Hills?
Hills! Not just any hill, but the steepest hill of any bike trip we've ever taken---and also on the flattest, easiest trip we've ever taken?
Where 4 of the previous day's 5 rides came in at less feet per mile than rolling down the New Berlin Trail, to suddenly have a 1/2 mile hill with a sustained 16% gradient?!?!! What a shock for the legs! And then, just when we settled back into Saint Lawrence flat, up popped its little cousin--another 1/2 mile at 14%. Egads!
But, we were now in city and not in the country. To keep off the busy highways, meant going down to the lower river routes while they lasted, then up the bluff to the main road, then down to the river side roads, then up to the main road....well, you get the idea. Two of those transitions were substantial; one was just brutal. Besides being steep, the hill had a hidden switchback. Just when you thought you'd made it to the top, you turned the corner and saw another steep ramp. Arrgggh. As you struggled up the ramp, you could catch a glimpse of one of the local residents sitting on her porch watching the cyclists huff and puff. Surely we were spoiling her view--or were we her entertainment? Does she place bets on which riders would make it without falling over? A perverse drinking game? Or just a study in stubborn human determination?
While those thoughts crossed our minds at the time, it would take us watching cyclists climb (or attempt to climb) Cote du Montagne in Quebec City (1/2 mile at 21%) to realize that predicting who could and couldn't make it up the grade is not as easy as it seems. Some of the most unlikely riders can climb and some of the fittest appearing can totally fail. To ride in Quebec City requires only 3 gears: one for riding -1% to 0% grades; one for riding 0% to 1% grades; and one for riding 18+% gradients. Anything in between will never get used.
Overall, it was a great ride. Probably the easiest 90 miles we have ever ridden. While some of the ride was city, a lot of it was still rural. For lunch we picked up a wedge of Baluchon cheese from F X Pichet, an artisan cheese maker. Besides being a Canadian award winner, it was perfect for a hot ride -- a moist, slighly salty cheese. Alas, we never found a bakery along the way, but the cheese was good enough to stand up to a grocery store roll.
Along the way, Joshua caught up to us to deliver ice cream from the van. With it being 90 degrees outside and having only ice to keep it cold, the ice cream was really a semi-freddo. But, it was truly the best ice cream treat on the road and totally hit the spot.
Upon arriving in Quebec it became apparent that food was going to be hard to get for dinner (it may have been an easy 90 miles, but it was still 90 miles!). Many restaurants did not have vegetarian options and since it was Friday others were already booked. So we succumbed to the touristy process and sought help from the concierge who set us up at....???the hotel restaurant??? Really? "Trust me," she assured us. "It is the best Italian restaurant in Quebec City and it has two vegetarian pastas on the menu." We cannot attest to "the best" label, but it was very, very good.