August 3, 2012
Forestville to Franquelin
For a long time I have been considering the possibility of riding up the north shore of the St Lawrence River to Natashquan, then getting a ferry to Blanc Sablon, and then another to St Barbe in Newfoundland, from where I can explore the north before heading down to St John's. Today I committed myself by booking a reservation on the ferry. The only problem is that they only sail once a week, on Thursday mornings. Rather than taking nearly 2 weeks to get to Natashquan i've now got to average at least 75 miles a day for the next 6 days to get there. Seeing as i've been taking it easy for the last 6 weeks it's about time that I put some real effort into riding.
I didn't put all my effort into riding though. When I came across these 3 sisters touring together I had to stop for a chat. If this isn't an incentive for me to learn to speak French properly then I don't know what is.
I stopped at Baie-Comeau, a big frightening city with all services, to use wifi. There is a McDonalds with free wifi inside the Walmart, and although I bought a coffee at The Golden Arches, I kept up my personal pledge to not spend a cent at Walmart, the cause of many rural stores going bankrupt, although I suppose that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink!
When I left Baie-Comeau and passed the turning for "The North", the roads became instantly quieter, with much less traffic, and no more of the big scarily overloaded trucks. The roads also became hillier, and by the time I reached Franquelin I was ready to find the campsite marked on the map I had bought from the tourist office. Unfortunately it hasn't been in operation for years and there was no sign of it, but some locals I chatted to at the Municipal spring directed me to a good camping spot by the beach as the Riviere Franquelin flows into the St Lawrence. It was only a very short walk to the Depanneur (convenience store) to buy a large, cold and much needed beer.
Today's ride: 87 miles (140 km)
Total: 6,081 miles (9,786 km)
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