Week 3

Sept 5
Dist: 112   Avg: 17.7  Time: 6:18
McAdam to Lincoln, ME

Woke up a 6:30 am to the sounds of pitter-patter on the tent. What happened to our forcast of sun for the next four days? It stopped long enough for us to pack up but the skies did not look good. Not a good way to start off the day. Breakfast was had at the local diner with many locals something we had become accustom to when your off the beaten path. We got the scoop on the town. A polyethylene culvert plant and a gypsum board plant sustained the town, this would explain all the truck traffic. The main CPR line from Lac Megantic passes through town but now is owned by the Irving group. A beautiful station ( see pictures) is all that remains the line is used many for oil now. 

From McAdam it was 9k to the US border, we had no problems getting into the US.

US border crossing at Vansboro Maine

We picked up some lunches at Vansboro and got the scoop on the highway to  topsfield.
We were warned the road was windy and to keep a watch out for logging trucks. We could see the sky clearing to the west, maybe sun was on it's way although it was cooler then the previous days. We encountered many hills just as the locals has said and stopped in at Topsfield at an abandon store for lunch, yes the sun came out but it was chilly. US 1 passes through and starts only a few Kilometers to the north of here.

We would stay on Highway 6 heading west. The road from here improved better pavement and a shoulder. Still lots of hills so there mus be a mill of some sort down the road. This highway reminded me of the Pickle Lake highway I had traveled so many time during my working career. We stopped in Springfield after 30k for the last of our sandwiches. No place to stay here so we opted to go on to Lincoln another 30k, this would make a very long day but it was still early in the afternoon so we decided to go for it. The road was mostly downhill to Lincoln but the wind had picked up and of course right in our face as usual.
We found the paper mill in Lincoln and yes it stunk. Our Motel would be right across the road.Reminded me of my working days in Terrace Bay.

Happy Hour

Drying out the camping gear

Blog today by Jim.  

**

Sept 6
Dist: 84  Avg: 17.3  Time: 4:51
Lincoln to Guilford

We woke up to a beautiful blue sky and cool temperatures - perfect cycling weather.  A hearty breakfast at the Timberland Restaurant got us fuelled up and we galloped out of town at a good pace.  Our legs felt surprisingly loose and strong even after that hellacious slogfest in the hills yesterday. The first 20 kms. sped by quickly on the level terrain and at the 40 km mark we stopped for a lunch break in the tiny hamlet of LaGrange at an abandoned county store. We dined on leftovers from the Wing Wah Restaurant and still had leftovers. At a four-way intersection we saw truck after truck of logs - some going one way, others going in the opposite direction.  We couldn't figure out what was going on.  

Continuing onward on Highway 6 we crossed the Penobscot R. and began climbing immediately at a pleasant, manageable pace. Unfortunately the road shoulder deteriorated quickly and the truck traffic was unrelenting.  The rumble of logging trucks was never far away and this kept us on edge.  Several kilometers down the road we passed a sawmill and breathed a sigh of relief believing most trucks would be turning off here and giving us some reprieve. Not so.  It turned out there was another sawmill further ahead.  We stopped at a small gas bar for a refreshment and saw a sight that brought tears to our eyes - 6 packs of beer for $3.99!  We paid over 7 smackers for a single beer back in Moncton.  Go figure.

Rolling on ahead we soon came to the town of Milo, known as the Town of Three Rivers and the climbing resumed, again on bad shoulders with lots of traffic.  Here we were introduced to another element - an omni-directional wind that was smack in your grill no matter which way you turned.  It was like it was coming at you from all directions at once.  Fortunately it wasn't a gale force blast but it was enough to make you work harder.  If I knew any swear words, I'm sure they would have come out at this point.  Anyway, we finally arrived at the stately town of Dover-Foxcroft  where we asked a gentleman about accommodations further ahead.  He was quite familiar with the area and offered to phone ahead and book us a room in Guilford at the Covered Bridge Motel.  We took him up on his offer, bought groceries at his store and proceeded to our overnight accommodations a few kilometers ahead.

We met the new owners of the motel (they had only taken ownership the day before and we were only their second guests) and had a wonderful conversation about the circumstances that brought them to this area.  They were great and couldn't do enough for us.  The world really is full of nice, genuine, caring people if you take the time to find them.

All-in-all, it was a great day.  The gloom that enveloped us the last few days has dissapated with the arrival - finally, of the sun and warm temperatures.  Our hope is that this will continue.


This blog posted by Fabio

**

Sept 7
Dist: 106  Avg: 17.6  Time: 5:58
Guilford to Kingsfield

We awoke to cool clear skies this morning that only lasted until we packed up the bikes. Thank goodness the rain in the forecast was to the north of us. We only made it about 100 meters before our first stop at a covered bridge. This was rebuilt many times over a period of 175 years.

Breakfast took place in downtown Guilford at Clarke's Restaurant. After a hearty breakfast was got on the road at 10 am. As usual, climbing was the first thing on the menu leaving town. This continued all the way down to Hwy 43, where the hills leveled out to our surprise.

We stopped in at Cambridge for a pop and a bite to eat at a small convenience store. On talking to the owners, we found out that they had recently moved there from Memphis Tennessee to escape the violence they said was occurring there on a regular basis. That's two families in two days that have relocated in this area of Maine.

Just before Athens, Fabio and I stopped to look at a display of coyotes, belonging to a taxidermist called Dave. He had retired from the air force and was now doing this. He introduced himself and shook our hands with a grip that could have cracked open coconuts. I almost fell over trying to control the bike, which I was straddling, and shaking Dave's hand. Dave mentioned that Hwy 43 was a good route to take too, as the hills weren't nearly as bad as what we had already encountered.

We arrived in Madison hoping to get a hotel and have a shower and a good meal. Fat chance!!! No hotels or B&B's. Next option.... camping....but, no campsites. Hmmmmm!!! what to do next. The closest campground was another 25 k's on the route we were to take tomorrow. There were also hotels 20 miles south of us.... not going there. We chose to chance going to the next campground, but now we needed grub as there would probably be nothing at the campsite. We were told there was a convenience store 5 miles down the road in North Anson, so off we headed.

Arrived there fairly quickly as the roads were quite flat. I thought I'd ask someone there about a hotel again and we were told there was one another 30 k's down the road from where we were. Hmmmm! Could we do another 30? A young lady overheard us taking about accommodations and mentioned she could phone the hotel if we like..... sure thing! We booked the last room that had two beds.... lucky!! We found out there was a restaurant across from the hotel, so we opted not to purchase the food we thought we would need for that evening and next morning. Grabbing a drink we headed for the hotel... and as usual, more hills. Little did we know that we were heading towards Sugarloaf, a huge ski area here in Maine. Thank goodness the major hills we encountered close to Kingsfield were going down. Tomorrow we'll worry about the ones going up :)

Top of the hill before Kingfield

Hi honey!!

On the balcony

I must say to that we're all feeling the effects of the hills we've done in the last five or six days.... I think even more so than the mountains we climbed last year in B.C. Hopefully we'll be in Quebec tomorrow.

Gene

**

Sept 8
Dist: 88  Avg: 16   Time: 5:27
Kingfield ME. to Woburn, QC

Got up at 7:30, and looked outside to get the weather report, usually on a good day the sun is out and fills our room with brightness, not today. It had rained during the night and looked like it could rain at anytime. This day would turn out to be one of out toughest.
It started to  rain before we could get packed up. Rain gear was dug out again. A local fellow told me there was a good bacon and egg breakfast just down the road, so on we went.
We found the Woodsman restaurant a good breakfast was had by the Three Amigos.
It had quit raining and looked like the skies were clearing to the west, one good sign but the winds looked to be starting. Once on highway 6 west we found the winds right in our faces.
The next section of highway 6 was in good shape but no shoulders. we followed the Carrabasset valley for 17k slowly uphill towards the Sugar Loaf ski area. As we got closer we made a good climb to the village of Sugar Loaf. Supposedly the Sugar Loaf ski area is the best in the North east of the country. Sugar loaf mountain is 4237 feet high.

Sugar Loaf Mountain

 We stopped in the village for a couple of sandwiches because it didn't look like there was much up  the road and we didn't want to run out of food as it was about 60k to  the border.
A huge climb greeted us after our stop and with cold legs it was a struggle to get up that hill.
Once we crested the top we were greeted with 30k head winds. The road descended into the Dead river valley a nice decent but with that wind we had to pedal down it. The road leveled
out but it was tough going even on a slight downhill grade, it  was going to be a long afternoon. As we approached Stratton a fellow was on the side of the road and flagged us down. He wanted to  chat, turns out he had cycled this area before and filled us in on the area. He said the food here at the Looney Moose was good so in we went. He continued to chat us up and then left. After our meal we went to pay and to our surprise he had paid for our lunch. Thanks to Jeff for buying our lunch.

Looney Moose Cafe in Stratton Maine

 The wind had picked up as we headed towards the border. Jeff had told us this next part of the highway to the border was very picturesque but with the strong headwind we had to keep our noses to the crossbar and didn't get to see much. I have added a few pictures from when we stopped to catch our breath.

The border would not come soon enough. This was the smallest border crossing I had ever seen. The Border Guard was extremely friendly and gave us information on the roads to Montreal however is was over 200 kilometers and very hilly to Sherbrooke, we would think about that tomorrow. Saint Augustine De Woburn would be our destination today five more kilometers to go. Happy Hour would not come too soon. Cheers.

Todays blog by Jim

**
Sept 9
Dist: 86  Avg:16.5  Time: 5:11
Woburn to Lennoxville

I had decided that this blog was going to be positive - no complaining, squawking, moaning, groaning, belly aching, whining or crying.  We're all tired of hearing each other moan about the hills, the winds, the rain, the traffic, the poor shoulders, yadda yadda yadda ad nauseum. No siree, this blog was going to be all sugar and spice and everything nice - the beautiful blue skies, the lovely scenery, the great people, the wonderful memories etc., etc. etc. Not going to happen.  This stuff only happens in bicycling heaven - and we're definitely not there. 

We started out the day with a good breakfast (bacon, eggs, coffee, potatoes, toast - our usual) in the motel cafe and off we went with Jim leading the charge out of town.  I use the term 'charge' loosely - it was actually a slow crawl.  We faced a long 6 km climb right off the bat with stone-cold legs.  Man, that was tough especially with a strong wind directly in our puss.  What a way to start the day.  It's hard to appreciate the beauty of the area when you're focused on the ten feet of road ahead of you with your tongue dragging on the crossbar cruising along at  5 kph desperately trying to stay upright.  Despite our most fervent supplications to the Almighty, the wind continued to slap us around without pity making even the downhills sketchy and butt-clenching.

We slogged onwards to the small hamlet of Notre Dame du Bois for a quick snack and pick-me-up, then on to the town of La Patrie to buy lunch and drinks for our roadside meal up ahead. A few kilometers further up a very busy highway, a nice grassy field provided a fine venue for our noon repast even as logging trucks and cement trucks thundered by.  With the sun warming up, it would have been a fine place to roll over for a nap like regular old people do but we had places to go, people to see and things to do so away we went over hill and dale.  By now the wind had subsided quite a bit but was still a real pain in the gluteus maximus.

None-the-less we had no choice but to soldier onward in improving conditions and actually were enjoying a fine ride.  Our destination for the night was Sherbrooke but when we arrived in the busy town of Lennoxville a few kilometers closer we spied a great little motel, negotiated a good rate with the owner and booked in.  Other than the fact the rail tracks run just behind the motel, it seems to be a fine place to hang our hats for the night.  A six-pack of Corona from the Couche Tarde made a fine prelude to our pizza supper and the Amigos are happy once again despite the dismal forecast of 63 mm of rain tomorrow.  What a fine prospect.  We've learned from experience that cycling in full rain gear is about as much fun as attending a  proctologists' convention.  Needless to say, we hope the forecast and radar images are wrong - but, what are the odds of that happening?  Slim and none and Slim's outta town.

Anyway, all things considered, it was a pretty decent day - not a real stinker like yesterday. We've got about 1550 kms under our belts and should be at the half way mark in another day or two.  That gives us a warm and fuzzy feeling - just like the fuzz growing in our cycling shorts between washings.  Carpe Diem.

This blog posted by Fabio

**

Sept 10
Dist: 109  Avg:18.6  Time: 5:51
Lennoxville to St. Paul d'Abbotsford (Robert Vyncke's homestead on Mont Yamaska)

Green, dark green, yellow and orange with dots of red.... that's what was displaying on our radar screen. We almost started crying at the site of it. Quickly closing the computer and trying to put those dreaded conditions out of our minds we headed off to breakfast at a little corner cafe.

As we ate breakfast, the rain subsided and the skies actually brightened a bit. Was this a teaser from the weather gods until we mounted our bikes or was this going to be the days norm. To our surprise the day turned out to be quite pleasant... overcast but warm.

The next best thing happening to us today was the wind and hills.....THERE WAS NONE OF EITHER :) We actually made pretty good time as compared to the previous days that we all behind us now. To our surprise, the road gradually made it's way downhill, going towards the St. Lawrence River. Once we hit Waterloo, Bob (Vyncke) had mentioned to take the bike trails, which utilize or rail beds, which of course means they're almost perfectly flat. WONDERFUL!!!!!

Once we got closer to St. Paul after Granby, the trail system markings weren't the best. This took us longer to figure out where we were. Getting back on the bikes a light rain started and after another hour or so we finally made it to St. Paul just as darkness was setting in. Bob was there to greet from the porch, "Hello... you made it!"  

We pushed our bikes into the garage, where we unloaded and brought our bags into Bob's mansion. The boys were amazed at Bob's beautiful home. This is every man's dream, as Fabio put it.

After a Belgium Leffe beer during our happy hour we headed for the showers, after which we enjoyed the wonderful meal of carrot soup, spaghetti with an amazing homemade sauce and a slice of sugar pie made with maple syrup. This would have been a two or three hundred dollar stay if this was a B&B. The rest of the evening we just relaxed and chatted away on the variety of subjects that popped up between us. What a GREAT evening. We finally retired close to midnight, the latest we have ever stayed up during the last two and a half weeks. 

**
Sept 11
Rest day at St. Paul d'Abbottsford
(or laundry, bike wash and shopping day)

The Three Amigos' slept in this morning, no pedaling would be done today. We would just chill out today with Gene's friend Bob, who had convinced us to stay an extra  day. Today he said would be very warm and humid. Just like riding in the rain we would be soaked in a half hour.

Bob's house

Bob's Bicycle Barn

Inside Bob's maple syrup building

Inside the Sugar Shack

Outside of the Sugar Shack

View towards Montreal from Bob's front lawn

Gene, Bob and Fabio at Verger des Collines

Bob's home is surrounded by sugar maple trees, apple orchards and vineyards. This area 60k east of Montreal is well known for it's maple syrup industries, apple industries and local wine, and we were treated to a taste of all of this.

Bob produces his own maple syrup but we will have get some shipped home as it would be too heavy to carry.

We were exposed to the area culture and the day off with our host Bob was most enjoyable. Bob and our dear past cycling friend Arnold Devlin were best buddies and this is how Gene was introduced to Bob.We want to thank Bob for being a wonderful host and opening up his home to us. He will always have an open invitation to come to Thunder Bay and spend some time with us and we will show him the same hospitality as he gave us. 

Today's blog by Jim