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 Virginia
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.
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 Gaspe
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
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
At Penouille we return to civilization and get back on coast
road 132 were we first stop at Fort Ramsay
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 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
We are staying in the town of Sainte-Felicite
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 Switzerland 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
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.
Dear Jeff, Joe and HP
ReplyDeleteThank you for your interesting and entertaining posts, which I follow with great interest.
I wish you all the best for the rest of your trip, not too much suffering, but lots of wonderful adventures.
Take care
Chris