I had intended to stop in the fromagerie FX Pichet, as it was on the way, and the cheese on my pizza from there the night before had been amazing. But I got there 10 minutes before it opened and I didn’t really want to wait around, so I kept going. There was supposedly an Interpretation Centre for the Chemin du Roy in Grondines, so I had thought I’d stop in there for a morning break, but once I got to Grondines, it was nowhere to be found. The address listed on my map was nothing, so I just kept going until I got to a little rest stop/lookout just outside of Deschambault.
At the stop I started chatting with a couple there who were from the area who were super lovely and telling me about all the best places to go, including a cantine just outside Kamouraska. They were also the only people I had chatted to so far that had been to both Lac Temiscouata and Le Gaspesie, and they told me just how beautiful Temiscouata is, and that both are great options. So after going back and forth, I figure I’ll stay with my original route and skip Le Gaspesie on this trip as it would add so much time. I can always go back to bike it later if I want.
After this break, I continued on through Portneuf to Cap-Santé which was the cutest town. It seemed to primarily consist of the Vieux Chemin which was apparently named prettiest street in Canada by the Globe and Mail. I don’t know if I can definitively name any street the prettiest without seeing them all, but I’d say this was definitely a contender. The street was lined with trees and the cutest cottage-style homes with fancy woodwork and lovely verandas, all painted different colours. And between the houses, there were breathtaking cliffside views of the St Laurent.
Just a bit after Cap-Santé, I arrived in Donnacona, where I had planned on having lunch at Parc de Berges. The Chemin du Roy and Route Verte had temporarily split though just before Donnacona, and I ended up missing the park. It had been a pretty big climb to get there, so I didn’t really feel like backtracking to the park, so I just continued on until I got to a casse-croute where I had my first poutine of the trip. Maybe having the saltiest heaviest meal midday before biking another 50+ km was not the best idea, but I figured this might be the only way to eat poutine without feeling like I may have a heart attack afterwards. Surprisingly I didn’t regret it.
After Donnacona I continued on, and although it was pretty hilly, all the climbs were so worth it as I got to sail down the hills with views of the St Laurent. I had completely lost track of the days of the week until I saw all the garage sales, which clued me into the fact that it was Saturday. That would also explain why so many other cyclists were out. Everytime I passed another cyclist on the road they all waved or nodded their heads—some even gave me a thumbs up as I was climbing a hill and they were headed down.
Even though there were definitely more cyclists out today since it was the weekend, in general I’ve noticed way more cyclists in Quebec than on Ontario. Also, like 90% of the cyclists in Ontario were men, and probably over half the cyclists I passed in Quebec have been women which has been awesome to see. Evan had mentioned to me that outdoor activities are much more ingrained in the culture in Quebec City, so maybe this explains why I was seeing so many people out on their bikes.
I’ve also noticed a bunch of motor-tricycles. Some of them have 2 wheels in the back, some have 2 in the front, but they look very bizarre. I had never seen them before and they seem to be pretty popular here.
After Donnacona I took a quick stop in Neuville, where I read a bit about the history of the town. Back in the 1600s, the king of France was encouraging women to go to New France to marry, so 17 French women ended up in Neuville. Of them, 10 of the couples stayed in Neuville, and between them had 110 children. From those kids, they then had over 600 kids. So just like that, in a couple generations, a town was formed.
As I was leaving this rest stop, I could see a small hill in front of me that I started on, but after turning a corner at what I thought was the top, it was so much steeper and went on for much longer. And I had stopped at the very bottom, so I had no momentum to help me out. I made it up about halfway before hopping off and walking the rest of the way. Even from walking up my calves were sore from the steepness! I later found out that this is the Côte Gagnon, and cyclists like to time themselves on it. The burn was real.
Following this, I went through the hilliest suburb, St-Augustine-de-Desmaurs. At least with the hills earlier I had great views as rewards for the climbs. In St-Augustine my only views as I went up and down the hills were of fancy houses, so definitely not as rewarding. My final stop before Quebec City was going to be at the Parc Nautique de Cap-Rouge. As I was getting there, I got to the top of this behemoth of a hill. And as fun as it was to fly down, all I could think was that what goes down, must come back up. But that was a worry for later. The park was at the bottom, so I sat by the water there for a bit and refilled my water. And then I had to face that monster climb. And like earlier, I had no downhill momentum to help me. I only made it about a third of the way before calling it quits on pedalling. I was seriously impressed by the cyclists who passed me on the way to the top as I walked up. I tried to rationalize that they didn’t have a loaded up bike like me, but let’s be real—these are people who actively chose to cycle up and down insanely steep hills on their Saturday. So I think their legs are a lot more jacked than mine.
Following Cap-Rouge, I went through a lovely path surrounded by trees before finding myself on the most beautiful bike trail that ran along the St Laurent as I entered the outskirts of Quebec City. The Promenade de Samuel-de Champlain is amazing and all city planners should take note. They had a pedestrian trail right next to the water, then a bike path, then the road, with strips of grass with trees, benches, and public art separating each pathway from one another. After awhile, the pedestrian pathway ended and the bike trail ran next to some train tracks, but we still had trees separating us. And then as I was mounting a bridge and passing by a church up on a hill, the bells started ringing for 5 pm, and it was the perfect welcome into the city.
I stayed along the St Laurent all the way until I hit the Rivière St Charles, and then went up there to get to my Warm Showers hosts’ home. Marc and Laurie welcome me once I arrived and made dinner which was great. Laurie is doing her articling for law school, and Marc is a bike mechanic, so their home is filled with bikes. After dinner, we went out for ice cream, but we had to bike there, and my legs were feeling pretty dead from the day already. And it wasn’t just any bike ride, there was a really steep hill involved, as they live in the lower part of the city and the ice cream place was on the upper part. I thought that maybe now without a loaded up bike I could handle the steep incline...I was wrong. For the third time today I had to jump off and walk up the final little bit. The ice cream was amazing though, so I guess it was worth the work to get there.
I’m going to take a rest day in Quebec City to explore, as I haven’t been here in over a decade. Also, Marc does bicycle fittings at his job, and said he’d adjust my bike tomorrow which should alleviate the knee pain, so great news all around!
Total distance: 108 km
Total elevation: 795 m
No comments:
Post a Comment