Passing through Waterloo, a good place to stop for a break is the Plage Municipale with toilet facilities, picnic tables and nice vistas of the surrounding hills.
The "Route Verte", which we have been mostly trying to follow now becomes a section called "La Montagnarde " from Waterloo to the other side of Magog.
What an appropriate name! Gravel trails following hydro corridors and dirt roads with one hill after another. Really, this was meant for mountain bikes not touring bikes with full saddlebags.
We stuck it out for a few kilometers but when the route intersected the 112 road we admitted defeat as we gazed at the next hill in front of us and took the 112.
Dieu merci that we did. A nice, newly paved section of road with a wide shoulder and no potholes! Who would have thought in Quebec.
Our bikes practically rode themselves all the way to Eastman where we stopped for lunch. Lots of choices but we found a wonderful little cafe with a terrace called Les Trois Grâces. Highly recommended.
A good cappuccino at the end of lunch put us in good form to continue our ride to Sherbrooke. We passed by Lac Orford just below the mountain before heading into Magog.
You have to watch for traffic as the 112 gets close to the 10 and there is a roundabout where we got off the main road and picked up the Montagnarde again. Of course, we picked it up a couple of kilometers too soon and had to contend with a couple of steep, gravelly climbs before we got to the paved path leading into Magog but the next 15 minutes gliding down the wide bike path into town was a delight.
Our day was almost over but we still had another 25K to ride. It always seems like the last bit will never end but eventually our hotel in Sherbrooke came into view.
A tough day. Next time, we'll pay more attention to the name of the trail.
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