Our tour has begun.

We had quite a bit left to do this morning before we could leave. I went for a grocery and ATM run. We packed up the bike cases, which the inn we’re staying at the beginning and end were kind enough to store for us (I’m always uneasy leaving anything that looks like it might be valuable in sight in a car, especially for days). We packed up the panniers. We packed up ourselves, geared up for a rainy day.

We also needed to do test rides on the bikes, to make sure everything was assembled and adjusted correctly. My rear brake was rubbing again. We made it happy, then added Ruth and it rubbed again. After a bunch of fiddling, with Tom’s help, we figured out the wheel needed to be seated more carefully to avoid misaligning it. The skewer also needed to be made tighter than usual so it didn’t have room to flex with the extra weight of a stoker.

Finally, Tom gave me a ride to park the car, then took me back and picked up Marna. They headed back to park their car. They put their bikes together in the lot while we rode the bikes to meet them.

We rode through town and then along a path. We had a choice between a bike ferry or a bridge. Ferry, of course. So we went down that way, past some gates, only to find that yesterday was the last day of the ferry season. Back we went, to the bridge.

We stopped for lunch at a park. The inn provided a generous breakfast basket, with yogurt and apples and croissant sandwiches. We were able to save enough for lunch, along with some snacks otherwise procured. While we were getting ready to go, a guy in a car asked Tom some questions. Tom impressed us by conversing with him in French. He was asking about our trip. As we left he took pictures or maybe video.

We stopped for ice cream in Saint-cœur-de-marie. On the way out of town we came to a one-way construction section. Tom again spoke to the flagger, and we determined we could go ahead of the group. Fortunately it was pretty short and mostly downhill.

Before long we made it into the Parc national de la Pointe-Taillon, for a stretch through a forest and bog on a fine gravel trail. There was a longer loop, but we decided to keep it simple, plus there was a warning about unstable ground. Along the way we saw a pair of cranes.

Eventually we made it out of the park. The road switched back to pavement. There was a large uphill marked for the Blueberry Trail. But that was for tomorrow, today we’d go the other way down to the B&B.

But then Anne realized the roads had changed. We needed to go up that hill after all. Up we went to the intersection, and then up that hill. I pushed Ruth to the limit, but we made it up. Anne and Max worked hard, too, but ended up walking the last bit. But they really weren’t much slower.

The actual driveway to the B&B was a little treacherous with loose gravel down to the lake. I’ll probably walk it tomorrow. The proprietor greeted us, then was kind enough to drive Anne and Max to pick up dinner and help her pick some local treats. We ended up with meat pie combos, plus hot dogs and grilled cheese for the kids. For dessert we had blueberry pie (good), sugar pie (.. less good), and chocolate covered blueberries (very good). We hung out by the fire for a while and roasted marshmallows. We were tired, but it was a very lovely evening.

Marna and Tom ended up getting a different hotel down the road. Tomorrow they have a pretty long day, since they’re staying even further down. So they’re going to do their own thing. We probably won’t see them until the next day.

Altogether it was a successful day. We’re feeling the lack of training, but both kids are doing great and keeping a good attitude. Ruth is an excellent partner, though we’re still working out some of the finer details. Max and Anne seem to be doing well, too.

Tomorrow will be a challenge. It’s the longest ride of the tour. It’s supposed to be flat, which is nominally easier. But I find flat sometimes harder, since there’s less of a progression. Plus, we’ll probably be sore from today. Hopefully a good night’s sleep will help with that.