Parlez-vous francais?

Bryan woke with a taste of musty barn in his mouth that seemed to stay all day long. He was on the road by 5:00 am, had breakfast and was in St Jerome by 9:30. When he stopped to pay for a snack, the owner of the restaurant offered to fill his water bottle. On top of that, he scrubbed them clean of the residue of the previous weeks and then filled them all with apple and orange juice at no charge.

At about 3:00, Bryan was at Bertherville and reported having helped a woman and her son change a tire on their vehicle. They didn't know how, had stripped the lug nuts, and no phone. However, a police car suddenly came over with the siren blaring. Apparently, the officer had seen Bryan's bike beside the car and thought that there had been an accident. They really have a heart for the bikers.

Joliette was one long run of car dealerships and no restaurants but there were huge thunder clouds ahead. Even with a headwind that later turned fierce, Bryan maintained an average of 21km/hr. The land continues to be flat and very scenic. In the ditches are huge ferns, 8-10 feet tall. There are fields of potatoes and huge dairy operations. There are a lot of cheese factories as well. As Bryan continued, there were more dairy operations, as well as hay and silage being put up.

Bryan is traveling along the edge of Lac St Pierre which empties into the St Lawrence River. It's so large that Bryan couldn't see across it or see Trois Rivieres as he approached it. The last hour into the city, it rained but he had already covered 205 km that day. He stopped at a motel which was owned by a woman who had moved from Vancouver 10 years ago. She was delighted to talk only English to someone from the West. She shaved $20.00 off the price of his room and added a free breakfast to boot. She also called to her 12 year old son to meet Bryan, He must be something special!

As you all know, speaking French isn't Bryan's forte but he has had no trouble for the most part in Quebec. Tonight, though, his waitress spoke only French and the menu was in French so they had to use pictures to communicate. Two other young girls that Bryan talked to later explained that while they had learned English in school, the numbers of students taking the course is declining. Sort of like Core French class numbers shrinking in Saskatchewan. Sounds like I should be working on my end of that problem!

Bryan has a shorter day ahead tomorrow, with the airport near Quebec City just 130 km away. I hope to keep posting blogs
as often as possible. I will add some photos as well.