Montreal - Plattsburgh - Burlington
July 1 - 3, 1993


To Plattsburgh
	Leaving Montreal at 9:45, I proceeded south across the Mercier Bridge to the South Shore.
[NOTE:  This is the second time I've been across this bridge by bicycle.  It is scary, dangerous, and not recommended, except that it shortens the trip by at least 10-15km, easily an hour.  There is a narrow pedestrian sidewalk on the southbound side, accesible from Stinson Street in Lasalle.  Except for a curb, there is no separation between pedestrians and the traffic speeding by at 100 (plus) km per hour.  On the south approach, the sidewalk ends abruptly at the end of the bridge structure itself, and one must walk the rest of the way down the earthen embankment on the road shoulder.
	It is even more frightening coming into the city.  From the east, one must pass under the bridge and then walk the bike up the embankment shoulder, barely inches from the speeding cars.  Once at the sidewalk, one could more safely walk the bike across, except it is easily a mile or so.  Riding in the face of oncoming vehicles, one is extremely conscious of the fact that a single slip would spell the End.  Climbing to the top of the bridge, one then must descend a steep decline, making sure to remain slow so as not to lose control.
	No warning signs are posted.  I can only assume everything is legal, except for perhaps actually riding the bicycle.  I imagine that the sidewalk must have been installed as part of the agreement with the Mohawks of Kahna-wake over building the bridge in the first place.  The sidewalk seems to represent the absolute minimum effort possible.]
	I followed Route 132 east through Kahnawake, St. Constant, and Delson.  Though a 4-lane highway in this section, it is actually quite safe for cy-cling, given the wide, paved shoulders.  It is not recommended for the heat of the day, however, as it is very hot.   [In future, such a trip should be started at about 7:00 am].  
	At 10:45, one hour and 13km (roughly, by the map) into the trip, I stopped at the Orange Julep in Delson for a brief rest and a litre of OJ.
	Leaving at 11:00, I continued east to a small road, Chemin St. Francois-Xavier, heading to the right off Route 132 at the Delson-Candiac line.  This small road heads due south.  After a few brief minutes going through an indus-trial park, I was out into the countryside.   The road is not heavily tra-velled and parallels a small river, with frequent shade from trees.   The road also parallels a major railroad and the railway museum of St. Constant.  Though I could not see them, I heard lots of trains, including a few steam whistles.  A major landmark on the way is the huge Lafarge cement factory, with its towering smokestacks.  [One passes this on the main highway to Plattsburgh also, where it is the first (or last) sign of the built-up area of Montreal.]
	At 9km from my previous stop, I was at the little hamlet of St.  
Mathieu.   I was truly in the midst of Quebec farming country and could have been a hundred miles for Montreal instead of five.  At St. Mathieu I turned right (east) on Chemin St. Edouard, which continues to parallel the little river.  At a point is goes right next to the freeway heading south.  At Rang des Sloans on turns right again, crossing the little river and paralleling the first road, but on the other side.  [This is necessary, as the first road will turn west later on and head into the town of St. Edouard, engendering a detour adding five or six kilometres to the trip - which is the mistake I made on the way south, but not on the way back.].
	At 12:00 I stopped for water and some eats at St. Edouard.  I was 2 hrs and 32km into my trip.
	Rang des Sloans [my suggested route] passes within a couple of km of St. Edouard, but continues due south.  It ends at Rang St. Jean, along which one continues for a brief ways, until reaching Route 221 just west of the freeway interchange at Napierville.  Head east on Route 221, over the freeway bridge.   There are a couple of gas stations and restuarants and a mini-mart at the interchange, in case one wants to stop.
	Immediately  one comes upon Route 217, a quiet, little country road which, again heads due south.  It parallels the main freeway (Route 15), but far enough away the one cannot see it.  If one were to continue on Route 221, through Napierville, one would also reach the border, but would go in a wide curve out of one's way.  It is also a much busier highway.  On Route 217, a car passes maybe once every two or three minutes.
	[Indeed, an alternate crossing of the river would be across the bike path via the St. Lambert locks, then south along Taschereau Boul. to Chemin St. Jean in Laprarie.  Turning right on Chemin St. Jean, one would soon come to Route 217 at its head and would turn south (left).]
	On Route 217, one begins to encounter some mild ups and downs, signall-ing the end of the St. Lawrence valley.  St. Bernard de Lacolle is the only town that one goes by, and at a distance of a couple of kilometres.  It is about 20km from the Napierville interchange to the end of Route 217 at Montee Guay, just 1km from the border.   There is no crossing at this point.  Though within sight of the main Blackpool crossing of Highway 15, this would probably not be advisable, or even accessible to bicycles.
	I turned east on Montee Guay and followed it about 4km, up over one big hill and down the other side, until I reached Route 221, coming from Napier-ville and Lacolle.  Turning right, I was within sight of the border station.
	I expected a lot of hassle crossing the border on a bicycle, and was pleasantly surprised when I received none.  Where are you going?  For how long?  Citizenship? and that was it.
	It was 3:00 when I reached the border, having taken 5 hours from Mont-real.  On the return trip, it also took me 5 hours from the border back to Montreal, and this with my being tired.  I expect this to be a pretty firm estimate of the time, therefore.  The distance is about 65km by this route.

	I did not have a proper, detailed map of New York at the outset and so missed the more scening, lakeshore route.  I ended up taking Hwy 11 west to Hwy 9, and this south the 21 miles to Plattsburgh.  Though it wasn't so bad, I would not take this route the next time.  It is not highly interesting, except for a stop by a small dam at Chazy, NY.  New York highways all have paved shoulders about three feet wide, which make it easier for cyclists.   The remaining 21 miles took me 2.5 hours.  I arrived in Plattsburgh at 5:30, just in time to get one of the last remaining campsites.
	Next time, I would do things differently.  Heading east from the inter-section of Route 221 (or what it becomes in NY) and Hwy 11, I would look for Mason Road.  I would follow Mason Road south to Coopersville, where it would go along the lake shore.  After Chazy Landing, it would become Lake Shore Road, all the way south to Pointe au Roche Road, where I would have to turn west again to Hwy 9.  Such a detour may add 30 minutes to the trip, but prom-ises to be more pleasurable.
	Just north of Plattsburgh, at Hwy 374, is Cumberland Bay Campsite, a very nice New York State Park.  It is very popular, however, and I was lucky to find a place for one night.  [I do not know if reservations for one night's stay are possible 1-800-456-CAMP, but it would be worth a try.]   At the intersection of Hwy 9 and 374 is a fairly nice restuarant, where I had supper and breakfast.  A small supply store a couple of doors down sells firewood in neatly packaged bundles, which I stuffed onto my then-unloaded bike and ported back to my campsight.  I treated myself to a nice campfire and relaxed through the dusk, looking out over the lake.

To Burlington
	A little slow to get started the next morning, I was not on my way until 10:00.  Plattsburgh has a bikepath, of sorts, that begins at the Plattsburgh beach.   It doesn't go very far.  I took Hwy 9 on through Plattsburgh, over the Saranac River, and on southward.  The road goes by Plattsburgh Air Force Base (Soon to be defunct), and one can watch the constant stream of planes taking off.   It parallels the lakeshore, with a few ups and downs, keeping one high enough to have a good view of the lake.   Opposite Valcour Island, one enters the Adirondack Park boundary, and the road is pretty well tree-lined from then on.
	One gets a taste of leaving the Champlain Valley and hitting the Adiron-dack Mountains just past the bridge over the Ausable River.  The river is flat and calm at this point.  Ausable Chasm is a couple of miles inland and up (I would assume).   After crossing the bridge is fairly major hill to climb, the first portent of what it would be like to remain on Hwy 9.   
	Thankfully, one has almost reached Port Kent.  To follow the main roads would be to go out of the way and to do some extra climbing.   Look out for Plains Road.  It is not marked in any way, but it is the only decent road heading off to the right after the Ausable River crossing.  If you reach the Essex County line and you're still on Hwy 9 (as I was), then take any good looking road to the right (lakeward) and you'll reach it.   Plains Road heads along the shore, with a few moderate ups and downs, until one reaches Port Kent.
	I got to Port Kent at 11:45, just after the ferry left.  The next ferry was at 12:30 - leaving just enough time to relax and look around.   Platts-burgh to Port Kent is about 17 miles.
	The crossing costs $4 for bike and rider and takes just over an hour.  It is a delightful cruise on the lake.   If one is lucky (two chances out of three) to get the double-decked ferry, there is a snack bar and store on board.  One can stand at the railing on the upper deck and watch the Burling-ton shore slowly approach, nestled beneath the overpowering shadows of the Green Mountains and Mount Mansfield in the background.
	We landed at Burlington at 1:30.  My first order of business was lodging - a campsite, it being a holiday weekend in both the US and Canada.  I wanted something fairly close to town, as I hoped to spend the afternoon looking through Burlington.  As the ferry entered the harbour, I noticed a campground on the beach just to the north.
	Upon disembarking, I found a bikepath which led along the shore directly to this campground, and was lucky to get one of the last sites available.  North Beach Campround {60 Institute Road, Burlington, VT. 05401 802-862-0942  May 24-Sept 27} is only about 10 minutes from downtown Burlington by bike.  It is a pleasant campground, few bugs, decent facilities, with easy access to a nice beach.   I was unpacked at set up by 3:00.
	Heretofore, I have always visited Burlington by car and the city looked completely different.  The main focus of the visit was the freeway interchange at I-89 and Airport Road, with its Howard Johnson's, hotels, major shopping centres, etc.  Shelbourne Road and South Burlington were a five minute hop down the freeway and off the I-189 spur.  Downtown and Church street were actually an inconvenience.  I think I only ever got to the waterfront the very first time, and then for just a couple of minutes.
	Burlington, as it turns out, has an excellent bicycle path which runs along the lakeshore all the way from the I-189/Shelbourne Rd. interchange in the south to the Winooski River outlet to the north.  It must cover a distance of five or six miles, at least.  Must of it is courtesy of the Vermont Rail-way, whose shoreline right-of-way it parallels.  It is tree-lined, goes through lots of parks and by many little beaches:  A totally different view of Burlington.
	I began my explorations by following this path to its southernmost end, at Shelbourne Road.  Along the way, the path passed by the yards and round-house of the Vermont Railway.  I looked in one the work on a couple of the bright red locomotives.   At another spot, I spied an old, historic, square rigged cutter coming into the harbour.  It was some kind of historic cruise or something.  It fired its cannons as it came in.
	A bike path map is essential at the end point.  It seems to stop at a park by the lakeshore.  Following a quiet residential street (the only street around: Austin Drive) up the hill towards town, one sees the bike path start again to the right.   Here, most interestingly, it follows a "Vermont Freeway" for about a half mile.   A "Vermont Freeway" is a completely finished stretch of expressway, closed off and overgrown with weeds.
	Reaching Shelbourne Road, I followed it south another mile or so to the Sirloin Saloon, an excellent but somewhat pricey eatery that I used to fre-quent many years ago during the time of my youthful affluence.   Luckily, I carried my street clothes with me in the saddlebag.  In the parking lot I pulled these over my cycling outfit, dashed into the washroom to cleanup, and then presented myself for a nice steak dinner.  Conclusion:  It is still a fine restuarant.
	[Just across the road is the old drive-in, now closed down, where I remember going once, during a Burlington "sanity" trip.]
	After looking a little in the stores, I retraced my route back to down-town, where I headed up to the Church Street Mall.   For those not familiar with Burlington, Church Street, the old main street, is closed off to traffic and hosts numerous sidewalk cafes and interesting shops.  It is a gathering point for the city's college folk, especially on a Friday evening.  I window shopped till the stores closed, then found an outdoor table at a coffee bar and finished my evening with some nice iced cream and expresso.
	The waterfront at night was beautiful.  It was still well lit and well populated with folks strolling back and forth.   It got a little dark as I pedalled on into the night along the bike path.  It climbs up to the old railway right of way, about 5 metres above the beach, and enters the dark trees, as it goes along the cemetery.  I did not hit anyone or anything in the darkness and was soon guided by the lights of the campfires at the North Beach campground.
	It took a solitary stroll down to the moonlit beach, listening to the wind-blown surf and exploring all the distant lights with my field glasses before I was ready to retire for the night.
	The extra pounds of tarpaulin and rain gear I carry with me came in handy, as it rained solidly on through the evening.  Dry I was, though, and snug, with my cheap tent tented over itself by a big blue Canadian Tire tarp.

To Montreal
	I got up and on my way fairly early.  By 8:45 I was packed and rolling.   Although it led me out of the way, adding a good hour to the total trip, I explored the bicycle path to its northerly end, looking out over the mouth of the Winooski River as it joins the lake.  This had led me to the point of a peninsula jutting out into the lake.  I had to backtrack up the bike trail and then follow Vermont highway 127 as it crossed the Winooski River and wound around the south side of Malletts Bay (something else I never explored by car.)    I paused half an hour at a breakfast eatery, then continued on in-land, across I-89 and up some serious hills, to finally meet Hwy 7.  (Had I taken Hwy 7 to begin with, out of Burlington, I would have gone only a frac-tion of the distance.)
	Hwy 7 was followed north about three miles, to the cut-off of Hwy 2, leading out onto the Champlain Islands.  From my meeting with Hwy 7, I had been dropping.  Once I got to Hwy 2, I started seriously dropping down long, steep hills.   Anyone coming the opposite way would have to look forward to some serious climbing just before reaching Burlington.
	Several times I have driven the Champlain Islands by car.  I always thought, at the time, that it would be nice to cycle along them.  It was pleasant, but not that stupendous, at least not along the main road.   Hwy 2 hugs the centres of the islands and one catches only glimpses of the lake as one passes from one island to the next along a causeway.   More interesting would be to take some of the side roads, but I did not have an adequate map.  It was also a rainy sort of day, overcast and blustery, which does not engen-der exploration.
	When I got to the top of the Islands, at Rouses Point, I was surprised and saddened to see the old toll draw bridge was gone. It had been completely demolished except for the two ends, which were used by fishermen.  In its place was a modern, concrete, high-rise bridge.  No doubt the latter was applauded for its efficiency, but lacks the charm of the former.
	I got to the Canadian border crossing at 3:30, about 7 hours after I started out.  I had planned to make the return trip in two days, camping somewhere near the border.  It was still so early, though, that I decided to go for broke.   Instead of heading down the Richelieu River, where there were lots of campgrounds, I headed west along the first little road and within minutes had reached the point I was on Thursday, at Hwy 221.  I retraced exactly the same route in reverse, arriving home 5 hours later.
	This has got to be the longest distance and time I have ever cycled in one day:  From 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, 12 hours.  Cycle touring magazines speak of "Doing a Century", meaning going 100 miles in one day.  Well, I have now done that.  The sign post at Rouses Point showed Montreal and Burlington both to be 50 miles distant.  160 or so kilometres in 12 hours.  My legs certainly feel it the next day, but they are alive.