Calm waters

It has been a fairly blustery September in Montreal, but back at work on the ship in Prescott brought a gentle fall day on the St. Lawrence. The small cruise vessel, Canadian Empress, was at the public dock just downstream; their passengers no doubt taking advantage of the beginning of the fall colours and a visit to Fort Wellington.

These days will get fewer and fewer so you might as well smile and enjoy them when they occur.

Blame the bike?

Another sad story in Montreal about a cyclist killed by a truck turning right at an intersection and the media is questioning whether the fact the cyclist was riding a 'fixie' with no brakes was a factor in the accident.

Really? Is this the best investigation they can come up with? What about the quality of signage or markings to indicate to motorists that pedestrians or cyclists can be encountered?

Looks to me like the only indication of any kind is a small stop sign for cyclists because they better watch out for traffic and not vice versa.

Another factor that is not mentioned in any of the reports is the radius of the shoulder at the interestion. If you look at the screen shot from Google Streetview, you will see that the shoulder has a very large radius, which is ideal for vehicles to make turns without having to unduly slow down.

The urban planner, Andres Duany, points out the risks of these types of car-friendly designs to any non-motorized movers in various lectures:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwd4Lq0Xvgc

It is time to stop viewing these events as tragic accidents and start dealing with the root causes behind them, which are directly related to the design of our cities for motorized vehicles and NOT for people.

Pont Champlain

The wind was whipping across the Estacade so I took a breather and watched the various craft around the Champlain bridge supports carrying out the refurbishment of the bridge. The number of vessels has certainly increased ever since the report came out about its poor condition.

Cruising

The cooler weather in September is my favourite climate for cycling even if it means bucking a head wind to ride out to Lachine.

It is also great for ship watching in Montreal as the cruise ships head this way for the fall colours.

I wouldn't want to be the one tasked to do the paint job on the hull, but not everyone is impressed with the striking form.

A fleet scaled to meet one's need

Model boat builders took the opportunity of the Tall Ships event to display and play with some of their creations in the Bonsecour Basin.

There were many different types of vessels, but I was particularly interested to see two Coast Guard ship models steaming around the calm waters.

The smaller one on the right is the Edward Cornwallis, based on its namesake sailing out of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. 

However, the larger vessel, which the builders named Nanuk, is based on a vessel that was never actually built. In the 80's, during the Mulroney era, there was a plan to build a large Arctic icebreaker. It was initially called the Polar 8 because it would be able to break ice eight feet thick continuously. 

Unfortunately, the project was shelved so the miniature Nanuk is the only realization from the initial dream of a Polar icebreaker.

Blue Moon over the Tall Ships

The impressive mega-yacht was in the Old Port over the weekend. 

Although it is registered in the Cayman Islands, it is owned by a Chicago businessman who displays his values for all to see; along with plenty of warnings to stay the hell away!

It is hard to imagine this ship actually goes anywhere as all the fittings are so immaculate.

There are lots of toys onboard, including jet-skis stowed in their own compartment on the stern.

Like a rare blue moon, she is here briefly and gone again.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?mmsi=319984000

Safer cycling in Lachine

Nice to see some work being done on the path in Lachine. Although part of the path still follows on the sidewalk on Boulevard St. Joseph, they have altered a portion of it to steer clear of pedestrians and driveways.

Tall Ships in Montreal

Been so fixated on the cycling races that I almost missed the Tall Ships event that started yesterday in Montreal harbour.

These vessels do not have very powerful engines so it was interesting to watch them buck the strong current flowing by the Clock Tower.

A more modern type vessel entered the port just after the Tall Ships. I believe it ships containers between Montreal and St. John's, Newfoundland on a regular run.

The vessels are secured in the basin for the weekend and available for tours for a small fee.

http://www.oldportofmontreal.com/tall-ships.html

There is also some animation and displays on the pier beside the vessels. In the evening, there is even a 'Pirate's Cabaret'!

I find it difficult to rationalize the 'Disneyfying' of the pirate image in today's culture when there are real pirates around the world who are capturing vessels, holding seamen hostage and also killing them.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Pirate+boss+Somali+pirates+kill+Syrian+hostage+wound+another+over/7179196/story.html

One of the displays is a fine selection of wooden ship and boat models. See if you can make out who is driving this one?!

Watching the Pros again at the Grand Prix Cycliste de...Montreal

Sunday saw pro cyclists take to the streets of Montreal for a long seventeen circuits of Mont Royal. Crowds were bigger than the Quebec City race and it seems that the riders view this as the more prestigious of the two races as there were fewer abandons.

There were many good vantage points with most people viewing the race along Avenue du Parc, Cote Ste. Catherine or on the ascent of Mont Royal. Some had a better view than others.

The corner of Cote Ste. Catherine and Mont Royal afforded a view of the cyclists along two different sections of the course.

It is interesting to see police and other service personnel doing their jobs and engaging the public while on a bicycle and to imagine how strange it seemed only a decade ago.

Fortunately, there were no major crashes over the course of the two races. Maybe an angel was watching over the cyclists.

Anyway, there was lots of action and the fans got a good show no matter who they were rooting for.

Ryder Hesjedal finished in 23rd place as the best Canadian, but he was much more active in the last lap of the race right up to the final turn to the finish as compared to the Quebec City race. It bodes well for a good showing at the World Championships later this month.

Ville de Quebec Cyclable

With the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec completed, we took time to see some of the city before heading back to Montreal. There are some bike paths and lanes throughout the city, but the most scenic is the path that follows the St. Lawrence.

We made our way to the southwest and joined the path near the Pierre Laporte bridge.

A pier juts out into the river called the 'Station des Cageux'. There is a lookout tower beside a small building housing a canteen, washrooms and sitting area.

The design for these structures won a Governor's General Medal for Architecture in 2010:

http://www.raic.org/honours_and_awards/awards_gg_medals/2010recipients/promenade_e.htm


We followed the path to the northeast along the river, through the Lower Town and across the St. Charles river. A passing container ship on its way to Montreal is a common sight.

The silos along the St. Charles river provide a backdrop for the marina, but they also double as one of the most unusual projection screens around when Robert Lepage's 'Le Moulin a Images' is shown on it each night in the summer.

Our destination for the day was the Montmorency Falls in Beauport.

The ride from the St. Charles river to the falls is not as scenic as the portion between the Pierre Laporte bridge and Lower Town of Quebec, but the final view is worth it.

On your way to the falls, stop and say a prayer to the cycling angel who watches over all two-wheeled wanderers.

Watching the Pros at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec

Headed down the 40 last Thursday to check out the race in Quebec City. It is such a scenic city, there are many vantage points to view the race and enjoy watching cyclists moving at speeds you can only dream about.

Not everyone was able to watch the race. One Coast Guard ship was in port doing some maintenance work.

Lots of fans waited patiently for the racers to pass by each lap and stationed themselves close to the finish for the final sprint.

Some fans were very partisan in their cheering and why not!

Sixteen times around the 12.6 km circuit gave lots of opportunity to see the pros, albeit briefly given their speed. It was a worthwhile trip and a great preliminary for the Montreal race coming up.

Ryder Hesjedal was up near the front of the peleton during the first part of the race, but drifted back near the end and finished over five minutes behind the winner although Canadian Francois Parisien, racing for Steve Bauer's Spidertech team, finished in tenth place only four seconds shy of the winner Simon Gerrans of Australia.

I think some of the riders might have been saving themselves for Montreal as there were sixty-two abandons out of 173 racers who started.

Bridging the waters

Took a ride over to the south shore to enjoy the wonderful Labour Day weather and check out the Festival Metiers et Traditions de Longeuil.

I had used the lift bridge at St. Lambert lock to cross the river, but decided to return to Montreal via the Jacques Cartier bridge. The last time I had used the JC bridge was probably twenty years ago so I was curious to see what the traverse was like now.

It took me a bit of scouting to find the path to actually get on the bridge; I guess the authorities figure no signage is required. Once on the path, however, the ride is quite pleasant with only a gentle incline. For some reason, though, pylons have been placed at intervals along the path that forces cyclists to slow down and manoeuvre around them. 

I suppose this is for 'safety' purposes to keep the speed of cyclists reduced, but all it does is create a hindrance and causes a conflict between opposing cyclists since only one person can navigate the pylon obstacles at a time.

I wonder what poor old Jacques Cartier would think of our increasingly Nanny state?

I had expected the noise on the bridge to be as oppressive as the Brooklyn bridge, but with the path being on the west side of the bridge it was actually bearable because the traffic was only on one side. 

All in all, an efficient and not unpleasant way to get across the St. Lawrence without the concern of getting delayed by a ship entering or leaving St. Lambert lock.

Museum Bikes

My first trip to New York required a visit to the Guggenheim and the MOMA.

There is really nothing else architecturally in New York City quite like Frank Lloyd Wright's building on Park Avenue and it is absolutely fitting that it faces the natural splendour of Central Park.

I'm not sure about his inspiration, but its many circles certainly suggests an affinity with the endless cars and bicycles that roll by it every day.

Fridays, if you can stand the crowds, you can get into MOMA for free after 4pm. People tend to congregate around the showpiece works such as Van Gogh and Dali leaving Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel a respectful space.

The third floor has a section for Architecture and Design where two bicycles are on display.

I thought, perhaps, these were just museum pieces rather than ride-able bikes, but both are available for purchase with the AM2 having quite a storied history.

http://www.moultonbicycles.co.uk/heritage.html

http://www.biomega.dk/biomega.aspx

For some reason, Biomega calls their bike, Boston, on their website. 

I would be curious to know what criteria MOMA put on their selection of these bikes. I would have thought a recumbant or a carbon fibre or even an original Gary Fisher would have merited a distinction for design.

My bike is back from the shop so enough about NYC and certainly enough humping around town on a Bixi. Time to enjoy the temperate days of September on the paths of Montreal and environs.