Another cool and cloudy day greets us as we start our ride toward Nominingue forcing us to layer up with windbreakers to thwart the chill. It’s an easy coast downhill toward Mont-Tremblant. Few other cyclists are on the trail and we appear to be passing through an alpine-like forest populated mostly with conifers separated by clumps of white birches. The air and our legs are fresh and ready for the day.
Our first stop is at a lake where a duck having a crested feather head swims away with its ducklings. A spillway, adjacent to an old, disused water pump, gurgles with noise. We soon reach the downtown section of Mont-Tremblant where we decide to grab a bagged lunch. The chill is still discernible as we wait for our food in a toasty, heated room.
We are lucky in that tomorrow there is a Ironman competition in the area that will likely shut the trail. We pass many shrink-wrapped port-a-potties and taped instructions on our way. More cyclists are now flying by us, no doubt in training for tomorrow’s event.
We spot a bike detour sign pointing upwards to a steep hill. We push on, however, to the village section of Mont-Tremblant where there is a huge, beautiful lake where athletic figures in wetsuits are taking a dip. It is the starting point of the Ironman as well as the closed trail. Ted and I circle back.
There are quite a few steep sections on this bypass, on the opposite side of Lac Mercier, the most extreme being the initial climb but both of us handle it well though it did require the use of our highest gears. The road undulates making us use momentum to get up the next ridge. On one section we reach 35 mph.
The detour appears to end as we come to a trail crossing. There is a construction sign pushed off to the side. Cyclists are peddling in both directions. As Lac Mercier is to our right, we turn left.
This section of the Le P’tit Train Du Nord is being readied to be paved. But even though it is not complete, it is a good trail to ride. Passing through wetlands on a slight downhill we reach another beautiful lake. There are lovely houses surrounding it and a small church steeple in the distance.
We approach a town and it appears somewhat familiar: we are back in Mont-Tremblant. We made the wrong turn. Even though the trail is supposed to be closed, lots of people are using it. We laugh at our mistake and turn back, but not on the detour.
We will stop for lunch at Labelle, which is probably about 10 miles or so ahead. Coming out of a forest, we see the first sign of cattle with large, grazed fields of rye grass. We push on, hungry and ready for a rest.
After lunch, the sun emerges. Ted and I slather on protective lotions for the final push to Nominingue. There are few people biking now and Ted and I feel as if we on on the trail by ourselves. The Rivière-Rouge is running fast to our right and we feel the temperature drop significantly. A swim would be nice and Ted reminds me that we can go for a dip in Lac Nominingue in front of our B&B, which we reach after pedaling over 50 miles for the day and 99 for the two.
And as for the swim, he is right and he does.
