Getting out of downtown Montreal during a chilly Monday morning rush hour was interesting, at least I only had one heart in mouth moment!! Then I found the Route Verte signs and bike paths which took me out past the port. Unfortunately bike paths and cities with their crazy amounts of traffic lights and kerbs to negotiate are hard on my Achilles and Bob. He is sluggish to get going from a standing start especially when he has a flat tire!! I am not sure what caused the first, most probably glass as there was a lot around, I replaced the tube and got on my way. It seemed to be taking forever to make any significant headway and then Bob got a second flat inside the first 25km. It was starting to drizzle and although I had another spare tube I did not fancy having to patch a tube in the middle of nowhere in the rain later if I got another flat so thanks to the Timmy Me app I made my way to the closest Tim Hortons and patched my tire inside while sipping hot chocolate as bemused locals watched on!
Things did get better when I finally crossed off the island of Montreal and found the 138 which I would be following most of the way to Quebec city. The Route Verte followed the 138 for the most part but offered up a few detours which I politely declined as the road was quiet, winding along the St Lawrence river. The skies were overcast and cloudy but for once the wind seemed to be favorable. It is funny that you do not really notice the wind when it is coming from behind but I knew my legs could not be averaging 25km/hr without a little help! I passed through many small towns and the common feature was a large and beautiful church. Unfortunately the camera on my iPhone was struggling to take pictures especially with the grey skies (I really hope it will not die on me before Halifax). I, on the otherhand was enjoying a brighter outlook on the overcast day with pink lenses in my glasses as I had switched up my sunglasses for ones with interchangeable lenses in Ottawa.
At some point I decided to aim for Trois-Rivieres rather than camp for the night in Louiseville. It was a bit of a push but I made it into another city just as the sun was setting and headed to the youth hostel. They very kindly let me put my bike and Bob inside in the back room and I ate and went to bed after a brief dual language conversation with the Swiss lady sharing my room. She spoke French and I spoke English and with the help of my map we had a nice exchange about where we had been etc.
Early views of the St Lawrence Seaway which connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.
Route 138, Chemin du Roy and La Route Verte all followed a fairly similar path east.
Church in Louiseville.
I was really glad to have taken a day off in Montreal and got out for a walk between showers. I managed to take in the old part of town, Basilique Notre-Dame, Hotel de Ville, Place Jacques-Cartier and Vieux (old) Port including Rue Saint-Paul.
Vieux Montreal with Basilique Notre-Dame in background.
Hotel de Ville.
Place Jacques-Cartier leading to Vieux Port.
Cryptic? Shuffling ace partners gives the reason!
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