Day 47 - Mont St-Pierre to Gaspe

Mont St-Pierre to Gaspe
186 km, overcast, rain for 1 hr
Winds – behind me, 15 km/hr (25 right before the storm)

Sweet baby Jesus.

If I was flirting with the mountain range yesterday, I definitely went “all the way” with them today. Many times. The mountain bikers in Ottawa know what M.O. means. M.O. today. (I still haven't ridden that trail yet.)

Foreshadow: speed difference (riding) today from slowest to fastest = 80 km/h (well, maybe 79).

Where to start. How about in chronological order.

I was quite titillated by the possibility of delta-planing today (tandem). When I stopped by at the centre, they informed me that the winds were going Westbound, which is the wrong direction for them. They would jump off the top of Mont St-Pierre – there are pictures of it. The last picture or so in the July 2nd photo album shows the top. If you can zoom in, you might be able to see a flag on top. So, no jumping off a cliff today. Too bad. Off I went.

I ran into two Quebecers (60 y.o.) riding until they are pooped for the day. They are on a little Gaspe tour. We chatted for a few minutes, then I was off on my own. I saw, later up the road, a cyclist taking pictures on the other side of the road. I recognized his jersey (a tuxedo jersey, soo cheesy, too cheesy for me), so I had to pull over and take a picture of it for you guys. We chatted a bit. He was heading in the same direction as I, and was riding apparently the same speed as I. So, Yannick and I rode together for a while. He left Gatineau, basically did the same route I did (he went to Baie Commeau then crossed over), and was heading to Perce before taking the train back home. He was loaded up pretty good. He even has two pairs of cycling shoes for when it rains one day, he has a dry pair for the next. Luxury. When you see the pics, see how he wears his helmet.

When we reached Gros Morne (I took a picture as I know a guy who's named Morne), the hills started. Very sweet. These are the hills I wanted out West, and was hoping Charlevoix would be able to provide as well. But, I haven't tried the Southern part of BC – to be done sometime later. No more of this wimpy 10% stuff, bring on the 12, 14 % over 2-3 km. Winding, on the edge of cliffs where the water is at the bottom. Nice. With the very humid weather, and warm winds at times (inexistent in the mountains, but present on the waterways), sweat was pouring out of me (even my elbows). Very lovely. The first little hill, Yannick got dropped pretty severely. I stopped on top to let him catch up. We continued to ride for a while, until the bigger hills came. We exchanged good-bye's, and I was on my way. Nice. I think it was 12 or 14 % for 2 or 3 k. I dont recall, but I remember that there were more and more. The fun thing about these past few days is that there is around 1-22 k (max) of km between towns, with the average being maybe 5-10 k. Plus, today, it seems like all the little towns are at the bottom of these huge hills.

How were the downhills, you ask? Well, hairy. They were not straight down, so I could not take advantage of just letting her go. Many times, I was riding the brakes as I was going too fast to hold the line. When I start leaning the bike too much, and hitting some bumps, being all loaded up, it gets sketchy. One of my panniers actually got unhooked (both hooks on top, and the hook at the bottom) from the rough ride + the bike leaning. It was only holding on by being hooked on to the other pannier.

But, one hill, going into town (appropriately named Grande-Vallee), I was able to hit 87 k/h. I was riding down, with the brakes, and thought to myself “hey, I think I can let her rip a bit”. If it wasn't for that moment of hesitation (maybe 100-200 metres), I might have been able to hit 90 k/h. So, new record for speed for this trip. Lindsay held her own. The modifications I did back in Ottawa made the front more stable.

There are at least 5 times I've hit over 80 k/h in these hills. When I feel comfortable at 75 k/h, it's freaky. I am totally thrown off on my guessing of speed today. I think I'm doing 25-28k/h, but I am actually doing 35. Thinking I'm at 65k, but doing 75. Weird. Completely off my game. Diddo for hill percentage. I think I'm climbing 10 % with the speed and effort, but it turns out to be 12 or so. Way off.

So, to quote a song that played today (which was appropriate): Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. I feel them all. For the past few days, I have felt quite strong. I really wonder if I did Solstice now, how well it would turn out. I bet you I would come at least in 3rd. My legs feel a bit sore today (when I push on them). I definitely tapped into them today. But, they are not sore to walk. They are probably tender every night, but feel normal by morning.

The rain started at the 120 k mark. For the next 20 k, things were quite hairy. The towns had really rough roads (no shoulders), rain was coming down, nowhere to stop (except for houses), and the traffic was pretty heavy (lots of gravel trucks too). The rain stopped after an hour or so. The last 40-50 k, it was quite of a relaxed ride. Very enjoyable. I felt like I just conquered a big challenge, and I just had to ride easy to get home.

Today, I felt like I was not in Quebec anymore. The people are so friendly, and the drivers (including those gravel trucks) are very courteous. They give you lots of room, will be patient if they see on-coming traffic, and wont even honk if you're not paying attention and riding in the middle of the lane (they think nothing of it and just pass in the other lane). They are so used to cycling tourists here (for extremely obvious reasons to me now), it's no worries for them. But, the rough roads did remind me I am in Quebec. The old saying: Bonjour Quebec, bye bye tires. Oh, and there's a few yahoo's here (you know, gino-wanna-be's, like the glorified Vanier-victims) with their pimped Honda Civics or Mazdas, who like to drive in excess of 100 k in these park roads. They give lots of room, but they are just jerks in general.

I stopped at a campground in Gaspe. Cheap – everything included (showers, internet, laundry) for 20 bucks. I am out of clean clothes for cycling, so it's laundry time (as I write this). They also have a cantine, where I decided to be lazy and eat there. Double burger with bacon and onions, and a large poutine. For some reason, she gave me the burger platter, which consists of another order of fries. That was tough to finish, but I managed. The people talk differently here. It's quite interesting. I hear a lot of English too (normal English), but the French is sure different. Makes me think a bit of Smellly from Moncton, or more like France from Shediac (I think she's from there).

Do, you'll have a blast with your trip down here. Do Charlevoix, do Gaspe, and have a swell time in Quebec for the 400th.

Tomorrow is a very light day. I'll spend some time in Gaspe to visit some spots, then ride into Perce (70 k?), where I get to have a rest day (half a day tomorrow, and another full day the day after). I will be ahead of schedule by 3 days. I am trying to bank hours (aka days) so I can figure out how to do PEI, and be ahead, in case there are unforeseeable circumstances along the road ahead.

I must say that I keep enjoying the emails and comments you guys write. Keep them coming. It's a fuel for me. Having a blast on the trip, but still lonely at times. The next face I'll probably get to see will be Smelly, down in Moncton. Can't wait.

So, so long from the road,

r2p2

(pics up to date)