Day 11. A day in the mall

Campground Lac Magog to Pura Vida Lodge and Sup (campground) near Windsor Quebec.

8/29/23. 28 mi. 3: 05. 9 mph. Elev 1184 ft.

A little rain fell on the tent at about 6:15am this morning. It was very light and very short. Poaching on the dry picnic tables under the wall tent we packed up camp and had the usual breakfast of oatmeal and coffee (out of apples this morning).

We are out of the Montagne area (mountain dwellers) area and staying in the river valleys for the next few days.

Sunshine came out and we departed for Sherbrooke and eventually Melbourn (not in Australia!) 50 minutes down the trail Jim announces his rear derailleur isn’t shifting… not good around here with all these climbs! We pulled off the side of the trail and he proceeds to analyze the situation. Bike flipped over, panniers along the side of the trail…. I failed to photograph this unfortunately.

Meanwhile all kinds of bikers and walkers passed by and not one of them stopped or even slowed down to inquire if we needed help! I thought this was kind of amazing… it was pretty obvious we are travelers…and their was a mechanical issue!

Turns out the cable to his derailleur shifter had broken. Some “experts” were needed. Google found a Sports Experts store in a mall just 1.3 km away. Google reviews says they have a good bike mechanics shop. Google maps also says it’s “Up a steep hill”. Bad luck… good luck. Off we go pushing our bikes up a seriously steep hill!

We are hanging out in the mall for a few hours while they fix his bike. The mall has a grocery store so we’re stocked up on breakfast and lunch for for a couple days too. While they were at it he had them replace the front cable and replace his bent disc brake. He’s back in action! 3 hour delay in a comfortable place and we are headed back on the trail! We have scaled back on our destination today. But that’s okay… just relieved it was fixed so quickly and it happened exactly when it did. Hate to think of the “what ifs”!!!

Well not so fast! As we go outside it starts to downpour…. Another delay (about 45 min) Time to hit the dollar store for a new clothesline. I had a favorite one but it was 3 years old… it was like a twisted rubber and so you didn’t need clothespins. A good one actually but like many rubber and the rubber life is limited.

When we did start riding we followed the Riviera Magog on a quick east path through the city. Beautiful lake created with the usual Quebec City park splendor of paths and gardens and activities. The highlight was the fence murals along the railroad track built from live greenery! Just stunning.

After Sherbrooke we continued along a River path and a few back roads that were a little hillier. I think we only had to walk 2! Not bad. Now we followed the Riviere Saint Francoise to our lively campground on the river. Quiet campground. We’ve opted to stay in a cabin tonight because we are expecting rain most of the night and most of the day tomorrow.

Things I notice…

The douches (showers) with the coin operation

Last nights douche. Clean and compact. At Helene’s it was free but you had to pull the lever down for water to flow. When you let go… it stopped. Wish I had a picture.

Electronics

So many things to charge. It’s a gaggle of cords and devices. Headlight, tail light, phone, Lezyne computer, portable chargers and then we use a 5 port charger that goes in an outlet. All of that is in the white bag.

Stuff sacks

Speaking of bags. For this trip we use several stuff sacks. It’s easier to keep track of gear. One for bike clothes, regular clothes, rain gear, winter gear, socks and underwear, toiletries, miscellaneous ( kindle, clothes line, tent light, headlamp, etc.), electronics and camp cups, bowls and cutlery, Not to mention the sleeping bag, tent, sleeping pad, pillows! The trick is remembering which one you’re looking for!

Questions to answer

The stack of canoes and kayaks at the National Park are rented by the park service. They have a beautiful building right behind our picnic tables and we’re busy renting boats, e-bikes and mountain bikes! So I imagine the boats were cable locked… we didn’t look at them very closely.