I had no idea we had to come this far north from Quebec City to get down into New Brunswick. Another lapse of Canadian geography!!!! And by the temperature you would think that we have gone to the north pole!!!! While it is NOT cold, it has been cool today. I took my jacket off because we had a few hills to climb and then I put it back on and kept it on for the rest of the day. And we had a nice sun when we arrived at camp which very quickly dried out our tents and other stuff from the bit of rain we had last night, but once that sun was gone - it got cold very quickly. I had my socks and running shoes on, two layers and my scarf wrapped around my head. OK - so we are NOT making fashion statements while we are on this trip.
There are also mosquitos and LOTS of little bugs - little flies - no idea what they are, but there are lots of them. My tent is covered - ICK!!!!!
We had a great day of riding - we only had 117 K which makes it almost seem like why bother even riding!!! I know - very lazy!!!! We had another detour - and this time we rode up to the construction to see what it looked like. Again we decided to backtrack a couple of K and take the main road. BUT of course, some of the group chose to ride/walk/crawl through the construction zone. To the extent that they had to carry their bikes - I mean - really - what is with that???? Just get on your bike and ride on the road. And I am sure these construction guys are THRILLED to see a bunch of idiots carrying their bikes through this mess. OF course - each person is different and well we can all do what we want.
There was a bit of climbing today, but it really wasn't a big deal and we had mostly good roads. There was one highway that was in need of repair!!!! But for the most part - it was an awesome day and we had a sort of tailwind for the majority of the day.
We didn't find a place to eat until half way through the trip!!!!! ACK- and it was a Tim's. Because by this time - I really had to go to the bathroom and I was hungry. A few others joined us as we sat there.
Then peanut butter sandwich by the side of the road!!! Our last stop was 8K from camp!!! I know, but Neil needed a snack and we had been promised a GREAT bakery which we never found. We did find a small spot that served nachos and cold drinks. I had dessert of the day and an ice tea. Nothing too special. And it was hysterical because as I was ordering in french for me, it was obvious that the girl behind the counter was English trying to speak French!!!!!! We got a good laugh over that one.
Into camp in good time because it was a short day. Got things organized and all set up and dry and then I got to read my book!!!!!! I hate when you get to the exciting part and want to know what happens - well I still have a couple of hundred pages to read!!!!! It started to get cold and rain a wee bit and so I crawled into my tent to read. Now it would have been very easy to just close my eyes and go to sleep, but I didn't want to do that because I would never sleep tonight. So while I did close my eyes for a bit, I did not sleep. Besides, my tent is close to the truck and there were too many people and noise to allow any sleeping.
I have to say that our group does go to bed early. On previous trips, there was someone with a guitar or something that would keep us around the "campfire", but not this trip. And I am OK with that!!!!! Lots of people just go to sleep or go to their tent to read or whatever until they go to sleep. We are a pretty quiet group for the most part.
It is amazing how wide the Saint Laurence is at this point. You can still cross - there is a ferry at Trois Pistoles which takes two hours to cross the Saint Laurence. I believe there is one more ferry at Rimouski and then that is it!!!!! But of course - we are not going that way.
Some of the road was so rough today that at one point I thought something was rattling off my bike. Then I remembered I have a small metal tin in the handlebar bag and the contents were rattling so loud that is what I heard!!!!!
Can you believe that we have TWELVE riding days left????? I can't believe that!!!! But we still have FOUR provinces to go once we are done with Quebec. So far, I am doing great - I think the light day yesterday and today really helped my knees. The one still hasn't fully recovered from that one day of riding where I pushed it. My bruise is still there on my inner thigh, but isn't bothering me. So yes - I feel great - my butt is fine - actually my butt has been fine from day one. Almost, but not quite as comfy as sitting in a regular chair.
We rode through some very nice small villages here. The villages are cute in that they are LONG and narrow - the highway runs as the main street and houses on both or one side. And some times - there is a barn/farm or two interspersed in the village. And let's not forget the ENORMOUS churches. Almost like they were trying to outdo each other when they were built. But lots of nice little houses with beautiful porches/verandas. And many of them have beautiful gardens and we have seen a number of bikes in the garden with flowers in the baskets. There are lots of herons as well along the waterways.
Well - it is time to close off for tonight. Let's hope I can hook up to the internet and post this.
Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!
Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment