Day 55 Carillon Park to St. Mathieu de Beloeil, QC

 79.2 miles, 881 ft ascent

Unfortunately, the day began poorly for our Montreal native, Louis.  He had planned to show the tour riders around his home town.  Unfortunately, about 20 miles into the ride he pulled up with a loose bottom bracket.  That is the axle bearing assembly to which the pedals are attached.  Roger examined it an said that there was a quarter of an inch of play in his pedals, due to the worn bottom bracket, and that Louis should not ride his bicycle until it is repaired.  Today being a Sunday, no cycle shops are open, so Louis will attempt to have his bike repaired on Monday.  Since he lives in Montreal, he may be able to get help from relatives or friends for transportation to the tour's location when his bike is ready to ride again.  We have been riding on a lot of gravel while cycling in and out of campgrounds, and riding on unpaved roads in places, so grit may have penetrated and damaged his lower assembly.  

Having lost our local guide, the group rode on following the TDC cue sheet.  We crossed the Ottawa River onto the island that is Montreal.  We continued primarily on bike paths close to the shore of the island.  Local cyclists were speeding along the bike path to get a good workout, so we had to be wary when they approached.

Montreal is the second largest city in Canada, with a population of 1.7 million inhabitants.

 

We rode along the Ottawa River to Montreal.

 

A bit unique was this highly decorated water tower.

Katherine,  TDC Alumna from 2016, met us in Montreal where the Ottawa River flows into the St. Lawrence River, which flows around the island that is Montreal.  She was kind enough to serve us beverages as well as food!  We salute Katherine for her generous thoughtfulness.

There are vast expanses of water surrounding the island of Montreal.

This is Lachine Rapids in the St. Lawrence River.  Locks and channels of the St. Lawrence Seaway allow ships to go around these rapids.

 

We finally got a bull moose sighting when we stopped for  poutine in Montreal, where the best poutine in Canada is said to be served.  (Not sure that this guy counts, though.  He was so arthritic he couldn't move at all.  Totally stationary, as a matter of fact.)

 

A close up shot of my Whisky Poutine.  Basic poutine is French fries, cheese curds and gravy.  The Whisky Poutine shown here is an enhanced version.  I think, perhaps, it was "enhanced" with some Jack Daniels Bar-b-que Sauce straight out of Lynchburg, south of Nashville, TN.  Everyone liked the Whisky Poutine.

 

This is the menu with options for cyclists participating in the Poutine Fest.

 

 

You are invited to return tomorrow to continue with our saga!