We awoke this morning to a tasty breakfast of french toast with REAL maple syrup! John felt our piddly breakfast of instant oatmeal, a banana and granola was inadequate - so he was up with the sun to whip a hearty breakfast together!
Stuffed with deliciousness, we drove to the outskirts of Montreal to start our ride. We rode along a designated bike lane on highway 132 through Boucherville and Sorel-Tracy. Along the way we ran into a number of detours due to road construction. We soon learned that detours are not John’s forte. It was almost guaranteed that as soon as we hit a detour sign, we would lose Lois (and John) in the maze of streets.
About 30 km into our ride, the shoulder became an avenue of bumps, pot-holes and debris. Only a few kilometers later, I had a flat tire. I had managed to find a nail, and run over it so that it pierced right through my tire and my tube. Fortunately, it was nothing a little bit of glue and a patch couldn’t fix.
Riding through small town QC.
Changing a flat is messy business.
While gluing, a young bloke on his bike, carrying 40 kg of equipment stopped to say hi. His name was Stefan and he was also biking across Canada. Originally from Victoria, he was biking to Halifax, where he would be starting Law school in September. Feeling shocked (and a little bit embarrassed) that he had made it this far with that much weight on his bike; we invited him to ride with us.
Paniers in Lois, the three of us head out along the route to Nicolet. Stefan was pleased to feel as light as a feather, and we were pleased to have a third rider with us. The road improved (it seems Stefan was our lucky charm) and Stefan taught us that Quebec had BIKE MAPS! What a discovery. We could only imagine the possibilities... Newly paved roads with very little traffic and wide shoulders, or maybe even a bike path or two??! Heavenly.
Off we rode with our new trio. Look at Stefan go!
We rode through plenty of farmland that day, moo’ing at cows and taking turns leading the pack. As we arrived into Nicolet, it looked as though it was going to rain (in true Pedaling Feat fashion, we had out-biked the storm), so Stefan decided it would be best to hang with us for the evening.
Nicolet is right on the St. Laurence River, across from Trois-Rivieres. While we didn't get to see much of the town (other than the beutiful Trois-Rivieres skyline at night), the girl at the info centre was very lovely and helped us find our campsite for the night at Camping Port St-Francois.
That night John grilled up some scrumptious chicken shish kebobs with veggies over a campfire and corn on the cob (most of which made it to our plates, unscathed). Contrary to the rumours that have been spreading, we have been eating our fair share of meat on this trip! Our legs would not have made it this far otherwise! After filling our bellies once again, John, Stefan and I hung out around the campfire. A fellow camper stopped by (she was from Quebec City) to say hello. She quickly joined the Pedaling Feat fan club and donated to our cause. It was a wonderful way to end the day. Oh le Quebec!
One of my favourite photos from that day. Look closely. John is holding an electric fly swatter, while drinking Guinness and on the table is a charred piece of corn. Our new friend Stefan was probably wondering what he'd gotten himself into!
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