Day 53 – Extra Miles (Saint Hilaire QC – Trois Rivieres, QC)

Posted Aug. 21 from Riviere Ouelle QC

Our morning started early as we were camped near the truck and riders were already getting up and opening the truck door well before 5AM. I usually set my alarm for 6:00 or 6:15 AM (after all I am on holiday) and after a leisurely breakfast and packing of the tent, etc., get out on the road shortly after 8:00 AM.

The route this morning took us north along the shore of the Richelieu River up to the Saint Lawrence where we caught a ferry from Tracy/Sorel to St. Ignace. We then headed east along Route 138 with the occasional side trip along “La Route Vert” part of Quebec’s incredible network of bike routes/paths.

Time to improvise!

One of the instructions on the cue sheet tried to send us across a “bridge, closed to traffic, but bikes can cross”. Apparently the cue sheet had yet to be updated, as the only way to cross it with a bike involved a climb over a chain link fence and a 15 foot descent down a wooden ladder made by the construction workers on the site. We had been warned in Vancouver that it was impossible to keep the cue sheets current with the status of construction projects along the route, so after a good laugh, we headed off on the detour. It was 2.5 miles north to the next bridge, so we rode that, crossed the river and then took the next right and rode back to what we thought would be the next turn, only to realize that the 2.5 miles we rode back to the bridge was in effect back tracking.

Serge and I justified this by convincing ourselves that we needed to see the construction project from both sides, just to make sure that the bridge was impassible to cyclists.

Our route was along back country rolling hills through farmland. Along the way I managed to get a wasp bite, through my bike jersey! After a quick swat at the area of pain, I pulled over to check out the damage. I don’t know how, but the wasp’s stinger and part of its tail made it through my jersey (no hole) and was lodged into my flesh. I removed it, dabbed the area with Purel, and then some anti-chafing cream. It eased the immediate pain, but I still developed a pretty good welt.

We stopped at yet another 135 year-old general store for some doughnuts and date squares. It was a pretty neat experience, including the kitten who thought our food purchases were for it!!!

Back onto the busy Route 138 heading towards our final destination in Trois Rivieres (T/R). I am not sure when we realized it (probably 8 miles after the turn) but I mentioned to Serge that I thought we might have missed a turn and had been focusing too much on our precision two-man pace line. I stopped and asked some construction workers for directions, and they suggested, instead of backtracking, to ride into T/R, and take the road to the campsite from there. They warned us that it involved some pretty steep and long hills. Serge was grateful that I was there, as he said, “to translate for me!” Not from English to French but from Quebecoise to French.

Our trip into involved getting totally lost, asking people (including a policeman) for directions at 10 minute intervals, and getting conflicting directions each time! We finally stopped at a bike shop where I asked the owner for help. He gave us perfect directions, but warned us of the hills (which we had just ridden up and down a few times) and that it was a fair distance away – about 10 miles. My response was to thank him and comment that 10 miles was not so bad since we had already ridden over 90 for the day.

With all of our detours, and our impromptu tour of T/R we arrived in camp logging 103 miles instead of the 85 on the cue sheet. The hills that were mentioned weren’t too bad given our current level of fitness.