Friday, 25 August 2006

Montreal (Quebec)

I had an excellent nights sleep - the Black-hole of Montreal isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It was a chilly but clear morning, so I set out to do a tour of Montreal on the bike. (I really must be crazy - cycling on a 'rest day'!) I couldn't go the route I wanted as the cycle path was closed - I was turned back by a policeman because there was some big car race on today - the Montreal Grand Prix, but not a Formula One Grand Prix. You could hear the race cars in the distance buzzing like angry insects.

Instead I cycled all the way along the Lachine Canal to the sculpture park at the end. Even this trip was much further than I expected and took all morning - I ended up cycling 50 km! I cycled back along the edge of the St. Lawrence to the old city on the east side of Montreal Island. It had threatened to cloud over early in the morning but that soon gave way to a beautiful hot sunny day.

In the afternoon I went all the way back to the Maison des Cyclistes to buy some maps and also ended up buying a 'Third Eye' rear-view mirror for all the road cycling I have ahead of me... It'll be interesting to see how well it works. It's one that clips onto the arm (or is that leg?) of your [sun]glasses. I then went to the Botanical Gardens, which at $12.75 seemed a bit pricey, but to do the place justice I think that you'd have to spend the whole day there which makes the price a bit more reasonable. The price does include entry to the Insectarium, but I didn't have time to go there mainly because I had to waste an hour going back to the hostel for spare batteries and memory cards for my camera. (Doh!) I stayed in the gardens until it was getting too dark for photos and too chilly to wander around in a t-shirt any longer. I headed back to Chinatown for another Chinese meal. Fortune cookie: You will make heads turn. (What, like in the Exorcist?)

Distance: 50.0 km
Cycling time: 3:06
Total distance: 6716.6 km

Thursday, 24 August 2006

Montreal (Quebec)

I had a night of fractured sleep in the hostel. Luckily the dorm. room had cooled down quite a bit from it's daytime swelter and by the morning was fairly cool. Most people came in relatively quietly so I wasn't disturbed as much as I'd feared in my position under the wooden stairs. Even so, the air mattresses acted like muted, polite whoopee-cushions whenever anyone moved around, but in a group of 14 people there were no heavy snorers.

I was up early-ish - before the breakfast that was included in the price ($30/night and $35/night on Fri, Sat, Sun) so I went for a short walk around the quiet old city until breakfast at 7 am. Internet at the hostel is free but painfully slow, and therefore usually in use, so I might not get to catch up with blog this time.

I went out to the Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal ($8) only to find that it didn't open until 11 am (Damn!) so I went in search of a Weekly Guardian and killed some time. It's a real pleasure to be able to sit and read something interesting - it's not all gloom and doom (just mostly) According to one article, the number of people overweight now outnumber the hungry in the world; a difficult statistic to swallow, but I guess it must be true. (If it's in the Guardian!)

The contemporary art was as I expected, one or two nuggets of skill and creativity in a field of chaff. How many randomly paint splattered canvases to you have to see to realise it's a load of Jackson Pollacks. Some of the descriptions of the 'works of art' were in themselves works of art - how much nonsense is written about the meaning and significance of somethings so pointlessly abstract as to not warrant a second glance or a glance of more than a second. Clearly the emperor's new clothes.

I had planned to do something in the afternoon, but it was cloudy and gloomy and I got side-tracked catching up on blog at the hostel while it was quiet, and trying to find a route from Montreal to Boston. I did find a very rough route plan of the Boston-Montreal-Boston endurance cycle race (which runs in August, but hopefully not when I'm cycling it! - I don't want to get mixed up in a race...) I went out to find an Internet Cafe that could print out the route for me. On the way back I treated myself to a cheap and filling meal in Chinatown (Singapore noodles)

Wednesday, 23 August 2006

Saint-Sulpice to Montreal (Quebec)

A cloudless sunny evening had given way to a cool clear night. I was up bright and early like the sun and, as I had a short cycling day I had plenty of time while waiting for the flysheet to dry, spread out on the rocks next to the river. It was fortunate that I had the chance to dry it out as it will be packed away for a few days while I am in Montreal.

The St. Lawrence was mirror flat as there was no wind and the sun dazzled off the surface. As I need to use up or throw/give away the fuel for my MSR stove before I fly home I made myself a brew of tea to while the time away. I finally set off at about 8:15, the first few kilometres on the 138 were next to the river and still fairly rural, but it soon became a road through a more built-up area of commercial and residential buildings leading into Repentigny. I stayed on the road rather than follow 'La Route verte' through L'Assomption as I wanted to go to the Tourist Office, but turned out to be a waste of time as they had no cycling maps or information for Montreal. I stopped at a bike shop (and bought some more spare spokes) but they didn't have any cycling maps either.

The 138 met up with 'La Route verte' again at the Pont Le Gardeur to cross over onto Montreal Island. In common with many cities, cycling into Montreal was a mixture of pleasant and easy, and unpleasant or frustrating. At one moment you might be cycling through quiet residential streets or through a park next to the river, and the next you'd be on a rough pavement or on the road surrounded by juggernauts. At a couple of places I lost the cycle route altogether, once in a mass of roadworks, but at least with the grid system road layout (and a sunny day) it's fairly easy to keep your bearings until you can find out where you are. Luckily the couple who had been pitched next to me in the campsite had given me their tourist map of Montreal, which now came in very handy.

I found the Tourist Office in the old part of the city, and asked them where Rue Saint-Julien was; it seemed to be on the other side of town. I knew that couldn't be right so I looked up the address for the hostel I had booked. Rue Saint-Vincent was the next street along from the Tourist Office. Oh, how we laughed! Where ever did I pluck Rue Saint-Julien from? Good job I can laugh at myself. What an arse!

The hostel; Le Sous-bois was a bit of a shock to the system at first - my bed turned out to be an air-mattress on the floor in a cramped and air-less basement - a black hole of Calcutta. And I'm paying for this? It'll be interesting to see if I get any sleep tonight.

Having stashed my luggage, I cycled over to the 'Maison des Cyclists' - a sort of cycling association of Montreal. Surprisingly, they couldn't offer any advice about cycling from Montreal to Boston other than to try to sell me a road map. There are lots of cyclists (and roller-bladers) in Montreal, whizzing around at various speeds from the pedestrian to the break-neck. I'm surprised I didn't see any accidents. The cycle-paths tend to be narrow two-lane affairs on one side of the road so you're whizzing past each other in opposite directions quite close - and usually separated from the road by a series of metal posts. You wouldn't want to hit one of those either! I haven't quite got the hang of what happens at the intersections with traffic lights. It does seem as if the traffic is good at giving way to cyclists and pedestrians crossing the side roads when the lights are at green. I guess maybe they have to give-way.

I bought a 3-day tourist pass for the Metro and set about exploring the downtown area on parts of the walking tours suggested by the Montreal tourist guide. Cities are always seem quite expensive if you are on a limited budget (the lure of the latte!) so I can see I will be subsisting on a SUBWAY diet while I am out and about.

When I returned to the hostel there seemed to be a group of pre-shave age British lads preening in front of the mirrors ready for a night out (When did boys become like girls? Is it the Beckham effect?) so I went out for a couple of beers (expensive here) to help me sleep and went to bed early to try to get some sleeping done while I could. The lights in the dorm room seem to be on a timer that turns them off at the 'quiet time' of 10:30 pm.

Distance: 50.5 km
Cycling time: 2:57
Total distance: 6666.6 km (Spooky)

Tuesday, 22 August 2006

Louiseville to Saint-Sulpice (Quebec)

I was awake early but couldn't motivate myself to make an early start. From the campsite I could hear the traffic on the big route 40 nearby. Maybe that had disturbed my sleep - any excuse. When the sun hit the tent, I decided to get moving. I emerged from the tent to see a big bank of black cloud, but luckily I was just on the edge of it and so only got a few spots of rain as I packed up the tent and cycled back into Louiseville, both to re-find the cycle route and in the hope of finding some breakfast.

The Marco Pizzeria had an excellent breakfast special for only $2.99 (excl. tax) - 2 eggs, sausage, beans, toast & jam, waffle & syrup, fruit and tea. Just what was needed. I noticed on my cycling map that I could have taken a tour of the old prison in Trois-Rivieres while I was there. Guided tours given by former inmates. Admission fee. (Or we break your legs)

My theory for how 'Loonies' and 'Twonies' got their names seems flawed too. I find that the $1 coin has a water-bird on the reverse - The Loon. So, not from "L'un" at all.

The road from Louiseville to Maskinongé wasn't memorable - to the extent that I can't even remember enough to try to describe it. From Maskinongé the route was on quiet country back-roads, through Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Cuthbert to the next big town Berthierville. Cycling into town I espied a barber shop and stopped to treat myself to a haircut (#2) and beard trim (#1) The sun had started to break through the clouds mid-morning and by noon it was warm and sunny, so a haircut would help me keep cool.

I found that there was an Avenue Gilles Villeneuve, a Parc Gilles Villeneuve and a Musée Gilles Villeneuve, so I'm guessing that Berthierville might just be the home town of said Gilles Villeneuve. I spent 3 hours in Berthierville - did some internet and food shopping and chilled out by the river having a cup of tea. It seemed like a good place to relax. It was just like being on holiday. In the end I had to move on though - I still had to cycle another 30 km. It was all pretty much alongside the St. Lawrence, on the 138 with a good shoulder most of the time. Across the river I could see some heavy industry appearing - I'm not far now from Montreal.

By 4 pm I had reached Saint-Sulpice, which had the last campsite before Montreal that I knew of. ($18.35, showers 25c) As it was early yet, I had some time to sit in the sun and do some minor repairs that I had been saving up for just such an opportunity; cycling helmet and sleeping bag stuff-sac repairs and servicing of the rear derailleur yet again. It's still only 95% working. I also wanted to do some laundry before getting to Montreal. The tenting area of the campsite was in prime location - a nice grassy area right next to the 'Fleuve Saint-Laurent'.


Distance: 81.3 km
Cycling time: 4:14
Total distance: 6616.1 km

Monday, 21 August 2006

Portneuf to Louiseville (Quebec)

I had hoped to stop early enough in the day yesterday to do some work on the bike, and indeed I did, but the rain spoiled the plans I had to swap the front and rear tyres around (the rear tyre wears out much quicker) and service the brakes. I really needed to service the front brakes, so I did that in the morning, and they now work so well that they make the rear brakes seem really lame, so I'll have to service them tonight.

With all the rain the ground was sodden, and much of this seemed to get into the tent through the groundsheet. Very annoying. Not impressed with 'The North Face'. By the time I'd packed up it was 8:30 am. I stopped to have a look at the restaurant in the campsite as they served 'dejeuner' but it looked dark and dismal, so I decided to set off and see if I could find somewhere else. 5 km along the Chemin du Roy was Deschambault; everywhere seemed closed but then I found Cafe-Resto Chez Zephirin on the way out of town. It was a lovely little place.They didn't do the usual 'fry-up' so I had an unusual breakfast of a half bagel with cream cheese, a slice of toast with cheese and a poached egg on, a slice of cake and a bowl of fruit. And a proper big pot of tea. Oh, and the homemade strawberry preserve is the best I've ever tasted.

By the time I emerged the cloud was starting to break up and there was even some sun. The road from Deschambault ran close to the St. Lawrence, which was looking less moody that yesterday, and I had done about 20 km when yet another spoke broke on the rear wheel. How tedious. This one didn't go with the familiar ping - I thought I had run over something in the road, but a quick glance down at the rear wheel was enough to see the familiar distortion. I carried on for a few more kilometres until I came to a picnic stop just outside Sainte-Anne de la Pérade. I stoned four birds. I spread out the tent to dry, replaced the broken spoke, swapped the front and rear tyres, and service the back brake too.

I certainly not out in 'the sticks' anymore; even Sainte-Anne had a SUBWAY where I stopped for a quick lunch. By the afternoon the wind was back around to the south-west, but it was fairly light and just a mild annoyance. The north-east wind with its cargo of rain had obviously been stopped in its tracks yesterday evening, and was now being pushed into retreat by the prevailing wind having lasted only one day.

The afternoon was warm and sunny, and the ride was easy and pleasant if not exciting, being either by the St. Lawrence or passing through agricultural land. Trois-Rivieres was much bigger than I was expecting - cycling maps are often very misleading as they don't have any detail other than the route. Certainly not urban sprawl. 'La Route verte' took an arcane route through the outskirts of Trois-Rivieres through some tedious residential areas - I guess just to avoid the main road. In fact the cycle route seemed to bypass the centre of town altogether, so I followed the Chemin du Roy into the centre, to find the library - closed on Mondays, and then out of town. The ride out of town was pretty tedious too, being on rough footpaths or on busy roads with lots of junctions. All the way to Yamachiche the road was quite busy but then the 'Chemin du Roy' and 'La Route verte', now reunited, left the 138 road and went on a quiet country road to Louiseville. The Marina campground was actually a few kilometres further on outside of town and I was the only person there with a tent - and at $24.50 I'm not surprised. I guess I'm going to have to get used to higher prices now I'm back in 'civilization'. The mosquitoes were numerous here too so I was feeling like a pin-cushion for the first time in ages.

Distance: 118.5 km
Cycling time: 6:11
Total distance: 6534.8 km

Sunday, 20 August 2006

Quebec City to Portneuf

I had a good nights sleep undisturbed by any snoring. I had breakfast in the hostel again, and then set about sorting out my luggage after three days of 'sedentarization'! It was cool grey and blustery when I finally set off on my ride out off Quebec at 8:45 am. I soon found that, blow me, (literally) I had a tailwind - so I could cycle with very little effort. It was easy to get through and out of Quebec. I cycled through the Parc des champs-de-bataille and then on the Grand Allee. I didn't pay too much attention to where I was - I just kept heading west, breezing along until I came to the two parallel bridges crossing the St. Lawrence river into Quebec; Pont de Quebec and Pont Pierre Laport. From there I found 'La Route verte #5' which mostly travels along the 'Chemin du Roy' (King's Road) between Quebec and Montreal.

About 5 kilometres further on I came to Cap Rouge, once a little village but now a suburb of Quebec, where I stopped at Luc and Melanie's house to return the maps they'd lent me when we'd met last Sunday, and to give them the cycling maps I had acquired but no longer needed. I stayed for coffee and cake, diverting them awhile from their painting - they were re-decorating the house they've owned for the last year prior to the imminent arrival of their first child. Best wishes for that. Luc was telling me that the north-east winds are unusual and usually blow for 2 or 3 days at the most, and are usually harbingers of rain. Indeed it was spitting lightly by the time I set off again.

Now out of Quebec, I was cycling on the north coast of the St Lawrence through farmland and villages. Every house was completely different, both in design and building materials it seemed. All along the roadside were stalls selling fruit and vegetables, with sweetcorn being the commonest crop on display and in the fields by the road. I had a pleasant easy cycle; by 1:30 pm I had covered 50 km in less than 3 hours cycling time, and with very little effort. ('Free kilometres' as Luc described a tailwind)

I stopped in Donnacona at Chez Carmen for a Chinese chicken noodles. (Actually more like macaroni, but still god) Cap Sante, a little further along the road, had lots of pretty houses - postcard or chocolate box pretty - many dating from the early 1800's. But that didn't stop some people from despoiling the garden with statuettes of things like Snow White.

By now it was spitting with rain again, and the wind had dropped, so when I got to Portneuf I decided to stay at the campsite there as the next one I knew of was in Trois-Rivieres another 70 km further along - which would have been easy if the wind had still been blowing. It turned out to be a good decision as it started to rain as I was checking-in at the campsite. ($27.35 - are you sure? $27.35! It's not as if the campsite was anything special either) By the time I had pitched the tent it was raining heavier, and it didn't stop raining all evening and all night. I didn't feel inclined to get out of the tent to cook in the rain, but luckily Melanie had given me a huge wedge of cake for my travels, so I feasted on that inside the tent. (I'm sure I'm not in bear territory now, so I can eat inside the tent without worrying too much!)

Distance: 71.1 km
Cycling time: 3:47
Total distance: 6416.3 km

Saturday, 19 August 2006

Quebec City

I didn't sleep well again - I'd stayed up too late uploading photos and was past tired. There were some snorers in the room again. Are they worse than mosquitoes? I'm not sure. At least you can swat a mosquito. Snorers are usually big blokes; too big for me to swat. I was up a bit later, 7:30, but still before the main breakfast rush and then went out for a stroll before it was too hot and too busy. I stopped for a latte and to catch up with diary. I sat and watched the world go past, including a big procession of Harley-Davidson motorcycles with their mostly older riders; pot-bellied and grey moustached - and that was just the women.

I took a stroll towards the Museum of Civilization via the city wall, and bumped into Kathy - she'd left John at the museum and gone for a walk. We wandered back down to the museum ($8) where there was a good 'First Nation' exhibition covering the art, culture, history and fate of the various groups of indigenous peoples of eastern Canada and the north-eastern US. Learnt a new word: sedentarization. To do with moving from a nomadic lifestyle to living in one place.

It was stiflingly hot by lunch time when we went to a restaurant along by the ferry terminal. After lunch we took a ride up on the funicular railway back up into the old city and walked around to the Citadelle - still a functioning military establishment, complete with scarlet jacketed guardsmen in bearskin hats. I said goodbye to John and Kathy there (Au revoir, as we may meet in Montreal...) and went back to the Museum of Civilization to see the display on Indonesia (Somewhere else I now want to go) while they took a tour of the Governor Generals Residence. (The Queen's representative in Canada - how does all this constitutional monarchy rubbish work?)

I toyed with the idea of a visit to the microbrewery in the evening, to sample their wares, but in the end I finished uploading my photos to the web over a couple of beers in the hostel bistro/bar and had an early night to get to sleep before any snorers arrived.

Friday, 18 August 2006

Quebec City

A miraculously quiet night in a room with 8 people - no snorers. I was still up early in spite of having been up late, uploading photos. In stead of paying for film and developing, these days I am a slave to upload costs and time! I went out in search of a barber shop but I could only find a few pretentious pricey-looking fashion hairdressers (Salon de coiffure) so I'll have to put up with long hair (all of 3/4 of an inch long)

After days and weeks of cycling it's a very pleasant change to be able to relax and take things easy, and old Quebec is a very nice, easy place to walk around. I strolled along some of the walls that surround the old city. It was another beautiful sunny day, so perhaps it was good that I wasn't cycling today - it would have been too hot. Perhaps I should stay here until I am bored of having nothing to do. I sat in the sun with a latte doing that most touristy of things - writing postcards, for those of you not on the web.

I had been keeping in touch with Kathy and John, my Californian friends. They were now staying at a campground in Lévis just over the river from old Quebec. They had told me where they'd be for lunch so I went to meet them at 1 pm. We had first met in Nova Scotia back in June. We had arrived in Newfoundland on the same day, and left on the same day, and now after following totally different trajectories we had arrived at Quebec City on the same day. Of course the invisible string that connects us is the internet, but if John hadn't come to speak to me that day in the Manitou restaurant in Port Hood, Nova Scotia as I sat writing my journal we would never have been aware of crossing each others paths so often. Of course, it is also true that we have influenced each others travel plans with recommendations of places to visit. The infinite complexities of chance. Chaos theory; a butterfly flaps its wings in South America and I buy another latte in Quebec.

We went for lunch and caught up on each others travels in the month since we had last met, and then took a stroll down in the heat of the day to the Basse-ville - the low city, just outside the city walls to visit the Richard Robitaille Economusée de la furrure. (Fur economuseum) Basically a store and workshop that welcomes visitors (potential customers) and can show the process of working with fur to produce a variety of items. They had some displays on the history of the fur trade with some mention of trapping (humane) and fur processing. No mention of seal-clubbing here. I would have been more interested to know about the processing of the fur from the animal, but they were more to do with the post-tanning processing. I'm sure that it's something I've read about before anyway, but forgotten. I'm not sure if I just forget things straight away or if I soak them up like a sponge, but like a sponge stored in a random, inaccessible fashion. Maybe it can be squeezed out again in some illogical way in the future.

I don't have any moral objection to the use or wearing of fur, after all I have leather goods and eat meat. My only concern would be the prevention of cruelty and the ethical treatment of the animals involved. Given how mankind treats each other, perhaps the ethical treatment of animals is an impossible dream. I don't think I will ever be wearing fur, although they did have a rather fetching fur cod-piece on display!

I had to go back to the hostel to renew my luggage locker, but we met up again later to get the ferry over to Lévis from where we drove to the 'Transit Campground' to John and Kathy's RV for dinner. A lovely poached cod - the best meal I've had since I can't remember when.

I really must try to find a good little travel atlas to carry with me - it would be worth carrying the extra weight. An atlas to a traveller is like a gourmet menu to a jaded palate. It re-enthuses and whets the appetite again. Wouldn't it be good to go to... [insert place-name here.] The world is an incredibly vast and varied place, and you normally only get to see a little bit, often one time of year, one point of view.
Lévis for example is much bigger than I had imagined - with a big shopping area strip-mall that I had completely bypassed on my cycle down to the ferry.

John and Kathy were rather stressing that I'd miss the ferry as they drove me back to the Lévis terminal as the ferries were only hourly at this time in the evening, but they needn't have worried - I had a Guardian cryptic crossword that I could have puzzled over for much more than an hour. As it was, I made it onto the ferry with at least a couple of minutes to spare.

Thursday, 17 August 2006

Quebec City

I had a somewhat restive night as the dorm. room was full (4 bunk beds) and had a couple of snorers - though luckily at the other end of the room. Maybe I should invest in some ear-plugs, although I've always found them too uncomfortable. At 5:30 am I gave up trying to sleep and went down to the canteen/bistro where there were some computers. Luckily you only have to pay when connected to the internet so I could use Notepad to type blog and then save via USB to my little hard-disk player to upload later. By 7 am when the bistro opened, I had only caught up 3 days worth. For $5.70 the bistro had an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast; just things like cereal, boiled eggs, 2 crepes, toast, jam, etc.

After breakfast I found that the dorm. room was quiet so I cat-napped for an hour and then went out to explore old Quebec. It was a beautiful sunny morning - great for strolling around and relaxing. Quebec is renowned as a beautiful city, and probably the most 'European' in feel of the North American cities. It was busy with tourists. I wandered around the old walled city to get my bearings, bought a Weekly Guardian (a pale imitation of its UK counterpart) and enjoyed the cafe culture. I skirted around the old Citadelle and through the Parc des champs-de-bataille (Battlefield Park) to the Musée national des beaux-arts du Quebec where I spent most of the afternoon. (Taking the audio-tour so I had someone to talk too!)

It was still a fabulously sunny day when I emerged around 5 pm. The one day I'm not cycling and there is no wind! I walked back to the old city and explored the lower town before heading back to the hostel for an evening of blogging...

Distance: 0 km
Cycling time: 0:00
Total distance: 6345.2 km

Wednesday, 16 August 2006

L'Islet-sur-Mer to Quebec City

I was just too tired to make an early start in the morning even though I was planning to cycle all the way to Quebec City today - about 109 km at least. The wind seemed to have eased (Don't hatchet your Counts before they chicken...) and although it was cloudy it looked one of those days that can go either way. I cycled the 2 km to Cap-Saint-Ignace and stopped for my customary breakfast.

While I was having breakfast I was checking the cycling map I had and I noticed that I could get a ferry across to Quebec City from Lévis which would save me about 30 km of cycling all the way to Pont Pierre Laport and then back east into the city.

The headwind was still an annoyance but it was much lighter than the last 4 days, and was by comparison a breeze. It was turning out to be sunny and the wind was pleasantly warm. I wasted some time in Montmagny trying to find somewhere to use the internet, gave up and cycled on to Berthier-sur-Mer where I stopped for a picnic lunch on the quay. The rear derailleur was working much better although I`m not sure exactly what had fixed it; I had dismantled the trigger-shift again to check the cable, I had check the cable wasn't sticking in the sheath and oiled the cable, and again cleaned and oiled the actual derailleur as best I could.

From Berthier-sur-Mer the route was a bit less interesting; there were still detours through the little villages, Saint-Vallier and Saint-Michel-de-Bellechause, but much of the route was on the 132. At Saint-Vallier I stopped for a chat with Valerie and Pierre who were out for a short cycle, and an hour later they pulled up alongside in their car and wished me luck and safe travels.

As I now had a much shorter ride than I'd originally thought, I could take a more pace and make a few more refreshment stops along the way. From Beaumont I had my first glimpses of greater Quebec before I finally left the 132 for the last time onto a good cycle path that lead into Lévis. The closer I got to Lévis the more cyclists and rollerbladers there were whizzing around. I had my first views of old Quebec as I got near to where the ferry terminal was. At the peak time of day the ferry runs every 20 minutes for the very short river crossing.

Rather than face the steep climb up into the old town, I cycled around the waterfront on the cycle path to what I hoped was an easier route. With some trouble I negotiated the one-way system and some steep roads to find the Auberge internationale de Quebec where I had a bed booked in a dormitory room. Farting, belching and snoring likely. At least I could contribute the toxic pungency of the cycling sandals I have been wearing every day for the last three months.

Distance: 92.7 km
Cycling time: 5:59
Total distance: 6345.2 km

Tuesday, 15 August 2006

Saint-Andre to L'Islet-sur-Mer (Quebec)

It was windy all night and yet strangely warm - about 20 C - so I was too hot under the sleeping bag. I was in no rush to get up in the morning as I knew I was destined for another day of wind-blown hell. At least the rain clouds had blown away and there was some sun. It was about 8 am when I set off to plod the 12 km to the next village, Kamouraska, where I stopped for breakfast. From Kamouraska I followed the 132 to Saint-Denis and on towards Riviere Ouelle. I didn't even bother taking the longer 'Route verte' route as with the wind I wanted to cycle the shortest possible distance between two points.

I bear grudges, and already I was beginning to hate Quebec. After days of relentless headwinds with little of interest by way of compensation, I was looking forward to leaving, hopefully never to return!

The road into Riviere Ouelle was closed for roadworks - 'Route Barrée' - so I had to follow the detour which added a kilometre or two to my ride. By now it was noon and I had managed only 35 km for two and a half hours of cycling. I stopped to give my aching bum a rest, at a little Casse-Croute for a creme-glacé and a tea. Sitting out of the wind, it was a scorching hot day. From Riviere Ouelle I was only on the 132 for a little way before 'La Route verte' became a 'piste cyclable' once again with the scenic wetlands and the Gulf of St. Lawrence on one side and the unscenic route 20 on the other.

The cycle path ran all the way to the Tourist Information Office at La Pocatiere where I had to stop to get a guide and cycling map for the next region; I was leaving Bas-Saint-Laurent and entering Chaudiere-Appalaches. All of a sudden it had clouded over and was spitting with rain. Inland over the hills there were flashes of lightning. I followed the cycle path a little further only to find that is was closed for repairs and blocked off. I turned inland to find the route 132 again and followed that back to the coast at Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies where I ducked into a lovely little tea-shop to avoid a shower. I had a proper pot of loose-leaf black tea and indulged in a gateau trois mousse au chocolat.

It was quite a muggy, sweaty day and I was looking forward to having a shower at the campsite as I set off again into the blasting wind. After 4 days of cycling into the wind I was looking forward to getting to Quebec City (hopefully tomorrow night) and having a rest. Enough is enough. Or, presumably as they say in Quebec 'Un oeuf is an oeuf' (Best said in an Inspector Clouseau accent)

I continued along the 132 - it seemed as if almost every other house was an artisan selling paintings or sculptures. I ducked into the Information Touristique in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli to avoid one passing shower and at a little picnic shelter a few kilometres further to avoid another, but then the wind eased and the cloud began to break up as I rode the last few kilometres to L'Ilset-sur-Mer. It turned into quite a pleasant evening, not that I had the chance to relax and enjoy it; having pitched the tent, I had to take the flysheet off again as I wanted to dismantle the rear derailleur again to try to fix it. (Last chance before I smash it with a hammer!) I then just had time to have that much wanted shower, set my washing going, cook some dinner, tumble-dry the washing and then flop into bed to try to read up on Quebec City before my eyes closed of their own accord...

(Campsite $11.40 - bargain, showers free)

Distance: 83.5 km
Cycling time: 5:34
Total distance: 6252.5 km

Monday, 14 August 2006

Trois-Pistoles to Saint-Andre (Quebec)

It was clear during the night, but stayed quite warm so the tent was dry in the morning. I allowed myself the luxury of a lie-in once again, to 6:30 and then went for a shower as the sun started to filter through the trees. There was no wind (hurrah!) and a clear sky, and looked all set to be a lovely day and yet by 8 am when I cycled into town to the Cafe L'Essentiel for breakfast the sky was already covered with cloud, the sun showing weakly through.

It was 9:30 by the time I finally left Trois-Pistoles, cycling back past the campground on 'La Route verte' which was on a combination of quiet roads and 'piste cyclable'. The route turned inland alongside the Riviere Trois-Pistoles, climbing up away from the coast. There were a couple of short but steep climbs as the path went up past a waterfall and through some wood before emerging into farmland. The rudimentary map I had turned out to be not much use for navigation as it didn't have much detail and I soon ended up back on the 132 a little before Isle-Verte. Here there was no shelter from the wind and my speed was pushed right back to a slow 12 - 15 km/h. I stopped at Le Barillet restaurant in Isle-Verte for lunch as an escape from the wind.

When I set off again from Isle-Verte the wind seemed even worse than before (unless I was just weighed down by lunch) and I crawled along the 132 at 10km/h or less. Still it could be worse, it could be raining. A few km out of Isle-Verte, 'La Route verte' turned off onto a gravel road to follow the coast to La Cacouna. It started to rain. It took me 2 hours to cycle the 20 km to La Cacouna. After the gravel road I was back on the 132 but it was now a quiet little road again as most of the traffic was diverted onto the major route 20. I was ready for another rest so I stopped at La Mariniere for a pizza and a lukewarm tea (yuk)

I should really stick to cycling in English speaking places as my language skills are so poor. Even after 20 days I still have problems even with the simplest things; I often have to say 'Un thé' 2 or 3 times before I'm understood, and when they finally ask 'Un thé?' back, I can't tell the difference between what I tried to say and what they've said. Not that the tea is really worth having most of the time - the only brand seems to be 'Red Rose', which are weak tea-bags filled with the floor-sweepings rejected by everyone else. I can usually make myself understood when asking simple questions, but I never understand the answers when they start banging on in French in reply... And imagine my disappointment to find that at the Maison de pain and tarte you can only get bread and fruit pies - not discipline.

From La Cacouna it seemed mostly downhill to Riviere-du-Loup, which seemed to be the biggest town I've been to since St. John's in Newfoundland. I had to cycle up into the town and search out the Tourist Office where I managed to check my email before setting off into the rain and gloom to cycle to Saint-Andre where I was planning to camp. From Riviere-du-Loup I followed the 132 again and soon came to Notre-Dame-du-Portage where I took a chance and left the 132 (to avoid a hill) and cycled along by the coast through the village. It would have been a pleasant scenic ride on a wind-less sunny day.

Almost every village in this area is called Saint-This or Sainte-That, and there are quite a lot of religious icons and grottoes by the sides of the roads. From Notre-Dame-du-Portage it became a long slog to Saint-Andre and then out the other side in search of the campground. By the time I finally got there it was nearly 7 pm and very dark and gloomy. It was too windy to cook with the stove, so I had some salami/tortilla sandwiches and collapsed in the tent to hide from the mosquitoes that were all too numerous here.

Distance: 92.7 km
Cycling time: 6:42
Total distance: 6169.0 km

Sunday, 13 August 2006

Sainte-Flavie to Trois-Pistoles (Quebec)

It was high-tide again in the morning and the Gulf of St. Lawrence was quite choppy, breaking on the sea-defence rocks just yards from the tent. I allowed myself a lie-in until the second alarm at 6 am. Oddly there was no-one else around in the morning even though the campsite was quite full - and I didn't see a soul before I set off at 7:15 am. It took me about 10 seconds to cycle from my campsite to to the 132 road. That's how close the road was to the Gulf of St. Lawrence much of the time along this part of the coast.

It was cloudy and chilly with the breeze and for the first time I was cycling with my fleece on to keep warm. In the campsite it had been difficult to tell which direction the wind was coming from as it seemed to be blustering around in all different directions, but when I set off on the bike it soon became evident that it was still coming from the south-west - a headwind. I 'ambled' slowly along - there was no point fighting the wind, getting all hot and just making the wind-chill worse.

The 132 was very quiet being a Sunday morning, and I soon left the main road anyway to cycle through Sainte-Luce, another little resort town. I stopped at the Cafe Bistro L'Anse aux Coques for breakfast and got talking to a couple at a nearby table. Luc and Melanie were also keen cyclists so we talked a lot about my trip and trips that they had done. They were able to give me lots of useful information and they even gave me two of their road maps they thought I might find useful. We then worked out that I would probably cycle past their house on my way out of Quebec City so I could stop in for coffee if they were there - and return the maps.

By the time I set off again it was already 9:30, but the cloud had blown away and it was now bright and sunny, but still chilly in the wind. I cycled on through Pointe-au-Pére with its lighthouse, to Rimouski, the regional capital of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. Rimouski was the final destination of the Relais Nordik ferry so I could have saved myself a lot of cycling if I had stayed on the boat rather than getting off in Natashquan.

Rimouski is quite a large town (population 42,000) but there was only one internet cafe and it's one PC was dead. I went for a vanilla latte (my first since St. John`s I think) and a cake. There was a good cycle path into Rimouski and along by the sea-front. When leaving Rimouski this became a 'piste cyclable' through parkland for a few kilometres. Once that finished though I was dumped back onto the 132 - dual carriageway with no shoulder. The road now was very busy with heavy traffic including lorries so I was fortunate that there was a shoulder further on. I detoured through Le Bic and stopped at the famous (locally) Boulangerie 'Folles Farine' to buy some lunch (Olive, tomato and pesto pizza and Croissant fourée de Armandes et noisettes) that I stopped to eat a little later at a roadside picnic spot.

It clouded over briefly in the early afternoon, although it always seemed to hot and sunny when I was cycling uphill. Of course there is a rational explanation for this; if your average speed uphill is 7 km/h and 42 km/h downhill, then you will spend 6 times longer going uphill than down and so be more likely to see the sun. Come to think of it, it's not a good advertisement for cycling is it?

At Saint-Fabien, which wasn't even on my map, I stopped at the Information Touristique and found someone who was actually proactively helpful. She suggest a cross-country route to avoid the 132, gave me a street plan of the village, a regional cycling map and a map of Trois-Pistoles where I was headed. In celebration I went for a cup of tea before setting off again.

There was a steep climb up away from the village (It was now hot and sunny again!) but once at the top, the road ran along the ridge of the hill through farmland and past several farms with views over the surrounding country and back to Saint-Fabien. It was 15 km to Saint-Mathieu and another 20 km to Trois-Pistoles where I was hoping to camp. From Saint-Mathieu the road became a little hillier once again, and on a changeable day it was now overcast once again, cool and gloomy as evening approached. There were some good views over Trois-Pistoles, with the Eglise Notre-Dame-des-Neiges and its silvered spires catching the light. There was never quite an unobstructed view for a photograph before all of a sudden I was rolling down into the town.

There was no Information Touristique open in the town, but I soon found a sign for the municipal campsite ($25.07 - tres cher, showers free) As the rear derailleur was still playing up, I cleaned and oiled it as best I could once again.

Distance: 104.0 km
Cycling time: 6:42
Total distance: 6076.3 km

Friday, 11 August 2006

Port-Cartier to Godbout (Quebec)

It was cold in the morning and I reluctantly dragged my body from its warm cocoon of sleeping bag. Outside I found that the sky was clear and the sun was not yet above the trees to warm the tent. I had some breakfast then packed up the tent - there was just enough breeze so that there wasn't much condensation on the flysheet. I set off up the hill to the 138 at 6:30 and stopped at a little restaurant on the 138 for a cup of tea to warm my hands with.

I wasn't much looking forward to the ride to Godbout as I expected the road to be much like yesterday - busy and with no shoulder. Even though it was still quite early the road was pretty busy and after a couple of short steep climbs (no shoulder, blind summits) the route was fairly flat so I could make good progress as the day warmed up to a pleasant temperature. There was nowhere to stop along the way until just after Riviere Pentecote (46 km, 9 am) where there was a small roadside restaurant. Measly portion of ice cream and tea that tasted of coffee. Yuk.

Quebec is a bit of an anti-climax after Newfoundland. It's not only that I have suffered from headwinds, but the road has been dull and, recently, busy. Most of the tourist information seems to be in French which makes me less inclined to stop and visit places. All the information boards I have seen are solely in French which is a bit of a surprise in a bi-lingual country. Admittedly in a lot of places in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland the information was in English in some places they were in both languages.

By 10:30 I had covered over 70 km (Of course the time is all relative; 10:30 here is like noon in Newfoundland) and had reached Ilets-Caribou where I stopped at a little restaurant next to a campground and had a lovely breakfast - my usual fry-up that came with some fresh fruit too so that I could feel a bit more virtuous; orange, kiwi fruit and a little pot of fresh 'bluets'. (Blueberries) Out of nowhere it seemed a heavy shower passed overhead and I had to dash outside to retrieve my long sleeved top from the back of the bike so that it didn't get soaked.

From Riviere Pentecote to Baie Trinité much of the road was by the sea and more pleasant, but I was lucky to have stopped to take a picture when a convoy of 6 articulated lorries thundered past. More than once I've been forced off the road onto the gravel shoulder. I was now trying to dodge the shower clouds and from Baie Trinité the road turned inland. There was a big bank of black cloud to my right and as I turned inland with the road, I was now underneath it. There were some peals of thunder. I could see some blue sky ahead of me but however hard I cycled it got no nearer; the black cloud seemed to hover over me like a giant hand. I cowered beneath it waiting for the sound of one hand clapping. It never came, only the next downpour.

With 20 km still to go to Godbout the road became very hilly, a roller coaster of a ride through the mountains. My average speed plummeted. With the rain, the hills and the shoulderless roads, the big lorries squeezing past in clouds of spray were enough to make me think of giving up cycling altogether. I didn't want Lac Rat Musque to be the last thing I saw on earth. Finally the sun came out again although by now it was a chilly 14 C.

Then with just 5 km still to go to Godbout, that familiar 'ping'...
There's 31 spokes on my wheel
But I'm still rolling along
Them Cherokees is after me
But I don't mind
'cause I'm singing a happy song...

There were a couple of good hills to go down, but now I had to go down slowly keeping a good look out for any rough patches in the road. I rolled into Godbout at about 3 pm just in time to hide in the Tourist Office from another passing shower. They didn't charge me to use the internet as it was so slow and kept popping up windows of scantily clad 'ladies' - and reporting a virus.

Godbout is a small fishing village of about 300 people. It nestles between the mountains to the north and east and is dominated by the ferry terminal. I pitched my tent at the Gites aux Berges just a stones throw from the terminal and set about repairing the broken spoke. The blackflies were an annoyance once again, swarming around. I thought I'd seen the last of them.

I ate at the little restaurant opposite the ferry terminal before going along to visit the Inuit and Amerindian Museum with its displays of art and artifacts ($4) as it was getting dark.

Distance: 121.5 km
Cycling time: 6:20
Total distance: 5904.4 km

Thursday, 10 August 2006

Sept-Iles to Port-Cartier (Quebec)

It rained quite a lot during the night - I'm not very impressed with the tent, it seems to get quite wet inside for a brand like The North Face. I much prefer my Terra Nova Solar II. I got up and had time for a shower and breakfast before packing up and going back yet again to the Tourist Information Office to finish catching up on my week backlog of blog. (They were open again at 7:30)

I didn't get to use the facilities much at the Youth Hostel, but I did get a chance to wash my waterbottle and found that it should be a translucent white and not green! When I first got up it was still cloudy from all the rain, but as I cycled to the Tourist Information Office I could see clear blue sky ahead of me to the west.

It was nearly 10 am by the time I had finished blogging and it was a pleasantly warm and sunny day as I cycled back into town to a bike shop to buy some more spare spokes of the right length (There's nothing so simple as a standard spoke) and while I was there I got them to replace a broken screw that holds the rear derailleur to the drop-out. A trivial problem. 3 spokes plus replacement screw and labour = $5. Bargain. In the bike shop they were telling me what I already knew, that there were a lot of steep hills on the road ahead after Tadoussac, but what I didn't know, they answered for me; were the hills worth doing for the hills? - No.

On their recommendation I went to Chez Cora for breakfast - I've never seen so many breakfast options, and although I was tempted by the fruit, the 'dejeuner construction' won out. (Builder's breakfast?) - 3 eggs, 4 sausages, 3 slices of toast, and lots of homefries. Je n'ai pas faim maintenant.

It was 11:30 by the time I set off from Sept-Iles. I was cycling into the wind for the first part, but I was still on a cycle path and it was a lovely sunny morning so I just went with the [slow] flow... Once the cycle path ended I was back on the 138, which for the most part had no shoulder and with the fast moving traffic was a little hairy in paces. I suppose in the interests of Yin and Yang there had to be something to make up for it being such a lovely sunny day.

After 30 km I detoured through Gallix to avoid some of the 138; I was hoping to find a little cafe or something, but it was pretty much just a long line of houses between the beach and the road. There was a nice little park next to the sea where I sat and had some lunch. I did get stung on the foot by a bee as I walked across the grass. That had me hopping around a bit which would probably have looked quite funny to an observer. Yin and Yang again.

I cycled on through Gallix and back up to the 138 and immediately found a little cafe where I could sit and write some diary and have a hot tea and a cold milkshake. It wasn't too much further to Port Cartier, which was lucky as the road continued to be none too friendly. I found the Camping municipal le Paradis, ($16, showers free) set up the tent and lay out my sleeping bag to dry before setting out to explore the town. I did find a little internet place and typed in a load of blog only to lose it all when the blog site went down. Teeth grindingly frustrating. I went to console myself by watching another beautiful sunset.

Distance: 82.2 km
Cycling time: 4:31
Total distance: 5782.9 km

Saturday, 12 August 2006

Godbout to Sainte-Flavie (Quebec)

Taking a ferry-crossing is always exciting (Not quite the right word) as it is like making a fresh start somewhere new. I was awake before my 5:30 alarm. The sun was just hitting the tent and it was raining at the same time. What sort of evil trick is that? It was only raining lightly though and had stopped by the time I packed up the tent. I went back to the little restaurant opposite the ferry terminal for breakfast as I had plenty of time before the ferry was due to arrive at 7:30.

There was cloud over both sides of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but it was clear and sunny over the gulf itself for the 2 hour crossing to Matane. ($13.10, bicycle free) The sun was shining in Matane when I arrived, but there was no hiding place from the cold wind. The flags were flapping in my face and I was reduced to a snail-like 14 - 16 km/h. The 132 road follows the coast, and had a good 2 metre wide shoulder so i didn't have to worry about the traffic. In places I could leave the 132 and cycle through the little villages next to the sea. In Sainte-Ulric I bought some food for lunch - again far too much - and found a sheltered spot, hunkered down behind the sea-wall in the park for a picnic.

I plodded on for another hour or so then stopped for a tea in a restaurant in Baie-des-Sables. I was surprised to find that it was still not yet 1 pm - the mornings are so long when you get up before 6 am, and by noon it feels as if it should be mid-afternoon. Just when I thought it was all going to be plain sailing, 10 km from Sainte-Flavie the shoulder disappeared and I was squeezed back onto the road. Ahead of me it looked very dark once again and it started to rain just as I arrived at the Jardins de Métis. I wasn't sure if there was enough of interest or enough time to warrant the $14 entry fee so I sat and relaxed in the cafe for a while instead. I'm definitely having a relaxed and easy day.

Where possible I was following signs for 'La Route verte'- part of the network of cycle routes covering Quebec. Some of the places I cycled through seemed quite 'well-to-do' - big detached houses with manicured gardens. It seems strange after weeks in the wilds of Newfoundland. Oddly sanitised. I feel a bit out of place.

With the weather being so changeable the sky was very dramatic - bright blue sky and luminously bright white clouds contrasting with the darker clouds and rain. Often in the distance or out in the Gulf of St. Lawrence you could see the rain showers passing or approaching.

Just down the road from the Jardins de Métis was the Parc de la riviere Mitis where I briefly amused myself by taking a couple of pictures with me in using the timer. It seems a bit odd, ego-centric, taking pictures of yourself, but I figure the blog will be a bit odd if there aren't some photos with me in.

I wasn't far from Sainte-Flavie, a long village spread out along the 132 by the sea. It's a popular, pretty place, with lots of plots of land for sale, I can see that it is a real tourist spot as there are dozens of little art galleries and the like. I can see it attracting the New Age crowd, if that's too 'old hat'. It's just a shame that it's all right on the road.

I got marooned in the Tourist Office by another passing downpour, and then cycled the last few kilometres to the Capitain Homard restaurant, which has cottages and a campground. ($15, showers $1) I was pitched right next to the thin strip of beach - it was nearly high tide - and there were a couple of other cycle-tourist also camping for the night. I cooked my 3-minute noodles - trying to stop things blowing away in the breeze. I had found a packet of dehydrated vegetables in the supermarket in Sept-Iles, and added some to the noodles - they worked quite well to liven them up. It's funny sometimes what you find in the shops. Virtually every store in Newfoundland seemed to have 3-minute noodles and yet I can't imagine ever eating them except when camping - and I didn't see many other people camping. What has been more difficult is buying smaller portions of the more common groceries. Things like milk or fruit juice are often only available in 2 litre cartons or larger.

Distance: 67.9 km
Cycling time: 4:26
Total distance: 5972.3 km

Wednesday, 09 August 2006

Riviere-au-Tonnerre to Sept-Iles (Quebec)

I was awake before my first alarm as the sun was already on the tent, but I didn't get up until it sounded at 5:30. The wind was tugging at the flysheet again but as I dragged myself from the tent I found that it was a cloudless sunny morning with the wind coming from the north. It was still quite chilly at this early hour in spite of the sun. I was packed and on the road by 6:10 am.

Much of the road was by the sea and quite pleasant (though the sun was still so low that I couldn't keep my shadow of my head out of the photos!) but after Sheldrake it was more inland and not so interesting. I stopped for an hour or so at Manitou for some breakfast and to do the short walk to the falls - or cascade. Impressively powerful. There was nothing else at Manitou except a Tourist Information Office (closed as it was not yet 9 am) - again it seemed an odd place for a Tourist Office as it was miles from any community or any other attraction.

By 9 am the wind had shifted around to the west and although it was fairly light it had dragged a blanket of high cloud across the sky to obscure the sun. After another 15 km from Manitou the road was once again by the sea for a pretty and hilly section. The road is labelled as 'Route des Baleines' but most of the time it is nowhere near the sea and when it is there are not many viewpoints at which to stop. I was hoping for a viewpoint as I was keen to stop for some lunch but was reduced to snacking by the road as I went along.

It's not often that I've cycled 50 miles (over 80 km) by noon. Finally after 96 km I crossed the Moisie River where there was a campsite and a restaurant so I could stop for a rest. And a tea. And a Caramel Sundae.

It was a grey dismal afternoon, but the ride from Riviere Moisie to Sept-Iles was flat and fast; I could easily keep up a speed of 25-30 km/h, which is good news when the road is boring. As I got near to Sept-Iles there was a good cycle path which took me off the road and lead me right through the town to the Tourist Information Office on the other side. I knew that there wasn't a campground in town so I was thinking I might have to find somewhere suitable and wait until it was dark to pitch the tent and leave early in the morning. They didn't know where I could go initially but then thought to phone the Youth Hostel to see if I could camp there. I could.

As it was now raining, I stayed a while in the Tourist Office as they had internet available for free. (apparently you have to pay for the internet at the library) I went to stock up on food for an evening binge and treated myself to one bottle of beer, and then set off to find the Youth Hostel. There was a small patch of grass next to the hostel, so I pitched the tent while it wasn't raining too heavily, and after eating I cycled back to the Tourist Information Office again to type some more blog. They were open to 9 pm and luckily there was no-one else who wanted to use the internet. It was dark by the time I cycled 'home' for my nightcap.

Distance: 144.0 km
Cycling time: 7:45
Total distance: 5700.7 km

Tuesday, 08 August 2006

Havre Saint Pierre to Riviere-au-Tonnerre (Quebec)

There was not a breath of wind at the campsite down by the sea and the sun was peeking out from under the clouds. I had set my alarms earlier for Quebec time, and was surprised to find the washrooms so busy at 6 am. I was trying to condition myself to an earlier start as sunrise and sunset are so much earlier here.

Everything was dripping wet with condensation as I packed up. I was back on the go by 7 am. Up on the 138 road there was a very light headwind, but nothing compared to the last two days. The sky cleared quickly ahead of me and I was soon cycling in bright sunshine, with the cloud hovering to my left over the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

the road was much more open to the west of Havre Saint Pierre, with some hills away in the distance, inland. I was only 20 km out of Havre Saint Pierre when I felt the familiar 'ping' of a spoke breaking - again on the freewheel side of the rear wheel. It was one of the ones that Brett had replaced in Gander. I decided to carry on until I could find somewhere convenient to stop and repair it, and ended up cycling all the way to Longue Pointe de Mingan where I arrived just after 9:30 - a good time to stop for breakfast.

After breakfastI set about replacing the spoke. It took me longer to unload the baggage and lay out my towel and the tent flysheet to dry in the sun and breeze than it did to replace the spoke. Getting the freewheel off was by now an easy task and as I could re-use the same spoke-nipple I didn't have to deflate the tyre and remove it. So, now I had a nicely trued rear wheel again and a derailleur working 95% okay.. Hurrah! But in the hour and a half I had spent having breakfast and doing the repairs ithad started to cloud over and the wind pick up again. Boo.

As it turned out, the wind would blow strongly for a while when it was cloudy and cool, and then it would calm down for a while, when it was sunny and warm. Much of the road from Longue Pointe was none too exciting, so that I was looking forward to reaching each new village if only for a change of scenery. In Riviere Saint Jean, another small community (Population 287) I saw I sign "Bar Saumonier, SPECTACLES NUDITÉ"! I didn't stop to discover what that meant. Maybe I should if only to liven up the blog.

I was having to try to ride once again in the middle of the carriageway so that I wasn't being surprised by vehicles coming past too close too fast. Maybe I was too spoiled by my time in New England and Nova Scotia where driver were so much more considerate.

Just before Riviere-au-Tonnerre I found a lovely little spot by the sea that would have made a great place to wild camp, but I thought that it was too early in the day to stop. I did stop for lunch there though, and spent some time beach-combing and taking photos. It was only a few kilometres further to Riviere-au-Tonnerre where I stopped for a cup of tea (You can't get a pot here it seems) Right next to the cafe was the Motel Marje which advertised 'Camping Sauvage' - but it's not what I'd call wild camping - a nice big grassy field right next to the beach, and there was even a [free] shower. I decided to stop there, relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. It was either that or battle the wind for the rest of the afternoon. Tomorrow might be better, or it might be worse; but that's something for tomorrow.

There was a gazebo in the garden with some hammocks in (one of my favorite things) so I could relax there and read the tourist brochures I had collected. With the wind it was too cold to stay in the hammocks once the sun was behind the clouds but as evening approached, the wind dropped and there was a beautiful calm sunset.

Distance: 98.4 km
Cycling time: 5:14
Total distance: 5556.7 km

Monday, 07 August 2006

Baie Johan Beetz to Havre Saint Pierre (Quebec)

The wind eased off in the evening, but by the morning it was tugging impatiently at the tent again. The sun put in it's brightest appearance of the day to rouse me from the tent. The mosquitoes here were quite aggressive so I didn't hang around long to load up the bike, and set off to do battle with the wind again at 7:30. It was only about 60 km to Havre Saint Pierre, but with the wind I figured it would probably take me at least4 hours - 4 trying and boring hours. There was nowhere nice to stop en route, and the road was pretty dull. There were a few new plants that I hadn't seen before, but that didn't occupy me for 4 hours. I don't know if I would have felt different without the wind but I was miserable simply through boredom...

In some sections straight into the wind I was reduced to 12 km/h or less. The rear derailleur was better after it's service, but still not shifting gear cleanly. As I finally approached Havre Saint Pierre (and it was 4 hours) there was one section of road where I had the wind nearly behind me, which was a huge relief as by now I was feeling quite tired. It's amazing how much extra it takes out of you cycling into the wind - I guess it's like cycling uphill for hours on end.

As I cycled into Havre Saint Pierre the cloud thickened up and it turned quite cold; it was only a matter of time before the rain started. It was spitting as I cycled through the town in search of the Accueil Touristique, and started to rain more heavily while I was there. I had already thought to stay the night in Havre Saint Pierre so that I could perhaps do some internet and see if there was a bike shop, the rain was the final clincher.

I'm embarrassed to admit that in the bike shop they thought that the problem with the derailleur was that it was simply dirty and after he soaked it in oil it was better still, but still not shifting correctly; my French was not up to explaining this, and I figured that if it was just dirty then I'd be able to adjust it myself. Obviously I'm a bit stingy with my use of oil - when it's difficult to find in a small container that you have to carry...

I did some food shopping (and bought far too much I think) and then went to a little fast-food restaurant that had internet available. The only place in town. With the arrival of the rain the wind had died (Die wind, die!) and I was again thinking of cycling on a bit further, but in the end decided to stay in the Municipal campsite in Havre Saint Pierre ($20, showers free) which was in quite a nice spot by the beach. (In hindsight I wish I had carried on to Longue Pointe de Mingan, which was much nicer.)

By the evening the cloud began to break up, the sun peeked through, and it turned into a pink tinged, calm sunset.

Distance: 76.4 km
Cycling time: 5:03
Total distance: 5458.3 km

Sunday, 06 August 2006

Natashqaun to Baie Johan Beetz (Quebec)

The boat docked at La Romaine at 1:15 am and I was vaguely aware of this as I slept. I didn't notice when we docked at Kagaska at 5:15 am but when I awoke, I noticed that the boat wasn't moving so I got up just in time to see the little outport as we set sail. Having a room in the bowels of the ship means that you are isolated from the time of day and the weather outside. It was a beautiful sunny day in Kagaska at 6am.

We had obviously acquired some extra passengers as breakfast was very busy and service was slow, so I didn't have much time to re-pack my things before we arrived in Natashquan at 9 am. I carried all my stuff off the boat and set off into the village to explore. There was a little Tourist Information Office where I managed to get tourist map of the coast. (Actually a winter snow-mobiling map as this was all they had)

Natashquan was colourful and pretty in the sun, as fairly low-lying - as Kegaska had been. For some reason I had expected the coast to be hillier, so it was a pleasant surprise to find it was fairly flat. What I had also expected was that the wind would be against me, and in this I wasn't disappointed!

After I stopped in Aquanish around noon for a cup of tea, I found that the wind had started to pick up, and the route became a little hillier. The scenery by the road was quite pleasant but not spectacular as there were only the occasional glimpses of the sea. It was the wind though that was coming to dominate the day; it was the strongest headwind I'd had to cope with since that dreaded day at Cape Race on the Irish Loop. What had begun as a pleasant and promising day turned once again into something of an ordeal. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was bad or depressing, but it was certainly frustrating and irritating. What made it worse was the fact that the rear derailleur was still playing up and I had problems both changing up and down through the gears.

I had long since given up on the idea of getting to the next campsite at Havre Saint Pierre - it was just too tiring in this wind. I also had to remember that because of the Quebec time zone, sunset would be much earlier than I've been used to. After Aquanish the next settlement was at Baie Johan Beetz 60 km away and I decided to see if I could camp there as there weren't any promising campsites along by the road.

I tried to take my mind off the crawling time and crawling pace (I was definitely wishing the time away) by trying to remember as much French as I could. So that filled a couple of minutes then. The Visitor Centre in Baie Johan Beetz was closed - it's only a tiny little village, no restaurants or shops, and yet it has a manned Visitor Centre. Odd. I went to a nearby house to get some eau potable and ask if they was anywhere I might camp. They suggested behind the 'Edifice Municipal' which I assume is the town office, so I pitched the tent there.

I dismantled the derailleur trigger-shift; the cable was okay. So, I oiled the cable and cleaned and oiled the derailleur and spent some time fiddling around; it seemed a bit better so we'll see how it goes tomorrow. After cooking some noodles - my first in ages I think (I've been eating out a lot and perhaps should do some economising. Camping sauvage and 50 pence worth of noodles is a start!) I just collapsed in the tent and lay there out of the wind in peace and quiet for 20 minutes before I could do anything else.

Distance: 92.9 km
Cycling time: 6:05
Total distance: 5381.9 km

Saturday, 05 August 2006

Blanc Sablon to somewhere in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

It was difficult trying to sleep with the cranes loading the containers aboard, and worse once the engines started and we set sail. I'm sure that I must have got some sleep before we docked at St.Augustin at 5 am. By breakfast time (7:30) we were en route for La Tabatiere - and it was pouring with rain.

Lunch in the restaurant was surprisingly good. An excellent pan-fried turbot. There are a lot more passengers on board for the week long round trip cruise than I had guessed from last night which might go to explain the good food. Of the communities we visit along the coast, some are anglophone, some francophone, and some aboriginal. You can make an educated guess which is which from the name.

After lunch I caught up on some sleep (why is it easier to sleep in the day than at night?) which is a shame as it meant I largely missed out on the visit to Tete-a-la-Baleine (Head of the whale) as it turned out to be quite sunny. At 5 pm we docked at Harrington Harbour an outport which, although quite large, has only wooden boardwalks to connect all the houses. A film was made here (La Grand Seduction) about a little outport community trying to get a new doctor for the village. The doctor is keen on cricket, so the villagers must quickly learn about cricket and arrange a match to convince the doctor to stay... I must try to see it.

The visit to Harrington Harbour clashed with dinner time, so I had to have dinner first, but that still left over an hour to wander around and take lots of photos in the bright calm evening.

Friday, 04 August 2006

Pinware River Provincial Park (Labrador) to Blanc Sablon (Quebec)

It was dark but warm inside the cabin, but I still managed to rouse myself, have a quick breakfast, and get packed by 8 am. I left most of my luggage at the warden's hut and set off to cycle the 35 km to the Red Bay Historic Site. It was cloudy and cold (12oC) and the road was quite tough going - it was a bit up and down all the way so I alternately hot and sweaty then cold and shivery. I must be mad, a 70 km round trip to visit a little museum!

The Red Bay Historic Site tells the story of commercial whaling by the Basques of the 16th and 17th century. Whale oil was a valuable commodity in Europe at the time - as a clean a bright lighting fuel, as well as for paints, varnishes, lubrication, soaps and cosmetics. Baleen was also in demand for clothing and other things.

The return trip to Pinware River was pretty much the same as the outward trip, but a couple of degrees warmer. (You know that the bugs must be bad in Labrador when you see a local tending his allotment clad in full body protection - akin to a bee-keepers outfit) As I got back to Pinware, the wind started to pick up - coming from the west! I loaded up the bike again and set off into the wind. It was hard going at times; often the steepest part of a climb wasn't the hardest part, it was as you got to the top of a hill and had both the climb and the wind to contend with. At least I had plenty of time so I didn't have to struggle against the wind.

On the way back I took the 8 km round trip on a hard packed gravel road to the L'Anse-Amour lighthouse, the second tallest in Canada. The sun started showing itself shamefacedly at about 4:30 pm but at least it did something to belatedly warm the day.

I stopped once again at the Seaview Restaurant in Forteau for dinner - not necessarily a good idea as I still had a couple of hills to climb, now on a full stomach. You certainly get the sense that Labrador is a vast wilderness with life clinging on round the edges. It also really makes you think about how life must have been for the people who have all struggled to make a living from the sea here over the ages.

It was getting late by the time I arrived back in Blanc Sablon - about 8:30 pm Labrador time, but only 7 pm Quebec time. It was going to be a long day for me as the ferry is scheduled to depart at midnight. I bought a few items of food and a couple of 1 litre cans of beer to smuggle on board (purely to help me sleep of course) as I find prices tend to be a bit inflated when you're a captive audience.

I cycled around to the harbour where they processed my payment (1 adult plus 2 nights economy cabin = $167.77 plus bicycle, $19.60) and said I could board straight away. I had to carry everything up a steep gangway, including the bike. The MV Nordik Express is more a working freighter than a ferry or cruise ship. Vehicles have to be loaded into a container and then lifted aboard. The dock and the boat were a hive of activity.

My dorm cabin was down in the bowels of the boat; A-deck at the very bottom. Steerage class. Let's hope that we don't hit any icebergs! The bottom bunks had already been taken, so I had to take on of the upper bunks (4 beds to a room) I had a shower, one of my sleeping draughts and tried to get some sleep before we set sail...

Distance: 133.2 km
Cycling time: 7:59
Total distance: 5289.0 km

Thursday, 03 August 2006

Triple Falls RV Park to St Anthony (Bike)
St. Anthony to St Barbe (Bus)
St. Barbe to Blanc Sablon, Quebec (Ferry)
Blanc Sablon to Pinware River Provincial Park, Labrador (Bike)

There were a few flurries of rain around in the morning, and the cycle computer was still reading 9oC (It was 1 degree warmer in the tent) It was a chilly ride back the 8 km into St. Anthony so I stopped again to put on my waterproof mitts to keep my fingers from going numb. In St. Anthony I waited in the Viking Mall for the Coffee Cup Cafe to open at 8:30 am.

Post-breakfast I still had some time to do some food shopping before getting the Viking Express bus from the Irving gas station at 10 am. I was getting the bus back to St. Barbe so that I could get the ferry over to Blanc Sablon and have a day in Labrador. It also meant that I didn't have to cycle back about 100 km on a road I'd already cycled, and I wouldn't have to worry about any mechanical problems.

An hour and a half on the bus took me a full day's cycling distance to the ferry terminal at St. Barbe where I bought a ticket ($11.25 plus $4.50 for the bike) for the 1 pm sailing. Being on the bus was like watching a speeded up version of my cycle across the Northern Peninsula. When the bus got back to the west coast though, I was amazed at how close Labrador seemed - I had been able to see it at all on my cycle up nearly a week ago. At $23, the bus journey was more expensive than the ferry!

By now the rain had stopped though it was still cloudy and cool, but a few patches of blue sky were appearing as I sat and waited to board the ferry. The 90 minute crossing was very smooth, the Strait of Belle Isle was in benign mood. Labrador is in the same time-zone as Newfoundland, but Blanc Sablon is in Quebec, so there is a one and a half hour time difference between Blanc Sablon and Labrador 2 km up the road! That makes things a little confusing for the ferry I need to get tomorrow. Luckily I have two watches (It's a long story...) so I set one to Quebec time and left the other on Labrador time.

There was a steep climb out of the ferry terminal, and out of Blanc Sablon. It was a bit of a shock to the system as I haven't cycled many hills recently. Also since I've had a few easy days (apart from the weather) I was finding it difficult to motivate myself to cycle. Maybe I needed some food. I stopped at the Seaview Restaurant in Forteau to fortify myself. The special of the day was Jigg's Dinner - a Newfoundland and Labrador speciality (apparently) so I thought I ought to try it. I had expected that it would have some connection to the sea, but not at all. Boiled potato, boiled mashed swede, boiled carrot, boiled turnip, boiled cabbage, boiled salt beef. Plain, hearty, rustic. Not a dish that's been troubled in any way by herbs or spices of any kind. Once is probably enough. (It's probably only ever eaten by innocent tourists)

The 510 road climbs up out of each community, and travels over the headland before dropping down into the next. Each climb was progressively higher until the climb out of L'Anse-au-Loup which was steep from about sea-level to just over 100 m but eventually climbed to over 200 m. The blackflies and the occasional mosquito were buzzing around my head as I slogged slowly uphill, unable to escape them. The bugs hadn't been much of a problem in Newfoundland recently.

Hills have 2 up sides and 1 down side for a cyclist; the down side is the up side and the up sides are the down side and the views you might get along the way. (Make sense?) There were some beautiful views along the way as most of the trees here are the very small stunted 'tuckamore' which are rarely high enough to block the view.

It was briefly warm in the afternoon, and the sun even shone occasionally, but as evening approached the temperature dropped quickly and it was often chilly on the bike. By about 7 pm I got to the Pinware River Provincial Park ($10, no showers) The warden warned me that the temperature was expected to drop to 2oC tonight (Am I wasting my summer?) He also said that there was a 'Common Room' cabin that I could sleep in if I wanted. I wasn't going to bother, but then I thought it might be a good idea to dry out the tent as it will be packed away for the next 2 nights while I am on the Quebec ferry. It would also give me a place to work on the bike.

The bike is struggling; the rear derailleur is playing up again today - it feels the same as before, but I'm sure the cable can't have frayed again so quickly. Both front pannier racks have cracks in (to go with the 3 breaks in the rear pannier rack) and the back tyre is starting to split and delaminate. Oh good.

Distance: 63.8 km
Cycling time: 3:47
Total distance: 5155.8 km

Wednesday, 02 August 2006

L'Anse aux Meadows to Triple Falls RV Park (Newfoundland)

I had planned to send a few days around the northern tip, but the weather hasn't been great for doing any hiking. It was cloudy and grey again when I first got up, and as I was only planning to go as far as St. Anthony today, say 50 km, I decided I could have a lie-in. A fatal mistake as it was soon raining and I had to pack up the tent in the rain.

I cycled back to St. Lunaire-Griquet and found that the Fisherman`s Galley wasn't open until 11 am even though they had breakfast on their menu! I went to the library to fill the time until they opened. I stretched out breakfast for as long as I could, then set off for the cold wet cycle to St. Anthony. When my fingers started getting numb, I remembered that I had my waterproof mitts in my jacket pockets, so I stopped to put them on. I also have some Goretex socks with me, but my aversion to the socks and sandals combination meant that I put up with having numb toes. (Even though my Goretex sock are black, so it probably looks like I'm wearing some strange cycling shoes) It was raining consistently and was a chilly 12oC

All along by the side of the road are piles of firewood. Locals have to buy a permit which allows them to cut wood in a certain area and they have a quota they are allowed to cut. They are not allowed to sell or trade the wood, it should be for personal use only. Of course, in the UK, someone would soon have away with the wood, but here, no-one steals any as if they were caught they'd be shunned for life.

Also along the road are the little allotments, mainly of potatoes but occasionally of other crops. When the road was built, any topsoil excavated was piled at the side of the road, and although it is officially Crown land, they turn a blind eye to it being used for small scale crop growing as the locals are just showing some self-sufficiency.

In St. Anthony I went to the Grenfell Historic Buildings. The Interpretation Centre presented the surprisingly interesting story of Dr Wilfred Grenfell, a British born doctor and missionary who first brought healthcare to this part of Newfoundland and Labrador. It almost seems as if it was solely his drive and dedication that lead to the establishment of several hospitals, nursing stations and orphanages throughout the area. When he first visited in the late 1800's he was the only doctor serving a population of up to 30,000 mostly living in conditions of squalor, poverty and malnutrition. Also open to the public is the house in which Grenfell and his wife lived when in St.Anthony; with 70% of the furnishing being original and so a lot more authentic than many such properties.

At 6 pm when the house closed, it had stopped raining, so I did the walk up Tea House Hill behind the house for the panoramic views of St Anthony and the harbour. I then cycled out past the harbour to Fishing Point, and then back into town for something to eat; Chinese made a pleasant change - I ended up with a huge 'combination plate' of food.

After the customary visit to the library I set off out of town into the gathering gloom of evening to go to the Triple Falls RV Park. After 2 nights of wild camping I thought it would be good to have a shower and do some laundry. The wind had shifted around to the north and was drizzling again. My cycle computer was showing 9oC but it didn't feel that cold. I was planning to report that I had ONLY seen one moose today, when I saw another waiting to cross the road. It started trotting down the road as a car overtook me, so I ended up chasing it down the road (not literally) I was being left behind by both moose and car until they disappeared out of sight around a corner never to be seen again.

It was very gloomy when I got to the RV Park. I asked for a nice grassy site, and the lady allocated me a place, but then seemed to change her mind and moved me to a site closer to the facilities. Very considerate I thought. Except that the site turned out to be on sand. Wet and sand. We all know how well they go together. The tent and everything will be all gritty tomorrow. The sand was only a couple of inches deep over something that felt like concrete so the tent pegs wouldn't go in either. She was obviously a sadist. Let me go round to her place and tip a bucket of sand in her bed - she how she likes it! (I guess if you don't camp in a tent you don't think about such things) ($15.46, showers free)

Distance: 63.1 km
Cycling time: 4:00
Total distance: 5092.0 km

Tuesday, 01 August 2006

L'Anse aux Meadows (Newfoundland)

It was cloudy when I got up during the night, and was still cloudy and chilly in the morning, but I was hopeful of a good day as there were some breaks in the cloud towards the horizon. As I was camped on a picnic site I thought that it wasn't a good idea to leave the tent there so I packed up and set off in search of breakfast, back 6 km to the Northern Delight Restaurant in Gunner's Cove.

As it was still cloudy and cool I cycled back to St. Lunaure-Griquet to the library to do some blog and research. I also needed to get some cash - fortunately many little convenience stores here have ATM's inside (Wouldn't last long in the UK!) - and go to the Post Office. In the afternoon I took a cycle out to Quirpon, yet another fishing village spread out in a thin ribbon all round the edge of a rocky headland and bay.

It was too cold and gloomy to bother doing any of the hiking I had hoped to do today, so I headed back to L'Anse aux Meadows to visit Norstead, a reconstruction of a Viking village and port of trade based on data from Scandinavia rather than Newfoundland. I guess it's cashing in on it's location next to the L'Anse aux Meadows Historic Site, but it's a not-for-profit organisation and gives some summer employment to the locals. It's a self guided tour, with costumed 'interpreters' in the various buildings. It filled some time, and I had a bit of laugh with the locals playing the part of the Vikings.

There is much evidence of the French heritage in the Northern Peninsula in the place names. L'Anse aux Meadows is thought to be a corruption of the French L'Anse aux Meduses - Cove of the Jellyfish.

From Norstead I went to The Norseman restaurant as I had signed up for the evening dinner theatre, even though it was still quite early, I sat and had a pot of tea to warm up and sit out of the wind. I used their restroom to get changed and have a shave before the dinner theatre began. It was an interesting evening; there were skits about the various inhabitants over the years, the Indians, the Vikings, etc. and talks on various aspects of Newfoundland culture. There was even an old fisheries minister in the audience, who being a politician, stood up and gave an impromptu speech. The music was a little disappointing, only some of it was traditional Newfoundland songs (sing-a-long!) at the end there were a couple of naff Country and Western songs that even I recognised (You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille...!) The Traditional Newfie food was Pea Soup, followed by pan-fried cod with salt-cod brewis (pron. brews) and wildberry tart. Overall a good entertaining evening.

It was pretty dark by the time the dinner was finished and I had to cycle a kilometre or so up the road to the Muddy Cove picnic site. There was the light of a quarter moon in the sky as I pitched the tent and crawled in for the night...

Distance: 40.4 km
Cycling time: 2:53
Total distance: 5028.9 km

Monday, 31 July 2006

Pistolet Bay Provincial Park to L'Anse aux Meadows (Newfoundland)

When I got up in the night it was a cloudless night crowded with stars. There were a few small clouds around when I first got up in the morning, but it was a combination of warm sun and chill wind. I loaded up the bike and cycled the 5 km back into Raleigh to the Burnt Cape Cafe as they promised me that they opened for breakfast at 8 am. I hung around the door like a famished waif and stray fearing the worst, but they were just running 5 minutes late... While some things may be a bit more limited as you get to places more remote, like no whole wheat toast, only white (What a hardship!) there can be some compensations - no little plastic containers of jam and marmalade, instead locally made Partridgeberry Jam straight from the jar.

From Raleigh I cycled the 14 km back to route 436 and then turned left towards L'Anse aux Meadows. I arrived in Griquet at about 10:30, and it looked really beautiful basking in the sun. There was just enough cloud in the sky to give it some interest, and the sun was winning its battle against the wind to warm the day. I found that there was a library in St Lunaire-Griquet so I stayed there until they closed at noon and then went to the Fisherman's Galley by the harbour for lunch. I decided I was due some pampering, so I was planning an easy day in the sun, and had a relaxed and pleasant lunch whilst looking out over the water of the sheltered bay. Beautiful.

It was a pleasant cycle from St. Lunaire-Griquet to L'Anse aux Meadows with the sun sparkling on the sea in all the little bays and inlets by the road - spoiled only by the stiff breeze blowing against or across me.

L'Anse aux Meadows is the final piece in my tour of discovery around Newfoundland. I've seen the existing communities and how they've been affected by the changes of the modern world; the arrival of the roads and the demise of the cod fishing industry. I've seen the exploitation of resources and people by successive waves of French, Basque, Portuguese and British visiting and settling here and the conflicts between them. At Port au Choix I learned about the earlier indigenous peoples; the Indians and Palaeoeskimos.

L'Anse aux Meadows is the only authenticated site of Norse settlement in North America. When the Vikings first came here around 1000 years AD, 500 years before Columbus and Caboto, it would have been the first meeting between people spreading west from Europe with the indigenous peoples who had migrated east around the globe through Asia and into the Americas. (http://www.pc.gc.ca/lanseauxmeadows)

The Visitor Centre has a display and a documentary about the excavations, and there are guided tours of the archaeological site and the nearby site reconstruction. I was lucky enough to get a guided tour led by Clayton Colbourne who grew up in L'Anse aux Meadows as the son of a fisherman at a time when there was no road to this little fishing outport. He remembers playing on the site as a boy (they thought it was an old Indian settlement) and witnessed the first excavations in the 1960's and also worked on some of the later excavations and the building of the reconstructions. Clayton also 'ad the 'abit of dropping 'is H's and h'adding h'em h'elsewhere. 'ilarious.

It is thought that the Vikings only stayed here for a few years, but there are remnants of eight peat sod buildings including a small forge. It is possible that this site is the 'Vinland' referred to in the Icelandic sagas.

From the Historic Site I went down to The Norseman Restaurant in the village itself. What a shock. A menu to drool over. After weeks of chips or mash with coleslaw or boiled veg. with deep-fried something or other - there were ingredients like Pancetta, avocado, Roquefort, sun-dried tomatoes, all manner of herbs and spices. I had a plan to wild-camp for a couple of nights so I could invest the saving in a good meal. I wouldn't let them take the menu away even after I had ordered; they couldn't have dragged it from my white-knuckled hands - it was a joy to read and re-read. Goat's cheese, Gruyere, olives, it went on and on. I slavered.

The curried butternut squash soup was so delicious I burnt my mouth eating it. The seared halibut, lightly grilled with pesto on a bed of olives and artichokes was delicious, but not quite enough for a hungry cyclist so I had to have a Chocolate Amaretto Tort to round it all off. To cap it all, it was a beautiful sunny evening with a fabulous view of the sun setting and southern Labrador in the distance.

I had asked at the Historic Site about places to camp near L'Anse aux Meadows and was told that I could probably camp at the Muddy Cove picnic site, so as by now it was 8 pm, I went and pitched the tent. I took a trip back to L'Anse aux Meadows village to watch the sunset. I had just gone to bed when I heard a car pull up and then drive away shortly afterwards, and then I could hear someone moving around and pitching a tent. (so I thought) I got out to say hello only to find that it was two big bull moose right next to the tent. I don't know who was more surprised, me or the moose. Sadly too dark for a photo, but these guys had big racks, trust me.

A beautiful day.

Distance: 52.8 km
Cycling time: 3:08
Total distance: 4988.5 km