We`ve now left Sackville and have arrived in Montreal, after an all-night train journey up the coast of New Brunswick and through Quebec, passing many of the spots we cycled through just a few weeks back. Our bikes were stowed without any hassle by VIA Rail at the Gare Centrale, amazingly for free for the first day and then just $3 per item for each day afterwards. A bargain! Our second bargain of the day came when we were told public transport is free in the city today. We spent our unexpected riches on a coffee, which we`re now enjoying while watching British football as we wait to meet up with a couple friends. We`ll spend the weekend with them before flying back to London with BA on Monday night.

Started the day by continuing down the rail trail, which is about 132km overall. The south half of the trail really didn’t live up to the standard set by the north half though, which was better signed, in better condition and had more facilities. The lower bit of the trail was partly paved but this meant the frost and thaw of winter and spring had ripped parts of it up, so there were a lot of cracks and bumps to navigate. It also often followed the Trans Canada highway pretty closely so none of the great views from the days before. Tourist information at the NB border were very helpful though and gave us maps for cycle trails between Grand Falls and Woodstock, also on old rail lines, so that was nice. Now we just have to navigate our way to Grand Falls / Grand Sault tomorrow, which could be full of big hills! Ended up at a great little campground just outside Edmunston for the night — Iroquois River Campground — which has very friendly owners, who let us use their phone free to order pizza, and free wireless internet of all things! We never thought we’d find that in a campground and we’ve certainly been making very good use out of it. Hope to hit Fredericton on Wednesday, where we’ll visit one of Friedel’s good friends from university.

Just a little note to say we’ve finally crossed the border into New Brunswick. We’ve got about 500km behind us and roughly the same amount ahead of us before Sackville. The trip has been amazing so far and, although we’re a little sunburnt, we are loving every minute of it. We really notice every little change in the scenery, from corn fields in the first part of Quebec to hillier roads towards New Brunswick and now the amazing fall colours welcoming us home.

We’ve met some great characters along the way too, including Richard, a cyclist from Kansas who’s been on the road for 6 months every year for the last 12 years. We’ve got an interview with him coming up, once we get to somewhere where we can upload it, including a trumpet solo from him, played on the side of the 132 highway in Quebec, just outside Kamouraska.

We’ll camp in Edmunston tonight, and then head for Grand Falls tomorrow.

A slightly longer day for us, but not too hard a one as we were on the Rail Trail all day, which means no traffic and a very gently graded slope. After the first 20km, a lot of today’s ride was downhill so we made quite good time! This part of the trail is fantastic, most of it on hard packed ground so no loose gravel to contend with and as it’s autumn we also get to see the fall colours. Lots of beaver dams too and a few herons, dozens of chipmunks, but nothing in the way of big wildlife. Our bikes are likely too noisy to allow us to sneak up on a moose. Got through the afternoon thanks to a bakery, where we picked up a massive molasses cookie (a “galette” in French) and an apple turnover, as well as a baguette for supper. It’s amazing the food you get through when you’re cycling. Spent the night at a campground right on the trail in Notre Dame Du Lac and also next to Lake Temiscouata, so we enjoyed watching the ducks as we ate supper and the sun went down.

An update on the last few days is needed. Haven’t written much because it was really worrying what was happening with Friedel’s ankles, so much so we thought the trip might be over at one point.

After reaching Quebec City, we spent two nights in the area, one at a B&B in Cap Rouge and then the next day moving 15km into the city itself to stay at another at a little hotel just behind the Chateau Frontenac, which was surprisingly cheap ($94) for its location.

Friedel’s ankles continued to hurt, but she thought they were improving and so on Sunday morning we headed out again. Took the ferry across to Levis ($5.20/2 bikes) and then picked up the Route Verte, which is a dedicated path for cyclists, walkers and rollerbladers, of which there were quite a few on a Sunday.

It wasn’t long though before Friedel was in real pain again and we really didn’t enjoy any of the magnificent scenery as it really hurt with every stroke. There is a saying “it shouldn’t hurt to cycle” and Friedel knew she had to stop, but we didn’t see any campgrounds so we pushed on for 50km, until we finally reached one just outside Montmagny. We decided the best thing would be to go to the local hospital the next morning to get a diagnosis and then decide what to do.

It wasn’t good news.

The doctor said Friedel had tendinitis in both ankles and that the cause of this could be anything from too much activity too soon to a body that just wasn’t meant for the repetitive activity of cycling. He wrote out a prescription of anti-inflammatory drugs and said a few days of rest were needed. We were both gutted at the idea of not being able to continue, but again Friedel thought her heels were feeling slightly better and so after getting the drugs and lunch at our first Tim Hortons (a real sign of home!) we decided either stubbornly or stupidly – maybe both – to carry on slowly.

Amazingly, the ankles have held out and we are hopeful taking this as a sign that we just did too much, too soon. They are still not quite right, but so much better than before and not really painful. So we rolled on, out of the cornfields and into hillier and more forested terrain as we approached Riviere du Loup. Now, instead of water mills to grind flour, we saw wood sculpturers en masse and galleries filled with oil paintings.

We have been amazed by the scenery throughout this trip and there is no doubt this is another beautiful part of the world with the river flowing right by so many doorsteps, it’s not hard to see where the artists get their inspiration.

It’s also a place where people are very proud of their heritage and we visited a few museums, including one on wood carvers and how they do their work (Musee des Anciens Canadiens near Saint Jean Port Joli) and another on one of the fathers of confederation, Jean Charles Chapais, near Saint Denis.

Monday night was spent at a campground in Saint Jean Port Joli (about 50km done that day) and Tuesday night we spent in a fantastic B&B in Kamouraska, Auberge des Iles, as there were no campsites to be found (covered about 55km).

We have seen really very little in the way of spots where you could do some wild camping. Pretty much the whole coastline is taken up by houses or open fields. Perhaps if we got off the beaten track we would find a place, but with my ankles we are just sticking to the main route. There is no energy in them for “extra” kilometers.

The B&B proved to be a good choice. It wasn’t too expensive ($76/night including tax and breakfast) and the dinner we had there was excellent. Andrew had a greek salad and pizza and I had a salad followed by a salmon and shrimp plate. Our meal came with a fantastic loaf of bread, fresh from the oven, and really we feasted that night! It was a nice change from meals on our campstove, which have been good but fairly simple, limited mostly to couscous or pasta with some sort of packaged sauce.

The next morning we were up and out the door by about 9am for our last day alongside the St Lawrence. Just a few kilometers down the road, we met a fascinating man. We’d spotted him from some distance back, cycling slowly along, and it wasn’t long before we were alongside him. He had a simple CCM mountain bike, a couple back panniers and a strange parcel on one side of the bike, along with a Quebec flag and a sign that read “dieu vous benisse”. We said ‘bonjour’ and he said ‘hello’ so we rolled along with him for a few kilometers to find out what he was doing.

He was Richard, and amazingly had been cycling 6 months out of the year for the past 12 years. He funded his trips not by working, he said, but by playing Christian hymns and songs on his trumpet for donations. Friedel asked him if he would do an interview with her and he kindly obliged, so we talked by the side of the 132 and even had a trumpet concert over the fields leading to the river. You can read more about Richard and his mission.

After about an hour with Richard, we headed back on the road, stopping briefly at a local brasserie to sample their wares. Before long we were in Riviere du Loup, stopped for provisions at the IGA and then carried on, over a huge hill, to the rail trail. We’re about 16km in on the trail now, which runs 130km from Riviere du Loup to Edmunston.

The first part is all uphill, but never at a grade of more than 4 percent, and in another 30km or so it’ll be all downhill to Edmunston! They have water along the route, signs to local shops and even a few wild camping spots so it’s all very well signed and thought out for cyclists.