To start with here’s a few scenic shots on the route from Quebec City to Baie Ste Catherine.

The fourth photo in the set was taken from the bike while in motion.

At Baie Ste Catherine the road runs right onto the ferry dock. There is no bridge across the water to Tadoussac, so 3 boats operate in constant rotation ferrying vehicles back and forth. The crossing is free and takes about 10 minutes. Here’s a shot looking at the oncoming boat as we cross the water.

From Tadoussac it was a short 45 minute ride to Les Escoumins to catch a boat across the river to Trois Pistoles on the other side. Pierre-Yves told me the west side of the river is a lot more beautiful, so I rode up that side to Les Escoumins before crossing over to continue on the east side of the river. It was a beautiful ride, thanks for the advice PY. Here’s a shot of Bessy tied down on the ferry across the river.

I landed in Trois Pistoles around 4:30pm. I had made an early start from Quebec after a short night’s sleep so I was pretty tired on the boat. I rode an hour or two further north looking for places to camp. The coastline north of Trois Pistoles is quite densely populated. There was a house, a town, a shop or some other building every few kilometres. In search of a quiet spot to camp, I turned off the main road into the forest on a dirt road. After another couple of turns on logging roads, I found a clearing where I set up camp for the night.

The next morning I decided to head out of the forest on a different road from the one I came in on. I figured I would find my way out eventually! After riding for a while I realised I’d better be careful of how much fuel I had. I stopped to ask directions at some houses in the middle of nowhere. Nobody was home.

Here’s a shot looking at the bike from between the houses. We were very much in the middle of the forest!

Following the road to the right in the picture above I came to a stop sign. Are those bullet holes? Why yes it appears they are!

At this cross roads, I noticed signs marking quad bike trail 30 trans-Quebec. I figured that would be fun to follow, so I set off on the trail eastwards. As I turned left from the stop sign above, this was the view. I thought it was striking just how deep in the forest I seemed to be.

This is the trail I was following.

After following the trail eastwards for a while, I came upon a road. I decided to check my GPS and follow the roads again. Then I also realised that I had been heading eastwards, which was taking me away from the coast, not towards it. It had lead me back onto the road and so then I turned northwards and set off back on the tarmac heading for the coastal road again.

Further north I was amazed to see a whole field of stopped windmills. All of them were stationary. There seemed to be a wind blowing where I was standing, but not one blade turning. It was quite an enchanting sight.

A little further up the road I saw a couple of people trying to push a car onto the road. They had missed the corner coming out of a lay by and the rear right wheel had dropped into a ditch. I stopped to lend a hand. They’d built up a pile of rocks under the wheel. We piled a few more onto the pile and the car came out like a charm. Looked like there was no damage. They were from Ottawa heading up to Gaspe camping. Here’s the view from the spot where they got stuck with them in the foreground. I forget their names.

Random lighthouse, I had James in mind when I stopped to take this picture.

Here’s a couple of scenic shots somewhere on the west side from Gaspe down to PEI. I’m not sure if these are in Quebec or New Brunswick.

Here’s Confederation Bridge that links mainland Canada with Prince Edward Island. It’s an amazing structure, 13 km long. As I rode towards the bridge, it seemed to stretch all the way to the horizon. I took several photos from the bike as I crossed the bridge, but none of them captured the sensation of driving across. The bridge seemed to stretch out endlessly in front of me. At $17 for a motorcycle, I think the bridge is worth a drive. You only pay to leave PEI, either by ferry or bridge. The ferry is $39 to leave, the bridge $17. If I had arrived by ferry and left by bridge I’d have saved $22! I’ll catch the ferry off the island tomorrow morning for Pictou, Nova Scotia.

On the island I took one of my hosts, Megan, out for her first ride on a motorcycle. She was nervous at first but having a blast by the end of the afternoon. We went to New Glasgow. I had seen New Glasgow on the map in Nova Scotia, apparently there is also a New Glasgow on Prince Edward Island. I was curious to compare it to the original.

We stopped for a bite to eat at the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company, New Glasgow. The tea room is in a wonderful spot. We got a great seat looking at this amazing river view.

Megan ordered a cup of tea which I thought was quite spectacular.

From the window I had seem a man in a kilt driving people around in a golf cart. As we left, I spotted the cart again and stopped to take a picture. The driver is Bruce MacNaughton, owner and host. I mentioned (as the good brotherly salesman) that my brother sells kilts, and Bruce said customers regularly ask where they can buy a kilt. I smelled some business to be done. Bruce gave me a card and I made an email introduction to my bro at BuyAKilt.com.

Then Bruce emailed me back to ask if I’d spend some time with him talking about social networking. I’m heading back to New Glasgow as soon as I finish this post to meet with Bruce.

On the way back to Charlottetown from New Glasgow I snappd this picture of the PEI coastline. I’ve been taken by how similar in landscape this part of Canada is to Scotland. I’m looking forward to visiting Nova Scotia tomorrow.