Day 91: Magog, QC -> Victoriaville, QC

Date: Monday, August 14, 2023
Start: Magog, QC (Staying with family)
End: Victoriaville, QC (Camping Plage des Sables)
Distance: 139km

We woke in Magog and I immediately set about trying to complete some blog posts.  The morning was sunny and despite the forecast telling us it was possibly going to rain...there was no sign of it!  My mother went to get bagels for breakfast and put a quiche in the oven.  We all ate breakfast and started to pack.  I kept pushing to get blog posts done.  I was only a few days behind and REALLY wanted to catch up before leaving Magog...but it wasn't going to happen.

At some point I put the laptop away and packed up.  It was time to go.  Rain was in the forecast for the next few days and if we had the possibility of nice weather we should use it for biking.  I desperately wanted to stay another day to catch up on blogging.  But truthfully I think if I'd stayed another day I would have had trouble leaving again.  With a heavy heart...I packed my bags and got ready to leave.  My mother had made us some home made energy bars and I'm forever grateful to her for this.  These things are always great snacks and can be used to get extra distance in the day!

We said goodbye to my mother (dad had flown out earlier that morning from Montreal...we said goodbye the night before).  Thanks again to both of them for hosting and all the support and love!

We biked away.  It was just past 10:40am.  A very late start! (my fault).  I felt that hollowness in my chest as I left behind another special person and another place that felt like home.

Through Magog on bike paths we rejoined La Route Verte for Sherbrooke, Quebec.  The pathways were mostly gravel with some ups and down, but I'd biked them before and they were all familiar.  They follow the Magog River into Sherbrooke and pass through many wonderful forests and past lakeside cottages.

In Sherbrooke we stopped at an old train station that has been converted into little shops.  We were meeting my sister Becky for lunch as we passed through town.  She had just arrived and we ordered some sandwiches and enjoyed the cool afternoon air.  She had also brought us some snacks for the ride: apples, bananas, and trail mix!  We had lunch and chatted about the trip.  I spent some time playing with my niece as I wouldn't see her again for a while.

At some point we said goodbye.  It was a tough one.  I wished I could stay longer.  Thank you Beck for meeting us and for lunch!  I'll be home soon enough!

The old familiar pain of parting, we biked away.  So ends the portion of the trip where I stop every day or two to visit with someone else I haven't seen in a while.  The Southern Ontario and Quebec reunion tour is now at an end.  The next visit will not be until PEI in almost two weeks.  It's back to long distance cycling and crossing Canada by bike agian!

We took La Route Verte out of Sherbrooke, but in urban areas it winds its way through streets and pathways and can take forever.  Sure enough, that's what it did here.  We were routed around the old part of Sherbrooke which I had wanted to see again, so were denied the cobblestone streets of the city of my birth.

Riding out of town was also surprisingly hilly.  We went up and down for quite a while as we rounded corner after corner trying to get out of town.  Eventually we did, and followed the St. Frances River out of Sherbrooke.

Through Brompton we were on gravel and dirt paths.  They were pleasant enough, but slower going.  We took them to Windsor, Quebec and reached a wet section of the trail with lots of mud.  At the first chance we had, we got onto a local road.  It was too slow going and we still had to get 100km to Victoriaville and it was past 2pm.  The sunsets are earlier now, and we would be pushing it to get done in time!

On local roads we enjoyed some scenic river views.

After Windsor we road into Richmond, Quebec.  Skipper pointed out some dark clouds ahead and noted that it looked like it was raining ahead.  Not one minute later it started raining.  We stopped and put on our rain jackets.  Skipper predicted that putting the jackets on would mean the rain stopping almost immediately.  We biked into town and were pretty damp.  The town was drenched.  Best guess is we just caught the end of it.  We stopped in town and took the jackets off as the rain had stopped.  It had only lasted minutes.  Skipper had been right!

It was 4pm and we still had 60km to the campground.  This would mean at least 3 hours of cycling, likely more with stops or hills.  Sunset is now somewhere just after 8pm.  We opted to take the highway to Victoriaville to ensure that we could get there.  Speeds on paved roads are always faster than on gravel paths whose condition can be pretty bad.

Except if there are hills on the highway.  And Highway 116 out of Richmond started with a steady climb that lasted for 10km.  It was grinding.  My knees ached and I knew this was a sure sign that I'd been doing lots of climbing over the day!  It took about 40 minutes to make it over the hill and we were rewarded with a wonderful downhill into Danville, Quebec.  At one point I coasted at 30km/h for 5km without pedaling.  It was a nice payoff for the climb.  After Danville we left The Eastern Townships and entered an area known as Centre-du-Quebec (not the geographic centre...more economically and population wise).

From here I kept up a steady and aggressive pace to try to get to the campground.  The clouds had passed over and we were treated to some golden hour that lit up the pastoral landscape with majesty and beauty.

We entered Victoriaville and realized the campground was on the other side of the town.  This meant another 6km.  We pushed on.

We reached the campground at around 7:30pm.  We registered, found our site, made camp, and showered.  By the time we were done all of this, it was dark.  A fellow camper happened to be on a little tour and came up to exchange notes with us.  She had rode from Quebec City that day and was headed to Sherbrooke.  I recommended she take the highway as the pathways were not in great shape.  She told us we would enjoy 40km of paved paths into Quebec City.  The entire conversation had been in French and I felt proud that I'd managed to hold my own in French again!  She was also very patient with me, so kudos to her.

As we ate in the dark with headlamps a family arrived in the site next to us.  Some of the kids took an interest in us and asked to see our tents and asked questions about our trip.  We happily obliged, have to plant the seeds for a future cycle tour I no doubt believe they'll one day take!

It was supposed to rain overnight, but the forecast had changed.  It wasn't happening anymore.  We were happy for it, and the rain that had been predicted the next day was also magically gone.  The hills of the day were really tiring though.  We'd done just shy of 1000 meters of elevation and were feeling it!  We fell asleep with the promise of staying dry for at least one more day...

So ends the reunion portion of the bike trip.  Southern Ontario and Quebec has meant so many happy reunions.  So many difficult goodbyes that had to end with "Until next time" as we had no idea when we'd see one another again.  A big reason I chose to do this trip was to visit and reconnect with so many of you.  Having that big portion of it behind me felt bittersweet.  I'd looked forward to it for so long, and now it was done.  I'm sure I'll see you all when you bike across Canada and drop in to see me.  The reunion chapter of the trip is over.  Time to return to our "bike across Canada" itinerary!  Thank you all for the support, love, and hosting.  I already miss every one of you.