Getting into Montreal proved to be a pretty involved task. Even from Google Maps, I could tell that the city was not only gargantuan, but also very convoluted.
My host for the night had sent me a Strava route that I could follow into the city, but I soon took a wrong turn and decided to just follow my instincts and the flow of least traffic.
Some two hours after entering the outskirts, I dodged the last of the construction, truncated bike lanes, and one way streets and arrived at the home of Sebastien and his family. It was still early in the afternoon, so I got the quick tour of the home, dropped my bike and took a walk around the neighborhood to purchase snacks and beer.
Eventually finding my way back to the temporary homebase, I found Sebastien and a friend of his out on the deck, where I joined them for beer and shortly after, nachos with his family.
Dinner was nearing and I was out of beer, so I made one more fast trip to the depanneur.
I enjoyed a wonderful, very traditional dinner with Sebastien and his family. Sausage, potatoes and a tomatoe salad were followed by pain et fromage and a dessert of melon.
After that, I was pretty much pooped so I retired to bed and did some reading before falling asleep.
The next morning I utilized the wifi and power socket available to plan the last few weeks of my trip and book my flights home. It's official! I have a deadline to reach Halifax by September 4th. Theoretically that should be plenty of time, but you never know what can happen...
I was planning on exploring Montreal on my way north and opted out of breakfast with Sebastien and his family. I said my farewells and delved back into the streeta of Montreal.
While at times confusing and occasionally bumpy, the streets of Montreal are a pleasure to cycle. Frequent stoplights and stopsigns limit the speed of traffic, and between the cycling culture and the seperation of high speed and slower driving routes, there seemed to be very few cars on the road for rush hour.
Eventually, I wound my way up the mountain, and then navigated the narrow streets of downtown Montreal to the harbour, grabbing a latte and pastry along the way.
Admiring the view over the St. Lawrence, the beautiful skyline of old Montreal, and contemplating the three months that have brought me to this point I take a few moments for myself. Then it's off, I begin my escape north off the island of Montreal, with a short sidestep to ride some cobbles (a bucket list item). The Route Verte lets me down once or twice by jogging across multi lane highways or leading me through sections lumpier than a Winnipeg back alley in March.
Eventually I have enough and beeline over to Highway 138. Ahhh, a lane opens up to the right full of parked cars. Perfect for cycling in, as the pavement is smooth and I can easily fit between parked and driving vehicles. I follow the 138 out of the city, with a quick stop for pastry and coffee top up at the north end of the island.
At 11:30, I finally cross the bridge to the north shore of the St. Laurence. I spend the rest of the day following 138 through small towns and farmland, dodging rainstorms thay drift closely by but never soak me. A tailwind takes me into Louiseville for the night, after 120 km. I purchase a baguette, some fromage, beignettes and two bieres for my dinner and set up my tent at the Marina Campground for the night. All in all, another beautiful day in Quebec.
During the night, I discovered that cyclist friendly accomodations were not to be had in Quebec City for Saturday and began a frantic round of Warmshowers inquiries. Too much living in the moment and not enough planning. Luckily I got a hit before bed, so the night in the city is still on.
The next morning dawned a bit cooler than I expected. I mean, it was still about +15 or so, but after the heat waves it seemed even a bit chilly.
Cycling back up to the highway at Louiseville, I took note of the ongoing harvest and thought a bit about the approach of autumn. I am probably going home too soon for autumn to touch down in southern Canada, but it will be there for sure when I get back to the Yukon.
It seems like the morning's temperature signalled the end of the heat wave, as it only got up to about +27 at the peak of the day, and humidex was negligible. I pedalled along the Chemin du Roy through small towns and cozy looking farms, taking about an hour to navigate the urban sprawl of Trois Rivieres.
I made a couple of stops for snacks along the way but tried to tone it down a bit to save money and keep the fat from building up too too much.
I ended up at my destination outside Portneuf a bit early in the afternoon, and settled into a campsite with water and power. Only downside was that it was way out in the nosebleed section and I had to ride my bicycle to the bathroom that was quite a ways off. I made up some instant rice, loaded with tomatoes and shallots from a roadside farm stand, accompanied by another fine Quebec microbrew before spending the evening reading.
Unfortunately, I have overused my data again, and turned it off to save money and reserve the remainder for dire emergencies. Appparently the culprit app is Google Maps, which is strange because it has never seemed to use much data before now.
The next day I headed off towards Quebec (the city). It was only 50 km, and there was little wind, so it went by fast. Tim Hortons wifi revealed that my hosts for the night would be around until 1 pm, so I stopped in, dropped my bike, got a key and headrd off to explore Quebec by foot.
On the way to Old Town, I passed by a tiny, hole in the wall bakery and purchased a baguette for 2.50$ to snack on. Upon climbing up into Old Town and passing under the fortifications, I came upon a super busy tourist avenue. Ducking out of the first two cafes I saw, as they were too busy and too commercialized, I hit home on the third, where there was no line up, a cozy atmosphere and good selection of food. I opted for another excellent and huge espresso and a piece of apple pie with a seat by the window. After my afternoon cafe and a chat with a young woman travelling from England, I wandered around until I found a small restaurant offering a fixed menu lunch for 20$. I popped in, got a seat at the bar, and had an excellent meal of pate, coulibiac and bread pudding.
Since I was throwing around money anyways, I made a visit to the microbrewery, then grabbed another baguette, some pate, some goat cheese, and some more beer for dinner. I almost made it out of the grocery store without revealing my anglo origins until I accidentally asked for "un sac, por favor".
So close!
By the time I was feeling the bed time, my hosts were still out, so I rolled out my sleeping bag in the basement for privacy.
In the morning, I utilized the wifi to make some plans for escape route and memorized the locations of atms and campgrounds for the next week or so.
I made myself some coffee and oatmeal and knocked over a laundry rack in the basement, probably waking up my poor hosts at least a few times. Then it was au revoir to Quebec City and out the door.
"Un sac, por favor". Bahahahahaha Love ya, Kiddo
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