Gordon: We lose weight on many days when we are touring, but then there are the days when we have poutine for breakfast. Today was one of those days. On the recommendation of the Tourist Office, we went to a popular local restaurant for second breakfast around 10 am. We were hungry, so the "poutine du matin", which frequentply appears on menus, was very appealing. ...
Ruth: A new chapter of our trip began when we took the ferry across the St. Laurence from Quebec City. We are now heading up to the Gaspé peninsula through beautiful towns and countryside. Just mentioning the word Gaspé terrifies and excites me. All conversations include praise for the beauty and warnings about the hills. We have had a few tastes of rural Quebec roads ...
Ruth: Tonight will be our third night within the walls of city of Quebec. This is definitely the closest Canada comes to being European, and yet we are still very much in the new world. Bear skin rugs, and signs for poutine, remind us of that. I think that long-distance cyclists and marathon runners are really the only people who can safely consume poutine. "Rest" ...
Ruth: With all the beautiful places in Quebec, Gord wanted to go to Asbestos. Not one to deny him this dream, we spent much of the day taking side roads up to the giant town-swallowing hole. I am not exaggerating, the rock seam they were mining ran towards town and as the hole grew they had to move or abandon much of the town. In ...
Ruth: The towns and countryside of the Eastern Townships are so pretty. Today we left the flat riding behind as we cycled up into Mont Orford National Park. We have been following the Route Verte # 1 right from Montreal. Today it swung us up through the park from Eastman taking us on a much longer and scenic route to Magog. From Magog we decided ...
Gordon: We spent three busy but very enjoyable nights in Montreal with Ruth's cousin Rod and his wife Elena. They put their time and detailed knowledge of Montreal at our disposal, providing us with an outstanding opportunity to visit and learn about the city. They were also very entertaining.When it came time to leave Montreal, we had to choose between three Route Verte to get ...
Ruth: Our ride into Montreal was blissful after our previous day. Most of the route was on bike paths or bike lanes right into Montreal. We are spending three nights with my cousins in Montreal West so we can look around and reconnect. They are both passionate about Montreal and history, so for our first day we requested a historical tour. We started the day at ...
Ruth: We planned on a long day today so that tomorrow's ride into Montreal would be easier. The first 40 Kms were beautiful. The Long Sault Parkway enroute to Cornwall links the chain of islands that were created when the area was flooded for the Saint Laurence Seaway in the late 1950s. Over 6,000 people and their houses and businesses were relocated. Below is a ...
Ruth: I loved Kingston and our visit with Gord's cousin Brittany, her partner Emeric and their new baby Madeline. Kingston certainly has some amazing "Castles." After Kingston we paralleled the Thousand Islands where high water levels threatened many of the islet homes. Gordon: The cycle trip from Toronto to Montreal is generally done from west to east to take advantage of the prevailing winds. We did ...
The three day ride between Port Hope and Kingston was lovely and varied. We spent a lot of the last few days riding by monster houses set on lots that you would need all day with a rider mower to mow, that is, if you actually had to mow your own lawn. This is Loyalist country where the Union Jack is flying in the many ...