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