July 27 - Day 53 - RIO by the SEA O

Even after yesterday's debacle, I still woke up with a very good feeling about today's ride.  The only question was the weather, which was forecast to be rainy, 90%, with thunder storms possible all day.  It actually rained most of the night and into the morning, so we were in no hurry to hop out of bed and get going, especially after looking at the radar that showed a couple of big dumpers coming our way.  I ran over for a shower, had some breakfast, but then it was time to go........a very stylish 10:15 start.

Another church, but this one was gorgeous......in Champlain

We were camped right beside Highway 138 which runs along the north shore of the St.Lawrence, and that would be our route the entire day from start to finish, so very little chance of getting lost.  It is a great road for cycling, with excellent shoulders in most places, and where they were absent, cyclists present signs were there for motorists to see.  It is a secondary road, and in fact we could see the main highway from time to time running parallel to 138, but that meant no trucks, and we had the best views, coming close to the north shore of the St. Lawrence for miles at a time.  I must say, the roads in Quebec so far have been A1, and they seem to go out of their way here to accommodate cyclists.

Waterfront town homes........how interesting

With the wind at our backs, it was easy to maintain a good pace, so the morning 2 hour spin class produced close to 60km.  After three hours we were 85km and approaching Trois Rivieres where we planned to have lunch downtown by the river.  It was a nice break, and although a cold beer sounded good, we still had another 37km to camp, so opted for gallons of water and a cuppa joe.

Trois Rivieres

Our pace was strong for the afternoon stint also, and we pulled into camp feeling quite satisfied with the day's ride.  Although rain was all over the forecast, I think we were lucky to be nestled in between two cells moving east, because not long after we arrived the skies lit up with some pretty big thunder and lightning, and tons of rain.  We hung out at RIO, the restaurant that anchors this campground/marina, had a great dinner, and hit the sack.  This complex is really something different from any other campground I have ever seen.  Beautiful wood dividers between the sites, slate tiles and stainless in the washrooms (I call them personal salons), I mean just really over the top for camping, but very nice all the same.

The bridge to Rio

I am back at RIO this morning finishing up this piece, and it looks a little overcast, but the wind appears to be in our favour again as we push on to Quebec City today.  Our camp is through town and across to the south side of the river, but we might drive back to town this evening for a look at the sights.

My office at Rio this morning

Parting shot..........."Don't take my picture".....or something like that en Francais

LYJ