Our gracious host and hostess had a wonderful breakfast for us this morning.  However, let me back up our story a few hours.  Early last night the winds blew with gusto but eventually they calmed and allowed peaceful sleep.  The stillness woke Joe and Jeff and it was also first light (about 3:30 a.m. ).  They deferred getting their bikes and moving on because they anticipated a great breakfast.   HP, our sleeper missed it all but the breakfast.  By the time we ate and loaded our bikes the winds picked up.   Of course, the only winds a cyclist experiences are head winds.   Along the way we saw lots of cyclists heading in the opposite direction.   One of them crossed the highway to talk to us.   He left Vancouver 58 days ago as part of his trans-Canadian bike ride.   He was proud that he had camped all the way and not spent one night in a motel.   We attribute this to his age. We, on the other hand are proud that we h...

We had a good night’s sleep at the fishing lodge and woke to a nice breakfast of “pancakes”.  The pancakes that we have been getting are more like crepes than the pancakes we get at home.  They are very dense and not fluffy.  Our pancakes today were plate sized and filling. Joe and Jeff started cycling earlier than HP.   He had a separate room and used the opportunity to sleep in.   HP thinks that Joe and Jeff are early birds and start the day to early. He likes socializing with people he encounters during the trip and had breakfast one hour later with Serge and his family from Metz with whom we all shared the dinner table at André’s Auberge de la Rivière de la Matapédia the evening before. Her daughter living for one and a half years with her friend, both architects, in Montreal , organized the Quebec travel for the family. Our route continued along the Matapedia River and we stopped to watch the fly fishermen work their rods.   In addition,...

Our morning started off with a great breakfast of fresh fruit with homemade cream, homemade pastries, fresh crepes, coffee, and juice.  After that, we had to put on our rain gear and mount our bikes.    The rain quickly tapered off and the temperatures rose which allowed us to remove our rain gear. We had a choice of routes today.   The first took us south along the bay and was 70 miles long.   The other route was more direct and only 55 miles long.   With the promise of storms, we chose the shorter route but were disappointed with increased traffic.   About 20 miles into our ride we stopped at a café for coffee and a snack.   After that the route increased in elevation but it was a very moderate climb over most of our ride.   The head winds helped cool us off but at times required that we pedal down some of the hills. We made one other rest stop at a church that had a gazebo.   There we met Cheryl who told us that she was...

Unsere Veloreise welche in Ste Flavie begann, führte uns zuerst nordostwärts dem Sankt Lorenzstrom entlang, dann folgte die Umrundung der, dem Atlantik zugewandten Spitze. Nun fahren wir an der Südseite der Halbinsel, südwestwärts der Baie de la Chaleur entlang. Der Name der Bucht stammt vom Entdecker Jacques Cartier. Die Baie de la Chaleur gilt als das Gewässer mit den wärmsten Temperaturen nördlich des US Bundesstaates Virginia. Der Lachs benutzt die Kiesbänke der Zuflüsse, insbesondere des Restigouche zum Laichen. Das Wasser der Bucht hat wegen der vielen Zuflüsse unterschiedlichen Salzgehalt und ist auch deshalb sehr reich an Fischen. Heute sind wir kurz vor 6h bei bedecktem Himmel, leichtem Nebel, kühlen Temperaturen und wenig Sonntagsverkehr von unserer Unterkunft, der Maison Blanche gestartet. Aber während unseres Aufenthaltes haben wir weder denn Hausherr, noch die Firstlady zu sehen bekommen. Die Fahrt ist trotz der 94 km mit dem leichten Rückenwind und den wenigen, mäss...

It was a long hot day, our tires melted into the asphalt; we were lost and forlorn as we struggled along in our journey.  Well it wasn’t quite like that, but perhaps it would provide a more interesting story. We started cycling at 6 a.m. , an hour before any of Perce’s breakfast places opened.   We agreed to meet 14 miles later and have breakfast at a restaurant that was to open by the time of our arrival.   Something happened along the way to make Joe think Jeff was ahead of him and Joe wanted to catch up (Jeff’s GPS did not have the restaurant marked).   Well that was the last HP and Jeff saw of Joe until they arrived at our night’s lodging.   If it wasn’t for our lodging stop, Joe may still be trying to catch Jeff. HP and Jeff had a more leisurely ride.   They stopped at a grocery store and purchased breakfast and lunch fixings which they ate along the way.   In Chandler , they were treated to Gaspe ’s version of Rolling Thunder.   S...

To set the tone, we had a marvelous day; despite eating breakfast in a fast food place.  The restaurant where we ate dinner was declared off limits by Jeff so we went to Tim Hortons.  After that we left town and cycled on a paved trail for 6 miles before our GPS told us to get back on the route 132.  Before doing so, a jogger stopped HP and told him that route 132 ahead had some sections that were dangerous and he suggested a short cut.  Our ride quickly got very interesting. The short cut dumped us onto a very sandy road that prohibited us from cycling. This lead us to an abandoned railroad bridge which we had to cross.   Along the earlier bike path we saw signs warning of the dangers of touching a certain plant that was worse than poison ivy.    And now we were up to our knees in weeds.   After the railroad bridge, we had more sand (and weeds), which again required us to push our bikes.   We felt like hobos but taking this 2 mile sho...

Jeff und Joe sind durchaus kompromissbereite Frühaufsteher, doch ab 6:30 h sind sie kaum mehr zu halten. So auch heute, einem wunderschönen Tag welcher uns mit blauem Himmel, angenehmer Temperatur und mit einer frischen Atlanikbrise begrüsst. Für uns beginnt das Programm mit einem währschaften kanadischen Frühstück: Spiegel- oder Rührei, Speck, Bratkartoffeln und Toasts mit Marmelade. Dazu gibt es Filterkaffee und Wasser “free refill”. Wir profitieren ausgiebig, beladen unsere Fahrräder, füllen unsere Wasserflaschen und los geht’s. Die Fahrt beginnt mit einer langen Steigung welche uns von der Küste auf einen Hügelzug bringt. Zuerst erinnern uns die Beinmuskeln an die gestrigen 1’485 Hm, doch bald sind wir aufgewärmt und schaffen den Aufstieg in guter Form. Oben meint Joe: “A piece of cake compared to yesterday”. Dann folgt eine rassige Abfahrt zurück zur Küste. Dort beginnt das Spiel von Aufstieg und Abfahrt von neuem. Nach 11 km kommen wir zur Bucht L’Anse-au-Griffon. Dort s...

Warning, before you read this blog entry, gather up some good cheese to go with all our wine (whine).  It was a tough day, a long day, a constant climb day, and it was hard.  Get our drift? Today, we went over the mountains that separated the Seaway from the Atlantic Ocean .   Just 1.5 miles from our motel we started to climb.   It was long and steep and after 2 more miles of cycling we had a short down hill before climbing again.   That was typical of our day.   The down hills even had up-hills and the up-hills had false crests requiring more climbing.   The few screaming down hills required diligence to stay out of the ruts and pot holes. Not that we weren’t tortured enough, getting into the town that houses this night’s motel had another climb from hell.   On the brighter side, the views of the Atlantic were spectacular, the motel nice, and the dinner (and beers) were very satisfying.   Even with his electric bike HP is tired an...

We decided on an early start and were tempted to make noise as revenge to last night’s partiers.  However, we behaved and left quietly.  Joe and Jeff pushed their bikes up the steep gravel road to the highway but HP road his electric bike.  He looked like a potentate on a sedan chair waiving and smiling at the peasants.  We started without breakfast but hoped to soon find something.  After several climbs we came to a small café that Antoine, the owner was just opening.  In addition to serving coffee, he also roasts it.  We had Brazilian roasted coffee and home made muffins to fuel the miles ahead.  We soon came to a “screaming” downhill with Joe leading the way and HP close behind.  HP and Joe were not sure that Jeff appreciated the fast descent and wondered if the “screaming” came from him or his breaks.  At the bottom, they pried Jeff’s hands from his handlebars and knew where the sound came from. We cycled along the Seaway for m...

(Sorry, but do to the lack of an internet connection, we could not post this entry yesterday.) We left the hostel without breakfast but with the hope that something would be found along the route.   While their have not been many places to get food on our route, we lucked out about 5 miles into our ride.   It was a relatively new restaurant and we were its only customers.   As such, we received excellent service and food. The early part of our ride had many hills and each one was a little longer than the last.   While none of them were steep, they were tiring.   The middle of the ride was flat but we encountered head winds which weren’t so bad.   In fact, they helped keep us cool in the warmth of the afternoon.   About mile 40, in a 52 mile day, we got off the highway and cycled thru a “one-street” town that was nearly 5 miles long.   The town had numerous hotels and restaurants all calling us to stop.   However, we moved on, encoun...

To sum up today; the cycling was wonderful; the weather just moderately warm, the beer was tasty, the people interesting, and our lodging is nice.   So where to start? We left our hotel around 8 a.m after a full breakfast and headed north east on route 132…the only route around the peninsula.   For those who know that we are compulsive early risers and like to hit the road before most even think about waking, this must come as a surprise.   Yesterday’s ride, was short (but unloaded) allowing us to ride at 15-17 mph. Today, we had all our gear loaded on the bikes but still managed 13-15 mph.   The ride was mostly flat with just a few short climbs.   Route 132 currently bypasses most of the small towns that it once bisected.   While the traffic on the highway was relatively light, every chance we had we diverted to the “old” road thru the towns and along the St. Lawrence Seaway .   The towns were mostly just housing with folks sitting on porch...

We arrived in Ste. Flavie yesterday (7/13).   Joe and Jeff drove 12 hours from Poughkeepsie , NY because HP was also arriving the same day.   HP, from Switzerland , cycled 400 miles from Montréal for the start of our trip around Gaspe .   After some warm greetings, we had dinner and then spent some time over a bottle of wine before calling it a day.   We woke to overcast skies but Joe and Jeff decided to get on their bikes and ride 6.5 miles east to the famed Reford Gardens .   HP used the day to rest and get ready for the remainder of our adventure.   Reford Gardens has 3,000 species of native and exotic plants in 18 gardens as well as many sculptures both traditional and modern.   According to our guide book, it is “the most renowned and internationally recognized gardens in North America .”   While, we don’t know if this is a valid claim, the gardens were spectacular.   The light rain didn’t dampen our enjoyment of their ...