Day 44 – Berthier-sur-mer, Quebec (Friday, June 19, 2015)

There wasn’t any breakfast offered at the Motel Beausejour so I set off around 7am on an empty stomach anxious to find something before hunger set in.

Luckily I found a Tim Horton’s in Montmagny and ordered two Bagel BLT Combos and a muffin. I figured that would cover me until about 1pm if needed.

As per the forecast the morning started with a strong head wind and tapered off in the afternoon. I planned to make Riviere du loup which would have been considered too short a distance with any tail wind.

Throughout the day I retraced the roads and trails that Katie and I took on the south shore in 2013 on the way to St John, NB.  The St. Lawrence River basin is a unique blend of water, flat fertile farmland, and outcrops of bedrock. I read on a plaque somewhere in North Dakota that a glacial lake existed in the area which is now prairie in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and parts of Ontario. Apparently as the glaciers melted in the east the massive lake drained through what is now the St Lawrence river basin. Now as I ride I imagine, in fast motion, a great river of water rushing along and leaving the flat deposits; the farm land I see all around.

About 10km from Riviere du loup I am sure I was passed by “Big Calves”‘ sister who waved as she sped by me on her time trial bicycle. No two people could have such big calves who aren’t related. I was going to call out “Say hi to your brother in Calgary. I really enjoyed the trip through the States!” but thought better of it since there was a remote possibility I was mistaken and she was Quebecois.

I arrived in Riviere du loup at about 4:30pm and booked a room at the Comfort Inn instead of camping which I now regret.

Tomorrow I will be taking a new route toward the Gaspe. The weatherman says I will have good winds. We’ll see!‎

Day 43 – Berthier-sur-mer, Quebec (Thursday, June 18, 2015)

I took advantage of the continental breakfast at the motel (Motel Marquis) where I was served home made swiss bread and attempted to communicate with the proprietor and his wife. It turned out that they were from a french area of Switzerland and was taught German as the second language. They looked after their motel with care and attention and as a result their quality ratings were very high.

The hosts also pointed out that route I was taking along highway 138 was Chemin de Roy.   The road was commissioned by the king of France in 1707 making it one of the oldest roads in Canada. Apparently as I found out it took a carriage six days to travel from Montreal to Quebec. With fast horses you could do the trip in two days (or a bicycle.)

It was a good road with nice wide shoulders, relatively light traffic, historic town names, and occasional striking glimpses of the St Lawrence River.

The breakfast lasted me ’til lunch were I stopped in Batiscan for a tuna sub.

After lunch a nice tail wind had picked up and I made good time to Quebec City.   Although I enjoy Quebec, visiting the Plains of Abraham, and the old city this time there was no one to enjoy it with. Instead since the day was sunny and the wind westerly I resolved to take advantage, cross over on the ferry to Levy and cover as much distance as I could before supper.

Around 5pm I could feel my strength diminish so I stopped at a good little motel on the St Lawrence River with a decent restaurant within walking distance.

Perhaps I have been fortunate but the motels that I stayed at in Quebec have been excellent. The care and attention by the proprietors is similar to what I have come to expect in bed and breakfasts. The hosts are attentive and friendly, they are generally less expensive, they don’t have any frills like antique furniture, artwork, and quaint ornaments (which are lost on me), and are more private. I highly recommend the three motels; Motel Capri in Repentigny, Motel Marquis in Trois Rivieres, and now at Motel Beausejour in Berthier-sur-mer.

Day 42 – Trois Rivieres, Quebec (Wednesday, June 17, 2015)

The route today followed highway 138 on the north shore of the St. Lawrence< River.   Between Montreal and Quebec the road is generally flat and at various points runs close to the river. As expected the road had wide shoulders and clearly marked bicycle signs. The day started somewhat overcast and cool with a slight head wind but overall turned out generally clear with a helpful north west wind. I had breakfast along the way and lunch in Louisville where I had originally planned to stay.   I now plan to cut out at least one day by covering the distance between Montreal and (at least Levy) in two days instead of three. I had a late lunch in Trios Rivieres and settled for the night just west of the town in a clean Motel, Motel le Marquis, managed by a friendly couple from Switzerland who knew very little English.

Day 41 – Repentigny, Quebec (Tuesday, June 16, 2015)

It started to rain just as I was getting up in the morning – the timing couldn’t have been worse.  Luckily it didn’t catch me with the tent partly down.   I waited until it had subsided a bit (which wasted time) and managed to pack everything, save the tent without getting wet, ate a chocolate bar, and got going.

It rained in varying degrees for the first part of the trip. Sometime lightly like a falling mist and sometimes quite hard. I had breakfast just west of Cornwall in a deluge with rivers of water running down the road.

The last time I went through Montreal with Katie I booked a B+B in the downtown core. Driving through traffic, being stuck with buses and cars on both sides was an ordeal I was not keen to repeat. Because of this I spent a bit of extra time making sure to follow the famous scenic bicycle routes.

I ended up following the Lachine Canal route which was easy to find coming from the west.   This was one of the best routes in the tour so far.   It is reassuring to see that it was well used with bicyclists, runners and pedestrians.   I imagine that there was significant investment in creating the trail system through Montreal.  The high use forced you to be alert. Commuters on bikes were leaving and entering the main trail from other trails which were not always as clear to visitors.

As I was passing through the heart of the city the rain poured down again.   Many commuters took refuge under bridges but the majority simply got wet.   The rain doesn’t effect me too much but it does poise some technical challenges:

1. Dynamo Issue: Normally I turn my lights in the rain for additional visibility. Unfortunately only my lights or my gps can effectively powered by my dynometer at the same time.  I end up disconnecting my gps or turn off my lights out of frustration.
2. GPS Touch Screen Issue: When it is raining very hard drips of water confuse the gps making it almost impossible to keep the map visible rendering the gps useless.

As you may imagine these issues, in the pouring rain, in the heart of Montreal, with frequent trail forks make the going slower than I had anticipated.

In a deluge I rode past my planned stop at the Montreal Hostel which happened to be quite close to the Lachine Canal trail. Perhaps another time it would have made a good place to spend the night.

My idea was to follow the route for the next day and stop at a Motel or Gite along the way but the delays caused by the rain and the now dwindling daylight introduced urgency. As I stopped to look up the closest accommodation in East Montreal I was approached by a friendly man name Andrey who pointed a Motel Capri in Repentigny on the outskirts of Montreal.  It was well past 9:30pm when found the place to stay for the night.

It was the first day when I had to use my lights because of the dark.

Day 40 – Long Sault Parkway, Ontario (Monday, June 15, 2015)

Physical necessity often puts you in a bit of a pickle twenty kilometers from nowhere about 1 hour after breakfast. Today I happened to find I nice spot at Peck’s Marina with a bonus view of the lake in the misty rain.