grandtour2001

On Aug. 3, 2001 I drove from Shawinigan to la Malbaie, where the trip would begin. I had planned to camp out rather than take a shuttle bus from Quebec City.

Aug. 4, 2001 Baie St-Paul

Last night I set up my tent and realised that I had left a mallet at home, so I used a rock and took it with me. Then I heated up some water and had a couple of hot drinks. There were families all around me, and it reminded me of my childhood camping with my
parents. wish we could have done that. I'll take Madeleine camping. She might enjoy it.

For breakfast I had hot orange juice, a croissant and some tinned pears. Using the stove makes me feel so independent! Today started off with a hill as steep as the Belgo zig-zag, and I catually stopped to catch my breath. Other than that I just plod along, and
arriving early was no advantage, because my luggage hadn`t arrived...

The scenery is spectacular - maybe we should have a family drive (all of us) through the Charlevoix again. Driving into Baie st-PAul was like a book opening up before you - the view is incredible.

Tomorrow is the BIG day, 133 km of hills. After that it`s clear sailing.

Arrival in Alma

I am now in Alma, home of Alcan and Abitibi Price.It`s like being at home! Smelters every step of the way...in La Baie and here. It's a big one here, the new smelter and there is also an enormous dam Barrage du grand dicharge.

But the river, the Saguenay - I paraphrase Shanandoah as I ride along it. It is a truly majestic river, and it's so BIG! High cliffs, broad width, a rolling river it is. It fills me with awe.

I have a sense of the isolation of the people here. It took me 11 hours of cycling and stopping to travel from Baie St-Paul to La Baie. There were a couple of
small villages, and that was it. La Baie, Chicoutimi and Jonquiere are cities in the middle of literally nowhere. It's fascinating from the human geographical perspective, and it makes sense politically too. Why this area is so staunchly separatist...their sense of reality is so different from ours - they are so disconnected from the rest of the world.

Today was a day of smells, fresh and sweet, and lonely fields of barley and grass, cows, sheep and horses (and foals, too!. The smells are delicious on the road. Yesterday we rode from Baie St-Paul to La Baie, and it was furnace hot (30C or such), little wind and the most amazing hills I've ever ridden up. Someone in the know compared our 133 km to a stage on
the Tour de France. I finished it, and only walked 3 times... Bu the scenery is worth it all. I've always wanted to come up here, and cycling into La Baie, and seeing the pulp mills and the smelter made me realise how similar it is to Shawinigan. Same thing here in Alma. Alcan and Abitibi Price. Tomorrow I hit the museums and the historical neighbourhoods. By bus (I think - depends how the friction sores feel...!)

... The scenery is spectacular.in Lac St-Jean

After a really tough start through the Charlevoix region, actually an exaggerated version of the Laurentians with the most INCREDIBLE hills (that we HAD to climb in the searing heat - I actually was forced to walk up a couple) we sailed into La Baie,
formerly Bagotville and other villages. What a view! On Monday we hit Chicoutimi and Jonqui�re, and had a chance to see the majestic Saguenay River. It is truly awesome. A BIG RIVER, and all the bridges that span it are so high, because the cliffs are so high. Apparently it's a fiord.

I am enjoying myself, although I am very much along, surrounded by many. Today was a day of sunshine and rain, flatland, dunes and rolling hills. The landscape is beautiful. I even went swimming in the Peribonka River! We are riding approx. 100 km a day, and that is fine. It gives me enough time to relax, stop and look at the scenery, and arrive in time to set up the tent, shower, wash clothes and then eat. I
only wish I could do it more often!

One of the most quirky experiences was arring in Roberval and seeing a roadsign for la Tuque 300 km to the south - Hey - I live down that way!

However, I left my helmet somewhere in Roberval and had to buy a new one when I got back to Shawinigan...where is it now?

My Day in Alma - Wednesday

Today I played tourist - went to the Mus�e de Societ� d'histoire du Lac st-Jean. It was great - explained why Alma exists, and gave me some background
>on the history of the entire region. then I walked up to Riverbend, a planned community courtesy of Price (once its own town) then took a bus to Isle Maligne (another planned community, for the dam built by Duke) and then to the beach, where I dozed in the sun and then dunked in the freezing Grand d�charge (an upper branch of the Saguenay. I wanted to have a day away from the bike, because I was really sore yesterday. Tomorrow we head for Dolbeau. Weather may become a problem as of Thursday.

Baie St-Paul to La Baie

The entrance to Baie-St-Paul is spectacular. I am planning to stop there on my way home and buy a souvenir pin.

Didn't write last night because the computers were down. Felt as though I was cut off from the world!

The smells are delicious on the road. Yesterday we rode from Baie St-Paul to La Baie, and it was furnace hot (30C or such), little wind and the most amazing hills I've ever ridden up. Someone in the know compared our 133 km to a stage on the Tour de France. I finished it, and only walked 3 times... But the scenery is worth it all. I've always wanted to come up here, and cycling into La Baie, and seeing the pulp mills and the smelter made me realise how similar it is to Shawinigan. Same thing here in Alma. Alcan and
Abitibi Price. Tomorrow I hit the museums and the historical neighbourhoods. By bus (I think - depends how the friction sores feel...!)

As for coffee, I didn`t have any on Friday A.M.,but drank some hot Tang - it's good, but somehow that kick is missing... but I have at least one cup every morning now, and a cup of camomile tea at night. No more coffee for me after 4 p.m., when I rise at 5:30
a.m...