We have now learned that the "Chemin du Roy" and the "Route Verte" folow highway 138 but with important variations. The Chemin du Roy hits every town and likes heritage sites. The Route Verte does the same, but avoids places the designers must have thought ugly or unsafe, whether historic or not. So when the three diverge we never know which to go with. There is no hard and fast rule, except that 138 will always be the fastest way.
The Route Verte pamphlet has something to say about the sights of each village, and it seems the red brick of Yamachiche must have a special story. Time and wifi could check that out, sometime.
To get to the mill at Pointe du Lac, you need to follow the Route Verte, turning North off 138. We did that because we love old mills. Inside the girl whose job it was to explain what you can see, and at what prices, went through the whole discussion with us in French. The next people were from Germany, and she detected that instantly, switching to English. Later we had some more questions for her and successfully used our tactic of explictly asking people to carry on in French. Unlike in some years past, everyone seems cool with that.
The seigneurial mill at Pointe du Lac near Trois Rivieres is open as a historic site
The mill was purchased for $18,000 near the beginning of last century by a religious order. On the third floor they have a weird scary display in which they appear as ghost like cardboard mannequins.
Nearby was a health/addiction centre. If we read this right, it is the place for us. The sign advertises that they treat people for "jeu excessive". We can think of no other translation for this than "too much fun".
Approach to Trois Rivieres on 138 is not boring like Route Verte, it's ugly. We have to watch carefully as dozey drivers making left and right turns, leaving driveways etc. may not see us.
I have this crazy image of an ideal Quebec village. It has houses with the classical roof lines and stone walls, and a nice church. But importantly, it also has a bakery with wood oven, a cheese maker, a wood carver, etc. Yeah, it's a French Upper Canada Village. While I have found lots of nice houses and certainly churches, the bakery and other stores are lacking. In fact, some sizable villages have no stores at all. Lets look at Batiscan and see what we find:
The bridge Glenn called "one dangerous bridge". It is not only narrow, but the deck is a metal grid work. On the grid, our bikes shifted many inches left and right at random.
The Marina at the other side of the bridge has a number of obvious mobile homes in place, but only a small sign indicating camping. We went into the restaurant and found that a $20 bill just popped into the lady's hand gave us our choice of super spots near the river. The spots here are unique in that each is separated from the others by a cedar wall/structure that also offers the power and water. We moved our picnic table into the lee of one of these structures, and could sit comfortably while tapping the power.
The lady sent a young man with us, to show all the many spots we could choose from. He insisted on trying to practice his English, and we of course were gracious in not switching to French, too much!
Great camping at the Batiscan marina on the other side of the bridge.
The restaurant, like the one yesterday, was unassuming but with excellent food. Looking at the terrifically well made pizzas at some other tables, I ordered one, while Dodie's table d'hote had brochette of chicken. It came with a starter of deep fried Brie, and ended with Creme Caramel. This is NOT Saskatchewan!
Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles) Total: 6,519 km (4,048 miles)
