Cap Rouge to Lyster: The beginning of the Eastern Townships

August 5, 2010

The morning did not bring relief from the bad weather. It was very cold with heavy dark clouds. We got to go down the steep hill for the second time and tackled the Cap Rouge hill, 12% grade. There is an option to take stairs instead but that looks more difficult and impossible for a loaded bike. After the hills of the previous day, we found that this hill was not so bad.

Some of my new friends wishing me good luck on the Cap Rouge hill

You have the option of taking the stairs instead of riding up the hill. Notice the groove for your bike wheel

Day care kids on a field trip. The leashes are probably a good idea when walking in traffic

The Cap Rouge hill has begun. It is legal to ride on sidewalks in Quebec

Nearly at the top! This hill is not as hard as the beast yesterday

We had planned to tour Quebec City but realized that we had many miles to go before our next train booking to Sagenuay, so we wisely decided to bypass Quebec City this trip and focus on the travels ahead instead. We felt that the one day we could spare would not do the city justice.

The Pont de Quebec is a kilometre long.Thank goodness we were the only ones on the cycling path as our bike and panniers took up most of the path

So off we went, across the huge Pont du Quebec. An awesome bridge and view of the city and St. Lawrence. A narrow path is provided for cyclists and we were just able to fit the wide load of our bike - thank goodness we didn`t meet anyone.

Off the bridge in Charny, we (the navigator, that is) missed the Route Verte sign and took a detour to Sainte Etienne de Lauzon before finding the trail.

I hope they are better at construction than sign maintenance

This section is the Parc Lineaire Le Grand Tron - a super straight crushed gravel trail. We endured a very stiff headwind and high humidity.

At Saint Agapit the trail becomes Parc Lineaire de la MRS de Ltbiniers - paved! For the stoker, this is particulary welcome as Mary Ellen is becoming covered from head to toe by the grit from the trail. Nonetheless, this area takes great care in maintaining the trail and rest stations to a high standard.

The trail after Quebec City is mostly crushed gravel. Mary Ellen was covered in a fine grit by the end of the day

By the time we reached Dosquet we had to take refuge from the humidity and wind, so we decided it was time to try the famed Quebecois treat, poutine, for the first time. Poutine is frites with gravy and melted cheese (curd). Heavy, high fat food but tasty. We think the air conditioning helped.

My first poutine- french fries,cheese curd and gravy.

The scenery has completely changed from the Chemin du Roy.

After lunch we pushed on for an additional 30 km and saw a sign on the trail for Motel Chalets Lyster. On a whim we turned off and we are so glad we did. It is a delightful oasis set on the river. We had a lovely private cabin, fully outfitted and self sufficient - $68.

Today's ride: 77 km (48 miles)
Total: 730 km (453 miles)

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