It was a mostly delightful ride to Montréal today. I was in no rush, as our check-in time was 3:00 PM, which we had already asked to have moved forward from the usual 4:00 PM. And I only had 26 or so miles to bike, so starting too early would only leave me sitting around Montréal waiting for access. So I rose a little later than planned and had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, eating enough to get me through the ride without stopping for lunch.
My leg was feeling better than at the end of yesterday's ride. I was uncertain how today would turn out. But my walkabout of the downtown area to explore and get dinner really helped a lot, that and the leg exercises I try to do twice a day. The walkabout was at least three miles . . . yes, the hotel is about 2 km from the centre ville, so I got in a good walk. And a good dinner with a wonderfully perky waitress who enjoyed talking Frenglish with me . . . my so-so French and her so-so English. It was a great meal, and I enjoyed the walk back to the hotel in the cool evening air.
So back to today. My plan was to backtrack a bit to recapture the entry point to the Chambly Canal Trail and then follow my course all the way to Montréal, most of it along the river.
And I was really looking forward to riding along the river, where it would be quiet and away from traffic. The backtracking would add a couple of miles to my day, but I told myself, "I'm taking it easy today, no hard pushing." And that's exactly what I did, taking lots of time to stop, enjoy the moment, and take pictures. And there was plenty to take in. And I learned a bit along the way as well.
So I left the hotel a little after 10:30. Well, that was me walking back over to the office to turn in my keys and check out. But all the recent unpleasantries between you know who and Justin don't seem to have impacted the locals much, and I had one of my more pleasant checkouts in a long time. The staff wanted to hear all about my trip, gave me cookies to snack on along the way, and made sure I had fresh cold water. And we spoke a combination of French and English throughout. It was most amusing. So my actual start time was more like 10:50 . . . still plenty of time to get to Montréal.
Back to my entry point on the Chambly Canal Trail at the edge of the centre-ville, and right across from where I had dinner the night before.
Me on the Chambly Canal Trail . . . still learning to use the new phone's camera . . . although there is some artistic flair to the blurry background. I'm dressed for heat today.
The canal trail is surfaced with cinders and easy to ride. And well maintained, as evidenced by the work crew filling potholes! I was impressed! And flat, of course, at least to the eye.
Repair crews hard at work filling potholes in the trail!
At about MP 4, the trail crosses over to an island in the river and follows this road for several miles. What is notable is the amount of space handed over to the bike trail; the road is one-way in the opposite direction.
Besides the lock in Saint-Jean, I probably passed at least six more, all fully functional. Although I didn't realize this until I caught the operation of one to allow two rather large pleasure craft to pass. Another notable observation was the structures spanning the canal. All manner of movable bridge you could imagine, from draw span to swing span to roll span. And of course I have pictures of all!
One of the many movable bridges that cross the canal, this one a bascule draw span with the counterweight suspended overhead.
So I followed the river for 13 miles before turning more westward to make for Montréal. This was also to be, for the most part, bike trail the whole way. And while this was true, the quality of the experience left much to be desired along certain sections, particularly the older sections built along existing roadways that were now in poor repair. This became noticeably worse the closer to Montréal I got, with the main exception being the crossing of the St Lawrence River.
At the foot of the Chambly Rapids, the canal ends at a rather large basin in the Richelieu River. Here, my route turned away from the river and northwest toward Montréal.
But then you are really in the exurban parts of the city and entirely navigating in street infrastructure, much of it in poor condition. Well, they do get severe winters here!
The crossing of the St Lawrence River is on the Jacques Cartier Bridge, which really has two major spans and also connects you with St Helen's Island (Île Sainte-Hélène). The bridge is not a new structure, and I suspect the pedestrian and bike way were added on after the fact. Regardless, it was an impressive way to enter the city!
The Jacques Cartier Bridge over the St Lawrence River is a significant structure. I originally thought it was two structures, but it's really just one with a "dip" to allow for a ramp down to St Helen's Island.
And it was close to our first lodging! It took a bit of wayfinding to find the street and proper address, but I was successful . . . maybe too successful, as it was still only 2:00 PM. I decided to cool my heels at a cafe/bar around the corner and enjoy an orange juice with seltzer water while I tried to locate Lee and Jerry. I also took the time to call home and update Facebook, of course. At 3:00, I wandered over to the apartment and started the arduous process of getting my bike and gear up to the third floor. This was a walk-up with narrow stairs. It felt very "foreign." And at the top, inside? Lee, already showered and relaxing! Well, it was good to see him . . . we had lots to talk about. Jerry arrived around 5:00, and we were out wandering the streets, eating Poké Bowl, walking it off again, and then finding what seemed to be the best gelato in town. That was an 18-minute walk, but well worth it. And my leg feels great. I'll be ready for Mont-Laurier come Thursday!
I had arrived early! Time to relax and enjoy some refreshment.
Later, Jerry and I walked quite a ways to find good ice cream, finally settling on Vachement Bon! Cremerie. Two scoops of gelato: Cappuccino and Biscuit. Yummy! No pennies were spent in the acquisition of this treat (Canada has abolished pennies)!
