Day 57 – Nor’Easter (Riviere Ouelle, QC – Trois Pistoles, QC)

Looking at the cue sheet last night we figured that we were in for a relatively easy day – 72 miles of flat terrain, with a bakery at mile 20 and a micro-brewery at mile 25.

Fresh Baked Bread

Upon leaving the shelter of the campsite this morning, we realized that we were in for quite a different day. Overnight, the wind had shifted from a tailwind to a semi-classic Nor’easter blowing from 15 – 25 mph, with higher gusts, directly into our faces. The semi-classic part was that we thankfully did not get the driving rain that usually comes with a Nor’easter. Serge, P-A and I grouped together to ride in a pace-line, sharing the effort at the front. After a relatively easy pace for the first 20 miles, we stopped at a bakery in Kamouraska that one of the riders (Marc) had recommended. We were not disappointed, and it was the first “European” bakery that I had seen after over 4,800 miles of riding. The smell alone was worth the stop, but the almond and chocolate croissants (one of each) were even better.

Granite Islands in the Saint Lawrence River

After our 2nd breakfast, we headed back out on the road, and into the wind. The scenery today was spectacular, flat farmland with granite protrusions popping up out of nowhere.

A short ride up the road and it was time for our 2nd stop, just before 10:00 AM. Two other riders (Tom and Randy) had toured in the area previously, and insisted that we stop at a micro-brewery and order their sample pack.

After 25 miles of riding into the wind, our electrolytes needed to be rebalanced so we followed their recommendation – the beers were brewed in a Belgian style, and quite interesting, a blonde, a white with raspberry, a rose, a brown and a cabernet sauvignon. Our electrolytes in balance once again, we headed up-wind.

Headwinds!!!

After stopping for lunch at Tim Horton’s in Rimouski, we headed out once again into very strong (20+mph) headwinds, and threatening foggy weather. Since I had plenty of energy, I took more than my share at the front and pulled at a good pace (16+mph) for more than half of the remaining 30 miles into camp. We arrived shortly after 3PM and got to set up our tents in dry, buy very windy weather.

All in all one of the tougher days of the tour so far – in effect it was the equivalent of a 70 mile hill climb. On the positive side, it was not raining and it strengthened our legs for the climbs on Cape Breton Island.

It is hard to imagine that we only have 2 weeks of riding left before it all comes to an end in Newfoundland.