Quebec and the Gaspe Peninsula

[singletrack]

I have been busting a nut trying to get my GS ready for a big trip tomorrow: 4 days going up to Quebec City then around the Gaspe Peninsula, about 1200 miles round trip. My riding buddy bailed on me earlier this week, but I am so psyched to check this area out that I decided to go solo.

I rebuilt my front forks with new springs, new Progressive shocks on the rear, new stainless braided brake lines up front...ready to roll!

I plan on lots of pics, will post on my return.

I will mostly be camping, does anyone know any cool camping spots near Quebec City? I would grab a room but I'm nervous about leaving the bike on the street...

[7981GS]

Have a safe trip and post lots of pics please.

Daniel

[JEEPRUSTY]

One lovely thing in QC is the employment of dedicated bike sections.
A car cannot park or uses a designated bike section nor can a bike park in a cars.

Probably exists elsewhere but it at least stops some twit from doing a hit and run.

As for camping there is a great spot here.

http://www.fairmont.com/frontenac/?cm_mmc=icppc-_-LCF%20-%20Le%20Chateau%20Frontenac%20-%20Canada%20-%20Generic-Quebec%20City%20Hotel-_-google-_-quebec+city+hotels&OVMTC=Exact&site=&creative=5854100700&OVKEY=quebec%20city%20hotels&url_id=30102548&gclid=CIOYgeWwx6oCFUHe4Aod0l6a0w

That is such a beautiful place. I love the drive along the Saint Lawrence river.
Have a good trip. It is a shame you do not have a riding buddy it would be a lot safer.

[Sandy]

When I was there many years ago there was camping across the bridge on the other side of the St. Lawerence River. At time that was the closest we could find. Hope you spend some time in the old city and have a great trip.

[singletrack]

Thanks guys.

@jeeprusty: I don't think the Frontenac has tent sites! Although the view over the river from their back lawn would be sweet. Did you know they don't allow motorcycles in the Old City? Not sure I'd want to ride on cobblestone anyway, but I was surprised to learn that.

[singletrack]

Looking forward to the pics!

Just got home last night. What a trip! It was actually better than I expected. I started uploading pictures last night, I should be able to link it all up tonight and provide some detail.

Quick synopsis: Day 1, Bangor Maine to Quebec City via 201, cool. Day 2, QC to Saint Anne des Monts via 20 and 132, cooler. Day 3, SA des M to Carleton via 132,**KILLER!** Day 4 pretty much woods and highway 132 to 17 to 1 to 2 to 95 for a straight shot home.

I highly recommend this trip, the views and riding are amazing. My photos don't do it justice...

[Jethro]

My photos don't do it justice...

Let us be the judge of that! And I need a quick breakdown of where you found to camp/stay.

[singletrack]

Pictures!

All right so here's a few pic of the 1100 before I hit the road on Friday.

I mounted an old GPS I had, it was somewhat helpful with navigation, but it could have used better base maps


From my house in central Maine to Quebec City is a trip I've done many times in a car, it's a pretty decent ride, 201 is fun especially in the Forks area. I didn't take any pics since I was on a mission and I've seen it all. Got to Quebec and went into the city, it was 3 pm and traffic was getting thick, so I headed to a tourism center and got the scoop on campgrounds. Headed back out of the city, and traffic was bumper to bumper three lanes across. Ugh. Finally made it to the campground in St Augustin, Camping Juneau, about 15 mins outside the city. Was planning on eating out in the city, but after the traffic I decided to stay put. The campground has a shuttle that will drop you off and pick up later in the evening, but i missed the last one

Kind of ghetto by Maine campground standards, but it was cheap and covered all the basics. I think if I'd made the shuttle I would have felt better about it.


Ran over to the local IGA, which was one of the nicest grocery stores I've ever been in, for dinner fixins. It was chock full of beautiful Canadian women. I had a sore neck by the time I left! It was a short ride so I went with no gear, including no helmet. Got a lot of funny looks, I realized that helmets are the law. I didn't see anyone riding without one the rest of the trip. Oops, my bad.

The next morning I headed out, excited for some new territory. Headed out Rte 20 East, which is a typical two lane highway. After I got a bit into the countryside, i jumped off an exit and headed north to the coast, figuring I'd connect with 132, which is the route that runs all the way around the peninsula. I could have stayed on 20 all the way to Riviere-du-Loop, but i figured I'd go for the scenery. this section of 132 was rougher than further on, so I guess it's a toss up on which I'd do next time. The scenery is certainly better than the highway, but the good stuff is past Kamouraska.

Here's my first rest stop of the day. These stops are everywhere, I only hit a handful of them.





Big church along 132. These are in almost every town and almost always the biggest structure.



Nice view of the ocean from the parking lot.

[singletrack]

day 2 continued

Here's some more pictures of another rest stop. You'll notice there's a lot of ocean, you're pretty much riding along it for about 300 miles I had on my fall riding gear, it was pretty cool temp wise, especially when the breeze blew off the water.

beach


Here's some fields before coming into Kamouraska. This was a pretty spot as you start to enter the foothills.


There was a fair bit of traffic in and along here, and a LOT of motorcycles. Seemed like mostly cruisers, but I did have a GS moment at one of the rest stops. I had stopped for a quick bio break, didn't even take off my helmet, and I noticed this Mad Max looking guy all decked out in leathers and knee high riding boots. His bike was kind of back to and at the far end of the stop, but it had a familiar line to it. I drove around the lot to get a better look, and I'm pretty sure it was an 1100 or 1150. It was two tone blue and white and in great shape. I gave him a big thumbs up, he nodded approval of my bike and I hit the road again.

So finally made it to Ste Anne des Monts, my goal for the day. Here's a pic of the harbor,



Had dinner outside at a local restaurant, watched the sun go down



Here's my campground, the Ancre Jeune. Nice people and real clean, right on the beach.

[singletrack]

Day 3 - Ste Anne des Monts to Carleton

Day 3 was the real corker. Pretty much right after leaving Ste Anne des Monts you will find yourself saying "wow" or "holy sh--t" or doing a quick stop to take a photo. Here's a few pics from the first 50 miles of day 3













This was pretty much the kind of views you could expect all laong the way.

Here's another rest stop, you can see how close the road is to the water



Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures on the stretch of road leading up to and after Forillon National Park. Mainly because i was having too much fun riding around s-curves, up and down 10-15% grade hills and just bombing through the hills around here. It was the most continuous, challenging and exciting riding I have ever experienced. I'm not sure exactly how long it was, but it seemed to go on a while(20-30 miles?) Every now and again you'd top out on a hill and get a nice view of the ocean, then dive back down into the woods, then rinse and repeat. Spectacular. Oh and there was very little traffic, unlike the day before.

Here's a pic of the hills coming into Perce, Similar to what i just described...

[singletrack]

Day 3 continued

Perce is a really neat spot. Definitely touristy kind of place, and there's a few good restaurants here. Here's a shot of the center of town and Perce Rock, another one of those "wow" views



Perce Rock is about 300 feet high to give you a sense of the scale. Here's a closer shot

I was sitting at this restaurant, just to the right of where I took this photo, and in the space of about 20 minutes I saw birds dive bombing into the water for fish, saw 2 porpoises and a whale breach! I couldn't believe it. Where else can you get a whale watch and a buffet lunch for $15?

Here's lunch. It was good. Or maybe i was famished? Not sure, but i enjoyed it.



the view directly opposite Perce Rock

[singletrack]

day 3 continued

So after leaving Perce with a full stomach of meat and coffee, I had another 100 ish miles to go to Carleton and my campground, L'Erabliere. The riding was nice from Perce on, but the really amazing stuff was behind me. Oh, there is a road in Perce I meant to check out, it's called the Route des Failles, and it's supposed to be a mini "Tail of the Dragon." I actually found the road and started up it, but there was a fork which wasn't well marked and I took the wrong turn. I realized my mistake too late and never got a chance to run it. Next time.

Here's my campground on the last night. Very pretty spot. I took a lot of pictures because there wasn't much else to do, I had the place almost to myself. It's in a town called Nouvelle, and a bit off the beaten track, but worth a small detour (5 mi.) Get your food before you head in, and bring bug dope, the mosquitoes are thick if there's no breeze.








moon over the bay

nice view

Deer across the field from my site as I packed up the next morning


Day 4 there's not much to report, it was a fast run down Rte 132 to 17 and back to the US. I hope to do this trip again next year, it was really fun. Could have used some English speaking company

[JEEPRUSTY]

Beautiful pictures! We should all pitch in an buy that lot that was for sal beside the roadway.

It takes balls to do a trip alone. I cannot get comfortable sleeping in a place where I am alone and vulnerable.

Oh and nitpicking but the water you showed is not ocean. It is the gulf of saint Lawrence. Oceany and yet just a giant bay. Which is like me saying the gulf of mexico is not an Ocean. Silly but true int eh most pedantic sense.


Show more pics please.

[Eli69]

i have the same gps. can you post a pic of the mount you're using?

awesome road trip. you won't forget that one.

[Jethro]

Nice! Thanks for the write up. Really hope to do that trip sometime soon.