The Return of the Distinctive Sound

As mentioned in yesterday’s update, today was to be the day I cycle into Baie-Comeau. When I went to bed last night I had decided that tomorrow (ie. today) I was going to make limited progress towards the end goal and instead make it just a leisurely day. You can probably imagine how well that went.

So, it was another rainy night and the rain the continued into the morning hours. When I woke up at 5:30, it was raining. When I woke up at 6:00, it was raining. 6:30, rain. I started to contemplate re-working my plan for the day and even considered just spending an extra day at my current spot. Well, when I woke up again at 7:30 the pitter-patter sounds of rain on the tent had finally been silenced. I might get some cycling in after all.

When I got out of my tent it was chilly and overcast. It did not look like a promising day for a long ride. So, I decided to make my goal for the day the campsite in Baie-Comeau – which I believed to be just up the road (yeah, there’s a bit of foreshadowing going on there). In between here and there I decided to tour around the area – despite the less than ideal weather.

The early morning rain delayed my departure but I was finally packed up and on the road by around 11:30. My first stop was to be Pointe-aux-Outardes (note to self: look up what an “Outardes” is). It was about a 10km detour to get there but as this was to be a leisurely “day off” I carried on. I’ve been asked a few times now how I’m enjoying all this cycling. Well, I guess I must be enjoying it since on my “day off” I planned on more cycling. I take that as a good sign.

I reached Pointe-aux-Outardes by 12:15. 13.76km from the campsite. There’s a nature park there that I was going to check out and that’s when it happened. That distinctive sound from the past. I had flashbacks of my Portneuf experience. The actual event was much different but the result was the same. I was actually just pedalling along VERY slowly, trying to decide what to do next. Well, the answer to that suddenly became obvious – I’d be fixing a broken spoke (or at least trying to).

Unlike the last time where I summoned the services of CAA to rescue me (only to have them take me to a closed bike shop), I decided this was the time to try out my recently purchased tools. This was not how I envisioned today turning out.

So, I found a picnic table to set up shop and got to work. I won’t go into all the technical details of replacing a spoke because, well … I probably didn’t do things entire correctly, and this isn’t a bicycle repair blog (although, it’s becoming one!). All things considered I think things went pretty well. Needless to say it took me a lot longer to do the job than the guy back in Trois-Rivières but he actually knew what he was doing, had a full repair shop at his disposal, and wasn’t trying to do the job while being relentless attacked by mosquitos. Oh good times!

Eventually I had the bike reassembled, reloaded, and ready to go. Of course, I couldn’t shake the feeling of wondering whether or not I had done the job right or if my wheel was going to explode at any given moment. And yet, I pedalled on. At this point the decision was whether I should just head directly to the next campsite, or carry on with my “leisurely day off”. The temptation to just move on to the next campsite was strong but since I still have a LONG way to go on this trip I figured I might as well test my repair job and put some extra mileage on the bike.

The map I was given from the Ragueneau Tourist Centre indicated I could do a loop around the point and it would lead me back to Highway 138. So, that was the new plan. The plan sort of fell apart about 10km later when the road I was on just ended. Puzzled, I pulled out the map to confirm I was where I thought I was. I was. About that same time a older couple was leaving their house to go for a walk and noticed my obvious state of confusion. Luckily for me, they spoke English.

So, the short version of the story (yeah, I know … it’s way too late for that) is that the bike path that is clearly indicated on the map isn’t finished yet. And won’t be until next year. Talk about being in the right place at the wrong time. So, after a nice chat with the couple I set off back down the road I had just travelled. I hate backtracking.

About 30 minutes later I was back on Highway 138, finally heading into Baie-Comeau. I really didn’t expect getting to Baie-Comeau to be this challenging. The wind was still chilly and in my face. The sun only managed to peak through a few times. And despite all my efforts, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly the location of the campsite I believed was just down the road.

As days like this tend to go, I wasn’t very good at the whole eating and drinking thing so when I saw a Tim Hortons in Baie-Comeau I stopped in. For food and WiFi. The food was good, but the WiFi didn’t help me figure out where this mystery campsite was – other than it was directly off Highway 138. At least that should make it easy.

Slightly nourished, I headed out again. Still cold. Still windy. But at least not raining. Eventually I saw a sign for Camping Boréal – 11km away. Far from ideal (and Baie-Comeau), but at least I knew it existed and that I was heading in the right direction. What the sign didn’t say was that the final 3km would be on the worst gravel road a cycle tourist could imagine. This was so NOT in the brochure.

To make a long story even longer, I eventually made it to the campground and checked in. Either my French is getting better or the girl at reception spoke the “clearest” French ever (maybe a little of both) but I was generally able to understand everything she said. Part of me thinks she spoke English as well but wasn’t going to use it unless necessary – and I was perfectly fine with that.

And that brings us to now. I’m sitting at a picnic table wearing a bug net over my head as I type this up. My fire that I built a few hours ago to deter the mosquitos has gone out. My supper was more pasta cooked with my Trangia stove. And now I’ll test the WiFi to see if I can actually upload this part of the adventure.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 75.04km (not bad for a day off)
Time on bike: 4:23:27
Maximum speed: 45.32 km/h
Average speed: 17.07 km/h

And now, I need a nap.