Land of the French

 After spending a bit of time in Campbellton and having a celebratory meal for reaching the end of the Atlantic provinces, I crossed the bridge over the Restogouche River and officially entered Quebec. I spent the rest of the day cycling south to Matapédia, from where I’d start crossing Gaspésie. When I reached Matapédia, I asked if I could stay at a campground for the night with my amazing French skills “Camping? Oui ou non?”, with a thumbs up and down. They knew a little English and told me the campground wasn’t open yet but I’d be fine to camp there for the night.

Officially made it to Quebec

During my time in Quebec so far I’ve been surprised with how many people know some English. Most of the people I’ve interacted with aren’t fluent but know enough to be able to communicate with me and my poor attempt of French back. One person told me the older generation doesn’t know English as much but the younger generations are being taught English and I can say this does seem to be the scenario based on the interactions I’ve had. Even if someone doesn’t know any English I can still convey what I’m doing as people do like to ask when they see my bike loaded full of stuff, and they do like to ask more here than they did in the Atlantic provinces.

The Appalachian mountains extend up to Gaspésie and from my time previously driving through and now biking through Quebec, when you look around the landscape is usually dominated by hills and/or mountains. Matapédia is no different as it and its river are part of a valley I believe in the Chic-Choc mountains. So when I left the next morning I spent the day in the valley going along up the river. Looking back now it was quite the nice place but at the time it was boring after a while as the scenery was essentially the same the whole day. Steep cliff face on the edge of the road on my right, steep drop to into the river on my left with another steep hill/mountain on the other side. Combined with biking uphill all day, a headwind making it harder and about half the traffic going by on the highway being 18-wheelers, I found it difficult to appreciate my surroundings at the time.

Nice water source I found in Matapedia Valley

Later in the day I made it out of my mountainous surroundings where it had calmed to only hills and there were villages again. I ended up stopping in Amqui on the side of a bike path there.

The next day I crossed the other half of Gaspésie to a very different landscape. In this area there would be a small village roughly every 15 kilometers with mostly farmland or abandoned fields in between on the hilly land. I found myself finally starting to take proper breaks and stopping in each village during the day. By the end of the day I reached Mont-Joli, where as I topped the crest of the hill entering the town, I could see the St. Lawrence river in the not so far distance now.

The next morning I grabbed some groceries and then quickly descended downhill to the St. Lawrence. This was another moment that felt like a real triumph as I had been looking forward to travelling along the river. The good vibes would continue as this has easily become my favourite day on the bike so far. Quebec is known for having the best bike routes/paths (Route Verte) in North America and while I had technically been going along the route so far in Quebec, I had reached the point where the route truly becomes friendly to bikers. Crossing Gaspésie where I did the route was nearly all highway due to it not being very populated, but now I would get to ride quieter roads and bike paths/trails with only a few exceptions.

Reaching the foggy St. Lawrence

The new route I was own that took me along the St. Lawrence kept me next to the river the whole way to Rimouski. The places there reminded me of what you would see along the coast of Nova Scotia, specifically the sorts of places nearer to beaches, but here it felt a little different than that. Shortly after making the turn along the St. Lawrence, I even saw bison for the first time as I passed a bison ranch, something I never even thought about being able to see, especially around this area. A bit later while I was taking a break along a beach, I got talking with a local there who had even bike toured the southern part of Nova Scotia, including around where I’m from. The route continued to impress as a little before I made it to Rimouski, I came across a museum at an old lighthouse. What made this interesting however was that it had a submarine perched up out of the water that I assume was used for military purposes in the past as it was quite large. With the day going so well and having the wind at my back, I really felt like continuing to cycle on but I had wanted to check out Rimouski so I decided on cycling around the city for a bit once I got there.

Best photo I could get of the bison

I ended up being happy with my decision to explore Rimouski a bit. Rimouski was the first city I had reached that really was quite cycle friendly. It has a cycle path that goes right along the river that was full of cyclists. The rest of the city also had some paths that went through parts of it and in general the streets felt welcoming to cyclists. This was easily the most cycle friendly place I had visited before, but I would end up finding that in general, this is what larger settlements in Quebec are like. Plenty of cycle paths that are usually pretty maintained and streets with drivers who are used to dealing with cyclists, so they wouldn’t have quite the same ‘fuck you, get out of the road, you don’t belong here’ mentality that I was mostly used to.

After exploring the city I relaxed at the library for a couple hours before setting out to find somewhere to camp. Unfortunately this didn’t go quite as well, as the more forested places I wanted to try were either on hills, wet or just not a place where I’d be able to setup a tent. It got late enough that I said screw it and checked out the main park in the city which was primarily open area. I did end up finding a spot that while technically was out in the open, did have some cover in each direction thanks to hills and some strips of trees, unless of course you walked in the pathway which was quite near to where I setup. Luckily it was fine though and no one had a problem with me being there.

Finding camping spots though is something that is starting to become a bit of a problem for multiple reasons. I find myself feeling more comfortable sleeping near areas with other people than being in the middle of nowhere. This is probably because quite frankly, it’s something I’ve never done as I never camped growing up. Plus I find I like being nearer to places where I can easily get water or have washroom access, especially with the weather still not being particularly warm and dealing with those things in the middle of nowhere when it’s colder just isn’t as fun. Another reason though, especially along the St. Lawrence, is because there really aren’t great options to be found along the route. Most of the land out here is farmland and if it’s not, then it’s housing. If you want to go more inland or if it’s not actually farms/houses, then you’re greeted with hills or mountains that can’t be camped on instead. Technically campgrounds could be an option as there are plenty, however at this point they would be better off labelled as RV parks instead and you have to pay to stay at them, which is not what I’m trying to do on this trip. This all leads to me usually camping in spots where I can be and do get seen some, however I’ve never had anybody care. I’m not sure if this is because they generally don’t care if somewhere is just camping there for a night, if they see the bike and bags and figure I’m probably just travelling along (some definitely do as these people have talked with me some) or the other highly possible option, people think I’m homeless and want nothing to do with me.

Leaving Rimouski, the highway and route I was on merged together and went a bit more inland away from the river. The busy road with speeding traffic combined with seeing pretty much only farmland along the way and a wind that went back forth on deciding if it wanted to try to blow me backwards or into the speeding traffic, lead to a pretty boring day after my amazing introduction to the St. Lawrence. Towards the end of the day I managed to get off on some smaller roads along the river again which was a nice change. They did however come with some very steep hills including the steepest hill I’ve ever encountered (and I was going the direction I had to climb it). I don’t know the gradient on it but I’ve never seen something that just went so straight upwards. I would make it to Trois-Pistoles, grabbed some sandwiches as the day wiped me of my energy to want to make anything and found an area not too far from the highway to pitch my tent.

 I started the next day by continuing to follow the bike route, which did keep me off of the highway. It did however keep me climbing steep hills, to shoot me down the other side right back to another steep climb. After a while of getting worn out by the climbing, I was about ready to say screw it and just go back to the highway, but the route rewarded me for staying on it. It was taking me up a river on a quiet road when it was starting to get noisy ahead. I thought it was probably just some sort of construction building or quarry as it looked like there was something like that ahead. Before I got to the buildings where I thought the noise was coming from, the route got me off the road and onto a trail to cross the river. It kept getting louder though as I went on the trail which surprised me until I got onto the bridge crossing the river. What I ended up finding was a pretty large and very violent waterfall that was making all the noise. The water spewing from it was getting launched in a way that looked like it was flying towards me instead of straight down. On the other side of the bridge, the river again had another waterfall that was smaller and from my view, I could not see very well. For the complaining I’d been doing about where the route was taking me, I completely forgave it for the amazing site it was giving me now.

Surprise waterfall on the trail

I stayed on the route after this. It remained the same for a little while before bringing me to flatter roads full of farmland again. The one benefit of where it had taken me up to this point in the day was that the trails it had primarily been on were sheltered with trees on each side. Now that I was in the open I had no protection from the wind, which was a strong headwind that would blast me for the rest of the day. Soon enough the highway and main road along the St. Lawrence divided again and I was brought back over nearer to the river. After fighting the wind all day I decided to stop in Rivière-du-Loup, where as I was entering I saw a couple of bikers who interested me. I couldn’t tell if they were bike tourers or not as they had more bags than I would expect any regular person to have, but they also didn’t have near enough stuff to travel like I was. I stopped to talk and found out they were indeed bike tourers, the second ones I’ve met and first since early New Brunswick. Unfortunately they were travelling the other direction than me, so I’d still be travelling alone (at this point I quite liked the idea of getting to travel with someone else, at least for a little). They were going from Montreal to Halifax and stopping at campsites along the way, which explained their lighter setup. We went our separate ways as they were heading to the next camping site and I ventured into the town. This was another place where I struggled to find somewhere to camp but did eventually.

The next morning the wind had shifted from a strong headwind to a slight tailwind that was perfect for making quick progress along the road. Although I was able to go along quickly without too much effort, I found myself tiring quite easily throughout the day. Considering I had just done 8 straight days of long distance cycling when I’ve never done anything like that before, I guess it might make sense that at some point I might tire out. Overall it was a nice day however. I saw thousands of geese during the day migrating north in the largest flocks I’ve ever seen. I also saw another bike tourer going the other way, but didn’t get chance to talk with them. I would make it to La Pocatiere where I found a nice spot not far from the bike trail. I also decided during the day I would spend another day here as my body was telling me I needed a break (plus I didn’t wanna cycle in the big headwinds the next day that made a couple days ago seem like a joke).

Typical supper for me, a nice stir fry

The day off was what I needed. My body very much appreciated it and I was able to take some time to reflect on things. I was able to realize that I had gotten to a point now where the trip was no longer overwhelming in the ways it was early on leaving both home and Moncton. I had reached the point where I was getting close to how I envisioned the trip now as I was much more settled and taking things day by day.

Sunset over the St. Lawrence in La Pocatiere

I had much more energy leaving La Pocatiere and felt somewhat revitalized. I had no problem fighting the headwinds the day was presenting to me (and I guess it’s good I get used to them as once I turn west from my southward trajectory, I’ll almost always be facing them). I may have also felt more energetic as this was the first hot day that I was cycling on and the warmth may have perked me up. It also made my breaks more enjoyable, as my sweat drying wasn’t having quite as large of an effect on making me feel as cold as usual when I would stop. Although in shedding my layers and enjoying the warmth of the day, I did let my arms and legs get sunburnt. After the nice warm day of cycling I made it to Montmagny for the night where I was now getting quite near Quebec City. I wasn’t planning on visiting Quebec City but the enjoyment of the day got me in the mood to want to ride around Old Quebec to explore it some.

The next day greeted me with tailwinds that let me quickly make it to Levis not long after noon. While I really liked the bike paths of Rimouski, the paths coming into Levis and Quebec City blew them away. They were in amazing condition, away from the roads and would go through parks, tree covered sections and also along the river. Compared with anywhere I’ve ridden before this really felt like it would be a bike riders paradise. And to be fair, the Quebec/Levis area was full of bikers wherever I went.

Bike path in Levis

The bike path would lead me to the ferry where I crossed the river. I wanted to give myself the most time to explore in the day, so taking the ferry going right to Old Quebec was my best option. On the ferry I met a pair of older women who were also crossing and out for a longer ride for the day. The one of them was very talkative and we talked the whole 15 minutes or so it took to cross and dock. She even told me how she couldn’t do my trip like how I was doing it because she would get bored not having someone to talk to all day. After getting off the ferry we were going the same direction to start which was good as they ended up having to tell me how to get into Old Quebec. All of Old Quebec was up a big hill and being down by the shore was kind’ve like going in circles around it, which I wasn’t able to figure out myself. So I climbed the big hill and they continued on going out separate ways.

Quebec City from the ferry

I had only been in Quebec City once before in the past on the Quebec trip that everyone at my school did when they got to grade 9. Just being taken around and not really knowing where I was then had left me with a bunch of memories but having no idea where I was. Well after climbing the hill it was like being hit with a blast of nostalgia. I recognized quite a few places and had a number of times where an area would look somewhat familiar to spots where I had memories of me and my friends doing something from our trip. While seeing the area was very nice and is an experience in its self just being there, I think I was most satisfied with being able to connect and bring back some memories from my past. I will say I did feel a bit out of place though. Old Quebec is very much a tourist spot and touristy type stuff is not what I’m trying to do and see on this trip. I wanna see places and people for what they really are and quite frankly, tourist destinations are not that. In saying that though, I was quite happy with my decision to cross the river and visit the city.

The large building in Old Quebec up close

A few hours of strolling around was enough for me and I went back down the hill to the cycle paths along the shore. I made my way along the busy cycle path towards the bridge where I had a hard time figuring out how to get on it as my map route lead me to under the bridge instead of on the bridge. I had to backtrack some and climb back up the hill to get on the bridge but did end up finding how to get on it. Right before I made it to the bridge and was pulled of still figuring out where to go, a biker pulled up next to me with a loaded bike like mine. This was Simon (said with a French accent), who’s from France but just finished university in Montreal. He was going from Montreal to Halifax so unfortunately again the opposite way of me. We talked for a little and he warned me crossing with the overstuffed bike wasn’t gonna be fun as he had just done this himself. Well not fun was an understatement. There was only a tiny walkway where 2 normal bikes would have a tough time squeezing by each other. Plus the walkway was full of bikers going both ways and a few pedestrians. I gave up pretty quickly on trying to ride as I couldn’t keep straight with the wind and regular bumps from some sort of bars regularly on the walkway. Most of the riders though clearly must cross regularly as many of them chose to ride it. This meant I had to constantly stop and squeeze me and my bike against the railing for bikers both ways trying to get by me when there was next to no room for them to get by, especially with my bags sticking out. Combined with not liking heights (the bridge is quite high above the river) and the wind being quite strong that day on the bridge, crossing the bridge sucked.

Now across the bridge, I was back in Levis and it was getting later. The next few days were projecting a good amount of rain and I wanted to avoid riding in it as the temperatures weren’t overly high again. So I wanted a good spot to setup where I could stay a few days without hopefully being bothered. I tried checking out the wooded areas I saw on my map but none of them worked as they were too thick to get though or already had water on the ground which probably wouldn’t go well for me considering there was quite a bit more rain coming. With it getting closer to dark I stumbled into a baseball field behind a school and settled on it. It was Friday so I figured it was unlikely that hardly anyone should be around the next couple days, especially with it raining. Plus to make it better, I setup in the dugout which had a roof for a little cover.

With all of this I was off to a good start in Quebec and had a place to hide before heading off south again to finish my time along the St. Lawrence. It most importantly, this trip, whatever it ends up being, was starting to feel manageable to me.

Distance biked: 674.1km

Total distance biked: 1526.4km