Tuesday, 13 August 2013

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! :)


Friday, 2 August 2013

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.

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Chambord to Alma

Today we wrapped up our five-day tour of Lac St. Jean along 50 km of mostly bicycle pathways.

At our B&B this morning, our hostess provided these neat little slippers.








At last we arrive at the parking lot!




Chocolate-covered blueberries for the last day of the blueberry bicycle tour!

Monday, 29 July 2013

St-Félicien to Chambord

This morning after repairs and maintenance to our bicycles, we left under a mixture of uncertain clouds and blue sky. It turned out to be a good day weather-wise, with only a short burst of rain just before our destination.

Concrete teepees in Mashteuiatsh


Fishing the lake in Roberval










First person view




Blueberry tart for the blueberry bicycle tour!


Propellor-aided paragliding


...headed towards the sunset


Sunday, 28 July 2013

Dolbeau-Mistassini to St-Félicien

It was a windy and overcast day. We passed through the town of Normandin, where there was a festival for the gourganes - literally a bean festival!











We enjoyed the cool pool water at our B&B in St-Félicien







Blueberry bars for the blueberry bicycle tour!