St Glace is smiling on us...: Day 72 - La Pocatiere to Trois-Pistoles - And Then We Pedalled...... Cross Canada 2015

August 13, 2015

St Glace is smiling on us...: Day 72 - La Pocatiere to Trois-Pistoles

Eighteen. Count 'em, eighteen silos. One steeple. Thank you St. Glacé.

That was the score when we entered Riviere Ouellette about 25 minutes into our day. That's also when Route 132, also Route Verte 1 turned North east. Yesterday's headwind had done a 180 and we now had a very strong tailwind.

I think my little homage to St. Glacé, Quebec's patron saint of ice cream, in yesterday's blog worked a miracle. We are certainly in its domaine (its, as the saint is androgynous, everyone loves ice cream).

Today was simply a great ride. With this tailwind and highway 132, we could have put in some serious mileage. But why? It would only get us out of Quebec sooner, and we are in no mood for that.

So today was more about effortless riding and taking in the gorgeous sights, interesting and quirky villages, and some great food along the way.

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Counted 18 silos when riding in here. Silos->Cows->Milk->Ice Cream. One of the most divine connections. Quebec gets this

Most of today's ride was along the St Lawrence and we are now fully in a maritime environment. Although technically still a river, there is a tide, the water is brackish, there is a definite sea smell, and the absolute clincher, there are big fibreglass lobsters beckoning people into roadside restaurants.

We didn't get a really early start (surprise) but we got a full one. A very hearty breakfast at the motel in La Pocatiere and we were pedalling away at around 9:30. No big deal as we were soon cruising along at speeds between 25 and 30 km/hr. The only problem with maintains these speeds was the need to stop and take pictures, talk to other cyclists and folks walking the roads and beaches, and to eat.

The night before we had picked up a really good booklet that had maps of all the villages in the Kamarouska area, along with all the markets, cafes, chocolatiers, bistros and just about everything else associated with food. When we hit Kamarouska, a very pretty resort town, we came upon l'Amuse Bouche. It was in the book. It was beside the water. It looked and smelled beautiful (we didn't but that's another story), and is was 11:40. Close enough to lunch time for me. Luckily Kirsten rolled her eyes and acquiesced, and next thing you know we are having a fantastic lunch.

That way to a great lunch folks..... One of the several really cool sculptures we came across today, this one east of Kamarouska. I knew they were trying to tell us something

L'Amuse Bouche at Kamarouska. Superb lunch in a beautiful location

Another 'put away your phone' face at L'Amuse Bouche

The St Lawrence from the deck at l'Amuse Bouche Kamarouska

After lunch we had about 90 km to go to our planned destination, Trois-Pistoles. It was simply marvellous biking along Route Verte 1, which for the most part was Hwy 132. Past Riviere de Loup the bike route took some side roads and some separate paths as traffic volume picked up on 132. The Trans Canada parallels 132 until Riviere de Loup, so the majority of the car and truck traffic stays on the TCH.

We could have stayed on the 132 all the way to Trois-Pistoles but we chose to take the Route Verte 1 option. This added about 10 km to our day, and took us onto some gravel and hardpack paths, but it was worth it for the country we got to see. These folks in Quebec have their bike system worked out. Unless you are in a tremendous hurry or riding a bike with 20 mm tires, when the bike route says to get off the main road, do it. This is what you will get.

This old fella was being used to haul up fishing nets. Definitely by the sea now

I count 12 for St Glacé, one for the other guy. Another decisive win for the home team!

Just another pretty little Quebec Village....

This is what we would see looking to the right....

And this is what we would see looking to the left...

And this is what we saw looking straight ahead...

More roadside sculptures, this one commemorating the men who would portage over the hills and connect with the rivers draining into the Bay of Fundy. That's where we will be biking in the next few days.

When we did get off Hwy 132 and away from the coast we were on some really amazing routes such as this one through a gorge just west of Trois-Pistoles

This was the gorge the bridge was spanning.
Stay on 132 and you miss all this

The waters below the bridge, you would never know this was here from the highway

We pulled into the excellent municipal campground at Trois-Pistoles, got cleaned up and then rode about 1 km into the town and had a fantastic table d'hôtel meal at La Belle Excuse.

A day of great cycling in beautiful surroundings, interesting people and places. Three great meals that I would gladly have any time again, a great campsite in a lovely location. As I sit here outside the laundry waiting for our two changes of clothing to dry I'm thinking, ' I like my new job'

Song of the day:

Howl by Florence and the Machine

Not sure if I've done this already ... When this came on we were roaring (for us) down the road approaching some curves and hills caused by these cool rock features (volcanic intrusions?). At the same time two Québécois boys came screaming by on their moter cycles (giving us wide berth) doing their best Gilles Villeneuve impression. I'm sure they were howling too.

Historical monument of the day:

The portage monument .. A nice touch to recognise some of the unsung workers who were instrumental in building the country.

Tomorrow's forecast is for stronger winds in the same direction. I hope our lack of ice cream consumption today does not screw that up!

View from the campsite across the bay at Trois-Pistoles

Today's ride: 132 km (82 miles)
Total: 6,587 km (4,091 miles)

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