Biking in Quebec City and area

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It is still not warm here yet, but we decided that couldn't stop us from getting out biking any longer. On Mother's Day weekend we purchased an attachment that allows us to hook Marc's bike onto Claude's. It is set up so that you can easily detach it when he wants to ride on his own and then hook it back up. On May 8th we put it together and tried it out on the trail around the Duschesny lodge and Saint Catherine's. At first Marc was a bit nervous as the bike is tippy, but within 5 minutes he had adjusted and now loves it. It is a real challenge for Claude to pull as marc likes to vere all over the place and bounce up and down on the bike. It is quite funny to watch him "pogo-ing on the bike from behind, but I'm glad I'm not pulling him! We now truly get to bike as a family and it is great. I pull the chariot in case he gets too tired to sit on the bike, but so far that has only happened for the last 15 mintues of our ride this sunday. He loves to be out riding fast with Claude and they and Paul constantly race for first.

For the first trip, We didn't get to go very far past Fossambault as there was still snow on the trail in the bush and it was very soft. We had a snack stop and turned around. Later in the week they were asking people to stay off the trails until they dry more so they don't get damaged. By this weekend the snow is gone from the trails but at the amount of rain we seem to get every couple of days, they may never dry!

This weekend it was supposed to rain all weekend, so Friday night we headed out for a bike ride expecting it to be our only one. We drove to the Val Cartier military base and started on the trail there. We biked into Shannon but the trail was closed just out of Shannon, so we turned around and headed back and then biked a few more km past our car towards Quebec city. On the way back it started to rain so we got to the car just in time. It was an hour trip.

Saturday wasn't rainly like expected so in the afternoon we decided to head into Quebec City to try a different part of the trail. We parked at a trail parking lot close to the outskirts and headed in towards town. We biked for 5 km then Marc wanted a break, so he and Claude stopped. Paul hadn't stopped so I said I would go get him. I didn't realize he was such a strong biker and would never notice we weren't behind him so I spent 20 minutes at my top speed trying to catch him. 3 traffic lights, 5 stop signs and 5+ km later, I finally caught him. I was half dead. I had Claude's cell phone so couldn't tell him what was happening so by the time we got back to him and Marc, an hour later, he was in a state of panic. I think Paul knows now not to keep rolling without making sure your group is with you! By the time we got back to the car Paul and I had gone 20km (Claude and marc 10 km) and we had been biking 2 hrs.

Sunday still wasn't rainy, although it was cloudy, breezy and cool. We decided this might be our last chance to bike into Old Quebec, so we headed out for one more trip of the weekend. We had the car parked on the trail somewhere in the Quebec subburbs, and were biking by 11am. We biked down into Old Quebec. It was a neat trip because you come into the old city on one of the old rail lines (our bike network is part of the Trans Canada Trail), so you bike right through the CN rail yards, underneath a freeway, and into the old port near the CN station. We had lunch at the Market at the Old Port and the boys played on the playground and in the bamboo forest maze for a break. We then biked along the waterfront in front of Old Quebec. It was extremely windy but a great view from a bike, with the St. Lawrence on one side and the old buildings on the other. Along the water, past the Quartier du Petit Champlain, we stopped and played in a playground, then headed back for the trek back to the car. it was generally up hill going back to the car, but wasn't as bad of a trip as we were expecting. I guess we are getting in better shape each time. In total we figure we were biking for 2 1/2 + hrs today, plus eating and playground time. We probably did somewhere over 20 km. We finally got back to the car close to 4pm.

After so much biking ourselves this weekend, it was also neat because there was a big bike race on in Saint Raymond and it went right past our house. On Sunday morning before we left for biking, we saw several groups of 20-50 cyclists fly past our front room window on their way to Lac Sept Iles. They did 90+ km on Saturday and 100+ on Sunday. Starting at the ski hill, heading past our house and looping the lake several times before returning (or at least that is what we believe the route was). It is part of the Quebec Grand Prix bike circuit. Paul thought it was pretty neat to watch them.
(keep scrolling down to see more pictures).

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Photos

Snack break on the trail
May 8th.

At the caboose stop point in Shannon
May 13

snack break in Shannon
May 13

Ready to head out on Sunday
May 15

Paul with his 2 water bottle in his cycle shirt!
He is very proud of his cycle shirt and wore it even though it was cold enough to need a jacket over top

Cycling in front of Quartier Petit Champlain area
What great scenery for a bike ride!