Detroit MI – Saint-Anne-Des-Monts QC
Wed June 26, 2019
(~1360 miles)

I nabbed 1:45 of sleep before the alarm triggered my familiar get-back-on-the-road routine. The hotel had a security guard on duty at night to watch over the parking lot, and I chatted a bit with him about travelling as I got the bike uncovered and packed up. He wished he was going with me and I told him not to wait forever, as I mounted and took off just before midnight.

Back on the highway, I was still debating whether to cross the border now or not, and then finally just took the exit to Ontario. I needed to conserve as much time and miles as possible at this point. I wanted to get to the ROSIE bonus near Gaspe during daylight hours on Wednesday. That would allow me to backtrack some additional miles at night before taking my final full rest bonus, thus shortening my final run south, back to South Carolina.

The wait was only 5-6 cars at the border, then I told the border agent I was just headed over to Niagara Falls. Any stops planned? Nope, heading straight over. OK, all set! Highway 401 rolled by quickly under my tires as I rode east. When I started to feel the some weariness creeping in, I knew it was time for a break and pulled in to a McDonalds drive-through in St. Catherines for a coffee and breakfast sandwich, which I ate sitting on a guardrail in the empty parking lot in the wee hours.

I was a bit confused by all the signage for crossing the border after the 401 ended in Niagara Falls, but there was no traffic, so I pulled over as needed to ensure I made no wrong turns. I went over the Rainbow Bridge and right up to the border booth, with no wait at all. Answered the routine questions and was back in the US, quick as that. I cruised through the town’s dark streets on the US side, with my GPSes at odds with each other on where I needed to be going. This was my first time coming to Niagara Falls and the bonus appeared to be out on Goat Island, in a state park in the middle of Niagara River.

I located the entrance to the park at the corner of Buffalo and 1st streets, and there was a gate lowered across the lane, stating “No Vehicles” blocking half the roadway. The pedestrian sidewalk was unobstructed, however, so removed my jacket, grabbed my rally stuff and began walking over the bridge. Halfway across, I started to wonder at just how big Goat Island actually was and how easy would it be to find the statue in the dark. So I jogged back to the bike for one of my GPSes, and it was a good thing I did as the island was bigger than it seemed from the GPS screen. It was a bit of a spooky walk in the empty park, with the roar of water all around and not a soul to be seen anywhere. I’d estimate it was about .5 mile to the statue of Nicola Tesla.

The eastern sky was brightening slowly as I walked back over the bridge to my bike, and I could barely make out some of the falls that I could hear in the river. Not well enough for a photograph, however – a proper tourist visit will have to wait for another day. I did have some nice views over the water for a short time while on the Niagara Scenic Parkway en route to the interstate. I picked up the New York State Thruway (I-90 again) and made good time towards the rising sun, though it was tough on the eyes.

I began feeling weary again, the bright sun trying to force my eyes shut, and knew I would need a sleeping break soon. I wanted to delay it until I got onto I-81 so I wouldn’t have to deal with tolls off and on the thruway. I picked up fuel and re-stocked my Five-Hour Energy supply at one of the service plazas, but it didn’t seem like a good spot for a lie-down.

After making the turn on I-81 north, I pulled off an exit near Cicero but saw no likely resting place and kept moving north. I finally found a very small “texting-area” pull-off near Mannsville. After a quick pee in the woods, I set the Meanie for 30 minutes and laid down by the bike for a nap. I woke up a bit fresher and continued north to the border, which wasn’t too busy for passenger vehicles at 09:00. The border agent looked at me a bit incredulously when I told her I was heading to Gaspe to take a picture of a lighthouse today and coming back into the US tomorrow, but she allowed me through.

I blended in with the flow of traffic, then began keeping with the faster cars, making good time on the 401 when weariness overcame me once again. I needed more rest before I could continue. Just after crossing into Quebec, I spotted a Tim Hortons off the exit in Les Coteaux and pulled off to scout the lot. There wasn’t any shade, but I wasn’t going to be picky at this point. My eyes needed to close! I parked in the furthest back corner of the lot, set my Meanie for 30 minutes and laid down next to the bike, drifting off in the sunshine.

I awoke about 40 minutes later, feeling something not right and opened my eyes to see three concerned Canadian men looking down at me, one with a cell phone to his ear. I could faintly hear the Screamin Meanie erupting next to my head and I realized I hadn’t loosened my foam ear plugs to be able to hear it well. I’d had a nosebleed earlier in the morning while riding so there must have still been some blood around my nose, causing further concern. I shot up off the ground, thanking the bystanders for their concern, and explaining that I’d just been taking a nap after getting very tired on the road.  I assured them I was OK, while getting my shit together and mounting the bike. The adrenaline was flowing now, and I had no further need to stop for sleep the remainder of the day.

The AUT-30 highway got me around Montreal, and traffic got a bit heavier but continued to flow. I was more and more focused on my goal of getting to the lighthouse during daylight TODAY. The backup plan had been getting the lighthouse photo in the morning at first light, but now I was concerned about finding a place with computer receipts to rest that far out the coast. Plus, waiting until morning would significantly increase the distance of my final run back to the barn.

I merged onto the AUT-20 for the next 300 miles or so out onto the Gaspe peninsula, as the scenery got more rural and enjoyable, to where the divided highway ends at the town of Mont-Joli. A two-lane road RTE-132 continues along the northern coast from there, which meant slightly slower going, but it wasn’t too bad. The locals seemed to take the roads quite quickly and there were plenty of passing zones, so I followed their lead and saw almost no signs of  traffic enforcement for the remainder of my time on the peninsula.

Worried about losing my cell phone signal as the surroundings got more rural, I stopped along the road at one point to make my final call-in bonus of the rally. With beautiful views of the coastline in front of me, I provided the required information and then spent a couple extra minutes complimenting the rallymasters on what an amazing adventure they had cooked up for us riders. It had taken me a few days to warm to the rally’s theme and puzzle in the beginning, but as the days unfolded and the subtleties sunk in, I could now appreciate it for the masterwork of rally design that it was.

The riding along the northern coast was stellar, absolutely breath-taking in some places. Some sections had you running along between the Gulf of St. Lawrence on one side, and high bluffs up to your right. The small villages were clean and picturesque, with some pretty gnarly twisties between them in the hillier sections, when the road cut inland away from the water.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time for photos. As the sun began dropping waaaay back to the west, lengthening the shadows, I got more and more concerned that I wouldn’t make it to the lighthouse in time. I’d had plenty of saddle time to go over my timeline and remaining miles again and again in my head today while playing scenarios with my secondary GPS, and now knew I MUST to get ROSIE today. I needed to make those additional miles after Cap-des-Rosiers, so that I wouldn’t be facing an impossible ride tomorrow into Friday.

The roads became more twisty overall as I continued east, slowing me down when I needed to be gaining minutes on my ETA. Any other time, I’d be absolutely LOVING these roads, but right now I was frustrated at how many miles there still were to go to the lighthouse. The peninsula seemed to be growing toward the east, even as I rode! I passed the few cars that I saw on the road and just kept pushing on and on, as the evening settled in and car headlights and porch lights came on. I fought to keep the sick feeling of disappointment down in my gut, and remained focused on the road and making time.

I don’t remember much now of that last 20 miles or so, except thinking that I just couldn’t miss this one…it wasn’t ALLOWED, damnit! I had ridden hard all day and rested only when necessary for safety, there wasn’t anything I could have changed (bright shiny object) …well, TODAY at least. Please just let me get there, OK?

I did get there, and with not much time to spare! Despite the sun having set some 25 minutes prior, the extended twilight hours allowed me to see distant shorelines and clouds in the sky, per Jeff’s definition in the rider meeting. I pulled in to the gravel parking area and quickly hopped off to set up the photo, remembering that my motorcycle also needed to be in the picture. I made sure to take a couple photos of the distant shorelines as well, to document the presence of daylight at my arrival.

Whew! Now I (unwisely) took a few minutes to just stretch my legs a bit, revel in the fact I had made my goal, and to chat with my wife. I wondered why I hadn’t passed Wendy and Ian coming back from the lighthouse, and that question was answered when looking at the group spot and seeing they had continued along the coastal road round the end of the peninsula.

I hadn’t done any route planning beyond getting to this lighthouse and then going back to Greenville via the same northern road. There hadn’t been time, and I’d planned to review things during my final REST bonus. But I pulled out my laptop right there in the dark parking lot, just to see what my options were before making the commitment to backtrack to the west. I hadn’t really realized how close I would be to the Maine border up here. Two large bonuses in Acadia National Park and at Mount Washington now drew my attention. However, I felt it would be wiser not to change my plan right at that moment – I needed to focus right now on getting to a hotel before midnight, when the rest bonus availability would expire.

Suddenly realizing I was burning time on the clock and would have to ride back through all those villages and windy roads, I packed up and headed back west along the northern shore. I had passed plenty of little hotels and motels along the coast so I wasn’t worried about finding shelter, however I needed make some miles (I figured at least 100) to the west and also be able to source a computer-generated receipt before midnight. Saint-Anne-Des-Monts seemed to be the nearest village along the coast in this direction that has a 24-hour gas station, and it was about two hours away. Time was tight once again, no rest for the weary!

I was coming down off my adrenaline high and getting wearier as I rode. There were barely any cars on the roads now and not much in the way of streetlights. It was very dark, with only my high beams cutting through the black to illuminate the way forward. I reduced speed significantly in the curvier sections, for safety, and didn’t go much faster on the wide open straightaways either. I didn’t have a waypoint in my GPS to follow, since I’d decided on the fly where I was going. My wife stayed on the phone with me, a comforting presence from hundreds of miles away, encouraging me as I rode, helping to keep me focused on the task at hand – safe arrival at a hotel.

I pulled over a couple times when I needed to, just to sit for a minute or two before continuing. I finally saw signs indicating I was in Saint-Anne-Des-Monts, but was concerned when I didn’t immediately see the bright lights of a modern 24-hour gas station. I stopped in the middle of the deserted road to look for cross street names and ensure I was in the right place, then just pressed on. It was seven minutes to midnight.

Sure enough, the brightly lit gas station was around one of the next bends. I carefully pulled in, with Char barking “Quick, run in and buy something!” in my ear. OK, got my credit card in the pump – the time was 23:58! After the pre-authorization completed, I pumped a trickle of gas into the aux tank and immediately hung the nozzle back up, not sure if the receipt would be time-stamped for when I began or when I finished. The pump then cancelled the transaction!

My stomach flipped over as I described what was happening to Charlotte, still hanging on the phone with me. I quickly ran the credit card again, the time showing 23:59 on my bike clock and this time pumped the gas I needed. There was no receipt forthcoming from the pump, so I went inside for a duplicate. It read 12:02am. I was devastated. I’d just lost my final REST bonus, for which I’d planned to take the entire eight hours, by TWO FRIGGING MINUTES – costing me 3840 points,. It had taken me roughly 2.5 hours to cover the 125 miles from Cap-des-Rosiers. I couldn’t believe it had taken this long to ride here on empty roads, nor that I had wasted precious minutes in the lighthouse parking lot.

I couldn’t stand to think about it, and Char reminded me I still needed a hotel ASAP. Plus, she needed to get to bed in order to make her morning flight down to Greenville. There was a hotel across the street, so I bid her goodnight and checked in at the Hotel et Cie. The night clerk was accommodating and spoke some English. He quoted the price for a room and I must have looked at him oddly, because he immediately dropped the price by $20. Fine, whatever, I’ll take it. He cautioned me not to drink the water, but take what I needed from the water cooler in the lobby and bottles in the room. The room itself was comfortable and clean, a bit European-feeling with a (faux?) fur draped across the bed.

I showered, set the alarm for 6.5 hours, and collapsed into bed, briefly considering all the points I’d given up on this leg. It’s simply amazing how much trouble we riders can get ourselves into, given a tempting high-point route! I would review things in the morning, to try and minimize the damage.