Today, we saw a return to gorgeous blue skies and warm sunshine. It felt great after the drizzly morning we had on the trail yesterday. We were seated for breakfast and Jean-Claude, the owner of the inn, set steaming cups of coffee in front of us. He then brought the cream and sugar right out, and sat it in front of Jimmy. The little container that held the sugar appeared to be little crumbles of a natural brown sugar. Fancy!
Jimmy was preparing to add cream and sugar to his coffee when he asked me, “are you sure that’s sugar?” I said, “Of course it’s sugar, what else could it be?” He reached for it, and I thought maybe I should taste it first just to be on the safe side. I took a little pinch of the granular stuff in my fingers and tasted it. It was definitely not sugar, but I had no idea what it was. It tasted like meat, which is NOT what I was expecting. I stopped Jimmy from stirring it into his coffee, thank you very much, and as we sat there wondering (and chuckling) Jean-Claude came back out with a basket of bread. He said, “I forgot the bread!” He explained that his wife had prepared a traditional dish of tourtiere for us to try. He said it is a mixture of meats and seasonings and is somewhat similar to pate. He said it was very good, and she made it herself from scratch. We thought it was good too, but I’m sure it was much better spread on the fresh French bread than it would have been stirred into hot coffee!
Our breakfast plates followed, we were given a choice of two different entrees and we wanted to try both!
I am not sure how I will return to a life where a gorgeous plate of breakfast is not placed in front of me each morning! Jimmy had French toast with fruit, I had something Jean-Claude described as ciabatta topped with egg, cheese, and veggies.
The section of trail we tackled today was a somewhat shorter distance (33 miles) but had the highest change of elevation on the trail. Also today, wae passed the half-way point of the trip. We’ve logged 150 miles at this point, and should be at about 250-260 miles by the end of the week. The trail surface changed from asphalt to a crushed hard-pack pea-gravel, still a good surface but a little more effort required to pedal.
The gorgeous scenery we experienced kept us distracted from the feeling of fatigue in our legs. A verse of scripture kept coming to my mind today; “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands”. Psalm 91:1. Boy is that ever true in this place! Words cannot adequately describe the beauty we saw today. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
For lunch, we stopped at a charming place right beside the bike trail in the little town of Saint-Faustian-Lac-Carre’, called La Stazione (the station). We were seated on the deck in the warm sunshine and greeted by a sweet lady that brought us water (I don’t even try with the iced tea anymore, it’s not gonna happen here) and handed us menus. We looked at the menu, using Google translate to decipher the words. When she returned, she smiled sweetly and said in English, “How is your French?” “Terrible!” I answered. (Why not cut straight to the chase! Any bit of confidence I gained preparing for this trip with Duolingo is gone!) She laughed and said, “ok then, so do you have questions about the menu?” We did, and she answered them all, explaining different menu items and options for us to consider. Jimmy settled on a pizza and I had soup and salad. The soup du jour (of the day) was wonton of all things, and it was delicious. The spinach salad was a work of art!
As we were waiting for our food, another couple pulled off the bike trail to eat, and stopped at our table to chat for awhile. We enjoyed getting to know them as we waited. They were on holiday from New Zealand, and were interested in learning about the States and we about New Zealand. We may have to plan a bike trip to their country after that conversation!
Back on the trail for more of God’s handiwork! More photos below, no words needed.
I pulled to the side of a bridge to take a photo and struck up a conversation with a lady doing the same. I asked her if she often rode the trail, telling her how much we were enjoying it. She said, ” I get to ride it every day, it’s my job.” I said that it sounds like a dream job to me and she agreed, she said,” I can hardly believe it myself!” She is a riding trail ranger, carrying some first aid supplies, knowledge of the trail, and eager to lend assistance if needed.
As we neared Sainte Agathe Des Monts, we spotted another restored train station and decided to take a peek inside. These old stations are treasures, each one offering a glimpse of days gone by and offering clean restrooms, a place to refill water bottles, and purchase food and snacks. We sat on the front porch in big comfortable chairs and ate ice cream, watching the bikers and walkers go by.
We reached our B and B in St. Adele and checked in. Very common with B and B’s here, is that a number of them offer an evening meal to the guests. That has been very nice to not have to get back out and find dinner after a long day on the trail.
The owner of the B and B explained that she offers a French fondue dinnner, and gave us a card to make our selections as to soup, meat and dessert. We thought it might be fun, and it was! She had a table ready for us when we went down to the dining room and there was another couple already seated at the next table doing the same fondue meal. They were very personable, and were from Ontario riding the trail for the first time as well. We enjoyed our dinner and getting to know them. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day!
Deb Cooks and Bikes 
The scenery looks breathtaking!!!