That felt so fast! Chris and I were talking in the car last night about how strange the end of bike trips can be. For a week (in this case) we rode, planned routes, packed and unpacked, ate and slept. That’s it. All day every day. Then 30 minutes after we stopped pedaling we were in a car speeding towards home at 100 kph. No transition like a long flight or something. It’s just over. Immediately.
I’ll deal first with the swarm in the room. The bugs were a problem. Many locals did say to us that they were worse than usual. And that says something because in June and July the bugs are bad in the north. I won’t be doing any more backcountry stuff in these months in this region again. Pretty confident I speak for Chris here too ;).
Now the route. I’d say we did roughly 75% of the official LDW. We were on some excellent roads along it without a doubt. I love the fairly rough and unmaintained backroads (in moderation) very much. Unfortunately, these were the places with the most bugs so we cut some of these parts out.
What the route lacked in our humble opinion was destinations. We didn’t pass much in terms of particularly beautiful sites or natural features, and while the towns were good for resupply and taking care of our needs, none of them appeared particularly noteworthy or special. Not places you’d visit just because, at least so far as we could tell. There’s mothing wrong with good riding in otherwise not amazing places, but it’s possible to have both I think.
The big thing on this trip for me was doing it with someone else. Until pretty recently the thought of being on one of these trips with others was not interesting to me. Turns out I like it (with the right people of course). And it’s a crash course in getting to know someone.
Chris and I didn’t know each other very well before we got started. Fortunately our intuition about each other seems to have been pretty good because we got along really well and our styles and approach to the trip were quite compatible. I think the key things to look out for are flexibility, a reasonable commitment to seeing the trip through despite the challenges that will surely present themselves and a sense of humor. Chris is a major trooper and I’m really glad we did this together.
The numbers
- 6.5 days
- 673 kilometers / 418 miles
- 5136 meters elevation / 16,850 feet
- 0 mechanicals
- 3ish bug bites for Chad
- Many, many more for Chris
Just finished reading through all the posts for the ride. I’m glad it worked out, and it sounded like some good learnings and good times were had. I especially like seeing 0 mechanicals for you 😉
You’re growing Chad. First the week long hike with Karen, now including Chris on a bike ride. You’ve not such a loner after all! As you described the letdown when your ride was over, I had the same feeling. I was going along all week, enjoying the blogs and all of the sudden they’re over. Thankful you’re both home safe and sound but I want the ride to continue, minus the bugs, bugs, and more bugs. On to your next trip which I assume will be fall. Well done.
Not noteworthy? One of the towns you rode through, Shawville, is famous for not having a Catholic Church!
Pretty darn rare in Quebec, even these days.
I think you should contact Health Canada, and possibly give them a blood donation. There may be something in your biology that makes you a natural bug repellent.
Thanks for the entertaining write-ups. See you on the streets!
lol! Thanks for coming along as always
Similar to mom, I’m always sad when the rides end. Sometimes, as I did this time, I wait a couple days to read the last one.
Always so great to ride along with you and I enjoyed Chris’s takes as well.