The next two to three hours were absolutely idyllic. There were virtually no cars on the road, which was flat and with a generous shoulder. We had farms on either side, often with the lovely typically French styles, and towns similarly with typical houses and stunning churches.
A unique tandem just standing in front of a house. The "ladies" seat is in front, so clearly the lady is in front directing while the man provides the power from in back. Typical!
Around 7:30 we found a pair of ladies just setting up their fruit stand. Unlike others, it had only apples. This figures, because it was in the middle of an apple orchard.
This apple lady near Grondines talked up a storm. Dodie was able to keep the chatter going. The lady gave us 2-3 dozen apples for $1.
The ride continued to please as we came upon a pair of bread ovens. One had obviously been fired the night before, but still had a good fire. It was being fanned by a blower.
Just down the street, this bread oven being fired!
Dodie happened to turn her head and spotted a farmers' market. That called for a hard right! At markets in BC, Montana, and elsewhere there is certainly lots of good stuff. But at this market the vendors often wore white chef's outfits and their stuff was not just good and wholesome, it screamed "gourmet". What other markets offer wine tasting, with baguettes and artisanal cheeses nearby?
Dodie spotted this farmers' market at Deschambault
Just down the road the church was open to visitors. A provinciual tourism rep was on hand to answer questions and we found she knew her stuff (as least as far as we could make out, understanding as we did about 65% of her answers to us.)
Instructive paintings. I learned that Mary came to see Jesus as he carried the cross. He also got a boost from another guy (I will need to look it up).
We had learned to evaluate matters each time either the Route Verte or the Chemin du Roy called for a deviation from highway 138. This time, we decided to go with it, and found ourselves in a park like setting that turned out to be the actual village of Cap Sante.
A friendly speed limit sign just after the Chemin du Roy took a sharp right.
After Cap Sante some hills led up to Donnacona. A shock here was a section of McDonalds/Canadian Tire hell. Fortunately the road soon returned to rural lovliness
Sometimes an interesting but common feature of the surroundings escapes mention. Here (on the whole Chemin du Roy, but also) approaching Neuville there were many many fruit stands, have a look at some:
Hey, that last one, run by Marius! Not at any of these, but at one of many more I bought a basket of blueberries and inhaled them almost single handed.
Another ubiquitous thing was bike riders, 100% of whom were dressed as for the Tour de France. We encountered at least 30-40 independent cyclists. Then these guys blew by. Clearly Dodie is losing any race that may be on.
The cost was about $26 and we signed on for two nights. The place has lake frontage and a mixed community of tenters, chalets, and RVs. There is also a small restaurant and a depanneur on site. More about the site tomorrow. One thing, we bought a can of Grape Crush and boy did it taste great. We could have drunk 2 litres. Despite having used about 6 bottles of water during the day, we are still dehydrated. The nights here are cool, a real blessing, but mid day on the bike is still a hot affair. Oh well, tomorrow is a "rest day" seeing the whole city of Quebec!
