Strangely after feeling not secure at our friendly downtown Motel in La Trois Rivieres I was up and outta there early the next morning. I have made a decision that while I am still finding my feet I will avoid really built up areas which will have implications for my journey route today. Instead of making a beeline down from La trois Rivieres to Montreal (or as the quebeccois say 'Moreal') I am going to head across country and aim for north of the city hopefully avoiding the busier roads.
So far my experience has led me to believe that the road services in the city are pretty rutted, they often look like they have suffered from severe earthquakes the amount of ruts and cracks there are in the road....although my working theory is that the heavy road usage combined with heavy tyred vehicles has eaten, quite literally, into the quality of the surfaces.....this may sound like a strange observation but on day 2 I am becoming aware again of my need to acclimatize to sitting for 5 or 6 hours a day on a saddle....road quality becomes an important consideration in relation to the wear and tear of ones undercarriage!
I continue down the 138 through villages like Loiseville (where I stop for a hearty brunch) and Berthierville with the sun shining and once again a following wind I am clipping along at a steady rate.....the roads are wide, a double yellow centre line with a good 5ft cycle space at the side of each lane and a railroad track running about 50metres to my right. I hope to see one of the big Canadian trains go past and imagine it on the same journey as me but as yet I havent had this experience. I also get glimpses of Lac St Pierre which being further up the St Lawrence estuary is a fresh watered lake that flows out to sea.With the ideal cycling weather conditions, a feeling of form and strength on the bike and the general scenery around me (including more Harley davidson groups) this is part of what I had hoped for.....only part as it still feels quite close to civilisation in all its guises (eg people, buildings, time of the trip)
I turn inland to traverse the area north of Montreal heading towards Joliette and arrive here at about 3pm with the same crazy haphazzrad routine as the day before ensues...cycling round town trying to find an information place or hoping to stumble upon a campsite....neither occurs and on a sunday i begin to fear my chances of finding anywhere open....luckily having inadvertently found a local amphitheatre along the way i end up at a one star motel (I know another motel!!) where I happily stump up cash to a bemused looking receptionist and load up with provisions at a nearby pertol station.
Two days and about 220 kilometres under my wheels am I'm feeling tired and sunbleached....the sun was continuous today but with the breeze I dont notice its effect and I have got some colour in the usual cycling places...arms, tops of the knees and back of the calves...however a minor detail is that having rolled down arm warmers to my wrists early in the day I now have red arms but 3 inch white wrists as a souvenir for a second day of pedalling....nice!
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5 comments:
Excellent to see you taking on this challenge. It is a shame that you did not chose USA and visit us on the way, but here you would have definitely not encountered so much peace and true wilderness as you will see in Canada.
Enjoy the road, beautiful Rockies and peaceful sunsets. Look forward to hear more about your new adventures ahead.
Golden age mate.
Vicarious cycle touring is definitely the way to go! I'm with you every step (pedal rotation) of the way.
Go west young man
Go Jamie, Go!!! let me know if you run out of cash for the cheap motels... ha. kidding. sounds like a great start and looking forward to seeing you in September.
- Tom Murray
Loving your crystalline ramblings JMac! I thought I might share some of my own with you because I had a minor bike-related crisis last weekend. I had planned to commence my "training" for London-Brighton on Satruday and had persuaded a buddy to come with me. Alas she could only make 7:30am so I begrudingly obliged. I diligently got an early night on Friday but woke up at 7:15am to discover a text from said individual informing me that she had over-estimated her alcomafrol tolerance and she was dropping out. "Humpf" I thought. "Stay strong" I told myself and bimbled down to the garage to get my bike. Decided my handle bars were too low so tried to raise them only to completely dislodge the wire connected to the breaks. At this point I decided to play to my strengths and I went back to bed.
I rose 3 hours later with a clear mind and took my heap of a bike to the bike shop to plead for their expertise. They told me it wasn't worth their time and in a fit of frivolity I ended up walking out with a lovely, appropriately expensive new bike!
I was so exhausted from the morning's activities that I called off my training and basked in the sunshine instead. Don't worry - I did venture out on Sunday and had a wonderful ride along the river - I'm sure i did about 100miles, in a couple of hours of course, and am all set for next Sunday's little expedition.
Next step: must figure out how to change tyres and inner tubes and all that malarky. What about the outer tube?! :)
Anyway, enough from me - I hope North Montreal is on your horizon and look forward to the next update of your excellent adventure.
Kt.xx
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