XCAN Day 73 To Belledune New Brunswick

Distance:          101.5
Time:                 4:13
Elevation:          669m
Weather:             13-27c.  Beautiful
Bathroom:           9.5.   Only one toilet per gender
Flats:                   0

Woke up to sunshine, very little wind but a might cooler. It did warm up later in the morning.

Today we entered New Brunswick.  After breakfast I got ready and left. Greg has been great and doing all the trailer hook ups on his own for the past four days as it lets me leave when I am ready in the morning.  It has been wonderful to get on the road early before much traffic.

We had about 34km to ride to get to the bridge at Pointe-a-la-Croix. It was a beautiful ride to the bridge with great views of the other side of the bay where we would be riding in an hour or so.  It felt like such an easy ride today as there were no headwinds.

Crossing the bridge I stopped halfway across between Quebec and New Brunswick  and

sent a note to my good friend Kathy Eyres who had a substantial birthday today.

I was sad to be leaving Quebec.  It was a wonderful experience riding in this province for many reasons. The people, the food, the quaint towns and villages, the coastline, history and the amazing Route Vert  biking

that they have for cycling. It has been the best province for cyclists so far.

But on to New Brunswick.

Six provinces down. That is exciting.  Sadly arriving across the bridge as we did there were no “Welcome” signs so both Dave and Nancy and myself had to improvise to prove we were here.

Through Campbellton and then on route 134 which ran along the bay up the other side from whence we came.   A nice easy flat route with views.  Can’t get any better than that.

I took some pictures of some houses. Both Greg and I noticed in both Quebec and New Brunswick this style of house is very prevalent. Whether it is a one story or two, have extra additions or extra dormers it is the same style. Some much older and some newer but painted in all different colours and very Neat looking.  Also we are now in the heart of Acadia so I am seeing so many more Acadian stars.

Arrived at the campsite early but promptly lost an hour as NB is on Atlantic time.  So we are now 4 hours ahead of B.C.   had a nice afternoon with Greg and we explored the beach below.  People were swimming but I had already showered. If I had known it was so nice a swim might have taken place.

Nancy and Dave cooked chilli last night for extra power for today.  A nice evening but bed was calling. Still have a few more days to ride before a rest day but Dave figured in a shorter day tomorrow to Bathurst so we don’t have to leave so early.

Loved the Gaspesie and would recommend it to anyone out this way. Either riding or driving it is worth the extra time.

Thanks for reading. Heidi

XCan Day 72 - Hopetown to Nouvelle. Last full day in Gaspesie

Distance: 105
Time: 4:43
Speed: 22.3
Ascent: 582m
Weather: warm with strong headwinds from the west
Flats: 0
Bathroom Rating: 7.5  (water not potable)

The ride today was along the south coast of the Gaspe Peninsula. Unlike the north and east coasts, the south coast has many small villages with one running into the other...pretty much urban and semi urban areas through the entire ride. And every village seemed to have a huge church...sometimes no village but the huge church. Because of the headwind, the riding was hard for the second day in a row. Going from one village to the next and riding along the sea wall on portions of the ride kept it interesting. Nancy and Dave stopped in a place called New Richmond in a small boulangerie that didn't have much selection on the menu but the bread was wonderful. Tomorrow is notable for 2 reasons, the headwinds are forecast to be 6k with 9k gust rather than 25k with 35k gusts and we cross into New Brunswick, our 7th province.
Cheers
Dave and Nancy

XCAN Day 71. To Hope Town

Distance:       100.83
Time:             5:02
Elevation:      790
Weather:  Beautiful and sunny but a snarky headwind
Bathroom:    9
Flats:            0.

“Go west.  Life is peaceful there
Go west.  In the open air”
What!!!  Yes we left camp today and headed ouest (west) on Hwy 132.

Since we passed the tip of the Gaspe we have to head west down “the bay” to Cambellton to head east.  Oh and I knew I was going West as I found a small herd of buffalo.

Yes buffalo. They were fenced in,  but kind of rare for this area I kind of think!

Anyway...it was beautiful and sunny his morning so Greg and I took a walk and got a couple of good shots of Perce Rock

and the lighthouse at the campsite.  Not a bad thing to wake up to I must say.  A far cry from yesterdays view.

Yesterdays view of Perce Rock from the 17% downhill grade!

I headed out early again today as I knew the winds were going to be strong and gusty from the West.   Yes a headwind. Nancy had a small fall through a dirt detour yesterday so she opted to ride with Sr. Gregorio.  Dave headed out at 10 when Greg left camp.

It was only 100 km but some of the hardest because of the gusty headwinds.  When you were going downhill you could not get much speed as the winds were blowing you all over.  I barely made an average of 20km per hour today.  Slow and steady.....tortoise time!   Talking to Lawrence, she and her boyfriend own the campsite we are in tonight, she said this was a perfect usual Gaspesie day. Warm but with a wind.

Even though it was a hard riding day it was beautiful. Lots of beaches, headlands, villages to keep it interesting and enjoyable.

Greg and Nancy passed me in a hill and Greg honked as usual but it was a much louder honk and it had me jump out of my skin. I did give him heck tonight at camp.

We had a short portion of road that was under construction but the workers were so good. They had a pilot car working but they let me go through the one km of dirt and waited till I was off before they lead the other end.  So nice.

We had heard stories about Quebec drivers being bad...but I have found they are some of the most courteous in the country.  If they see you coming when pulling out of roads and driveways, even 400 m away they stop and back up to let you know they are not pulling out in front of you.   I always wave to thank them, and I always get a wave back!

At about 15 km out from camp, I stopped at a store and bought a drink and a chocolate bar.  First one on the trip I think.

 It pushed me all the way to the campsite!

Arrived at the campsite and Greg met me at the road, as usual.  The owners have a little cantina by the road so we shared an order of fries which I loaded with vinegar and salt.  We had a nice talk with Lawrence who was working the Cantina. She did an exchange to Vancouver for 5 months when she was 15 so her English is very good. She kept talking about her bucket list and the things she is doing this year. Diving off of Perce next week, going diving with sharks in Curacao in January and to the Galapagos this fall.  I told her she is doing well for such a young person to cross so many things off her list.

Had a relaxing afternoon in the sun. Dave arrived later in the afternoon and Nancy and Dave made dinner and then Greg and I went down to the bench swings that overlooked the bay and finished our drinks.  A wonderful evening.  The wind has died down and once the sun goes down it gets cooler.  Looks like tomorrow is going to be a repeat of today wind wise....hmmm...wonder if I will have another chocolate bar???

Anyway, that is todays snapshot of our amazing trip.

Thank you all again for your comments.   It is nice to know people are reading the blog and every comment or like on FB or email is amazing.

In the words of Mike,    Cheers. Heidi

XCAN Day 69. To L’Anse-A-Valle

Distance:          100.7
Time:                4:27
Elevation:        1499 M
Weather:           Perfect. Sunny but not too hot and a bit of tailwind.
Bathroom:        5
Flats:                0

After our rest day yesterday we were anticipating some good climbs today but not really at the grades that we had. We had about 30 km of nice riding beside the ocean with some amazing rock formations

and then it happened. Our first big hill today was about 4.5 km of 13-14% grade interspersed with a mellow 8% for the other 4 km.   Made for an interesting day as you never knew what was coming next.   And when you go up...of course you have to go down. I must say the ups were much easier as the 14% downhill grades with funky shoulders and shadows that make it hard to see the road made for some big breaking sessions.   Then when you get close to the bottom you let er go, pick up some speed and think you can coast up the next hill a bit, but it goes from 0-11% in a flash and you have just enough time to gear down and grind up the hill!  But like I said, it made it fun, interesting and a challenge.

But the views and villages.

We were talking and it seems like everyone has so much pride in their house and yards which makes the little towns so pretty.

And every little cove has some kind of settlement in it.   Also there are lots of rest areas and viewpoints to stop at.

Greg was able to pull over in Grande-Vallee and meet me for a snack and coffee. While we were there we met a nice couple from Montreal who had 2 weeks to ride the Gaspé. Super nice and enjoyable to talk to.  We told them where we were going so they ended up at the same campsite last night so had time to talk a bit more.   I totally forgot to get their email address so feel bad about that.   Nancy and Dave stopped at the restaurant as well so the 6 bikers were filling up the front area.

After the break we continued on to our campsite. We went inland quite a ways and around some nice little lakes so the views changed a bit.  More trees and definitely hillier. Very green.

Arrived at the campsite after climbing our last big hill of the day.  The campsite overlooked the little town below.  

After our climbing day we needed a cold drink so Greg headed off looking for ice. He had to go 9km down the road to the third town over to get it. What a guy!  But nothing beats an ice cold drink after that hilly ride.
 Sat on the sun for the afternoon. Nancy and Dave made some mean burgers and Yam fries for dinner.  Yum. And then the usual night routine. Read and sleep!!

And that’s a wrap for day 69!!!   Heidi

XCan Day 70 - Anse-a-Valleau to Perce, Gaspesie

Distance: 108 km
Time: 5:09
Speed: 21 km/hr
Ascent: 1372 m
Weather: rain, heavy at times
Flats: 0
Shower Rating: 7

Today's ride changed direction.  We started south-east then turned south around the end of Gaspesie.  Riding along the interior edge of Forillon National Park.  The terrain again is steep climbs with equally steep descents with some flat stretches thrown in for good measure.  We reached 16% again on our climbs today.  But the hills go up sharply - it is not uncommon to be at -1% then 11% in the blink of an eye.  Unlike the weather we have encountered so far on Gaspesie, today rained, all day, and heavily.  Because of the rain,  it was hard to enjoy the scenery which, so far, has been spectacular on the Peninsula.  Dave and Nancy stopped in Gaspe for lunch and used the super-powerful hand dryer in the washroom to dry off a bit - but that didn't last long as it was raining really hard when we left the restaurant.  The last 10 km into Perce was really hilly - probably some of the toughest climbs all day but when we crested the hill into Perce, Perce Rock was sitting right in front of us.  Awesome!
Cheers,
Nancy and Dave

XCan Day 68 - Rest Day in Mont-Louis

A good day for a rest day...rained most of the day! Mont Louis is a very small village on the north side of the Gaspe Peninsula on the gulf of St Laurence with a population of about 1100. So there are very few amenities. We try to do food shopping for the next few days each rest day and we tried in Mont Louis today. First of all had trouble finding the grocery store and when we did, we were only able find the basics...about 1/3 of the list. But we did find a wonderful restaurant called "L'eau a la Bouche" which loosely translated is "Mouth Watering" restaurant. They had a wide variety of menu items with fish, steak, pasta and pizza. Greg and Heidi had a pizza that Greg claimed to be the best pizza he's had in at least a year. Nancy had fish and Dave a steak which were also very good. Just goes to show that you can find some kind of a hidden gem in every little town.

Anyway, a good day to rest because tomorrow we have 1400m of climbing!

Cheers
Dave

XCAN Day 67 Saint Anne des Monts to Mont Louis

Distance:             66km
Time:                   2:30
Weather:              Perfect
Flats:                    0

Nancy and Dave left early to go out for breakfast. Greg and I packed up the trailer and headed out.  The sky was clear, the wind was great and no fog to be seen until later in the morning.  Around every corner and over the headlands you were hit with beautiful views.

Through one small village and on to the next.

Every little town had its own characteristics.  We passed a nice lighthouse and Greg had stopped about 6 km ahead.

 I was dreaming of a coffee with him but when I arrived the coffee place was closed on Monday and Tuesday.

Had a short water break and Greg left and I carried on towards Mont Louis.  The road mostly was a great highway right beside the Gulf of St Lawrence with a wonderful shoulder. (Yes we are now in the Gulf not the river)  

I can’t imagine what it would be like during a winter storm.   Lots of signs showing waves crashing over onto cars.  Would be kind of neat to see though.

I arrived to the campsite and Greg was sitting in the truck waiting for the previous camper to leave.  I waited with him for another 45 minutes until they left.  While Greg set up I went and showered and then we walked into town for lunch.  Nancy and Dave arrived just as we left.

We had a great lunch sharing a burger and their shrimp wrap. Both tasted great and was very full so we didn’t need dinner. Just as we finished eating a nice thunder storm moved in.  Needless to say we got a little wet walking back to the trailer.  I figured it was just a rain water rinse.

Greg’s iphone decided to quit.  It needs  to do a reset but needs half decent internet to do the download so will have to wait until we can connect to a good one.  Luckily we have his old phone so he will be using that for awhile.

Made some granola this evening as I have been using the sugary bought stuff since I ran out of my home made granola.

Rest day tomorrow. Time to catch up on laundry, bike cleaning, bills etc.

Feels great and Life is Amazing!  Heidi