Leaving Quebec City was so easy on the well-marked bike paths, and it was only 14 km to the Montmorency Waterfall, which was just past the bridge to l’Île d’Orleans. The Montmorency Falls was so beautiful. I locked up my bike and walked up close to it where I got to witness a few rainbows. There is a cable car to take you to the top, or a set of stairs just next to the falls, so obviously I opted for the stairs. Once I got to the top, there was a huge park built around the falls with hiking trails and snowshoeing trails. There was also a suspension bridge that went over the falls which you could walk along, which was cool.
In the winter, a big ice hill forms at the bottom of the falls which is apparently a big tourist draw, and in the past, it has even been carved out to make caves. This was also a pretty important spot historically, as it is where the battle of Montmorency happened between the British and French, temporarily setting the British back before they took Quebec City in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham a couple months later.
After I had hiked around the waterfall park a bit, I went back down and got my bike to head over to l’Île d’Orleans. The bridge to get to the island was 2 km long and technically you’re not supposed to bike on it, but I didn’t really feel like walking my bike that far, so I just went on the bridge. But just before I got halfway, there was some construction being done on the bridge, and the worker made me get off which was annoying. When I finally got to the other side there was this monstrous 1.5 km long hill in front of me, which of course I had no momentum for. After having to walk my bike up the hills coming into Quebec City, I was determined to ride up this one. I had to take a couple stops to catch my breath, but I managed to make it to the top through pedalling, which I felt pretty good about.
I stopped in the tourist information centre at the top and got a map, but pretty much you could just do an entire loop of the island and it was about 60 km. The island was originally parcelled out to French settlers to farm on, so much of the land is still divided into those typical long farm plots. Later, it became a vacation destination for wealthy Anglo-protestants. Today it still has a number of farms and remains a tourist destination, but also has full time residents who are not involved in agriculture.
Biking around the island, the views were stunning. As I was on the south side of the island though, heading east, I was being hammered with a headwind the whole time. I figured that since I was doing a loop, at least it would help me out on the way back, but the road along the north of the island wasn’t directly on the water as in the south, so the winds weren’t as strong once I was heading west.
This island, I was reading, was inspiration for a number of quebecois artists, and I could understand why as I rode along. The beaches were stunning, and as the day went on and the sun lowered in the sky, the reflections across the water were beautiful.
There were a number of art galleries on the south shore and cute little tourist cafes overlooking the water. And on the Far East tip of the island there was a lookout point that you could climb up to. There were also some really cute houses with perfectly decorated and maintained yards.
After cycling the loop of the island, I headed over to Marc’s friend, Dénis’ place. Although he had offered for me to use their bathroom and shower, I was still expecting to pitch my tent outside. But once I arrived him and his wife were so kind and welcoming and offered for me to stay on a pullout couch in their basement which was lovely. My next 6 nights are going to be camping, so it was really nice to get one more night in a bed! They even fed me once I arrived which was so nice, so once I was showered I could just relax.
I was chatting with them, and while there are 2 primary schools on the island, students have to go off the island to go to secondary school (although there is a school just on the other side of the bridge). I had noticed that a lot of the properties were for sale which I also asked about, and they said that with medical services so far away, a number of the older residents are moving to the mainland. So if anyone is looking for some beautiful waterfront property, it may be worth checking out this island!
Total distance: 101 km
Total elevation: 726 m
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