Mid December bike ride to Brossard

Haven't been posting much to the blog lately, so I figured I'd share some pics of what was possibly my last ride of 2021. After not having been on my bike for 4 weeks due to bad weather, snow and ice, some rain over the weekend finally cleared the rods enough to make for some safe biking.

Having been stuck on my indoor bike for a few weeks, I looked forward to getting out in the fresh air, despite the wind chill being around -9 this morning. Wasn't sure where to ride, so figured I'd bike by the Lachine canal to check ice level, and across the Champlain Bridge down to Brossard, to check on the St Lawrence River water / ice conditions as well.

Turns out, the ice on the Lachine canal is safe, but access is apparently forbidden in winter.

Getting across the bridge was nice, despite 20 km/h East winds blowing straight at me on the ride to Brossard. Had the entire trail to myself, save for an old couple going for a walk. Stopped for a couple selfies on the bridge.

Getting to Brossard, I noticed that the St Lawrence River water level is still high, they normally let it down by about 10 feet before the winter. Still fully fluid, and no signs of any ice whatsoever, guess it's going to be a couple weeks until spots are safe enough to venture out.

Turns out that my ride was well timed, with some wet snow and ice in the forecast.

Biking during the Corona - Covid 19 crisis - April 2020

It's been a crazy few weeks since my last blog post, due to the Corona - Covid 19 crisis in Quebec. Road access to many regions has been shut down, schools, businesses, stores, and much of society as we know it, have been shut down.

With these new stay at home rules, many are struggling to adjust / adapt their exercise routines. No longer being able to go to gyms for weight training, organized classes, or simply to use equipment, the population that wants to stay fit is adapting to the new conditions.

Luckily, I have never been one to go to gym or classes.In fact, the last time I worked out in a gym was probably around 30 years ago. For me, it business as usual when it comes to working out, doing body weight, hiit, dumbell and isometrics on rainy days, and either biking or boxing with  my outdoor punching bag on sunny days.

While I wouldn't bore anyone with the home based routines I've previously filmed and shared on my blog (and Youtube), I figured I'd share some pics of my recent bike rides on and off the Island of Montreal. I plan to post them here as I go along:

April 1st 2020.

This first bike ride of the month took me to Parc Raimbeault in Cartierville. Crossed Town of Mount Royal via Lucerne, St croix and Obrien though Ville St Laurent and Cartierville, Finally a short ride on blvd Gouin before getting to the waterfront parc. Just in time for iceout on the Riviere des Prairies.

Easy ride, roughly 1 hour round trip ride, mainly flat along road side bike trails.
Approximately 18 KM total ride.

April 7th 2020.

Nice sunny Tuesday morning, I decided to bike to Brossard on Montreal's South shore for the first time ever, thanks to the new bike trail on the upgraded version of the Chaplain bridge.

This ride took me over Mount Royal, along the Lachine canal, through Verdun, onto the Nun's Island Bridge. As the Champlain bridge bike trail is on the opposite side of the bridge, I had to get off onto Nun's island, cross most of it, before looping back under the bridge to catch the trail going across the St Lawrence river. Getting of the bridge on the South shore, I looped back to the waterfront trail, to Parc du Pont Champlain, which was my destination.

One of my longer and more challenging rides, having to climb both Mount Royal, as well as the bridge, in both directions each.

Approximately 35 KM total ride.

Was surprised at the amount of people along the jogging and bike trails with the current stay at home orders, seems like they are being treated more like suggestions by most people.

April 12th 2020.

Sunny but windy Sunday, my only shot at getting the bike out this week to to a few days of bad weather, followed by the latter days of passover, during which I don't use my bike.

After hearing that the police shut down Ile Notre Dame a couple weeks ago, I figured out that Ile Ste Helene was still open.

Hoping not to run into large Sunday crowds on the trails, I was happy tp find less people than expected after hitting the trails in Ville St Henri. Eventually, the trail had more people on it East of the Atwater market. I opted to bike along St Patrick instead, until I had to catch it again near the Peel basin, in order to switch trails to get onto Ile St Helene via Avenue Pierre Dupuis. This trail passes by the Five Roses and Canada Malting plants, then by the old port, Habitat 67, and finally Parc de la Cite du Havre, before taking Pont de La Concorde onto the Island.

Sure enough, the trails is cut short a Ile Notre dame, with bike and foot traffic being routed onto Ile Ste Helene.

From there it's a shot ride to Lac Des Cygnes and the St Lawrence river along Parc Jean Drapeau.

Moderate ride, roughly 1.5 hours round trip, climbing Mount Royal in both directions. Approximately 28 km total.

Encountered large volume of joggers on Lachine Canal trail heading back, bicycle volume was lighter than expected.

April 20th 2020:

Another nice sunny and calm day, temperature just above freezing, perfect day for another new ride. For this one, I decided to visit Centennial park in Dollard des Ormeaux for the first time. A friend had once mentioned that the park's lake was full of carp and koi, so I decided to hop on my bike and have a look for myself.

I originally mapped a complex bike route through Ville St Laurent using Google maps. It was to keep me of the hwy 40 service road, but with so many small streets, I opted to forgo the map and just ride the service road up until Sources blvd. Was nice no to contend with any bikes, joggers or pedestrians most of the way there, but had to dodge cars and trucks at the various  on and off ramps leading to the highway. Finally got to Sources blvd, then took Sallaberry and Lake road bike trails to get to the park.
Took me around 45 minutes of mainly flat ride in each direction. Approximately 32 KM total ride.



When I got to the lake a nice school of carp and koi were swimming near the shore. Even saw a rare ghost koi in the mix (top right).

Of course, no fishing, boating or feeding is permitted.

And of course, my usual selfie.

April 24th 2020:


Legs were a bit stiff to attempt a long ride in 30+ km/h wind gusts, so decided on a moderate ride up to the Mount Royal peak instead. I've probably done that ride hundreds of times aver the past 15 years or so. However, when I got to the Notre Dames Des Neiges cemetery, it was closed. I believe the idiotic CSN union shut it down a couple weeks ago after a couple workers tested positive for covid 19, but with the vast majority of them being outdoor workers that mostly work solo, it's totally uncalled for in my opinion. I guess it's better to have an excuse to stay home and collect CERB benefits....

Anyways, I could have just taken the alternate route that goes around the outside of the gates, but instead, I opted to switch destinations. Bening at the foot of the University of Montreal campus road, I climbed it until it's end, which leads to the peak. I rode through the park, which was renamed to "Parc Tiohtià:ke Otsira’kéhne" by Mayor Coderre a few years ago. It means "place of the big fire", as Mohawk natives would use the peak as a signalling point.

The dirt trail leading up to the peak is rough gravel and crushed rock. My hybrid bike made it up easily enough, but would have been nice to have my suspension bike to attempt riding some of the rougher trails down. Maybe next time...

Riding new Champlain bridge bike trail

While the New Champlain bridge opened to car traffic in the summer of 2019, the pedestrian and bike lane only opened in December. My original plan was to bike there right away, but bad weather, snow and ice had kept me on my indoor by until the 2nd week of March 2020.

After a couple test runs on my bike last week, I decided to hit the Champlain bridge bike trail for the first time. Roughly 15-16 km from where I live, it's a good ride where I have to climb the mountain both going there and coming back.

Coming down the Wesmount, cross through Little Burgundy, and finally Verdun, before getting on to the Southbound segment of the bridge, also known as the Nun's island bridge, which is the old bike trail that ends on Nun's Island.

At that point, I got off, made my way to the Southern part of the island, then headed East, to cross under the new Champlain Bridge, as the new bike trail is on the Northbound section of the bridge.

At that point, I shot some video footage, which can be viewed by clicking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBWb7G2x74g

Overall, the bridge has a nice, wide bike lane, with a few scenic spots where one can stop and lookout over the St Lawrence river. Glad to finally be able to bike to the South shore, I get the feeling that some new bike fishing adventures are lining up this season.

Winter cycling in Montreal

December 1st, just a few weeks away from the official start of winter. You wouldn't know if from the bright sunrise on a clear day, but outdoor ground temp is -12 C, feels like -18 C with the windchill factor. Luckily, roads are bone dry after rain a couple weeks ago melted what was left of our first snow storm a few weeks ago.

Without any snow or ice on the roads, time to take the bike out for a subzero ride. While some may shy away from biking in this sort of cold, I embrace this sort of weather, and enjoy the rare occasion of being able to have bike lanes and trails all to myself on a Sunday morning.

Keys to remaining warm for cycling in cold weather:

1) A good base layer of fleece works wonders for me when ice fishing, even more so when cycling at a steady pace.

2) Warm out layers and a windproof windbreaker with fleece lining. I can hit hit windchills below -30 when riding down Mount Royal's slopes, yet manage to stay warm.

3) Light winter boots, heavy toque, and ultra warm mittens complete my outfit.

While a ski mask may help avoid freezing my face off when riding downhill, I prefer to give up that luxury to have better peripheral vision, with all Montreal's crazy, unobservant drivers.

For this particular ride, I decided to mix in a bit of uphill/downhill riding, along with a mainly flat run. The ride to St Helen's island from my house is perfectly suited, yielding a good 28 to 30 km, depending on the end route. In this case, I made an exploratory detour, thinking I'd be able to cut across from Pointe St Charles, but ended up being a dead end. Added a good 5+ km to my ride, but I got to explore part of Montreal that I've never been to in 46 years living here.

Found a small lookout named "Observatoire de la Pointe St Charles.

Eventually made my way back to the Peel basin, then down my usual route by the port of Montreal, Habitat 67, and onto Pont de la Concorde.

Moving along, I was curious to see if Lac Des Cygnes had any ice cover yet. Turned out to be fully covered, though the middle looked sort of sketchy. Not that we're allowed to fish there, but it's a decent indicator for what other smaller waterways in the region may look like.

Heading home, I crossed over the Lachine canal. Seems to be frozen pretty solid, after having been mostly drained in mid October.

Hoping the get in some more cold weather rides before we get dumped on by our next snowstorm.

Biking the Soulanges Canal bike trail

Been a long time since I've posted anything here, most of my blogging time has been spent focusing on my fishing blog (http://freshwater-phil.blogspot.com/ ).

I fish the Soulanges canal quite often, mainly from a float tube, or in the winter, on ice. I rarely use the bike trail that runs about 24 km along the canal, other than walking a bit to find access to the water, to fish.

Yesterday, I decided to take my wife there for the first time. We brought along our bikes, and the plan was to bike most of the trail and back to the parking spot, a good 40 KM ride.

Much like the Lachine canal, the Soulanges canal was for cargo barges to bypass rapids in the St Lawrence river before the seaway was built. Once the seaway was ready for traffic, the Soulanges canal was pretty much closed off into various segments, with North/South road crossing between each segment. The North side borders the hwy, while the bike trail runs mainly along the South side for most of it's length.

Though it has now been extended, the Soulanges canal trail runs from Coteau du Lac, through Les Coteaux, Les Cedres, and eventually ends in the nature parc in Pointe Des Cascades. Being paved, and with very few inclines, it's an easy ride that allows for bike traffic from beginners to pros, who use it for distance training.

For my wife an I, it was a bit of a date, spending some time together without the kids. Though it was her first ride in over 8 months, she managed the 40 km trek quite well, albeit at her own pace.

We stopped for a quick pic halfway through the ride, at the start of the canal, as we were parked close to the other end.

Hope to be back to the Soulanges canal with her more often this season, float tube for me, marathon training for her.

Breaking in my new ride

As I've been doing more and more urban biking over the past few years, I decided to get myself a hybrid bike, in addition to my suspension bike.

Though it gives up a bit of comfort compared to the suspension bike, the added shock absorbing seat post and double springed seat, makes it barely noticeable. On the flip side, I gain about 20% in speed using the same energy, and significantly less energy wasted due to the bikes design, bigger wheels, and reduced weight.

After the initial 14 KM test run on mainly flat roads, I've taken it up Mount Royal a couple times over the past 2 days, hitting both steep paved hills, as well as the main dirt/gravel trail that runs to the summit.

With the bright sun shining this morning, I decided to shoot some more scenic pics for my blog.

The view of Montreal East from the Mount Royal Lookout, allows one to see the Jacques Cartier bridge:

Moving further Northeast, a view of the Olympic stadium, and the port of Montreal in the background.

Heading down the Eastern Slope towards Avenue du Parc, the hill is significantly steeper than the Western Slope. A few months ago, a cyclist was killed when he collided with a car pulling an illegal U turn, and a memorial bike was hung for him at the spot.

Notice the hockey stick added to the memorial bike, I'm guessing it was added due to the tragic Humbolt hockey team accident a few days ago, in which 15 teenagers were killed when their bus collided with a truck in rural Saskatchewan.

All in all, I'm glad with my new ride, and hope to put many miles on it exploring new areas in the future.

Spring is here

Spring has finally arrived. As I've been keeping devoting more time to my fishing blog, I haven't done much posting to this blog since last spring.

My summer and fall biking season was quite productive, spent most of it biking to fishing trails while the bite was still good, then focused on Mount Royal in fall all the way until we got our first snow storm in December.

On the circuit training side of things, fall and early winter was devoted to building some muscle mass using a variety of dumbell exercises, as well as upper body cardio workouts boxing my wavemaster punching bag. After an intense 8 week, I was due for a break, as certain muscles were getting sore from the wear and tear.

For the winter, I decided to focus more on calisthenics and endurance exercises , yoga type stretching and light dumbell work. Cardio wise, it was mainly indoor biking, along with some walking in snow with either weight in my backpack, or towing a sled full of ice fishing gear on frozen lakes. Topped of with hand drill most of my ice holes, the 12 week regimen went quite easily, and I remained injury free for most of it.

As February rolled in and snow cover was minimal, my outdoor biking season kicked in. First few rides we in the 10-15 KM range, mainly around neighborhoods adjacent to where I live. Finally got back up Mount Royal late in March, when snow cover on my route was gone, but snowbanks had not started thawing yet. As a warm front moved in a few days later, I opted to ascend the Southwest summit in Westmount to avoid wet and muddy condition in the Mount Royal park.

The Belvedere in Westmount at Summit Circle was my destination.

A view of Montreal thawing out after a long and snowy winter.

Tried to zoom in on the new Champlain bridge construction, but my camera isn't top of the line, and it was a bit hazy as well. I highly doubt they are going to deliver the bridge by 2019 as promised...

Planning to circle the summit after stretching at the Belvedere, I ran into a surprise. Seems like the city of Westmount has decided to close off Summit Circle to traffic, turning part of it into a pedestrian trail.

So much for riding there in the winter, trail is no longer maintained, and I wasn't able to plow through the slush and melting ice by pedaling on my bike.

Was forced to pull a U turn, and head back down the same was I came up.

Now that my 12 week regimen is done, I'm taking a good week off to rest and enjoy our passover holiday. I'll be back.

Another "before and after" pic

Just got my new driver's license in the mail, was about to discard my old one when I noticed the contrast. The photo on the left was taken 4 years prior to the one on the right, shortly before I started my nutrition and training program.

Pictures can say a thousand words...

Bike riding Mount Royal's three peaks

Mount Royal in Montreal has three separate peaks or summits, each offering it's own style and challenge of riding to them on a bike. I typically ride the to the main summit in the Mount Royal park, via the Notre dame des Neiges cemetery, as you can read in some of my previous blog posts.

Occasionally, I'll ride to the summit park on Westmount peak, via Summit Circle. Bit more of an uphill ride, but significantly shorter from where I live.

The third peak is the Outremont summit, one which I've never bothered riding to up until today.

Today's challenge was to ride up all three summits to their peaks in one ride.

I started off with the Westmount Summit, riding up Victoria, Sunnyside, to Summit Circle. Stopped for a quick selfie next to the Summit Woods.

From there, I headed down Belvedere, across Cote Des Neiges, and up
Rememberance / Camillien Houde, to the summit trail, up to the radio tower.

Looping around chemin Olmstead, I passed the chalet Mont Royal, back out across Camillien Houde, into the Mount Royal cemetery. Riding North across the cemetery, you get a glimpse of the Outremont summit / peak, also known as Mount Murray. The roads get progressively steeper, and the cemetery's summit is accessible either from either direction once you hit this sign.

The roads leading to the peak are probably the steepest roads in Montreal, which definitely make for a good workout on the way up, and a speedy ride down. Though I've been up the Northern face of the Outremont peak via the University of Montreal, this was my first time actually hitting the highest point of Murray Hill which is in the cemetery itself. The selfie I shot didn't come out too well, so I won't bother posting it here.

Biking the Mount Royal summit trail

With all the recent rain and warm weather, the Mount Royal trails have finally thawed. Headed up on my summit trail to gauge what sort of biking shape I'm currently in. Being one of my most popular rides, I know that I'm in good biking shape once I can hit the top in under 25 minutes on my double suspension mountain bike.

Ice and snow on the main trail is gone, though some melting snow and lots of water and deep mud still remain along the secondary forest trails.

The trail doesn't have much foot traffic yet, especially being that this was midday during the week. Just the way I like it when pedaling uphill at a quick enough pace to have my heart rate up where it should be during an intense ride.

Sure enough, I make it there in 24 minutes, despite 2 days of overeating and drinking a few liters of wine for our passover holiday prior to this ride.

The communications antenna marks Mount Royal's summit, Unfortunately, there is much of a view, the spot is surrounded by trees. Autoshoot myself along the fence.

Also take some shots of the antenna , couldn't fit the entire thing into one picture from where I was standing.

 

Heading down around the other side of the trail, I stop to stretch at the Chalet du Mont Royal. As you can see, the splendid view of Downtown Montreal, the St Lawrence River, the South shore, and various mountains beyond (St Bruno, St Hillaire, and even Adirondacks on a clear day), make this the sort of spot that attracts large crowds, mainly tourists, mixed in with some fitness freaks, cyclists and photographers.

From there, it's my usual run down Camillien Houde, though the Notre Dame Des Neiges cemetery, and back home from there.

The following week, I decided to ride the summit trail in the opposite direction. After exiting the cemetery, I passed by Beaver Lake to catch the trail. 

Behind Beaver lake, lies the main trail that leads from the foot of the Mount Royal park, to it's summit. Smaller trails crisscross the main trail, as well as a set of staircases with about 400 stairs leading to the lookout. I rode the trail down to the Mount Royal monument park, also known as the "tamtam".

The nickname comes from the weekly gathering of tamtam players that show up there every Sunday (weather permitting). They gather around the monument to play their tamtam in unison. Aside from tourists, the crowd is typically made up of mainly younger potheads, hipsters, rastafarians, and some old school hippies. The police tend to turn a blind eye to the pot smoking, as long as everything is under control.

As my ride there turned out on April 20th, there was a special "420" rally planned for later that day at the monument park. For those that aren't aware of it, April 20th is the unofficial international pothead holiday. With the Canadian government having recently tabled legislation to legalize commercial marijuana sales within 1 year, the commercial aspects of the industry wasted no time in getting in on the action. A team of representatives from Potcoin were setting up shop before the crowds arrived, to push their new "crypto currency" targeted to the cannabis industry. Interesting bunch of people, there were all smoking big blunts less than 100 feet from the police cruisers. Stopped for a quick chat with them.

From there, the are a variety of routes to ride home, I chose the more scenic route, riding the summit trail back to Beaver Lake. Though it was a bit wet and muddy from all the recent rain, I prefer that option than having to ride city streets with traffic.