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Tuesday September 8

It has been a while since I updated this page as we were off on bicycling adventures for a couple of weeks and, since we have been back, have been trying to catch up on the things that didn't get done while we were away. When I left you last time, we were in Rivière du Loup on our way to Lac Saint-Jean. The next day (Monday Aug. 17) we caught the ferry to San Simeon, drove the hilly road to Alma, checked in to the Hotel Universel, and rendezvoused with Manon, Dave, Donna and Dave at Chez Mario Tremblay, a sports bar and restaurant owned by Mario Tremblay, the Montreal Canadiens hockey star of the 1970s.

On Tuesday morning, we went to Equinox Adventures, the tour company that booked our hotels and would transport our luggage each day, for a pre-ride briefing. Then we were off on the trail headed toward Saint-Monique. Where the trail is separated from the road, it is paved; when it is on the road, there is always a well-marked paved shoulder to keep you away from the traffic. It is clear that the governments of the region have put some effort into attracting cyclists and it seems to have worked: we met several groups of cyclists who were following the same basic itinerary as ours. The hotels are also all well-equipped to handle bicycles. Even the Hotel Universel in Alma, which is a true multi-story hotel rather than a motel, was happy to have us wheel our bikes through the lobby, into the elevator and up to our room. It would be nice if our government showed a similar interest in bicycle infrastructure here.

Although we had been told by Damien at Equinox Adventures that we would have to take a slightly different route to Sainte-Monique than the one shown on our maps, for some reason we did not get the message and tried to follow the original route only to find that it was closed near the marina in Dam-en-Terre. That meant backtracking and adding about 5 kms to our 60 km journey. The rest of the ride was uneventful. It was a beautiful day and we passed through farmland and small towns on the shores of the lake, stopping for a while at the store for the Véloroute des Bleuets (the trail that we were riding) where Manon bought Ann and myself some chocolate covered blueberries to honour our 42^nd wedding anniversary. We stopped for lunch in Saint-Coeur-de-Marie, buying it in the grocery store and eating it in a small park by the church. We then passed through Pointe-Taillon National Park before arriving at our hotel on Île du Repos in Sainte-Monique. It was comfortable enough, though quite rustic, but, like all the hotels we stayed in, had a restaurant that served fabulous food so we had a very nice dinner. Along the route, we had passed a woman cycling with a violin on her back; Ann met her again at the hotel and invited her to join us at dinner. Later on we sat around a campfire and the two of us traded fiddle tunes until it was time to turn in.

Wednesday's ride was from Sainte-Monique to Dolbeau-Mistassini. For several days the weather apps had been warning of rain so we had some misgivings about setting out (we could have phoned Equinox Adventures and got them to drive us instead) but decided in the end to take our chances. As it happened, the rain never arrived though it remained overcast all day. We rode along the bank of Rivière Péribonka then north through farmland to Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc where we stopped in a park overlooking the rapids on Petite-Rivière Péribonka, then on to Dolbeau-Mistassini. Our itinerary said that we were staying in Motel Chutes des Pères which is close to services in Mistassini and to the Chutes des Pères which are photogenic rapids on the Mistassini River; however, when we got there, we found that our reservation had been changed to a different hotel in an industrial park in the southern part of town. We had stopped and were discussing how best to ride through town to avoid traffic when we were approached by an older gentleman on a bike who offered to lead us to the hotel, an offer we accepted. (He also showed up at breakfast the following morning and offered to lead us out of town. He seemed quite disappointed when we declined since our route this time was clear.) Having arrived at the hotel without having had lunch, since we didn't want to stop for long in case it rained, we had to figure out how to get food in the middle of nowhere. We finally decided to walk to a dépanneur at the gas station down the road and buy sandwiches. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing Mexican Train, a variant of dominoes, which Dave and Donna had brought with them.

On Thursday morning, we left Dolbeau-Mistassini for Saint-Félicien. The first part of the ride was fairly boring following the main road through fields and forest though we did visit Délices du Lac Saint-Jean in Albanel, a store and museum dedicated to the blueberry, which is a major crop in the region. We stopped for lunch in Normandin; Manon and Donna stayed in a small park by the trail while Dave Ripley went to Tim's and Dave Bordian, Ann and myself went to La Boulangerie Normandin for coffee and fancy grilled cheese sandwiches. The last part of the trail followed the Rivière Ashuapmushuan but they were separated by trees so we got very few glimpses of the river. We stayed in the Hotel du Jardin which was very nice. While Ann and Donna went for a swim in the pool, Manon, Dave and I walked into town where we had an ice cream, eating it in the small park between the church and the river. The rest of the town was a bit of a disappointment; it has clearly seen better days with quite a few stores boarded up. After another nice meal in the hotel restaurant, we had another session of Mexican Train.

On Friday, we continued down the western shore of the lake, stopping in Roberval for lunch and ice cream at the marina, and continuing to Val Jalbert, a historic village on the site of a mill at the foot of Chute Ouiatchouan, a spectacular waterfall. We stayed in one of the historic houses which has been renovated inside to provide modern amenities. We made the mistake of leaving the door open and were surprised when some complete strangers wandered in expecting it to be one of the houses with museum displays. They seemed quite put out when we told them, nicely, to clear out since this was our bedroom. After settling in, I walked up to the waterfall to take photos then wandered through the historic village. I met the others for a four-course dinner in the mill. We were expecting it to be a rustic meal of the sort that would have been served at the turn of the last century but were pleasantly surprised when it was a fantastic gourmet affair. Between the main course and dessert, we were encouraged to climb to the observation platform overlooking the falls which were illuminated.

Our last day was the ride back to Alma along the south shore of the lake. Ann's knee had been bothering her since the start of the tour, something that has flared occasionally in the past and for which she had been seeing a physiotherapist for several weeks before our trip. It finally got too painful as we reached Métabatchouan where we stopped for coffee at La Grange Gourmand, a small café and casse-croûte. We phoned Equinox Adventures to come and pick her up while the rest of us continued the ride, stopping in Saint-Gédéon for lunch (I had a monstrous poutine; when in Québec...). We arrived in Alma in time to pick up our bags at Equinox Adventures and then checked back into the Hotel Universel then headed over to Dave and Donna's AirBnB for a pizza dinner followed by Mexican Train while we did laundry in their washer and dryer.

The next day, Dave and Manon left for Quebec City and subsequent visiting with Manon's family while Dave, Donna, Ann and myself headed back to San Simeon to take the ferry to Rivière du Loup where we spent the night, rendezvousing at Estaminet, a downtown restaurant, for dinner. Then it was on to Caraquet, NB, on the northwest coast, for another week of biking with the Ramblers. This time we shared a chalet at the Chalets de la Plage de Bas-Caraquet with Kim and Glen who drove up from Halifax that day. There were roughly 60 Ramblers on the tour, too many for us all to ride together, so each day we split into two main groups leaving half an hour apart. On the roads, the main groups further split into sub-groups for safety.

Similar to Lac Saint-Jean, the governments of the Acadian Peninsula have invested in bicycle infrastructure including over 600 kms of paved trails all of which are very flat.

Norm, the tour leader, had planned several evening activities at the chalets but we soon found out that the town of Bas-Caraquet, where the chalets were, is built on a bog and the mosquitoes were terrible, so the walk along the beach and outside pot-luck dinner were cancelled. In Caraquet proper there was no problem.

The first ride was on Tuesday, from Caraquet to the Village Historique Acadien which illustrates the traditional Acadian way of life, then on to Maisonnette Beach. Ann decided to nurse her knee and miss the ride but I participated. The plan was to stop for an hour and a half at the village but my group decided simply to stop for a coffee and return later when they could spend more time. Ann met us there in the café then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the village. Then she drove out to Maisonnette Beach and had an ice cream before returning to the chalet for dinner.

The next day, Kim Glen and I rode the trail to Shippagan with the Ramblers. Ann drove to Shippagan, visited the aquarium, then met us when we arrived at the lighthouse. Ingrid and Mike, who like Ann were trying not to overdo the riding, also drove to Shippagan. The four of us then rode for a few kilometres on the trail then parted ways, I continuing on to Caraquet and Ann, Ingrid and Mike returning to Shippagan where they had lunch in the restaurant by the aquarium. That evening there was a musical gathering in a small park in Caraquet led by Sandra and Adrienne on ukeleles with several back-up singers. I took along my mandolin (which Kim and Glen kindly brought up for me so I wouldn't have to transport it around Lac Saint-Jean) but switched to playing Pauline's guitar which was easier to hear. Sandra and Adrienne had brought along song sheets with words and chords so that anyone who wanted could join in. The whole event was well attended and well received.

On Thursday, the ride was on Miscou Island. The full route went from the southern end of the island, out to a beach on the eastern shore, then back and up to the lighthouse at the northern end before returning to the start. I rode the full 54 km route but Ann cut 18 kms off by riding directly to the lighthouse. We met up there for lunch and a piece of lemon pie acquired from the café. On the way back to Caraquet, we stopped at the candy church (actually l'Église Sainte-Cécile) which is an ordinary white church on the outside but on the inside is decorated in pastel colours with stripes, polka dots, stars, balloons and birthday cakes.

The forecast for Friday was rain, so the scheduled ride was cancelled. However, since the rain wasn't supposed to arrive until lunchtime, we decided to ride into Caraquet (about 9 kms) for a coffee and treat at Boulangerie Grains de Folie. I had a fruit tart decorated using blueberries, raspberries, cream and a small star-shaped meringue to mimic the Acadian flag; it was very tasty. We got back before the rain started and spent the rest of the day working on a jig-saw puzzle that Kim and Glen brought. That evening the four of us along with Ingrid and Mike went for dinner to Le Crapet, a seafood restaurant in the Caraquet marina.

Our last ride, on Saturday, was from Inkerman to Tracadie-Sheila. Unfortunately, the bridge across the harbour from the end of the trail is under repair, so there was no easy way for us to get into the main part of the town. Instead we had lunch in a small park on the other side of the harbour. On our way back to the chalets, Ann and I stopped at the Stella Maris Café for a coffee before getting ready to attend the group dinner at the Acadian Village.

On Sunday morning, we packed up, stopped in at Boulangerie Grains de Folie for fortifications for the long drive, then headed home, stopping at a café in Sackville on the way. We arrived home mid-afternoon and I spent the rest of the day trying to get the garden back in order since it had got quite overgrown in our two weeks away.

We were riding again on Monday, joining the usual Railers ride out to Lawrencetown Beach. We tried to stop in at the Cottage Café on the way back but it was closed (Ann later found out that the staff were all attending a celebration of life for one of their best customers).

On Tuesday afternoon, we went to a celebration of life at the Mic Mac Aquatic Club for our friend and fellow-Rambler Tom, who passed away in July. It was very well attended by his family (he was from a large Newfoundland family), bankers (his former profession), curlers and, of course, Ramblers.

On Friday, Ann and Marilyn went to play Mahjong at Paddy's place in Lower Sackville. Afterwards they all went to a local restaurant for dinner.

This weekend was very wet — Cape Breton bore the brunt with lots of damage due to flooding and washed out roads — so the Rambler ride was cancelled. Instead we stayed close to home and tried to figure out how to use the bounties from the vegetable garden.

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