June 2, 2007

It feels kind of good to be back in the United States

I posted log updates from my tent last night before I called it a day. The wonders of technology.

We were unsure of what the riding conditions would be on Route 185. We could hear the traffic from the campground last night and it sounded like there was a lot of truck traffic and it sounded like they were screaming along. Our fears were unfounded as there were long gradual hills on both sides of the intersection where we took a left so the trucks were lumbering up in each direction, thus the noise. The road was smooth, it had good wide debris free shoulders, and it started going up gradually as soon as we got on it. We had light winds at our back and it was crisp and sunny. These are perfect riding conditions and we were able to maintain speeds of 10 to 12 MPH going up the gradual long climb. The scenery as you can see below although different from yesterday was beautiful in its own rite.

Crystal clear pond beside Highway 185"

The elevation gain of about 860 feet over about 24 miles was not very taxing, although there were a number of rolling ups and downs along the way. We made a great decision to stop where we did last night as the next option was close to two and a half hours away.

We took a right on Route 232 which was a sparsely traveled road. It was not in as good condition as Highway 185 but we could ride anywhere on the road to find a sweet line as very few vehicles passed by us in either direction. There was not much in the way of services and about half way across it I mentioned to Denny that if we find a general store I would like to take a snack break. About ten minutes later we came upon one and, as luck would have it the only other bicyclist we saw on this road came up at the same time from the other direction. How does that happen? Here we met Mario who is going to school in Riviere-Du-Loup. He speaks French primarily but does very well in english. He is studying to be an electrician. At least that is how the translation came through. Maybe it’s electrical engineering. I’m not sure. Anyway Mario was out for a ride. He had a backpack which included a nice steak and mashed potatoes lunch that Denny was eyeing closely. We had a nice conversation about cycling and Mario plans to do a Trans Canadian Ride someday. Somehow the conversation got to him having a bike stolen and he mentioned how it was like losing part of yourself. He gets it as it relates to cycling. At the snack break I managed to spend the last of my Canadian money by buying a banana and a Klondike Bar. Actually I was three cents over but I told the girl at the register. “Close enough.”