In the morning, when I set off on my journey, I was curious to see how far I’d get. I had taken Monday and Tuesday off so I could travel through this signal-free area. My first major stop ended up being in Labrador City, where I had lunch. At the PWR Sports store, they had oil for my motorcycle and kindly let me change it there. I was approaching the 6,000 km mark, which is a good time to change the oil, and I still had over 1,000 km to go before reaching another town where such a service would be possible. The town itself revolves heavily around iron ore mining, and the mine is quite visible.
Shortly after leaving the town, intense rain started, making the first 67 km stretch on an unpaved road quite unpleasant. I ended up just passing by Mont Harfang, which I had originally planned to climb for the view of Manicouagan Reservoir, around which the road becomes paved again. This reservoir is in a ring-shaped crater and was built in 1960.
I stopped for fuel at Relais-Gabriel, where I also stayed overnight for $200. I didn’t feel like searching for a spot in the wet weather. From there, I continued the next morning in dry conditions over another 100+ km of unpaved road. This stretch was in excellent condition, and since it wasn’t raining, I could drive almost the entire time at the maximum allowed speed of 70 km/h. I even overtook several trucks and a crane vehicle going uphill. Tuesday was my last day off, so I needed to get somewhere more civilized. I passed along the coast through Tadoussac and ended up at a hostel in La Malbaie. I needed accommodation with good internet, but everything was full, so I found a hostel there.
On the way, I met a motorcyclist three times whom I had previously met in Gros Morne Park—he’s from Quebec. Here’s a video showing what those unpaved sections look like:
On Wednesday, I did a quick motorcycle tour of Quebec City and took shelter for lunch at a Tim Hortons restaurant. Once the worst of the storm passed, I continued along the river through agricultural landscapes all the way to Montreal. The journey through northern Quebec was beautiful and quite interesting off the highway. I also started encountering more people, which wasn’t the case in Labrador.
In Montreal, I got new tires because the ones I had since Halifax wouldn’t last much longer, and I still have about 10,000 km ahead. Since I have a friend here, it’s the best place to give the bike some extra care. We also went together to New Jersey and back on Saturday, where we met another friend who lives there. I had no trouble entering the U.S., so I’m hopeful that my plan to reach British Columbia and return via the northern U.S. will work out.
There are fewer photos this time, and they’re in the album:
https://fotky.kapi.cz/gallery/lQJMp0Cn0SR1hRoNwvj5uqia