Pratt

I'm planning on doing the Route des Bleuets around Lac St. Jean this July. Would it be reasonable to camp, but eat in restaurants and the Quebec equivalents of convenience stores?

gauvins

Probably. I'd use Google maps and search for restaurants to get an idea.

Convenience stores may sell a limited selection of sandwiches, but rarely hot meals.

A small stove is usually a good idea (coffee, oatmeal)

fishboat

Looks like it

https://veloroutedesbleuets.com/ou-d...=513#section-1

https://veloroutedesbleuets.com/ou-manger/

There appears to be lots of camping and 15+ towns you pass through. It's a matter of locating campgrounds and checking out what around each location, or on the way.

https://veloroutedesbleuets.com/carte-interactive/

IPassGas

Qu'est-ce qu'il n'y a pas de café le matin au camp? C'est fou. (my wife thinks this is not the best colloquial translation)
We are passing around Lac St. Jean on way to Gaspe sometime early July, hope to see you along the way.

djb

​​​​​​You might be right, but what are your thoughts on this?
As noted, Google maps will have street view everywhere, so you'll be able to research places easily, and make sure places are still open.

Jeff Neese

I'll share my experience with cooking while bicycle touring. I toured on a 1984 Trek 720, fully loaded, solo, and stayed at campgrounds.

The first time, I was inexperienced and brought way too much gear related to "cooking". I think I used the camp stove exactly once. I ate as many meals as possible in restaurants, picked up what I could at convenience stores, and always carried a small amount of emergency rations and snacks - only enough for one day. If there was a grocery store and I bought something for dinner, all I ever needed was aluminum foil and a campfire. Canned food like beef stew or whatever can be heated by just sitting the can next to a campfire (after opening the can, obviously). All you need is a spoon. If a campfire was not possible then I just ate cold food - no big deal.

So after my first tour, I only carried a can opener and aluminum foil. I ate as many meals as I could in restaurants, and ate plenty of sandwiches from convenience stores. "Cooking" while bicycle touring is overrated, to me. You need good healthy food to fuel your body, but making a big deal out of food preparation was not worth it.

For coffee I went go to the camp store. "Emergency caffeine" can be a small can of cold espresso (like Starbucks which is sold in every convenience store here) or even caffeine tablets will get you going in the morning. I usually wanted to get back on the road as early as possible so I wasn't going to screw around trying to boil water at the campsite, just to get caffeine into my body. A nice hot cup of coffee would come later in the morning, along the route.

Again, just my personal experience.

gauvins

Should probably be "Qui n'a pas de café le matin au camp?" (Who doesn't have coffee...). But you are right -- that'd be crazy

IPassGas

Merci, my wife's very basic french and google helps along the way. Fortunately, I can cop to being from the states and Quebecers cut me some slack

Pratt

I really like the self-contained self-sufficiency of having cooking gear with me. On the other hand, I plan to eat out a lot; both for good food, and for the experience o being in a foreign country. Probably, I'll weigh it, and some food, and decide whether it will be a real burden. The route is quite flat, and I'm no speed demon in any case. Although I do all the cooking at home, and enjoy it, on tour, I'll just carry a piece of air dried meat from Croatia, some couscous, and my JetBoil, I get fresh vegetables as I go.

waddo

When you set up camp, there is lot's of time and not much to do (smartphone notwithstanding). Cooking some simple food passes the time, is fun, and allows you to eat at the time you want vis-a-vis having already secured your camp site. To me it's not just cheaper but more practical and more enjoyable.

indyfabz

Yes. I find it rewarding. I also like the anticipation when I have all my cooking gear and ingredients set out before me. I cook fresh nearly every night at home, so its sort of like being at home but usually in much nicer surroundings. And i really like eating outside.