Part Nine | Arrival in the town of Gaspé

Ultimate Ride Episode 9

So this season during our annual fall ride we’re in the province of Quebec exploring the scenic Gaspe Peninsula with our ultimate goal to reach the town  of Gaspe and it’s famous Percé Rock located about six-hundred and fifty kilometers north east of Quebec City… after a couple of days of solid riding on a pair of K1600GTs we set out today under a cold steele grey and sometimes rainy sky and the town of Ste. Anne des Monts hugging the south shore of the St. Lawrence as we headed east.  Now, after pushing eastward for a couple of hours the sun has broken out just in time to announce our arrival in the town of Gaspé.  Leaving me to marvel as to what Jacques Cartier might have felt when he sailed into this region and named it for New France back in fifteen thirty-four.

Dave

Well Norm, here we are, it’s the end of day three… about four PM… mission accomplished, we’re in Gaspé and I have to say we’re right here on a little main street and I’m surprised, this is not what I expected at all.  This… this kind of looks like a mini version of Moncton.

Norm

Yeah, yeah, quite a bit so and also the rest of the city, as we were riding in I noticed it’s big, it’s a mini metropolitan and not what I was expecting.  I was expecting Gaspé to be quaint, quiet with cafés by the water and that was it.

Dave

Yeah, so we just rode in here and the sun has finally burst through, there’s some blue sky but man it’s been a crazy day right from the get-go.  They started out at Ste. Anne des Monts this morning, at eight thirty, it was cold, it was damp, it was raining and the first, I guess the first half of this journey was just following the coast, do you remember what that was like?

Norm

Oh it was beautiful, I mean the mountains coming right to the edge and the road skimming around the side and all the cute little towns that were hidden away in the coves and yeah everything changed.

Dave

Yeah we got to Gran Valle, about half-way point for us in the journey and then all of a sudden the road kicked us out of the forest and up the mountain.  It was another experience all together.

Norm

That twisty road was some fun, it was just up and down and sideways and uh it was like, wow, this is pretty cool here.  So it’s a nice mix of the two for that journey.

Dave

I tell you, there was one little stretch in there it was just a ribbon, we were back on one of those old Matel hotwheels tracks and you took off.  It was fantastic.  And then I guess the big payoff at the end was just the last forty kilometers we actually arrived at the park and that was like really scenic.

Norm

Spectacular view there and it’s been there… all the birds were dive bombing the school of fish with the big cliffs in the background it was just really cool to watch.

Dave

Yeah, over all, my impression of the day is a little bit of everything ut the stand out for me has just been the scenery, it’s been spectacular right through.

Norm

Absolutely and even at the park, when we got to the park, you know, we didn’t go through it, but that’s another option for you if you have time because it dead-ends on the north side and the south side so another option for you is to go into the park because that’s where the real beauty was.  So take the extra hour, or whatever it’s going to take and get in there and do it.

Dave

Right.  I know you mentioned our hotel is just up the road here but still tomorrow we’ve got almost three quarters of a day ahead of us to do some exploring in the region so I say we go check-in and get a bowl of soup.

Norm

Absolutely.

Dave

Tomorrow let’s see what we can see.

Norm

Perfect.

Dave

Fantastic day.