2010- Isles de la Madeleine Biking Adventure

What a glorious get-away!  After such a busy Summer with our B & B going full blast, many friends and family coming for golf weeks, doing the beaches and eating lobsters and mussels, we needed some time-away....!  We had heard from many of our B & B guests and Gonzo friends that the Isles de la Madeleine is a spectacular biking area.  I really was wanting to try out a modest biking adventure as I've heard of so many great tales from our friends and would love to join them some day. We booked online into a B & B on the Havre aux Maisons island, drove to the ferry, parked the car and walked on to the ferry with our fully-loaded bikes.....and what a gorgeous 5 hour cruise to this archipelago of islands in the middle of the Gulf of St Lawrence.  At one point, we could see PEI, Cape Breton and the Isles de la Madeleine from our boat.

Near L'Etang du Nord.

From ferry going past Isle D'Entree as sun starts to set

Arriving at 7:00 pm, we knew we had to hustle the 10 kms. from the ferry landing on Cap aux Meules to our B & B....and just as the sun was setting, we thankfully glided up to this beautiful welcoming home of Eva Marie's.....and ended up realizing that it was so similar to our own home!  150 years old, occupied by a doctor, our hosts running a few small businesses out of the home.....the B & B as well as a Fumoir for their veal.

As you can see in red on the above map, we did 2 loops on the Havre aux Maison island and a large one on the Cap aux Meules island.   The first day we went up the east coast of Havre aux Maisons, stopping for a picnic at Dune du Sud, then continued up almost to Isle aux Loups. There were many artisans along the way, including a glassworks place and a fromagerie which provided delicious cheese and herbed bread for our lunch.  Of course we stopped for beer and poutine on our way back.......showered and then strolled the beaches near our B & B as the sun went down. 

The second day we looped over to the west coast, with a herb garden and red cliffs being the highlight.  We ducked some rain, took lots of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

The last day was just so neat....we dropped off our gear at the Cap aux Meules motel near the ferry terminal  and then took off, lightly loaded and with sunshine blessing our cycling.  We biked straight across the island to L'Etang du Nord, toured some great artisans and the harbour.  We headed straight up the west coast, stopping at the Jardin des Herbes, then up to Fatima....and a Music Festival!  

What fun to walk amongst the families and musicians....and check out some interesting boats in the harbor....can you spot the pirate ship? Watch out, Johnny Depp!!

Well, I must say a big "Thank you" to Robert (below with our bikes and Havre aux Maison in the background) who kept our bicycles road-worthy and was so encouraging for me to keep on cycling during our travels....my first longish bicycle ride!  I am looking forward to many more excursions, both in Canada and across the pond!  And yes, my feet did touch the ground on several occasions!!