Days 15 - 18
Saturday, July 8, 2017 - Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Eventually the rain on Saturday morning stopped and we had a day of mostly flat riding along a nicely packed unpaved bike path that only occasionally threw mud on us. We rode next to a railroad line through farmland and herds of cows, past fields of corn. The colors changed their hue as the clouds grew dark and then light again.
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| We really did ride through herds of cows. We pondered what to do about these cows blocking our path. But cows aren't worrisome like moose; they didn't charge us, just got out of the way as soon as we got closer. |
After about 40 miles we lingered in Granby, sitting in a park enjoying ice cream cones, when the rain came again. We had to run back to our bikes to get them covered and then ran through the rain again in search of a coffee shop for shelter from the storm.
By now we had come to expect the unexpected arrival of rain. It was like another cyclist riding the same route. We never knew when it would show up, only that it would. Often it would join us first thing in the morning for an hour or so then leave us to the whims of a sky filled with dark storm clouds or puffy bright white clouds or nothing but blue sky before returning to help us finish our day's ride. It rarely drowned out our fun but we never minded when it took a day or two off.
The problem with rain isn't when you're riding though; it's when you stop. Setting up camp in the rain is no fun. Neither is cooking dinner or cooking breakfast or packing up a wet tent and all our gear, trying to keep everything dry under a dripping sky.
In Quebec it rained three of the four nights after we left Montreal and we couldn't have been any drier than we were, staying with Warm Showers hosts.
The Warm Showers concept is terrific. Bicycle tourists offer to host other bicycle tourists. The problem is that bicycle tourists would rather be on their own bicycle tours, not home hosting. Fortunately for us we found Walt was doing all his riding close to home.
Hi,Sorry for the delayed response.I am doing day rides and will be away from home often.Email me if you can't find another host.Ride safely,Walt
After trying a few other people I emailed Walt and said we'd had no luck and he responded:
Hi Connie,You are welcome to stay in our small Aliner camper (bring your own bedding/sleeping bag).
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A Warm Showers host will set up a profile and let you know what they can provide. Sleeping accommodations can be anything from a private room and bath to space in their yard for you to pitch a tent. Or, in this case, a camper. We had a very comfortable night's sleep.
Walt is a tall and lanky older man, retired, who among other things had worked as a ski instructor. Because of a back injury he rides a recumbent bike with an assist motor. He builds his own bicycles and has an assortment for different purposes, going shopping or keeping out of the wind.
We brought our own dinner, deli sandwiches and a salad, and ate while sitting in Walt's spacious yard adjacent to a golf course as he told us about his cycling adventures in Europe with his son. On Sunday morning, while we ate the hot cereal Walt had prepared, he said he would like to join us for our day’s ride and show us around. We spent several hours riding the paved and dirt roads of the tourist area that Walt calls home.
After Rob told Walt about his lung disease, Walt made it his mission to convince Rob to get an electric motor for his bicycle, an assist on the hills. At one point on our ride, he demonstrated how his worked, shooting past us on a long hill, laughing while he waited at the top.
Walt struck me with his positive attitude. While we were eating breakfast he talked about how his back is injured to the point where he is just about always in some pain. But, he said, he has nothing to complain about. When we were on our ride and stopped on a bridge over a highway, Walt said, “Don’t you feel sorry for those poor people sitting in their cars while we’re out here on our bikes?”
We parted ways in Waterloo where Rob and I stopped for a couple hours in a pocket-sized park tucked behind the town's visitors center overlooking a small body of water. I took out our little folding chair and got comfortable in it. Rob declined my offer to take turns. It was a treat to just relax on a grass lawn, read, and nap. We had lunch and for dessert my favorite, M&Ms warmed by the sun, the chocolate melted inside. I savored the smoked duck we had picked up on our morning ride at the Brome Lake Ducks outlet Walt had taken us to. I love duck. And the smoked duck was incredible. It was delicious on crackers, with or without cheese. I ate the entire package while Rob wasn't paying attention.
With only 38 miles of riding and a lazy afternoon behind us, not to mention a day without rain, it hardly seemed as though we had earned the pampering we received from our next Warm Showers hosts. Marie-Christine and Stephane live in an old farmhouse with their teenage son Etienne. They made us feel like we were doing them a favor by letting them host us. The three of them welcomed us at the door with a hearty, “You’re our first Warm Showers guests!” They all have many years and many miles of bicycling stories behind them. Most recently Marie-Christine and Etienne have gone on long rides together as Stephane hasn’t been able to take the time off from work. During their last trip in Europe they stayed with many Warm Showers hosts and have been eager to repay the hospitality. We were happy to be the recipients of their generosity.
We quickly stowed our bikes in their garage; all three of them helped us bring our gear inside and without wasting any time Stephane offered us a beer. And we just as quickly accepted. Did we want to do laundry? Yes, we did! Marie-Christine showed us our room upstairs. After showers we sat in their kitchen where they had put out a plate of raw veggies and other snacks. We munched and talked while Marie-Christine cooked dinner. They shared stories of their months-long trips through Europe and Asia. Then we enjoyed a dinner of pasta and seafood, salad and wine, sitting outside on their deck overlooking the forested hills of Quebec’s Eastern Townships. As often was the case, the talk wound its way to Trump and how could he have ever become president of the United States and why we didn't have a national health care system. We tried not to spend too much time on these subjects as it was wonderful to just get a break from all the bad news, even if only for a week.
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| Of course we woke up to rain the next morning. After all, we'd had a full day without it on Sunday, why shouldn't it rain again? I had to take this picture to share with you the lovely setting where we ate dinner the night before. I hadn't thought about getting out my camera when it would have made sense to record all of us sitting down and enjoying ourselves because I was too busy having a grand time myself. |
Guylaine was still at work when we arrived but Frank let us in and showed us where we could sleep, pulling the futon off the living room couch onto the floor of a spare room filled with musical instruments. We figured we'd walk downtown to get some dinner, but that plan was waylaid when Frank invited us to join him and Guylaine; he'd cooked up a vegetable pie and some veggie hot dogs. Of course we shared bicycling stories because that's what bicycle tourists always do when they first meet. Rob and I were especially interested to hear about Frank and Guylaine's trip around the Gaspee Peninsula since that was our original plan, put on hold for now. As we talked and drank white wine it started to rain, a thunderstorm that we all hoped wouldn't last long. It didn't.
We thought we'd walk downtown after dinner and search out some of the murals that are scattered in and around Sherbrooke. Guylaine said that she had a friend who was a model for one of the historical scenes. She and Frank offered to give us a ride since they were driving in for a concert anyway.
We slept until 7 the next morning and lingered over the breakfast Frank had left for us, homemade bread and smoothies. Frank had trained as a chef but the lifestyle didn't appeal to him so now he worked as a mail carrier. We appreciated him sharing his cooking with us; it was a pleasant change from our usual oatmeal.
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| Frank |
We had lunch in a downtown park, stopped for groceries, then struck out for North Hatley, a highly rated picturesque small town where we planned a brief stop before heading to a campground for the night. But, once again, with very little need for discussion, we changed our plans midstream. We wouldn't camp again until we got back to Vermont.
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| Saturday, July 8 50 miles to Bromont  |
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Sunday, July 9
38 miles to Warden
I don't know the exact route that we took to Waterloo as we were going wherever Walt took us. We were on quite a few dirt roads. They weren't in bad shape but what I discovered was that going downhill on dirt or gravel wasn't nearly as much fun as it is on paved roads. Because of the roughness I was uncomfortable going fast so spent a lot of time riding my brakes and my hands got very sore. Afterwards I said to Walt, "It's a good thing you didn't tell us how much time we'd be spending on dirt roads."
He replied, "I did tell you. I said it wouldn't be any worse than what you'd been riding on the bike path."
He got me on that one because of course he was right on both counts. He had told us and the roads were, overall, in decent shape. All I could think of to say was, "Oh...yeah. You did."
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| Monday, July 10 47 miles to Sherbrooke
One huge benefit of staying with cyclists was the advice they gave us on which routes to take. Since our goal wasn't so much to get from one place to another but to explore the region, we were happy to go with any recommendations for best riding and prettiest places. We were very happy with Marie-Christine's suggestion that we skip the bike route and stay on Rte. 112 into Magog.
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