8-10 ottawa

Last day, last trip of 2019.  Appropriately ending with 2 canadians pulling into the nation's capital.  Started out on a back road, mostly dirt, for 20km with only 3 cars spotted.  Then down by the gatineau river on roads/trails with a good lunch stop at les fougeres in Chelsea.   Had first/only flat of the trip. Dodged a few rain drops, and pulled into ottawa with time to spare before massages.  Yes, John convinced me to go for it.  Nice, but still not really my thing...nice to be in a city, with multiple restaurants (it's a steak night) and activities after small towns of quebec.  City of ottawa put on a fireworks show to celebrate our trip.  Maybe we will even be awake past 9pm to see it?  Tomorrow is a rental car to burlington, then driving home.  Time to start planning Pacific northwest 2020 - pretrip begins in Missoula, MT; core trip from seattle with Vancouver option.  Stay tuned.   50 miles.

 

8-9 kazabazua

Left the teeming metropolis of mont laurier and after a short stretch on the rather busy route 117, sadly turned south onto 107.  Stopped at the incredibly busy depanneur in aumond, where pickup trucks came and went, parking willy-nilly, while we ate vending machine sandwiches.  Onto maniwaki for 2nd lunch (poutine finally!) And got a tip about new bike trail which we took south. Beautiful paved surface gave us a boost, as we went by dozens of lakes including the huge lake blue sea where jean swam as god intended.  Stopped for dinner in kaz, before proceeding 6km off main route to our auberge for the evening. Still no fishing. 78 miles.

8-8 mont laurier

Every trip has to have one epic day. That'd be today - John's first century.  And my first (and last?) all on bike trail. Left just past 7am back onto the petit train, by lakes, rivers, and stunning pine forests.  Made it all the way to tremblant for our best breakfast of the trip - eggs, unmentionable meats, sauces, smoothies. Several more stops along the way - ice cream, water park, a grocery store for lunch with squeaky curd cheese, John's work phone calls.  Two great 10km stretches of steady 1-2% downhill along the way, 75% paved today.  And then the rain came.  Its always a dilemma - do you stop and wait it out?  Do you get out the rain gear?  At least a sox cap under the helmet?  What about when thunder begins.  Well, we powered through, eventually pulling in to auberge le tape around 6 for well deserved shower, and mediocre "japanese" food.  100 miles.

8-7 lantier

Started the day on the train, shaving 50km of flat boring riding in burbs of the city, to st jerome - km 0 of the petit (p'tit? Whats with this french abbreviation??) Train trail.  The old rail trail, now dirt bike/ski/walking trail is 202 km to mt laurier.  We did 50 of them, then turned off to my dad's house in lantier.  Saw many other cyclists doing the trail in 2-4 days.  Lots of nice stops at old rail stations, turned into cafes, and trail averages a steady 1% climb to st agathe. Got rained on a little, but that just keeps the dust down. Tried casting and fishing - succeeded, but not at catching. 40 miles, with fewer food stops than yesterday. 

8-6 Montreal

It feels like this trip was preordained - other tours this summer headed south and east/west and this time its north, my favorite direction. Today headed along route 133, the old highway to montreal that I'd driven 100+ times over the years - now much quieter with the new route 10 extension.  Flat farmlands, all the way till we cycled along chambly canal (dirt) with its locks and bridges.  Nice lunch (and nap) near the fort then push west throuugh the heat to the jacques cartier bridge and secomd lunch at schwartz's (decided that peak happiness is reached after 1st bite).  Onto tmr to see my dad, more food (good italian), fink and blaine, and fell asleeo exhausted.  50 miles.

Aug 5 venise-en-quebec

Left burlington without a bike computer, but with fly fishing gear.  Made it a few hundred yards before stopping for bagel sandwiches (had to have the Mary Jane) and then turned north along lake champlain.  Great ride along paved path, then the causeway (dirt) - a narrow spit of land built for a railroad track 100 years ago, with a short ferry across "the cut" - then onto the hero islands.  Rolling farms, a few small towns and almost impossible to get lost (almost being the key word) until we crossed the border at clarenceville.  John, as is now true for all his bike trips,  remembered that his mom "lived" here for a short time as a teenager.  Back along the lake to end at the posh cache du lac hotel, with its 8 station watergenic pool (loved massage beds eith integrated tuchus jets, and counter-current walking corridor, which we used as a lazy river). Napped in the hammocks and adventured off to find poutine - failed and settled for gourmet braised meats in hotel reato.. 50? Mostly flat miles, mostly quiet 2 lane roads.