Dutch Doorman

The imposing image of the Royal Dutch Navy's new Supply Vessel, Karel Doorman, looms over the pedestrians in the Old Port this week.

Apparently here to support a trade mission for the Dutch Government, it is hard to imagine her presence does not have any connection to our own efforts to build replacement vessels for the Provider/Protector vessels.

Alongside, a supply vessel of another kind, the Cavalier Maxim provides liquid replenishment to revelers on a pleasant Friday evening in Montreal.

TR Infrastructure is Impressive!

Took another ride up the 'Parc Lineare' at Trois Rivieres this morning as my ship was docked here for only one night.

I have to say it is impressive the efforts expended to make this recreational path accessible and attractive to all users with cyclists and pedestrians each having their own lane.

It is no doubt an indication of the popularity of this path that there is even advertising showing up.

Apparently, this is part of the 'Route Verte #4' though I didn't see any signs indicating this on the section I rode. Doesn't matter; kudos to TR for a great path.

Sorel Shore Ride

Decided to try a different ride out of Sorel instead of the Sauvagine.

There is a bit of a bike path that meanders through a park just east of the ferry dock but, then, ends suddenly.

So, I doubled back and headed along the closest road that comes out at Chemin du Chenal du Moine, which has a nice shoulder for riding on a fairly quiet road as it ends at a cul-de-sac. It has been entitled 'Voie Cyclable Terre et Eau'.

About 13 km from Sorel, the road crosses a small bridge traversing a small channel.

The road continues for a bit on 'Embarassed' island but it was time to turn around and head back to the ship.

A very pleasant morning ride though I have to wonder how quiet the road actually is when a local campground has to build a pedestrian bridge to cross a two lane road.

Riverside Ride

Had just enough time before we sailed from Dieppe Park in Windsor to ride down a nice wide bike path to the Ambassador bridge and back as a full moon was setting.

I have to say that downtown Windsor is one of the more depressing examples of urban wasteland but the city has done a wonderful job of beautifying the riverfront with gardens and sculptures.

A shoreline can mask a lot of ills. Downtown Detroit looks positively idyllic in the early morning light.

The sun was just peaking over the horizon as I got back to the ship.

With the ice from this past winter a fading memory, the river has become dotted with fishing boats out to catch the first bass of the season and give headaches to the large ships trying to transit through the waterway.

Look, Ma, no hands!

The Seaway is still in the process of installing a hands-free mooring system in all its locks in the Welland Canal. Our ship has normally been tying up beyond these structures in the lock as they are a pain in the ass for a ship our size if they are not in operation.

Yesterday, we transited up the ditch and actually got to use the system in Lock 3. The system uses a series of 3 double-barreled suction devices although only one set is required to secure our vessel.

When it works, it's pretty amazing that a vacuum can hold a ship in position with all the forces of the water filling the lock.

Brockville Boat Watching

Blockhouse Island, which isn't actually an island, in Brockville is one of the better places along the St. Lawrence River to boat watch. Most people do so from the comfort of their vehicles.

The CWB Marquis is a new Equinox-class vessel to the Seaway this year built in China. Really love the full-length bridge windows!

WTF??

Mid-April and it is hard to figure out what the city has left to do to make this section of bike path connecting the Clark and St. Laurent paths operational except to remove the big, fucking blocks!!!

Enfin!

One day to go and all the snow isn't gone from the streets but Montreal's bike paths will finally have their day on Fool's Day.

March 31st and counting

Maybe, someday, the foolish notion of actually keeping the bike paths open year round might finally take hold.

Rose Moon

Last week we were working in the ice of Lake Erie with a USCG counterpart. The palette was basically white and grey except for the odd moment when the clouds would part.

Points South

Traveled down to Havana last week for a holiday with hopes of renting a bike and cycling around the city, but those hopes were quickly dashed after seeing the amount of traffic, the dearth of bicycles on the road and breathing the carbon laced air.

I had read some blogs talking about how many bikes there were in Cuba because of the embargo and the economy and the gift of a million bikes from the Chinese and the sparse traffic due to gas shortages, but these must have been from a few years ago because the economy seems to be improving judging by the amount of vehicles on the road.

Not to say that there were no bikes on the road.

Mind you, even this fellow has somehow jury-rigged his bike with a motor though I'd be wary having all that gas and an iffy engine between my legs!

Havana is an extraordinary city but it gives little place in its infrastructure for bicycles or even pedestrians. Hopefully, they will buy into the cycling revolution that is happening in other countries before their streets and atmosphere are completely clogged.

The song remains the same...

"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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?