Day 61: Sainte-Anne-des-Monts to Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis

Surprise! I have internet.

Yesterday afternoon, I charged up my laptop at Caroline’s barn. I also met her husband, Sebastien, when he came back from a business trip in Montreal. Soon after, I set up my tent, cooked a package of ramen, and ate some canned Vienna sausages and a fruit cup.

I had nothing else to do so I went to bed around 7:30 PM. During the night, I would open my eyes and see the stars. I recognized the constellation Orion was right above me. What a magnificent view!

In the morning, I was awakened by the sunlight and the chirping of the birds. I also saw a bunch of mosquitoes on the outside of my tent waiting to have some Chinese food. I quickly used an Off! wipe to defend myself. Luckily, I didn’t get any bites.

After packing up everything, I said goodbye to Sebastien. I think Caroline was still asleep since it was only about 7:15 AM when I left the farm.

I rode about 5 miles into downtown Sainte-Anne-des-Monts on the local road. There were two Tim Hortons. The first one had no seating since it was next to a gas station. I went to the second one and had a breakfast wrap and a latte. I waited until after 8 AM for the Dollarama to open then bought a few snacks there. Since Metro supermarket opened as well, I went there to see if I needed to buy anything else. I ended up buying an Off! spray just in case I run out of my wipes.

I cycled on Route 132 until I reached Brûlerie et Comptoir Mont-café in Cap-au-Renard. I chatted with a few locals there and had a lemonade and a potato donut, which I never had before. It tasted like a regular donut.

After stopping by La Martre Lighthouse and rested at Parc de la Paix, or Peace Park, I cycled all the way to Mont-Saint-Pierre.

While on the road, I heard a click noise coming from my back wheel. Upon inspection, it was a blade of a knife that had entered my back tire. I took it out and was confident that the sealant from my tubeless tire will patch it, and it did. I was glad that I had put tubeless tires on my bike. So far I haven’t had any flats.

I noticed there were more tractor trailers on Route 132. Some of them were carrying loads of lumber. I had to be very careful and ride on the far right side of the shoulder.

The dark clouds were rolling in as I tried to find a place to eat a late lunch. The first place I went to didn’t accept credit cards since their credit card machine was broken. I tried to take out some cash by using my debit card at a grocery store, but it got rejected since it’s a Visa card. This was the second that my debit card got denied. The first time was in Saint-André-Avellin when I was trying to buy poutine. I ended up eating a hotdog at another place that accepted credit cards.

Not to my surprise, the rain started when I left Mont-Saint-Pierre. I only had to ride another 30 minutes to my destination of the day, the Parc & Mer Mont-Louis campground in Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis. Before I arrived I made sure to stop by the ATM in town to get out CA$100 in cash just in case I needed it. I arrived around 3 PM to the campground, having ridden 48 miles since this morning.

There were more people speaking only French in this region. I used Google Translate to help me with my check-in. I got a spot near the community building where I did my laundry for CA$5 and took a shower for CA$1. Good thing I had cash. I’m also glad there’s internet and a place to charge my laptop and phone.

I had set up my tent right when it began to downpour. Some of my things got a little wet but that’s OK. I’m not sure what to do for the rest of the day. I might not even eat dinner since I’m not that hungry.

Tomorrow, I have a very steep hill to ride up so I will rest well tonight.

Sebastien and his army of chickens

St-Ann Catholic Church in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts

View of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts from the dock

Looking forward

And looking back

The mountains are now by the coast of the St. Lawrence River.

A lemonade + a potato donut = my sugar fix

Passed by many waterfalls on the side of Route 132

La Martre Lighthouse

Savoring the nice weather and the clean wide shoulder

More waterfalls

A strange rock with graffiti

Rested at Parc de la Paix, or Peace Park

Dark clouds are rolling in.

More mountains ahead