We had dreaded the ride out of Montreal, but with all the work the city
(and the province) have done to create bike-friendly networks (separated lanes,
paved paths, well-marked routes) we had no trouble in the end. Today, the city
was also hosting a Lance Armstrong bike race, so the streets were doubly-clear
of traffic – two wheels were clearly the way to go. The weather today was
overcast, threatening rain, but overall cool and dry – lovely conditions in which
to bike. We would be taking the Route Verte along the north side of the St.
Lawrence River to Quebec City over the course of the next three days. This
route follows roughly the historical Chemin Du Roi (The King’s Path) between
Quebec’s two biggest cities. The way would be dotted with small towns, the
first of which was Charlemagne – home of none other than Celine Dion. \
At times the Route Verte seemed to meander needlessly, but it did get
us up close and personal with places like Repentigny and L’Assomption before
sticking pretty faithfully to Hwy 138 along the water.
A late start to the day and a couple of wrong turns later on cost us a
bit of time and it was getting dark by the time we arrived in Louiseville, our
destination for the day. We didn’t have much in the way of supper food, so we
stopped at a restaurant, hoping for a quick bite to eat. Instead, we waited as
a party of 40-some people were served and eyed their meals hungrily. I also
made the mistake of ordering the “Special” spaghetti, which turned out to be a
Frankenstein of meats and cheeses mixed together and stuck to a skillet.
Caroline just laughed.
By the time we made it out, it was getting past twilight and into the
dark zone, and we still had a little ways to go to get to our campsite. The
ride was a bit eerie, but kind of neat, all rural and moonlit, as we followed a
small tributary down to the big river, on the banks of which sat our
campground. We made it and found the place all but deserted. No lights on in
any campers, and the doors all locked to the bathrooms and main office. We set
up a campground in the dark, peed in some bushes, and hastily got our pjs on as
the skies opened up with rain. Not a minute too soon.
Av. Spd.: 18.6km/h
Mx. Spd.: 37.3km/h
Temptation to break into a deserted RV: Strong; resisted.
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