"Ottawa police are investigating after a male cyclist was struck by a truck and died in west Ottawa Thursday morning."
And in Montreal,
"A cyclist has died following a collision with a transport truck on Nazareth Street near the Bonaventure Expressway."
On a late November day, sad news with similar circumstances: trucks and proximity to major roads/highways.
Thursday 27 November 2014
Tuesday 4 November 2014
Platitudes in the Plateau
Overheard at a four way stop in the Plateau between a cyclist and a motorist who were apparently both absolute in their certainty of having the right of way as they pushed ahead into the intersection:
"Hey, fuck you!"
"Fuck you!!"
"Go suck your mother's cock!!!"
While the cyclist won't get a passing grade for anatomy, he certainly wins the day for an imaginative riposte.
Unfortunately, both participants will carry their bile into future car/bicycle interactions and extend the divide between road users.
Why can't we be friends?
"Hey, fuck you!"
"Fuck you!!"
"Go suck your mother's cock!!!"
While the cyclist won't get a passing grade for anatomy, he certainly wins the day for an imaginative riposte.
Unfortunately, both participants will carry their bile into future car/bicycle interactions and extend the divide between road users.
Why can't we be friends?
Monday 3 November 2014
Expanding Montreal Bike Network
With half the streets torn up in the city throughout the summer and into the fall, and with the recent mania by the city for painting circles around defects in the remaining streets rather than fixing them, it took me a while to realize that a new series of lines on some North/South running streets in the Plateau is supposed to be a cycle lane.
It looks like it is part of the city's plan for increased cycling infrastructure through the miracle of paint.
It is not absolutely clear, though, whether this lane is supposed to be two-way or North-bound or South-bound since there are no arrows to indicate direction. One thing, however, that is new is the double line bounding the parked cars, which gives a safety margin for cyclists to avoid getting doored.
The only question remains is whether this lane is supposed to be year-round or only when it is not covered by snow.
It looks like it is part of the city's plan for increased cycling infrastructure through the miracle of paint.
 |
| http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/transports_fr/media/documents/programmation_cyclable_2014-2015.pdf |
It is not absolutely clear, though, whether this lane is supposed to be two-way or North-bound or South-bound since there are no arrows to indicate direction. One thing, however, that is new is the double line bounding the parked cars, which gives a safety margin for cyclists to avoid getting doored.
The only question remains is whether this lane is supposed to be year-round or only when it is not covered by snow.
Monday 27 October 2014
Weekend ride to Oka
As the pre-winter opportunities for cycling are dwindling with November fast approaching, we decided to brave the elements by riding out to Oka with the return the following day via Hudson and Vaudreuil.
Distance-wise, it was weighted on the second day (50 versus 75) but our choice was dictated by available accommodations, which are pretty limited in the area.
The route was mostly following available bike paths into Laval but then we stuck to the shore road in Laval, which was fine. The only heavy traffic area was along Boulevard Samson (note-when you pick up Samson from Levesque-check out the Restaurant Souvlaki for lunch. It doesn't look like much from the outside but the food is excellent and they even have Greek beer) to get across the 13 but then we turned left at rue Lariviere and picked up the shore road again until we picked up the bike route that crosses into Deux Montagnes and followed it all the way to Oka. We had biked around the Parc d'Oka before but I was surprised at how nice the path was along the whole section from Deux Montagnes to the park; well-maintained and passing mostly through wooded areas.
The only hiccup came just before Oka as we were coming out of the park when we came across a short section of the path that was flooded. As it appeared not too bad, and we didn't relish the thought of doubling back to the road after cycling in the rain for the last two hours, we bravely pedaled on. We got through but not without a couple of wet feet in the end.
Fortunately, our Bnb was just another ten minutes down the way so we were able to peel off our gear and dry off.
The next day we headed for the Hudson/Oka ferry for a trip across the river. With the sun shining and costing only two dollars per cyclist, the ferry ride is a pleasant treat and allows for taking an alternate route back to Montreal.
Hudson is a great little village to visit on a Sunday afternoon and the ride back to the city along the shore was enjoyable with lots of interesting homes to gaze at and views of the lake as we entered Vaudreuil.
On this leg, we had to deal with a bit of traffic again crossing the 40 but then we quickly picked up a bike path (on Boulevard St. Charles, after going over the highway, turn left just pass the IGA) that carried us to Dorion, Ile Perrot and across the Galipeau bridge to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.
A very yummy and healthy lunch at Cafe Twigs fortified us for the rest of the ride home. An extremely enjoyable ride with very few high traffic zones and one I would do again, perhaps reversing the direction for a changeup.
Distance-wise, it was weighted on the second day (50 versus 75) but our choice was dictated by available accommodations, which are pretty limited in the area.
The route was mostly following available bike paths into Laval but then we stuck to the shore road in Laval, which was fine. The only heavy traffic area was along Boulevard Samson (note-when you pick up Samson from Levesque-check out the Restaurant Souvlaki for lunch. It doesn't look like much from the outside but the food is excellent and they even have Greek beer) to get across the 13 but then we turned left at rue Lariviere and picked up the shore road again until we picked up the bike route that crosses into Deux Montagnes and followed it all the way to Oka. We had biked around the Parc d'Oka before but I was surprised at how nice the path was along the whole section from Deux Montagnes to the park; well-maintained and passing mostly through wooded areas.
The only hiccup came just before Oka as we were coming out of the park when we came across a short section of the path that was flooded. As it appeared not too bad, and we didn't relish the thought of doubling back to the road after cycling in the rain for the last two hours, we bravely pedaled on. We got through but not without a couple of wet feet in the end.
Fortunately, our Bnb was just another ten minutes down the way so we were able to peel off our gear and dry off.
The next day we headed for the Hudson/Oka ferry for a trip across the river. With the sun shining and costing only two dollars per cyclist, the ferry ride is a pleasant treat and allows for taking an alternate route back to Montreal.
Hudson is a great little village to visit on a Sunday afternoon and the ride back to the city along the shore was enjoyable with lots of interesting homes to gaze at and views of the lake as we entered Vaudreuil.
On this leg, we had to deal with a bit of traffic again crossing the 40 but then we quickly picked up a bike path (on Boulevard St. Charles, after going over the highway, turn left just pass the IGA) that carried us to Dorion, Ile Perrot and across the Galipeau bridge to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.
A very yummy and healthy lunch at Cafe Twigs fortified us for the rest of the ride home. An extremely enjoyable ride with very few high traffic zones and one I would do again, perhaps reversing the direction for a changeup.
Monday 20 October 2014
ColourFall Montreal
October can be windy and wet, but the trade off is the beautiful display of colours. Hard to make out the rainbow in this shot but it was a pleasant addition to the leaves remaining on the trees and seemed to enter right into the local church's cupola.
Tuesday 7 October 2014
Out of the past and into the future
Normally working buoys in a country where ice covers the waters for a good portion of the year entails getting them in position in the spring and removing them in the fall. However, sometimes they have problems and sometimes they just disappear.
We got a call the other day to replace a buoy in the Beauharnois Canal that had gone from station. As it was a new plastic buoy just deployed this year, I suspected it might have been sunk by a passing ship's propeller rather than its mooring chain failing.
We have a large home-made grappling hook in order to drag the bottom for sunken buoys and moorings. So, we took up station at the buoy position and drifted across the location with the hook scraping along the bottom.
The first drag came up empty but on the second go we caught something.
Once we got the anchor on deck, we hooked on to the chain and raised up the remainder. Turns out we had caught a buoy but not the one we were looking for.
This was an older style steel buoy, which had obviously been at the bottom of the canal for a long time. Knowing the changes in lantern and battery technology, it was clear that this buoy had been under water for over twenty years! Pretty amazing considering the lantern was still attached and it didn't look much the worse for wear except for a buildup of growth.
With our surprise find on deck and out of the way, we tried another drag with our grappling hook. On the very next try we caught the buoy we were looking for.
Well, not much buoy actually left as the plastic body hadn't survived the propeller attack, the counterweights were gone, the plastic lantern had popped off the top portion and the top portion was cut up pretty good and full of water.
Not really the fault of the buoy, but I couldn't help thinking how the old technology buoy could be cleaned up and re-used while the new one was a write-off.
Another casualty to be added to the pile in our disposable world.
We got a call the other day to replace a buoy in the Beauharnois Canal that had gone from station. As it was a new plastic buoy just deployed this year, I suspected it might have been sunk by a passing ship's propeller rather than its mooring chain failing.We have a large home-made grappling hook in order to drag the bottom for sunken buoys and moorings. So, we took up station at the buoy position and drifted across the location with the hook scraping along the bottom.
The first drag came up empty but on the second go we caught something.
Once we got the anchor on deck, we hooked on to the chain and raised up the remainder. Turns out we had caught a buoy but not the one we were looking for.
This was an older style steel buoy, which had obviously been at the bottom of the canal for a long time. Knowing the changes in lantern and battery technology, it was clear that this buoy had been under water for over twenty years! Pretty amazing considering the lantern was still attached and it didn't look much the worse for wear except for a buildup of growth.
With our surprise find on deck and out of the way, we tried another drag with our grappling hook. On the very next try we caught the buoy we were looking for.
Well, not much buoy actually left as the plastic body hadn't survived the propeller attack, the counterweights were gone, the plastic lantern had popped off the top portion and the top portion was cut up pretty good and full of water.
Not really the fault of the buoy, but I couldn't help thinking how the old technology buoy could be cleaned up and re-used while the new one was a write-off.
Another casualty to be added to the pile in our disposable world.
Sunday 28 September 2014
It's a bird's life
Working on the water affords frequent opportunity to observe our feathered friends.
They can be stacked up on any available structure but I think it was last winter's ice that did the damage here.
Well off the shore in Lake Erie we were visited this morning by two Blue Jays.
They can be stacked up on any available structure but I think it was last winter's ice that did the damage here.
Well off the shore in Lake Erie we were visited this morning by two Blue Jays.
Tuesday 16 September 2014
Bird Sanctuary
This use to be a daunting light to paint off the tip of Pelee Island but now it has gone to the birds.
Sunday 14 September 2014
Damp day in the Ditch
Back on the ship and transiting the Welland Canal, affectionately known at 'The Ditch'.
Flat calm all the way along the 'Level' towards Lock 8 and then, as is often the case, the wind whips up out of the southwest by the time we are heading through the piers into Lake Erie.
At least the ice is a few months away yet.
Tuesday 9 September 2014
Boulevard Groan
Between the ride down east and my spill last month near Prescott, I haven't done many of my usual Montreal rides this summer.
Finally feeling almost healed, I decided to take a ride out to the east end of the island via Boulevard Gouin on the north side of the island and then back rue Notre Dame along the south.
It is a good ride because it is mostly bike path and a healthy 65 kilometers door to door but I always forget just how fucking poor some sections of these 'paths' actually are until I am faced with them again.
I'm not sure what demented road designer's handbook this comes from that considers the above worthy of the term 'bike path'.
I wonder how many kilometers of paths would actually count in North America's cycling capital if you removed all the ones that were substandard?
Finally feeling almost healed, I decided to take a ride out to the east end of the island via Boulevard Gouin on the north side of the island and then back rue Notre Dame along the south.
It is a good ride because it is mostly bike path and a healthy 65 kilometers door to door but I always forget just how fucking poor some sections of these 'paths' actually are until I am faced with them again.
I'm not sure what demented road designer's handbook this comes from that considers the above worthy of the term 'bike path'.
I wonder how many kilometers of paths would actually count in North America's cycling capital if you removed all the ones that were substandard?
Along the lazy river
Last weekend we decided to try out a new area for a cycling weekend around Drummondville.
The entire route is just over 81 kilometers so this was initially going to be a one day ride but we decided to take it easy and split it in two to make it more of a September balade than a ride.
We drove to Pierreville along the 132 and parked at the Hotel de Ville, which is located right along the shore of the Saint-Francois river.
There is a nice little park beside the parking furnished with toilets, which makes for a good jumping off point for the ride. The morning rain that was supposed to stop at noon continued until almost 2pm so we held off our start and sheltered under the awning in front of the toilets.
We started the ride along the east side of the river following the shore road all the way to Drummondville. It was a very pleasant ride with little traffic and nice paved roads. We stopped to eat our lunch at Saint-Joachim-de-Courval where there was a nice park area with picnic tables and a view of the river. There was a toilet in the park but it was locked though the Community Centre across the street was open for a local festival event.
Passing over the 20 we picked up a bike path that took us towards the bridge leading into Drummondville. Route Verte 4 passes through Drummondville and we picked it up to take us north of the city where our Bnb was located.
In town, the Route Verte dipsy-doodles around quite a bit. In retrospect, it would have been easier to just get on the Chemin du Golf from the bridge and follow it all the way out of town since the Route Verte ends up there anyways.
After a restful evening, we headed out for our return to Pierreville along the Route Verte, which follows the west side of the Saint-Francois river. Just past the Bnb we went onto the path that goes through the woods of Saint-Marjorique-de-Grantham. It is a wide, crushed stone path and a nice, gentle ride. It eventually comes out into a gravel road that carries on along the river.
I was wondering why there was no traffic here but then we came to a barred gate that prevented vehicles from passing, which explained it.
Past the barred gate the road was paved but there was still very little traffic. A little further down the road we came across a rest stop for cyclists.
It was just a picnic table under a shady tree but there was a nice view of the river and a small stand of sunflowers.
There are endless farms along each side of the river filled with fields of corn but the odd one did have some livestock.
The route is pretty well flat or gently rolling but there was one little hill on either side of a one lane bridge.
Before long, we were crossing the bridge that joins Saint-Francois-du-Lac and Pierreville.
Note, the Route Verte website says that this is a narrow bridge but it has been upgraded last year with a nice shoulder that is good for cyclists.
Overall, this was a great little ride in a very pleasant area. I would definitely do this ride again but in a single day probably starting and ending in Drummondville with a lunch stop at Pierreville. Just be aware that these are country roads and, though there are some rest spots, there are no places to get water between Drummondville and Saint-Francois-du-Lac so carry enough to get you through two or three hours of riding between towns.
The entire route is just over 81 kilometers so this was initially going to be a one day ride but we decided to take it easy and split it in two to make it more of a September balade than a ride.
We drove to Pierreville along the 132 and parked at the Hotel de Ville, which is located right along the shore of the Saint-Francois river.
 |
| Hotel de Ville is the brown building centre right |
There is a nice little park beside the parking furnished with toilets, which makes for a good jumping off point for the ride. The morning rain that was supposed to stop at noon continued until almost 2pm so we held off our start and sheltered under the awning in front of the toilets.
We started the ride along the east side of the river following the shore road all the way to Drummondville. It was a very pleasant ride with little traffic and nice paved roads. We stopped to eat our lunch at Saint-Joachim-de-Courval where there was a nice park area with picnic tables and a view of the river. There was a toilet in the park but it was locked though the Community Centre across the street was open for a local festival event.
Passing over the 20 we picked up a bike path that took us towards the bridge leading into Drummondville. Route Verte 4 passes through Drummondville and we picked it up to take us north of the city where our Bnb was located.
In town, the Route Verte dipsy-doodles around quite a bit. In retrospect, it would have been easier to just get on the Chemin du Golf from the bridge and follow it all the way out of town since the Route Verte ends up there anyways.
After a restful evening, we headed out for our return to Pierreville along the Route Verte, which follows the west side of the Saint-Francois river. Just past the Bnb we went onto the path that goes through the woods of Saint-Marjorique-de-Grantham. It is a wide, crushed stone path and a nice, gentle ride. It eventually comes out into a gravel road that carries on along the river.
I was wondering why there was no traffic here but then we came to a barred gate that prevented vehicles from passing, which explained it.
Past the barred gate the road was paved but there was still very little traffic. A little further down the road we came across a rest stop for cyclists.
It was just a picnic table under a shady tree but there was a nice view of the river and a small stand of sunflowers.
There are endless farms along each side of the river filled with fields of corn but the odd one did have some livestock.
The route is pretty well flat or gently rolling but there was one little hill on either side of a one lane bridge.
Before long, we were crossing the bridge that joins Saint-Francois-du-Lac and Pierreville.
Note, the Route Verte website says that this is a narrow bridge but it has been upgraded last year with a nice shoulder that is good for cyclists.
Overall, this was a great little ride in a very pleasant area. I would definitely do this ride again but in a single day probably starting and ending in Drummondville with a lunch stop at Pierreville. Just be aware that these are country roads and, though there are some rest spots, there are no places to get water between Drummondville and Saint-Francois-du-Lac so carry enough to get you through two or three hours of riding between towns.
Friday 15 August 2014
Back Home
After a delicious and copious breakfast at the Mystic Meadows Bnb, I headed east on the 2 towards Lancaster and then the Ontario/Quebec border. The stretch from Cornwall to Lancaster is quite nice with views of the St. Lawrence, a good shoulder to ride along and a bunch of ostentatious homes that have been built in recent years.
I figure it must be the Belgium effect-where rich French citizens relocate to Belgium to avoid the taxes of their home country. I'm sure most of these homes must be well-to-do Montrealers who have transplanted across the border to the relatively lower taxes of Ontario while still being within an hour of the city.
After Lancaster, the 'Waterfront Trail' runs along the 401 south service road. A good road with wide shoulder but no waterfront to speak of. If I was advising anyone, I would tell them to avoid the section of the trail between Brockville and Upper Canada Village, and take in the actual trails and road with shoulder between Morrisbourg and Lancaster. The fact that the promotion of the Waterfront Trail is, for large sections, along a road of moderate quality with traffic travelling at speeds in excess of 90 kph is disingenuous at best.
Another tail wind quickly brought me to the border.
I was happy to get back to the province in the forefront of cycling infrastructure. I followed the main road until I picked up the bike path that follows the old Soulanges Canal.
Along the way, I spotted a new postal station at Les Coteaux.
I wonder how something like this will fare in graffiti-happy Montreal?
It was nice to get away from the sound of traffic and ride along the old canal. They have some interesting panels along the way that explain the building of and life and work of the canal when it was in operation.
In no time, I was in Pointe des Cascades.
I pedaled through Ile Perrot without noticing too much the suburban bliss and then made my way across the Galipeau bridge with its fancy new bike path and circular ramp into Ste-Anne-de Bellevue.
At the base of the ramp is a market/cafe called the Coop du Grand Orme, which looked promising so I decided to make it my lunch stop. The vegetarian chili with homemade cornbread and the beet salad went very well with the local brew (ah, the joys of biking when you can burn off those calories right away).
After a scone and a cappuccino, I was ready for the last leg of the journey home. Having done this road many times, it seemed to take no time at all before I was rolling through the Lachine Canal and then up the Berri hill.
Ah, Montreal. Go away for a month and come back to find the streets just as torn up as they were the month before if not more so, and breath in the vibrating air of frantic drivers trying to make their way through the labyrinth of orange cones. You have to admire their determination to stay in their vehicles when so much conspires against them in the big, bad city.
All in all, a couple of excellent days of riding.
I figure it must be the Belgium effect-where rich French citizens relocate to Belgium to avoid the taxes of their home country. I'm sure most of these homes must be well-to-do Montrealers who have transplanted across the border to the relatively lower taxes of Ontario while still being within an hour of the city.
After Lancaster, the 'Waterfront Trail' runs along the 401 south service road. A good road with wide shoulder but no waterfront to speak of. If I was advising anyone, I would tell them to avoid the section of the trail between Brockville and Upper Canada Village, and take in the actual trails and road with shoulder between Morrisbourg and Lancaster. The fact that the promotion of the Waterfront Trail is, for large sections, along a road of moderate quality with traffic travelling at speeds in excess of 90 kph is disingenuous at best.
Another tail wind quickly brought me to the border.
I was happy to get back to the province in the forefront of cycling infrastructure. I followed the main road until I picked up the bike path that follows the old Soulanges Canal.
Along the way, I spotted a new postal station at Les Coteaux.
I wonder how something like this will fare in graffiti-happy Montreal?
It was nice to get away from the sound of traffic and ride along the old canal. They have some interesting panels along the way that explain the building of and life and work of the canal when it was in operation.
In no time, I was in Pointe des Cascades.
I pedaled through Ile Perrot without noticing too much the suburban bliss and then made my way across the Galipeau bridge with its fancy new bike path and circular ramp into Ste-Anne-de Bellevue.
At the base of the ramp is a market/cafe called the Coop du Grand Orme, which looked promising so I decided to make it my lunch stop. The vegetarian chili with homemade cornbread and the beet salad went very well with the local brew (ah, the joys of biking when you can burn off those calories right away).
After a scone and a cappuccino, I was ready for the last leg of the journey home. Having done this road many times, it seemed to take no time at all before I was rolling through the Lachine Canal and then up the Berri hill.
Ah, Montreal. Go away for a month and come back to find the streets just as torn up as they were the month before if not more so, and breath in the vibrating air of frantic drivers trying to make their way through the labyrinth of orange cones. You have to admire their determination to stay in their vehicles when so much conspires against them in the big, bad city.
All in all, a couple of excellent days of riding.
Thursday 14 August 2014
Back in the saddle
No matter how well you come out after a fall on the bike, like any shocking event, there is some trepidation when you get back on the saddle and ride again.
Finishing my work cycle on the ship, I am riding back to Montreal over the next two days.
Fortunately, there is a nice tail wind so I don't have to pedal too hard as I still feel a bit sore from the recent spill. For awhile I imagine every bit of gravel by the side of the road is a deep pit waiting to suck down my wheel but, after a few kilometres, I start to relax and enjoy being on the bike again.
My plan is to follow the signs for the Harbourfront Trail to see if it is as poorly maintained (or non-existent) as the section between Brockville and Iroquois.
I stop at a nice little park just before Mariatown that even had a portable toilet. I have passed this spot hundreds of times on the ship but not seen the perspective from the shore.
The trail takes you off County Road 2 through Morrisbourg, which has some wonderful brick homes in the Victorian style and a large green space near the water where I stopped to have an ice cream served by a morose teenager feeling her life was being wasted serving old farts in spandex in small town Ontario.
Once out of Morrisbourg, the trail follows the 2 again until just before Upper Canada Village. I have not seen another cyclist yet and it is not surprising. Even when there is a shoulder, you have to deal with speeding traffic and a surprising amount of large trucks. As I saw before, repaved sections of the road omitted to cover the shoulder so there is every sign that cyclists are not really wanted here no matter what the tourist information says.
The trail finally becomes one at Upper Canada Village and there is some nice riding along the islands created by the flooding of the river when the Seaway was created in 1959. The trail comes out at Long Sault Parkway, which has a good shoulder with even a few painted bicycles on it.
Not surprisingly, now that there is some actual infrastructure, I start to see a few cyclists.
Getting into Cornwall, there is a bad section of the trail where the damaged asphalt path has been poorly repaired by throwing down some crushed stone. This is often what happens to bike paths outside of urban areas when they are created with much fanfare and then ignored afterwards.
There was one spot of nice, new path that is along the shore where a new bridge to Cornwall Island has been constructed.
I won't quibble that the only reason the new path was built was due to a border crossing station being installed at the end of the bridge. New bike paths are good no matter the reason.
I make it to Summerstown where the Bnb I have reserved is located. There is one restaurant in the village and, back luck, it is closed for maintenance. Good thing I had that ice cream.
But the nice couple at the Bnb share their protein shake with me (some special diet they are following) and it fills the hole since I am more fatigued than hungry.
Another lesson learned: have some provisions in your bag just in case the expected resources in an area are closed.
Finishing my work cycle on the ship, I am riding back to Montreal over the next two days.
Fortunately, there is a nice tail wind so I don't have to pedal too hard as I still feel a bit sore from the recent spill. For awhile I imagine every bit of gravel by the side of the road is a deep pit waiting to suck down my wheel but, after a few kilometres, I start to relax and enjoy being on the bike again.
My plan is to follow the signs for the Harbourfront Trail to see if it is as poorly maintained (or non-existent) as the section between Brockville and Iroquois.
I stop at a nice little park just before Mariatown that even had a portable toilet. I have passed this spot hundreds of times on the ship but not seen the perspective from the shore.
The trail takes you off County Road 2 through Morrisbourg, which has some wonderful brick homes in the Victorian style and a large green space near the water where I stopped to have an ice cream served by a morose teenager feeling her life was being wasted serving old farts in spandex in small town Ontario.
Once out of Morrisbourg, the trail follows the 2 again until just before Upper Canada Village. I have not seen another cyclist yet and it is not surprising. Even when there is a shoulder, you have to deal with speeding traffic and a surprising amount of large trucks. As I saw before, repaved sections of the road omitted to cover the shoulder so there is every sign that cyclists are not really wanted here no matter what the tourist information says.
The trail finally becomes one at Upper Canada Village and there is some nice riding along the islands created by the flooding of the river when the Seaway was created in 1959. The trail comes out at Long Sault Parkway, which has a good shoulder with even a few painted bicycles on it.
Not surprisingly, now that there is some actual infrastructure, I start to see a few cyclists.
Getting into Cornwall, there is a bad section of the trail where the damaged asphalt path has been poorly repaired by throwing down some crushed stone. This is often what happens to bike paths outside of urban areas when they are created with much fanfare and then ignored afterwards.
There was one spot of nice, new path that is along the shore where a new bridge to Cornwall Island has been constructed.
I won't quibble that the only reason the new path was built was due to a border crossing station being installed at the end of the bridge. New bike paths are good no matter the reason.
I make it to Summerstown where the Bnb I have reserved is located. There is one restaurant in the village and, back luck, it is closed for maintenance. Good thing I had that ice cream.
But the nice couple at the Bnb share their protein shake with me (some special diet they are following) and it fills the hole since I am more fatigued than hungry.
Another lesson learned: have some provisions in your bag just in case the expected resources in an area are closed.
Monday 11 August 2014
I fought the road and the road won.
Two thousand kilometers without a single incident and then a warm-up morning ride on County Road 2 puts me down hard.
And all because the fuckin' local township's idea of road maintenance is to push all the stone and sand on the shoulder into a nice little pile right beside the edge of the road.
I must admit I was pretty cavalier about wearing a helmet before today but I would have had scrambled eggs for brains right now without that bit of Styrofoam between my head and the pavement this morning.
Lucky, lucky, lucky.
And all because the fuckin' local township's idea of road maintenance is to push all the stone and sand on the shoulder into a nice little pile right beside the edge of the road.
I must admit I was pretty cavalier about wearing a helmet before today but I would have had scrambled eggs for brains right now without that bit of Styrofoam between my head and the pavement this morning.
Lucky, lucky, lucky.
Saturday 2 August 2014
Red sky at morning
Cyclists take warning.
It use to be sailors but the old canal at Cardinal is half filled in since the modern Seaway opened in 1959.
And, sure enough, by supper time there was a thunderstorm.
It use to be sailors but the old canal at Cardinal is half filled in since the modern Seaway opened in 1959.
And, sure enough, by supper time there was a thunderstorm.
Saturday 26 July 2014
A Shoulder to lean on
Funny how regions love to tout their biking resources on their websites but when it comes to putting pavement down, the shoulder is not an obligation.
Friday 18 July 2014
What's in a name?
Back at work on the ship but it is in for repairs so I will have spent more time on the water on ferries to and from the Magdalens last month than here.
Still, it gives me a chance to bike in the early morning before work. I can get a couple of hours along County Road 2 that follows the St. Lawrence River heading out just as the sun comes up.
This road around the Prescott area is part of the much hyped Waterfront Trail that goes from Niagara Falls to the Quebec/Ontario border.
http://www.waterfronttrail.org/prescott
I've been biking this road for years now, well before it was designated part of the trail. In fact, the only indication that this is supposed to be a trail is a sign every once in a while.
There has been no other work done on this road over the years since the province divested responsibility for its maintenance to the local counties and towns.
So, in this area, it is a trail in name only.
Still, it is a picturesque ride along the river.
At least until the traffic starts picking up as motorists head to work in Brockville or Ottawa and you realize that the posted 80 kph posted speed limit is basically ignored since I've never once seen a cop patrolling this road over the years.
Still, it gives me a chance to bike in the early morning before work. I can get a couple of hours along County Road 2 that follows the St. Lawrence River heading out just as the sun comes up.
This road around the Prescott area is part of the much hyped Waterfront Trail that goes from Niagara Falls to the Quebec/Ontario border.
http://www.waterfronttrail.org/prescott
I've been biking this road for years now, well before it was designated part of the trail. In fact, the only indication that this is supposed to be a trail is a sign every once in a while.
There has been no other work done on this road over the years since the province divested responsibility for its maintenance to the local counties and towns.
So, in this area, it is a trail in name only.
Still, it is a picturesque ride along the river.
At least until the traffic starts picking up as motorists head to work in Brockville or Ottawa and you realize that the posted 80 kph posted speed limit is basically ignored since I've never once seen a cop patrolling this road over the years.
Thursday 17 July 2014
I am curious yellow
After five weeks away from Montreal it was nice to see all the work being done to fix the infinite number of potholes throughout the city.
Well, all the work consisted of someone driving around and painting a yellow circle around what he considered the worst craters in the road.
I am curious how this is supposed to facilitate the filling of these holes instead of just going out there and doing it.
Maybe next year...
Well, all the work consisted of someone driving around and painting a yellow circle around what he considered the worst craters in the road.
I am curious how this is supposed to facilitate the filling of these holes instead of just going out there and doing it.
Maybe next year...
Tuesday 15 July 2014
Lessons learned from my first big bike trip
Over the many kilometers traveled in Eastern Canada in the last five weeks I pondered some of the lessons/truths I learned along the way.
Traffic
Most motorists don't seem to know how to pass cyclists on the road.
Two out of ten do it right by gently shifting over to the left so their left wheels are on or just left of the centreline and maintaining their speed or, even better, taking their foot off the gas while passing.
Seven out of ten move too far to the left all the way into the opposing traffic's lane and usually accelerating so that when they find traffic coming the other way they have to wrench their vehicle back over to the right often ending up closer to the cyclist than if they had just stayed in the lane going straight.
One out of ten don't give a shit and just keep driving no matter how close they pass the cyclist.
Trucks, especially dump trucks, can be hard on the nerves just by their size and noise but the drivers are professionals and usually do the right thing.
Once you get use to the proximity and noise of the trucks, they can actually be a bonus sometimes because the air they draw after them can pull you along for a certain amount of time. I especially appreciated this when bucking a head wind all day.
When riding on the road, a mirror becomes an essential tool to allow you to see if traffic is coming and whether it is moving over for you or whether you have to haul over to the right (if you can) to get out of the way.
I also put on my little bike lights (MEC has these great little lights for $10 that fit on the bike with an integral silicone strap and recharge with a USB plug) in the flashing mode whenever I was on a road to increase my visibility to motorists. I don't know if it made a difference but it made me feel better.
I also put on my little bike lights (MEC has these great little lights for $10 that fit on the bike with an integral silicone strap and recharge with a USB plug) in the flashing mode whenever I was on a road to increase my visibility to motorists. I don't know if it made a difference but it made me feel better.
Truck traffic seemed to die off quite a bit on the weekends. I cycled through the Matapedia Valley on a Friday and a Saturday. There was a lot less traffic on the Saturday, which allowed me to enjoy the nice scenery even more.
If you can ride earlier in the morning, you will usually get less traffic, especially on the weekends.
Every town, no matter how small, has a rush hour and people drive like mad at these times.
Not to stereotype people but my experience was that the biggest assholes tended to be in pickup trucks. Not sure if it is the redneck factor or what but that is what I found on this trip.
But my butt!
There is no way around it, your butt is going to hurt. If you are spending five, six or seven hours on your bike saddle it is going to get painful at times.
I finally got use to my bike saddle after a thousand kilometers and doing some minor adjustments to the positioning. Before the trip, I had even bought another saddle in the hope of finding a more comfortable one. I tried it for one ride and then went back to the original one. Make sure you've tried adjusting your saddle position before expending a lot of needless funds looking for the impossible ideal.
My main suggestion is don't squirm. If you squirm around on your saddle trying to find the best position you are going to be rubbing your butt against the chamois or whatever the material of the shorts you are wearing and the skin is going to get irritated, which is just going to make things worse.
I found the best thing to do is stand up in the pedals briefly and then sit back down to try to find the most comfortable spot on the saddle. If you don't find it the first time, stand up again and reposition. It might take awhile but you'll be giving your butt a break in the mean time and you won't be rubbing the skin across the material.
Make butt cream your friend. I never used a special cream before this trip but I figured I would give it a try. I got some Assos chamois cream off Amazon ($33) and the tub lasted for the whole trip. I don't know if I absolutely needed it but I used it religiously every day and I didn't have any skin irritation problems the whole trip so I'm not sorry I expended the funds.
To cleat or not to cleat, that is the question
Up until last fall I had never used biking shoes with cleats because I was worried about knee pain.
I finally broke down when I bought my Surly and decided to try cleats and SPD pedals.
It took awhile and I had to play with the positioning of the cleats to get them right but it was the best choice for me to go with the cleats for this trip.
I had read numerous blogs where some had said it wasn't worth it to have special shoes and others had said you absolutely needed to have shoes with cleats.
I did do some short days on the trip with my regular running shoes but I was always glad when I put the cleats back on. For me, the efficiency gained with the shoes cleated in made a world of difference over a long day.
I am a convert.
Take Five
You are going to be riding many hours, day in and day out, so it doesn't make any sense to try and be a martyr by staying on the bike hour after hour.
I was amazed at how refreshing it was to just stop and get off the bike for five minutes. Take a drink, walk around, stretch.
Most often, the excuse was to stop and take a picture but the break was the main reason.
Blame it on the Rain
I admit I cheaped out a bit on the rain gear going with a very basic jacket, pants and no gaiters for my shoes.
For my helmet, I used the trick a hotel in St-Jean-sur-Richilieu gave me last year by using a shower cap, which worked perfectly well.
I had to bike through some rain during the trip but nothing torrential. There was only one day when I had to bike through rain the whole day.
In future, I will get a better quality jacket that is also breathable. I will also get some gaiters to protect my shoes as it was awful feeling the water squish through my toes with every pedal stroke.
Personally, I found rain pants to be a waste. I just ended up soaked in my own sweat instead of rain. It was more comfortable just wearing my bike tights without the rain pants.
For my bike panniers, I went with good quality waterproof Arkels that are made in Quebec. They are a bit heavy but worked perfectly for the trip and kept my gear dry.
One suggestion, though, is that it is a good idea to take your stuff out of the bags at the end of the day and let things air out. Chances are that not everything in your bags will be perfectly dry if you've been riding in the rain so the moisture will stay in the bags because they are waterproof.
I got lazy a couple of days and kept most things in the bike bags in the hotel. Then when I took something out a couple of days later it was a bit funky.
I would suggest keeping a microfibre cloth in your rain jacket. It doesn't weigh anything and I used it each time I stopped to wipe my glasses before starting off again. It seemed to make the rain not so bad just by the fact of having clear glasses for a couple of minutes.
And remember to drink. It seems counter intuitive to drink liquids when you are being pummeled by rain so I had to keep reminding myself to drink on the rainy days.
I would suggest keeping a microfibre cloth in your rain jacket. It doesn't weigh anything and I used it each time I stopped to wipe my glasses before starting off again. It seemed to make the rain not so bad just by the fact of having clear glasses for a couple of minutes.
And remember to drink. It seems counter intuitive to drink liquids when you are being pummeled by rain so I had to keep reminding myself to drink on the rainy days.
The path not taken
Beware of bike paths if you are not sure of their condition.
My experience over this trip was that bike paths in built up areas tended to be in good condition because they got a fair amount of use by residents. However, the farther you got away from a town or city the more likelihood that a bike path was not going to be well maintained or a poor compromise of rough gravel roads or piggybacked onto a hiking trail or just plain awful unless it was a former rail line converted to a rail trail.
If in doubt, stick with the road.
And don't trust a Route Verte sign or Sentier NB Trail because that isn't a guarantee of a certain standard throughout. Each section is maintained by the respective municipality so is subject to their interest in maintaining the paths. The Confederation Trail on PEI, however, was an exception with a high standard of trail maintenance throughout.
Cool, clear water
Plain water is great but it isn't enough to get you through the whole day. If you are sweating, you need to replace the salts and other minerals you are losing.
I didn't buy any fancy bottles for the trip. I would just use Gatorade bottles for three or four days and then replace them. I bought a can of powdered Gatorade as well for the trip as I find the full strength drink too sweet so I make up my own about half strength once the bottled stuff is gone.
I had a bottle of plain water and then another of Gatorade to start each day. I was pretty lucky not to run into any issues getting water but it was June and not too hot so I wasn't drinking constantly. Still, every chance I had to top up the bottles I did so because there was the odd time when I expected to find a source of water and none was to be found. Once I had to buy a litre of water from a store as that was the only option.
Maps
I took along paper maps but I also had mapped out the trip with daily routes via a mapping program on my phone. I found it helped to plan out the trip and it also was helpful sometimes on the road to keep me from heading too far in the wrong direction.
I would start the program at the start of the day and then blank the screen to save on the battery. I tried running one day with the screen on all the time but it killed the battery before getting to the destination. Plus, you don't need to refer to the map constantly.
I used MapMyRide, which worked pretty well though you need cell coverage to get all the functions and detail on the maps. One nice feature was that once I uploaded my day's ride to the web anyone who was a friend on the site could see where I had travelled and ended up each day.
I didn't have cell coverage in certain areas of the trip so I also downloaded an OpenStreetMap app that had offline maps. I was able to export my routes from MapMyRide and import them into the OSM app so I would have a backup. In the end, I didn't use the OSM app very much but it was nice to have a backup.
The End
I'm sure there are other things I thought of on the road but I can't remember them now.
I do remember that I was starting to think about my next trip before I had finished this one so I took it as a positive sign this was for me.
Sunday 13 July 2014
Next stop-Quebec
Our last full day onboard the ship started with picking up a pilot at Les Escoumins and transiting past the Saguenay River as the sun rose behind us.
We would get breakfast and lunch on the ship before we arrived at Quebec for our next and final port stop of the voyage. This was bringing me back full circle to the spot where I cycled a month earlier so it seemed appropriate that we should get our bikes out of the car deck and cycle around the city for the afternoon.
We cycled along the shore path out past the Coast Guard base towards the bridges. Sarah had a commission to do while in the city so we parted and then I carried on to Cap Rouge just on the other side of the bridge.
It felt good to be riding again after a couple of days on the water. We met up again and biked over to the Musee des Beaux Arts to take in an interesting exhibit about James Morrice and John Lyman and their connection to Henri Matisse.
Before we knew it, it was time to race back to the ship to get onboard again for the final leg of the voyage to Montreal. This is something they don't tell you about cruises; the stops in port are shorter than they suggest. We were supposed to have a six hour stop in Quebec but it took a half hour to dock the vessel and set up the gangway and then you have to be back onboard an hour before the ship sails so the six hour stop is actually only four and a half hours of real time ashore.
Anyway, we made it back and changed in time for our last supper as we headed under the bridges just west of Quebec. Then, it was another bit of music, which included some of the crew singing for our benefit before off to bed and an early arrival in Montreal harbour and the end of the journey.
Although it was a ship that took us home, we packed our bags onto our bikes on the dock and pedaled the last few kilometers through downtown and the Plateau to home.
I am happy to be home and sleeping in my own bed after five weeks but I am already dreaming about the next trip with Surly. She was steady and true every inch of the way and I sense she will be a solid companion for the future.
We would get breakfast and lunch on the ship before we arrived at Quebec for our next and final port stop of the voyage. This was bringing me back full circle to the spot where I cycled a month earlier so it seemed appropriate that we should get our bikes out of the car deck and cycle around the city for the afternoon.
We cycled along the shore path out past the Coast Guard base towards the bridges. Sarah had a commission to do while in the city so we parted and then I carried on to Cap Rouge just on the other side of the bridge.
It felt good to be riding again after a couple of days on the water. We met up again and biked over to the Musee des Beaux Arts to take in an interesting exhibit about James Morrice and John Lyman and their connection to Henri Matisse.
Before we knew it, it was time to race back to the ship to get onboard again for the final leg of the voyage to Montreal. This is something they don't tell you about cruises; the stops in port are shorter than they suggest. We were supposed to have a six hour stop in Quebec but it took a half hour to dock the vessel and set up the gangway and then you have to be back onboard an hour before the ship sails so the six hour stop is actually only four and a half hours of real time ashore.
Anyway, we made it back and changed in time for our last supper as we headed under the bridges just west of Quebec. Then, it was another bit of music, which included some of the crew singing for our benefit before off to bed and an early arrival in Montreal harbour and the end of the journey.
Although it was a ship that took us home, we packed our bags onto our bikes on the dock and pedaled the last few kilometers through downtown and the Plateau to home.
I am happy to be home and sleeping in my own bed after five weeks but I am already dreaming about the next trip with Surly. She was steady and true every inch of the way and I sense she will be a solid companion for the future.
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