Rough week. Started hiking/kayaking/camping in Mauricie and breathing smoke + drinking a lot made me feel pretty tired and hurt my throat…. Then my attempt to do the Tour du Lac St-Jean was way too ambitious. Drove 3 hours that morning and it just started pouring rain an hour into it anyway. Just did a little loop. Meanwhile my throat situation did not improve much. The day after the rainy ride I felt worse and worse every hour. Was glad to at least get on the ferry but once I got off, I was dizzy and made it to a motel to sleep off whatever thing I caught.
Had a really rough night, constantly waking up, headache, sweating… 13 hours of sleep or so then I spent the next day almost entirely in bed, feeling a little bit better but in no condition to bike. It was raining anyway.

Finished the rest of the week with two beautiful rides but still just dragging that fatigue and sickness along. Maybe my power meter is giving me nonsensically low reading, who knows…

First day was a full day trip to some waterfalls. Even if you don’t bike, it’s still possible to exercise in life.

Campsite for 3 people. Notice the tarp and mosquito net over the picnic table. Die mosquitos.

Look at this snowshoe hare just hanging out.

Testing the macro lens on a tiny toad. These guys were all over the hiking trails. Eat the bugs faster please.

A rare use of the camping coffee maker. It just explodes when it starts boiling. Hortons save us.

The rental kayaks on the beach. Beautiful day.

Black Ducklings mostly ignoring us. Bet you don't even know what a black duck is DO YOU.

This is what all those pullups were for. This one day of the year.

My friends taking their kayak.

As Quebec as it gets.

Female goosander and her babies. God damn this camera is bad at small things.

What it would look like with a good camera

We were suffering, I swear.

little beaver dam we had to get over.

Another great test of the macro lens... People call this "tax season".

Nice, calm and cool and where mosquitoes can't reach you.

Hiking path

Top of a little lookout on the trail.

Same lookout

Saw one of these little guys sucking water out of a turd.

The falls, at the end of the hiking trail. The real falls were the friends you made along the way.

Dragonfly.

The parc is just one long out and back with pristine roads and tons of rolling hills. Very popular cycling destination for Quebec, though I’m not sure why as there aren’t many awesome views in here. People must just be impressed at seeing non-exploded roads. If you’re from BC and go there you will not understand the point…

One of the few spots for nice lake views on the park's roads.

Flowers everywhere

Everywhere, say I.

Best view in the parc. Lac Ecarte

Ending the camping weekend in mosquito country with a little hike to another waterfall. Forgot how much walking makes my feet hurt.

Behold, the waterfall.

Making mosquito bites hurt less.

This ride was a little ambitious to begin with at 215km plus over 3 hours of driving in the morning… I left at 6:30am but by the time I got to the ride the entire sky war dark grey already with no sign of improving… Had an aching throat that morning as well but I thought I’d get better…

Look at this beautiful stack of crap I got for this ride...

The bike path ( my mistake...) goes over this damn. Recent storms damaged the path and I had to wait 20+ minutes for a truck to drive me through...

Alma hydroelectric plant. This region is known for refining aluminum thanks to the cheap electricity.

Where they sacrifice the children during the yearly tourtiere harvest festival.

This is how you get me to eat at your restaurant. ( I did not eat there )

Celebrating some people in town with 15+ kids. That used to be common in Quebec prior to the 1960s

Little rental chalets on the lake.

It's a big lake... 20 miles ( 32km ) across.

Life, huh, finds a way.

Little lookout. The area is fairly flat...

Literally every town has a church, I told you.

And every church has a big Jesus.

A little market in town had this sign. The region is famous for these "tourtieres" which is a variation on meat pies.

That's one of them... They tend to be just too meaty and dry in my opinion.

Another typical Quebec food: Pate Chinois. Base of ground beef+spices, creamed corn in middle and mashed potatoes on top.

Double rainbow. My reward for quitting.

Sicker still that morning. Was planning to do a little 1 hour recovery ride at some point but my health rapidly deteriorated during the day…

A little house spider snuck into my car and made this web overnight. Did not keep him.

Lining up for the ferry.

Adios north side of quebec.

Only guy in the city with a mask...

The ferry is 90 minutes and you should bring binoculars...

Saw many beluga whales in the distance. ( picture from google... )

Also very likely you'll see common porpoises. Sometimes they'll swim in the boat's draft... Not the coolest marine mammal BUT HEY

Many grey seals as well.

Arriving in town. Getting dizzy at that point...

Checked myself into a motel in Matane...

Enjoying civilization as best as I can before I passed out at 7:30pm...

Just spent the next day in bed watching youtube videos while coughing…The original plan was to bike Lac Matapedia but that’s not happening no more.

Felt much better that day, maybe 80% back. The drive from Matane to Saint Anne is one of the most stunning in Canada as well. The goal of today was just to finish the loop.

So many of these types of homes all along coastal regions...

Simple ride fuel. Whole wheat bread + peanut butter. Don't need anything else if you aren't racing.

Town has an iconic red cathedral.

I guess people fish for Mackerel around here?

View of the shoreline from the town's little harbor.

Quaint, quaint.

Lotta boats

Wish I could just go fish in the morning any time I want. Don't know why.

Heck yeah, random stranger who did this.

Guess this explains why the region isn't that populated. Just a coastal road with cliffs in the center.

Picture of people taking pictures. New hobby.

Not sure any of these work anymore, but they are dope.

Reminds me of BC now.

Start of the dirt climb has this giant lumber yard.

Snow in the distance.... No. Go away.

One of those "Am I getting eaten by a bear?" areas. Just secluded dirt road for 50km...

Back on the paved road here. St-Anne river.

Roadside has a big carpet of tiny wild strawberries. Would be nice to spend half a day filling a little bucket of these.

Sex shop moose, town mascot.

Getting to the real touristy parts of Gaspesie now. You’re really out on the open ocean at this point and the views are just beautiful anywhere you go. Tons of houses in various shapes dot the coastline, making me wonder how much it would cost to live next to the ocean in one of the most beautiful places in Canada… Winters are probably brutal here though.

Continuing with the breathtaking drives.

Started the ride in Riviere au Renard, one of many tiny towns along the coast, all with this same architecture.

Where there's a town, there's a harbor.

In case you're wondering if having seafood right off the boat makes it cheap: No. It does not.

You can visit this little lighthouse area/ lookout. 3$.

There's really nothing to add to these pictures is there.

Top of the little climb that leads you into the Forillon park south entrance

Imagine you live here

Within the park you come across this BC-like rock/driftwood beach combo.

Love this slanted rock formation

Just pretend this is me

That thing on the left is the actual tip. You can do a little hike down to a lookout to point at it from closer.

Top of a cliff? Build a lighthouse.

If you can tolerate isolation you can live in pretty amazing looking areas.

You can see whales from the shore in Forillion park as well if you’re lucky. Saw some but they were just too far to identify. Guessing Humpback whales or perhaps Minke, the lamest one that’s actually a whale at 30 feet long.

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Touring Canada Week 7 - Mauricie to Gaspesie