Our trip to Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Madeleine Islands was fantastic! We started in Ottawa on July 10, bicycling along the river to Montreal. We rode on mainly on bike paths, visiting the Olympic venues, Biosphere, viewed rowing/diving competitions and were caught in a huge traffic jam of over 200 bikers/roller bladers/walkers waiting for a draw bridge to come down across the St. Lawrence River! The cycling here is wonderful!
From Montreal we cycled through gentle terrain of the Eastern Townships on the gravel of converted train tracks. Each town was dominated by the spires of a church or cathedral. Some of the route was along canals where boats were making their way to the St Lawrence Seaway. I particularly liked the bridges that swiveled out of the way over the canal - very ingenious. There were small cafes, fruit stands, ice cream vendors, etc., all along the way. One over crowded campground took pity on us and placed us on the only spot of grass left!! On the left was a recreation hall with line dancing going on til 11pm; on the right a petanque tournament (French bowling); in front of us an indoor street hockey rink and restrooms; campers behind. We went to the dance and had great fun but didn’t get much sleep!
At Trois-Rivieres, we crossed the St. Lawrence Seaway and made our way to Quebec City. What can I say about that town. It is a 400 year old walled city and is one of my favorite places to visit - historic buildings, quaint cobblestone streets, the Citadel, wonderful food, friendly people...Camping in cities is always a problem but in Quebec City we stayed with a wonderful family who opened their house to us.
We crossed the seaway again and started cycling up the eastern side. At first the terrain was flat to rolling. But the best part was the prevailing wind screaming behind us. We really racked up the miles! The eastern side of the seaway had beautiful vistas and bakeries to die for!
When we got to Matane, things changed. Sometimes the road was along a sea wall with a wide biking lane: other times the road was narrow with no shoulder. The hills became more intense as we continued. We had been warned about a 2 km stretch, 13% grade, that was particularly wicked. No problem - we rode the whole thing! Our bikes rock!! But after that? 8-15% grades! We really weren’t expecting so many steep hills! The coastal villages were at the mouth of rivers. So we had to climb out of each village, over the top and down to the next. One man said, “You can’t ride those hills. If you try they will blow your knee caps off!” Well we still have our knee caps but what a demoralizing section of the trip!! Those hills were brutal. We rounded the tip of Gaspasie and started down the western side. The hills weren’t quite as intense. We cycled through many lovely towns. Only problem was that the screaming wind pushing us up the eastern side of the peninsula was now full in our face! Hills or wind? Not much to choose between there. One night the rain/wind was so bad we stayed at a gite (B&B) instead of staying in a campground on a treeless spit out in the ocean. That night a horrendous storm toppled trees, powerlines, washed houses away in flooding rivers, blew debris all over the road, etc. If we would have camped, we may have been blown to sea!!
When we reached New Brunswick, we discovered the roads weren’t as cycling friendly as in Quebec. There were sections highway with no services and few biking lanes. So we decided to take a train. Unlike taking a bike on a train in the US, it is no problem in Canada. We went from Campbellton to Moncton in 4 hours. From Moncton we cycled to the Confederation Bridge, connecting Prince Edward Island (PEI) to New Brunswick. It is 12.7 km long. We rode many miles in PEI on the Confederation Trail (a rails to trail) and on quiet roads. It was pretty hilly on the island off the trail. PEI is very musical! There are ceilidh, events with Scottish or Irish singing, dancing, storytelling. One campground we stayed at had Johnny Cash open-mike night. Fun.
We boarded a ferry on the eastern shore of PEI to the Madeleine Islands (part of Quebec). What a beautiful place! The wind and rain were bad the first day, but lovely after that. The Madeleines are a group of islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; some connected by a series of long sand spits. We took a small boat to Entry Island, walked around the whole island and had spectacular views of all the other islands. I loved the many colored houses on the islands - every house color and trim imaginable! This is also a wind surfing/kite surfing mecca.
We left the Madeleines via cruise/ferry ship to Montreal. The voyage took 3 days and was a wonderful break from all our cycling! The food on board was exceptional - seeing the places we cycled around Gaspasie was priceless! I still can’t believe that we did the whole thing!!!! The cruise stopped at Perce to see gannets - 200,000 nesting birds!! The birds were 18” tall, beautiful. Also saw 100’s of seals, whales, water birds, etc. The sunset one night made the whole trip worth it!
From Montreal we decided to take another rails to trail route NW to Mt. Laurier. It was a good decision. The weather was dreadful one day but cleared for the rest of the trip. Riding railroad grades is so relaxing after the Gaspasie HILLS! Eventually we made it back to Ottawa!
I should mention that we had no planned route when we started in Ottawa almost 2 months before. Our route changed depending on who we talked to that day! All we knew is that Quebec has over 4,000 km of bicycle paths, bicycle routes, rails to trail, etc. We didn’t care where we went as long as we could ride those!
Thoughts about the trip?
-It was an incredible experience. We rode around 2,000 miles in our time there. We carried all our gear. We camped 95% of the time and I made our dinners at camp on our one burner stove. One of the most important things we learned? We aren’t too old to enjoy long, hard bike trips. We love it!
-I am impressed by the friendliness of the Quebec people. I had been told otherwise.
-The food is really good in Quebec: restaurants and grocery stores.
-Being able to ride on bike paths for 100’s of miles is indescribable.
-We aren’t too old to ride on long trips. We are in the best shape we have been in years.
-Our little folding bikes are great!
-We didn’t get sick, food poisoning, etc. the whole trip.
-The weather was wonderful - 70’s and 80’s. We hit a few days of rain.
-The architecture, culture, language, etc. of Quebec is unique or as Holly says, “ Europe lite”
-Knowing a little French really helped. My one year of French in college came in handy. People seem to really appreciate my efforts to speak French.
-Stories about Canadian healthcare from American media just don’t fit with how the Canadians feel about it. They recognize there are some problems but seem to really like the system. To my chagrin, Dick questioned EVERYONE from college deans to street vendors.
Hope this letter finds you happy and well. Dick and Ev
PS This site couldn't download the pictures I had selected. I will work on that later.
