Baie-Comeau was built from nothing in the 1930s, and you can still feel the planned-town logic in its streets. A newspaper tycoon, Robert McCormick of the Chicago Tribune, wanted a source of newsprint for his presses, so he chose this bay on the St Lawrence, where the Manicouagan River arrives, and built a paper mill and a company town around it. Streets and schools followed, and the town grew into the main centre of Quebec's north shore. It was also the hometown of Brian Mulroney, later prime minister of Canada.
The river is the real story. The Manicouagan and its neighbour the Outardes have been harnessed for hydroelectricity on an enormous scale, and about two hundred kilometres inland, up Route 389, the Daniel-Johnson dam at Manic-5 is a huge concrete multiple-arch structure that still impresses engineers. Behind it lies a ring-shaped reservoir, visible from space, that sits in the remains of an ancient meteor impact crater. The aluminium smelting and forestry that followed made this a working town where people measure the seasons by shifts as well as by weather.
Riding here is about distance and space. Route 138 follows the shore along the north coast, with long, gentle bends, forested hills and the vast St Lawrence flickering on one side. The road is generally in decent shape, though frost leaves patches of damage by spring, and heavy trucks mean you should overtake carefully. Weather on the estuary can change quickly, with cold fog or a stiff wind from the water, so layers are essential. Summer days are long and soft, and the light after dinner turns the water pink. A ferry crosses to Matane on the south shore for anyone who wants a loop.
Baie-Comeau has about thirty thousand people and Hauterive beside it adds more, which makes it the first big place for a long way, so all services are available. Fuel, supermarkets and hotels are easy to find, and you can eat well in French and in generous portions. Fill up before moving on, since the next stretches have fewer choices and the distances are long. Make time to walk down to the bay and enjoy the cool air.