Saint-Nicholas – Quebec City

By Deanna on October 23, 2013 • ( 1 )

Today: 30 km

To date: 6,309 km

To go: 1,490 km

Had a bit of a fright in the middle of the night – well it was probably about 11pm or midnight, but to us tired, weary cyclists, that is the middle of the night. The shocking glare of car headlights blared through the tent and whipped away again with the screech of tires. There was the eery noise of people having too much alcohol assisted fun. Two young men were doing donuts in the parking lot off which we were camped – headlights repeatedly on/off the tent. We were ready to run if they lost control or decided to take their fun onto the lawn, but after a couple of minutes the guys drove off. Survived another close call (maybe a slight exaggeration).

The ride into Quebec City was mostly on bike-only paths. We stopped and took a bit of a bath in the St. Lawrence – although I am sure that water is not particularly clean. First stop was of course in search of food and we ended up on a patio of a cute cafe in Old Quebec City. We of course had a poutine. Yum yum! From there we walked up the incredibly steep hill to the Chateau Frontenac (I do not think I could have ridden this hill!!). While I was pushing my bike to join the throngs of tourists admiring the view, I heard someone calling my name. I saw the owner of the voice and not even a smidgeon of recognition passed through me… uhoh this could be embarrassing. When the man caught up to me, he introduced himself as “Ray” – a fellow cyclist although currently sans bike. Turns out we had been following each other through Facebook and he recognized me & my bike – joyous bike chat ensued. The three of us decided to get lunch (#2) and swap stories. I had the best pizza of my life. Just a simple Magheritta pizza but wow, they sure got the seasoning right!! Ray had to go, so Alex and I ended up at another bike shop….. I cannot remember what for – I think Alex had another creak???

Concluded our day of riding and wandering around with another delicious meal and dessert of course. I mean what is the point of visiting Quebec City if not the food? Sorry to all those history buffs out there – we did vaguely point in the direction of the Plains of Abraham.

We camped back down by the river in a nice patch of brush off the side of the trail! A great hiding spot!