Ottawa (6:45) --- Montreal, PQ (7:50)
217 km + 12.7 km extra ride in Montreal, TOTAL 5151.5 KM
The day has come! The day I reach my goal!
I woke up at 5:30. Though Jason came back around 2:30 last night, he got up at 6 for me. We took breakfast and I left there at 6:45. I wished I could stay there, but I must go on. (This is gonna my last time to say, "I must go on!")
Street was surprisingly empty. The town was very beautiful in the morning, and when I thought it meant to be the last morning on my trip, I felt sad. I got out of Ottawa into Hull, Quebec and got on highway 148.
The highway had very nice shoulder, which I hadn't expected at all. It was also very flat, and most ascent last less than 100 m and very gentle. It was just like a present for achieving my goal. Without the wind, it would've been perfect for the last day!
At Thurso I took my first rest. I didn't get off my bike for 52 km. It was my longest record in my trip. There are towns every 10 km on my map, but there were farms and houses along the highway. It was just like one big city from Ottawa to Montreal.
From Papineauville the shoulder finally got intermittent. At Montebello, I finally reached 5000 km, the distance I'd always dreamed of. I felt really happy, but soon after shoulder disappeared. It seems like I must say, "Good things never last not only in Ontario but in East Canada!" To make matters worse, my right knee got sore, just like my first day. Today was just like my first day, like my right knee got sore, the terrain is almost flat, and cloudy! I took my "magic" painkiller, which I avoided to take since I left Kamloops BC, but magic didn't happen. I had to stop sometimes for my sore knee.
Around noon I got to Grenville. There was a hamburger stand, so I checked in. I just ate "pogo," French fries and coke. It was too little for my "last" lunch.
From there I said good bye for highway 148, and I took #344, where the traffic is reportedly pretty light. But it wasn't. And the limited speed was 80 km/h for narrow 2-lane road without shoulder! Most cars passes me by a lot slower than on Trans Canada, though. From Grenville to St. Andre, I had very comfortable ride along a river, but from St Ander the landscape got back into farms. I met some cyclists along the way, but some cyclists ignored me when I waved them hello.
I took some rest just before Oka. Just when I was looking at my map, 2 bike tourists passed by, so I left there to catch them. It was very surprising, because I didn't expect to see any bike tourists. They were just biking around Quebec.
From Oka (I like the name, because it means "hill" in Japanese and there were some ups and downs around there!) There were houses along the way. It was the sign a big city was coming soon --- If I was going to Vancouver from East, it would be Port Coquitlam. Streetlights appeared too. After a while I was in St.-Eustache, and I finally got to the bridge into Laval. I finally saw a sign that says "MONTREAL," which I waited for the last 6 weeks! When I took a picture of the sign, some passersby looked at me strangely. It sure was just a sign, but it meant a lot to me.
Lavel was a complete "city." There were 2 lanes on each side, and shopping malls along the way. Highway 148 doesn't go straight into Montreal, so I have to turn at some corners. I got a little bit lost, but I managed to get on highway 117.
Around 7, the bridge came into my sight, the bridge into Montreal. I don't remember how I felt. When I finally crossed it, I felt touched… "Touched" is not the right word. I felt a lot more than that. I'd planed to reach for the sky and shout "I did it" since I crossed BC/Alberta border, but I couldn't. All I could do was just taking pictures and going on. I sure was touched, but I felt more relieved to be able to get away from biking.
But it was not the end of the trip. It was pretty long till I got to the first hostel. It was getting dark, and it also started to rain. My reflective vest worked for the first time! I got to the first hostel around 7:50. I got off my bike and took a picture of my speedometer. But it was not end of trip either! It was full. So I rode on, and I went to YHA hostel. It was full again. I was at a loss, and I called an acquaintance of my father for help. One of my goals in my trip is to be independent and I tried not to trouble anybody (as you read, I did some times) but this time I really did. I felt really guilty. I met him past 9, and talked over a cup of coffee. I was happy to have someone to share my joy with. He kindly gave me a place to stay, and I went straight into bed. By that time I felt only tired.
---Epilogue---
I don't know when I first came up with the idea of biking across Canada. Though I've heard of some stories about biking across the continent, I didn't think I could ever do that.
But I did it. I thought about giving up my trip at least a couple of times a day but as I saw the wonderful but sometimes terrible nature of Canada and met lots of nice people, I realized the trip was the life itself. Sometimes you have a hard time, but then more good things happen to you. And you can't live completely on your own. I got lots of mental support from my friends, the people who honked me hello, passersby who talked to me and encouraged me… I don't know how much they helped me go ahead.
As I'm only 20, I didn't learn all about my life. But I'm sure I can say I have grown a little bit and that I'm not the one as I used to be. I'll run into lots of difficulties throughout my life, but this experience will help me somehow for sure.
Finally, I'd like to thank all the people who supported my trip both financially and mentally, and my parents who understood this trip and kept supporting me. Without their help, I couldn't have done this trip.
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