Florenceville and Beyond!

Well its been a whirlwind trip since our last stay in Florenceville with the Stephensons. We made our way up and into the wind to Grand Falls. The trip was tricky but we lucked out with a fantastic camp site right beside the falls. The town proved to be somewhat quiet, closing early as per usual in New Brunswick, but we were able to catch a bite at the Burger King. Good eating for a cross country tour you can be sure. From Grand Falls we made our way up to Edmunston, which proved to be a friendly mixture of french and english. We had some grub at Spilly's, and were treated to some delicious greek cuisine and a free pitcher of beer on the house. The company was halerious and friendly and warmed us up for some french to come in Quebec. After camping on the side of the trans canada trail, we put a long day in and cruised 132kms into Riviere du Loup. We got caught in the rain for the first time and rolled in soaked and dying for some warmth. We set up shop quickly and were able to grab some food with the help of our Esso gas station buddies. We decided to stay the next day in Riviere du Loup as the weather was pour and hoped it would clear up. The day was dreary but we caught a good meal at the local Zellers, a trip which proved that Riviere du Loup was poorly set up for walking. Regardless we made our way back for a somewhat restful day. Though the weather didn't let up we made our way out of the town and bouggied to a town just outside of Montmagny. We set up camp on a seemingly perfect deck over looking the St. Lawrence. The view was great and the set up was dry, but the deck proved to be somewhat hard and we were greeted with some unwelcoming weather. Wind and rain kept us up but we tried to fight it off with an early start. The start was futile as the day, set to end in Quebec city with a viewing of Game 7 hoping Pittsburgh would beat Detroit, would not be as easy as expected. I was graced with the busting of all my spare tires and would require the help of multiple people throughout the day. First, a popped tire was easily fixed, though an early pop was unexpected and not easily explained. Soon after a second popped tire and some loose spokes was also unexpected. The kind words of a passer byer, though french, told us that he had an air compressor. We obliged and stepped into his garage. We chatted while filling the tire and he offered a cold beer to chat over. We shared stories though butchering each others language and were happy to have the company despite the pour tire conditions. Unlucky for us these tire disparities would not let up. As we left the kind company of Louis Michelle in St. Michelle and made our way for Quebec city and the big Game 7, the trip again was unsuccessful as I lost yet another tire. Luckily for us, our destination was a kind fellow from Glace Bay in Quebec City. As we were still about 30 minutes drive from Quebec, or about an hour and a half bike ride, we were in need of some major help. With no spare tires left, our new friend Shawn Smith did us a huge favour and came and picked us up in his jeep. We got a ride back into town and look forward to grabbing some much needed supplies in town tomorrow morning. Though the biking was poor today, the company was fantastic. And to boot, Pittsburgh won the cup! A tough day but our spirits are up. Happy Birthday Dad!!! I hope your bike ride went better then mine. Cheers and we'll drop a line next time we can. Cheers!