Day 5

Victoriaville to Quebec City (71 miles)

In Victoriaville our CycleCanada hosts treated us to wine and cheese and veggie dip plates at the hotel, then dinner at an upscale pasta place nearby. The next day Bud Jorgensen, the ride leader and CycleCanada owner, left us to meet the next tour group he would be leading. We still had the support van and driver, but would have to follow the map and directions on our own. Fortunately our last day, like the previous one, would be a mostly straight, downhill run until we came close to the town of Lévis, across the St. Laurence from Quebec City.

Laurierville

On Friday morning the fast group took off ahead again, the tourists dawdled behind, and three or four of us filled in between. About twenty-five miles into the day, at the town of Laurierville, we were briefly confused by a fork in the road and had to stop to get re-oriented, which gave us a chance to admire one of the many handsome stone churches along the way. At about thirty-five miles, near Ste. Anastasie, our route on the road crossed the paved path of La Route Verte. Here we met up with our support driver, who provided a picnic lunch of deli sandwiches, fruit, juice and cookies. With the steady down-hill we didn't need a big lunch or long rest, and soon took off again, shortly after the tourist group arrived.

This time the faster group split up, and as on the day before I found myself hovering between the more aggressive riders and two others with a more relaxed attitude - until they unexpectedly got frisky and blew past me. I didn't react in time to catch on and chase them to join up with the main group, so I decided to just settle in, keep them in sight, and follow along by myself. This was fine for a while, until we got to a stretch where there were some bends in the road, and some upgrades that slowed me down a bit, and I briefly lost sight of the others. Then my childhood abandonment issues kicked in: what if they left me behind? what if I missed a turn? I hadn't really been paying close attention to the cue sheets, I wasn't sure where to make the next turn off . . .

I decided I'd better catch up. I picked up my pace, standing up to pedal on the upgrades. It took some time and some hard work, but after a mile or so at 20mph I finally caught them and hung on at the back of the bunch the rest of the way.

Somewhere about 55-60 miles along we chose our own route, I think, but I'm not sure . . . At at rest spot where a bike path split off from the road we met a group of mid-60-ish men with bikes. Their leader, Jacques, who seemed to be fitter and faster than the others, offered to guide us in to the city. He took off at a good pace on the smooth, downhill bike path, and we made a fast train through the woods, until we came out on city streets, near parking lots and strips malls again. Jacques was out of breath, and turned back up the path, leaving us a bit confused, but luckily we met up with two women in racy club spandex, who led us across a busy bridge from Lévis to Quebec City, and gave us directions to the hotel.

Our arrival was a little less than triumphant. It had begun to rain a bit again. And, typically, many main streets were torn up for construction projects, and there were some detours. Besides, we were trying to avoid the steepest streets leading in to town, tough to do because the center of the city sits at the top of a high bluff. But we straggled in at last.

Our final night was at the Hotel Universel, across the street from Laval Université, and only a short bus-ride (or longish walk) to the historic old city. The Universel presents itself as family-friendly, and it is modern and well-kept, but I imagine it must have been a party hot-spot in the decadent 1980's. To get from the lobby to the bar and restaurant, guests pass through an indoor swimming pool area with jetted tubs, waterfalls, and tropical rock and jungle features, with ground floor guest rooms looking out on the pool and lounge area.