This was a day riding on the Trans-Canada highway, stopping only for gas and food, which makes for a somewhat boring journey.  I stayed overnight in Moncton, NB and after a quick breakfast at Tim Horton’s, I need to lay down a far bit of kilometers knowing full-well that the time for sightseeing was at an end.

I was looking forward to spending the evening in to Rivière-du-Loup, a picturesque and rustic town, situated on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River.   I made sure to book a room early in the day, even after labour day, finding accommodations in Quebec was not easy.  Inventory is very low, however, I got lucky and found a nice cottage style cabin at the Motel au Fleuve d’Argent.  It was their last available room as well.

It was  short walk from the cabin to the shores of the St. Lawrence river.   The view was quite picturesque and offered a glimpse Rivière-du-Loup’s downtown in the distance.  After unpacking the motorcycle, I took a few sunset photos and thought maybe I’ll be able to get some star shots at night if the sky is clear.  I travel with a small tripod handy just in case.

Dinner was at a local Italian restaurant, the food was decent, but nothing to write home about.  There, I encountered a group of Harley riders, they saw my bike and we chatted briefly.  They hailed from Ottawa and were on their way back home from a road trip.  It struck me that we all fit into the stereotypical Canadian Harley rider, namely middle-aged or older, professional middle class, and educated with disposable income.  In Canada, Harley-Davidson is no longer a blue collar brand, it’s mainly white collar.  Then again, should that come as a surprise?  Travelling on Canadian road trips is not cheap, there are few bargains when it comes to accommodations, good food or gas.  Harley-Davidsons are expensive machines, especially the touring bikes whose sticker price is on par with many cars.  Small wonder, one seldom encounters much younger long distance riders on these road trips.  Touring bikes from other manufacturers are not cheap either, so when one sees younger motorcyclists, they are riding smaller Japanese bikes on day trips.

I was treated to clear skies after dinner.  After returning to the motel, I enjoyed a cigar and a few shots of whisky. Once darkness settled in, I brought my camera and tripod to the shorelines.  I wanted to take some long exposure shots and hopefully capture a good starry night.  Nice idea, if you like battling mosquitoes.  I went back to room grabbed my jacket so they had less flesh to bite and took a few more images. Ideally, I should have waited until 1 am or later when the skies are darkest and light pollution is reduced.  However, I had to get back on the road in the morning and I needed a good rest.  I packed up the camera around midnight, had one last cigar and drink and then it was lights out.