The 86 miles from Trois Rivieres to Montreal were flat, so until crossing the bridge to the Island of Montreal the ride went smoothly and fast for what we can do on the loaded Surlys with some head winds (12-13 mph). The route has very pretty spots by the St Lawrence river, there is a part where it becomes a big lake (pictured above), then a "delta" and near Montreal a narrow river. We have a system for the longer rides when we stop every couple of hours for a meal, it prevents us from bonking and going even slower. After the two course breakfast at the B and B we stopped for cafe au le and pastries, and then lunch along the way.
There are some neat old towns on the route with old churches (as you can see in the picture). We saw many cyclists on the road including many unsupported touring souls but all of them going in the opposite direction.
When we got to Montreal it got very stressful, first a slight uphill with stronger head winds and then rush hour traffic in a major road with no bike lane or shoulder. We did not have a good map so we had to do with Mr. GPS told us, and although he is usually right this time he wasn't. We pushed it through and made it to our friend's house. Pat Bouchard, his daughter Maxim and girlfriend Crista. My favorite part of the touring day is arriving to your destination, take a shower and have a relaxing evening drinking a cold beer and eating dinner, specially with friends. Also looking forward to two days of sleeping in and having a break from the bikes (my butt is happy!)
No comments:
Post a Comment