Week 1 started on January 31st 2016 when I started of The Big Journey in Montréal with my two witness as per Guinness World Records requirements.
Meet Andrew Kelly and Maria Sanz, the only people that were present at the beginning and the last Montrealers that I will see in a long while.
My first ride was from Montréal to Trois-Rivières, a city located halfway to Québec City.
The ride was long but pleasant as I had the wind on my back. (See the GPS itinerary here)
Two friends met me halfway at Berthierville to deliver me a warm lunch which was very welcome by my hungry tummy
Then I carried on.
Along the way, I would make some quick stops to snap some photos but had to get back on the bike right away to stay warm.
This view completely blew my mind. This is the frozen Saint-Laurent River. See the two tiny dots on the horizon. That’s a couple that was casually taking a stroll on it! You can even see the footsteps. I wanted to take my bicycle and ride down there but I chickened out!
The couple in question as they got closer to me. I was so fascinated and quite scared for them. Who does that? But I guess that is a funny question coming from a guy on his way to cross Canada by bicycle in the middle of winter!
I eventually got to Trois-Rivières and I am afraid to say that there is nothing much to say about this city except that I have very good friends there that I was fortunate to see.
To be honest, I did not even take one photograph there although I admit that I was not motivated to thoroughly discover the municipality.
Two days later, I left Trois-Rivières towards Québec City.
Again, I was lucky. The weather was good (it was VERY cold but sunny and with no snow on the roads) and the wind behind me so I was flying.
I saw ice fishing huts on the frozen river… FYI, most of Quebec’s inter-provincial roads run along the Saint-Laurent River which is great scenery but very cold.
Are those volley-ball fields on ice? Yes! How do you even play that?
Québec, the province, has so many churches it’s amazing. I have never been in a place with so many of them in my life!
Halfway in the middle of NOWHERE, I came across a restaurant (Restaurant St-Alfred) that served GREAT food. I had a little chat with the chef and when I asked about desserts, he made me this monster that was amazing.
After this yummy lunch, I was full of energy so I raced towards Québec City and not even 20 minutes later, I was gathering speed to climb up a hill and not even two seconds into it, I heard a funny noise coming from the chain and I immediately knew something was wrong.
Before I could even stop, the chain snapped and broke off.
That was the end of my ride right there as I don’t have the tools or knowledge to repair a chain. What puzzled me was that my chain was less than a week old and was told that it would last me a good 5 000 km.
Anyway, I was stranded and after 5 hours waiting in a warm Mc Donald’s in Donnacona. Thank goodness for mobile phones as I used that time to reply to unanswered emails and messages. (See the GPS details of the ride)
Eventually my bike got fixed and I returned from the point I broke down and finished the ride to Québec City (See the GPS ride details).
And I even made new friends in Québec City…
And of course, I ended up my week’s ride with a treat!
Then it was time to call it a week…
