[If you missed any of the previous or subsequent articles in this series, there’s a list of all the articles with hyperlinks here at the end of Day Ten.]
Traveling north from Montreal to Jonquiere on the VIA Rail bike train
This entire series is about combining two favorite ways to travel – biking and riding a train. While not similar in many ways, if nothing else, they are both energy efficient. VIA Rail covers an amazing amount of Canada with its 500 daily train trips on a whopping 12,500 kilometers of track. With over 3,000 employees, I’ve only met a handful, but they all seem very dedicated and happy to help with whatever the situation.
Day six’s destination was chosen for an opportunity to see some raw, uninhabited forests, whitewater rivers and places you just can’t see if you travel by car. That’s one of the beauties of train travel…they always seem to get the best real estate, right up close to mountains high and valleys low – usually right next to some great rivers.
Today’s ride takes us to the far northern part of Quebec province to the French speaking town of Jonquiere. Tip to readers, if you duplicate this trip anytime; sit on the west side of the passenger car. All the cool, white water rapids and most of the beautiful lakes are on that side of the rails. This is an entirely, unreserved seating train to Jonquiere, so if you forget, it’s no problem to switch.
The ride from Montreal to Jonquiere is a full day’s journey, but luckily we arrived while there was still some sunlight left. After dropping my bags at Auberge les Deux Tours, I was off exploring the city. This beautiful old home, with twin towers, sits just minutes from the train station and was a quick ride after getting the bike from the train.
Auberge les Deux Tours
My original thought was to go check out the rivers that surround the town. That plan changed when I saw the steep road going down to the river. It was steep enough that I’m sure I could have topped 100km/h going down, but I thought twice about trying to climb it on the return trip. Taking the road more level, I opted to make a U-turn and go back to explore a park I had passed.
A park to commemorate William Price III is located just outside the business district, and is a beautiful place to wander or bike amongst the tall trees and abundant, colorfully-decorated bird feeders. Price was an industrialist from Chile who contributed heavily to the establishment of this as a paper-mill town, including creating a large dam for water control and power.
At the end of the path is a cross-shaped, fenced-in area with his tomb overlooking the valley. Just before arriving there, if you turn left, you’ll discover a set of stairs leading to an even better view of the dam he had constructed, with great waters cascading down its slopes.
Being there near sunset was a perfect time photographically, as the sun beautifully lit the abundant, white birch trees I had been admiring for the last 50km of the train trip. If I hadn’t been reminded that the park closed at 8pm, I would have been tempted to linger a lot longer.
Before heading back to the hotel, I did manage to stop and grab a few more shots for my “Searching for steeples” photo collection. Quebec sure has a number of them and they are easy to find for anyone not familiar with the area. Just look up and chances are you’ll see one jutting up through the horizon. Similar to the article I wrote about Montreal churches, many of these were no longer functioning houses of worship.
Last matter of business for the night was to grab some dinner before returning to the hotel. I stopped in a popular little 24-hour diner with customers seated inside and outside, Le P’tit St-Do. Being a Francophone community, I was crossing my fingers that the cook could understand my order. Not.
Luckily, right behind me, were two women at a small table who, upon hearing our lack of communication, offered a handy translation. Once my order was placed, they asked where I had come from. I explained that while I was wearing biking garb and had come from Montreal, I had taken the VIA Rail bike train most of the way. I also explained I had originally set out a week ago from my home in Ohio.
Mrs. Ball and this writer
Mrs. Ball seemed amused at the Ohio comment and asked where exactly in Ohio I was from. Long story short – she had lived in Solon, Ohio; only about 30 miles from my home. What are chances of meeting someone from your hometown 900 miles away?
Tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be better and I’ll be sitting on the west side of the train traveling back to Montreal with camera ready for those beautiful whitewater scenes. Be sure to stop back for that article and the slideshow.