Day 43: Trois-Riveres to Quebec City

Distance: 141km

Total distance: 5419km

Average speed: 23.6km/h

Weather: sunny

After staying up watching TV with Sylvie, I didn't wake up until 10, making today win the award for the laziest start! Richard was ever so nice to ride out with me to the highway, even showing me a way to avoid some hills! Thank goodness it's gotten a lot cooler but somehow the wind was all over the place today. I guess the Montreal to Quebec ride must be a super popular one because there were so many cyclists out and about. I even had signs from the Ride to Conquer guiding me pretty much the whole way. After 40km I stopped at the the neat little visitor centre in Sainte Anne de la Perade and learned about the huge fishing here in the winter. I was in no rush to leave and even took a nap on a bench right by the praying for the headwind to end. It must have worked because I had mostly a tailwind in the afternoon. The kilometer signs to Quebec became smaller and smaller and as I entered the outskirts and I almost had tears in my eyes. I decided to go see downtown before checking in at the university. Riding to the Plains of Abraham I came upon the heart of Quebec and immediately fell in love with the city. There were a million things going on with the Festival d'ete and many people lined the lively streets. Old Quebec is absolutely gorgeous with the fortification walls and hundreds of years old buildings, even more so when lit up at night. I walked up and around in complete amazement at everything, until as luck would have it came upon a Chez Ashton. What better way to celebrate the finale than another poutine? It was almost 10 when I biked back to Laval University and I ran into Annie just as I rounded the corner at the residences. After sorting out my room we went for a short walk around campus catching up until almost midnight.

As it turns out, I didn't die of exhaustion, get eaten by a bear, or ever get caught in any remotely dangerous situations. When you think about it, 43 days is really insignificant in the grand scale of a lifetime, and yet it has given me the most rich and memorable experience of my life. It's unbelievable that I managed to go across the country camping only for 6 days. Thank you to the numerous individuals who opened their hearts to let me stay in their home, feed me wonderful food, give the most helpful advice and help at a time of mishap; to the drivers who waved and gave me lots of room everyday; to the friendly passerbys who took a moment to stop and chat. Canada is such a beautiful and diverse country and I would not have chosen to explore it any other way.

Some stats from the trip:

Grand distance: 4519km

Days biking: 42 (including 3 days around Ottawa)

Average per day: 130km

Longest day: 244km

Shortest day: 16km 

Coldest place: Lake Louise (-5 degrees at night) although I was definitely the coldest the day riding into Thunder Bay

Warmest place: Ottawa (40 degrees with the humidity)

Favourite spots: the Selkirks and Rockies, Lake Superior, Ottawa, Montreal and now Quebec City

Animals encountered: big horn sheep, deer, antelope, gophers, foxes, squirrels, many birds, moose, bear, and all sorts of road kill imaginable (turtles, snacks, frogs, porcupines and even a dead bear)

I will continue to post stories from the very different lifestyles of the next few weeks. Here's to a lifetime of memories and stay tuned for Tour de Poutine round 2 when I will finish the rest of Canada. Ride on!