Les dieux du vent en jeu (The wind gods at play)

The pace of a bike is truly an amazing thing.  The distance from Quebec City to Riviere-du-Loup, where we are staying tonight, is a mere three hour road trip by car (two hours by freeway).  Yet, it has taken us three DAYS by bicycle…three tough days, as we battled the head winds and wound from town to town. We feel we really got to experience this little corner of Quebec! 

The winds picking up

The morning dawned with the promise of some sun.  We, in fact, enjoyed some sun and blue sky for the first hour of our ride and a fantastic ride along the river bank, which felt and looked more like an ocean coastline! And then, the wind gods had their way with us.  We had to cross some flat open farm landscapes for the next miles and the sun chose to leave us, while the winds bore down out of the northeast - the direction we were heading. The chill was penetrating despite the down jacket, gloves, booties, head scarf and hood.  Our pace slowed to a maddening crawl, our legs pumping furiously - our arms straining to hold the bike in line.  This lasted a good hour or more until we made it to a small town where trees and houses broke the wind enough to allow us a much needed stop at a small quaint bistro and coffee shop.  I don’t think I have ever had such a good cup of coffee!

A moody sky  

Once we warmed up a bit, we pushed forward, the wind gods still playing their mean game.  Andy had the great idea to play some music via our little portable speakers we recently purchased, to keep our minds off the drudgery and lift our spirits.  It was such a good idea, as it did exactly that!I also think it appeased the wind gods, because after a few miles, the winds lessened to no more than a gentle breeze and all of a sudden, we were sailing on our bikes - our wind-strengthened leg muscles taking us effortlessly the rest of the way to Riviere-du-Loup, the northernmost point of our Canadian trek. 

We will stay here a couple of days as rain and strong winds are expected from a Nor’easter storm that is moving up from New England and is expected to hit here tomorrow and Saturday.