Say hello to St-Pierre-Jolys, no pics required!
I have written before that in Manitoba it’s not just about the ride but more often about the destination. With so many interesting things to see in Manitoba, there is no shortage of great destinations to visit when cruising the roads on your motorcycle. Manitoba by Motorcycle works hard to highlight hundreds of these places and we encourage every rider in Manitoba, and any rider visiting Manitoba, to stop at as many of these destinations as they can on their motorcycle travels.
As great as all those roadside attractions are, there are many more worthwhile destinations to visit in Manitoba than just what we list. Not every location has a municipal monument or art installation to check out. Some places just simply offer cool shops, nice diners and good people that make those places special. Make them worth stopping in to take in the experience, no selfie is required.
I roll through St-Pierre-Jolys nearly every weekend and stop every once in a while. Great town (ok, technically it is a village) with a relaxed friendly vibe and plenty of places to check out. St-Pierre-Jolys is right along Highway 59 South (59 literally splits the town), has roughly 1,300 people calling it home and it is the proud home of the annual Frog Follies event. I don’t know if they do it every year, but this year they held a town-wide garage sale to raise funds for a deserving charity. Small-town goodness at its finest.
Fast Facts
- Region: Eastman
- Population: 1,300+
- Location: 50km South of Winnipeg
- Mb by MC Stops: 0
St-Pierre-Jolys has the Boulangerie St-Pierre Bakery, which is an absolutely incredible bakery. Even the pizza is delicious. Yeah, bakery pizza. Trust me. It has a fun little skate park just outside the bakery which, according to my kids, is crazy important.
A few years ago I met a rider who told me that I needed to check out this cool vintage shop run by a guy you will enjoy chatting about motorcycles with. It took a few years to finally stop in at Re-cycle 61 and I only regret that it took so long. A lot of cool things to check out, classic albums along the walls, classic motorcycle mags at every corner, and coffee and pastries to refresh yourself with. Some motorcycles for sale including a 70’s chopper that my wife actually wanted me to buy (sadly, I did not). Most important though, is the good conversations you can have with the not-quite-vintage gent that runs it. This place alone could make this town worth the stop for riders.
There is a well-known bar (Lucky Lucs) that you cannot miss and has often been a stop on various motorcycle charity rides and poker runs. A couple of restaurants like Le Routier Restaurant and Oma’s N.G. ensure everyone can get their small-town food fix, and they have that nailed down.
There are other worthwhile places to hop off your horse or motorcycle, and visit in town and, of course, the usual main attractions to get what you need (food, gas, etc.). I may be biased since I’m there so often but even though there are no selfie stops here I am certain it is worth the stop. However, there are several Manitoba by Motorcycle stops all around the area, like Grunthal, St. Malo and Morris, so you can stop in and still get some patch photos along the way.
No St. Pierre-Jolys pics for this post as I was too busy making mental memories to take any actual mementos. One one of my many visits I’ll be sure to pop out my phone and snap a few shots of all the cool places to park. But, as they say on the interweb: Pic for attention.
PS: The rider I met a few years ago was a random encounter in a parking lot, connected through motorcycles. This connection is strong among all riders. Instant conversation starter. I’ve had a neighbour for nearly a year and we’ve never said more than 3 words. Then he bought a motorcycle and instantly our words started flowing into full and interesting conversations we look forward to. The motorcycle connection is far stronger than any other interest we share. I find this is often the case but maybe it’s just me.
