Cyclists, poutine, and thunderstorms on our way to Quebec City

The Route Verte is apparently pretty popular.

We have seen cyclist after cyclist along the way and they seem to be all over the place. The highway's great for it and B+B's and campgrounds are abound with "Bienvenue cyclistes!" messages on their signs ("Welcome cyclists!" en anglais).

We go through through small towns very frequently, and other than some business owners, very few people speak any English at all. The three cyclists we met yesterday have been having trouble, but we've been getting by with my French when we need to. It came in handy today at lunch, when we decided to stop at one of the many "casse-croutes" along the highway for some burgers and poutine, as the owners barely spoke a word of English. It was absolutely delicious and supremely greasy, and some of the guys needed a bit of a nap afterwards before getting going again.

We've started a dinner competition that we have not told you about yet, Pat's brainchild a little while ago. Each of us makes a dinner on a $40 budget, buying the groceries and cooking ourselves. Whoever's dinner is judged to be the best by their peers will win. Before tonight, Pat was the first to cook in Arnprior, making his "welfare salad," which consists of a bag of Doritos into which you throw lettuce, taco beef, cheese, peppers, and onions, topped with Catalina salad dressing. You eat it straight out of the bag, and the beauty of it is that you only have one dish to clean and it's quick to make. Tonight I stepped up to the plate and made "Kmart cheese steaks," for which I cut up stew steak, and added sauteed onions, mushrooms, and peppers, shredded cheese, and bbq sauce, on fresh baguette. It was pretty good, with the drawback that it took a long time to make. The other three need to make theirs before the trip is over, and we'll see who comes out on top in the end. Lots of bragging rights (and we're pretty sure Brian is just going to buy $40 worth of cookies and ice cream and plop it on the table as his entry...we'll see).

Unfortunately, it started to pour down on us during dinner, and the ground around the tents is completely soaked. We're about 20-30km short of Quebec City, so we'll at least pass through, although we're mulling over whether or not to stay for the outdoor Paul McCartney concert tomorrow night, but we'll make that decision tomorrow.
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