Montreal to Moncton: soggy days and overdoing it

Leaving the cultural metropolis of Montreal, I headed north along the St Laurence river in the direction of Quebec city.

As much as I love visiting a city and experiencing its vibrant diversity, for me it will always be just that - a visit. I'm a country girl at heart, and I think I will always prefer to spend time drifting through the countryside, enjoying peaceful country lanes and lush green vistas. And Québec, I'm pleased to say, has these in abundance.

My route along the riverfront was a wonderful, relaxed reintroduction to cycling after nearly two weeks of inactivity. The province caters very well for the growing numbers of recreational cyclists, with an extensive network of cycle paths and routes that are well marked out, collectively known as 'La Route Verte'.

I passed through small riverside villages and plenty of farmland with lots of 'pick your own' fruit fields, many people taking advantage of the just-ripe strawberries.

Trois-Rivieres was a great stop for the night, conveniently situated halfway between Montréal and Québec city. I stayed with David and Marie-eve, friends of a Warmshowers host who was away working in the northern territories, so she managed to hook me up with this great pair instead. A wonderful evening of pasta, hunting for a good gelateria and a wee bonfire; nothing like a ceremonial burning of schoolwork to mark the start of the summer break...Marie-eve is a primary school teacher.

Towards Quebec city, the road began to undulate more, and upon entering the city itself had some real belters of hills, the kind that sneak up on you out of nowhere and just love to surprise you! One in particular is etched in my memory, the road turned to the left and suddenly there was a huge grey wall in front of me... And once I'd started I was not stopping, unclipping would have been fatal and would definitely have resulted in my falling off...no no, it was a real crawl job, trying to keep some weight on the front wheel to stop me from keeling backwards (one of the few times I regret not having front panniers to even the weight distribution on my bicycle).

I let out a few choice swear words towards the top, which a roadie chuckled at as he glides past me, his lightweight, built-for-speed carbon road bike glinting smugly as it sauntered along effortlessly...I could only glower at his back in reply. BUT the important thing was that I made it to the top - Go Team Tourer!!

Rooftop view of Quebec city

July rolled in incredibly wet and windy, so my host very kindly offered to let me stay an extra night to avoid cycling in the dismal weather. Marc-Andre (a fellow tourer and keen photographer) was a fantastic host, giving me tips on places to sightsee, and lent me an umbrella, which proved invaluable on this very soggy Canada day. I wandered the streets of this beautiful city, dodging slow tourists and enjoying the surprise extra rest day.

Soggy wanderings

Issues with taking pictures in the rain!

I continued up the St Laurence river and then into  New Brunswick, and made it as far as Grand Falls in a couple more days. However the huge increase in mileage after two weeks of inactivity was clearly not the best of plans (I'd done roughly four hundred miles in four days), and I woke up the next day to my calf throbbing and painful - strained muscle!

Stopping in Grand Falls

So I made an executive decision. I felt guilty doing it, but I am now glad that I did - for once I can look back in hindsight and know I made the right choice for me in the circumstances...brace yourselves everyone... I caught a bus!

I know the purists will really slate me for this, but in this instance (I have a flight prebooked for my return to the UK) I have a clear deadline that is fast approaching, along with a dwindling bank balance...my logic was that I could spend a day resting my leg while still moving forward, and could be with my relatives in New Brunswick by the end of the day, allowing a further rest day to heal and reevaluate my plan.

Admitting this has been hard if I'm honest! I really wrestled with the idea to hop on public transport, and I almost feel like someone justifying why they've eaten something unhealthy while they're meant to be on a diet (something that I'm fairly well practiced at, although in my eyes, there is never any need to justify enjoying ice cream) but hey it's out there now! I've accepted that this has been just another part of my adventure that happened for a reason, and it's made me thankful that I had relatives close by who could take me in for an extra day.

So I've spent a couple of days in Moncton with Andrew, Karen, Mark and Meghan. It's been lovely getting to know them all, and spending time stretching and planning, as well as fitting in a few sightseeing trips. The drive down to the Bay of Fundy was an amazing experience, walking on the ocean floor and then watching the tide gush in and rise up by 35 feet! Low tide was also great for the geologist in me...reminded me of many a field trip getting up close and personal with coastal bedrock.

At Ribfest - Moncton

I also got the chance to eat freshly caught Atlantic lobster, woah that was delicious yet messy!

My calf has improved greatly, and I've sorted out my timings on the road to accommodate for a slower return to the big miles. I'm better prepared, and all set to head off again. Last few weeks left on the road!

AT THE SEASIDE!!!!