I love going on road trips to get away for a weekend. That’s why my friends and I decided to hit the road together at least once a year. It’s a perfect escape for motorcycle enthusiasts like us!

For our first adventure, which—I must admit—was only somewhat planned, we left for three days on Labour Day weekend. A little piece of advice if you also want to attempt this experience: before you leave, check out the cultural and/or sports events happening in the cities that you want to visit. We learned the hard way the importance of doing this little bit of research…

The day of our departure, we were well and ready to hit the road and have fun. There were five of us on three motorcycles: my friends François, Mélanie and Jonathan, my spouse Geneviève and me. The weather was simply perfect for going on the road.

We left Granby and headed towards the city of Saint-Georges in the Beauce region, our first stop. Once there, we went to visit acquaintances of François for coffee. We had planned to spend the night in the region, but like I said, our itinerary was more-or-less planned. So, we were surprised to hear that there was a truck pulling competition happening all weekend long in a neighbouring town. All of the nearby hotels and motels were completely booked, which meant it was impossible to get a room.

We went back on the road. There were no vacancies anywhere along our way as we were headed towards Lévis. But even there, there was nowhere for us to spend the night. It was now 10 p.m. We tried our luck using any web applications on our phones, but there were no vacancies anywhere. Labour Day is obviously an ideal time for activities and events in Quebec. We called many hotels and motels in Québec City, and every time, we got the same answer: good luck finding a room! We even thought we’d have to resign ourselves to sleeping on a lawn somewhere.

Finally, out of sheer luck, we found a room for five people, but in Trois-Rivières! Needless to need to say that we went to bed late that night. The next morning, since we didn’t want to make the same mistake, we booked our next room in Berthierville.

But beforehand, we took advantage of the beautiful day to explore the beautiful countryside. François suggested that we drive on Route 351 from Shawinigan to Saint-Élie-de-Caxton. That route is simply awesome!! The winding road gives you the feeling of waltzing slowly along scenic landscapes filled with trees and ponds. Just like in the movies! At the end of this ride, we promised ourselves to come back.

Once in Berthierville, we wanted to end this superb day while enjoying a drink—without our motorcycles, of course. At the hotel, we learned that there was only one taxi for the entire city. Since there were five of us, the driver had to make two trips to take us to our destination. It was a rather funny experience.

In the end, the drink turned into several drinks, and as you can imagine, it was a bit of a hard wake-up the next day. And what’s the best cure for a hangover? A hearty, fatty breakfast! Because we needed a bit of a pick-me-up before getting back out on the road home. On the way back, we took the Sorel-Tracy ferry. This was an ideal opportunity to get some rest after our short night. What we remember from this surprise-filled trip, it’s that even though my friends and I are adventure seekers at heart, a little planning goes a long way to avoid being left high and dry. Especially on summer long weekends!