July 4, 2010 Bar Central, Montebello 2:45pm
Happy 4th of July everyone!!!
Another bit of deviation to the schedule. I was supposed to be heading back to Montreal this morning, but I woke up with a horrible case of diarrhea (Thanks Wendy for the correct spelling). In a lot of other instances, that can be dealt with, but on a bicycle, not so much. It’s pretty tough. So…another day here in Montebello.
One good thing is that I got to watch the Wimbledon Men’s Final. In some spots, it was pretty interesting, but for the most part, it was pretty clear who was going to win. Nadal played well, but certainly not his best. He made WAY more unforced errors than he usually does. I think Berdych was a bit overwhelmed (as are many first-time Grand Slam finalists) by the whole situation. He played well in spurts, but never really mounted a threat.
It was interesting to see and hear Borg and McEnroe commentating on the 18-16 tie-breaker from 30 years ago tomorrow (July 5). Of course, it was also very nice to see the grass on the court worn down up by the “T” as well as at the baseline.
Another beautiful, sunny day here. The wind has come up this afternoon, but it seems to be coming from the same direction that it has been all week. Let’s hope that keeps up for tomorrow and Tuesday.
I’m thinking of trying to shed a little more stuff here before heading out tomorrow. I can certainly get rid of one of the pairs of bicycle gloves and perhaps one or two pairs of socks. I can also probably get rid of one of the sweatshirts (Don’t need both). I want to try to get the backpack on the rack down a little because it was a pain-in-the-ass to keep it centered (even with all the bungee cords) on the way out here.
I included a couple of pictures in the last BLOG update. Some pretty good ones, I think. I’ll try to take some more pictures on the way back. (Perhaps more than I took on the way out because the weather will be much better…insha’allah)
Tomorrow night I’m hoping to stay at Le Capucine just as I did on the way out. This time, though, I think I’ll take one of the upstairs rooms with a shared bathroom. It’s about $10 less than the room I had on the way out. This time, I’ll eat dinner at the house as well as breakfast. (Wasn’t it so lovely last time?)
I’ll try to sort out accommodation in Montreal tonight from the hotel room (where I have WiFi access). We’ll see how that goes. I’ll try to let everyone know where I’m staying.
I’m hoping to get an EARLY start tomorrow to try to stay out of the midday heat. I’ll also stop a couple of places along the way to take some pictures that I wanted to take on the way out, but didn’t because the weather was such crap. Here’s hoping for some better pictures.
July 5, 2010 La Capucine B&B, Saint Placides 6pm 65km/215km (approx.)
Lat night was nothing special. I watched the end of the Montreal Senior Open. Larry Mize won over John Cook. I remember seeing Larry Mize chip in at the US Open (I think) to stick another dagger in Greg Norman’s heart. Anyway…Mize is certainly not a long hitter, but incredibly accurate and a helluva putter.
After that, I sat on the porch and read a bit. I’m almost finished with Down the Nile in a Fisherman’s Skiff. Some interesting stuff. Of course, once I’m finished with that, I’ll be out of books. I didn’t bring any more with me. I guess when I get back to Montreal, I should be able to find one or two others. I don’t want to carry too many with me (obviously).
I wanted to get an early start today, and I guess I kinda did. I was out the door and on the road by 8. I left the blue sweatshirt behind. I felt kinda bad because I think Mom bought me that sweatshirt a thousand years ago at Building #19. Great stuff. That sweatshirt and I have been on many adventures together. The other one (River’s Edge) is slightly smaller and takes up less room in the backpack. That was the basis of the decision. Anyway…the backpack fit much better on the rack. I didn’t have to worry about it wobbling or falling off.
Haiyam came out to wish me well at just about 8 as I was loading up the bike. I thought that was nice. She had helped me last night call to La Capucine in order to make a reservation for tonight. Apparently, she (and her family) have been here for about 3 months. When I asked her if she spoke much French, she replied, “Un peur.” Pretty much like me. She seems to be a sweet young woman. I’ll try to send her a postcard or e-mail from Dubai.
I pretty much traced my exact journey out this way in reverse. I stopped at the same convenience stores for sustenance. The long stretch before Carillon (right along the river and very bouncy) was nowhere near as bad or as aggravating as on the way out. It actually went by pretty quickly. I stopped at the Carillon Canal at the little Café there, and relaxed for a bit. The woman there explained to me about the lock system before the HUGE dam(n) was put in. There used to be 11 locks and some rapids on the river. Now, there was really only one. It was interesting that she seemed to tell me all about it without betraying any “attitude” one way or the other.
By 11 o’clock, the temperature had really begun to get up there. When there wasn’t any wind, I could SERIOUSLY feel the heat. Overall, though, because of a lack of headwind, a much better day on the bike than on the way out.
The last stretch into Saint Placides was just out in the open and HOT!! To get any shade (and drink a quick swig from one of my water bottles), I had to pull onto a side street or into someone’s driveway. I pulled up into the driveway of La Capucine at just about 1:15. Not bad time overall. The proprietors seemed actually glad to see me. I had interrupted their lunch, but they both came out to the driveway to meet me. Merrill opened up the garage for me to lock up my bike. It was amazing, but Sandra had actually saved the large bottle of Molson Export Beer that I had left behind in my room on my last visit. She presented this to me as she led me upstairs to a room she recommended over the last one I stayed in because it had air-conditioning. The air-con felt soooooo good after the journey in the sun. In fact, after one glass of beer, and hanging up all of my damp clothes, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes for what I thought was just a couple of minutes. When I opened them, it was 45 minutes later. Time for a hot shower. GLORIOUS stuff.
I finished the beer and finished Down the Nile in a Fisherman’s Skiff. That means that I have nothing else to read for the rest of this visit except the Lonely Planet Guide to Montreal and Quebec City. Not that it’s bad reading. It’s just not very “gripping.” Oh, well.
After my shower, I walked down past the old church at the end of the street to the dock and watched people putting boats in the water and taking boats out of the water. It’s always interesting watching people try to maneuver trailers behind vehicles. Some do quite well. Others, it’s like parallel parking…it seems to take forever.
I made an on-line reservation for a couple of nights at the Hotel Le Paris back in Montreal for the next couple of nights. It got a good write-up in the Lonely Planet, but let’s see what it really looks like. Also, I’m hoping to stop at the bike shop on the way in and see if anything can be done with the computer. If not, I’ll just ask them to install another one. All I really need is distance and speed. That should do it. But, neither one…that’s pretty annoying.
July 6, 2010 Hotel de Paris, Montreal 3:30pm 75/290km (approx)
Well, I made it back to Montreal and found the hotel that I had made the online reservation for. It’s actually a pretty nice place. The room is OK. The bed takes up almost the whole room. Apparently, there is WiFi throughout the building, and no code to punch in. I’ll do some e-mail and some checking of accommodation on the way to Quebec later.
I’ve got to sadly admit that with this heat and my lack of training, I’m really not ready for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. I’ll still ride from Montreal to Quebec, but at a bit more leisurely pace. It’s not worth killing myself at the beginning of the trip. (At least I don’t think so.) This doesn’t even seem to be negotiable. I‘m no sure too many people would disagree. It’s a bit disappointing, though. But the miles had to be put in while I was in Dubai, and they just weren’t because of all of the other things that I was involved in. If I continue to stretch myself, I’ll probably be ready for the Pan-Mass. That’s really the important one. I’d hate to let Bill down.
I didn’t eat dinner last night because last time I was here and ate at the Fried Potatoes place, I got really greasy French fries and had a bit of a tummy on the bike in the morning. Never a good thing. Besides, I knew that I would be having a GREAT breakfast at 7 (by request). And, of course, I did.
Lots of fruit on the first plate…blueberries, raspberries, melon, strawberries, kiwi, plums, sliced grapes, etc. Large glass of ice-cold orange juice. Oh, ya. But before I had that, I had a plate brought to me with a small container of syrup and two oatmeal muffins. GREAT stuff. The second plate had more fruit (watermelon, tangerines, more strawberries, a thick slice of banana which served as sort of a vase for small flowers. The presentation was lovely. In addition, there was a HUGE, round waffle, sliced into quarters. Although I could have put syrup on them and eaten them, I chose to simply pick them up with my fingers (they were THAT big) and eat them “dry” (but not really). Wonderfully tasty stuff.
While I was eating, Merrill (the husband), brought out a photo album to show me some pictures of an Arctic Kite Festival which is held at the end of February on the lake just down the street from the house. Apparently, the lake freezes to a thickness of about a meter (three feet). The pictures looked as though the event was quite a bit of fun. He also showed me some pictures of two properties nearby that he and Sandra (his wife) had recently purchased. One of them (I think he explained) was for their six grandchildren when they came to visit. The properties are only two streets over from the house we were currently in.
After I went back upstairs after breakfast, I went out to the garage to pack up the bike. According to Merrill, the temperature was already 26° Celsius (about 84 Fahrenheit). Even when I had the bike ready to go, Merrill wanted to show me around the garage a little bit. It turn out he is a metal worker. He had made almost all of the metal works in the house (elaborate and artistic towel racks, lamp fixtures, etc.). Really lovely work. Apparently, his father was also a metal worker, and his grandfather had been a blacksmith. He wanted to show me some of the creations of the former generations, which were quite impressive. Apparently, he does only contract work at this point. Still wonderful stuff, though.
I had wanted to get going, but he and his wife had been so wonderful to me on both of my visits, and what he was saying was actually pretty interesting…besides, I thought it would be rude.
Got on the road just about 8:30. It was probably a little hotter than 84 at that point. Overall, I’ll bet it got close to 100 (if not over) during the journey. I stopped to take a picture of one of the Native Cigarette stores just outside of Oka. I stopped in Oka and watched the ferry pick up a new batch of cars and other passengers and briefly thought about going over to the other side and riding in from there. However, I thought I might get lost. In this heat, that was the LAST thing that I wanted to do. So, I continued along.
The terrain was pretty much rolling, but the sun was pretty much relentless. There were very few depanneurs (convenience stores) that I passed by without picking up some water or Gatorade or something similar. I knew that I couldn’t afford to get dehydrated.
There were a few times when I thought I was lost, but then I would see something which I thought to be familiar. Overall, not too bad. Thank GOD that I have the Walkman. If I had no music or had to sing to myself, I would probably go NUTS.
A bit of a dangerous situation happened when I was in the extended city proper of Montreal. I was pulling up to an intersection, when my right shoe got caught in the pedal clip. (I usually don’t use the clips in cities.) When I realized this, I stepped down on my left foot. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my shoe out of the clip, try as I might. Ultimately, I had to take my shoe off and then back the spring on the pedal all the way down before I could remove the shoe. It wasn’t something that I really needed at that point in the ride. While I was at it, I backed the spring on the left pedal down as well. Just in case. It was a little scary, and VERY frustrating.
I was heading into the city and trying to figure out where I was when Rue Mont Royal appeared out of nowhere. Great stuff. I knew where I was, and I wasn’t too far from the hotel. I got checked in pretty quickly, left most of the stuff (including the bike, locked up) in the room and headed out to watch the Uruguay-Netherlands World Cup match. As I write this, Netherlands is up 3-1 with about 10 minutes left in the game. The REALLY big game (as most people are concerned) is tomorrow’s match between Germany and Spain. Germany has been playing AWFULLY well.
Oh, ya. One of the things I noticed today as I visited so many of the depanneurs…almost all of them were manned (owned?) by Asians. Interesting. (Actually, I just checked with a local, and the literal translation is “corner store.”)
July 7, 2010 The Pub Elizabeth, Montreal 5:00 pm
Just finished watching the Germany-Spain semi-final in the World Cup in a place called MVP, with a HUGE contingent of German fans. Boy, were they disappointed. Spain won 1-0. They deserved it. They were the aggressors all the way through the game. Germany never got any sort of attack going.
I originally wanted to sit at a table (in case I wanted to order food), but the manager asked how many in my party (ONE). Wouldn’t you like to sit at the bar? I said, “I wouldn’t like to, but I will if that helps you out.” Apparently, it did.
By the way…one of the waiters at MVP looked very much like Ray Walston (My Favorite Martian). Fun stuff. The bartender looked like a young Jennifer Connolly. Good stuff all around.
Last night was pretty much of a pub crawl. I just wanted to survey the surrounding area of the hotel. I didn’t shower until this morning (which was probably not a good thing). A couple of notes from yesterday afternoon and last night:
- I watched the Uruguay-Netherlands game at Le Bar Mon Royal, where I had watched some of the World Cup games and Wimbledon. Much of the regular crowd was there.
- I wandered up to one of the other bars where I had a few beers on my first go-round in Montreal. There, there was a beautiful young woman (drinking rose wine) telling some long-winded story in French that I didn’t understand. But it was interesting to watch her tell it.
- While I was walking down Rue St. Denis toward the hotel, I saw a group of about 20-30 red-shirted cyclists heading the other way. I don’t know who they are. Maybe in training for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Who knows?
- I stopped at a Greek restaurant for a beer and met 21-year old Sara, the bartender. We chatted quite a bit while she was trying to fill all the orders for the service attendants.
- At a different pub on the way back to the hotel (down St. Denis), I saw what I thought was Hugh Laurie’s (the guy from House) exact twin. Not sure whether he was or not. I didn’t approach him. However, when I got to that bar, all of the TVs were frozen, on a particular image. When I was there, the channels finally got working and we were watching either a) poker or b) drag racing. I left as quickly as possible.
While up in the area of the city where I was originally, I picked up a couple of books to read as I go along. One is The Dancer Upstairs by Nicholas Shakespeare. He also wrote In Tasmania which I begun on my bicycle trip there and am about halfway through. This one is a novel, though. So far, I’m about halfway through this one. Good stuff. I also picked up Senior Quixote by Graham Greene. I think Wendy loaned me this book at one point, but I had to give it back. (I might be mistaken on this point) However, I’m looking forward to reading this one. I figure I’ll finish The Dancer Upstairs before I leave for Quebec City.
I’ve decided to stay at the Hotel de Paris for the 8th. I will take my bicycle to the shop where I had it put back together to see if they can decipher the problem with the computer. If not, I’ll ask them to install another one. We’ll see. It might just be the battery. But a bike shop I stopped at on the way into the city from Saint Placides couldn’t figure out how to check the battery. So….Nothing to be done.
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