Vermont to Quebec City tour

[Thorn]

Hey SLash, we "just missed" you....we were on the Vermont to Quebec earlier in June ( http://www.cassandrathorn.com/Public...-to-Quebec.nws ). I think we would have traded some of your sun for our rain, but when you go on vacation you can't bribe Mother Nature -- she'll give you the weather she gives you.

Glad you got to see the race. The Cote de Montagne (my GPS sustained 21% on that one) is one tough hill -- would have been fun to watch the pros saunter up it. Of course, when I heard about the race and read the course, I pictured spending the day along the wall, sitting on top a cannon watching them go by.

Glad you enjoyed your trip..

[SLash]

Thorn,

Small world! Same ride, same tour group! We heard about you guys! Both Mark and Joshua commented that the weather had been polar opposite in June to what we had. They said the heat and head wind we had for a good half the week were very unusual - probably just like the rain was for you in June.

I thought it was a great tour, did you? This was our first fully supported tour so didn't have anything to compare it to. Have you done others with Sojourn?

The Montagne would have been a great spot to watch the race, I saw them climb it several times in the training rides prior to. We ended up watching from a couple of vantage points just to see different aspects of the race. One was near the Frontenac as they were cresting the climb. Did you know 63 riders dropped out before the end? They said later they were surprised how grueling the course was - I can't recall a race where so many dropped out.

Don't know if you read my post on the race, but the night before the race we ran into Thomas Voeckler - one of my favorite racers (ever since his 2004 Tour) and got my picture taken with him. He ended up winning the race in a very exciting finish. Also met and got a pic with Ryder Hesjedal, another great one - and nice guy.

Anyway, I'm glad you commented and gave me the link to your blog. I can't wait to read your posts!

Susan

[shootingstar]

Chocolate Lily is another B 'n B recommendation if you drop by Vancouver before or after Vancouver Island.

http://www.chocolatelily.com/index.html

We know the guy and wife. Both are cyclists, he especially. He is an architect and assists his wife with B 'n B.

2012 there will be a major international cycling event in Vancouver. Bike Month in Vancouver has tended to be June in the past few years. Rides, events, etc.

[SLash]

Chocolate Lily is another B 'n B recommendation if you drop by Vancouver before or after Vancouver Island.

http://www.chocolatelily.com/index.html

We know the guy and wife. Both are cyclists, he especially. He is an architect and assists his wife with B 'n B.

2012 there will be a major international cycling event in Vancouver. Bike Month in Vancouver has tended to be June in the past few years. Rides, events, etc.

Jean,

Thanks for the recommendation on the B and B. I hope our visit will coincide with the bike events - we will be there early June.

Susan

[LilBolt]

Thanks to Susan & Thorn, we booked this trip for next August. It seems so far off! Both of you are great writers & I appreciate you sharing your experiences.

[LilBolt]

We have been back from our VT to QC trip for a couple of weeks now. We renamed it Tour de Irene since our first day was washed out by the hurricane. We were lucky that we had no power outages and the road debris was minimal. What a great trip. We actually were looking forward to hills as we got closer to Quebec City. So much of the ride is flat! We had a great group and Josh and Mark work well together.

They were talking about possibly adding an Ottawa to Montreal to Quebec City trip next year. Sounds like another nice trip.

I know that this isn't hard core touring. I love all the stories of the self supported tours, and hope to do the same someday.

[SLash]

LilBolt,

Glad you had a great trip! I agree, Joshua and Mark work well together, different personalities but they're a good mix. Was it a 7 or 8 day tour? It seems like they talked about adding a day, but I'm not sure.

Still get their catalog so will watch to see if they add the Ottawa to Quebec trip.

We're going on another supported tour in about 3 weeks, This one is with UDC Tours in California. Comparable if not better lodging, better bikes and a little less expensive. We're doing the Sonoma wine country/Coastal tour, will include a ride along King Ridge Rd. which is supposed to be epic and also Chalk Hill, another well known climb. There are two days of serious climbs and technical descents.

Seems like a good company and a great tour.

[bizflats]

this trip must be so adventurous man

[Thorn]

Oh, we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Very relaxing. Lots to do. Plenty to see.

We've ridden with a handful of touring companies and did Arizona with GoSojourn. Each company has its own personality and, then, within each company there are sub-personalities and, well, the group makeup can totally change a trip as well. The busier I've gotten, the more I'm willing to pay someone to plan the route and shuttle my luggage. GoSojourn does a really good job and has some great leaders.

My only beef with them is that most of their trips have requisite van shuttles. Arrggh...I don't want to squeeze into no stinkin' van--I want to *ride*! Thus, the Vermont to Quebec trip spoke out at us--GoSjourn quality and no van time!

We jumped at it and totally loved it. It was probably one of the best trips we've had in a while and we've had some really great trips. We extended the trip in Burlington and in Quebec (no van time riding back to Burlington, either, of course) and that made for a very relaxing trip. Both cities were great for spending extra time.

You mean you couldn't read into my posting the green with envy? I would have loved to have seen the race. That hill was a killer. I searched and found pictures of the race just to see the suffering on the riders. I can't imagine climbing that hill 15 times (plus the "shallower" version on the backside of the city 15 times). Eeks....once would be enough to cramp up my legs and I have a triple!

I was thrilled that Voeckler won-- if Hesjdal couldn't take it, a Frenchman is the next best thing and such a sweetie (and you met them both--green, green with envy).

French pride is evident in Quebec. It really isn't like anywhere else in North America. I have to admit that while I practiced my French before we left, I was worthless in Quebec. The accent was very hard for me to understand, yet I can get by in France. But, I tried and some actually let me struggle for a while until they ran out of patience. Like when I said, "I don't eat peaches" when I meant "I don't eat fish".

Great area. I'm glad you also enjoyed it -- perhaps that means GoSojourn will add more point-to-point routes. And you joined the EFI club! Kudos!

[SLash]

Oh, we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Very relaxing. Lots to do. Plenty to see.

We've ridden with a handful of touring companies and did Arizona with GoSojourn. Each company has its own personality and, then, within each company there are sub-personalities and, well, the group makeup can totally change a trip as well. The busier I've gotten, the more I'm willing to pay someone to plan the route and shuttle my luggage. GoSojourn does a really good job and has some great leaders.

My only beef with them is that most of their trips have requisite van shuttles. Arrggh...I don't want to squeeze into no stinkin' van--I want to *ride*! Thus, the Vermont to Quebec trip spoke out at us--GoSjourn quality and no van time!

We jumped at it and totally loved it. It was probably one of the best trips we've had in a while and we've had some really great trips. We extended the trip in Burlington and in Quebec (no van time riding back to Burlington, either, of course) and that made for a very relaxing trip. Both cities were great for spending extra time.

You mean you couldn't read into my posting the green with envy? I would have loved to have seen the race. That hill was a killer. I searched and found pictures of the race just to see the suffering on the riders. I can't imagine climbing that hill 15 times (plus the "shallower" version on the backside of the city 15 times). Eeks....once would be enough to cramp up my legs and I have a triple!

I was thrilled that Voeckler won-- if Hesjdal couldn't take it, a Frenchman is the next best thing and such a sweetie (and you met them both--green, green with envy).

French pride is evident in Quebec. It really isn't like anywhere else in North America. I have to admit that while I practiced my French before we left, I was worthless in Quebec. The accent was very hard for me to understand, yet I can get by in France. But, I tried and some actually let me struggle for a while until they ran out of patience. Like when I said, "I don't eat peaches" when I meant "I don't eat fish".

Great area. I'm glad you also enjoyed it -- perhaps that means GoSojourn will add more point-to-point routes. And you joined the EFI club! Kudos!

AAAGGGHHHHHHHH!!! I wrote a reply - a long reply - hit preview - I got the sign in screen (lots of interruptions so I guess TE logged me off due to inactivity?) I don't know but it just disappeared! It was a long reply too and of course it was well written and witty and now it's gone.

Thorn, I'm too tired to rewrite it - but thanks for the info about your other trips and how you rate Sojourn. We will probably use them again, but are thinking we may try another company for the next one. We had a great group too and our leaders, Joshua and Mark were excellent. Nice guys and Mark lives in Montreal so obviously spoke French and Joshua knew quite a bit too so that came in handy.

I loved your posts about your trip, fun to read another person's take on it all. Fortunately for me I know no French so the accent wasn't a problem.