Inching Forward

Waiting for the Ferry to take us across the St. Lawrence from Quebec City

We have said farewell to Quebec City.  While we were there, it may have been rainy and cold, but the city itself is truly a fantastic place to visit.  Fascinating from a historical aspect, fun from a uniquely Quebecois (Quebecian) cultural aspect, engaging from an architectural aspect, and the restaurants and bars are endless and scrumptious! We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, despite the weather!  I even started a new book, The Company by Stephen Bown, which chronicles the rise and fall of the Hudson’s Bay Empire. I love reading about the history of places I travel through; it gives the book and the journey so much more meaning!

Looking across the St. Lawrence

We decided to head out today as we

A small town along the St. Lawrence

see that the weather has a three day hold on the rain.  Unfortunately, however, the winter weather is still hanging tough.  We woke to blustery winds causing the 43 degree weather to feel like it was 33 degrees!  The sky was overcast and winter-gray.  Call us crazy, but we decided to brave it all and push forward.  Our goal:  A town on the southeastern shore of the St. Lawrence, 37 miles downriver, called Montmagny.  37 miles shouldn’t be a problem!  Except that wind…you know, the one causing the temperatures to feel so cold? It was blowing constantly at 15-30 mph directly at us from the northeast.  That meant our pace for the day was a wild 8.9 mph on average! However,  I noted a number of times when the wind combined with a hill climb caused my speed to drop to a mere 4.7mph! 

The route we took was a continuation of the King’s Road but goes by the name La Route Vert (the green route.)  It is part of a large network of cycling trails - indeed the longest! - in North America! Our section today hugged the southeastern shore of the St. Lawrence, and cut through some beautiful farmland and quaint towns established in the 17th and 18th centuries, with some original homes and buildings still standing.  We will continue this trend for the next two days, with the terrain becoming a bit more wild and hilly as we inch closer to the northern Appalachians beginning to make an appearance on the distant horizon.