Day 14 – Eastman to Magog – 35 km
Trail: uphill and downhill with steep inclines and declines; 8 km paved, 27 km unpaved; A
Last night I stayed at La Maison Jaune de Eastman on Lac d’Argent. It was a clean and comfortable room in a home with private entrance and bathroom. The setting was beautiful and the hosts provided kayaks and bikes. Highly recommended.
A nod to Eastman's literary heritage.
I sat in a café for over an hour hoping that the rain would let up. It didn’t. After checking the weather I saw that it would rain all day and the temperature would also fall. I thought of my friend Pep from Spain who would say “I am a pilgrim, the rain won’t hurt me”, and off I went.
Trail conditions were very good, with the addition of a 2 streams created from the heavy constant rain, 1 on each side of the trail. Periodically the streams were punctuated with ponds or rivers crossing over the complete trail.
Danger signs should have been at the base of each incline because if anything was going to kill me it was the steep ascents. The decline signs should have read “Wheeeee”.
I traveled through hilly forests with lakes sprinkled along the way. I saw a people walking and a couple joggers, but no other bikers. Most people seemed to know enough to stay inside, out of the rain.
Google was optimistic in it’s description of the trail, “mostly flat”. Google’s disclaimer “Use caution – bicycling directions may not always reflect real-world conditions” applied. The first third of the ride was up and down, up and down, but mostly up. The last 2/3 of the trail continued to be up and down but generally descending, which was more enjoyable. The last 2 days were physically challenging and, for the record, I never walked my bike up any hill.
Magog is at 200 m elevation and Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré is almost sea level. It should be an easy downhill from here on.
I was hoping for some amazing views today (the summit was 365 m / 1200 ft elevation but the rain and fog made it difficult to see much.
It was a shame that I had to use my brakes so frequently on the declines. They were often steep, muddy, and with sharp corners. It just felt so wasteful. I wanted to go downhill fast, but there was a real risk of getting a really big ouchy.
If I hadn't been relaxing and enjoying a fast downhill ride on pavement, I would have seen a shortcut to the right, less than a kilometre outside of the park. The shortcut would have cut out the Orford loop, saving about 3.5 km.
I arrived in Magog soggy and hungry. I had lunch. The rain didn’t let up so I didn’t get to see much of this pretty town on Lac Memphremagog.
I got a flat tire 3 blocks from my B&B. An easy walk in the rain. It’s my lucky day.