Ride Report: A Newbie's Odyssey to Sanguenay

[ZOMGdonuts]

Hi everyone!

I've been lurking these murky waters for a while now, and I always enjoy ride report threads. So I figured I would make one of my own trip, and maybe get some tips from the veterans while at it.

A little about me: 26 y/o guy living in Kingston, ON. Been riding for ~2 years. This is literally my first ever trip. I've been on one excursion before, which was to Barry's Bay for the weekend, but I've never spent so many days on the bike. In fact, not only is this my first ever bike trip solo, it's also my first ever trip solo, period. I come from a long line of very adventurous brown people (i.e. we hum and haw for an hour before stepping outside). And so, I've literally never travelled alone (except once for work lol)

So, let's see how it goes I guess. Hope I don't die!
The whole trip is a bit impromptu. When I bought my Honda, I finally unlocked the ability to travel long distance, so I had all these ambitions. The initial plan was to go to Nova Scotia this year. But I wanted to do that through the States. That's a no go. I thought about Gaspe as well, but it seemed long, far, scary, etc.

Stuff kept coming up, and I kept putting this trip off. Then, literally on Wednesday, I realized that if I don't do it this week, it'll be too late this year. So I had to do it, COVID be damned!

The plan? 7-8 days. From Kingston out to Sanguenay via Mont Tremblant and the Maurice National Park. Hoping to spend 2 full days in Sanguenay at least, and do a bit of hiking. Haven't thought about it beyond that, as I figured it'll be more fun to play it by ear.
I ride a naked, and I think ~300-400km is a comfortable amount for me. I'm not quite ready for the 1000k days people here do haha.

Day 1:

Short day because I decided to leave on Friday, which meant I had to leave after work. Still, had the bike packed last night, snuck out early and hit the road! Got out of town around 3:45 and took the backroads to this motel in Hawkesbury. I didn't plan any specific route for today. Knowing that I didn't have the time to really explore, I just took the shortest Google *no highway* option. Pleasant cruise, but nothing too special. Fall colours are out, but there was a lot of farmland to cover. It was all new though, so still very fun.
Got chilly. Good thing I installed Heated Grips in preparation. What an absolute game changer!!

Literally only stopped once, so not many pics. But here you go:

Meet Red, she's great:



I actually have no idea what to pack for these trips. I've watched a billion videos, and I know that even though I tried hard not to, I've inevitably packed a bit too much. Actually, most of the space is taken by rain gear and layers for warmth. I've got literally 3 pairs of gloves because I haven't been able to figure out the weather, and I'm trying to be prepared. Bleh!!



"Stephanie's Motel" in Hawkesbury. The restaurant is decent, and I guess it's nice to have an attached restaurant. The motel itself...I guess it's okay. I dunno, I'm okay with living in squalor. I feel like most people might have higher standards. There's no light in my room. There's a lamp, but the bulb doesn't work. I'm just going off the bathroom light, doable for one night. Expensive, but it was the only place I could find in the area. Hoping to find cheaper AirBnBs from here on out!



The route from the day. I know it could have been more interesting, but I was in a hurry! HWY. 15 is subpar compared to the other roads going North from Kingston, but I guess it's relatively novel because I don't ride it that often haha.

Hope you guys find this interesting!

P.S. I don't know a word of French. Even here in Hawkesbury, though I'm in Ontario, everyone has greeted me in French. I feel like this might end badly.

 

[bigpoppa]

very nice

How effective do you find the windscreen?

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

very nice

How effective do you find the windscreen?

It definitely does something! It's a little Dart Fly Screen. I'm very sensitive to noise, and I really dislike turbulence that you will inevitably get from bigger screens. This one definitely takes some air off while leaving the helmet in clean air. I think it'll leave the top 1/3-1/2 of the torso in air. With the tank bag, I have clean air hitting my shoulders and up.
The setup probably isn't perfect for long-distance, but at least it's relatively quiet

 

[ScorpionT16]

Great setup, and time of the year to do it, enjoy! I think I did my first motorcycle solo trip at 26 a few years back too, you learn a lot overtime on what works and what doesn't. Are those bags waterproof?

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

Great setup, and time of the year to do it, enjoy! I think I did my first motorcycle solo trip at 26 a few years back too, you learn a lot overtime on what works and what doesn't. Are those bags waterproof?

They have a waterproof cover! I'll have to be vigilant to put the covers on before drops start falling. My paranoia has had me wrap my laptop and journal in their own plastic bags haha.

 

[shanekingsley]

Awesome trip!
Incredible that there’s a motel offering rooms with only the bathroom light working. Nice bike too

 

[J_F]

cool

I stayed in Hawkesbury a few weeks ago
bit of a dump....ended up at different hotel
but had food delivered from Stephanie's, not bad

crossing the river, the scenery improves tremendously
OP is obviously on the road by now and won't see this

I found the Oka QC region really attractive
will do some more exploring there

hey if you end up looking for acoms in Sagenuey
this place is really good value and rider friendly

MOTEL PANORAMIQUE - Home

motelpanoramique.ca

safe travels OP

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

Day 2:

Today was amazing! What a spectacular day for riding. And amazing weather too. Saw a million, billion bikes too. Loads of HD folks (many of whom didn't wave back )

Yesterday, as I left Kingston, I had a hint of trepidation. I was worried that I was going too early for the Fall colours, as Kingston is still relatively green.
Boy oh boy was I proven wrong. Crossing the bridge across the Ottawa River, I was greeted with the most spectacular scenery of the Laurentians in full bloom.

I took the 327 North to get to Mont Tremblant. Great ride, but the recurring theme of Tremblant for me today was that it was pretty crowded. That's to be expected I guess given it's maybe the last Saturday before the dark times arrive. Anyway, 327 is a great road, and even stuck behind cars and other bikes, it was fun to cruise along the bends. I then cut across to hit some of the back roads, which were very very rough (can't say I wasn't warned!) Rough road surface aside, the views were awesome. I really liked Chemin du Lac Manitou. Great road surface on that one, though they made the whole thing a bicycle lane.

Got caught in a traffic jam at the village which wasted a bunch of time. It was okay as I only stalled twice, to the great judgement of le Quebecois riders behind me
Actually, that only happened because I was distracted by the enormity of the mountain. These mountains are actually so much bigger than I expected.

Chemin DuPleisis was excellent. I think the road with the best views I went on was Chemin Du Nordet. Straight, fast, hilly, and spectacular.
Chemin Ouraea N was recently paved and spectacularly fun "sport" riding. I finally started getting away from the crowds here.

Cut East on the 347, which was also spectacular. A few more crowds in parts of it, and a small un-paved section that almost killed me (not actually, but it was suuuuuper loose!).

Then the fun began. My Bluetooth headset battery died. And that's bad because it's also the source of my navigation. I straight up forgot the mapholder for my tank bag, so I was kinda fully dependent haha. Anyway, long story short. I spent maybe 0.5-1.5 hours getting lost like a baboon. It was still good fun though, as it was awesome to see the mountains give way to farms. It's a different kinda experience to Ontario. Here, you can see hilly farms and the mountains kinda growing out of them in the distance. Lots of long, sweeping bends on the 347, 348,& 350.

Ended up making it to Grand Mere, just past Shawinigan. Pretty awesome view of the Hydro dam coming in. Don't know too much about this place, I'm just discretely hiding in my AirBnB. The host is an interesting fella. He saw my mask and started telling me that the virus is fake lol .___.

Tomorrow, the journey continues Northward! After what I've heard to be the best road in Canada


Woke up to gurgling V-Twins. Saw many many more in the day.
ANOTHER THING TO ADD ABOUT THIS MOTEL: There was no water in the morning! At all! I feel so scammed. I called the office twice and no one picked up. Even went in person, no one was there. Brushed with the little I had left in my water bottle and then made for the nearest gas station


Took a couple on the way to Tremblant:


This was on Chemin Du Nordet. Picture does not nearly capture the grand-ness of the view. Was unreal!


While I was lost lol




This is approximately the route. It doesn't show the many roads I got lost in. Missed a few roads I wanted to take (like 349), but it was getting late and I hope to hit them on the way back!

Thanks for reading and following along!

 

[kurtrules]

Looks fun! Looking forward to your update.

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

Day 3

Another awesome day! Cloudy, but warm enough that I could use the summer gloves.

This day started by leaving Grand-Mere and heading for "Parc Nationale de la Maurice"
Oh. My. God.

If you were to shake me awake in the middle of the night and scream in my face that this is the best road in Canada, I would believe you. Holy moly guys. Whoever you are, whatever you're doing, drop it and come here to ride. Perfect tarmac, incredible, unending bends. And if that's not enough? Mindbending views! I had really high expectations for this ride. It was one of the reasons I came on this trip. And it did not disappoint. $7, I would pay more haha.
Loads of riders in the park, and plenty of other people doing requisite outdoorsy things (I really want to come back and hike in this area!). I think they knew this was a riding road as many people pulled over. Speed limit is...limited. But, you know

After the blast in the park, I took Rt 155. North.
This road was fantastic! The first bit up to La Tuque follows the Maurice River, and the views are just unending. It's a bit of a highway, but it feels like the Sea-to-Sky Hwy in Vancouver. Fast road, plenty of cars. Doesn't really matter though, I was content to sit behind people enjoying the views.

The road empties completely after La Tuque. It turns away from the river. There are still many awesome views, and enough bends to keep you awake. But tbh, was pretty knackered by the end of it. The main problem I had was that it was crazy crazy windy. Fighting the wind for that long on my little 650 takes a lot out of you!

Finally got to Sanguenay, and hung out by Lac Saint-Jean for a while. This lake is massive! But we Ontario folk are used to massive lakes haha. Bit of a slog to make it to the AirBnB in La Baie. I swear the temperature dropped 10 degrees as I came into the valley. Could see the fjords in the distance. Excited for tomorrow!

What do you guys do for lubricating chains on a trip? I only brought my brush, and stopped at a gas station so I could brush some diesel on it. Feels subpar :/

The pictures make the weather look miserable! It wasn't that bad though, I guess I just had bad camera timing haha.

 

[kurtrules]

I don't know if you have a plan to go the additional stretch to Tadoussac, but if you don't, add it to the list. Saguenay is nice, but the road north of the Fjord to Tadoussac and the village itself is unbelievably beautiful! Also, there are various tiny villages on the way to check out and enjoy the Fjord from up close.

Nice Update!

 

[shanekingsley]

Day 3

What do you guys do for lubricating chains on a trip? I only brought my brush, and stopped at a gas station so I could brush some diesel on it. Feels subpar :/

Sounds awesome.

I have a tool tube and carry a can of chain lube in there and a rag. Large Manual Holder, Tool Tube, Canister, 12" x 3-1/4". The Large Manual Holder is molded from high density polypropylene (HDPE).

I have a centrestand and lube the chain once a day, just as I park the bike for the night and the chain is still warm.

 

[J_F]

I don't know if you have a plan to go the additional stretch to Tadoussac, but if you don't, add it to the list. Saguenay is nice, but the road north of the Fjord to Tadoussac and the village itself is unbelievably beautiful! Also, there are various tiny villages on the way to check out and enjoy the Fjord from up close.

Nice Update!

+1 on this

if you have time to go east and take the ferry across the river
the area is really nice
should not be a big ferry line this time of year
I did this part of QC in August

 

[MacDoc]

Incredible that there’s a motel offering rooms with only the bathroom light working.

Had the same thing happen at Pickle Lake ..I think the guys next door overloaded circuit and girl on desk could not sort it. I was beat anyway and the bathroom circuit charged the vital items over night.

This day started by leaving Grand-Mere and heading for "Parc Nationale de la Maurice"
Oh. My. God.

If you were to shake me awake in the middle of the night and scream in my face that this is the best road in Canada, I would believe you. Holy moly guys. Whoever you are, whatever you're doing, drop it and come here to ride. Perfect tarmac, incredible, unending bends. And if that's not enough? Mindbending views! I had really high expectations for this ride. It was one of the reasons I came on this trip. And it did not disappoint. $7, I would pay more haha.

It is a fantastic ride plus superb pavement and midweek just about empty.

Love that area. Nice ride report.

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

I don't know if you have a plan to go the additional stretch to Tadoussac, but if you don't, add it to the list. Saguenay is nice, but the road north of the Fjord to Tadoussac and the village itself is unbelievably beautiful! Also, there are various tiny villages on the way to check out and enjoy the Fjord from up close.

Nice Update!

&@J_F

Thanks for the heads up! I was planning on possibly riding that road tomorrow, but now I'll do it for sure. I thought I would detour off and visit Sainte-Rose-Du-Nord & L'anse de Roche. Do you guys know any other tiny villages worth dropping into on the way?

 

[J_F]

sounds like you're gonna take 170 down to 138
if so you're gonna end up in St. Simeon before going north

there's a ferry port in that town, not the one you want
ask my buddies how we ended up there

but if you're looking for a spot to smell the roses
the ride down the steep hill into the quintessential French town is quite something

the sort of place like you'd spend a week at with a new squeeze

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

Day 4

I've been so lucky. Today was meant to be raining/thunderstorming, but Zeus decided to give me a break and I just had a couple of drops in the whole day. Definitely missed some rain as I did stumble on wet roads, but that's no biggie! I spent a good deal of time taking in the views today, which was a nice change versus the riding hard from yesterday

Sanguenay is awesome!!
I basically did the loop of the fjord today, kinda ended up doing what they recommend in the brochure (Motorcycle map | Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean)

You get pretty great views of the fjord from La Baie, taking Rue Victoria. And it's the same for the beginning of 172. Can confirm that 172 is an excellent road! Great views, excellent tarmac, and fun sweeping bends. I hopped off it for three in-roads into the Fjord: Sainte Rose Du Nord, Baie Sainte Marguerite, and L'Anse-de-Roche.

Right off the bat, I have to say that Sainte Rose Du Nord was incredible. There's an extremely steep and scary road up the mountain, and then a 1km hike to the most amazing viewpoint I saw in the fjord. If you're here, you have to come to Sainte Rose Du Nord, and specifically to the viewpoint!
The other stops were awesome too, and each of them showed a different part of the Fjord.

I hung out at the sand dunes in Tadoussac for a while before taking the super quick ferry across.
For riding, both 138 & 170 were way better than I had expected. 138 had amazing views of the Ocean-like St Lawrence, and 170 was a lot of fun! The cliffs on the southern side of 170 were massive, I think much bigger than the ones on the 172 (which had nicer river views).

I only took one inroad off 170 to the fjord. It was getting late and I had to get home before the meese-men came out. This was at Petit-Sanguenay. Was planning on visiting L'Anse Saint-Jean, but decided to save it for tomorrow!

Really enjoyed the day. Sanguenay has honestly impressed. When I heard about a "fjord" in Central Canada, I did not expect it to be so grand.
Tomorrow, I want to spend some time off the bike (heresy I know!) The plan is to head to Baie Eternite and do some hiking. Really excited to get the feet on the ground!


This is right outside town. The fjord definitely gets steeper farther south. I can't seem to find any good pics though

Sainte-Rose-Du-Nord

Sand Dunes at Tadoussac

While on the ferry, this rather large lady came walking by my bike, swinging her arms wildly. She knocked the left mirror completely out of place, then swore and held her wrist in pain, gave me an angry look, and continued to the front of the ferry without an apology. Thought that was strange!

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

So, my initial plan for Wednesday was to head to Quebec City.
I've been thinking about it though, and I think that with COVID, I just won't be able to enjoy the city properly anyway. I'd like to visit it on a different trip.
Anyone have any suggestions for places to go on the way back to Ontario?

I've been thinking of the Eastern Townships south of the St. Lawrence. Anyone have any experience? I feel like they might be boring riding, but I'd love to be proven wrong!

 

[BB722]

check out the motul c5 chain lube paste, you just dab it on with the brush no excess oil etc

 

[kurtrules]

So, my initial plan for Wednesday was to head to Quebec City.
I've been thinking about it though, and I think that with COVID, I just won't be able to enjoy the city properly anyway. I'd like to visit it on a different trip.
Anyone have any suggestions for places to go on the way back to Ontario?

I've been thinking of the Eastern Townships south of the St. Lawrence. Anyone have any experience? I feel like they might be boring riding, but I'd love to be proven wrong!

I am not sure if you will be taking this route, but the road from Tadoussac to QC is quite scenic. Little towns like La-Malbaie, Bae-St Paul are a must see.