Bike Rides about Town:
West Island Composite
Ville St. Laurent

Roger Kenner
Montreal, Qc,
Canada 2003

My typical shortcut route home involves descending Sources Road until I come to Hymus, where I turn east. I have used this route since the late 1980s, when my Dodge dealership was located on Sources. In those days, I used to continue along Hymus until it became Henri Bourassa, and then would ride down through the industrial park to Cote Vertu. On the exploratory trip which saw me finding the Kraft shortcut, I descended Montée de Liesse, and then rode back up along the Cote de Liesse service road. Lately, since 1999, I have cut across the area north of the airport along Chemin St. Françios. In 1999, this was near wilderness. Now all the fields and forests are being covered over with pavement as an industrial park invades the territory. Even the old Chemin St. François, dating from colonial times, is being obliterated.

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Gouin Ride: Thanksgiving Day - 2003: ~17:40)

Ville St. Laurent: Old Ch. Ste. François Blocked Off

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Drive: 031101)

Chemin St. Francois in Ville St. Laurent: New Road cuts diagonally	Chemin St. Francois in Ville St. Laurent: Old road cut off by new

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Drive: 031101)

Chemin St. Francois in Ville St. Laurent: View Northwest from Corner	Chemin St. Francois in Ville St. Laurent: View North from Corner

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Sept, 1999 West Island Tour Ride)

Ville St. Laurent: Beaver dam along St. François Rd

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Drive: 031101)

	Chemin St. Francois in Ville St. Laurent: View Northeast from Corner
Chemin St. Francois in Ville St. Laurent: View West from Corner	Chemin St. Francois in Ville St. Laurent: View East from Corner

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Drive: 031101)

Chemin St. Francois in Ville St. Laurent: Rustic farm buildings

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Gouin Ride: Thanksgiving Day - 2003: ~17:40)

Ville St. Laurent: Soon-to-be-gone Farmland along Old Ch. Ste. François (Now Blocked Off)
Ville St. Laurent: Encroaching Civilisation (Closeup)

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Gouin Ride: Thanksgiving Day - 2003: ~17:40)

Ville St. Laurent: Closed off Ch. St. François - By Airport

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Drive: 031101)

Chemin St. Francois in Ville St. Laurent: View West from Junction of New Road	(Close Up)

Chemin St. François comes out a small industrial park along the northern edge of the airport. There is an underpass where it crosses under the Hwy 13 autoroute and then becomes Montée de Liesse. It is a great spot to watch the planes come in for a landing.

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Sept, 1999 West Island Tour Ride)

Airport: Watching the Planes come in Along St. Francois Rd.

Click to Enlarge (Taken on Gouin Ride: Thanksgiving Day - 2003: ~17:50)

Ville St. Laurent: Plane Approaching Dorval at Ch. St. François Underpass	(Closeup)