Thursday, July 17, 2014

Jour 12 - New Richmond to Gite du Mont Albert 17 Jul

We left New Richmond before 8am this morning.  We realized that to reduce the time it takes to pack you get rid of the tent. We stopped on route to buy drinks and got onto Hwy 299. The sign read " Sainte Anne des Monts 145 km". With our stop 45 kms back, we had 100 km sto cycle (80 kms uphill and 20 kms downhill). We had our second stop for coffee 5 kms away at a fishing equipment store. We finally got serious about pedaling a good hour after we left. The route takes you along the Cascapédia River. It is a major salmon fishing river and you can see fishermen and fishing sites every 2 kms or so. The scenery is gorgeous.  We stopped twice to eat and use our water purification system on the river water. It was hot and humid and we had to keep hydrated. Without the purifier, we would have ran out of water.  After 7 hours and 20 minutes, we finally reached the top of Sterling Mountain at 533 meters. We were glad to start the 20 or so kilometers ride downhill.  At 5:30 we arrived at the start point and our very short Tour de la Gaspésie 2014 came to an end. We could have kept going for another couple of weeks. For our tremendous effort today an additional beer was authorized for all participants.  Tomorrow is a "Journée Libre". See previous posts for an understanding of a "Journée Libre".

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