East Coast

Cabano, Quebec...never heard of this little town before but we are enjoying our day off here. A campsite by the lake, pub down the road and live bands playing in the park on Wed nights...how much better can it get?
We've been cycling with the wind for the past few days and this riding thing is getting very easy, from Quebec to Riviere du loup was a quick 2 hour ride...then we turned South and got slapped back into reality. La Route Vert had us cycling along the Saint Laurence river looking across at old Quebec, a very busy path but cycling friendly and very scenic! Once in Riviere du loup la route vert turned into gravel so we quickly re routed onto the trans Canada (hwy 185)...we've been spoiled on the roads of Quebec and getting back onto the highway took us back to the prairie days and northern Ontario.
The days are running out on our trip, we are actually on the east coast! the next 2 weeks will be exciting, lots of provinces still to cycle through and tonnes to see!

La Belle Province - Quebec!

OK...I had this big long rant about how the winds in Canada are always against us and this prevailing winds thing (west to east) was a farce...until today...today I take that all back. It's still up for discussion but today we had N/W winds at our backs and were cycling at 35 to 38km/h. We got from Trois Rivieres to Quebec City in record time. Following hwy 138 (la route vert) along the north side of the Saint Laurence river was amazing, all the little towns were very unique with their old architectural buildings and big churches. We have been talking french to each other around the camp fire...Which I did get started on the first try last night....thank you....thank you! We have voted the cycling route in Quebec to be the best so far, a lot of designated lanes for bikes without the transport trucks flying by....sorry Alberta, Quebec's in the lead now.
We will tour around Quebec this afternoon and then head across the river tomorrow. I think there is a MEC in Quebec that I have not been to yet!!

Thank You Ontario!

Yes it is true, we have completed Ontario! We will be crossing over into Quebec today from Hawkesbury and Heading to Montreal. This Route Vert in Quebec seems to be very popular for cyclists! I think we will be staying on it for the most part. We had quite a day in Ottawa, a very scenic ride along the parkway, then up to the Parliament buildings to get a few pictures, down Sussex drive and out the east side on the rockcliff parkway. What we thought was a 106km day ended up being 133km, we took some side roads to stay off hwy 174 (17), it was a little busy and road conditions weren't very good.
So we tackle Quebec for about a week, we are still looking up the word tent in french, but I think we might be able to squeak by with all of our combined education.

On the road again

Well, we decided to continue, not like there was an alternative. Very slow & sluggish after 2 days back in the saddle, Junetoberfest has to be the main reason, and all the drinks we were forced to consume!
Got up to North Bay at 11:00 on Monday and ended up doing 138km to Driftwood Provincial Park. Maybe we should have eased back into this cycling thing! a nice campsite right on the water and we were able to take a swim after our ride. Today we got to Cobden...what?? you don't know where that is? a small town along hwy 17 with a campsite at the information centre, right downtown!
We will roll into Ottawa tomorrow, but it better not be a long day as the birthday girl needs to have some of the day not on the bike.
After that it's only 1 day left in Ontario...

Stage 1 - complete

So after 44 days on the road we made it from Vancouver BC to North Bay ON (Stage 1). We are taking a short 5 day break right now and will continue the ride next Monday. Relaxing a bit in Muskoka and then some repairs and reloading for the second stage. Junetoberfest should be interesting this year, as we have not been practicing at all. Go team chesnut brown!!
More updates to come and our East coast route soon.

Pushing on

We've been following the shores of lake Superior for a week and every turn is a breathtaking scene, and now it's Lake Huron! Every time I've been through these areas it's been in a vehicle at 100km/h...it's such a beautiful place at biking speed.
We got to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday afternoon after staying at a beautiful beach side campsite at Agawa Bay. The fog that rolled in and covered the sky seemed fake and made the waves of Lake Superior look eerie...kinda cool! One of the best campsites we've stayed at.
Our day off in the Soo was relaxing, got to watch some Tour de France, take in some lunch by the water and catch up with some old friends.
Back on the bike Sunday morning with Algoma Mills as our destination. 153km ride with the wind in our face the whole way...no matter what direction we biked it seemed to follow us. We still made good time but we have a 5 day rest ahead of us so I think that is driving us to power forward.
We have seen many other bikers on the road (a lot more in Northern Ontario in the past few weeks), a lot of riders cycling for charities. A group of 4 cycling for inpatient care for cancer patients, a solo rider raising money for people with brain injuries, another group of 3 riding from Van to NY raising money for 3 different charities....it's like its own little world out here. i find it interesting to follow their stories as they cycling along (links are posted on the side if you wish to have a look).
I will post the schedule for the East coast in a few days and update our totals...until then we have another 150km to get to Sudbury tomorrow and then 130km to get to North Bay on Tuesday!

Wawa!

Well, we made it to Wawa today...home of the big goose! Cycling in Northern Ontario has been a fantastic experience. The traffic has been very courteous to us, swinging wide when passing and a few honking fans, even some picture takers! I think the yellow vests mark us from a mile away! The weather has been very good to us the past few days, sunny and hot (and humid...good ol Ontario). Apart from the lack of Bulk Barns in the past few towns (Nipigon, Terrace Bay, Wawa) I think we are surviving quite well, the support crew is finding every deal in every grocery store along the way and we are eating some good meals.
The bikes are holding up to their tasks, but we have fired our mechanic and will try to find someone who knows how to adjust derailleurs properly in the next small town (so anyone in Agawa Bay who's looking for a job...)
We might have cell reception in the up and coming days, internet on the other hand has not reached the north yet!! (HAHA)
Cycling strong and loving the adventure!

Ontario North

The trek continues...finally we hit the Ontario border this past week. We were thankfull to leave the mosquitos behind and take on the beautiful lakes of Northern Ontario. The weather has been kind to us, nothing we can't handle. Cycling into Thunder.....Thunder......Thunder Bay!! we had nothing but sun and +30 temp (with humidity...of course). Taking refuge at a resort...Chez Sargents sure feels like it, we have the day to rest and recoup.
In the week prior we had one of our toughest days on the road...now you would think that the winds of the flat prairies would get the best of us but it was actually Northern Ontario that affected us the most. The winds were blowing south/west that day...and wouldn't you know it so were we! Not the happiest times of our lives. We pushed through the 102km day and were glad to see the campground that evening. We check the wind direction every night and morning hoping that it will be in our favour (a huge difference cycling at 32km/h rather than 17km/h)
We have 1 week to get to Sault Ste Marie and then we will push 3 x 150km days to finish phase 1 of the trip in North Bay. Phase 2 will commense after a short break (Junetoberfest) and start back up in North Bay on July 19th.