride for safety reasons. The route turned out to be an old gravel road that took us up through a valley high in the mountains. It popped us out on the North Shore of the Peninsula. However, and this is a big however, the gravel was of a 'pit run' consistency that was not fun to navigate. We just kept hoping that we would not hit something and take out a wheel or break something else on the bikes as our gear and us shook. I never thought that I would ever say "I wish I had a Mountain Bike". The old road followed a valley up through the mountains that in the 1850's was actually settled and farmed. By the 1870's 37 families were scratching out a living here. Of course today nothing remains except some old apple trees and the interpretive boards.

We are camping tonight in Camping Griffon. It is another small, well kept campground located just outside of the town of L'Anse-au-Griffon. Our site sits high on a bluff overlooking the St. Lawrence/Atlantic Ocean.

It really is a beautiful way to finish what was actually another amazing day on the bikes.

Daily Distance = 49.49 km. Time on the Bikes = 4 hours 5 minutes. Average Speed = 12.08 km. Maximum Speed = 50.80 km. Wildlife Sightings = Chickadees, Cedar Waxwings, Black Backed Gulls, Chipmunk, Hairy Woodpecker.

View across to Gaspe from Forillon Visitor Centre

Multipurpose path that we rode through Forillon Park

The Valley that they farmed in the 1800's

View from our campsite

Waterfalls beside our campsite

Burning Off The Belly Fat!

We were a little bit sad this morning as we packed up our gear to leave the Riotel Perce. It was a really nice place to spend 2 nights so much so that we had our dinner in our room last night enjoying our amazing view of Perce Rock.

We were on the road by 7:05. No that is not a misprint. We planned an early departure as we knew that today would be a tough day. We were correct. After riding 2 kilometers through town we went for our first walk of the trip. We pushed our bikes up the 17% grade for about a kilometer. It was so steep that even pushing our bikes was a tough task. Throw in a 25 kilometer head wind and we struggled to say the least. This climb was far from over, however. The road dropped into a tight switchback and then continued for the next 10 to 12 kilometers with us climbing and descending climbing and descending. And did I mention the wind! It continued to pound us. It made descending a lot less fun than normal. We would pick up speed and then get slammed with a cross gust and have to hang for dear life. I normally enjoy descending but not so much today. Then again, it does beat the heck out of climbing! Any flat riding was spent mostly into a headwind making for a tough day in the saddle. I am sure that this was a good day 'to burn off the belly fat'.

As we rode along today we realized just how depressed the economy of the area must be. An awful lot of places were for sale and many more had simply been abandoned. Businesses were boarded up. It appears that the economy is based on nothing but tourism and we all know how 'fickle' that can be.

We are set up in Camping Gaspe which is located about 4 kilometers before Haldimand. It is another example of someone trying to make a living off of about 60 campsites. It is actually a nice little place and kept up really well. Most importantly it is really clean. We are in a wooded area (sort of) looking out onto a tidal flat. We have camped in far worse places.

Daily Distance = 66.95 km. Time on the Bikes = 5 hours 4 minutes. Average Speed = 13.19 km. Maximum Speed = 53.34 km. Wildlife Sightings = Ground Hog, Great Blue Herons, Black Guillemots, Juncos, Black Backed Gulls, Gannets.

Switchbacks above Perce...We had just rode this part!

Abandoned House

We came up through these hills above Perce

View from our campsite

A Relaxing Day In Perce

Most people would sleep in on their day off, especially those who are touring. However, most cycle tourists do not have the sunrise over Perce Rock to enjoy early in the morning. So at 5:10 I was up with my coffee in hand enjoying the sunrise from our patio. It was simply put, amazing!

After washing out some of our riding gear and enjoying some more coffee, we were off to explore Perce. We were surprised to learn that this community had a 1960's hippie movement where young people came from all over Quebec to escape Quebec society. Four of these people would become famous or I probably should say became infamous. Paul and Jaques Rose, Francis Simard and Jaques Lanclot spent a year living in Perce in 1969 and were the major players in the 1970 FLQ Crisis. We also hiked up to a rock outcropping that overlooks Perce for a different view of the famous rock. It also helped us stretch out our legs.

We are a little nervous, or more accurately, 'damn well scared', thinking about tomorrow's ride. We have only been in the warm up stage of our adventure. We walked to the base of the hill out of town to have a look. We had heard it was a 17% grade and that just might be conservative in our estimation. Oh well, I guess we will see how good our walking and pushing skills are!

PS Today is the 7th anniversary of our arrival in St John's at the completion of our Cross Canada Ride.

5:10 am Sunrise

5:12 am Sunrise

Perce Rock From Above

Town of Perce

The View of the Climbing Facing us Tomorrow Morning