August 7 - Donations to Parkinson's Disease

I want to thank my friends and family for continuously supporting me in my effort each year "to make a difference." Contributions of over $4000 to the Parkinson's Foundation of Greater Washington this year will help fight this awful disease that others like my brother Michael fight every day.

Today I received another donation and was deeply touched. My friend thanked ME for all I do for this very important foundation.  It is I who should be thanking you for helping me make my dreams come true.

I don't know where I will travel on my bicycle next year but welcome another challenge in 2015 when I reach the age of 70.  When I was younger, I visualized anyone who reached this age as gray haired, wrinkled and perhaps wheelchair bound.  Now I know it's a bicycle that will keep me forever young.

August 5 - On our way Home

This morning Robin invited us to join her class, Yoga on the Beach, on the shore of Lake George. What a wonderful way to start the day! I could be hooked on yoga forever after this experience.

August 4 - Cycling into Quebec City

Our last ride into the city took only three hours. Our route began with 18 miles on a limestone/dirt "rails to trails" path followed by18 miles of asphalt, all along route verge 5 and 6.

The Canadian route system enabled us to cycle into a busy, conjested city without dealing with traffic. For our safety, we took a designated bicycle detour when there was construction on the road. The bike detour took us through local neighborhoods and back to the trail. I have never seen a detour sign specifically for bicycles on all my travels in the United States and Europe.

Upon our arrival at the hotel I had hoped that my 15 year old Honda Odyssey would start after a month's time. I was lucky but Kassandra was not.  Ken and John did their magic with jumper cables.

Our trip to the half way point at Lake George took longer than expected after getting lost leaving Quebec and spending extra time waiting in line to cross the border into the United State.
We were happy to finally arrive in Lake George and received a warm welcome from cousins Robin and Bert. They had followed my entire journey on this blog and we had great fun showing photos again and talking about the trip.

Robin asked a typical question, "What was the favorite part of the trip?" My response was that every day had something special. However, what I admired about Canada was their development of a safe and successful route system for cyclists.  It is possible to cycle anywhere in Canada with these designated route signs and continue to "smell the roses". We never rushed to get from point A to point B and took the time to explore the land and experience the diversity of French Canadians in the Province of Quebec.

August 4 - Morning of our Last Day

This morning we cycled 36 miles to complete the loop in Quebec City. I realized that I never photographed our friends that joined us on the Montreal route. So, better late than never.

Sierra, age 18, had never cycled before the trip and was extremely proud of her mileage today. Jim Conway cycled on his new a crank forward recumbent bicycle.  After a hip and two knee replacements, he was able to cycle every mile. Bill Fortune from Lexington cycled daily with his friend Jim. Jim and Bill cycled across country in 2008, a bond that will last them a lifetime.

August 3 - Bridge Crossings to Saint-Raymond

Each bridge crossing the Saint-Ann River was a photo opportunity. After this last bridge, I walked down a path to the river, rested, and reflected upon the wonderful month that I had spent on my bike touring the province of Quebec.

August 3 - Cycling to Saint-Raymond

The group departed the Auberge du Manoir Dauth in Saint-Anne-de-la-Perade for the second time. Luckily, the skies were clear after the tremendous storm during the night and the roads dry. Our route was short, only 36 miles, but full of stops along the way to "smell the roses". The route crossed back and forth over River Saint-Anne
We stopped frequently to photograph the bridges, the river, the raspberry fields, and the alpacas.

August 2 - Art Exposition in Champlain

How lucky to find such talented artists along the route. Today was the opening of the art show and all the artists were working in their booths. I was fascinated by some of the techniques used by the painters and sculpture artists. The paintings I liked most were very similar to Andre Coppens' style that I first admired at Auberge Harris.

August 2 - Detour to Sainte-Casimire

Our scheduled ride today was only 24 miles so Margaret. John and I considered other bike routes around Trois-Rivieres to extend our ride that would bring us back to the town of Champlain and back on our cue sheet.

Our new route started near the Basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Cap. I went in to see the beautiful stained glass windows. What else would a jewish woman do on Shabbat?

The rest of Shabbat on my bike brought me through villages and farms on almost carless roads. Many times I think that when I ride on Shabbat, the day is spiritual for me. I reflect on my surroundings and seem to be in another world, never thinking about my usual routine or what I know I need to accomplish.

August 1 - Other stops Along the way to Trois-Rivieres

The General Store in Yamachichi was the next stop. When we wandered into the store, we did not expect a store full of collectibles. Dennis, the owner, showed us the music hall upstairs and demonstrated his Pianola Aeolian. This mechanism is attached to any piano and plays music on 65 notes by a foot pedal worked by suction. The music rolls that Dennis used date back to 1904 when this unique player piano was created.

As a collector of bicycle photos and paraphernalia, I cherished the flowering bicycles I saw on a lawn along the route. There were six different bicycles with holders for flowers and I guessed that the owner must have welded each one.

August 1 - Cycling back to Trois-Rivieres

Today's route was mainly on untraveled roads, along farms and small villages. Our first stop was at an organic farm. The quote on the barn door in French translates "When people live with love, there will be no more misery."

July 31 - From Montreal to Berthierville

The weather report last night was rain this morning but the sun was shining. We started the day with a delicious breakfast at an outdoor cafe. I usually order oatmeal most mornings but never has the presentation of a bowl of oatmeal been so elegant. Leaving Montreal was easy as we followed the route verte 5 signs.

After lunch the clouds moved in and by the time we had traveled only a few miles, we had to seek shelter. The closest shelter was a bakery and we stayed there for over an hour until the thunder and lightning stopped. After staring at the cookies and pies for a long time, we purchased a raspberry pie and I figured out how to carry it in the rain in my pack. We dressed ourselves in rain pants, rain jackets and warmer clothing for the heavy rain, wind and cooler temperature before leaving.

When we arrived at our hotel, we were drenched. Later we found out that if we had waited two hours like the other group, we would not have had to ride in the rain.  Our reward, however, was the raspberry pie that we did not share with the group!

July 30 - End of the day in Montreal

Leaving the restful atmosphere of the Botanical Gardens was difficult, but our spirits were lifted as we walked toward the metro and saw this incredible play structure for kids from ages 1-99.

July 30 - Day off in Montreal

Margaret wanted us to find Fairmount Bagels. The original store was opened in 1919 by Isadore Shlafman. All the bagels are hand-rolled and baked in a wood fire oven. There is no photo of the bagels because we gobbled them up before I remembered to take the picture. As an alternative, you can see the colorful benches where we ate our breakfast.

Even though this is a day off the bike, we decided to cycle to Habitat 67 and to the Geodome.
I had been in Montreal for Expo 67 and had seen this innovative housing development at that time.
Since we were still on our bikes, we cycled to Cafe Biciletta at the Maison du Bicycles.
In 1967 this organization created the route verde system of bike routes throughout Canada.

July 27 - Exploring the City of Montreal

By early afternoon we were settled in our hotel, ready to explore the city and walk to Old Town. On the way I could not help but notice heavy duty locks on the bicycles on the streets and started to search for this folding metal, thief proof lock made in Germany.

Everywhere I turned I saw something unique. How about this1890 dress made out of paper? Can you believe I even found a stained glass store?

I tried to count the number of ethnic restaurants we passed but lost track of the count because there were so many. We finally decided to eat at a Tibetan restaurant. I had the best meal of the trip - a vegetarian sweet and sour soup.

July 29 - On the way to Montreal

Entering a major city is usually more complicated than cycling through small towns. We followed the bike route most of the way until crossing over the river into Montreal. The path to the first bridge was our first climb of the day. Our descent was scary, cycling down the steep circular structure.

As we approached the second bridge on Port Jacques-Cartier leading into the city, I was reminded of the first time I crossed the George Washington bridge into New York City.  I'm not sure which bridge is longer but the Montreal bridge is about three miles long.

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July 29 - Auberge Harris in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu

After riding in the storms yesterday, we arrived at Auberge Harris. Our bikes were placed in the specially built bike corral, hoses and rags were available to wash the grit and dirt off our bikes, and the staff washed our wet clothes. This hotel certainly caters to cyclist!

The 80 year old owner, Mrs. Bouton, is a patron of the arts and believes in supporting local artists as her philanthropic duty. Art is everywhere. This Tour de France painting by Andrea Coppens is my favorite. I also know that Martin would love this abstract cellist sculpture.

The sun is shining and we start our journey to Montreal on the bike oath along the canal.