12th August: Malone to Beaconsfield, Montreal, QC
Odometer: 110 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 19.5 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 16-25°C
Road Conditions: Various Quebec country roads once back in Canada, a lot of rough surfaces! Cycle paths from Les Cédres to Montreal. Ascent: 150m/300m.
I had a short ride to US border and crossed back into Canada via the Trout Creek crossing point. It was a simple crossing and I was on my way within 5 minutes. Rough roads greeted me in Quebec as I rode northwards to Montreal. I had a nice tea stop in a cafe in Huntingdon (nice talking to you Morgan!) before continuing on.
Gavin, my Montreal host, had devised a route to Beaconsfield in the SW of the city using cycle-paths and a ferry. We were a bit worried about a narrow bridge near Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague which cyclists are barred from except at weekends when there’s a motorised shuttle transfer available. It would have meant a 20km detour to cross another bridge upstream if I couldn’t get across this one. I had two plans, either ride the bridge (whistling) or thumb a lift over the <1km length. When I got to the bridge it was lightly trafficked and safe enough so I crossed having “completely missed” the tiny no cycling sign…
Rather ironically, the road the other side of the bridge was narrow, badly cracked and eroded and posed more danger than the bridge itself! Oh well. (Note to cyclists: The bridge does contain 100m of diamond metal grating in the middle that could be tricky in the wet or with narrow tyres). I got to Saint-Timothée and used the GPS to find the ferry crossing point via another narrow bridge across the reservoir, a gravel road and a small pontoon bridge. The ferry was conveniently moored on my bank, seemly waiting for me.
On the other side in Les Cédres, I joined up with La Route Verte 5 (a major Quebec cycle path) and rode alongside the Salonge Canal. I crossed a couple of bridges to get on and off Île Perrot and was finally on the Île de Montreal! (The city of Montreal is an island). It was just a short and pleasant ride to Beaconsfield where I’ll be based for a couple of days.
Tonight I’ve been having dinner and chatting with my kind hosts Elisa and Gavin. A very nice couple and new friends!
1 comment:
Were you whistling hi ho hi ho r
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