Crazy Mike on a Bike: Quebec to Campbellton

Distance traveled over last 6 days: 544 km
Total distance: 6595 km

I had spent a couple rest days, but finally, I was ready - except for one thing: in the morning, before departing from Quebec for the south shore of the St. Laurent, I stopped at Option Velo to true up my rear bicycle wheel. I also got a general inspection & maintenance done on my bike. Max, my host in Quebec, accompanied me and directed me to the ferry which crosses the river over to Lèvis.

The ferry ride is spectacular. From the water, you get what is possibly the best view of Chateau Frontenac. From here, I finally started to grasp how large the castle is. Then, looking down the river to the citadel, I realized what a formidable fortification this must have been when General Wolfe was trying to capture Quebec. The sheer cliffs and ominous walls safely guard the fortress from a direct attack. Turning around and looking to the south shore, you can see the remnants of the British fort located in Lèvis.

The Chateau as seen from the St. Laurent

The Citadel behind the cliffs, and the Chateau

Riding the south bank of the St. Laurent is just as pleasant as the north bank. Like the north, it is populated almost everywhere, with lots of small towns along the way. Despite strong headwinds of 30-45 km/h for a couple of days, the cycling was beautiful and enjoyable. The wind that came from the north-east was cold, which helped offset my body heat and solar radiation during the noontime, but in the evenings, it got chilly if I wasn't in my tent!

Pretty sights all along the way

I spent a couple of nights stealth-camping in small towns along the way: Cap-Saint-Ignace and Sainte-Andrè. The latter bordered on untamed territory popular with mountain hikers; I was only awoken by the howls of pack-wolves three times that night!

The wild is not far away!

Onwards I traveled to Rimouski, and as I made my way, I started to observe the widening of the St. Laurent. In Rimouski, I stayed at a mediocre hostel to recharge my electronics, shower, and get a comfy rest. In the morning, I had to stop at a bike shop as I had picked up a broken spoke 10 km earlier. As I made my way out of town, I cycled past a show & shine, and then along the seawall. Finally, the smell of the ocean was in the air. Unfortunately, I would be leaving it in preference of the shorter inland route through Gaspesie via highway 134.

Cycling along the Rimouski seawall

This quiet highway, which traversed through sections of hilly terrain, offered some lovely panoramic views full of depth and perspective. The route apexed near the end of the day at Matapédia Lake. Day one of the two-day jaunt through Gaspesie was sunny until my destination in Amqui. I took some time to view the pretty gardens and pond, but soon the weather changed. I ran out of time while choosing a place to stealth camp, and had to take shelter under the library for about a half hour while a thunderstorm ran its course through the area. A brief respite in the rain gave me enough time to set my tent at the back of library, in a dark and wooded area beside a stream. I cozied up for the night at the back of the library, thinking I would be alone...

Beside the pond in Amqui

A couple hours later, I was awoken to some rowdies in their truck. It was a Saturday night - not necessarily the best day to stealth camp. Obviously bored and intoxicated, they drove their truck onto the grass and buzzed by me a couple of times. Needless to say, that got me pretty worried. They were still loitering around nearby, and from what was teaching my ears in my tent, probably still drinking or smoking. I didn't know how far they might want to take things. Also, they were Francophones: I wasn't prepared to understand their banter or even communicate with them, so I decided to call the police.

Thankfully they left on their own accord soon afterwards, before the cops showed up. The police were very understanding, and reassured me that they would patrol the area periodically throughout the night. I was able to settle down and get a good rest after that.

The second day through Gaspesie was rainy the whole way. I had my sights set on the town of Matapédia, where I thought I might find a restaurant or coffee shop, but to my dismay there was nothing of the sort. Thankfully, the trip to the next town was short: less than 20 km into Campbellton, NS. Lucky for me, there was a McDonalds where I could dry off, and, for the first time in my trip, I succumbed to the lure of a Big Mac! It was roughly 4 pm, and I hadn't eaten all day: wanting to leave Amqui in the morning before the rain hit, and not wanting to stop on the road and get chilled by the rain and wind meant the only thing in my stomach to this point was a Cliff Bar.

It was still early in the day, leaving me with several hours to spend in Campbellton. The local hostel was full, so I stayed at the McDonalds until it was late enough to look for a stealth site. This time, I spent the night in peace. Due to an inclement weather forecast, I figured I should rest up for a day in the town before heading for Bathurst, Hopewell Rocks, and eventually, PEI.