Karel had a nasty crash near the finish of stage 1 when he was having a bit too much fun descending and overshot a turn. From sleeping in tents to climbing, climbing and more climbing, I ‘think’ Karel had a good experience but I know he’s relieved it’s over.
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We arrived to the GSP airport around 3:45am and had no issues checking in and going through security. At 4:30am the centurion lounge opened so we were able to get a small meal and coffee. We boarded the plane around 5:15am and our short flight to ATL left around 5:30am - we both slept during the flight.
When we arrived to ATL we made our way to the international terminal and went to the Delta lounge (which opened at 6:30am). Our Amex plat business card gives us lounge access to most lounges which has really made our traveling experiences a lot better. We had another bite to eat and got some work done during our 2 hour layover.
We boarded our flight around 8:15am and left a little before 9am. We were both still really tired so we slept during our 2 hr and 45 minute flight to Montreal.
The point of entry/border control process went smooth and didn't take us more than ~20 minutes. There were kiosks to scan our passport and take our picture and then we showed our receipt to the officer which let us through. Our luggage came quick and so did our bikes. The biggest delay was the rental car process which took us over an hour as the Budget/Avis (we had Budget) staff was very slow with the 3 customers ahead of us. Finally, nearing 1:30pm we had our rental car (Jeep) and made our way to Lac Megantic.
We stopped at the IGA grocery store in Sherbrooke which was ~1 hour outside of Lac Megantic. Since the town we are staying in is very small, we did a big shop before arriving. Although everyone speaks French in Quebec (and some English), everyone has been really nice. The drive took us ~3 hours and we had a bit of rain on and off. I was worried about the forest fires and smoke but the air quality was fine. The scenery reminded us a lot of Lake Placid as we were driving which gave us a great feeling that we would like this area.
We had a little trouble finding our Airbnb in Val-Racine but around 5pm we found our home for the next few days. The house I booked looked older online but it is actually very new and modern. It's on the top of a gravel hill and is surrounded by trees. After unloading groceries and our luggage, we were both extremely tired but we knew we needed to move some blood after a long day of travel. We went for a jog for ~30 minutes and it felt good to move the body.
We boarded our flight around 8:15am and left a little before 9am. We were both still really tired so we slept during our 2 hr and 45 minute flight to Montreal.
The point of entry/border control process went smooth and didn't take us more than ~20 minutes. There were kiosks to scan our passport and take our picture and then we showed our receipt to the officer which let us through. Our luggage came quick and so did our bikes. The biggest delay was the rental car process which took us over an hour as the Budget/Avis (we had Budget) staff was very slow with the 3 customers ahead of us. Finally, nearing 1:30pm we had our rental car (Jeep) and made our way to Lac Megantic.
We stopped at the IGA grocery store in Sherbrooke which was ~1 hour outside of Lac Megantic. Since the town we are staying in is very small, we did a big shop before arriving. Although everyone speaks French in Quebec (and some English), everyone has been really nice. The drive took us ~3 hours and we had a bit of rain on and off. I was worried about the forest fires and smoke but the air quality was fine. The scenery reminded us a lot of Lake Placid as we were driving which gave us a great feeling that we would like this area.
We had a little trouble finding our Airbnb in Val-Racine but around 5pm we found our home for the next few days. The house I booked looked older online but it is actually very new and modern. It's on the top of a gravel hill and is surrounded by trees. After unloading groceries and our luggage, we were both extremely tired but we knew we needed to move some blood after a long day of travel. We went for a jog for ~30 minutes and it felt good to move the body.
Karel made some eggs and veggies for dinner and we had that with some bread and then we went to bed around 9pm and slept in until 6:30am....we both needed it!
On Thursday morning we worked on the computer for a bit and around 8am Karel put the bikes together (he has his gravel bike, which he didn't unpack after Oregon) and around 9:30am we drove ~20 minutes to Lac Megantic (race venue) for a swim.
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I was a bit worried that the water was going to be really cold but it was actually perfect in the upper 60's. Karel brought his wetsuit so we swam together for ~20 minutes and then I did a bit more as I wasn't ready to stop swimming and needed a bit more time to get a good feel for the water. I wore my buoyancy float as it's required during the race (along with a light since we start the race at 4:30am). As we were swimming they were setting up the transition area and putting out the buoys for the sprint race on Saturday. Everyone was very nice and thanked us for visiting the area for the race.
After the swim we got our bike stuff on and went for a ride. The plan was to ride the big loop outside of the lake which was miles 30-69. But to get to mile 30, we had to bike 4 miles to the town of Lac Megantic and there was some construction so it was a big of an adventure to get to where we needed to get but eventually we were on the course.
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The course is hilly. I wouldn't call it rolling as the hills are long and can be very steep. It was also windy as we were riding. The road surface was smooth in some sections and really rough in other sections. The scenery was incredible as it was a mix of mountains, lakes, farms (and cows) and wide open roads. The course is pretty straightforward in that there aren't a lot of turns so you see the road ahead of you for miles and miles.
Having said all of this, I feel this course really suits my strengths, style of riding and what I love in a course. Karel rode his gravel bike and his legs are still pretty smashed from his race (and the travel) but it was good for him to also see the course as he will be driving as my "crew" and providing my bottles at the aid station stops (there are 4 of them) throughout the bike. The cars were really respectful as we were biking.
After 45 miles and 2:43 and 3500 feet of elevation gain, we were back at the car. My legs were a bit tired to start but opened up nicely and I felt good throughout the ride. There was one big kicker of a climb (long and steep) around 81km but the view behind us was incredible.
Here are a few more pics from the bike course.
