Fin!

The extra day at the hostel was a blast.  There was an old rickety upright piano and one resident had an acoustic bass guitar. It was also the hostel owner's birthday.  There was good food, drink and lots of cheery people!

En route to Baie St. Paul,  I passed this farmer's fruit stand. I bought some fresh, juicy raspberries. Mmmm I love raspberries!

A view of Baie St. Paul

After many days of hills, finally, the last hill!  This was certainly the most audacious of them all, as if Quebec had been saving the "best" for last all along.  It took an hour to climb to the peak.

To add insult to injury, I caught a flat right at the start of the descent.

A little while later, there was a steep drop into Beaupre.  After Beaupre, the terrain to Quebec is as flat as the prairies.

 

Mont Morency falls early in the morning.

 

Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.  For me, my third time in the city of Quebec (twice this trip).

Classy victory lunch in the city... yeah! :)

Run for the Hills - Jonquiere to La Malbaie

I'm taking the long way back to Quebec. It is 300 km of hills followed by 30 km of flat.

This way to Tadoussac, and this way to Jonquiere!


The scene in Chicoutimi


Going up!


Whew! Made it!


What goes up must go down...


Animals.




Like a mirage, the perfect respite for a tuckered cyclist!




I set up camp in Tadoussac. Overnight, the skies opened up and it began to pour. Luckily, I didn't set my tent in the local minimum.


I had to teardown in the rain. Everything got soaked to the bone - except the camera - it seems to have spent the night swilling beer at the local pub.


More ups and downs (the ups outweighed the downs at this point, I shall have you know). Thunderstorms persisted throughout the day, making it impossible to dry anything out.


A welcome sign






With a little extra to spare, I an staying at a hostel for the next two nights to rest and dry out for the last 100 km of hills before Quebec.