St Henri bike ride

Another one of my regular rides is down to the Lachine canal. As an avid angler, I often combine my love for cycling with my passion for fishing. With minimal gear, water,  and a good bike lock in my backpack, I make my way over the mountain, heading South towards the water.

For this ride, I didn't take along any fishing gear, as most of the canal is frozen solid, and a good 6 feet lower than it's normal summer levels. I choose between 2 rides to hit the canal, this one goes over Mount Royal, through Westmount, and then into Ville St Henri.

Important to wear layers of fleece in winter. The steep downhill ride in winter makes for wicked wind chill factors, below -25 C, from a ground temp of -8.

The big contrast within a few minutes bike ride, it the obvious difference between the "haves" and "have nots" of society in Montreal. Within a few blocks, you go from the City's richest neighborhood and most affluent shops, to dire poverty. Blunty put, and quite literally, the proverbial "wrong side of the tracks". Welcomed by the mission.

From their, it's a few blocks to the bike trail along the Lachine Canal, which I'll detail in subsequent updates to this post. The canal was frozen solid in most spots, with some open water near the St Paul Lock.

The old sugar refinery stands out do to it's imposing size. Must have been quite the operation back in it's heyday. 

Making my way around to St Ambroise at the St Paul lock, I pass the brewery. Looks like they were in progress of micro brewing some good beer.

Always tempting when I pass by this place later when the terrasse is open once warm weather arrives.

Then past the front of the old refinery.

From There, St Remi is the straight ticket out of St Henri. There is a small "town" of abandoned buildings, covered in graffitti, and often inhabited by squatters. I tend to stay away from those alleyways, though I've gone through there before. Always find that contrast in society to be interesting to observe, but as my bike is sort of upscale for that area, I tend to pedal out of there at workout speed. 

With this cold spell, I took the time to admire the artwork, which are typically some sort of expressions of that society. Again, will post more interesting ones I run across in future updates to the post, but couldn't resist posting this one.

I keep riding up to St Jaques, which is the first leg of my uphill ride back home. At the top of that run, stands the Superhospital. 

From there, it's up over the mountain and back down towards my home via Decarie Boulevard.

Stay tuned for future updates.