Spoiler Alert: Today was great!

It still ceases to amaze me how some days can turn out so differently than anticipated.

The rain that started mid-afternoon yesterday and into the evening finally subsided around 9:00 pm. I was going to take a few night shots of Tadoussac from the overlooking view of the campsite however everything was completely fogged in so photos were no longer an option. I decided to call it a night and worry about tomorrow’s plan tomorrow.

The rain returned around midnight and as far as I can tell continued for most of the night. The last time I was fully aware of it was when I woke to the sound of rain on my tent at around 4:30am. I had visions of this being a soggy day. I woke up for good around 5:30am – the sun rises a lot earlier out here – and much to my surprise the rain seemed to have stopped. The tent was wet, so packing it up would be messy but at least I’d stay dry. I packed up all my gear inside the tent and prepared to step outside. When I did I was surprised to be greeted by blue sky. Things were looking up!

I was at the restaurant for breakfast by 7:30, and by 8:10 I was on the road. Today’s target: Forestville, across the river from Rimouski and about 100km from Tadoussac. When I was first planning this adventure, Forestville was actually my original plan of where I would catch the ferry to take up to Blanc-Sablon before heading over to Newfoundland. But since this was meant to be a cycling adventure I decided that cycling further would be more fitting.

The ride today was simply incredible. Perhaps my favourite day of cycle touring ever. What a difference a few days makes – I feel I’m finally getting into cycling shape and it only took 1,400km! There were a few big hills along the way but all manageable – even the 10% hills seemed less intimidating. There was an occasional headwind but for the most part the prevailing winds were again at my back.

The section of Highway 138 that I’m now travelling is called The Whale Route (well, actually it’s called Route des Baleines). What I didn’t realize that it’s also called the VéloRoute des Baleines. It seems this part of Quebec has become somewhat cycle-friendly. For the most part the “regular” route and the VéloRoute follow along the same stretch of Highway 138 with the occasional detour for cyclists away from some of the heavy traffic. Some of these detours I took. Some I didn’t. Either way, I definitely didn’t take the detour Google wanted me to take. But that’s hardly news anymore.

My first stop was in Les Escoumins where I bought some groceries (real food, not poutine – not that poutine isn’t real food!). Bananas, oranges, apples, and some cookies. I wanted to get some double-fudge chocolate cookies because, well … isn’t it obvious? The other benefit to them was that 2 cookies have 190 calories and 46g of carbs! Unfortunately, they only had them in a 907g package and I just couldn’t justify all that weight. So, I went with an alternate selection. Still good, but not the same.

I stopped again in Longue-Rive, but this stop was strictly for scenic purposes. As I was crossing over a bridge I noticed (yet another) nice river with a small falls and a suspension bridge. I figured it was worth a photo (or ten). With my photo quota met and my water bottles refilled I resumed the ride.

I followed the next VéloRoute detour as I approached Portneuf-sur-Mer and the road led directly along the St. Lawrence and away from the heavy traffic of Highway 138. I only took a couple photos along this route because I knew they just wouldn’t capture everything I was seeing (and yes, I took the lens cap off).

The final 13km into Forestville was as enjoyable as the rest of the ride. All that was left to do was find a campsite and relax for the rest of the day.

As far as I can tell there’s only one campsite in Forestville – the good news is it’s at the bottom of a big hill. That will become bad news tomorrow morning! It’s also right along the shore. Like RIGHT along the shore. I’m not going to lie, I can’t believe where I’m sleeping tonight. Clearly, the picture says it all. Okay, well … maybe not, because I’m going to say more. I’ve only been uploading low resolution photos to try to keep the file sizes manageable but the boat in the photo is the ferry to Rimouski. The view the other way is nothing but coastline. It’s beautiful. I have to say, I’m really loving the St. Lawrence River.

At the moment my biggest concern is whether my tent and I blow away between now and when I leave in the morning. Those prevailing winds that helped me along the way today haven’t eased up at all and my tent is taking a bit of a beating. It’s particularly challenging because of the platform on which my tent is set up – I can’t use the pegs to anchor the tent so I’ve borrowed some rope to tie it to the platform and put my panniers in each corner of the tent. Hopefully it will hold!

I should probably bike into town for some food but I’m really not sure if leaving my tent unattended would be a smart move. Of course, with all this wind I’m not sure how successful lighting my stove will be but I think I’ll have to give it a shot – after all, I’m out of cookies!

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 105.35km
Time on bike (actually moving): 4:57:02
Average speed: 21.28 km/h