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 Kahnawake 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 cycling, 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 industrial park, I was out into the countryside. The road is not heavily travelled 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, signalling 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 Napierville 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 Montreal. 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 intersection 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 promises 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 Adirondack 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. Plattsburgh 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 Burlington 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 Railway, 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 roundhouse 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 frequent 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 downtown, 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 inland, 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 fraction 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 engender 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.

Montreal to Oka Park Beach & Campground: 4 hrs (approx.) by bicycle

1. [Early section of this route are along wide, treeless streets which are best done in the cool of the early morning. I suggest leaving at 8:00, no later.]

2a. Access from Montreal West (and points south).
i. Take the Lachine Bicycle Path west to its end at the Dorval line.
ii. Lakeshore Blvd. west through Dorval.
iii. Just after coming into Pointe-Claire, as you're going around the large cove made by Valois Bay, look for Sources Blvd. north. Take Sources Blvd itself, not the route suggested for cars (which is another street.)
iv. Take the pedestrian overpass at Sources and the Hwy 20. v. Follow Sources Blvd. north past the airport, past the Hwy 40 interchange, past the shopping centres, through D.D.O., and on into Pierrefonds. [About 5km altogether, of wide, busy boulevard.]
vi. Pierrefonds Blvd starts at Sources, heading west. It has a bicycle lane on the north side. Follow Pierrefonds Blvd west several miles, [or continue north to Gouin Blvd.] past St. Jean road, until you come to Boul. Jacques Bizard, which leads to the Ile Bizard Bridge. Turn Right.

2b. Access from Montreal, points north of the Mountain:
i. Follow any road north to Gouin Blvd. Take Gouin Blvd. west. Pass the Lachapelle Bridge at Cartierville. Go through Pierrefonds. Touch Roxboro. Back into Pierrefonds. Then into Ste. Genevieve. Reach Boul. Jacques Bizard and the Ile Bizard Bridge. Turn Right.

Gouin Boulevard is narrow, but has many shady sections.

3. The first street after you cross the bridge is Chemin Cherrier. Turn right to head back east. Follow Chemin Cherrier along the river as it circle the island. At a certain point the main road will curve north and become Chemin de la tour. Follow it.

4. You will reach the Ile Bizard - Laval ferry. It runs continuously and costs but a dollar.

5. Depositing you on the north shore, you are in Laval-sur-le-lac. Take the road (Rue des erables) west about half a block, to rue des peupliers. Turn right and follow rue des peupliers along the railroad track. [An alternative, slightly longer excursion is to follow Rue des erables all the way around, and look at the fancy houses. It meets up with Rue des peupliers again on the north side.

It is about a mile across the island at this point.

6. At the end of Rue des peupliers, turn right and cross the tracks. You come immediately to a dam. Bikes and pedestrians are allowed across the dam.

[If ever the dam is closed, continue east and you'll come to the main St. Eustache bridge, about two miles further east, then you'll have to backtrack on the other side.]

7. Crossing the dam, you'll find yourself in the town of Two Mountains, at the foot of 8th avenue. Follow 8th avenue north, past the main highway (Chemin d'Oka). Follow it as far as Guy Street.

8. Turn left on Guy St. You should soon be going past a large polyvalent high school. At the railroad tracks, Guy St. will end. Here begins the St.-Eustache to Oka bicycle trail, leading off to the right. It crosses the tracks and you head off into the woods.

9. It is 15 km to the other end of this excellent path. After crossing a few busy streets in Two Mountains, it heads along an old railway right-of-way all the way to Oka park. At the point where it crosses Chemin d'Oka is an ice cream stand catering mainly to cyclists.

10. At the Oka Park end, there is a moderate climb. It is not nearly as steep, though, as the main road. At the top of the climb you reach the visitor's centre, at which you can get a map of the park. After the visitor's centre, you get to coast back down the hill, but watch carefully for where the bike path turns right off the road and into the woods.

11. Wear a helmet through the wooded section, as they warn of attacks by eagles nesting in the rocky cliffs above.

12. The path ends at the beach. There are racks to park the bikes. The beach is nice and the water swimable (as far as tests are concerned. I would not swallow any of it!). There are hundreds of campsights if one wants to camp overnight.

Montreal West to Ste. Anne de Bellevue (and points west)

1. This route is best done in the cool of the morning. On Sunday morning, certain sections of the lakeshore road are closed off to all but bicycle traffic. It is about a two hour ride.

2. Follow the Lachine bicycle path to its end at the Dorval Line. [For those not familiar: The Lachine Bikeway actually ends at the end of the canal. City of Lachine and Federal Parkland bikeways continue. Cross the road at the end of the Lachine Bikeway and ride on to where the canal meets the lake. There is a bridge crossing the canal at this point (near the marina).
i. Turn right and cross the bridge. Follow the bikepath onto Ile Monk and follow it along there until it rejoins the road. It then stops for half a kilometre, resuming near a Dairy Queen. Continue along by the water's edge.
ii. In season, go straight and onto a long peninsula, with the marina on one side and the river and Kahnawake on the other. At the end of the peninsula is a bicycle ferry which will take you across to the Dairy Queen.

3. Follow Lakeshore Boul. through Dorval. As it enters Pointe-Claire, you come upon the vast cove of Valois Bay. At its head, you are right next to the Hwy 20. Then you go back out to a point jutting out into the lake. At a certain point you abruptly turn right and leave the lake. The road goes on through old Pointe-Claire. Very nice.

4. As the road enters Beaconsfield, look for the turn off for Lakeshore Rd to the left. It is very scenic and quiet, and much nicer than Beaconsfield Blvd. It rejoins Beaconsfield Blvd. at St. Charles Rd. Turn left and follow Beaconsfield Blvd. west. Go about a mile, along pretty uninteresting road. Watch carefully for Circle Rd. on the right and Neveu on the left. This street, to the left, is the hidden access point to Beaconsfield's bikepath along the lakeshore. If you miss Neveu, take Bretton Woods, St. Louis, Fieldfare, or Woodland, all to the left. The lakeshore route is much nicer, though Beaconsfield Blvd. ends up in the same place.

5. It rejoins the main road at the Baie d'urfe line. Follow Lakeshore Rd. through Baie d'urfe.

6. As you enter Ste. Anne de Bellevue, you cannot miss MacDonald's College on the right. There is a bicycle path along the road through the college grounds. It rejoins the main road as you enter the old town of Ste. Anne.

7. At Ste. Anne, get off and walk your bike down along the promenade by the river and canal. There are lots of restuarants. Walk up to the locks. You can walk you bike across the locks and picnic on the other side, under the bridges. Passing freight trains will startle you! Watch the boats in the canal and shooting the rapids. Walk on up to the jetty leading out into Lake of Two Mountains. Plan to spend a couple of hours, at least.

8. You can return the same way, or continue on the road north, as it enters Senneville and becomes Gouin Blvd. Senneville has some nice mansions and you even go by a couple of farms! Then the road gets busier. The return via the north is longer, and extra hour at least.

9. Points west: Go under the bridge and follow the approach road back east, up the northern approach. Access is a couple of blocks east. Once onto the bridge, the sidewalk is fenced off from the traffic and crossing is pleasant.

Dropping onto Ile Perrot, however, you will face 3 km of hell. Narrow pavement, no paved shoulder, and cars flying by as if they were on the freeway! You will be very happy when you reach the second bridge, heading over into Dorion.

Montreal - Pte. Fortune: a 2-day outing
(June 24 weekend, 1993)

1. Follow the Route to Dorion through Ste. Anne, as described elsewhere.

2. As soon as you come off the bridge into Dorion, the first intersection is St. Charles, which you take to the right. It soon becomes a quiet, narrow street which goes through Old Dorion and Veaudreuil, until it breaks out into the open sunshine by shopping centres as it crosses the Highway 40. Continuing on straight. It's now Avenue Roche. Followed to the end, there is a turn off for Veaudreuil-sur-le-lac. Keep on the main road as it turns to the left. Then, quickly after, there is a turn off to the right for Chemin de l'anse. Follow the latter as it exits to the right.

3. Ch. de l'anse is a quiet, simple road that parallels the water of Lac des deux montagnes. With field glasses one can look across the lake to the beach at Oka and see the hordes of people, or spy the Trappist monastery in between the Two Mountains.

After winding around a wide cove, high above the water's edge [Polluted, dirty water I am afraid to say. Pollution, it seems, can come from farm run-off as well as factories. Each farmer's ditch empties into a pipe under the road which disgorges the dirtiest, filthiest smelling water possible into the lake.

At a point, the roat leaves the water's edge and becomes a simple farm road. Trees and villas to the right, on the water's edge, and farms to the left.

4. When Ch. de l'anse reaches the town of Hudson, it becomes "Main Road". After a long while winding through the country mansions of this tiny English enclave, one comes to the centre of the village - a quaint little town.

If arriving before 4:00, stop in for lunch at the "Tea Room at L'Eggs", a delightful old English style tea room, like the one thaty used to be at Ogilvie's.

There are some mild hills at Hudson, as the road rises up above the water.

For those wishing to stop here, there is a ferry linking Hudson and Oka, probably the fastest way to Oka from West-End Montreal.

5. Leaving Hudson, the quiet road eventually ends at Rte. 342. You're 6km east of Rigaud. Take the main road (uninteresting in the extreme) on into Rigaud (under the Hwy 40). Turn right at the centre of town, where the Rte. 325 joins. Continue on the Rte. 342 as it leaves Rigaud and crosses the Hwy 40 again.

[An interesting road, for future exploration, is "Chemin du haut de la chute", which follows the Rigaud river upriver on the north shore.]

6. Crossing the Trans-Canada (the 40), just follow the signs for Pointe-Fortune and the ferry.

There is an Ontario provincial campground just across the Ontario line at Carillon (on the south shore). About 6km before Pte-Forturne is a private campground, where I stayed (not highly recommended). There is a much nicer private campground, though small, on the Carillon (Quebec) side.

7. It took me 6 hrs at roughly 15km per hour to reach Pte. Fortune.

8. The ferry across the river is $ 1.50. At Carillon, Quebec visit the locks (one single twenty metre lock!) and the power dam. Admire the scenery and picnic at the park. There are no restuarants or services worth mentioning in either Pte. Fortune or Carillon.

Nearby, however, is St. Andre' [e' = e + accent aigu] (6km, 20 minutes from Carillon), where there are restuarants. I ate at a small greasy spoon called "Chez De'de'" It was pretty good.

Lachute, with full services, is another 10 km from St. Andre.

9. The return trip, along the North Shore, is via Rte. 344. I had breakfast at St. Andre'. One parallels la rivie`re du nord for a short distance, and then the road turns inland. There are a few moderate climbs, but one is rewarded by various views of the river as it widens into The Lake of Two Mountains

10. At the village of St. Placide, a side trip to the public wharf is worth the trip.

I pedalled by Pte. des anglais, but I feel that a side trip down there might well have been worth it as well.

I went through Kanesetake and the Pine Woods, the site of the 1989 Mohawk uprising and the barricade. The Pine Woods are certainly worth defending. The very thought of cutting these magnificent trees down to make way for a golf course is shocking. I, of course, sympathize with the Mohawks. The site of the barricade was well chosen, looking out over the town of Oka from on high. The SQ who stormed it, with the regretable loss of life, obviously had no military training. One could have stood off an army from that vantage point.

11. At Oka, one can visit the wharf and ferry terminus. About 1 km east of Oka is the entrance to the Provincial Park, with beach and campground. Thence, if one choose to follow it, is bicycle path on into St. Eustache.

Should one remain on the Rte 344, the road climbs up the Two Mountains, where one can visit the Trappist Monastery and buy some world-famous Oka Cheese.

12. See the discussion of Mtl. - Oka for the continuation of the return trip

NDG to the "Back River" & Cartierville: Then points east/west/north

1. NDG, Montreal West, and Cote St. Luc are effectively cut-off from points north and west. The ONLY car exit to the north is Decarie Boulevard. There is no way around this. I approached once by bicycle and tried every single nook and cranny, and there was not even room to pass a bicycle through the wall made by the CP main line tracks and the CP/CN freight yards. There IS, however, a way for bikes to avoid the Decarie/Hwy 40 interchange and the busy streets of Decarie and Laurentian Boulevards.

2. Starting from Grand Boulevard in NDG, take this north to Cote St. Luc road. Crossing CSL road it enters Hampstead and becomes Glenmore. Take the second right, one block over, to Albion. Follow Albion two blocks to its end, and there is a pedestrian walkway connecting through to Fleet Road. (Or use some other path to get to Fleet Road.)

Follow Fleet Road east to Clanranald. Left on Clanranald down to Vezina (At Decarie Square/Decor Decarie). Go over to Decarie Boulevard. Take the west sidewalk down under the railway underpass. (This is the ONLY exit. All alternate paths must end up here.)

3. Coming up on the other side, take the first right into the Blue Bonnets parking area. Follow the road around behind the stadium to a small exit right, over the railway tracks, onto Devonshire Rd. (Alternatively, follow the Decarie sidewalk, at peril from police and in the face of oncoming traffic, to the Orange Julep at Pare Street. Turn right there and go to Devonshire Rd.)

Follow Devonshire Rd. north through the TMR industrial park. It ends at the Kraft Foods plant, turning east under the elevated Hwy 40. Look very closely!! You will find an opening in the fence by the railroad. It is a pedestrian crossing, linking the TMR and Ville St. Laurent.

4. On the other side, take the first street north in Ville St. Laurent. It is "Authier". It ends at Scott. Turn right and go two blocks to Scott's end at St. Aubin. Follow St. Aubin north. These are all now quiet, residential streets.

5. St. Aubin ends at Cote Vertu. There is no way further north, as the Canadair field blocks the way. Right on Cote Vertu to Laurentian Blvd. Follow Laurentian north one block to Thimens. Right on Thimens one block to Grenet. Continue north on Grenet. It is much quieter than Laurentian Blvd. Follow Grenet all the way north to Gouin Blvd. in Cartierville [This summer, while they repair a railway underpass, you may have to detour at the CN tracks.]

6. East on Gouin, you will soon come to a bicyle lane. Following this on east, you will find it leaves the road and goes through many parks along the river.

When the bicycle path reaches the CP tracks (1st and only level rail crossing heading east), you will find a small gravel footpath heading down the tracks on the west side. If you follow this, you will find a footpath leading across the bridge over to the Laval side.

Continuing east, the bicycle path eventually comes to a vast park near the dam. It is very, very nice.

East from there, the path (or often "lane") heads all the way out to Pte. aux trembles.

North at Gouin and Grenet, follow Lachapelle over the Cartierville bridge into Laval. Do yourself a favour and take the sidewalk. Look back to the north from the bridge to the Montreal side east of the road. All that you see used to be a vast amusement park called "Belmont Park", which closed in the 1970's.

West? At the bridge entrance, you will see the bicyle path lead under the bridge. Follow it under and west and you will come to a large riverside park.

Montreal - Ste. Adele/Ste. Marguerite Station (Laurentides) via "Parc lineaire le petit train du nort"
July 16 & 17, 1993

1. I heard a mention in the news, some time back, of the provincial government's creation of a "parc line'aire" along the abandoned Canadian Pacific rigtht of way up through the Laurentians from St. Je'rome to Mont-Laurier. I thought at the time, "That's nice! A way to bicycle into the Laurentians without having to slog it up and down steep highway grades" The old train, after all, could not climb very steep grades. The actual "train du nord" stopped sometime in the late 1960's, I think. It was made famous in the song of the same name by Felix Leclerc.

The park was conceived as a bicycle track for mountain bikes - no pavement.

Looking for a place to go this weekend, I decided to give it a try.

2. Leaving at 9:15, I followed my usual route up to the Back River [See notes elsewhere.] It was a partly clouly day, with a very, very strong wind coming from the west. It was strong enough to bend the tops of the trees over. This wind was directly in my face all of the way, as our "north" from Montreal is really northwest. It took me an hour to get to Cartierville.

3. I had scanned the map in vain looking for a small side route to St. Jerome. Without going well out of the way, there is none. The only road, the autoroute excepted, is the main highway: Boulevard Labelle or Hwy 117.

It is also the only practical way across Laval at this point. It goes through the old towns of Chomedey, Fabreville, and Ste. Rose. It has been many many years since I had followed this route through Laval, maybe twenty years. It used to be my main route to Rosemere from Montreal, and was my parents main route before that. Often my parents would shop at the St. Martin Shopping Centre in Chomedey.

Chomedey, at that time, was a bustling anglophone bedroom community. The flight of the anglos and the citification of Laval have hit this area hard. It looks very depressed. One can still the beacon sign of the Chomedey Inn, the word "Inn" painted out. Many stores are closed or are discount houses. The St. Martin Shopping Centre looks but a shadow of its former self.

It is evident, too, that Laval spends its street money elsewhere, on its many broad 4-laned avenues to nowhere. The pavement along Labelle Boulevard is terrible. One has trouble staying near the edge, as the edge is all torn up. Sewer grates are installed with the slats parellel to the roadway, as waiting traps for cyclists.

Soon after one crosses into Laval, Boul. Labelle makes a turn to the left. Follow it, as the main boulevard goes nowhere. You will follow a wide curve as Labelle turns north by the Shopping Centre and climbs up a moderate hill. A bit past the hill you are out of Chomedey and into a bit of open country [Which the Laval city fathers would like nothing better than to eradicate!]. Soon you'll cross over the Hwy 440, then more open country, then over the Hwy 15. Coming down off the Hwy 15 overpass, you begin the long, gradual descent into Ste. Rose.

4. With the headwind, it took me another hour to cross Laval, making it around 11:30 when I reached Rosemere. As soon as one leaves Laval, Hwy 117 improves radically. From Rosemere all the way to St. Jerome is a wide, paved shoulder. The lack of trees and the heavy traffic will never allow this to become a cyclist paradise, but the shoulder at least means one can pedal in peace.

Rosemere has lots of restuarants, in case one is hungry. After Rosemere, the 117 rises over the Hwy 640 and comes down into Ste. Therese. A short distance later is the climb up out of the St. Lawrence valley and onto the St. Louis plateau. From the top, one can look back over the whole city of Montreal.

The 117 continues, straight as an arrow, through Blainville and then Mirabel. There is a gradual, imperceptible climb which one only notices on the return trip, when pedalling is suddenly easier. Coupled with this climb was the ever-persistent headwind. I was forced to plod along in my easiest middle gear, at less than 10km/hour. The distance from the crest of the plateau to St. Jerome is about 22km. It took me over two hours make this distance on the way up. One the way back, downhill, and with behind me, it took less than an hour.

After the turnoff for the Mirabel airport, the road curves east and drops down into St. Antoine and then St. Jerome (one single town, actually.) St. Jerome happens when you cross the railway overpass. Suddenly the wide, paved shoulder stops dead and you're back onto narrow, busy streets. It was about 2:30 when I reached St. Jerome, having stopped for half an hour in Blainville for lunch.

5. The "Parc Line'aire" behind new, it is not very well advertised. There are no signs or other announcements. I went to the centre of town, figuring I would find the old train station there. I knew the railroad tracks were to my right, as I had seen them from the overpass. The centre of any French-Canadian town is easy to find - just look for the church steeple. Sure enough, right close by were the bus station and the old boarded up train station (the old and the new, juxtaposed).

There were no signs at all mentioning a park, though there were several mentioning "Private Property" and "Do Not Enter". The well-worn gravel path led right by these signs, following the tracks northward. So went I.

Crossing the first street and around the bend, the tracks suddenly come to an end and the gravel path expands to full width. For a couple of miles it continues on the right-of-way through town. It is sort of like behind on a commuter railroad, riding by peoples' back yards. The path crosses several streets. At one point it is completely washed out and one must follow a narrow detour. I expect the province will fix that up now that the road is a park.

Riding on gravel takes some getting used to. The first casualty is speed. I soon discovered there was no point in trying to race along. I switched to my easy "granny" gear in front and played between easiest and middle gear in the back. I guess my speed was around 8 km/hr. Taking it easy. At this pace, I felt no real pressure on my legs. [Which was good, as my knees still hurt from a previous cycle trip.].

6. Leaving town, the roadbed takes an underpass beneath the Hwy 117. From this point until the town of Prevost (maybe 8km) the roadbed gets very bad. At first it is just rocky, with lots of sandy patches. The sand has to be watched very carefully. Hit a patch of three-inch deep sand and the bike falls right over. [I did not actually wipe out, but I had some close calls.] Maybe an unloaded bike would fare differently, but my truck was loaded with easily 100lbs of gear and water, a quarter of which was weighted on the front wheel. I would dig right into the sand.

One comes straight away on a good stopping point. Where the roadway reaches the Riviere du nord is a dam and waterfall, with lots of flat rocks to sit on. At this point is St. Jerome's "Parc de la riviere du nord". About a km long detour can be taken along a well-groomed bike path down to Webster Falls. But then one has to come back. I reached this oasis at around 3:00 and sat out on the rocks snacking and tanking up for about half an hour.

Beyond the Falls, the roadbed follows the river, which is good for scenery. The surface just gets worse and worse, though. It is the dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles which chew it up. They are not supposed to be on there, but who's there to stop them? If the province hopes to have this park start at St. Jerome, it is going to have to do something about this stretch.

One could almost better abandon this stretch and follow the Hwy 117 another 10km past St. Jerome to Prevost. After Prevost, the roadbed is passable.

I continued.

I never realized it before, but St. Jerome is right at the foothills of the Laurentians. Approaching the town, one can see the hills rise up behind. Parts of the town itself are perched upon surrounding hills. As the roadway continued north, the surrounding hills closed in closer and closer. There would be no real climbing, however, until after Prevost.

Come to a tunnel back under the Hwy 117, leaving the river's edge for a while. This was a real tunnel, a few hundred feet long. The roadway has been getting sandier and sandier. I've been hugging the edge, trying to stay on firm ground.

After the tunnel, there was no hope. This next three or four kilometres is the worst. The loose sand is three inches deep and there is no firm shoulder. On the way up, I almost wiped out several times, banging my leg once agains the pedals and raising a huge welt. I finally gave up and walked the bike for quite a stretch. Then it got slightly better. On the way back down, I slogged all the way through. I began to develop the technique. I found it important to keep delivering power to the back wheel, while keeping the front wheel absoletely straight. Turn the front wheel, even slightly, and it digs in and the bike comes to an abrupt stop. Be ready to jump down on your feet or you'll wipe out. It is hard going, like climbing a hill. The Hwy 117 parallels this stretch, and even within view. Next time, I think I would abandon the old roadbed alone this stretch.

7. Eventually, one comes upon the old Prevost station. It is closed up, but the town has re-furbished it and will probably turn it into something. I could say that the Parc Line'aire actually begins in earnest here.

8. After Prevost, the roadway leaves civilisation behind. It follows the Riviere du nord and begins a gentle climb as the surrounding hills close in even more. Behind farmer's pastures, one can now see the nearby cliffs of the first real hills of the Laurentians.

The roadbed has improved to the point where one can stop worrying constantly about it. Though one must still be wary of occasional sandy sections. Climbing was actually more enjoyable than coming down. Going up, and going so slowly, I spent most of my time watching the scenery. Coming down, and going a bit faster, I could not really take my eyes off the road. Besides sandy patches, one comes upon rocky sections from time to time, the old original ballast of the railway. These are short, however.

The going slow and putting up with gravel begins to pay off after Prevost. One is truly out in the country, with birds, trees, animals, and the quiet river as company. There are no words to describe this feeling. Sometimes there are houses on the other side, but no road at all on the railroad side. The climb is there, but it is so gradual that one hardly notices it on the way up.

9. Just before Mont Rolland, there is a rocky section. The Mont Rolland station is all boarded up. It's funny how the highway conditions one's thinking. I had always seen Sainte-Adele as a milestone on the route north. This was my destination for the day. I had never heard of Mont Rolland (or worse yet of Ste. Margeurite Station!). But I can see that in the old railroad days, it was Sainte-Adele that was off the beaten track.

Anyway, I came to this town, and had no idea where I was. I left the roadbed and followed a street up over the hill to find the Hwy 117 interchange. Here too was a town map, which identified the town as Mont. Rolland. The town map, on a huge sign in the middle of a park, made no mention whatsoever of Ste. Adele. I looked on my own map and saw that Mont Rolland as only 2km from Ste. Adele. (I had actually expected to go through Piedmont first, but the railway never touches Piedmont. It is on the wrong side of the river, I guess. One learns, as one cycles, just how innaccurate the highway maps are when it comes to micro-details, like which side of the river a town is on, where a river curves, etc.).

Crossing the highway bridge, I immediately came upon a Ste. Adele sign. What 2 kilometres! I have been barely 100 metres from the Ste. Adele line. Funny how the Mont Rolland public map did not even indicate it.

I got to Ste. Adele around 6:00. It had taken me about 3 hours to climb up the 22 km (by car road indications) from St. Jerome. About 8km/hr. The return trip only took 1 1/2 hours. That unconscious had I been on the climb, that I only noticed its effect on the way down. The wind, mercifully, had ceased to be a factor. Nestled in among the trees, I was sheltered from the wind. Only the treetops blew themselves over and rustled intensely.

I zipped into civilisation and had supper at the St. Hubert's BBQ just across the road into Ste. Adele (and at the foot of a steep climb taken by Hwy 117). It was 7:00 or so by the time I was finished.

10. There were no campgrounds anywhere near where I was, so I was resigned to having to camp out in the bush. I actually have never done this on previous cycling trips. I was a little nervous. I had to find a place away, enough, from people so as not to be told to move on. Yet I was scared to be too isolated. The motocycle tracks on the road, and it being Friday night, the animal I feared most walks on two legs. I did not want to become some gang of kids' Friday night entertainment. I felt exceptionaly vulnerable alone in a tent.

I decided, then, that I would have to find a place along the parc roadway, but isolated so as to be invisible from the road. I followed the path north looking carefully. Finding a place in the bush is not so easy! Where it's not rocky cliff it's swampy bog. What looks inviting ceases to be so when one considers twenty feet of impassible roadside undergrowth. I finally, however, found a place, accessible without too much trouble. It was just off the road, but hidden well, and under a pine tree, so there was a clear expanse wide enough for a tent.

[I learned the next day of a place to camp only another hour further north. Not an official campground, but a place where several people camp near a waterfall. Enough people to afford some group protection.]

Tent set up by 8:00, I slipped out for an evening walk along the bike path. I met several other people out for a walk. At one point, I saw a beaver. I was watching this group of birds standing on some rocks when, suddenly, the water erupted with a crack, as if one had thrown a stone. I looked around for who could have thrown the stone, but there was no one. A few moments later, the water erupted again, a bit further downstream. Looking with my field glasses, I spied the beaver's head as it swam. From time to time it would slap the water with its broad tail, making a sharp crack.

I slipped back off the road and nestled into my solitary abode, the tent zipped up tightly against bugs and other intruders. My food was out of my bicycle saddlebags and tied hanging from a tree about 20 feet away. The bike was laid down so no one passing my could see it. It was nearly dark anyway.

I was not totally pleased with my sleeping arrangements and knew I would be glad when morning came. I fully expected to be awakened by some animal in the middle of the night, but none came [We all worry about bears, of course]. It was a chattering bird or squirrel that got me up at 6:00. I lounged in my sleeping bag till 7:00.

11. Once up, I got myself quickly packed up and back out on the path. I returned whence I had come, to Mont Rolland and over to Ste. Adele. I had remembered, the night before, a Dunkin' Donuts. [A funny way to camp, no? Sleeping in the bush and breakfasting at Dunkin' Donuts.]. Eaten, coffeed, and my bike re-packed with greater care, I headed on up the long grind, the steep hill of Hwy 117 leading up into Ste. Adele.

As the main highway crested the hill, there was a sign pointing to the left, to Lake Ste. Adele. The indicated road went straight up! I had to walk this hill. It was worth it. At the top was a tiny little lake and a trendy, gentrified little yuppie town. There were cute little shops and fancy eateries with $22 breakfast buffets. The breakfast crowd was just beginning to stir. They were out jogging and walking their dogs. A few were out on the tiny lake in paddleboats. On the far side of the lake was the fancy manor hotel of Chanteclerc, with tennis courts and ski lifts climbing the hillside. The glass-enclosed rooftop patio was full of the richer set at breakfast.

I hung around Ste. Adele till around 10:00. Many years ago I had stopped at this town (or I thought it was this town) on many occasions to eat at La Crepe Bretonne. Now nothing at all looked familiar. It was only as I was going down the steep hill that everything clicked in my mind. The old Crepe Bretonne is gone now, of course. The house it was in is for rent.

Dropping down the second hill, I returned to Mont Rolland and explored the waterfalls on the Riviere du nord for a bit.

12. It was 11:00 and I was back at the bicycle path. I decided I could not go home without exploring just a bit more to the north. (All the way to Mont Laurier - a couple of hundred k - would have to wait.). I figured I would go until 12:00, then turn around. I'm glad I did, the route changes drastically after Mont Rolland.

Soon past town, past an old railway trestle (where one must step lightly over the gaps in the beams), the roadbed starts to really climb. Now this is still no big climb compared with highway climbs. It was no trouble pedalling up on the bicycle. But it must have been a real climb for the old steam engines. It was enough of a grade that I could coast all the way back down.

Up, up the roadbed climbs, as it hugs the side of the mountain. One glimpses, through the trees, the vista of the valley opening below. After a good ways (1 hour climbing), the roadway comes to St. Marguerite Station, where it meets a car road. There is no trace of the old station, but across the road is la depanneur de la gare. I guess in the old days, there must have been a water tank here for the steam engines to fill up after the climb. Already one has a pretty good vista of the valley. The car road drops down with a stated 18% grade (Ouch! not for me! Give me gravel any day!)

I was prepared to turn around here, but I noticed lots of cars and people bringing their cycles and heading on up the roadbed. I asked one fellow if it was nice up ahead and he said, "Wonderful". He said I was but an hour from Val Morin. I could not resist. I figured I would, at least, go to the crest of the hill to get a proper view of the valley.

It was actually only about 20 minutes to the top. The railway roadbed curves through a cut in the stone and starts to descend on the other side.

At this point, I could hear a waterfall and could dimly glimpse people down below. Parking my bike and locking it, I hiked down a trail. At the water's edge were a dozen or so tents, all with bicycles alongside. Hordes of people were sunning themselves on the rocks and swimming in amongst the sheltered pools.

Be it resolved, on a future trip I would camp out here on the first night.

13. Unfortunately, I could not stay. The clock was ticking and I wanted to get home that day. Back at the cut-away in the rock, I hiked to the top for a better look. Gliding back down, I heard, way down below and invisible in the trees, and even bigger waterfall.

It was easily 2:00 when I started back in earnest. The ride down the hillside was fun. I coasted all the way, watching, of course, for sandy patches. Back at Mont Rolland, I had to start pedalling again. But it was still basically all downhill. From Ste. Marguerite Station to St. Jerome took me 3 hrs. descending. My neck hurts and I got a headache. I figure this is from the jostling of the gravel road. This might be something to worry about on a longer trip. Any trip all the way to Mont Laurier would have to be one-way only. It might take a week to do properly. Going up, believe it or not, it nicer than coming down. I think I got my brains jostled coming back down.

At St. Jerome, it was nice to hit pavement again. And I flew. It was a slight downhill most of the way and the wind, though much weaker than the day before, was still behind me. [Had it been the wind of the day before, I think I could have coasted, so strong had it been.] I made St. Jerome to Rosemere in one hour (5:00 to 6:00).

I stopped in Chomedey to eat supper, so I did not cross back into Montreal until about 7:30. By 9:00 I was home.