The Plan.

In planning for this ride I wanted to do another multi week tour. I was thinking about the Pacific Coast but the timing and a trip my wife has planned are in conflict so I needed to stay closer to home. I have had a desire to ride the east coast as well but the length of such a ride made it a problem. So, I decided to ride a northeastern loop from my home in Connecticut north to Canada following a route I have ridden before in reverse. But this time I will also ride in Quebec Province and follow the Saint Lawrence River far enough east to come down into the top of Maine where US 1 begins. From there the route will follow US 1 to the east coast of Maine and along the coast to New Hampshire and then inland through central Massachusetts and back home.

The route looks like this.

In researching the route I was pleasantly surprised to find a website on La Route verte. La Route verte is a network of bicycle routes in Quebec Province. There are paved bike trails, unpaved bike trails, and cycling routes on roads included in La Route verte. Although I plan to only travel on paved trails or roads the website helped in planning the route and gave many options and suggestions for lodging or camping. Since it is an established cycling route like those of the Adventure Cycling Association in the US drivers will be used to seeing those touring on bicycles (or should I say ”le velo”).

This is to be a self contained tour. This means that there are no sag wagons. A sag wagon is a vehicle to carry gear and offer support when necessary. All creature comforts are carried on the bike including camping and cooking equipment, and cycling and camp clothing. I also carry a laptop to write my log and a bunch of electronic stuff that adds about ten pounds to my load. With some food and water the load weight will probably be between forty five to fifty five pounds. I ride with panniers to carry the stuff. In the past I have used just rear panniers and a small front bag but I have found that everything had to be packed just right to fit each day and this was taking a lot of time each morning before roll out. This time I will add a low riding front rack and panniers.

As far as sleeping and eating the plan is mostly camping and some cooking (but nothing fancy). Mostly camping to me means camping when the weather is good or if the weather is bad and there is not an option. You tend to meet more people when camping and a big part of bicycle touring is the people you meet along the way. Also the freshness of being outside is invigorating. Some cooking means to me making some oatmeal for breakfast and a heavy carbohydrate dinner when arriving in camp. On the road meals consist of second breakfast, lunch, and snack breaks at cafés, diners, restaurants, convenience stores, or whatever.

Its good to have a plan.

To complete this trip in the allotted time, which is about three weeks and a few days, the average daily mileage needs to be around seventy. Seventy miles a day average means that most days will be in the sixty to seventy mile range. Some days will be forty to fifty miles but a few will be eighty to near one hundred. There are a couple of hard days in the beginning and then things settle down. Most touring cyclists whose logs I have read ride around fifty to sixty miles a day at an average speed of ten to twelve miles an hour. The plan for this trip is an average speed of twelve to fourteen miles an hour. This computes to an average daily saddle time of around five and a half hours. This allows plenty of time each day for smelling the roses and attending to all the trip related chores. The trip allows for a couple of days off: One probably in Quebec City and one probably on the Maine coast.

I have researched the weather in Quebec in early June and while the temperatures can be cooler than in the summer the daytime averages are perfect for cycling. Average rainfall is no more than in the summer. Winds in the northeast generally are from the southwest to the northeast. Averages are just that, averages. When cycle touring the weather will be what it is, and unless safety is a factor one just rides.

Jim