Today was a relatively short day into Montreal. It was also quite
beautiful, as we made our way along La Route Verte, which is Quebec’s
impressive network of cycling paths and designated bike routes. These routes
make bicycle touring very easy, like riding around Stanley Park or something, and
are a far cry from our experience of torn shoulders on the TCH in Manitoba and
Western Ontario. We let our minds wander as we skirted along canals and through
wooded groves, finding strategically-placed port-a-potties whenever we needed
to pee. It was all quite lovely.
Our first challenge came during a construction zone, where we had to
push our bikes up a very long and steep gravel pathway. A new champion for
steepest hill of the trip.
We had lunch in picturesque St. Anne-de-Bellevue, followed by a delicious
ice cream by the water. Here we met a funny fellow named Dinsmore, an avid
cyclist who was enjoying a day trip from Montreal. He wore spandex and spoke
with a lisping British accent as he congratulated us on our accomplishments and
told us of his. We bid him adieu and carried on towards our destination. As we
approached Montreal, we stopped at a tourist map to figure out how best to get
into the city. As we mulled it over, who should appear behind us but Dinsmore.
“Lost already?” he said.
“No no…just seeing how best to get up to Cote-des-Neiges, where our
friends live”.
“Cotes-des-Neiges, you say? Why, that’s where I’m headed! I’ll lead you
there!”
“Okay strange man! We’ll follow you!”
And so we followed Dinsmore into the city, his short little legs
a-whirring as he kept a swift pace through the busy streets of Montreal’s
metropolis. And lead us he did, through the crazy city traffic, fighting crazy
Quebec drivers, right up Mont Royal to Bernie and John’s doorstep, where we
greeted warmly by our chums, rested our weary legs and enjoyed a hearty,
home-cooked meal.
Av. Spd.: 16.7km/h
Mx. Spd.: 34.5km/h
Biggest mix-up: Going the wrong way on a shoulder (against traffic) for
a few hundred yards after following some faded signs and a trip itinerary I’d found
on the internet, only to find that we’d made it to the wrong side of a bridge,
and had to turn around and redo the whole thing. The highway/bike lanes had
been redone. Our bad.
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