Very nice ride to Riviere Du Loup, Quebec today. The weather was perfect, sunny in the upper 60s, low 70s with very little wind. We left Campbellton, NB and followed Route 132 along the Matapedia River for nearly 100 miles until it flowed into Matapedia Lake, of all things. It was beautiful with rolling hills, mixed forests, fishermen in canoes on the river and quaint towns along the way. Each town had its own church with an impressive steeple.
Leaving Campbellton we saw a number of covered bridges still in use. I also saw my favorite traffic sign.
We picked up Route 20 following the southern bank of the Lawrence River for nearly another 100 miles. There were large, active farms all along this road with views of the River. Some of the fields had what looked like a yellow wildflower growing in large tracts. The farm buildings were painted in a variety of muted tones of gray, yellow, taupe and other colors that Susie had to identify and tell me what they were. Unusual colors for farm buildings.
Riviere Du Loup is a small town on the banks of the Lawrence River with a well defined older downtown area. We are renting an AirBNB on the main drag and ate dinner sitting outside at a French restaurant. Everything is in French; traffic signs, menus, store fronts. Sooz took French in high school and some of it is coming back. Translation apps on smart phones are also helping. The people have been very tolerant and patient with our limited French and been willing to practice their limited English. So we get by fine.
We are staying here 2 nights before heading to see our nephew Connor Skehan in Quebec. It will be nice not packing up and riding tomorrow. A little rest will feel good.
The Mighty GS is running great. I did a quick check of total mileage ridden and I am right around 4,000 miles so far on this trip and at least another 2,000 to go before I get back to Gainesville. That means I will need to have the oil and filter changed soon. I found a BMW motorcycle shop in Quebec City close to where we are staying so I'll bring the bike there for service. This is a first, I have never had to service a bike on a trip before.
By the way, I like my new handmade hooked rug style seat cover made by Joy from the farmers market in Summerside, PEI.
Riviere du Loup is a quaint town with a lot going on. It was a nice reintroduction to civilzation.
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