Sunday, August 18, 2013

Montreal

It was a short 103 km ride from Cornwall to the South shore of Montreal. The route along the river was quite nice. The place where we stayed was the Kahnawake Survival School on the Mohawk reserve on the south shore. The organizers were having a very difficult place finding a spot for us to camp in the area and this was a last minute find. The school was established by the Mohawks after the Quebec government forced French only in the schools in the 1970s. In the reserve, English is spoken along with their native language ( and so traffic signs are in those two languages, not French).

In the late afternoon, I joined six other older men in going to old Montreal. We found a lovely spot to eat a great meal. It was expensive but very enjoyable. Good conversations were had, as well as much laughter. After dinner, we walked around the old port area, taking in the night life. It was a delightful evening.

The next day, Sunday, three buses came to bring us all into Montreal. We worshipped at the Church Of St. Andrew and St. Paul, a Presbyterian church just beside Mc Gill University. The members of the Montreal CRC also joined the congregation. The church was a large historic building and the organ could pump out the volume. At the service I met Josh and Vicky Vanderveen, as well as Pastor Jake.

The buses then were to bring us to the old port part of the city. But traffic was a mess because of a parade. The buses had to turn around. After thirty minutes we were right back where we started. We finally arrived one hour and 12 minutes later. It was very frustrating. We could have walked there faster and seen the city better. It left less than three hours to explore the old section of Montreal. At 5pm, we were bused back to camp. That took 50 minutes.

It was disappointing to waste so much time on the bus. For the first time, I really wanted this ride to be finished. I wanted to get back to my usual routines at home, rather than be subject to the dynamics of a group cycling tour. The end is in sight. Just one more week of biking. It may be a challenging week. After the flat roads of Ontario, we are about to hit the hills of New York State. Tomorrow we cross the border and hopefully that will be smooth sailing.

1 comment:

  1. You've come such a long way...amazing really. Keep up your spirits! Enjoy the last leg of the trip with your fellow bikers and team. When it's all over, you'll wonder where those 9 weeks went.

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