Cana-Indian Guy Cross Canada - Tour Du Canada 2012: August 2012

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Day 63 - St Louis De Kent - Wednesday August 22 nd, 2012 Rest Day

The idea today was to rest and enjoy the company and perhaps go for some sightseeing around Shediac.

I woke up late at 8.30 and had a fresh homemade breakfast - Asparagus and Brocolli Keish, Croissants, chocolate pastry, coffee, espresso, and much much more. A great way to start off morning.

we went for a drive to Hopewell rocks where during low tide we can go and explore the ocean floor and within matter of hours, the water level rises up 20-30 ft and people go kayaking on the water.

We went around town, did some errands, took pictures with the big lobster and then went to a beach (Parlee beach). Many people at the beach and we found a decent spot. As we laid down on sand, everyone just collapsed and had a bit of a snooze. On the way back, we stopped at a chocolatier and i had a homemade chocolate ice-cream. We came back to house and i caught up with my blog and started preparations for dinner.

We had lobster, salmon, chicken, lasagna (for me), multiple salads, potatoes, pistachio ice-cream for dessert, fresh blueberry crumble and another great evening with some great and very warm people. We can't thank Michael and his family enough for having us over and for the fantastic time and memories.

Hopewell rocks

Not sure if its danger sign or a very graceful dancer running away from something

Sign at a tourist store

With the Big Lobster

Day 62 - Petit Rocher to St Louis Du Kent - Tuesday August 21st, 2012 - 155 km

Today was predicted to be hard and we had some tough head wind to deal with. There were constant climbs and wooded areas which meant no services. We (Ron Michael, Keith, Justine and I) left camp around 7.15 am as we wanted to arrive in camp early. We were invited by Michael and his family to spend the rest day with his family and we had motivation with us.

We rode at a decent pace and took a bio break in Bathurst at 20 km and then pushed on Hwy - 8. We stopped for a bio break at a gast station and I had 1/2 L of chocolate milk, a PBJ sandwich and a banana. we continued on highway all the way until Miramichi, which we reached around noon time. I had to visit a bike shop and got my derailleur cable and housing replaced and tightened a few cones on my rear wheel which had a bit of side play. I went to tim Hortons and got 1/2 L of chocolate milk

We got back on the road from there on and the terrain was very gentle and flatter and we rode at a very nice pace. After a brief bio break, we started and in less than a few km's i hit a big rock on the side of broken road it flew a few inches and hit my shins. Not much pain, but in a few minutes i noticed i had a flat front tire. Upon inspection i found a pinch flat and changed the tube. Within few minutes we were back on road and reached camp around 3.45 pm. I had a chocolate Sundae ice-cream while waiting for the truck as they had some trouble on road and notified campground of them being late.

I packed up my belongings and other stuff that i wanted to clean and Nicole (Michael's wife) came to pick us all up. We came in to Shediac and had a wonderful dinner with veggie lasagnia, various salads, fantastic cake with fresh fruits and other munchies.

Good philosophy to live by i suppose.

Miramichi Downtown

Some of the much more dinner we had at Michaels Place

The Dessert that captivates the essence of the evening. Fantastic way to cap it off

Day 61 - Athloville to Petit Rocher - Monday August 20th, 2012 - 101 km

Since we were on cooking duty i woke up earlier than usual. We lost an hour as we changed province yesterday and woke up to dark and chilly morning. Since the distance today was smaller, everyone took their time waking up. We cooked up some pancakes and the usual breakfast stuff.

We left out of camp around 8.45 am and went through Campbelton to take picture with the Big Salmon statue. After some pictures we stopped at a bakery for some 2nd breakfast and I had a Latte with banana bread. After riding another 25 km, we stopped in Dalhousie for a bio break at timmies and we had 3rd breakfast (chocolate pastry) and it was still 11.30 am and we had only biked 30 kms.

From here on, we climbed out of town and rode along the coast all the way to town. We lost Byron and Trevor as Byron had a broken spoke and a wobbly wheel. Ron was with them and after a bit of fast cycling i caught up with keith, michael and Justine to tell them about breakdown. we decided to wait for them, and half hour later they still didn't came by. Keith in the meantime, changed his tire and repaired a flat. We decided to push on as it was past noon and sun was getting hot. we did some rolling hills at a decent pace and got in to another town. We stopped at a food market and grabbed some chocolate milk and chips and went down to an abandoned driveway through which we accessed the beach and ended up having an hour long lunch there. it was very beautiful and scenic.

I got a text from Ron saying they were OK and were on road. a few km's after lunch they caught up with us and we rode in a long paceline. we lost michael, justine and Keith at some point and others and I pushed along very fast in to camp taking turns in pace line.

Dinner tonight was El Paso Pilaf, salad and pudding for dessert.

2nd breakfast... Latte and banana bread

Lunch Spot View

Camp tonight by the waterfront.

Day 60 St Damase to Athloville - Sunday August 19th, 2012 - 146 km

Tough riding in the early day for 15 kms with some rough patches of the road. But once past that, it was mostly downhill all day and it was a great day on the road.

Breakfast stop at McDonalds - juice, PBJ sandwich, 2 hash browns

Lunch - 1 PBJ sandwich, 1 banana, 1 orange, 1 apple

We crossed province today and are now in New Brunswick, the only official bilingual province of Canada.

Keith and I were on cooking duty tonight and we were expecting truck to be a little late due to some problems. Dinner was changed from Curry to Tuna casserole, cookies and nutella for dessert and tomato+cucumber salad.

Some great scenic views coming out of camp.

and then some

Just by the side of a freeway overpass

Some downhill... and then some more

Along the Matapedia river... worldclass fly fishing destination

Didn't get a proper sign when going in to Quebec hence...

Day 59 - Trois Pistole to St Damase - Saturday August 18th, 2012 - 134 km

The St Lawrence brought lots of fog and mist over the tents and everything was wet overnight. Since Keith was on cooking duty we were going to be later than usual, so there was no rush in getting up. Breakfast was French Toast, porridge, cereal, yoghurt.

There was poor visibility in the morning due to the fog and we put on bright clothes and tail lights and other things to be more visible. But when sun showed up, we were exposed to some wonderful scenic valleys and that also meant some climbs. sun and climbing combined, i was left sweating and wet. We were riding along the coast for a while and we visited some local museums and point of interest.

Towards the end of the day we pushed quite hard and tried to get in camp with enough time. Near camp, there were wind farms for as far the eyesight can go. After some tough short and very steep climbs, i pulled in to camp.

There is a tradition in Quebec, it seems, where they celebrate Christmas in July (or August in this campground's case). Hence the camp was all full, music loud and partying all around. This meant it was gonna be a long night for light sleepers. We are camped by the lake and there was a friendly duck that was exploring our tents.

Dinner tonight was Tofu Stirfry with rice, boiled veggies, and Cherry cheese cake.

Picture taking a Picture... too many pics.

The Scenic valley all around.

Church... we found wonderful architecture and similar churches in even the smallest of the villages.

Art, outside the first coffee break.

It was very HUGE in person.

Day 58 - Riviere Oulle to Trois Pistole - Friday August 17th, 2012 - 117 km

The fog over St Lawrence river was very thick this morning and it brought lower temperatures than normal. Had to be in full sleeve t-shirt for the morning but once sun was out, i was sweating a lot.

Short day today with rides through some bigger towns. Rode with Michael, Keith, Ron, Justine and Howard. Justine needed some bike shop work so Michael stayed back in the town.

Ron, Keith and I rode along as Keith was on cooking duty. Stopped for an ice-cream shop at bakery just before Trois Pistole. Good gelato stop. They had cheese sampling and a bakery section, but didn't get to that part of shop.

Once Michael came back, Him and I went in to the very cold St Lawrence for a dip.

Lunch - Half a bag of chips (sea salt and pepper), 1/2 L of chocolate milk, banana, 2 Nanaimo bars.

Dinner - Harvest Veggie Curry, Pita with Hummus, Rice Crispy for desert

Funny Door sign for washroom - Breakfast Spot

Yup we shared the roads with Horse Riders it seems.

When we discovered the clicking in Justine's bike. Rest Stop

The fog on the river - The water temperature was lower than air. Polar bear dip - done

Day 57 - Quebec City to Riviere Oulle - Thursday August 16th, 2012 - 140 km

Left Quebec City --> On a Ferry --> Rode along the River in Levy --> Hunting to find a good Poutine spot --> Unable to get veggie gravy so settled for cheese curds on fries... Still Yum. Humongous portion size.

Not the official sweep, but pulled into camp last as we waited for Fred. It was drizzling all along today so had the jacket on all the time and by time we go to camp all the good sites were taken. Dinner tonight was Spicy Asian noodles with Tofu, Spinach Salad, Upside Down peach cobbler (cooked on stove) for desert.

Good Day overall.

The Chateau on the hill in Old Quebec

Poutine (minus the gravy) - Cheese curds atop french fries with some veggies (extra)

Art Work by side of the road

We say 5 trucks - 2 carrying the base of the mill split in half probably and 3 for the wings. Didn't knew these things were these big. The had a car in front clearing the road and a few cars at back for more room and clearance.

Day 56 - Quebec City Rest Day - Wednesday August 15th, 2012

Dinner Hunting in Old Quebec

Flags all around

Leftover wrappers from our dinner

The best Veggie burger so far

After the fantastic Cirque Du Soliel show we were a little late coming back to residence. The plan today was to go to MEC and get my squeak in my pedal fixed. Unlike the all you can eat breakfast at Carleton University, we had a mildly interesting breakfast at Queen's university and we biked to MEC. The store opened at 10 am and we since we were early we had a 2nd breakfast (cappuccino and Croissant) at a coffee shop.

The staff at MEC is , as usual, more than extraordinary in making sure all the things are fixed on the bike. However, the squeak came from the bottom bracket so after changing my pedals and cleats 2 times, i went hunting for a bike shop in Quebec city. Deemere's was the recommendation from a guy at MEC and it was a great choice. In the meantime, i didn't want to keep Ron, Michael and Justine waiting so i asked them to go on and tour Old Quebec city which they did. After finishing my bike job i went to old town up steep and traffic laden hills in old city. We met and toured around.

After touring the old city, i rode back to University while others took the bus. I got my laundry done and we decided to go back to the old city to find a place for dinner. After hunting lots of pubs and fine dine in restaurants (which were out of choice due to my lack of clothing options - being in laundry). We settled at St Patrick's pub in old city and it was hands down the best veggie burger i have had so far. We split a 3 scoop gelato ( Pinacolada, Maple Syrup and Chocolate walnut) amongst us and called it a night.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Day 55 - Trois Rivieres to Quebec City - Tuesday August 14th, 2012 - 140 km

Some Crappy Roads

Notre Du Cap Cathedral

Cathedral

We stopped at an earlier restaurant and were outraged at the prices. went further down the road and got a farm fresh tomato sandwich, coleslaw, carrot soup, fries, small coffee.