Day 9

Well I said I was leaving today, rain or shine, and boy was it ever not shining. As I was loading the bike the rain almost stopped, which gave me some hope for the weather to let up. By the time I had the bike fueled up though it was coming down hard once agian. For the record, I finally found glove that keep my hands dry, rubber gloves one would use in the kitchen! I bought a bunch of them yesterday for only a few bucks, they look terrible while riding, but the bottom line is they work! It was 9:20 by the time I got rolling, two hours after getting up, but the hotel has a great complimentary breakfast buffet that I wasn't about to miss.

 

I hit the 401 in Cornwall, headed east towards Montreal. It was unanimous from everyone I talked to that I should avoid the city, and I did. The 401 turns into Autoroute du Souvenir (20) once you cross into Quebec, and I turned right onto Autoroute de l'Acier (30). The bridge over the St. Lawrence there takes a $2 toll, which was tough to get out of the pockets with the wet rubber gloves. I'm pretty sure a few extra coins fell onto the pavement there. Traffic was heavy and fast, and thankfully the rain let up for almost half an hour as I wound my way down the highway. On the Montreal side of the highway there were a number of communities, with houses right up to the road in some areas. On the east side there was a surprising amount of farm land.

It felt so good to be back on the road today that even the less than stellar conditions could not bring down my spirits. In hindsight, had I known that the weather would be no better today I would just have left yesterday, but alas we can't see into the future. 

I got back on the Trans Canadienne/Autoroute Jean-Lesage and continued heading east. All the signs are in French, something that worried me a little at first, but after only a short while it all kind of makes sense. A GPS could have been handy, but mine was an easy route and I had studied the map to make sure I knew where I wanted to go. As long as one knows the major centers up the highway those big green signs won't lead you astray. By now the rain was back, light but steady. All the mist kicked up by traffic makes it very hard to see, need some wipers on the helmet.

Somewhere between Drummondville and Victoriaville I stopped to get gas and eat a burger and fries. The signs for food and gas all had the logos of the franchise, and there were a bunch of McDonalds and Tim Horton's signs along the way. Thankfully the kid taking my order spoke english, even though they all start in French, and he informed me his mom is an English teacher. While I ate I listened to all the conversation around me, and didn't understand more than a few words. It felt like I was in a different country, and I kind of felt out of place. I will say that the interactions I had with people today were all good, no one gave me any snotty attitude about not speaking French. A few conversations didn't go anywhere once they found out I only spoke English.

It was still pouring as I rode past Quebec City, and place I may have explored a little if it was nice and sunny. The scenery changed a little too after that, the landscape becoming more rocky and more pine trees again. By the time I stopped for gas for the last time today in Montmagny the rain had stopped, and for the rest of the ride it stayed dry. It remained overcast, but I was more than happy to get a better look at the countryside. It was also around that area where I finally got some good looks at the St. Lawrence, and it already looks very wide there. 

I stopped in La Pocatiere at a Tim Horton's for a coffee and a donut, the coffee was just what I needed for the final 200km or so. About 80km up the highway, at Riviere-du-Loup, I turned east towards New Brunswick. Edmundston was my choice for the night, about 90km left for the day. Along the way I stopped to empty my bladder, and as I walked back to the bike a police car slowed down and turned on the lights. He as me something in French, probably if I was okay, and after I gave him the thumbs up he waved and continued on. That was a nice gesture, had I been in trouble that would have been welcome.

The landscape is mountainous by this point, not the mountians we're used to, basically large tree covered hills. It reminded me a little of southern BC, more specifically the Cranbrook area, although it's not as arid here. There were a lot of Travaux (Construction) signs for the last leg, as they are in the process of dividing the highway to Edmundston. Many parts were already done, and they were nice, but the two-lane portion is pretty rough.

I got to Edmundston around 8:30 local time, 3 hours ahead of Alberta now. Tomorrow I will begin the Maritime portion of the trip, a part I look forward to. I'm thinking I will end up in PEI tomorrow if all goes well, and will probably end up riding a little north and then down the coast through Bathurst.

Just ended up chatting with another rider outside who had just purchased a Goldwing in Newfoundland. He is from Saskatoon and heading home, and I'm glad we crossed paths. He had some great advice, having just been where I want to go. It's meetings like that that you don't get when driving in a car, one of the things I love about the motorcycling community. 

Total today was 709km, which took almost exactly 10 hours from hotel to hotel. I have now travelled 5512km since leaving home. Today is two weeks since my grandmother passed away, and for any of her children reading this, know that I keep you guys in my prayers as you adjust to life without your mom. I've thought about her a lot on the trip, and songs that were sung that day still echo in my mind as I ride across this great country. Time to sign off, it's after 10 here and I need to get some stuff done so I can get to bed and get up early.

No proper place to take a picture of the welcome to Quebec sign, so I figured the french stop sign was good enough

St. Lawrence River just past the highway

Had to get a picture of the flag, one of my favorite provincial flags

My home for the night in Edmundston, NB