2018 07-22 > Nouvelle

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, mässig steilen Aufstiegen angenehm. Nur der im Verlauf des Tages intensiver werdende Verkehr wirkt ermüdend. Im Gegensatz zum nödlichem Teil der Halbinsel wo das Klima deutlich rauher ist, könnten wir uns hier beinahe am Mittelmeer wähnen. Auch sehen wir zahlreiche Sandstrände mit badenden Touristen. Entlang der Strasse weisen die Stände mit köstlichen, frisch gepflückte Erdbeeren aus lokalem Anbau darauf hin, dass die Natur hier später erwacht ist als im Süden. Ich (HP) begegnete einigen mir wohlgesinnten Ortsbezeichnungen: Bonaventure, Saint Alphonse (so hiess mein Vater) und Maria (so heist meine liebe Mutter. In Maria, im Mam’zell Maria erhielt ich den bisher besten Burger dieser Reise. Allerdings, ganz an das was uns Mutter auf den Tisch stellt kam er aber doch nicht.

Wegen unterschiedlichen Tagesformen und Bedürfnissen zum Herumstöbern sind wir heute nicht gleichzeitig im Gîte A l’Abri du Clocher angekommen. Aber wie gewohnt stimmte auch heute die Reihenfolge: Zuerst Joe (always first in camp), dann Jeff und zu guter letzt HP. Das Gîte ist das neben der katholischen Kirche stehende Pfarrhaus aus dem vorletzten Jahrundert, sorgfältig renoviert und von den Besitzern Michèle und José mit viel Liebe und gutem Geschmack wunderschön eingerichtet. Sie wurden dafür auch mehrfach ausgezeichnet. Nur ein Zimmer steht den Gästen immer noch nicht zur Verfügung, jenes welches dem Monseigneur, dem Bischof reserviert war. Niemand anders durfte es benutzen. Er besuchte die Pfarrei der grossen Diozese alle vier Jahre ein mal.

English:

Our cycle trip, which began in Ste Flavie, took us first northeast along the St. Lawrence River, then followed the orbit of the Atlantic Ocean-facing peak. Now we drive along the south side of the peninsula, southwest of the Baie de la Chaleur. The name of the bay comes from the discoverer Jacques Cartier. The Baie de la Chaleur is known as the waters with the warmest temperatures north of the US state of Virginia. The salmon uses the gravel banks of the tributaries, especially the Restigouche for spawning. The water of the bay has different salinity due to the many tributaries and is therefore very rich in fish.

Today we started just before 6 am with overcast skies, light fog, cool temperatures and little Sunday traffic from our accommodation, the Maison Blanche. But during our stay we did not see either master of the house or the Firstlady. The ride is pleasant despite the 94 km with the slight tailwind and the few, moderately steep climbs. Only the traffic becoming more intense during the day is tiring. In contrast to the deadly part of the peninsula where the climate is much rougher, we could almost imagine ourselves here on the Mediterranean. Also we see numerous sandy beaches with bathing tourists. Along the road, the stalls with delicious, freshly picked strawberries from local cultivation point out that nature awakens later here than in the south. I (HP) met some of my well-meaning place names: Bonaventure, Saint Alphonse (my father's name) and Maria (that's the name of my dear mother.) In Maria, at the Mam'zell Maria I received the best burger ever on this trip but he did not come up with what Mother put on the table.

Due to different day shapes and browsing needs, we did not arrive at Gîte A l'Abri du Clocher at the same time. But as usual today, the order was right: first Joe (always first in camp), then Jeff and last but not least HP. The Gîte is next to the Catholic Church standing rectory from the penultimate century, carefully renovated and beautifully decorated by the owners Michèle and José with love and good taste. They have been awarded several times for this. Only one room is still not available to the guests, the one reserved for the monseigneur, the bishop. Nobody else was allowed to use it. He visited the parish of the great diocese once every four years.

Map

Pictures

2018 07-21  > New Carlisle

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.  Several hundred 2 and 3 wheeled motor cycles were passing in the opposite direction.  They had police escorts and sag wagons.  HP wondered why we didn’t have similar support. 

It really was a long hot day (70 plus miles and temperature in the mid-70s) with modest climbs.  We were all tired.  Along the way, HP decided to take a nap in a shady cemetery.  He gave “being dead tired” a new meaning.  At the end of the day all was well. HP, Joe, and Jeff had to walk 0.5 mile for a mediocre dinner at the only restaurant within miles. Finally, tomorrow’s breakfast options are miles away.  Don’t worry, we will tether Joe to the group so he won’t go off on another chase. 

Map https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CioMJNFgsGfA0jtCv37lENCMNuP97QTD&usp=sharing

Pictures

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rAbQ6KkXmYzNuWycA

2018 07-20 > Perce

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 short cut saved us 9 miles of questionable highway cycling.  After that we were back on route 132 and had some reasonable climbs with nice shoulders.

HP next spotted a county club that advertised a restaurant that was serving breakfast.  Yes, HP was today’s hero!  A second breakfast was in order and nicely prepared.  The folks there were so nice they even had us park our bikes in the lobby so they would be safe.  Those Canadian golfers must be a bad lot.

Our day continued with rolling (but gentle) hills until we got to another possible short cut across the bay.  We crossed one railroad bridge, why not another.  Perhaps, the why not related to it being an active right-of-way? So we stayed on the highway. Just before we were to start our big climb up and over the mountain to Perce, we saw a cycle route sign that bypassed the highway.  This was one short cut that we should have avoided.  The path went thru the Malbaie Salt Marsh.  In many sections the asphalt was washed away by the tide and in some place replaced by loose grave that was so deep that it was even difficult to push our bikes.  We could not believe that this was a marked cycle route.

Once on the other side of the salt marsh we started to climb.  We were told that this climb would be very difficult but after the past several days of climbing, we thought that it was not as bad as described.  At the top of the mountain we stopped at a café and celebrated with some locally brewed beer (only 1 each) and then dropped down into town on a 17% decline (yes, it was steep and fast). 

Perce, is a tourist town and we had to navigate around a multitude of people to get to our hotel.  We have lots of options for dinner and will be out as soon as we get cleaned up.

Map  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jTD5gS9OYEgOsaUZIfSS1a8rhk61H_wZ&usp=sharing

Pictures

2018 07-19 > Gaspe

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 spricht uns Jean von seinem, mit allerlei Gerümpel verzierten Hausplatz an. Nach einer Zusammenfassung seiner Lebensgeschichte berichtet er uns, dass das Meer hier überfischt sei und die hiesige Crevettenfabrik kaum mehr genügend Nachschub erhalte. Es werde zu früh, bevor die Crevetten reif seien, geerntet. Nach einer Weile schaut er uns eindringlich an, hebt er den Daumen, meint “vous êtes de bons gars” und wünscht uns gute Fahrt. Wir schwenken von der Route 132 auf den Veloweg ein welcher uns durch den Parc national du Canada Forillon und Richtung Gaspé führt. Der Park ist eine mit Nadel- und Blatthölzern bewaldete Hügellandschaft. Die Abgeschiedenheit und die nur durch das Vogelgezwitscher unterbrochene Stille ist erholsam. Jeff zeigt uns einen dunklen Kothaufen und meint “bears!”. Als erfahrener Pfadfinder kennt er sich aus. Doch zu sehen bekommen wir den zotteligen Kumpel nicht. Vielleicht ist es ja auch besser so, denn in unseren Fahrradtaschen hat es so manche Leckereien welche den Bär mehr interessieren könnte als uns lieb wäre.

Bei Penouille kommen wir auf der Küstenstrasse 132 wieder in die Zivilisation zurück. Wir besuchen kurz Fort Ramsey welche im zweiten Weltkrieg die Bucht vor Invasoren schüzte. Nach 5 km entlang der Küste erreichen wir unser Ziel, Gaspé. Hier hat uns Jeff eine angenehme Unterkunft organisiert. Frischt geduscht bummeln wir durch die City und geniessen ein wohlverdientes, erfrischendes Bierchen.

English Translation

Jeff and Joe are early birds but ready to compromise from their desired 6:30 start. Today was a beautiful day which welcomes us with blue skies, pleasant temperature and a fresh Atlantic breeze. For us, the day begins with a hearty Canadian breakfast: fried or scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and toast with jam. We enjoy filter coffee and water, both with "free refills". We benefit extensively from our hearty breakfast, load our bikes, fill our water bottles and off we go.

The journey begins with a long climb which brings us inland from the coast. First, the leg muscles remind us of yesterday's 1,485 meters of climbing, but soon we are warmed up and make the ascent in good shape.  At the top, Joe says "A piece of cake compared too yesterday". Then a racy descent back to the coast follows. There, the climbs start again. After 11 km we arrive at the bay L'Anse-au-Griffon. Rather that cycling around the park, we chose to take a short cut thru the park on a bike trail.  At the trail’s entrance we met Jean who talks with us over a background of all sorts of junk decorating his house and yard. After a summary of his life story, Jean tells us that the sea is over-fished and the local shrimp factory hardly receives enough supplies to operate. The sea is harvested too early, before the shrimp are ripe. After a while Jean looks at us urgently, he raises his thumb, says "vous êtes de bons gars" and wishes us a good trip. The bike path leads us through the Parc National du Canada Forillon in the direction of the town of Gaspé. The park is a hilly landscape planted with conifers and foliage. The seclusion and the silence was only interrupted by the birdsong, and is restful. Jeff shows us a dark stink and says "bears!". As an experienced boy scout, he knows his way around. But we do not get to see the shaggy buddy. Maybe its better that way, because in our bike bags there are some treats that could interest the bear more than we would like.

At Penouille we return to civilization and get back on coast road 132 were we first stop at Fort Ramsay. The Fort was built in 1940 to protect the bay from a German invasion.  After another 5 km along the bay we reached our destination, Gaspé. Here Jeff arranged a pleasant accommodation.  We quickly showered and then strolled through the city where we enjoyed a well-deserved refreshing beer.

Map https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XJywODUcOqncWxsasa6QGkbAuqxhMDZv&usp=sharing

Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fLurnA5C1jJv1grcA

2018 07-18 >  Riviere-au-Renard

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 and Joe and Jeff are exhausted.  The blog is short and lacking details because we want to go to sleep by 7 p.m. :)

Map  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GP0PvB2z6m2Gf3N8BK8QhBK-OxHwLt4H&usp=sharing

Pictures https://photos.app.goo.gl/cKaQSSudutCTxiW89

2018 07-17 > Sainte-Madeleine-Rivière-Madeleine

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 pealed Jeff’s hands from his handlebars and knew where the sound came from.

We cycled along the Seaway for many miles.  It was mostly flat and easy cycling.  It was warm but we had cooling winds out of the north that did not impact our cycling until we turned away from the water and were hit with the wind’s mighty force. 

After cycling with Joe for 16 years, Jeff had a first on a medium uphill.  He pasted Joe struggling up the hill.  Jeff was euphoric, Joe dismayed.  Joe claims that he “forgot” that he was in his large chain ring, right.

About half way thru our ride we finally found a restaurant for a real breakfast.  We were frustrated that none of the previous towns had a place to eat.  Now we had 3 restaurants practically next to each other.  Our waiter Kevin was very friendly but could not get orders straight and had to ask 3 times what we wanted, but still got it wrong.  However, he did suggest a few things to see that were not highlighted in the tourist guides.

After our late breakfast, the cycling gods smiled on us. The winds changed and we had a powerful tail wind pushing us at 20 plus mph.  If it wasn’t for the one big hill, we would have arrived at our motel in about an hour’s time.  As it was, we cycled 25 miles in just over an hour.  Jeff said that it was the fastest he ever cycled for so many miles.

map https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qB_YUrYGaNxYKBrUhCSOu0483Tzxmey-&usp=sharing

2018 07-16

(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, encountering several more hills before arriving at our nights lodging.

We chose this place to balance out our day’s mileage, not realizing its unique atmosphere.  We reached the Sea Shack (yes that is its name) by dropping off the highway down a steep gravel road (which will be even more of a challenge to climb in the morning).  We wish that we had the words to describe this place, but you would have to come here to experience it yourselves.  But here is our best effort.  The Sea Shack is a compound of many unique structures including a circular tent lodging, some A-frame lodgings on a hill side, out door showers and toilets and a bar, snack bar, and office in the center.  Blues/rock music was playing at a moderate volume and the bar had half a dozen micro-brews on tap along with some micro-brewed ciders.  A sign prohibits smoking grass on the property but goes on to say that everything is ok on the beach.  Except for us old guys, the average age is in the mid-twenties.  Most males and females are minimally clothed; except for those females in heavy looking dresses and hats and those males and females with lots of tattoos and piercings.  While it was currently quiet, the Sea Shack hosts concerts all summer.  Hopefully, it will stay quiet enough for us old guys to get some sleep.

On the bright side, the beers were great, the food very good, and the people nice. By the way, when we checked in we were handed sheets and told that we had to make up our own beds in our A-frame.

2018 07-15

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 porches saying “bon voyage” as we passed.  When we stopped for coffee, we met 2 cyclists doing the same trip but in the opposite direction.  They chose the opposite direction because the climbs were easier, but they had encountered head winds which were challenging.  The boys were in their early 20s, one a high school science teacher the other and oceanographer.  They wild camped and mostly ate fish that they caught and crabs that the picked. 

Cycling thru the city of Matane was our only real encounter with traffic. The town contained the first of the micro-breweries on our tour.  We got close to where we thought it should be but none of our 3 GPS or cell phone maps could provide a precise location.  After some consternation, one of us looked up and saw a high way sign that read “La Farique (the micro-brewery) .5 km to the right.  It is good that we were not early explorers of Gaspe.  The beer was very good, the food enjoyable and the wait staff a delight.

We are staying in the town of Sainte-Felicite at a hostel.  While the building is old, it is well maintained and staffed by some of the nicest people who are also hot babes.  The down side of the hostel is that they do not serve dinner or breakfast and no close by restaurant options are available.  HP decided to utilize his mountaineering skills and went to a nearby (but not well stocked) grocery to scavenger for food.  He made us dinner, served wine, and closed out the meal with some fruit.  Jeff did the laundry, and Joe worked on completing the day’s logistics and getting our route ready for tomorrow. 

Good night family and friends.

Pictures https://photos.app.goo.gl/CEJdM57NLdzw2vAx7

map: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1YSIXio2dEItPLp47xex94jmwXQLoNUVT&usp=sharing

2018 07-14 Ste. Flavie

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 beauty.  Hopefully, some of our pictures will capture the grandeur we saw, in spite of the rain.

On Jeff and Joe’s return from the gardens, they stopped at the Parc de la riviere Mitis and toured the museum and hiked the trails.  For the most part, they were disappointed in this stop; the views were not worth the pesky mosquitoes that just loved Joe.

The weather here is cool and we had light rain most of the day…which always makes cycling more interestingJ.