July 20th to July 27th

July 20, 2007 - Waltham to Luskville

After having a few days off and getting got up on sleep and fed some delicious home made meals at the Evans’ farm, we finally hit the road again. It was a late start this morning because it poured rained, and thundered all night and morning. It was tough to leave the warmth of the house and the good meals. We stopped for lunch in Shawville and enjoyed Judy’s sandwiches that she had made for us. It was a short lunch today and back on the road for us. The weather was somewhat holding up for us, with it drizzling for most of the way (instead of pouring). We called it quits after a 100km, and loaded our bikes onto our brand new bike racks and drove into Ottawa to stay at Jordan’s granny’s house. Later that evening Blayne, a friend of the Evans family took us, the Morphy girls, Carlene, Eric and Mark, out for dinner to a place called The Works. We enjoyed some really good hamburgers and a few drinks. Thanks Blayne!

July 21, 2007 – Luskville to Papineauville

Waking up was easy for Dan and Jordan, but Adam was a little behind. We said our goodbyes and thanks to Jordan’s granny and finally got biking at around 10am. It was hot out today and a little bit of a tailwind made it an easy ride for us. We rode a 100km today, then packed up and headed to Jordan’s cousins’ (Scott and Juliann) cottage out on Lac Orignal. Here, we also got to visit with Jordan’s other cousin Chris and Edna as they were also spending the night at the cottage. Dan and Jordan enjoyed a nice swim in the lake while Adam had to sit on the dock and wish that he could have been swimming. Later that evening Scott and Juliann cooked steak and shrimp for dinner. It was a late night visit for us getting to bed at around 11pm but a good visit it was.

July 22, 2007 – Papineauville to Montreal

Waking up to Juliann making us bacon, hash browns, and waffles for an early breakfast was wonderful and delicious. But being so far from our end point from the day before still got us off to a late start. Arriving in Montreal at 5pm didn’t give us much time to spend with Dan’s cousins. Dan’s cousin Julien (whom we had never met) treated us to a nice dinner at an Italian place which was sooo good. It was a really nice visit with Julien, Claudette, Silvia, and Matt. Learning about some of Dan’s background and heritage was an interesting topic. We then spent the night at Dan’s other cousin (Kevin), and later that night Dan’s cousin (Cory) came over for a visit. All this visiting resulted in another late night.

July 23, 2007 - Montreal to just past St-Hyacinthe

Having eggs and toast in the morning prepared by Dan’s cousin (Kevin) was a good start to our journey through the big city of Montreal. With the help of Kevin’s planning with us the night before we were able to take a bike path right through the city keeping us away from the traffic of the road. With it taking 3.5 hours to make it through the city of Montreal and only doing 45km was making it a long day for Dan and Jordan. We only made it another 50km down the road with the sun beating down on us. We learned that we are not allowed to ride on the TransCanada and that they are pretty strict about it in Quebec, so, we decided to call it quits for the day and come up with a new game plan.

July 24, 2007 - St-Hyacinthe to Saint-Agapit

After our first night camping since Jordan’s farm, we got off to an early start. Dan and Jordan decided to stick with Hwy 20 and see how far they could make it before getting kicked off. They made if approx. 30km when they got into a little bit of trouble with the police. But don’t worry, no arrests were made and they didn’t even seize our bikes. The worst part is that the shoulder on the highway was sweet. Like seriously, pretty much the nicest highway we’ve been on yet (that’s why we decided to push our luck). The best part is that we made it as far as they had hoped. If they had avoided the 20, they would have added an extra 60km onto their trip. It was a long morning and yet again very hot out. We stopped for lunch in Victoriaville (where Adam had detoured to) and got onto a bike path that leads to Riviere-du-loup. We ended our day in Saint-Agapit and completed 155km today. We found a campsite only with a little trouble getting directions in French. It was Smokies, rice, and mushroom soup for dinner. Adam prepared boiled eggs for lunches and potatoes for breakfast.

July 25, 2007 - Saint-Agapit to Ste-Louise

Dan made some greasy bacon, potatoes, and eggs for breakfast, turning Jordan off the bacon and eggs to her original breakfast consisting of granola, nuts, and apple juice. On the road early today got us to Levis for a snack at 8am. We continued to Montmagny for lunch. It was a long day for us, biking 160km. Dan and Jordan are sure enjoying the bike route with it having no vehicle traffic, and many other cyclists. After such a hot and sunny day we relaxed with few beers to end our quiet and beautiful night.

July 26, 2007 - Ste-Louise to Cabano

We had such a good sleep and plenty of rest. We hit the trail at 6am and headed for Riviere-du-loup for lunch. We took an hour break from biking so that Dan and Jordan could pick up some food for lunches and dinners. We found out there is still a bike trail that takes us right to Edmunston, NB. After leaving Riviere-du-loup, it was a long 4 hours to Cabano where we met up with Adam and finished the day off. Dan and Jordan looking so tired, they didn’t have much left in them. We got a campsite right on lake (Temiscouta). Jordan and Dan enjoyed a swim to cool them off. For dinner we went to the pub down on the lake and enjoyed some Nachos and Pizza for dinner. With it being such a hot day once again and a time change coming up, it was an early bed time for us.

July 27, 2007 - Cabano, to Grand Falls, NB

An early and quick start this morning got us riding at about 5:45am. We stopped in Edmundston for lunch. Adam was busy with phone calls and organizing an interview with the local newspaper in Grand Falls, NB. We arrived in Grand Falls at 2pm and then had an interview. Heidi Cyr the interviewer was very nice and gave her opinion on some local places to eat and a very nice camp site right beside the gorge in Grand Falls. We went out for dinner at a local restaurant that over looked the Dam and Falls. Dan and Adam had some pasta and Jordan had Steak for the evening. Back to the camp site we go to relax till bedtime then back at it tomorrow.