East Coastlog

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i hate how jambands only lets you use flickr, which i hate.

i think you can post pics from anywhere, can't you? i've posted pics from picasa, flickr, yahoo, regular websites with no problems...

[bradm]

i hate how jambands only lets you use flickr' date=' which i hate.[/quote']

i think you can post pics from anywhere, can't you? i've posted pics from picasa, flickr, yahoo, regular websites with no problems...

The only trick is that the URL to the image file (.gif, .jpg, whatever) has to be a static one, that can be viewed without logging in to a server.

Aloha,

Brad

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ah, interesting. i did not know. hope things can get sorted out to your liking heather and todd - the logs and stories are perfect for each other.

[Velvet]

That's too bad 'cuz phorbesies pictures are great.

[Velvet]

East Coastlog, Stardate 082907

Woke up to a pretty day on our spectacular campspot. I suggested we go exploring the island when Heather informed me she was never going to ride a bicycle again. With that in mind I set off to find us a property, perhaps we could open a shop here, maybe sell used bicycle parts or something. I went on an away mission and discovered a nearby store/liquor store and at the wharf 3.5 kilometers away there were some restaurants and gift shops. On my way back I stopped and bought a couple of coffees and a small bottle of Irish cream, riding my bike uber-gently the rest of the way so as not to spill too much of the coffees. Aren’t I a great guy to go on a bike trip with? Anyways, I got back with my booty and info and was able to convince Heather to get back on the horse and make the ride to lunch. Along the way we stopped at the camp office to book the site for another night. While we were in there the lady showed us the adventure tours they host, including taking people on a swimming tour of the caves carved into the rock of the islands a few kilometers away. I got some details from her and away we went. No way in hell would you ever get me to put on a lifejacket and a helmet and get in the chill Atlantic waters to bob helplessly against the holes in the jutting rockface, much less spend $38 for the privilege. Anything that involves a lifejacket and a helmet combined and I’m pretty much out. Learned my lesson at the gates of death on the Rio Urubamba, thank you very much. I was, however, interested in going to the place where they do the tour, as it looked cool in the pictures. A lovely ride later we had some great grub and actually bought some small paintings from a local artist weirdo who puts on one-woman shows nightly in her own theatre. Her technician was out of town so there was to be no show that night. We took a scenic bike path back and later biked to the beach. We walked along the rock where the lady had described to discover an enormous beach that was flanked with cool eroded rock caves/formations on either side. It was easily a kilometer long and it was all ours. I walked to the end and checked out the caves where the crazy tourists swim up close while Heather dipped her feet in the sea and took some pictures. It was spectacular. We went back to the bikes, stopped for groceries and drink on the way home and cooked up hot dogs upon our return. A couple from Chicoutimi had pitched their tent next door so I dug out the bottle of tequila I brought from home and we shared that until it was gone.

As the full moon rose I took a well-drunken walk down through the woods to the ocean while Heather got ready for bed. It was beautiful, as everything here seems to be.

Booting around Grande Entrée Island stats:

Time: 1:29.00

Average speed: 15.1

Distance: 22.40

Total distance: 97.33

Top speed: 39.5

[Velvet]

East Coastlog, Stardate 083007

Woke up to a beautiful day and a plan. We were gonna try to get back to Havre aux Maison Island today to the next campground, leaving us only a dozen or so kilometres to travel tomorrow to get back to Cap aux Meules, the ferry town. The plan was to take it easy and have mandatory 45-minute breaks every 15 kilometers. As expected the wind continued to blow north, the same way it’s been blowing since we arrived, and thus would be against us pretty much all day.

A hot cereal breakfast and a pack up and we were on the road by 10:30. The first eight or so kilometres had us heading north so it was a pretty sweet start to the day. We stopped at a wildlife reserve where all the walrus used to bask before they were slaughtered away for a little walk and stopped to pick some fresh blueberries. We moved on and soon turned to face the wind, which was quite ferocious. Our first scheduled break came in the form of an info/interpretation center. The info was for the island we had just left so that was moot, and the interpretation aspect was an overview of the neighboring salt mine. That didn’t sound very interesting so I thought we’d just sit there and rest. Nope. The lady would not leave us be and insisted on giving us the entire hour-long spiel. It was tiring, annoying, amusing, and informative all at the same time, kinda like high school. Get this: the island system itself was created on salt. 300 million years ago salt deposits built up near the equator before migrating north and settling here. Silt built up on top increasing the pressure and thus the temperature of the salt and caused it to expand upwards into a huge dome. The salt rose enough to poke the accumulated silt above the water and voila, the Magdelene Islands were born. Of course the doozers are doing their best to get at all that salt. Hope the dome holds up.

Rested and informed we set off again, stopping to cook some beans and wieners on the beach for another break. The pace we were setting, along with lots of fuel (read: food) kept Heather in happier times for the ride despite the rude wind that constantly impeded us, and that was great. Eventually we arrived at the campground on Havre aux Maisons and set up camp right next to the mini-putt. I dumped the gear off my bike and rode to the nearest depanneur for celebratory beers for us. Heather made some dinner and we settled in for the night.

Today’s stats:

Time: 3:18.00

Average speed: 15.5

Distance: 51.00

Total distance: 148.33

Top speed: 50.0

The weather was bleak and prevented us from playing mini-putt, which was a shame. I really like the game and Heather and I are pretty evenly skilled, plus we woulda had the course all to ourselves. Maybe it’ll clear up overnight for a morning game.

[Velvet]

East Coastlog, Stardate 083107

Off and on last night it poured rain. We only had about a dozen kilometres to go to get back to Cap aux Meules where we would catch our ferry and had a room booked for our last night, but I sure didn’t want to ride through a downpour for those dozen kilometers. When we got up the rain was off so we packed in a hurry and moseyed. A few clicks up the road we stopped at the first bona fide grocery store we had seen outside of Cap aux Meules and bought some cold cuts and buns. We made sandwiches out front of the store and ate them up as the rain started trickling down again. In the next few kilometers the rain was off and on again, though not enough to get us very wet. We stopped at some boutiques and while there it poured down hard. We waited it out and made the last leg to Cap aux Meules pretty much dry.

We had booked the cheapest room we could find ($50) and were happy to discover it was closest to the ferry (about 500 metres), the room was cool, and it had a great little restaurant/bar downstairs. The place is called Pas Perdus and if you’re ever in town I recommend it. We checked in around noon, showered, got beers and relaxed. Did a little walkabout and a little rideabout (there’s a great bike path along the water in town), but the bike trip was over, and the spitting rain and thick fog made the day scream out for not much more than relaxing. So we did.

Gotta say, every Canadian should get themselves over to the Maggies. It’s a pricey ferry ride, $40 a person each way walk-on, while two people and a car is over $300 return, but it’s worth it. I’ve not seen any place in this country like it, and though it sits between PEI and Newfoundland it sometimes feels like a foreign holding, like how France owns those little tropical islands all over the place. We didn’t manage to take in all the islands this time around, but I think there will be a next time.

This morning we awoke early and coasted on to the ferry with just about eight minutes to spare, the same amount of time left on the clock as when we set out for the islands, last ones on again. We had a bit of breakfast in the cafeteria and now we need just to endure the band in the bar until we land, then a chill ride home with a stop and a campsite thrown in.

Overall a superb vacation with nary a border crossed.

The last stats (which don’t include booting around Cap aux Meules):

Time: 47.07

Average speed: 15.8

Distance: 12.46

Total distance: 160.79

Top speed: 48.0

And a hearty congratulations to Heather for completing her first bike trip!

Thanks for reading everyone, hope you enjoyed the trip!

[Booche]

Right-click > Show Picture isnt working!

[Davey Boy 2.0]

thanks again todd & heather for the vicarious adventure

as for flickr- i opened two accounts myself which gives me tonnes of room to upload pix (maybe something like photobucket would work too).

[Velvet]

Thanks Davey, but apparently guigsy is involved in saving the day. Pics to come.

[Velvet]

Pictures are finally up.