#chemindevalence

[briantravels60]

Day 16 - Sherbrooke to Victoriaville – 91 km

Trail:  hilly, with some steep hills; 388 m up, 361 m down; 14 km paved, 77 km unpaved; A

My accommodations last night were at an Airbnb room called Cozy Sherby. It was a room in a home, with a shared bathroom. It was clean and comfortable and included a self-serve breakfast. Recommended.

The trail was hilly, but not mountainous, and every incline seem to offer a mirrored decline. By the end of the day, this was a welcome rest. By the time I got to the top of each hill, my knees and thighs were aching, throbbing, and burning.

The trail took me through Brompton, Windsor, Richmond, Danville, Warwick. They were nicely spaced apart and left plenty of opportunities for breaks and getting help, if needed.

Leaving Sherbrooke was a PITA, there were 3 detours. In the end I used Google maps to get out of town and find the trail. 

Outside of Sherbrooke the  trail was scenic, it followed the Rivière St-François (St. Francis River) to Richmond. At times the trail was between a busy road and the river and the noise might be annoying. I found it easy to focus on the beauty and ignore the noise.

2 km before Windsor I got my second flat tire. Too far to walk to Windsor, I changed my tube on the trail. The toughest part of the job was keeping the tiny rocks out of the tire so that they didn’t puncture the tube once I reinflated it. In Windsor I took my bike to a local bike shop to get it checked out and verify that I didn’t need new tires. In talking to the maintenance guy, Claude, he told me that he recently rode 1,000 km around Ireland in just 10 days. The kicker was that he was riding an old 1974 (older than him) CCM Targa 10 speed bike. People do crazy things.

In Brompton, I had to take an alternate route due to construction closures on the trail. For those of you that know that I don't like heights might appreciate that I found this skinny crossing to be terrifying.

At Richmond the trail turned away from the river I rode through countryside in the Val St-François.

I was lucky it only rained for about 45 minutes when the weather forecast had predicted 80% probabilty of rain all day. I missed most of it while I was having lunch.

I saw a wild turkey on the trail. They’re huge birds, at least as tall as my handlebars. As I approached this large bird, it stood watching me approach, when I got too close for its comfort, it turned around and started to run on the trail in front of me, and then as I was almost close enough to grab it when it took off in flight. It was quite a majestic thing to see, yet dangerous. It must have decided to take me out because, as it took flight, it dropped quite a significant number of poop bombs before banking to the left. I’m happy to report that there were no casualties.

By the time I got to Warwick I was hungry and I stopped. When I sat down I realized I was exhausted. I enjoyed a local craft beer and dinner before finishing my final leg to Victoriaville.

I arrived in Victorville by just before 8:00 pm and went straight to bed. I was tired, sore and had a running nose. I pretty much felt like crap.

It has become a problem getting home. VIA Rail won’t take my bike, contrary to what the website states. I’ve now decided to fly. My new challenge is getting a bike box and packing in a timely manner.

Today's local trail names: Chemin de Valence, became Sentier de la Rive, which became Sentier de la Valée, which became Parc Linéaire des Bois Francs.