Bike Ride to Chambly and along the Richelieu past Mont Ste. Hilaire to Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu Thursay, June 24, 2004: St. Jean Baptiste Day 147 Kilometres (92 miles), measured from maps: 07:45 - 20:30 = 12h45 12 Home to Bridge along Sherbrooke 4 Across the Jacques Cartier 6 Across Longueuil to Trailhead 19 Bike Trail Longueuil to Chambly 7 Around Chambly 21 Chambly to Mont Ste. Hilaire 16 Mont Ste. Hilaire to Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu 15 Saint-Charles-sur_Richelieu to St. Amable 15 St. Amable to the Highway 20 crossing 16 Highway 20 crossing to St. Lambert Locks 7 Across St. Lawrence by Locks - To Lachine Canal Trailhead 9 Lachine Canal Trailhead to Home 07:45 I started out bright and early on a warm, sunny morning. My tires were soft so I head kitty-corner over to the Ultramar service station on Sherbrooke and topped them up so they were hard as a rock to the touch. I was already over warm and so doffed my windbreaker and leggings. Then I lathered on sun block. I decided then to head across town to the Jacques Cartier Bridge via Sherbrooke Street. This early on a holiday, Sherbrooke was nearly deserted. Even the ride across downtown was quite pleasurable, despite the street being torn up and re-channeled by construction. I was struck by the amount new construction going on along Sherbrooke east of downtown. 08:30 (0+12=12km; 0+35 = 0h35 riding; 0+10 = 0h10 stops) I reach the bridge at 8:30, making quite good time with the wind behind me (12km/(35/60)min=20.5 km/hr) I zoomed down the hill on Papineau and connected with the west-side sidewalk over the Bridge, the sidewalk which had been expanded to allow for cyclist. I only made a couple of quick photo stops as I crossed, but when I reached the section over the Seaway, I saw a ship approaching. I stopped and waited 5 minutes for it to pass directly underneath me. I was quite interesting seeing the large ship from a bird's eye view. Once the ship has passed, I coasted the rest of the way down into Longueuil. The bridge approach left me at a street called Lafayette. 08:55 (12+4=16km; 35+20 = 0h55 riding; 10+5 = 0h15 stops) My destination was the trail head of a trail shown in the 2003-2004 Monteregie Bike Trail guide as heading directly from the Hwy 116 crossing, through the countryside, to distant Chambly. The route that I had taken to Chambly back in 1999 was no longer open to me. At that time, I had gone along Route 116, as I had done earlier in 1992 while on my way to Mont St. Bruno. In 1999, I had gotten caught up in construction and the no-access portion of the freeway had started much sooner. Now the entire length of Hwy 116 from the Taschereau interchange to past Mont St. Bruno is no-access freeway. The stretch from the Taschereau interchange to the beginning of the frontage road is now closed off to me. This new route looked promising, and far better than my old route, as it would be along a bikes-only right-of-way and through the countryside. Getting across Longeuil from the bridge approach to the trail head was going to be an exercise. The Monteregie Trail Guide was pretty thin on details as to how one got across Longueuil, and its directions were hard to follow. My first false start was to head down Lafayette, under Taschereau and away from the river. As soon as I stopped on the far side and consulted my map, I could see this was wrong. I had to retrace my route and find the little road called Chemin Tiffin. A bike path was marked along the side of the street. After a few block the marked path made a left turn and crossed under Taschereau. On the far side, the bike trail entered its own right-of-way down the park-like median of this tree-lined residential boulevard. I followed Boulevard Desaulniers a couple of blocks before I realized I had made yet another false start. I retraced my route and continued once again along Chemin Tiffin. Soon I had crossed into old LeMoyne and the street took on the air of an old country road. As I passed by Rue St. Thomas, I had a hunch and stopped. Sure enough, this would be the road to take. I crossed under Taschereau for the third time and found myself on Boulevard Curé Poirier. My destination was Boulevard Jacques-Cartier and the city map showed me that I could get to this by taking Curé Poirier to Rue Ste. Hélène, which I did. Along the way, I met another cyclist who was also heading towards the same point. I passed by an old man-hole cover still inscribed with the name Cité de Jacques Cartier. I should have taken a photo, for this was the larger section of Longueuil, which was gobbled up by the smaller just about the time I arrived here in 1969. Finally, at the foot of Rue Ste. Hélène, I encountered a protected bike trail through a park. It brought me out to the access point for the Trail Head. 09:30 (16+6=22km; 0h55+35 = 1h30 riding; 15+0 = 0h15 stops) South Shore streets are such a maze to me. They seem to go every which way. It took me 35 minutes to go the 6 kilometres across Longueuil. I would not come this way again. Following my discoveries upon my return, I would cross over via the St. Lambert Locks (Open 06:30 - 22:00) and would reach the Taschereau interchange via Boulevard Sir Wilfred Laurier and Rue St. Louis. I would then cut over on Rue St. Georges, Rue Montcalm, and La Grande Allée to Boul. Edouard, which would bring me to the Trail Head (and to the old Frontage Road, if I were headed for Mont. St. Bruno) This route would cut 6km and half an hour from my trip to Chambly. At the Hwy 116 crossing is the new bicycle viaduct that Vélo Québec and La Route Verte are so proud of. Cyclist reach the top by riding up and around a spiral with 5 levels. The flat portion brings one over the rail yards, where I stopped to take some photos. On the far side, the descent is straight. 09:40 (22+0=22km; 1h30+5 = 1h35 riding; 15+5 = 0h20 stops) Stretching ahead on the far side, for as far as one could see, was a wide green swath. A railroad track occupied one side, with a gravel bike trail heading up the middle, and all covered by huge power lines. This swath cut straight-as-an-arrow through the factories and residential neighbourhoods. There were quite a number of other cyclist out on this trail, the beginning of the Bike Trail to Chambly. 10:00 (1h30+20 = 1h55 riding; 20+0 = 0h20 stops) I came to a split in the Trail, with one side heading off towards Brossard. A sign indicated that Chambly was 12km distant, while Brossard was 2 km away. Past this point, the greenway ended and the railroad track was sandwiched between two streets: Boulevard Maricourt and Boulevard Kimber. The bike trail ran along the side of Boul. Maricourt. 10:05: The next change occured just past the crossing of Boulevard Gaetan-Boucher. There was a wye in the track, with the new, shiny and well-maintained tracks heading off to the right while the older, less groomed tracks continued in along in the direction of the bike path. The CN junction was named "Castle Gardens", according to the sign. For a space here the Bike Trail left the trackside, entering its own right-of-way through a city park. A huge mound of freshly churned earth separated the trail from all sight of the tracks. The trail came out at the head of an artificial lake in "Parc de la cité" of St. Hubert. Once past the park, I was out into suburban streets, where the trail was a painted lane. I followed the marked trail back to the tracks, but it crossed them and headed on westward. Since this did not seem right, I turned left and rode along Boulevard Maricourt as it went alongside the tracks. Soon I noticed cyclist on the other side, riding along a bike path. I do not know how I could have missed it. I crossed back over to the other side and joined the protected right-of-way. It ran along a grassy lane to the left of Boulevard Kimber, between it and the backs of the houses. Soon I saw on the far side that Boulevard Maricourt was blocked off. A vast section of forest on the far side was being chopped up with new streets and would soon become a new development. 10:20 (1h55+20 = 2h15 riding; 20+0 = 0h20 stops) The Trail crossed under the Hwy 30. On the far side was farmland. I could see Mont St. Bruno looming to the east and was standing under the very same power lines as I remembered from my ride there. I could imgagine, off in the distance, the roads I had taken earlier in 1992 and 1999. Up ahead I passed a small, forgotten residential enclave on my left side. To my right was the solitary railroad track, with nothing but bush beyond. At the far end of the six-block residential area, the trail entered the woods. Now it was just the bike trail and the railroad track. I stopped to notice that a levee protected the residences from what must be the Spring floods that come every year. The woodland passage of the trail was interrupted a couple of times by the ends of long streets that turned around in a U pattern. These were lined with old-time country residences. I came upon the forced cutting of what would be a new street someday. The trees were cut down and the earth bull-dozed clear, but certainly not flat or passable. Sewer and fire hydrants were in, but nothing else. I crossed into the town of Carignan and soon was back into old, country-style suburbia: Older houses with large tracts of land. The trail ran alongside the backs of the houses on a street to the right, with an open field, frequented by dirt bikes on the left. Then there were the backs of houses along both sides. 10:50 (2h15+30 = 2h45 riding; 20+0 = 0h20 stops) I came out at Chemin Bellerive, a small country road which runs alongside the tiny Rivière L'Acadie, which separates the countryside of Carignan with the built-up streets of Chambly. The main road and bridge were a few blocks east, but a bicycle bridge had been provided as part of the Trail. There was a small 'halte' right at the bridge, which then brought me into the back streets of Chambly. I nosed my way forward to the main street, where I settle into a Tim Horton's for coffee and a snack. 11:00 (22+19=41km; 2h45+5 = 2h50 riding; 20+5 = 0h25 stops) It has taken me 1h20 to ride the 19km of the trail from Longueuil to Chambly. I was facing a headwind all of the way, so I only made (19km/1.3=14.5 km/hr). While I was having my coffee and whole-wheat bagle and butter, two girls, also cyclists, asked me about the map I was reading. I showed them the Monteregie Bike Trail Map and told them about some of the trails in the area. They had ridden in from La Prairie. 11:20 (2h50+0 = 2h50 riding; 25+20 = 0h40 stops) I finished my snack and mounted up to head through the back street of Old Chambly to the shoreline of the Chambly Basin. There was a marked bike trail along Rue Martel, which finally descended and ran along the shoreline itself, behind the buildings, until just before the entrance to the Chambly Canal. I had seen the Canal Locks area before (1999, 200?), and so rode on by, coming soon to the entrance to the park at Fort Chambly. I had never visited Fort Chambly before. Although I did not go inside the fort itself, I rode all around the grounds. It was a beautiful setting, on a point with the vast Chambly Basin, dotted with sailboats, opening on one side and the rapids of the Richelieu opening on the other. 11:45 (2h50+15 = 3h05 riding; 0h40+10 = 0h50 stops) By 11:45, I was done exploring the grounds of the fort and reading all the information plaques. I rode out the far end of the park onto a small side street that ran alongside the rapids. Soon I cam to another park called, Parc des rapides, just below this low dam which stretched across the river and had the most marvellous water flow. The water slid over the fifteen foot drop like a silky curtain and then erupted in a ten foot band of boiling white water. I was at the dam by 11:50 and stopped for fifteen minutes, during which time I got some photos, changed my film, called Sheryl for my Noon check-in, and walked along the rocky shore of the rapids. 12:15 (41+7=48km; 3h05+15=3h20 riding; 0h50+15=1h05 stops) By 12:15 I was at the far side of the dam, looking back on the spot where I had stood fifteen minutes earlier. When I left the dam area, it was a short ride along the quiet sidestreet before it joined the main road, which led across the only bridge. There was a sidwalk crossing for cyclist. The bridge connected Chambly, on the one side of the Richelieu River, from the town of Richelieu, on the other. Another small road followed back along the shoreline of the far side. In Richelieu it was called 1re Avenue and when it crossed into the next town of St. Mathias it was called Chemin Richelieu. All along the road were interesting spots to see the rapids, which fell in different, uneven layers: Sometimes one side of the river was higher than the other and there were sideways falls between the two halves. Eventually, the small road came out at the main highway, Route 133, which runs down the eastern shore of the Richelieu River, all the way to Sorel. Before leaving the built-up section of town, I stopped at a small depanneur to buy a couple of bottles of water. I bought a small one (600 ml) with a drinking nozzle and a larger one (1.5 litre) to put into my pannier. These would supplement the small drinking bottle I had filled up at home. I was thirsty and had to resist the urge to guzzle the wbole bottle of ice cold water, which would have given me an instant stomach ache. 12:40 (3h20+20=3h40 riding; 1h05+5=1h10 stops) The town gave way to open farmland to my right, the inland side, and a string of riverfront homes, in tree-covered lots, to my left, the river side. Through the open farmland loomed the ever-approaching hulk of Mont Ste. Hilaire, while further away I could see the purple outline of Rougemont. My immediate destinationw as Mont Ste. Hilaire, but I knew I would have an hour or so of extra time before having to head home. I could either head east towards Rougemont or continue down past Mont Ste. Hilaire along the Richelieu. At length, I decided to leave Rougemont for another day. The wind was behind me and pushing very strongly. I could see the grass in the fields blown over and saw the leaves in the trees being pushed over. The Chambly Basin to my left narrowed and closed in until it was once again just the wide Richelieu River. There was a lot of river traffic, as pleasure craft navigated up and down the river. 13:00 (3h40+20=4h00 riding; 1h10+0=1h10 stops) At 13:00 I passed a vast marina. Boats were docked along several floating docks, while on the landward side was a huge factory and warehouse complex. Among their talents were listed "fibreglass", so I imagine they must build boats there as well. Barely five minutes later, I came to the town line of Otterburn Park. The nice, wide and paved shoulder that I had been enjoying came to an abrupt halt and I was left hugging the narrow white line at the edge of the pavemetn. A roadsign indicated I was now 58km from Sorel. (Soon after I had joined Route 133, I had passed a sign indicating Sorel to be 64km away). If not for having to return that same day, I could easily have made it to Sorel. 13:15 (4h00+15=4h15 riding; 1h10+0=1h10 stops) I watched a cyclist ahead of me suddenly dart across the highway and wondered what had happened. I quickly found that he had ducked into this nicely groomed waterfront 'halte' that had been set up by the town of Otterburn Park. A wooden viewing stand provided spectacular views up and down river. I could see the CN Rail Bridge not too far downriver. I relaxed for about 5 minutes. 13:30 (48+21=69km; 4h15+10=4h25 riding; 1h10+5=1h15 stops) I reached my distination of Mont Ste. Hilaire. Back in 1992, I had looked longingly across the stretch of flatland separating Mont St. Bruno and Mont Ste. Hilaire, and had thought I should cycle it soon. Now, 14 years later, I had finally done so. I had covered the 21km from the bridge at Chambly/Richelieu to Mont Ste. Hilaire in roughly an hour and ten minutes (13:30-12:10), for an average speed of (21km/(70/60)min=~18 km/hr). Such was the force of the tailwind. The road along the river passed far below the main section of town, and there were few connections. It passed underneath first the railroad line and then the highway coming off the bridge. Few of the streets of the riverside section went through to upper town. I found one on the map, though, Rue Ste. Anne. It climbed up from the riverfront alongside the old town church. Across the river was the analogous church of the west bank town of Beloeil. Rue Ste. Anne was a steep climb, but I took it slow. It brought me into the heart of the new section of town, alongside the main highway, which had expanded into a wide urban boulevard lined with shopping plazas and new condo developments. The condos and homes were built right up against the cliffs of the mountain. Through my field glasses I could see people looking out from the stone outcrop at the 'Sugarbush' peak of the park, where I had often climbed. I stopped into the pharmacy to buy some film, as I was afraid I might run out. Then I rode north along the main highway. My goal was to see the new Mont Ste. Hilaire commuter train station, which was at the upper level. I figured that from there I would be able to descend once more to the river. I did find the train station, just outside of town, after negotiating an almost freeway-like interchange. Then I was able to locate the almost hidden streets, the only one in the whole northern part of town that went all the way through to the river. I was able to coast down the steep hill through the new housing development at breakneck speed, only having to apply my brakes at the very end. I was happy to be back along Route 133 and riding alongside the water. When I reached the point where the riverside highway passed under the bridge of the main Hwy 20 road to Quebec City, I encountered a small settlement of fast food restaurants and gas stations. I decided I was hungry and zipped into La Belle Province to buy a hot dog and some fries. Since I was now running late, I did not want to take the time to stop and eat. I stuffed the hot french fries into my pannier and gobbled the hot dog as I rode across the street to the tourist information kiosk. The two girls were were working there laughed at my trying to talk to them with my mouth full of hot dog and mustard dripping down my chin, as I picked up some of this year's latest cycling maps and brochures. I double-checked with them that I would find a ferry downriver, as my map seemed to indicate. 14:30 (4h25+30=4h55 riding; 1h15+30=1h45 stops) I had spent a lot of time in Mont Ste. Hilaire, more than I had intended. The extra hour that I once had had before I should turn around had dwindled to only half an hour. I figured that by 15:00, I should be heading back. Still, the call of the lower river was pulling me. I decided that I would go for broke and descend the river to the next town, Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, 15 km away. The river road, Chemin des Patriotes, was much more scenic and pleasant north of Mont Ste. Hilaire. On the landward side, the farmlands now stretched out into rolling hills of green, rather than being absolutely flat. The river was much more interesting and the houses separating me from it were smaller and spaced further apart, giving me much better views than I had had on my way to Mont Ste. Hilaire. The tailwind had grown quite strong. For a while I was riding on the flat with the chain on my largest front sprocket and my smallest back one. I almost never can use my largest front sprocket except when speeding down steep hills. I reached the next town in half an hour, which means that I must have been averaging 30km an hour! It felt like I was flying, but I became ever more worried about how I was going to get home in the face of such a wind. When 15:00 came, and it was time to call Sheryl, I ducked down a steep driveway, which would have led right into the river. I guess in the Winter time, this was an access road to the fishing cabins out on the ice. On the far side of the river was this most interesting old ship. It looked like it had once been a ferry, but it was now tied up to the dock. I can't imagine how they ever got it so far upriver. I was at the limit of my cell phone's range. It took ages to "register", and then the display said "Emergency Calls Only". I was able to call home, but we had a very hard time communicating. I would call Sheryl back fifteen minutes later, from the ferry dock, where the reception would not be quite so bad. I led the wind push me on and, despite a short stop by the town's church, I reached the dock of the small ferry by 15:15. The ferry, which ran across the river on a cable and had room for only about two cars, was on the far side, so I had a chance to fish out the fries I had stashed and to wolf some down. I scanned up and down the river with my field glasses and took in all the small boats. 15:15 (69+16=85km; 4h55+40=5h35 riding; 1h45+5=1h50 stops) The ferry finally returned to my side and I boarded, along with a single car. The fare was $2.00 and the ride across took ten minutes. It was a pleasant and relaxing crossing and I took the opportunity to enjoy the view both upriver and down. The road on the far (west) side was much quieter than the one I had been followed. It was also more pleasant because it ran right alongside the river, without any layer of intervening houses and properties. As I expected, the headwind was very tough. Within a few minutes, though, I had made my way back up to the town of Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, companion to Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu. It was a quaint little tree-lined town, hugging the river and sporting a number of rustic B&Bs. There was a small waterfront park with a wooden gazebo where I paused to eat some more fries and to get my last look at the river. I would be on my way by 15:45 15:45 (5h35+10=5h45 riding; 1h50+20=2h10 stops) I had studied the map carefully to find the best way home. I realized that, as much as I would have liked to have returned via the riverside, the strong headwing made that impossible. The river's edge offered no shelter whatsoever from the relentless wind. Even the couple of kilometres from the ferry to the town had shown me this. I toyed with the idea of cutting over to the St. Lawrence, but no roads led straight across. They all angled downriver. The road from St. Marc, for example, ended up in Verchères. These would lead me too far out of my way. I did see one promising road, however. It began just outside of town and made a diagonal approach to the back side of Longueuil, passing through the town of St. Amable. I had never been on this road, but the lay of the land told me that it passed along the top of a ridge just to the west. Beside being the shortest route, the ridge offered the possibility of trees, which might shelter me from the wind somewhat. I set out, thus, at 15:45, for the long road home. I knew I had a long, hard ride ahead of me in the face of such a strong wind. The first few minutes, along Route Verchères, was actually quite easy, for the wind was still behind me. Almost immediately I left behind all sign of the river and was out in the open farmland. A long, low and forested ridge spread out ahead of me, but I saw that the road I was on would pass by its northern end. 16:00 (5h45+15=6h00 riding; 2h10+0=2h10 stops) At 16:00, I came to the intersection of Rang des Soixante, the beginning of my route home. As soon as I made the right turn, I was caught up once again in the strong headwind. Not too far along, however, the road began to climb and I passed behind the flank of the ridge, which cut down the wind substantially. The climb was not too bad, and the the road levelled off and ran straight again, lined on both sides by trees. The trees seemed to offer less and less protection from the wind, which was howling right down the cut-away towards me. I slogged on, nevertheless. A sign indicated that St. Amable was 10km ahead. 16:30 (85+15=100km; 5h35+30=6h05 riding; 1h45+5=1h50 stops) I reached the centre of the town of St. Amable, which was a long, drawn out town that stretched along the highway. As soon as I had crossed the town line, Rang des Soixante began Rue Principale. There was a point where I had to negociate a three-block road closing. I had no energy to go off and follow the detour. I rode on through the heavy gravel, as did several cars. The town was busy re-building its main street. Just before reaching the closure, I had been treated to at least a dozen blocks of newly paved surface. 17:15 (6h05+45=6h50 riding; 2h10+0=2h10 stops) As I left St. Amable, I crossed into the town limits of Ste. Julie and the road changed names again, now called Chemin de Touraine. I saw the main part of Ste. Julie, down in the valley, and then the road I was on curved over to the other side of the ridge and began its descent. I could see Mont Ste. Hilaire, with which I was almost even, and it seems very distant. Much closer, and at about 10:00 to my line of riding, was Mont St. Bruno. I would be passing to the Montreal side of it. At 17:15, I came to a major crossroads: Montée Ste. Julie, or Route 229. Left, it climbed back up to the top of the ridge, now to my east, towards the central part of Ste. Julie on the far side. Right, it angled downriver to Varennes. I could see new housing developments along the top of the ridge towards Ste. Julie. I pressed ahead and very soon crossed under the Hwy 30 freeway. 17:30 (6h50+30=7h20 riding; 2h10+0=2h10 stops) As I came to the crossing of Chemin de Montbrun at 17:30, I was able to finally see the Hwy 20 freeway off in the distance ahead. Once I would cross this, I would feel much closer to home psychologically. I was still well out in the country. To my right was forest while to my left the open fields spread out as they angled gently into the valley. The low hulk of Mont St. Bruno loomed along the far side of the valley, behind Hwy 20. The relentless wind continued to batter me, as I moved slowly forward in my easiest gear. 17:50 (100+15=115km; 7h20+20=7h40 riding; 2h10+0=2h10 stops) Things happened fairly quickly once I finally reached civilization. The country road turned the corner of the forest and opened up into a land of new shopping malls, half-completed alongside the Hwy 20 freeway. It immediately opened up and grew from two lanes to four, with a median. Since it was a holiday, the whole city of big box stores was deserted. Only the MacDonald's had a few cars. I came around to Boulevard de Montarville almost headed off in the wrong direction. I senses something was wrong almost immediately and stopped to consult my map. It was here that I would pass underneath Hwy 20 to the homeward side. I crossed under the 20 at 17:50. I had thought I would be entering Longueuil immediately after crossing the highway, but this was not how it was. I was still in Boucherville. I guess Hwy 20 only forms the boundary at the St. Lawrence, where I have typically passed between the two towns. On the far side of the highway, I came to a "T" intersection where Boulevard de Montarville headed off to the left towards Mont St. Bruno and the road to the right was called Chemin de Tremblay. I was riding through a vast industrial park. At 18:00, I ducked into the shelter from the wind offered by a warehouse building in order to call Sheryl and tell her of my progress. I told her I was just shy of the Longueuil line. She heard how tired I was and asked if she needed to come and pick me up, but I told her I thought I could make it. I guzzled the rest of my auxiliary water bottle and headed back out into the wind. Sure enough, within a few blocks I reached the Longueuil line and the factories gave way immediately to forest on boths side. There was quite a long stretch of forest, which surprised me. When it finally came to an end, I found myself immediately within urban Longueuil, with homes and multi-story apartment buildings lining both sides of the road. I came out at Boulevard St. Jacques East and turned left to follow this major street. A bike path led along the grassy median to the right side of this major and busy boulevard, as I passed huge hospitals and other civic buildings. I had still not fully decided by which crossing I should enter Montreal: Should I head back up through Longueuil to the Jacques Cartier Bridge or should I cut across to St. Lambert. It seemed a long way out of my way to backtrack to the Jacques Cartier, which would then drop me fairly far east in Montreal. On the other hand, I was unsure exactly how to cut through the maze of streets that did not go through, which formed an almost impenetrable wall between Longueuil and St. Lambert. I was not sure exactly what time that crossing closed. Finally, I worried about the long ride into the wind I would face at Cité du Havre, on the far side. At length, though, I decided to head towards St. Lambert. 18:30 (7h40+35=8h15 riding; 2h10+5=2h15 stops) I came at 18:30 to the crossing of Chemin Chambly, which is a major thoroughfare in Longueuil and its dividing line between east and west. I had never imagined Longeueil to be so vast! I spied a Tim Hortons at the corner and decided I would take out some time for a coffee and a snack and some much needed rest. I had been riding nearly non-stop for hours! I ordered a coffee and a bagel and sat down inside for 15 minutes. I soon found my mouth to be too dry to eat the bagel, so I packed half of it away in my knapsack and set out on my way. On the far side of Chemin Chambly, I was on Boulevard St. Jacques West and soon came to the very point where I had been half a day earlier: The new bike bridge over the rail yards and Route 116. I had closed the circle! I continued on, planning to retrace the convoluted route through the Longueuil streets, up Ste. Hélène and over along Curé Poirier, to cross under Taschereau and meet up with Rue St. Georges in LeMoyne. This seemed to be the only way to get through the maze of freeway and railroad blockages. It looked on the map like where Boulevard St. Jacques met up with Taschereau, it offered no option but to join the freeway. When I got to Ste. Helene Street, however, I noticed that the bike path alongside Boulevard Jacques Cartier continued further along. I decided to give it a try, for the other route would have taken me well out of my way. To my left, on the far side of the boulevard, were the rail yards and Route 116. Ahead of me, several blocks distant, I could see the bridge of the Taschereau Boulevard overpass. To my right was the walled-off back yards of the suburban houses. I was riding on a gravel path amidst a twenty-foot wide grassy shoulder of the boulevard. When I got up to the Taschereau overpass, I could see the there was indeed no option except to follow the road around as it curved up as an on-ramp to the highway. No road continued forward from that point. As I passed underneath the overpass, I noticed wooden stairs built to allow pedestrians to climb up to the sidewalk above. Alongside the stairs was a steep path, clearly worn by cyclists. I got off and portaged my bike up the steep embankment. It was all I could do to push the heavy bike a few steps up the 45 degree grade, and then apply the brakes to stop if from flowing back. As I neared the top, I saw other cyclist riding around on the road and realized it was not closed off to cyclists. I reached the sidewalk and took a rest in the middle of the bridge, while waiting to catch photos of an approaching passenger train. It was the main train to Halifax, on which Sheryl and I have ridden. Coming down the far side, I was in familiar territory. It was a short ride along St. Louis through Ville Le Moyne, to the Victoria Avenue crossing (19:15), and then along Sir Wilfred Laurier towards the Victoria Bridge. I cut over to a sidestreet and descended the couple of blocks to the Rue Riverside Bike Trail, alongside the highway. I came out almost at the point where the trail branches off to cross the highway on a bicycle overpass. The bridge was down, so I rode directly over the Locks to the far side before dismounting and giving Sheryl a call at 19:20. I told her where I was and that I was still well over an hour out. 19:20 (115+16=131km; 8h15+30=8h45 riding; 2h15+20=2h35 stops) I followed my usual and well-worn route across Ile Notre Dame and Ile Ste. Helene, across the Concord Bridge and back up the Mackay Pier (Cité du Havre). The wind on the Montreal side was much less than I had experience along the South Shore. 19:50 (131+7=138km; 8h45+30=9h15 riding; 2h35+0=2h35 stops) I reached the trail head of the Lachine Canal at 19:50. From there I followed my usual route home. I cut over to the street at Atwater, to protect me from the wind. I still had some energy left to climb the hill on St. Jacques, and then I was labouring along the DeMaisonneuve Trail. My legs were toast by then, but I took it easy. 20:30 (138+9=147km; 9h15+40=9h55 riding; 2h35+0=2h35 stops) I reached home at 20:30. There was almost no wind in the trees in NDG. It took me almost 15 minutes to unpack and put away all my bike stuff. Sheryl was waiting for me when I came in, with a big bowl of spaghetti and pesto. Then I took a bath and relaxed for some late night TV watching. The next day, my knees did not protest too much. I guess I had taken sufficient care of them. I thank the Lord for his help and guidance in this, probably my 2nd longest cycling day in terms of both time and distance (Surpassed only by my "Century" day in 1993, from Burlington to Montreal.) I had gone 92 miles over almost 13 hours. Ten of that had been spend cycling. Despite the wind, my average speed would have been 14.7km hour