Deschaillons sur Saint Laurent to Chateau Richer

July 29, 2012

Last Sunday, in Southern Ontario, the most noticeable theme of the day was yard sales, wood chopping and motorcycles. Yesterday we saw lots of motorcycles on the road, and it wasn't long before I wandered how many there would be on a Sunday, the busiest day of a motorcyclists week. Before I describe the rest of the day, just to give you an idea of how popular it is to cruise around on a Harley Davidson (or similar), I feel the need to share with you, my blogees, the actual number of sightings. Are you ready for it... 382! I probably spotted some of them more than once, but even if I had seen every single one of them twice (which i'm sure I didn't), that would have been 191 different motorcycles.

They come in all shapes, sizes, colours and configurations.

Motorcyclists aside (thankfully) the day was a phenominal one (as all days in Quebec are turning into). We ignored a sign for a closed road due to roadworks, and had the first 10 miles or so on totally empty roads - and we were able to get through the obstruction - thankfully. There was stunning scenery again as we rode on the southern bank of the St Lawrence River.

At one point in the early afternoon, as I was waiting for Kate at the top of a hill, an elderly gentleman came whizzing up the hill on his electric assisted tricycle, having just passed Kate. We chatted for a while, and he invited us back to his house for a while - a beautiful spot overlooking the river - and we met his family and were refreshed with some iced home made lemonade. luxury!

As we approached Levis (pronounced lay-vee, and nothing to do with jeans), a great cycle path directed us to the ferry terminal, away from the busy traffic, and through some very scenic areas of town. After a ferry trip to the north shore (I love ferry trips, and this one did not disappoint with great views of Quebec city), we left Quebec City via an equally good cycle friendly infrastructure. Why can't all cities be bike friendly? Surely it makes sense to reduce car usage and promote healthier living...

A bicycle friendly ferry, from Levis to Quebec City.

Quebec City from the ferry on the St Lawrence River.

Home for the night was at Camping Turmel, at Chateau Richer. As is usual in most large commercial campgrounds, we were given a sparsely grassed small area of hard packed earth in a far corner, away from the masses of trailers (caravans) and R.V's (recreational vehicles), although in Quebec they are known as V.R's (vehicule de recreation).

Today's ride: 76 miles (122 km)
Total: 5,777 miles (9,297 km)

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