Tuesday, 8/23:
The train station at St Jerome is where the trail begins, and where the shuttle leaves. There's a beautiful public courtyard, with a map of the trail laid out in the paving-stones. The folks who run the shuttle are experienced hands.





I got to the train station an hour before the van was scheduled to leave, as I had been instructed to do. That gave me a chance to see other tourists come in with their cars, bicycles hanging on racks on the rear. I did a double-take, though, when I saw folks unload their suitcases (instead of panniers).



Turns out that the shuttlevan offers an extra service: they'll drop you and your bike at one town, and your gear at the B&B of your choice down the road. There's no need for you to carry your own gear if you don't want to !



Three hours later, the shuttle arrives at the northern terminus, at Mont-Laurier. In the parking lot for a McDonald's. No maps in paving stones on this end. It seems like some towns take this more seriously than others!


After about an hour or two of riding, I hit my first sustained uphill grade. My mental dialog has as much whining as Luke Skywalker on Tatooine ("But I don't want to do my chores! I don't want to need to pedal! I want to hang out at Tashi, er, Labelle Station with my friends!") A candy bar, a half-liter of chocolate milk, and that most elusive of bikeway friends, a tailwind, stop the self-defeating chorus. At 3pm I stop in one of the little towns along the way for lunch, and I meet up with some Americans I had sat next to in the van. They're set to take 4 days to do the trail; so they're already stopping for the night. I keep going and make it to Labelle, where the pavement gives way to gravel. I set up my tent at a private campground in the rain before heading off to a lovely dinner of mushroom ravioli at a nearby restaurant. Live music in the restaurant and rain outside -- I'm starting to feel content. 60 miles.