CCCT Part II - Portneuf to Levis, QC

Saturday, June 15/13,  We were up at 6:30 and after a quick breakfast of bagel, juice, tea and orange bread (a gift from La Maison du Capitaine and homemade by the manager himself) we set off for Levis at 7:52 AM. It was a lovely sunny day with fluffy white clouds in a clear blue sky and a nice tail wind to boot. We were making such good progress, except when we had to go up the damn hills, that we didn't even notice that we missed the sign for the trail that would have kept us along the St. Lawrence. I thought we had to follow the 138 all the way to the Pont du Quebec. We were almost in Vanier, a community North of Quebec City, when I realized something was not right. While at a red light I asked a couple in the car next to us if we were still on the 138 heading for the Pont du Quebec. They pulled over to the side of the road and after a lengthy explanation we realized we were way off course. In order to get to the Pont de Quebec we had to go up Avenue Saint Sacrement and believe me it was straight up. We had to get off our bikes and push them up the very steep hill for 20 minutes or so. From there we turned right on Chemin Saint Louis. Bev said we didn't even try to cycle up the hill - we just got off our bikes and walked - and OH MY GOD we're we ever out of breath and her legs were pissed at her!!! Eventually after a short stop for lunch which we had purchased earlier at a Metro store in Saint Augustine we found the cycle/pedestrian path across the Pont du Quebec. It was quite narrow and the sign said that cyclists should walk their bikes across the steel path but we cycled across like all the other cyclists. The expansion joints were quite brutal and the cross wind made it difficult to avoid running into the railings. We passed several cyclists who were coming in the opposite direction and who were kind enough to stop and move their bikes aside for us to pass with our wider, pannier laden bikes. Once across the bridge we followed the South Shore of the St. Lawrence all the way to Levis. There was a terrific bicycle/pedestrian path almost all the way except for the last 5 kms. We arrived in Levis at around 3:30 PM and stopped at a McDs for a Smoothie. Unfortunately they didn't have any so we had to settle for a Strawberry Sundae. A quick search on my GPS for accommodation showed that there was a Motel Levis about 2 kms away. I called and was told a double room with regular size bed was 59.95/night. The wind had picked up and it looked as though we were going to get a nasty thunderstorm so we quickly cycled to the motel and checked in for the night. After unloading our bags and putting our bikes away in the shed behind the motel we decided to walk to the nearest "Depanneur" to get a couple cold beers and some Gatorade. The storm had changed it's mind but it was still quite windy. Once back in our room at the motel we ordered a pizza for dinner which arrived in less than 20 minutes, Bev was still in the shower getting spruced up for dinner. Tomorrow we hope to make it to Saint-Jean-Port-Joli a distance of about 90 kms. So it off to bed and hopefully we will get a good night's rest.
Bev and Roly, Motel Levis, Levis, QC