May20 Gananque-Wellington

M-71.70,T-7:06:19,AVG-10:09,El-1784

Curious cows on Sebastians farm and happy to. I was riding by and noticed the turqouise color which isn't the usual barn red from where I'm from annd decided I needed a picture. There were chickens and roosters to and they seemed to be as happy as the cows,especially the rooster.

May19 Long Sault- Gananoque

M-100.02,T-8:34:13,AVG-11.66,El-1858

Kodak moment!!A perfect day to a long day of cycling with Goodxcharly's appearing over the horizon right as my ododmeter was rolling over for my first century of the trip.I got Raj, Charly's manager to help  me capture this coincidence. I'm on the right path.

May17-18 Montreal-GlenderryPark-LongSaultPark

                                                                                

May18 Glenderry-LongSault

M-51.39,T-5:02:05,AVG-10:20,El-1075

                      M-49,Doughnutz-4
                                                                                                       

Great riding here in Canada as usual,why would you expect anything else. I'm taking route 5 on the route verte network most of the way to Niagara Falls. Only 670 k of bikelanes and paths.I haven't ridden anything like this before as you can probably tell by my enthusiasm.

Yesterday, late noon as 5pm rolled around I came across the Glenderry park, closed,bummer. But I went ahead  and took a spin around the St.Lawrence frontage park and I couldn't let it go by. I just needed fresh water for my morning coffee as the parks water wasn't to appealing. Smelling like iodine or something. Maybe antifreeze to keep the pipes from freezing up and it's not like I was in the middle of the Mojave desert as you can see in the foreground.Well off I went on my trek for water and low and behold theres a church back in the woods to remedy my problem. Anyway, got the water and I had a great night of camping along the St.lawrence. Price was right to.

I got off to a 9 to 5 early start and noticed my map case was gone as I was riding west.............flew off some where...... so back I tracked a few times and couldn't come up with it. It had some
notes I've been taking for this journal to make the updates a little easier. The other stuff I didn't care so much about.
So I'm at the Glenderry library this afternoon changing some passwords,nothing to important etc. just to cover my bases whilst hoping I would get a random email from a good samaritan who came across a map case. On the upside of it all, there always is. It got me to the Tourist info. center for some  replacement maps and brochures and the gal working there,cute and personable, gave me some great ideas and sites to see along the way on  2 on Lake Ontario and St.Lawrence.Which never would of happened if I hadn't lost my map case.I still can't believe bike paths all the way to Michigan, its sooo good here in Canada. 

ART

waterfronttrail.org      If you would like to check out my next 670k.       Yippeee.

    Just another day riding the Waterfront trail.

May16 Louisville-Montreal

M93.14,T-8:42:44,AVG10.68,El-11.65

My earliest start today,7 am. I'm hoping my theory holds true after seeing all the cathedrals in the picturesque villages along the St.Lawrence that most French Canadians should be in church this morning and I'll have the roads to myself.............at least till noon. Hockey playoffs to were in town, as I noticed the unusual bustling city center as I arrived on the bike. Hockey definetly trumped church for clearing the streets here in Canada for a nice sunday evening ride.

It was my best day by far on the Chemin du Roy,a nice clear cool country morning with the route leaving 138 for a trafficless day and as you can see in the picture above, a sample of the morning ride.

I met some other cyclistes today to which have been few and far between since the beginning of my trip. By all the touring publications I read, websites, and blogs I thought I would be in rider nervana and we would be running into each other. Not the case.

Terry from my neck of the woods, Comox BC, was only on a eastward bound leg of a round the world solo tour. He had some great insights for me on touring and some routes to think about westward bound, which I'm considering.
 Phillip and Morena who I met at a lunch stop (below) were just getting there feet wet in touring with a trek out from Montreal for a couple of days, and loving it,it appeared, as they reeled me in and flew by, as I had left first, youth!! Mark?(I put the ? being I had 4 names to remember that day, a large task.) who I met while floundering with my map. again pointed me in the right direction to the bridge I needed to cross to get to Montreal and he also through in some historical insites as we road along the canal path for a great day of cycling, again.

Phillip and Morena.

Mark,Montreal.

May13-15 Quebec-Sainte Anne de la Perade-Louisville

                              
May13 M-12.59,T-1.33.48,AVG-8.06,El-355. Quebec City
May14 M-70.67,T-6:51:49,AVG-10:29,El-1965 Quebec-SainteAnn de la Perade
May15 M-55.45,T-5:12:51,AVG-10.63,El-440 SainteAnn-Louisville

I left Quebec this morning after a entertaining and memorable evening listening to the 4 Sopranos randomly assembled on the esplanade in old Quebec. A free concert and a good finale as I exited the city and started my ride up the St.Lawrence river to Montreal. The road I'll be traveling on is the Chemin du Roy or some call it the Kings Hiway.  Heres some info. on it.  http://www.lecheminduroy.com/ 
 Today was quite breath taking seeing the St. Lawrence expand into Lac Saint-Pierre. The St.Lawrence is rather large, huge,grand,is it really a river and hard to describe being from my back ground of Washington State rivers. Strait of Juan de Fuca comes to mind as a comparison but it's not a river. With the strait you get the back drop of the Olympics or Vancouver island to help with framing the size. But out here there is no depth of field,nothing on the horizon, to help frame the St. Lawrence.Well worth seeing and one of my must sea's of the ride.

Another good link for some of the great routes I've been riding is http://www.routeverte.com/ over 4000k of designated bicycle paths in Quebec. 

May12 St.Georges-Quebec

Entering Quebec.

M-71.40,T-7:49.39,AVG-9:12,El-1904

Almost there with Quebec in the fore ground.  A great day of riding pristine country roads along   the Chaudiere River Valley which I had all to myself, again.With one last obstacle to go, this challenge in the pic, and I would be in Quebec. A city I always wanted to visit and the scene above happened to be  the end of one of my attempts to finding my way across the St.Lawrence, as I could see my goal.  But I wasn't worried to much as I still had 1 1/2 hours of daylight left. I just stepped back for a minute and read the map and shelved my beeline method of navigation which works the majority of the time.

Across at last whilst floundering with a street map on the corner again when Guy, a local, stopped and asked if I need some assistance.  Of course, I said, giving him the directions to my nights lodging. He bettered the directions and upped it to a lift to the motel as he seen where I needed to go. It was a fine ending to a great day.

This day of riding, beyond my expectations, totally offset my dinner escapade the night before. I always find the first few days in a country or province with a different language challenging or intimidating till I see where my language navigating skills take me or parameters. So anyway I decided to brush up abit on my french right before dinner last night using my 1988 berlitz european phrase book covering 14 languages in 299 pages. Needless to say its not to thorough and it wouldn't of probably made a difference anyway.
 A glass of red wine was going to be my first attempt at french in this fine establishment. Vin rouge pronounced "vang roozh" by berlitz as I practiced in the safety of my hotel room as someone might here me. Finaly the moment came as I walked into the dining area of the Grand hotel. The waitress obviously seen I was language challenged with my American "Bonsoir" a dead giveaway.  "Vin Rouge"my first attempt and then repeatedly to no avail as I could see the young waitress was getting more frustrated the more times I  repeated it, vin rouge, and a tipping point was coming I sensed . Finally one more time, "Vin Rouge" ,and she snapped and marched off then followed by a new waitress who helped me with the universal pointing method as I got my glass of wine finally. She also reccommended the english menu.   

Chaudiere Valley

May 11 Jackman-St.Georges

M-47.1,T-5:16:45,AVG-8.92,El-2581

Another excellent day of riding from Jackman to the border. Even less car traffic then yesterday and I wasn't dissappointed and spotted a moose before I departed Maine.

May 10 Skowhegen-Jackman

M-74.79,T-8:39:21,AVG 8.64,El-4772

A chewy Clif Bar day today with the temperatures hovering around 46 and a slight headwind As the day progressed they slowly worked there way down to a balmy 29. Luckily I had a extra pair of socks I could use as mitts to keep my hands warm and bearable.

What I like about touring.

It was a great day despite the temps and 201 was as I expected.Wide shoulders, sparse traffic and couteous log trucks. From 4 on I was pretty much by myself enjoying the panoramic vistas and fresh blacktop. Things you appreciate on a bike.

May9 Belfast-Skowhegen

May 9

M-64.5,T7:08:07,AVG-9.03,El-3866

Firewood Mountain

A great impovement in the weather today but still cold and blustery with some strong head winds going down the hills so much so I was looking forward to climbing up the next hill which was sheltered from the oncoming wind. I did part of a tour today which was in a book Val gave me  back in Belfast. I bagged the tour after a few miles and instead just road north on 201.Which is the best Hiway I've ridden on so far.Nice wide shoulders and  thigh burning climbs these Maine country roads seem to  have. It was sunday to which helps for low traffic volume though I don't think there will be much traffic the rest of the way to Canada. Only 2 days til "Tim Horton's".

A rare sign.

May8-Bike Shoe!

M-8.81,T-37.52,AVG-10.55,El-214

The ol'steed is now easily identifiable in the corral and this day we  happened to be at the Belfast Co-op on a cool NW rainy day. I was debating on bringing the horseshoe of which I had 4  of them laying around my shop on the bench when the idea came to mind. They must of been remnants of a slower time on Camano Island. Yes, it would add some flavor to the trip but how will I get it on the airplane if I only have a carry on bag. What the heck! I'll give it a shot and hopefully it will skate by the TSA inspector.
 Off goes the shoes, bag on the conveyor belt as I walk through the metal detector watching the TSA scanner employee start to get a one eye open,cocked head, confused look on his face with a slight pause. Questioning what he was seeing on the monitor. Maybe to embarrassed to say anything, I don't know but I was home free shoe and all.
 I took a day off today following yesterdays  Long Haul on my Surly the Cadillac of bikes and a joy to ride. Pick one up from Mark at Stanwood Velo sports today!!

While staying at the Penobscot Inn a warm  friendly establishment I asked Val the proprietor for some route suggestions heading north being I'm winging it with little planning and he obliged with some great suggestions and even bettered that and through in a map and a book he had stashed away in his file cabinet . Yippee for me.... exploremaine.org the map and  Explore Maine by Bike a book with 28 routes which I'll incorporate 3 of them on my trek through Maine to Quebec.
I had the same helpful experience with Noreen the Acadia Park Ranger to offering me up a scenic and quieter route off Desert Island  and some touring tips to being a XC vet  herself,2X at that.