Two days ago, Anas and I departed from Montreal on our bikes and headed east. For the entire ride, Anas led the way on Route 138 that goes all the way to Quebec City. We didn’t take many photo stops, but we did take several rest stops.
Anas makes his meals by buying food from the grocery stores whereas I usually go to restaurants. I had to compromise and learn to make my own meals. I did spend some money on a General Tsao Poke Bowl for lunch at Poke et Ramen-Moi in the town of Lavaltrie. After lunch, we enjoyed some affogato at Crémerie L'Avalanche. Affogato is expresso on top of ice cream, something I wanted to try since the beginning of this trip when a Warmshowers host told me about it. It was a really good dessert.
We arrived at the town of Berthierville in the early afternoon. Anas and I went to a couple of grocery stores to get some supplies for our dinner then we went hunting for our campground for the night.
There were three spots we looked at. First was behind a warehouse building. There were cameras so I didn’t feel comfortable. Then there was a chapel that had a no camping sign near the entrance and many cars parked in the parking lot. We also didn’t feel good about that. The last place was a garden at Île Dupas Range Rear Lighthouse. It was near the end of a cul de sac. Even though there was a no camping sign, we thought no one would bother us. So after cycling 51.5 miles we decided to stay there for the night.
We had a lot of time to spend since sunset was around 8:50 PM. I took the opportunity to check my bike and made some adjustments. I also cut out the velcro from my reflective vest that kept sticking to my wool T-shirts during laundry. Something that I should have done a long time ago.
Anas and I also made dinner. Mine was ramen with canned sausages, along with a fruit cup.
The forecast indicated a thunderstorm that night. I pitched my tent with the tarp on top just in case. Good thing I did that since there was rain and wind in the middle of the night. I was glad no water leaked into the tent and I stayed dry.
The next morning, I woke up around 5:30 from the light of the sun. Anas woke up a short time after that. After packing up our things. We headed to Tim Hortons in town to get coffee. I also bought a breakfast wrap.
Anas wanted to finish using up his eggs that he bought from the day before so we went to the warehouse camping spot not far from Tim Hortons where Anas made a couple of wraps with scrambled eggs. He was so kind that he shared one with me.
After breakfast, we got on Route 138 again. The temperature was just right and the country road was smooth for the most part. There were some pothole areas, or “chicken nests” as they are known in Quebec.
We took some long resting breaks at multiple parks because we knew we’d be early to arrive in Trois-Rivières. Our destination is a Couchsurfing hosts’ place and we have to be there at 5 PM.
At Trois-Rivières, Anas led us to a beach spot at Île Saint-Quentin. As soon as we parked our bikes, an older man walked over and we chatted for a bit. His name is Jean and he’s a local cyclist and has biked to Quebec City. He was impressed by my journey to cycle around the world.
Anas and I didn’t stay long at the beach. We rode around a bit more then headed to our Couchsurfing hosts’ place for the night.
Anas and I took a detour so Anas can buy another carton of eggs before we arrived at the house. We rode a distance of 57.2 miles for the day.
Isabelle and Mathieu are our hosts. And they were great! They cooked some trout fish that they caught and made French fries for dinner. Also included were Jos Louis coco pies with strawberry whipped on top. The meal was delicious!
After dinner, Isabelle and Mathieu took Anas and I on a van tour of Trois-Rivières. Trois-Rivières means Three Rivers in English. The area used to be for fur trade, then logging, then paper manufacturing. Mathieu showed us a large mural that told the history of Trois-Rivières. Then we went to see the Amphithéâtre Cogeco and walked around there, before seeing Our Lady of the Cape Sanctuary where many religious people make their pilgrimage here.
By the time we arrived back home I was so tired. I slept soon after. This morning, I got up at 6. Anas and I have to leave by 8:30 since Isabelle has a meeting at 9. I will eat some breakfast after writing his blog post then get packing.
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| A selfie of Anas and I to start the trip |
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| General Tsao Poke Bowl with a weird can of green sugary drink |
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| Resting in the woods |
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| Affogato tastes great! |
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| Anas resting |
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| The view from our camping spot |
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| Done riding for the day |
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| Another photo of Anas resting |
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| The morning temperature was excellent for riding. |
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| Passing by manny farm fields |
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| Cycling was not enough for me, got to do some more exercises. LOL! |
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| Yet another photo of Anas |
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| The St Lawrence River |
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| The view from a lookout at Trois-Rivières |
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| Beautiful scenery going across a bridge |
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| Jean, a local cyclist |
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| At the beach |
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| Part of a large mural that tells the history of Trois-Rivières |
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| Left to right: me, Mathieu, Isabelle, and Anas |
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| Downtown Trois-Rivières |
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| Amphithéâtre Cogeco |
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| The big sign of Trois-Rivières |
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| A better photo of the big sign |
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| Our Lady of the Cape Sanctuary |
Well done.. I don't think it shows my name but this is Joseph from St Catharines
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying reading about your trip.
ReplyDeleteThank you Joe!
DeleteMike Devis. Hiatt, thanks for the update. Looks like the trip is moving along nicely. Wonderful pictures. Hit the Jackpot with your WS hosts! Love it! Looks like you and Anas are getting along well. Interesting that you both carry your gear so differently and eat differently. But it all works which is the important part of self sufficient travel. Carry on.
ReplyDeleteAnas has a bikepacking setup where as I have a bike touring setup. He's more lightweight than I am. We travel well together.
Delete