My Peanut Butter Bike Tour 2017

Day 61 - 21 Aug - Petit Rocher - 101km    The sun makes all the difference! We finally had good weather. It was a pleasure to ride today!     Before I left Campbellton, I stopped at the Big Salmon sculpture. He was pretty impressive! Salmon fishing is big in this area.    It was a short day today so when we got to the camp, it felt like a rest day! I spent the afternoon cleaning the dirt and grime from my bike. It rained yesterday so all the construction sites on the highway were mucky.    The camp is right on the Atlantic.  It was very restful sitting on the bench staring out at the ocean,.we've reached the Atlantic. Technically, if anything went wrong in the next few days, we could say we did go from sea to sea! I put my feet in the water. It was cold!     We had time to watch the solar eclipse. There was not much to see. The sky got a little dark but, that was all.    The water is like glass...

Day 60 - 20 Aug - Atholville - 146kms    Wet and hilly this morning. It made the riding a little slick.      The terrain changed so completely from the coastal towns to the rushing waters of  the Matapedia River. It is a world class destination for fly fishing.    After climbing the north side of the Gaspe Peninsula yesterday, we went downhill for kilometres and kilometres! It was awesome! I'm glad I didn't have to climb that section!    The covered bridge at Routierville was picture perfect! It was a nice place to eat lunch.    We crossed the border into New Brunswick in the afternoon. Three provinces left!

Day 59 - 19 Aug - St. Damase - 134kms    I just missed the rain this morning while packing up my tent but, I got it on the ride out of camp! It was a miserable morning with a headwind! It started to clear up about nine but, it was overcast all day.    The route took us through many small seaside towns. The St. Lawrence was very grey and gloomy. The water and the clouds were the same colour.    There is definitely a Maritime feel to this area. The cottages by the beaches are brightly coloured like the 'jelly bean' houses in NFLD.    The afternoon was better. The wind had died down and I was able to enjoy the views.     At the end of the route, we turned onto route 247 and another headwind! With 10k to go, we ran smack dab into three gigantic hills! It's always a treat to climb huge hills at the end of the day! Not!    Anyway, we're crossing into New Brunswick tomorrow! Another province!...

Day 58 - 18 Aug - Trois Pistoles - 117kms    The day started out very relaxed. The distance was shorter and we started out later. The towns we went through were lovely! I just can't get enough of the original cottages. They are so lovingly maintained and colourful. I could take pictures of them all day!    Most of the day we had great views of the St. Lawerence. Spectacular!    The afternoon was a different story. The wind picked up and we got an outrageous headwind for 30k! I was lucky to get 25k an hour! Hate the wind! It's really demoralizing.    When we got to camp it started raining and it was cold! I had my down jacket on! Hopefully, it won't rain too much tomorrow.

Day 57 - 17 Aug - Rivière Ouelle - 141kms     Spectacular day today! We started out with a quick ride on the bike path to another short ferry ride from Quebec City to Levis. The view of the ferry was the Chateau Frontenac. Once we left the ferry, we immediately got on to another bike path. This path will be part of the Quebec  marathon route next week. Riding on this path is as close as I'm going to get to a marathon in awhile!    This was the day of bike paths. They kept us off the highway for most of the route.    The kilometres seemed to zip by. There were no hills, good weather, and a tailwind!    As always, I enjoyed seeing the old churches and beautifully maintained cottages. There were many interesting restaurants and B & B's as well.    After Village-des-Aulnaies, we rode on a crushed limestone path for 10k. I loved it! There were no cars and I got to look at the St. Lawrence river. It's ...

Day 56 - 16 Aug - Quebec City - Rest Day    I spent the day wandering are the old city. The weather was perfect for that. There was lots to see and eat there! It has such a European feel.    There were unusual flower box arrangements on the window sills of the businesses. They were so artfully arranged.    We took the self-guided tour of the ramparts, museum, and churches then had lunch in a nice little cafe. Because I drink decaf I generally can't find a good one on riding days. I usually have one on the rest days. There was no shortage of good coffee places today!    I love the Chateau Frontenac so I had to go inside to look around. What a beautiful hotel!    A good day! Very relaxing.    Back on the bike tomorrow. We are heading to the Maritime provinces!

Day 55 - 15 Aug - Quebec City - 143kms    I had a wonderful ride today! There were so many little towns to ride through. The original houses and churches from the 1600's were fantastic! I loved the style. They all were the same style but they were all unique.    The cathedral at Notre-Dame-du-Cap attracts pilgrims from around the world.    We crossed  a unique steel bridge in Batiscan. It seemed to go on forever. We realized there was a walkway for pedestrians part of the way over! We lifted our bikes over the railing and onto the walkway so the cars wouldn't get so annoyed with us!    The ride up to Laval University was hilly. We were suprised by a huge, huge hill! It's a good thing I had the other bike with the new cassette because I could barely make it! There was a very inconvenient red light about half way up! Not cool!    My dorm room is so small I don't know how two people stay in it all year!   ...