Saturday, August 27, 2005
Day 61 – Distance: 147.07 km
Quebec City to Riviere Ouelle, QC
I didn’t sleep too well, partly due to too much coffee the night before, and partly because I was fretting about finding my way from the campsite onto Hwy 132. I should have asked the day before at the camp office, but you know what they say about hindsight.
In any event, I was up before 6:30, and had one of my typical breakfasts of instant porridge (only this time I could enjoy toast as well). At 8:00 a.m. I called sister Joan, to wish her well on the day of her only daughter’s wedding. We managed small talk for a bit, but ended up both crying our eyes out before the call was ended. I so much wanted to be there, and it was obvious she wanted the same.
Cam showed me on the map how to find Hwy 132, and I loaded up my bike and headed off. Jean volunteered to stay with me until I got onto the right route (support person right to the end), and we did indeed find it easily –especially since we had more maps from the front office. I was really tickled, once she left me, to find there was a bike path on the opposite side of the highway which led the way past some construction and traffic obstacles I had been fretting about. I celebrated with an iced cappuccino from Tim Horton’s, and carried on for a perfect biking day. Scenery on the south side of the St Lawrence was good, especially in the sections where the Laurentian mountains were visible on the north side of the river, and the Appalachians on the south. At about 12:30 I passed a bride coming out of her home, so I cheered her out loud. That also cheered me up considerable. I kept looking at my watch and figuring out what would be going on in the Holland Marsh. Then I passed through the village of Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies Moulin, and noticed a sign welcoming people to visit the church. I thought “why not”, knowing Cam was still behind me and not likely to be looking for me. It was a lovely building, and I sat down on the back pew. Music started playing and I was delighted to recognize Mozart’s “Ave Verum”. I thought it could be for a wedding, and then I glanced down at my watch. It was just 3:00 p.m.! I burst into tears all over again – the priest sitting at the back must have wondered what was going on. Anyway, I felt I celebrated Sarah and Reuben’s wedding in a very beautiful way. I hope they’ll approve.
The shoulders on 132 stopped about 20 km from my destination, but traffic for the most part wasn’t bad. The worst event came just as I started into Riviere Ouelle, as a bee managed to get between my face and sunglasses, and stung me twice before I got my glasses off. Luckily my eye is only slightly swollen; hopefully it won’t get worse during the night.
Cam arrived at the campsite just a bit later than I did; after he set up the camper we drove back down to the river to watch the sun set. A beautiful ending indeed.
Quebec City to Riviere Ouelle, QC
I didn’t sleep too well, partly due to too much coffee the night before, and partly because I was fretting about finding my way from the campsite onto Hwy 132. I should have asked the day before at the camp office, but you know what they say about hindsight.
In any event, I was up before 6:30, and had one of my typical breakfasts of instant porridge (only this time I could enjoy toast as well). At 8:00 a.m. I called sister Joan, to wish her well on the day of her only daughter’s wedding. We managed small talk for a bit, but ended up both crying our eyes out before the call was ended. I so much wanted to be there, and it was obvious she wanted the same.
Cam showed me on the map how to find Hwy 132, and I loaded up my bike and headed off. Jean volunteered to stay with me until I got onto the right route (support person right to the end), and we did indeed find it easily –especially since we had more maps from the front office. I was really tickled, once she left me, to find there was a bike path on the opposite side of the highway which led the way past some construction and traffic obstacles I had been fretting about. I celebrated with an iced cappuccino from Tim Horton’s, and carried on for a perfect biking day. Scenery on the south side of the St Lawrence was good, especially in the sections where the Laurentian mountains were visible on the north side of the river, and the Appalachians on the south. At about 12:30 I passed a bride coming out of her home, so I cheered her out loud. That also cheered me up considerable. I kept looking at my watch and figuring out what would be going on in the Holland Marsh. Then I passed through the village of Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies Moulin, and noticed a sign welcoming people to visit the church. I thought “why not”, knowing Cam was still behind me and not likely to be looking for me. It was a lovely building, and I sat down on the back pew. Music started playing and I was delighted to recognize Mozart’s “Ave Verum”. I thought it could be for a wedding, and then I glanced down at my watch. It was just 3:00 p.m.! I burst into tears all over again – the priest sitting at the back must have wondered what was going on. Anyway, I felt I celebrated Sarah and Reuben’s wedding in a very beautiful way. I hope they’ll approve.
The shoulders on 132 stopped about 20 km from my destination, but traffic for the most part wasn’t bad. The worst event came just as I started into Riviere Ouelle, as a bee managed to get between my face and sunglasses, and stung me twice before I got my glasses off. Luckily my eye is only slightly swollen; hopefully it won’t get worse during the night.
Cam arrived at the campsite just a bit later than I did; after he set up the camper we drove back down to the river to watch the sun set. A beautiful ending indeed.
posted by BikingBabe at 2:18 PM
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