Parlez-vous français? Un peu. But English will get you through, though it's always good to ask first. I went to bed fairly early, by my standards, after getting a not-so-good burger at a local "gastropub" that was serving till 10:00 PM. Check-in at the hotel was fast, and the pub was close by, so I was there by 9:30 . . . and in bed by 11:00.
I had set the alarm for 8:00 but woke earlier. Still, I was in no rush. It would be a short and easy day, only 40 miles or so and mostly flat. I finally did rise by the appointed hour, 8:00, and made my way to the "complimentary" breakfast. It did the job, given I had had dinner the night before. Without that, I may have made another choice. There were rumors of a diner nearby, but that became a moot point, at least for me. I just needed calories at this point.
So, being my first day on a long tour, I wanted to take some time and be sure everything was just right. Plus the news of the four Thai boys being rescued from the cave provided some distraction as I prepared to leave. So all that said, I was in front of the hotel taking my departing pic at about 10:30.
The ride out of town was not particularly exciting, and I now wish I had taken Main Street just to get a better feel for the town. Next time, I guess . . . Oh, Canada, Part II when I do the loop to Québec City that I missed on this tour. But, being small, I wasn't in town long and was soon in the Vermont countryside rolling towards Lake Champlain at a pretty good pace.
It was mostly downhill, with only minimal climbing involved. VT-38, my first road out of town, was a bit busy with no shoulder to speak of, but I only had to follow it for four miles before turning onto a much quieter road that took me to Swanton along the Missisquoi River and eventually through the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge. It was pleasant riding as far as Swanton, but afterward, I was on VT-78, another busy road (a lot busier, in fact) with little or no shoulder.
Vermont 38 (VT-38), my route out of town for the first four miles.
A historic bridge now set aside for access to a linear park near Swanton. I never pass on the opportunity to take a picture of an interesting bridge (or even non-interesting bridges).
A small shoulder I can live with, but this one was in poor repair in many places, forcing me to ride further out in the lane than I preferred to. And with heavy traffic in both directions, it wasn't fun. But the locals (the biking locals) didn't seem to mind, as I saw two pacelines making their way in the opposite direction. Opposite and into the wind, which was mostly behind me and would be for the whole day. I was literally breezing along!
After passing through the wildlife refuge, I crossed Lake Champlain, an old friend that I hadn't seen since Jerry and I toured around bits and pieces of it back in a year I can no longer remember! Shortly after crossing it, I took a right onto another quiet road and made for the US/Canadian border crossing, which was mostly uneventful!
I arrived at 12:00 (literally noon) and was greeted by a border guard with no sense of humor, so I put the asylum jokes aside. No "Welcome to Canada" sign either. Economic constraints or a sign of the times? No matter, I was 19 miles in and enjoying the flatness of the ride and the continued good wind.
But it was pretty unexciting from there to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, with most of the vista being agricultural endeavors. Not that it wasn't pretty, just repetitive. It was fun, however, to notice the change in signage. Everything was now in French. And I saw at least three signs asking motorists to provide at least 1.5 meters (4'-11") clearance for cyclists. I'm guessing this is a popular road by which to enter Canada.
I've never seen a STOP sign with four little STOP signs below it indicating a four-way stop!
So, all in all, besides one challenge crossing a pedestrian bridge in a park and another crossing the bridge over the Richelieu River, which was under construction, it was an uneventful ride. Downtown was very lively, with many pubs and bistros going full tilt. This is an easy getaway from Montréal, and the waterfront is relatively well developed. So after touring town a bit, I made for Auberge Harris to rest and clean up. I was in by 2:30 with an average speed today of 13.2 mph! I was feeling it in my right leg, the "damaged" one, and wanted to rest it up before walking to dinner, 2 km each way from the hotel. There were slim pickings for both lodging and dinner, and they weren't exactly "close" to each other!
When I first saw this, from a distance, I thought maybe it was a gate . . . but as I got closer, it became stairs . . . and then I saw the bike ramp. It was a little close to the railing to navigate a loaded touring bike without tilting it at an angle. But I got over it. Better than navigating the stairs!
Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km) Total: 51 miles (82 km)
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Mike AylingThai cave rescue had a lot of media coverage here in Oz because the two caving experts who carried out the rescue were Aussies. One was a doctor and the other a vetinarian. Reply to this comment 1 day ago
