Before we went to bed last night we asked Tristan if it would be possible to stay another day if the promised thunderstorms materialized and he said, “Sure!” They did materialize and we woke up at 6:00 to check the radar and see if we had a chance of moving on today. We had a window from 8 to 11 and decided that we’d head to the next town where we would re-evaluate.
We rode into Matane about 10:30 after 20 tough miles into a raging headwind. Though we switched leads pretty often, we were pretty tired after that slog. The weather in Matane was completely overcast and windy, but not raining. Our destination in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts was another 57 miles and the forecast there was for rolling thunderstorms all day. So we bagged a hotel room for the day and evening and took some resting time. Shopped til we dropped (not really) at a little mall across the street from the hotel. There are two grocery stores (including my fave IGA) within 1/8 of a mile, so we were fine just hanging and taking it easy.
We were second guessing ourselves as the day turned rather nice in Matane. Ste. Anne, however, was getting the promised thunderstorms and that assuaged our guilt at not continuing today. Early day tomorrow to try to get to Ste. Anne before more promised t-storms.
Paul – I just love reading your posts and the pictures are amazing! I’m so happy that you’ve found delightful people along the way. It’s just hot and humid here. The ARC house across from Dana’s is getting a whole new porch!
Be safe, and we will give you a Hero’s Welcome upon your return!
Thanks, Bob! It’s been fun. I heard the arts fest was hot, interrupted by wind and hail!